Issuu

Roy Thomas’ Standard Comics Fanzine

OKAY, AXIS—HERE COME THE GOLDEN AGE

NEDOR HEROES! 8.95 $

No.111

In the USA

July 2012

82658 27763

Edited by ROY THOMAS The greatest ‘zine of the 1960s is back, ALL-NEW, and focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America, featuring the archives of C.C. BECK and recollections by Fawcett artist MARCUS SWAYZE), Michael T. Gilbert’s MR. MONSTER, and more!

2012 EISNER AWARD Nominee Best Comics-Related Journalism

Other issues available, & an ULTIMATE BUNDLE with all issues at HALF-PRICE!

ALTER EGO: CENTENNIAL (AE #100)

ALTER EGO #101

DIEDGITIIOTANSL AVAILA

BLE

ALTER EGO #97

ALTER EGO #98

ALTER EGO #99

The non-EC Horror Comics of the 1950s! From Menace and House of Mystery to The Thing!, we present vintage art and artifacts by EVERETT, BRIEFER, DITKO, MANEELY, COLAN , MESKIN, MOLDOFF, HEATH, POWELL, COLE, SIMON & KIRBY, FUJITANI, and others, plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more, behind a creepy, eerie cover by BILL EVERETT!

Spotlight on Superman’s first editor WHITNEY ELLSWORTH, longtime Kryptoeditor MORT WEISINGER remembered by his daughter, an interview with Superman writer ALVIN SCHWARTZ, art by JOE SHUSTER, WAYNE BORING, CURT SWAN, AL PLASTINO, and NEAL ADAMS, plus MR. MONSTER, FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA), and a new cover by JERRY ORDWAY!

GEORGE TUSKA showcase issue on his career at Lev Gleason, Marvel, and in comics strips through the early 1970s—CRIME DOES NOT PAY, BUCK ROGERS, IRON MAN, AVENGERS, TEEN TITANS, HERO FOR HIRE, and more! PLUS: JIM AMASH’s interview with Golden Age Fiction House artist BILL BOSSERT, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), and more!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

ALTER EGO #102

ALTER EGO #103

ALTER EGO #104

A/E celebrates 100 issues, and 50 years, of ALTER EGO magazine in a double-size BOOK! ROY THOMAS interviewed by JIM AMASH about ALL-STAR SQUADRON, INFINITY, INC., ARAK, other DC work, and more! Art by PÉREZ, McFARLANE, BUCKLER, ORDWAY, MACHLAN, GIL KANE, COLAN, GIORDANO, and more, plus Mr. Monster, FCA, BUCKLER/ORDWAY cover!

Fox Comics of the 1940s with art by BAKER, FINE, SIMON, KIRBY, TUSKA, FLETCHER HANKS, ALEX BLUM, and others! “Superman vs. Wonder Man” starring EISNER, IGER, MAYER, SIEGEL, and DONENFELD! Part I of an interview with JACK MENDELSOHN, plus FCA, Comic Fandom Archive, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and new cover by SpiderMan artist DAVE WILLIAMS!

Spotlight on Green Lantern creators MART NODELL and BILL FINGER in the 1940s, and JOHN BROOME, GIL KANE, and JULIUS SCHWARTZ in 1959! Rare GL artwork by INFANTINO, REINMAN, HASEN, NEAL ADAMS, and others! Plus JACK MENDELSOHN Part II, FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and new cover by GIL KANE & TERRY AUSTIN, and MART NODELL!

The early career of comics writer STEVE ENGLEHART: Defenders, Captain America, Master of Kung Fu, The Beast, Mantis, and more, with rare art and artifacts by SAL BUSCEMA, STARLIN, SUTTON, HECK, BROWN, and others. Plus, JIM AMASH interviews early artist GEORGE MANDEL (Captain Midnight, The Woman in Red, Blue Bolt, Black Marvel, etc.), FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and more!

Celebrates the 50th anniversary of FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and the birth of Marvel Comics! New, never-beforepublished STAN LEE interview, art and artifacts by KIRBY, DITKO, SINNOTT, AYERS, THOMAS, and secrets behind the Marvel Mythos! Also: JIM AMASH interviews 1940s Timely editor AL SULMAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and a new cover by FRENZ and SINNOTT!

(160-page trade paperback with COLOR) $19.95 US • (Digital edition) $5.95

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

ALTER EGO #105

ALTER EGO #106

ALTER EGO #107

ALTER EGO #108

ALTER EGO #109

See comic art and script BEFORE and AFTER the Comics Code changes, with art by SIMON & KIRBY, DITKO, BUSCEMA, SINNOTT, GOULD, COLE, STERANKO, KRIGSTEIN, O’NEIL, GLANZMAN, ORLANDO, WILLIAMSON, HEATH, and others! Plus: FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, JIM AMASH interviews Timely/Atlas artist CAL MASSEY, and a new cover by JOSH MEDORS!

DICK GIORDANO through the 1960s—from freelance years and Charlton “Action-Heroes” to his first stint at DC! Art by DITKO, APARO, BOYETTE, MORISI, McLAUGHLIN, GIL KANE, and others, Dick’s final convention panel with STEVE SKEATES and ROY THOMAS, JIM AMASH interviews Charlton artist TONY TALLARICO, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and ROY ALD, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY, GIORDANO cover, and more!

Big BATMAN issue, with an unused Golden Age cover by DICK SPRANG! Interviews SPRANG and JIM MOONEY, with rare and unseen Batman art by BOB KANE, JERRY ROBINSON, WIN MORTIMER, SHELLY MOLDOFF, CHARLES PARIS, and others! Part II of the TONY TALLARICO interview by JIM AMASH! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

1970s Bullpenner WARREN REECE talks about Marvel Comics and working with EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, STAN LEE, MARIE SEVERIN, ADAMS, FRIEDRICH, ROY THOMAS, and others, with rare art! DEWEY CASSELL spotlights Golden Age artist MIKE PEPPE, with art by TOTH, TUSKA, SEKOWSKY, TALLARICO Part 3, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, cover by EVERETT & BURGOS, and more!

Spectre/Hour-Man creator BERNARD BAILY, ‘40s super-groups that might have been, art by ORDWAY, INFANTINO, KUBERT, HASEN, ROBINSON, and BURNLEY, conclusion of the TONY TALLARICO interview by JIM AMASH, MIKE PEPPE interview by DEWEY CASSELL, BILL SCHELLY on “50 Years of Fandom” at San Diego 2011, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, PÉREZ cover, and more!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

Vol. 3, No. 111 / July 2012 Roy Thomas

Editor

Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Associate Editors Jon B. Cooke

Design & Layout John Morrow

Consulting Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

FCA Editor

Michael T. Gilbert

Comic Crypt Editor Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White, Mike Friedrich

Editorial Honor Roll

Rob Smentek, William J. Dowlding

Proofreaders

Shane Foley (after Frank Robbins & John Romita)

Cover Artist Tom Ziuko

Cover Colorist

With Special Thanks to:

Deane Aikins Bob Mitsch Liz Galeria Heidi Amash Drury Moroz Jeff Gelb Ger Apeldoorn Brian K. Morris Janet Gilbert Mark Austin Hoy Murphy Joe Goggin Jean Bails Nedor-a-Day (website) Golden Age Comic Matt D. Baker Book Stories (website) Michelle Nolan John Baldwin Frank Nuessel M.C. Goodwin John Barrett Wayne Pearce Grand Comics Barry Bauman Charles Pelto Database Howard Bayliss John G. Pierce Michael Gronsky Rod Beck Bud Plant Larry Guidry John Benson Gene Reed Jennifer Hamerlinck Larry Bigman Charles Reinsel Claude Held Pre Birenbaum Karen Richardson Dick Hoffman Bert Blum Trina Robbins John Hutchins Jackson Bostwick Pat Iacovone Fred Robinson Len Brown Howard Rogofsky David Kaler Mike Burkey Steve Saffel Jim Kealy Jim Buser Terri Samuels Clay Kimball Aaron Caplan Randy Sargent Kirk Kimball Mike Catron Gary Sassaman Nadine King Michael Cho Frank Scadena A. Kovers Shaun Clancy Eric Schumacher Richard Kyle Russ Cochran Vicki Sebring Matt Lage Colleen Coover Leonard Starr R. Gary Land Bob Cosgrove Joe Stoner Mark Lewis Chet Cox Marc Swayze Paul Levitz John Dahlquist Tom Tallmon Jim Ludwig Teresa R. Davidson Pat Lupoff Bill Thailing Al Davoren Dann Thomas Richard Lupoff Joe Desris Maggie Thompson Dale Manesis Joseph Eacobacci Bruce Mason Michael Uslan Jackie Estrada Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Greg McKee Lance Falk James Van Hise Darrell McNeil Tom Fisher Mark Voger Harry Mendryk Shane Foley Alan Waite Peter Meskin Rudi Franke Hames Ware Philip Meskin Doug Fratz Beth Wilson Raymond Miller Stephan Friedt Bill Zimmerman Ken Mitchell

This issue is dedicated to the memory of:

Jerry Robinson

Contents Writer/Editorial: Setting The Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Nedor Comic Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Michelle Nolan re-presents the 1968 salute to The Black Terror & co.—illustrated! Continuing Jim Amash’s in-depth interview with comic art great Leonard Starr.

“None Of Us Were Working For The Ages” . . . . . . . . 49 Michael T. Gilbert’s private takes on some very public Golden Age images.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Twice-Told DC Covers! . . . 57 Comic Fandom Archive: The Golden Age Of Fanzines Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Part II of a major event from the 2011 50th-Anniversary of Fandom celebration at San Diego!

In Memoriam: Jerry Robinson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #170. . . . . . . .73 P.C. Hamerlinck and some noted friends salute the 70th birthday of Mary Marvel!

On Our Cover: The cover of the very first Golden Age super-hero-starring comic that A/E’s editor ever wrote was Marvel’s Giant-Size Invaders #1 in 1975; it was a monumental piece of work in more ways than one—penciled by Frank Robbins and inked by John Romita. Thus, we invited Shane Foley, who draws each issue’s “maskot” illustration, to use that iconic cover as the inspiration for this homage featuring The Black Terror, The Fighting Yank, Miss Masque, Pyroman, Captain Future, and The Grim Reaper—six of Nedor’s greatest super-heroes. Great job, Shane—and colorist Tom Ziuko! [Art © 2012 Shane Foley.]

Above: Although several stellar talents drew “The Black Terror” during his last year or two in Golden Age comics, the work of the team composed of Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin stands out. Above is their splash panel for a story from Black Terror #25 (Dec. 1948). Thanks to Eric Schumacher. [© 2012 the respective copyright holders.] Alter EgoTM is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Eight-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $85 Canada, $107 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in China. ISSN: 1932-6890 FIRST PRINTING.

writer/editorial

Setting The Standard

edor… Better… Thrilling… Standard… Pines.

Ned Pines’ little company, which in the late 1930s moved from pulp magazines into the hot new field of comic books, had nearly as many names as the late Elizabeth Taylor had husbands… even if you count Richard Burton twice.

I always preferred “Standard,” perhaps because that’s the only name that was ever part of an actual company symbol: a small black flag (or “standard,” get it?) with the words “Standard Comics” emblazoned upon it. It was a relatively late name, never used, far as I know, till after World War II. Still, I myself never thought of the publisher of The Black Terror and The Fighting Yank by any other name. To other folks, though, it will always be “Better”—or “Thrilling”—or clearly, to Michelle Nolan, “Nedor.”

The company had odd connections with other and larger firms in the comics field.

Mort Weisinger, then Jack Schiff and Bernie Breslauer, all moved from being young editors of Better/Thrilling’s pulps to editing for National/DC’s burgeoning line of comics. When I’m looking for a vintage photo of any of that noteworthy trio, I often find myself turning to that single pic of the three of them having an editorial conference—probably at Better, not at DC.

Nedor’s comics had a weird quasi-Timely/Marvel connection, too. Alex Schomburg is best known in comics circles for his wild, ultra-detailed covers for wartime Marvel Mystery Comics and other titles of Martin Goodman’s line—yet he kept equally busy turning out thematically similar covers for Ned Pines (with the Terror, the Yank, and Doc Strange in place of The Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, and Captain America), and indeed he kept at it longer, closing out both Black Terror and Fighting Yank, Nedor’s last two super-heroes standing in 1949. That was the same year Timely’s “Big Three”

D folded their tents—but with other hands drawing their covers.

There was even an American Comics Group connection, with the B.W. Sangor Shop providing art and story for Nedor for years before Sangor’s outfit metamorphosed into an entirely new company, ACG—with Richard Hughes, writer-creator of both the Terror and the Yank, moving from writer and then editor of Nedor to being editor and head writer of the group that in 1948 launched the very first regularly published horror comic, Adventures into the Unknown. (We had announced for this issue an article about Hughes by Michael Vance, featuring newly discovered art and photos, but at the last minute we just couldn’t squeeze it in, so it’ll have to wait for next issue. Our letters section also got frozen out this time.)

Another thing I’d have liked to see in this issue is a good, thorough historical look at Nedor, such as Ron Goulart provided when we printed the Nolan MLJ Index a few years ago.

I’m hoping someone will step up and offer to provide that, as well. By the time we could ready it, I’d definitely be in the mood for another A/E issue about Nedor—one dealing in depth with the publishers, editors, writers, and artists behind that high-flying Standard, and with the full range of characters and concepts that it offered over the decade and a half it was in business. Any takers out there?

Bestest,

P.S.: In the eleventh hour, as I started editing the “Index” without a lot of art on hand, I put out a plea for artwork. A number of generous people stepped forward, and I hope they’re all duly thanked in the course of the piece—but I have to single out particularly Jim Ludwig and Eric Schumacher, who so bombarded me with material that I wound up with far more art than I could possibly print, even after I gave up on the idea of providing examples of many of the features that weren’t super-hero-related. Thanks, guys—and to Michael T. Gilbert, Chet Cox, and the rest of you, as well! Far as I’m concerned, you’ve just given me a leg up on that big second Nedor issue!

COMING IN AUGUST

112

GIANT!

More Stupendous Secrets Of The Last Son Of Krypton!

• Sensational cover featuring art by MURPHY ANDERSON—assembled by ARLEN SCHUMER! • PAUL CASSIDY, the 2nd (or 3rd?) man ever to draw Superman! The Nembo Kid (that’s Italian for “Superman”)! Plus a fabulous 16-page look at the MORT WEISINGER era of the Man of Steel by designer ARLEN SCHUMER—including an interview with Mort’s son! Super art & artifacts by JERRY SIEGEL, JOE SHUSTER, WAYNE BORING, MURPHY ANDERSON, AL PLASTINO, & others! • LEONARD STARR talks to JIM AMASH about his comics strips On Stage & Annie and comic book Kelly Green—plus MICHAEL VANCE revisits RICHARD HUGHES! • FCA focus on MARC SWAYZE’s Charlton days—MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Comic Crypt— BILL SCHELLY with more on the fandom’s 50th-anniversary celebration in San Diego 2011—& MORE!! Edited by ROY THOMAS • SUBSCRIBE NOW! Eight issues in the US: $60 Standard, $80 First Class • (Canada: $85, Elsewhere: $107 Surface, $155 Airmail). • NEW LOWER RATES FOR INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS! SAVE $4 PER ISSUE!

TwoMorrows—A New Day For Comics Fandom. TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

Nedor Comic Index The 1968 Guide To The Thrilling/Better/Standard Super-Heroes by Mike Nolan

New 2012 Introduction: Solving The Mystery Of Nedor Comics—Issue By Issue! by Michelle Nolan

ver the past 44 years, many comic collectors and historians have asked me why I chose once-obscure Nedor Comics as the subject of fandom’s first issue-by-issue Golden Age index. The answer is a bit convoluted, especially since Nedor Comics were nowhere nearly as well-known during the dawn of modern comics fandom in the 1960s as were DC, Timely, Dell, MLJ, Quality, Fiction House, and several other publishers of 1940s comics.

hunts. (Two of the used-book stores had gone out of business by then and the remaining store offered few comics that predated 1956, possibly because other collectors had joined me in the search.) This friendly fellow was headed for the Air Force and, wonder of wonders, he was willing to sell me a few dozen 1940s comics at the then unthinkable prices of 25¢ to $1 each. (Second-hand comics were six for a quarter at the used-book stores on my childhood hunts.) I bought every issue I could, including Black Terror #16 (Oct. 1946) with the first Alex Schomburg cover I had ever seen. Who in the world, I wondered, was this nearly 20-year-old character with the cool costume? Little did I know that Black Terror’s 174 adventures in three titles between 1941 and 1949 were the high for any Nedor character.

Part of this answer will involve memories earlier revealed in Roy Thomas’ handsome reprints of my Timely Comics Index (in Alter Ego #57) I was absolutely enchanted with this and my MLJ Comic Index (A/E #82), mysterious comic; I still have it. Unlike both originally published in 1969. But contemporary revivals from DC, Marvel, and since the Nedor story is significantly Archie in the mid-1960s, Nedor then had no different, and came first, being enduring Golden Age publishing connecpublished in 1968, I’m trying to avoid tions. It would be many years before a repeating too much of what I said in Nedor story would be reprinted. I the two earlier issues of this magazine. didn’t even know Black Terror #16 was a Although I began reading and collecting Nedor comic. There was no comics in 1956, when I was 8 years publisher’s logo on the cover—I old, I never ran across so much as a Cover Me! could not understand that, since single 1940s Nedor super-hero issue Michelle Nolan displays Rudi Franke’s cover for the 1968 Nedor every comic I had ever seen had a over a nine-year period, even though Comic Index, which spotlights The Black Terror and The Fighting logo—and the indicia listed Visual I spent part of most weekends Yank. (You saw it bigger in A/E #102.) The caricature of her was Editions as the publisher. But this drawn by the late Creig Flessel. [Art © Rudi Franke & Estate of Creig foraging through the back-issue issue had one tantalizing and Flessel, respectively.] comic piles of three large used-book frustrating house ad: a full page on stores, before attending the Saturday the inside front cover, listing 14 titles but no publisher! There they matinees. Likewise, Timely and MLJ also fascinated me in the late were: Thrilling, Startling, Exciting, Wonder, Mystery (which I later 1960s because I also had not seen them as a budding comics learned had not been published for about two years!), America’s historian. Best, Black Terror—and Fighting Yank, who was the only other Standard Comics, Nedor’s real publisher, was still in business in identifiable hero in that house ad, since he had his own title. There 1956, having struck financial gold with the Dennis the Menace were also six non-hero titles. franchise and other humor titles such as Super Mouse. But the last What, I wondered, could these generically named titles be? How of Nedor’s human costume heroes had vanished in 1949. Perhaps could an entire line of Golden Age comics have eluded me for nine they once sold well in other parts of the country, but on the West years? After all, I was a most serious comic book detective! I can Coast, where I spent my childhood in California’s Bay Area and in remember people at the used-book stores saying, “I never saw Northwest Washington, Nedor comics had simply disappeared, if anyone who loves comics so much!” The Nedor mystery made me indeed they were ever well distributed there. wonder for a full year, until that fateful weekend in January 1966 I found hundreds of old comics, mostly from the post-World when I attended a one-day comics gathering at the home of famed War II period, but nary so much as a single Nedor—until I met an fan-artist and fanzine editor Rudi Franke. My comic bookolder collector in January 1965 on one of my final used-book store collecting dentist, Dr. Wayne Pearce, provided the transportation

Mike Nolan’s 1968 Guide To The Thrilling/Better/Standard Super-Heroes

Terror Firma Alex Schomburg (photo) rings the bell with his cover for Black Terror Comics #16 (Oct. 1946), the first glimpse the Index’s author ever had of the superhero co-created by writer Richard Hughes and artist Dave Gabrielson for the Sangor Shop (see A/E #61-62) that produced finished comics pages for Nedor/Better. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database; see info on p. 72. [© 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

and further drilled a love of old comics into me. Rudi Franke—who was later to beautifully render the covers for the Nedor, Timely, and MLJ Indexes— played host to an affable gathering of two or three dozen collectors talking, swapping, buying, and selling comics at his home in Oakland.

Among the show organizer’s friends was the late Barry Bauman, a mercurial, entrepreneurial, thoroughly outgoing huckster sort who was my own age. This guy, I discovered, loved comics more than I did and could talk about them endlessly, and with plenty of knowledge. I soon discovered that he and his friends had been producing fine fanzines for several years. He invited some of us to his home nearby in Oakland and I discovered, to my utter amazement, an absolutely breath-taking trove of Golden Age comics in his attic. There were thousands of them, or at least it seemed that way. The minimum price was a buck a book, though they weren’t all for sale. But—he had copies of all eight of those mysterious Nedor titles! At last, I had found a source for Nedors. I was agog and immediately snatched up about two dozen issues.

Little did I know this was the mother lode of Nedors. Barry explained to me that he and his fanzine-publisher friends had discovered thousands of Golden Age comics in a stash at the Liberty Book Store in Sacramento (I still have many issues with the store’s sticker on the covers). If I remember right, he said they paid something like 40¢ (or less) per issue and hauled them away. Their Nedor stock was nothing less than unbelievable, so I had the opportunity to purchase dozens from Barry for a buck a book on several trips to that magical attic. I think he thought I was crazy to be buying comics nobody else cared about; in 1966, everyone wanted old Batman, Superman, All-Star, Uncle Scrooge, EC—anything but Nedor! I was immediately motivated to get my driver’s license and buy a car. I returned often, taking along friends like Bud Plant, and received endless razzing for buying “all that Nedor junk.”

These were such strange comics, all dated between 1940 and 1949. I had never heard of the characters. The art

was mostly mediocre at best, except for those incredible Schomburg covers, but they simply screamed “exotic old comic book” in a captivating way that most other comics did not. And those characters! Not just The Black Terror and The Fighting Yank, but Doc Strange, Pyroman, Captain Future, The American Eagle, Miss Masque, The Grim Reaper, Wonderman, The American Crusader, The Liberator, and more.

I soon realized they were published by the same publishing empire that produced the pulp magazines The Phantom Detective, The Masked Rider, and other characters who were also in some of the Nedor comics, including a different version of the Captain Future character I had become familiar with in second-hand 1940s pulps from Better/Thrilling Publications. Indeed, that pulp, comics, and paperback empire was founded and operated by one of the most prolific of all publishers, Ned Pines. Some years later, I learned the name Nedor came from Ned and his wife Dora.

I noticed that late-1940s Nedor issues ran the same little Standard Comics logo that appeared on issues of Dennis the Menace I purchased in the late 1950s, until Standard left comics and Fawcett began publishing Dennis in 1959. I also noticed some indicias listed these Nedors as Better Publications, some as Nedor, some as Visual Editions, etc. In 1966, I didn’t know anything about tax complications; I only knew that Marvel had done the same indicia thing in the 1950s.

Yanking Our Chain Since our indexer subscribed to G.B. Love’s popular 1960s fanzine Rocket’s Blast-Comicollector, chances are one of the issues that arrived in the ol’ mailbox was #44, which sported a drawing of The Fighting Yank by fan-artist John Fantucchio. Thanks to Aaron Caplan. [Main figure art © 2012 John Fantucchio; Nedor art in background © 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

At about the same time I discovered this treasure trove of Nedors, four key events occurred. I subscribed to the Rocket’s Blast-Comicollector fanzine and began to buy comics through the mail, including Nedor issues. I started corresponding with most of the contributors and advertisers in the RB-CC. I obtained a copy of The Authoritative Index to DC Comics by Howard Keltner and Jerry Bails (1963), which was the first genuine index of Golden Age super-hero comics. And I discovered The Complete EC Checklist (1955) by Fred von Bernewitz, who was the first fan to index comics on an issue-by-issue basis. Why not, I thought in 1966, combine the concept of both of these groundbreaking indexes? I would combine the idea of an index to the long runs of one publisher’s comics, the way Keltner

Nedor Comic Index

Cowboys And Aliens—Nedor Style Alex Schomburg drew (and in one case painted) the final two covers each of Startling Comics (#53, Sept. 1948) and Thrilling Comics (#80, April 1951). The first showcases Lance Lewis, Space Detective—the other, cowboy Buck Ranger, obviously Lone’s long-lost brother. Covers from the GCD. [© 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

and Bails did it out of necessity for DC, with an issue-by-issue listing à la von Bernewitz. Nedor’s modest output was similar to EC’s, unlike the thousands of issues DC had produced by 1963.

By the end of 1966, when I was a freshman at San Jose State University—and beginning my career as a newspaper feature writer while working my way through school—I had become fully involved in fandom, along with Bud Plant and other collector friends. We had discovered the utterly astounding Cherokee Book Shop in Hollywood, where I found many Nedors (and received more razzing) and a whole lot else. I began to realize that I might, indeed, be able to produce actual issue-by-issue Golden Age indexes, with the help of the most fabulous of all Golden Age collectors, the late Rick Durell, plus the crucial information about first and last issues provided by Bill Spicer’s historic listing of Golden Age titles in his ground-breaking Guidebook to Comics Fandom (1965). By writing to the most enthusiastic and friendly fans like Raymond Miller, to whom I dedicated the Nedor Comic Index, along with the knowledgeable likes of dealers Phil Seuling and Bill Thailing, I received vital encouragement and information.

On my first extended cross-country comic-book-hunting trip in the summer of 1967, I visited dozens of fans and dealers, seeking both issues and information over a six-week period (traveling by Greyhound!). By the time I returned, I had most of the information I needed to produce the Nedor Index, plus the inspiration and information to begin indexing Timely and MLJ as well. If memory serves, I must have written hundreds of letters seeking information. I was getting comics-related mail almost every day. At the time, nobody had all the information, but by the middle of 1968 I had acquired all the Nedor issue dates and characters (thanks to Howard Keltner, who filled in the final few) plus story page counts and story titles for all but a few issues. (Keltner’s magnificent Golden Age Index in 1998 provided all the story page counts for every issue from every company.)

I typed the Nedor Index on an ancient portable typewriter and had 500 copies printed in the summer of 1968, shortly before I took off on my second collecting venture around America (also by Greyhound; I started driving in 1969 after I acquired a fondly remembered 1964 Chevy). I figured 500 copies were the most I could sell. I priced the index at 75¢ (I have no idea why I didn’t make it $1). Now I’m thrilled to see Rascally Roy reprint the Index, especially since this may now put the kibosh on the unethical activities of people who have sold unauthorized reprints at ridiculous prices. (I have no problem with originals selling on eBay

and so forth, even though I would never have imagined today’s collector prices in 1968!)

Why did I not list credits for artists? Why did I not list Schomburg covers? Why did I not include artwork other than Rudi Franke’s fabulous cover? As incredible as it seems today, in 1968 I not only couldn’t figure out who did any of the unsigned interior art, but I didn’t care. I really didn’t care. To this day, though I now appreciate many artists, I collect primarily for the fun of the stories. In my Nedor Index, I wanted only to let people know what was in these mysterious comics and what characters were on their covers, since there was no other single source of that information. I also made the serious mistake of not listing Startling Comics #49-53 and Thrilling Comics #65-80, since they did not contain characters I really I cared about. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Brian K. Morris, who retyped the Nedor Comic Index onto a Word document for Ye Editor to, well, edit, reports that, for the benefit of today’s A/E reader, he added on his own initiative a few more issues of Thrilling Comics than were originally indexed, listing some of the Western features but omitting the humor and text material. Thanks, Brian!]

In 1968, I also had no idea that, a year later, I would meet a friendly fellow named Bob Overstreet, an indefatigable researcher who told me he intended to produce something called a “price guide”… which would also evolve into a then-inconceivable (except, I guess, by Bob) list of all mainstream comics. I gave him my Nedor, Timely, and MLJ data for his first edition in 1970.

The days of Nedors for a buck are long gone. Now you’re lucky to find one in sweet shape for $50 or $100! Indeed, the oldest costume-hero Nedors were 28 years old when I produced the index 44 years ago—but in the Paleolithic comic collecting years 19651968, they seemed positively ancient, relics of a vanished and mysterious era. Little did I realize I would see these comics not only grow in popularity and price among collectors, but also in availability at hundreds of comic book conventions and through a miraculous invention I could never have imagined called the Internet.

I can’t help but be proud of producing the first three issue-byissue Golden Age comic book indexes, but I’m even more honored that one of my favorite comic book people, Roy Thomas, would feel they have been worth reprinting. Thanks to you, Roy, and to your wife Dann, for preserving more comic book history in more than 100 issues of Alter Ego than I (or anyone else) could have imagined when I discovered that Black Terror #16. Now all I need to do is find another 1964 Chevy!

Mike Nolan’s 1968 Guide To The Thrilling/Better/Standard Super-Heroes

From Black Terror—To Blond Tara Alex Schomburg’s pseudonymously signed cover (as “Xela”) for the final issue of Wonder spotlighted “Tara, Pirate Queen”—who on her off-days was no doubt making up a bridge foursome with Princess Pantha, Judy of the Jungle, and Tygra of the Flame People. The days when The Black Terror and The Fighting Yank had been alpha males at Nedor were long since over and done with. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [© 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

Wonderman – “The Song of Lorelana”

Crime Casebook – “Sourges of the South” 5

Jill Trent – “The Gentle Mr. Habersham”

Tara – “The Secret Bride of Bharbon”

#19 – Aug. 1948

Wonderman –

“Sleepers of the Glass Cocoons”

Jill Trent – “Gems of Jeopardy”

Silver Knight – “Siege of Camelot”

Tara – “The Death That Grew”

#20 – Oct. 1948 Wonderman –

“The Robots of the Demon Star”

Jill Trent – “The Bulletproof Bandit”

Silver Knight – “Curse on the Gamelets” 13

Crime Casebook – “The Last Three Times” 3

Of Super-Mice And -Men (Above:) By the end of World War II, super-heroes were already losing their ascendancy at Nedor. In this house ad from Fighting Yank #18 (Nov. 1946), only eight of the 14 titles shown featured the likes of The Black Terror and his ilk—and actually, Mystery Comics shouldn’t be there at all, since it had been cancelled a year or two earlier. (Right:) After “Standard” had become the Ned Pines company’s officially emblazoned name, and heroes like the Terror and the Yank were history, it still retained one popular super-hero. This art by Milt Stein from Supermouse #15 (Oct. 1951) was provided, like the 1946 house ad, by Eric Schumacher. [© 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

“None Of Us Were Working For The Ages” Part II Of An In-Depth Interview With Celebrated Comics Artist LEONARD STARR

Interview Conducted by Jim Amash Transcribed by Brian K. Morris Starring Leonard Starr Artist Leonard Starr (on left) and interviewer Jim Amash smile for the camera at the big New York Comics Convention held in February 2008—between images of Starr’s work from two companies discussed in the previous segment and for which he drew: an historical adventure from Hillman Periodicals’ Airboy Comics, Vol. 5, #9 (Oct. 1948); scripter unknown—and the cover of American Comics Group’s The Hooded Horseman #25 (Nov.-Dec. 1952). The photo was snapped by Charles Pelto, whose Classic Comics Press has published the nine volumes to date of Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage, collecting the artist’s landmark newspaper comic strip—which will be a focal point in later installments. [Pages © 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Leonard Starr started out as a background artist at Funnies, Inc., quickly becoming an inker and then penciler/inker on such features as Timely Comics’ “SubMariner.” During the 1940s and ’50s, his work was published by numerous companies, including McCombs, Orbit, Parents Magazine Press, ACG, Avon, DC, Timely/Marvel, and St. John Publications. We covered several of those sojourns last issue; this time we follow his career

further as he moves toward the day when he left comic books in 1957 to do the widely acclaimed On Stage newspaper strip which he created, and later Annie, the renamed Little Orphan Annie. Special thanks to our mutual friend Tom Sawyer (whom I interviewed in A/E # 77) for giving me Leonard’s contact info. —Jim.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Back From The Dead!

I had drawn The Spectre before. Way back in 1986, Roy Thomas invited me to illustrate an issue of DC’s Secret Origins featuring you-know-who. At the time, editor/writer Roy figured that Mr. Monster’s creator might be a good fit for the ghostly hero.

I was happy to oblige. I’ve always been fond of The Spectre, and his origin literally killed! As you may recall, he was actually Detective Jim Corrigan, murdered in the early ’40s and brought back to life to wreak vengeance on evildoers.

Working from Roy’s plot (and the original Jerry Siegel/Bernard Baily story from More Fun #52 and 53) I started working on the 23page story and cover. Before I finished, DC changed formats, combining my solo “Spectre” with a “Deadman” origin in a double-sized issue.

With one cover too many, one had to go. Namely mine, unfortunately! When our story eventually appeared in DC’s Secret Origins v2 #15, June 1987, my original splash page was scrapped and replaced by my rejected cover. I was disappointed, since

“Gat’s” Guns (Above:) Jim Corrigan gunned down by “Gat” Benson, in this symbolic splash page, previously unprinted. (Left:) When Gilbert’s cover for Secret Origins #4 was pre-empted by a drawing showing both The Spectre and Deadman, the former was utilized as The Spectre story’s splash page, replacing the original splash. [© 2012 DC Comics.]

that splash featuring “Gat” Benson killing Jim Corrigan was one of my favorites. Regardless, it was a thrill to see that story in print, even with one of my pages left out.

But now, like The Spectre himself, the page is back from the dead––rescued from the darkest recesses of the Comic Crypt. We hope you enjoy the missing page, lost in comic book limbo for 25 years.

That’s it for now. But do join us here next issue for more highculture fun! Till next time...

The Comic Fandom Archive presents…

Fandom Reunion 2011: The Golden Age of Fanzines Panel From The 50th-Anniversary of Fandom Celebration At Comic-Con International 2011, San Diego—Part 2

Eight Is (More Than) Enough Seven prominent early fanzine editors—and the spouse of an eighth. (Left to right:) Bill Schelly (Sense of Wonder), Jean Bails and Roy Thomas (Alter-Ego), Richard Kyle (Graphic Story World), Paul Levitz (The Comic Reader), Pat and Dick Lupoff (Xero), and Maggie Thompson (Comic Art). Photo by Jeff Gelb.

Introduction

ast issue, we presented Part 1 of the lively discussion of the early1960s fanzines Xero, Alter-Ego, Comic Art, The Comic Reader, and Graphic Story World by their editors and publishers Richard and Pat Lupoff, Roy Thomas and Jean Bails (Jerry's widow), Maggie Thompson, Paul Levitz, and Richard Kyle—a truly historical aggregation of legendary comics fans together on one panel, of an hour and a half’s duration. This time, we’re pleased to offer the rest of that panel discussion, which was held on July 22, 2011, as transcribed by Brian K. Morris. —Bill Schelly.

BILL SCHELLY: Let’s talk about the feature of your fanzine that most exemplified it. What do you think was the thing about Alter-Ego that was most central to its appeal or its mission?

ROY THOMAS: I think the thing that was of the most interest was the articles about old comic books. [The comics publishers] weren’t reprinting many of them then—maybe a couple of “Batmans” or “Supermans.” This started with Dick Lupoff’s “The Big Red Cheese,” and then the others as they came out. Don Thompson had written his article on Timely Comics which had its title the phrase “OK Axis, Here We Come!” I think that I borrowed that for somewhere later on. [audience chuckles] The great thing for me was the idea of covering a whole comic company, however it was done,

whether it was Richard Kyle’s Fox analysis, or just recounting the stories with a certain amount of cleverness like Dick, or Jim Harmon on the Justice Society, Ted White, people like that, just doing a nice job of that.

That was the sort of thing I was interested in. When I started off, okay, I drew the “Bestest League” and I wrote a “Spectre” thing, but what I was really interested in were the articles about the old comics. I was interested in the Justice Society, so I decided to write an article about [Timely’s] All Winners Squad, but all I had was one of the two comics, and it was missing the last two pages of one chapter. I had to sort of say, “Well, I don’t know how Sub-Mariner got rid of the tidal wave.” And Jerry, typing it, spelled it “tital wave.” [audience chuckles] It took me like five or ten years before I got a copy of that book. So that was the thing that I liked the most about the articles.

We were always trying to get up to the standards of the articles that were in Comic Art and Xero. When I took over as editor and publisher with #7, I wrote the article “One Man’s Family,” taking the title from an old radio show. I couldn’t do a piece just about Captain Marvel, because Dick Lupoff had done that. So I said, I’ll write about the family and cover the whole group, and that was my approach. I drove over to visit Biljo White in Columbia, Missouri, who had this little block house with complete runs of Batman, Superman, Captain Marvel, all that stuff. I made a lot of

NOTE: This is the fourth installment of our extended, multi-issue coverage of the "50th Anniversary of Comics Fandom" events at Comic-Con International 2011 (San Diego).

Mary Marvel: 70 Years Young! Quotations & Comments To Commemorate The Shazam Girl’s 70th Birthday Edited by Paul Hamerlinck

The Birth Of Mary Marvel

ey, Marc, there is a new lead character in the works. She’ll be the twin sister of Billy Batson and, upon speaking the magic word, will become a member of the Marvel Family. She’ll remain the same age, however. We want you to give us some quick sketches of her as herself and as Mary Marvel.”

“H

Who said that to me? I’ve been thinking that it was Rod Reed. But Rod says it was Eddie Herron.

Whoever, I laid aside the “Captain Marvel” story I was working on in the Captain Marvel production line and whipped up some sketches as requested. There was only one character to create, inasmuch as she was to remain the same with only a costume change. I didn’t work up a variety of poses and expressions, as I was certain that my first drawings were going to come back, time and time again for revisions before final approval “upstairs.”

“Holy Moley,” as Billy would have said, the drawings were accepted without a single change or even any suggestions! I was given the script for the first Mary Marvel story and went to work on it. It was the story in which Billy Batson meets the twin sister he didn’t know he had and where, when she innocently says the word “Shazam,” Mary Bromfield becomes Mary Marvel for the first time.

I did the art for the first two “Mary Marvel” stories but was then told that the “Captain Marvel” stories were too important for me to leave the team working on Fawcett’s top character. I did the covers featuring Mary Marvel on Captain Marvel Adventure #19 and on Wow Comics #9 and 10 (1943) and possibly others. Then I was called into the armed forces and had other things to worry about for a long time. —Marc Swayze (1981)

Marc’s Amazingly Mod Mary The first Mary Marvel designs had come from the drawing table of Marc Swayze, who also illustrated her earliest cover appearances and Otto Binderwritten adventures. Rod Reed, Fawcett Publications’ executive comics editor at the time of Mary’s creation, noted in his 1974 FCA interview that he still found the Shazam Girl’s original attire “amazingly mod” and recalled that Swayze hoped to draw the entire Mary series himself; but Reed added that “ it was my distasteful job to convince him that he couldn’t be spared from the Captain Marvel team.” Consequently, the assignment was doled out to the Jack Binder shop. At far left is a Swayze-drawn Mary Marvel sketch from the past decade, recently colored by frequent FCA cover contributor Mark Lewis… at left, a mid-’50s snapshot of Marc taken shortly before his departure from the comics industry… and below, selected panels from Mary Marvel’s origin in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 (Dec. 1942) by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze. [Shazam heroine TM & © 2012 DC Comics.]

Mary Marvel: 70 Years Young!

Selena’s Grace

Selena represents the first letter in Mary’s “Shazam,” right? Well … the original was Sappho. I killed her. I was not then enlightened about the healthful effects of homosexuality and lesbianism. In a small way, I was the Anita Bryant of my time. But I said ol’ Sappho must go, and that’s how Selena got in. Roger Fawcett may never have forgiven me for our loss of circulation among dykes. —Rod Reed (1981)

My Pride And Joy

We wanted the “Mary Marvel” feature distinctive from the other two [Marvels] … less heroics and more human interest. Mary was my pride and joy, an idea which originated from “upstairs” … I suppose [my brother] Jack [Binder] and I had disagreements at

times regarding Mary Marvel, but none that I can recall, so they couldn’t have been too important. —Otto Binder (1974)

Minerva’s Wisdom

“Old comics? Some were good, some weren’t.” —Jack Binder (1980)

Busting Out

Perhaps Mary’s mature change had something to do with her new editor. For a long time, “Mary Marvel” was edited by Mercy Shull, who could have fitted easily into a 32A bra. When Mercy left … she was replaced by Kay Woods who would barely have fit into a 38C cup, and consequently, Mary’s shape began to blossom. — Will Lieberson (1975)

The Brothers Binder Otto Binder wrote 69 of the 98 “Mary Marvel” stories published by Fawcett, as well as over 50% of the entire saga of the World's Mightiest Family, including every team story in The Marvel Family. Otto’s older brother, Jack, was already nearly 40 years of age at the onset of comics’ Golden Age. Born in Austria in 1902 Jack came to the U.S. in 1913, when his family moved to Michigan. After attending Chicago’s Art Institute, he relocated to New York City in the mid-’30s. In 1937 he developed a friendship with Harry Chesler and became his art director at one of the first assembly line-styled comic packaging “shops.” Binder also freelanced for various companies and created Daredevil in 1940 for Lev Gleason. By late 1941, having gained years of “shop” experience, Binder decided to become a freelancer and set up his own headquarters in Englewood, NJ. His “shop”—a renovated barn next to his house—produced work primarily for Fawcett Publications, with over 40 artists under his supervision. The Binder shop closed its doors in 1945, and Jack relocated to upstate New York, where he continued to work as a freelancer, principally for Fawcett Publications, and continued on as the main “Mary Marvel” artist, generally working in unison with brother Otto. At top is a previously-printed photo of a party from 1942 at Jack Binder’s home in Englewood, with several of Jack’s “shop” employees in attendance, many of whom had a hand in producing the earliest adventures: (Left to right, back:) Samuel Hamilton Brooks; Dick Ryland; Binder’s sister-in-law; Binder’s nephew; Otto Binder. (L. to r., center:) Ken Bald; Bob Boyajian; Bob Butts; Vic Dowd; Jack Binder. (L. to r., front): Al Duca; Kurt Schaffenberger (who went on to draw “Marvel Family” stories for both Fawcett and DC); and John Westlake. Photo provided by the late Nat Champlin, who worked in Binder’s shop from 1941-42. Also shown are Jack’s cover for Mary Marvel #2 (June 1946) and the artist’s preliminary sketch for same (scan by James Van Hise). Photo courtesy of its new owner, Shaun Clancy. [Shazam heroine TM & © 2012 DC Comics.]

Alter Ego #111