Issuu

Roy Thomas’ Bloodthirsty Comics Fanzine

In the USA

8.95

No.113

Oct. 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 BL AVAILA

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. 113 / October 2012 Roy Thomas

Editor

Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Associate Editors Christopher Day

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

Gene Colan

Cover Artists Tom Ziuko

Contents

Cover Colorist With Special Thanks to:

Dave Alexander Rob Allen Heidi Amash Henry Andrews Ger Apeldoorn Richard A. Arndt “Ric B” Michael Baulderstone Rodrigo Baeza Bob Bailey Jean Bails Robert R. Barrett Sy Barry Rod Beck John Benson Dominic Bongo Christopher B. Boyko Mark Staff Brandl Glenn Bray Elizabeth Breitwiser Mitch Breitweiser Howard Brenner Nicky WheelerNicholson Brown Thorsten Bruemmel Frank Brunner Aaron Caplan Nick Caputo Shaun Clancy Pierre Comtois Chet Cox Vince Davis Mike DeLisa Al Dellinges Leonardo de Sà Michaël Dewally Scott Edelman Mark Evanier Shane Foley Stephan Friedt Jeff Gelb Joe Giella Janet Gilbert Stan Goldberg Michael Gray George Hagenauer Jennifer Hamerlinck Neil A. Hansen Heritage Comics Archives Bob Hughes Dr. Thomas E. Inge G. Johannigmeier

Joe Jusko Lou Kanegson Jim Kealy Jon Knutson Jim Korkis Jeremy Korr Richard Kyle Jerry Lahm Mell Lazarus Dominique Leonard Jean-Marc Lofficier Jim Ludwig Pat Lupoff Richard Lupoff Russ Maheras Jack Mendelsohn Will Meugniot Fred Mommsen Brian K. Morris Michael Netzer Jacque Nodell Jerry Ordway Jake Oster Stephen Oswald Stewart Patton Barry Pearl Ken Quattro D. Radboud Dave Reeder Larry Rippee John Romita Steven Rowe Scott Rowland Randy Sargent Tom Sawyer Mitchell Senft Carole Seuling Beau Smith Anthony Snyder Leonard Starr Jim Steranko Ronn Sutton Marc Svensson Tony Tallarico Jeff Taylor Dann Thomas Maggie Thompson Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Lawrence B. Vossler Hames Ware George Warner John Wells Marv Wolfman

Writer/Editorial: Change Times Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Cry Wolfman! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A revealing e-talk between Marv Wolfman and Richard Arndt about Marv’s early career. Concluding Jim Amash’s interview with comics great Leonard Starr (On Stage, Annie).

“There’s Been A Lot Of Characters In This Business” . . . . . 27 Richard Arndt follows up on last year’s look at the Comics Code in theory and practice.

Tales From The Code: The Sequel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Michael T. Gilbert on the secret origins of Jim Steranko’s legendary comics career.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The Unknown Steranko! . . . . . 51 Comic Fandom Archive: The “50 Years Of Comic Book Fandom” Panel – Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Bill Schelly finishes up a presentation held at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con.

Tributes to Sheldon Moldoff & Eduardo Barreto . . . . . . . . 63 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 67 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #172 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 P.C. Hamerlinck hosts a farewell salute to Fawcett stalwart (and nice guy) Emilio Squeglio.

On Our Cover: Some years back, genial Gene Colan gifted his longtime Tomb of Dracula collaborator Marv Wolfman with this evocative penciled illustration of the writer and the Lord of Vampires. Thanks to Marv for sharing it with us. [Art ©2012 Estate of Gene Colan; Marvel rendition of Dracula TM & ©2012 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Above: Although this issue’s final installment of Jim Amash’s confab with Leonard Starr deals primarily with the latter’s work on newspaper strips, let’s not forget that he got his start in the early 1940s in comic books—as per this splash panel from House of Mystery #19 (Oct. 1953), which he penciled and inked. The scripter is unknown; the scan was provided by Stephan Friedt. [©2012 DC Comics.]

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Eduardo Barreto, Sheldon Moldoff, & Emilio Squeglio 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

Change Times Three

his is an issue of transitions. Three of them, to be exact—only two of which are celebratory.

First off, this month’s chat with longtime writer and editor Marv Wolfman represents a renewed determination to give the Silver Age of Comics its due in terms of coverage.

Not that we haven’t covered the early careers of several (very late) Silver-Agers in the past—Steves Skeates and Englehart and Dave Cockrum and Yours Truly come to mind, plus the far more numerous Age-spanners like John Buscema, Stan Lee, Carmine Infantino, et al. But at this point in time we’ve got several more Silver Age interviews scheduled, including artist Herb Trimpe and writer/editor Denny O’Neil—and that’s just for openers. (Even this issue spotlights Michael T. Gilbert’s look at Jim Steranko’s magic career and comics debut.) In addition, while we somehow allowed Spider-Man’s 50th birthday to slip by without special A/E notice, both The Avengers and The X-Men will receive their own conspicuous half-century celebrations in 2013. So set your calendars for lots more Silver Age excitement—although, to no one’s great surprise, we’ll hardly neglect the 1940s and ’50s in these purple-prose pages.

Secondly, this issue concludes a streak of more than 100 A/E issues in a row to feature expansive interviews prepared by Archie Comics inker Jim Amash. Alas, personal considerations have arisen which preclude Jim’s having the time to conduct them, so for the past couple of years we’ve been eating up inventory, including the serialized publication of the last two on the shelf, with Tony Tallarico and Leonard Starr. At least one more, with artist/writer/editor Al Feldstein about his pre-EC work, is slated to appear when Jim can find time to edit it into shape—and he’s promised to do others when he can. And this last despite some disillusionment on his part due to feeling (quite justifiably, I

believe) ripped off by a few people who’ve quoted from his copyrighted interviews with little or no attribution, or who’ve simply reverse-engineered his A/E interviews in order to “write” their own books. We share his pain; but the litigation necessary to stop these abuses would benefit only lawyers. Some people—and their publishers—have no shame.

Naturally, we long for the day when circumstances change—on all fronts. Meanwhile, Jim will stick-around as a valued consultant and associate editor. We’ll continue carrying in-depth interviews, of course—but we’ll miss Jim’s own special brand of them.

Third, with this issue we welcome back Christopher Day, who served as A/E’s “layout guru” from issue #8 (!) through #103. Jon B. Cooke, who ably handled #104-112, is readying a new TwoMorrows magazine… so when Chris admitted he’d kinda missed working on the mag, we persuaded him to return for a year. After that… who knows? But it’s great to have him back!

Nothing stands still, not really. Alter Ego has evolved from a quarterly to a monthly to an eight-times-a-year magazine (due to my own need for time for other projects)… we reluctantly abandoned our beloved “flip covers” after #44… and the mag only recently converted to full color. Through it all, we’ve been lucky to have a continuity of key personnel over this volume’s 13-year lifetime, thanks to Jim and Chris and Bill Schelly and Michael T. Gilbert and P.C. Hamerlinck and artist-in-residence Marc Swayze—not to mention a number of generous art-suppliers and other contributors—while still bringing in plenty of new blood to stir things up.

Stick with us for the next 13 years, okay? By then maybe I’ll finally be ready to retire. Bestest,

# COMING IN DECEMBER 114 A TRIO OF TIMELY/MARVEL TITANS! DON RICO–ALLEN BELLMAN– & MARTIN GOODMAN!

• Exciting new decades-spanning cover by ALLEN BELLMAN & MITCH BREITWEISER! • “The Once and Future DON RICO”—a 1970s interview with the 1940s-60s artist and/or writer of The Human Torch, Captain America, horror comics, & Dr. Strange (and let’s not forget the original Daredevil)! • Timely/Marvel founding publisher MARTIN GOODMAN—as a Broadway angel! • ALLEN BELLMAN celebrates 70 years as a comic book artist—from The Patriot to crime comics to new Cap sketches! Featuring art & artifacts by SIMON & KIRBY—AVISON— SHORES—SCHOMBURG—COLAN—et al.! Plus a few Marvel-ous surprises! • FCA presents the 1951 Captain Video story drawn by GEORGE EVANS that inspired ROY THOMAS & JOHN BUSCEMA to create Avengers arch-foe ULTRON! MICHAEL T. GILBERT on Atlas (and Charles Atlas) in the comics—& 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 Fans! TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com

Cry Wolfman! A Revealing Conversation With MARV WOLFMAN About His Early Career—& Days In Fandom NTERVIEWER’S INTRO: Writer and editor Marv Wolfman has been working in comics for more than forty years, scripting nearly every major super-hero from either DC or Marvel. In addition, in concert with artists Gene Colan and Tom Palmer, he transformed Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula, at the time a faltering horror title, into one of the most acclaimed comics of the 1970s. Besides super-hero and horror, Wolfman has worked in nearly every genre that comics have to offer, including humor, science-fiction, sword&-sorcery, fantasy, war, and more. This interview about his early career was conducted via e-mail in June of 2011. —Richard.

Conducted by Richard J. Arndt

“I Got Heavily Into Comics”

RICHARD ARNDT: Thank you for the opportunity and the interview, Marv. To start with, where were you born and where did you grow up?

MARV WOLFMAN: I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lived there until I was 13. My father, Abe, was a policeman in Coney Island, and my mother, Fay, was a housewife until I graduated from high school; then she returned to work. I had a sister, Harriet, who was 12 years older than me. She’d gotten married at 18 and was out of the house when I was only 6, so I have no early memories of her. I only got to know her when I was an

Marv Goes To Mars—Twice! Marv Wolfman in the 1970s, flanked by two permutations of one of his favorite assignments—namely, scripting comics starring Edgar Rice Burroughs’ seminal hero John Carter of Mars, which he did for both the “majors.” (Left:) Murphy Anderson’s splash page for DC’s Weird Worlds #1 (Aug-Sept. 1972), which followed John Carter’s earlier series in Tarzan; Marv’s credit came on p. 4. (Right:) Splash penciled by Gil Kane and inked by Dave Cockrum for Marvel’s John Carter, Warlord of Mars #1 (June 1977); Marv was also the editor of this series, which was covered in detail in our sister mag Back Issue #6 but is outside the purview of this interview concerning his early career. The photo is from the 1975 Mighty Marvel Comic Convention program book. [Art & script ©2012 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.]

A Revealing Conversation With Marv Wolfman About His Early Career

It’s A Bird… It’s A Plane… It’s Wolfman! Marv in the 1950s—clearly, after he discovered the Adventures of Superman TV show starring George Reeves. The shirt was a Kellogg’s cereal premium.

adult. Unfortunately, all are deceased.

RA: Sorry to hear that. When did you discover comics?

WOLFMAN: I don’t remember the exact year, but it was in the early 1950s. I was no more than between 5 and 7 when I was at a friend’s house. We were watching the popular kids’ TV show Howdy Doody, but when it was over, instead of getting up to change the channel to a different kids’ show— mind you, this was long before remotes—we kept it on channel 4 and saw The Adventures of Superman, which was the next show. At the end it said it was based on the comics. We couldn’t believe what we were watching. We’d never seen anything like it before. Once the show was over we ran to the corner candy store and bought our first comics, both Action and Superboy. I was hooked.

I got heavily into comics and read everything, without exclusion, from the very few super-hero titles that still existed at the time (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) to the science-fiction books (Mystery in Space, Strange Adventures, etc.) to the Archie, ACG, and Harvey comics. I read pretty much anything except for romance and hot-rod comics. My favorites were the Superman family of magazines, the sf comics, and Blackhawk. Of course, I also read Batman, Wonder Woman, and nearly everything else. As a kid, I never saw the Atlas monster comics or the EC horror comics, although they must have been on the racks. I guess my kid eyes just didn’t care about those comics, so I never paid them any attention.

My father hated comics, and despite the fact that, as it turned out, I had the highest boy’s reading average in my public school at the time—because, unlike the other boys, I did read— when my teacher said comics were bad for you (it was the Wertham era, although I didn’t know that at the time), all my early comics were thrown out. We lived in a four-

family apartment building in Brooklyn, two apartments on the first floor and two on the top. We were on the top. I actually sneaked comics in by hiding them in a rolled-up rug in the downstairs hallway. That worked until it rained, and I guess they opened up the rug and found the comics and tossed them. But eventually they stopped caring.

RA: That’s funny! My parents didn’t mind comics at all, but I always thought they would have been upset to find me paying for them. I didn’t steal money, but back then you could collect pop bottles and sell them to the store for 5¢ each. When I bought my comics—three for a quarter, cover logo torn off—I would roll them into the sleeve of my jacket where they fit between my hand and elbow. Years later, it occurred to me to wonder what those store clerks thought about a kid hiding comics when he’d just paid for them. Probably thought I was nuts. [laughs]

WOLFMAN: Different problems, but the same solution! Anyway, I assume [my parents] just gave up trying to get me to stop reading comics, knowing it was a lost cause. They did try, maybe at my teacher’s request, buying me “real” books to read instead of comics, but I used to read the books in one or two days, which meant they had to buy more and more books, which on a cop’s salary was probably prohibitive. At any rate, they no longer threw out my comics.

I was reading science-fiction, too, and quickly graduated from Tom Swift and the kid sf books to Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and the rest. If, in the library, it had a rocket or an atom symbol on the spine, I read it.

“I Began Publishing My Own Fanzines”

RA: Did you have any hobbies that lent themselves to a future career in comics? You were involved in the fanzines of the day, weren’t you?

WOLFMAN: I loved to draw and made up stories in order to draw them. I also started writing letters to the comics. My first published letter appeared in an issue of The Adventures of The Fly, but I soon had many letters printed in the various Julius Schwartz books. Julie used to print our addresses, and after my

A Young Man Of Letters Marv’s first published letter (and the editor’s response) saw print in Archie’s The Adventures of The Fly #22 (Oct. 1962)—and Marv’s missive to Hawkman about issue #7 of that title, as printed in #9 (Aug.-Sept. ’65), plus the comments of editor Julius Schwartz. Little did Marv suspect that within a few years he’d be working with both Hawkman artist Murphy Anderson and Schwartz. Thanks to Stephan Friedt and Bob Bailey, respectively. [©2012 DC Comics.]

Cry Wolfman!

first letter to him was printed in Mystery in Space, I received two fan magazines in the mail—The Comic Reader and the Rocket’s Blast. Both were numbered 13.

I became a huge fan of the fanzines, and because I was one of the few New York-based fans at the time and because I had the opportunity to semi-regularly visit DC Comics, which conducted tours twice a week—later it became just once a week—I got involved with The Comic Reader and supplied them with news. I also started to write and draw stories for other fanzines of the period. I also entered the “Herbie Writing Contest” based on the ACG comic Herbie, which I loved. I got second prize for writing a complete script, although you were only supposed to write a plot. I still have the page of original art that I won.

When I was 13, we moved to Flushing, Queens, and I found there were only a few comic fans there in the junior high school. Because I loved to draw, I applied to and got into the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, which of course made it easier to go on the DC tours, as they were only a few blocks away. Among my teachers—although only for a short time—was Bernie Krigstein, whose work, by this time, I knew from some of the early EC reprints, which had come out in paperback form. I tried to get him to talk about his early days in comics, but he wasn’t interested and wouldn’t talk about it at all. I think, later on, he changed his mind and gave some interviews, but not then.

My cartooning teacher was a Charles Allen, who’d been an artist on Captain Marvel. Interestingly, he was a black man, which meant he was probably one of the very few black artists working in early comics.

I used to draw super-hero comics for my cartooning assignments, but Allen—maybe he was burned out by his comics career, though I don’t really know about that—kept pushing me to do humor work, instead. I resisted, but found I actually enjoyed

Lucky Thirteen The covers of the first two fanzines Marv Wolfman ever saw: G.B. Love’s Rocket’s Blast #13 (Dec. 1962) and Jerry Bails’ The Comic Reader #13 (Nov. 8, 1962). The artist on the former is Buddy Saunders, now owner of Lone Star Comics. Thanks to Aaron Caplan. [©2012 the respective copyright holders.]

writing and drawing comedy, which is why I published my humor fanzine and got into humor writing.

I began publishing my own fanzines—Super-Adventures, which was a super-hero fanzine that I inherited from writer-artist Dave Herring, one of my fellow A&D students; there was also The Foob, a comedy fanzine with a slightly political bent; Stories of Suspense, a horror fanzine (I actually published Stephen King’s first prose story—“I Was a Teenage Grave Robber”—which also appeared in another fanzine at the same time); and What Th …?, which was an opinion fanzine.

RA: The Stephen King Companion cites King’s first prose story as having appeared in Comics Review, edited by you. Was it Comics Review or Stories of Suspense? Or is the King Companion confusing the title with the other fanzine appearance you mentioned?

WOLFMAN: They’re both right and wrong. The story did appear in Comics Review, which was published by Mike Garrett. At the same time, my friend Jeff Gelb, who was also friends with Mike, sent me the story, which I published in Stories of Suspense. They both, I think, came out at about the same time, so we both published King’s first story. By the way, Jeff and Mike are still friends and work together. In fact, a few years back I wrote a short story for their Hot Blood horror anthology series. I remember my mother taking me to Montgomery Ward in Manhattan to buy a ditto machine in order to print the fanzines. Why she put up with that I don’t know, but that allowed me to

$500,000 PAID FOR ORIGINAL COMIC ART! COLLECTOR PAYING TOP DOLLAR FOR “ANY AND ALL” ORIGINAL COMIC BOOK AND COMIC STRIP ARTWORK FROM THE 1930S TO PRESENT! COVERS, PINUPS, PAGES, IT DOESN’T MATTER! 1 PAGE OR ENTIRE COLLECTIONS SOUGHT! CALL OR EMAIL ME ANYTIME!

330-221-5665 mikeburkey@aol.com OR SEND YOUR LIST TO:

MIKE BURKEY

P.O. BOX 455 • RAVENNA, OH 44266 CASH IS WAITING, SO HURRY!!!!!

The WHO’S WHO of American Comic Books (1928-1999) Online Edition Created by Jerry G. Bails FREE – online searchable database – FREE www.bailsprojects.com – No password required

A quarter of a million records, covering the careers of people who have contributed to original comic books in the US.

“There’s Been A Lot Of Characters In This Business” Concluding Our Four-Part Interview With Comics Legend LEONARD STARR Interview Conducted by Jim Amash

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Leonard Starr began his career as a comic book artist, working for numerous companies, including DC, ACG, and Timely/Marvel, during the 1940s and ’50s, moving on from there into advertising, as related in our preceding three issues. In 1957 he achieved his desire to see a comic strip of his own syndicated in newspapers: On Stage, which on Sundays was soon titled Mary Perkins On Stage. Thanks once again to Tom Sawyer for putting me in touch with Leonard…. —Jim.

“I Took [Five Comic Strips] Up To King Features”

JA: You left Johnstone & Cushing—and advertising in general—when you started the On Stage strip in 1957. How did you get that strip?

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

STARR: I was going through a divorce and Johnny Prentice was going through a divorce at the same time and so we found a place together. One day a week, I was developing ideas for newspaper strips. I came up with five strips, and I took them up to King Features because I knew a lot of the guys there, and I also knew editor Sylvan Byck. Sylvan said, “Yeah, this is good, but it’s kind of like something else we have.” He liked what I brought him, but it wasn’t quite what he was wanting. He said, “When you get something else, by all means, bring it in and show it to me.”

JA: When you were developing these strips, were you writing them, too?

STARR: I was setting up the story, but I never intended to write them if I sold a series. I never thought about writing, and I never wanted to write. I was forced into it because I couldn’t find anybody to write for me. I was always a heavy reader, and so I would have something in my head, a meter or some sort of scale or something, and I couldn’t find anybody to match it, so I was stuck doing it myself.

JA: So you did five strips that they didn’t take. Was On Stage number six?

STARR: No, it was like #5, and Sylvan said, “You have something. The next idea you got, bring it up to me.” The idea I got was to bring all five up to the New York Daily News. [mutual chuckling] They were a little concerned about On Stage because

The World’s On Stage—And Each Must Play A Part “Leonard Starr in his New York studio completing On Stage’s second Sunday page, 2/17/57.” That’s the caption beneath the above photo in Vol. 1 of Classic Comics Press’ Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage, which reprints all strips from its debut on Feb. 10, 1957, through Jan. 11, 1958. Seen at left is the art for that Sunday, as repro’d there in black-&-white. [©2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.]

Concluding Our Four-Part Interview With Comics Legend Leonard Starr

LEONARD STARR Checklist

[NOTE: This Checklist is adapted from information contained in the online Who’s Who of American Comic Books (1928-1999), established by Jerry G. Bails; see info on p. 28. Names of features below which appeared both in comics with that title and also in other comics are not generally italicized. Special thanks to Mike DeLisa for a technical assist. Some additions were made to this list by Jim Amash in March 2006 related to this interview. Key: (w) = writer; (a) = full art; (p) = pencils; (i) = inks; (d) = daily newspaper comic strip; (S) = Sunday newspaper comic strip.]

Name: Leonard Starr (b. 1925) (artist, writer)

tration (a) 1984; Lois Lane (i) 1988; Manhunters around the World (a) 1950-51; My Greatest Adventure (a) 1955-58; Mysto – Magician Detective (a) 1953-54; Nighthawk (a) 1950-51; Overland Coach (a) early 1950s; Phantom Stranger (a) 1951; Pow-Wow Smith (a) 1951-53, Special Crime Feature (a) 1950; Star Spangled War Stories (a) 1953; Superman (i) 1988; Tales of the Arrow Maker (a) 1951; Tales of the Unexpected (a) 1956-57; Who’s Who in the DC Universe (a) 1986

Pen Name: Donald Fraser

Education: High School of Music and Art (Brooklyn, NY); Pratt Institute (NYC)

Print Media (Non-Comics): Artist: advertising 1950-c. 1956; editorial illustration

Animation: Rankin-Bass – writer: ThunderCats 1986-87 [co-creator]; Ghost Warrior 1987 (?). [NOTE: Starr does not feel the latter credit is accurate; see interview.]

D.S. Publishing: Outlaws (i) 1949; Underworld (i) 1948

E.R. Ross Publishing: Hi-Lite Comics [coown] 1945 with Roberta Ross & Warren King

Honors: Inkpot Award – San Diego Comic-Con 1982; National Cartoonists Society – Best Story Strip 1968 & 1984; NCS Reuben 1965

Syndication: Annie (w)(a)(d)(S) 1979-84 Tribune Media Services (originally for Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate); Flash Gordon (ghost a)(d) c. 1955-56 for King Features Syndicate, Inc.; On Stage (w)(a)(d)(S) 1957-79 Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate

Comics in Other Media: “King Richard” (a) 1955 for Boy’s Life (magazine)

Comics Studio/Shop: Chesler shop (p)(i) 1943; Funnies, Inc. (p)(i) 1942-43

Foreign Comics Material: Kelly Green (w)(p)(i) 1982-84 graphic albums; Cannonball Carmody c. 1984

EC Comics: War against Crime (a) c. 1949

Fawcett Publications: Don Winslow of the Navy (a) mid-1940s; romance (p)(i) 1950

Len Ventures Into The Unknown One of Starr’s earliest signed solo art jobs is this tale from Adventures in the Unknown #4 (April-May 1949), for the American Comics Group. Copies of this page were provided by both Rod Beck and Michael T. Gilbert. Issues #1-5 of this first-ever regularly published horror comic have recently been released by PS Artbooks of Great Britian in the hardcover Collected Works: Adventures into the Unknown, Vol. 1, with more to follow. [©2012 the respective copyright holders.]

COMIC BOOK CREDITS (Mainstream U.S. Publishers)

American Comics Group: Adventures into the Unknown (a) 1949; Bantam Buckaroo (a) 1951; Cowboy Sahib (a) 1953

Avon Periodicals: crime (p)(i) 1951; Jesse James (i) 1952 (unconfirmed)

Better/Nedor/Standard Publications: Real Life Comics (i) 1958

Consolidated Books: Lucky Comics (a) 1944 Deluxe Comics: filler (a) 1985

Croyden Publications: Satannas (?) (p) 1945

Crestwood/Headline (a.k.a. Feature): Black Magic (a) 1950; crime (a) 1959-50; romance (a) 1949-53; Young Love c. 1953 and/or 1956

DC Comics: Captain Compass (a) 1950; Casebook Mystery (a) 1950; Congo Bill (a) 1956; covers (p)(i) 1949, 1952-57, 1988; Dale Evans Comics (a) 1950-51 [NOTE: Starr doubts the preceding claim]; Davy Crockett (a) 1956; Dr. 13 the Ghost Breaker (a) 1951-52; Gang Busters (a) 1952; Ghosts (a) 1975; House of Mystery (a) 1952-56; illus-

Harvey Comics: First Love (p) 1953-54; HiSchool Romance (p) 1954; romance (p) 195354, 1958; Teen-Age Brides (p) 1954

Hillman Periodicals: Airboy Comics backup features (p)(i) 1948-49; crime (p)(i) 1948-49; The Flying Fool (a) 1949; The Heap (p)(i) 1947-49; Rackman (i) 1947; Westerns (p)(i) 1948-49 Lev Gleason Publications: Crime and Punishment (a) 1948

Mainline Comics: Bulls-Eye (a) 1954

Marvel/Timely Comics: Human Torch (backgrounds) 1943; Morbius (i) 1975; Sub-Mariner (p)(i) c. 1943 (through Funnies, Inc.)

McCombs: Buckskin (i) 1947-48 (a.k.a. Bart Stewart); covers (i) 1947-48; crime (i) 1947; jungle (i) 1947; Vic Cutter (w)(i) 1945-48 (collaboration with Frank Bolle); Voodah (w)(i) (collaboration with Frank Bolle); Westerns (i) 1947

Orbit Publications: various features (a) 1951

Parents Magazine Press: True Comics (a) c. 1943

Rural Home: covers (p)(i) 1945; El Kuraan (a) 1945; Secret Assignment (p) 1943

St. John Publishing: Adventures (p) 1949-50; crime (a) 1954; Western (a) 1953 U.S. Camera: Camera Comics (a) 1944

Ziff-Davis Comics: crime (a) 1951; Red Feather (a) 195051; science-fantasy (a) 1951-52; Tom Rogers’ Crime Clinic (a) 1951; war (a) 1951; Westerns (a) 1951

The Sequel by Richard J. Arndt elcome to Part 2 of “Tales from the Code.” Here, in a follow-up to the cover feature of last October’s Alter Ego #105, is another batch of curious, odd, and downright confounding examples of the rulings of the Comics Code Authority related to the companies that subscribed to the Code.

“Them!”

Before we begin examining actual changes wrought by the Code Office, however, I can’t resist the temptation to showcase a comic book that the Code passed as OK for the reading public, but probably shouldn’t have. It’s an issue we mentioned briefly in A/E #105 but didn’t go into great detail about because it was discovered too late in the editing process. It’s the benign-looking but rather deviant Wonder Woman #185 (Dec. 1969).

This comic was published midway through the 1969-1971 “depowered Wonder Woman” era, during which the Amazon dropped her traditional costume and donned a white jumpsuit, left the Justice League of America, and answered to the name Diana Prince far more than she was addressed as Wonder Woman. This particular issue was written and penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by Dick Giordano. The editor was Sekowsky himself, who had taken over the title from Jack Miller with #182.

The story is entitled “Them!” Clearly that pronoun was significant: whenever the villains of this issue were mentioned, the word

The Common Code (Below left:) In its early days, the Comics Code office produced and distributed regular advertisements for itself throughout the comics industry. This is one of its distribution sticker seals, which presumably could be stuck on a rack of comics by a responsible retailer to show he was towing the line, er, we mean, responsibly looking out for young minds. (There was also a vertical version of this basically horizontal sticker.) (Above:) Although the Code folks may well have written the text for the legend (enlarged) that ran at the top of some Charlton comics circa 1957, it was signed here by Charlton’s executive editor, Pat Masulli. This splash page, drawn by Rocco Mastroserio, is from Black Fury #11 (Nov. ’57); the script is very likely by Joe Gill. Oh, and thanks again to Al Dellinges for our logo! [©2012 the respective copyright holders.]

“Them” was always colored in red and lettered twice the size of the surrounding dialogue. So who were “Them”?

Well, although the L-word is never mentioned in either dialogue or captions, it’s pretty clear that “Them” is a trio of mannish, even butch, lesbians. Our first glimpse of “Them” reveals a huge, hulking, masculine woman named Moose Mama, a rather homely woman dressed in cowboy duds named Pinto, and Top Hat, an attractive middle-aged woman dressed in either a Mad Hatter’s outfit or possibly just a particularly garish version of a 1970s-era pantsuit.

Ongoing coverage of the relatively new gay and lesbian political movement was big news in 1969. The New York City police raids of the Black Cat Tavern had happened

The Early Career Of A Legendary Artist—& Magician

Roy and others may have conflicting memories, but I wanted to make sure that Jim had his comments on the record.

[A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Roy regrets it if he has misremembered events of 1965. All he truly recalls now is Jim coming up to the Marvel offices in 1966 with Secret Agent X.]

Jim’s character, Super Agent X, fits into all this, too. Harvey editor Joe Simon had a financial dispute with Jim concerning characters Steranko had developed for their super-hero line. Angry, he took his friend Wally Wood’s recommendation to try Tower Comics. Jim tells how editor Harry Shorten was so impressed he asked Steranko to write and draw his own 52-page super-hero comic—Super Agent X.

But according to Steranko, when editor Samm Schwartz saw Jim’s pencils he objected to the shape of a female character’s nose. Steranko refused to change it, words were exchanged, and the artist stormed out. Steranko adds: “The nose their derisive art director wanted changed belonged to Kim Novak, after whom I modeled the character. Some days I still regret not bitch-slapping Schwartz.”

According to Vanguard’s Steranko Arte Noir book, Jim was then offered work as a cover artist at Archie and as a writer at DC. Instead he took Super Agent X to Paramount’s TV animation division, where he was signed to develop it as a cartoon series. The series never aired, but on his way back from Paramount he stopped by Marvel, where he met with Stan Lee. And the rest, though sometimes disputed, is comic book history. Till next time…

A Rose By Any Other Name… (Above:) Steranko designed “Sorcerer” for Harvey comics. The feature was renamed “Magicmaster” when the story appeared in Double-Dare Adventures #1 (Dec. 1966). (Below:) Jim and Super Agent X from Castle of Frankenstein #11 in 1967. [©2012 Harvey Comics and Jim Steranko.]

The Comic Fandom Archive presents…

The “50 Years Of Comic Book Fandom” Panel —Part II More From The Celebration at Comic-Con International 2011, San Diego

ere’s the second part of A/E’s transcript of this panel which occurred in San Diego, California, on July 23rd, 2011, earlier on the same day as the Fandom Reunion Party we highlighted in issues #108-109 as part of our multi-issue coverage of the wonderful “50th Anniversary of Fandom” events at Comic-Con. (This is installment #6, if you’re keeping track.)

MARK EVANIER: All right, let me ask everyone here: to what extent did you find being involved with comic fandom supplemented your real, your regular life?

MAGGIE THOMPSON: In my particular case, I grew up basically in science-fiction fandom. There’s an anecdote involving a major, wonderful writer, a science-fiction fan named Walt Willis. He spoke of overhearing his daughter, I believe it was, being visited by some fellow children, and the other kids said, “What are all those on the table?” Her response was, “Those are fanzines, silly.” That was the world in which I grew up. Yes, [fandom] was an alternate universe, but I grew up surrounded by it my entire life, and I always thought it was more important than the people I knew in school, because fanzines were [written by grownups]. I was reading grownups writing about things I cared about, which included comics once in a while, though I was reading mostly about science-fiction. But yeah, these were the interesting people. That was always the way it was for me.

EVANIER: When I got involved, I found science-fiction fandom was enormously hostile to comic book fandom. There was this notion, particularly in Los Angeles, that comics fandom was the little kids’ version, and they didn’t want science-fiction fandom to be tainted by comic books and comics fandom. Did anybody encounter that sentiment?

Last issue, panel moderator Mark Evanier welcomed the convention’s Special Guests—Jean Bails, Roy Thomas, Maggie Thompson, Richard Kyle, Dick Lupoff, Pat Lupoff, and Bill Schelly—and got the ball rolling. We thank Brian K. Morris for his transcription of this panel discussion, which has been edited slightly both for length, and because some parts were indistinct on the tape. —Bill Schelly.

The Dais Of Our Lives On the dais, left to right: Moderator Mark Evanier (longtime comics and TV writer)… Maggie Thompson (publisher, with her late husband Don, of the fanzine Comic Art, which first appeared in April 1961)… Pat and Dick Lupoff (whose Xero debuted at the 1960 Science Fiction Worldcon)… Richard Kyle (early writer for comics fanzines and inventor of the terms “graphic story” and “graphic novel”)… Bill Schelly (author of The Golden Age of Comic Fandom, 1995)… Roy Thomas and Jean Bails (representing the fanzine Alter-Ego, first published in March of 1961). Yes, the late Jerry Bails’ wife is there, peeking out on the far right. Photo by Aaron Caplan.

1962 members of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society came to Worldcon dressed as The Justice Society. Bjo Trimble talked John Trimble into coming as Sandman because it was the most outrageous costume in the world. You know, it’s like, what, the green jacket and the orange whatever and the brown hat and chem-gas mask, so that was cool. But the classic was Jack Harness, whom they talked into being Hawkman, and I have a photo An Audience With of the group. [NOTE: See A/E #106 for photos of some of the The Founders JSA costume contingent in 1962, including Hawkman. —Bill.] This panel was held in a Fred Patten’s The Flash, but here’s Jack Harness. They had large room which filled up the Hawkman costume, but they hadn’t really worked out nicely. Many of the audience about the wings, so he had the wings, but they weren’t members, such as prolific suspended by the straps, and the idea was he’d hold the author Michelle Nolan wings like this. [extends arms upwards] Now you have to (right), showed up later that understand that the costume competition lasted for like, Saturday for the Fandom what, an hour? Two hours? And so slowly, slowly... [slowly Reunion party. (A/E #107 & lowers arms] the wings just sat there. And the only person 108 carried a cornucopia of photos from that memorable that Don overheard respond to that costume was, “Look! It’s event.) Photo by Aaron Henery Hawk!” [audience laughs]

THOMPSON: It just depended on who you talked to. There are the snobs who don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. I don’t care what generation it is. [audience applauds] Not only were Dick and Pat Lupoff as Captain and Mary Marvel a sensation at the Pittsburgh World Science Fiction Convention in 1960, but in

Caplan.

A Fond Farewell To A Fawcett Friend EMILIO SQUEGLIO: 1927-2012 Compiled & Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

Superstar

helpful tip from former “Captain Marvel” artist Chic Stone led to Emilio Squeglio landing a job at Fawcett Publications’ comics department in 1947 at the age of 18, when he was fresh out of high school. Emilio remained with Fawcett for the next nine years. And, when the company folded its comics line, he shifted over to magazine design before leaving the publisher to become art director at American Artist magazine and embarking on a successful career as a prolific, highly sought-after book designer.

Jim Amash’s enlightening interview with Emilio in Alter Ego #41 (Oct. ’04) was followed up by three engaging, no-holds-barred Emilio encores in A/E #s 64, 65, & 91, in addition to providing several FCA covers in

Up, Up, And Shazam! (Left:) Emilio Squeglio amid a lifetime’s worth of office memorabilia, in a photo taken by German fan Thorsten Bruemmel during a 2007 visit. See Thorsten’s account on p. 78. (Right:) A beautifully graceful Captain Marvel commission drawn by Emilio for Thorsten. Thanks to TB for the scan. [Shazam hero TM & ©2012 DC Comics.]

between those issues.

While many might consider an obscure figure from the Golden Age of Comics to be nothing more than a minor footnote, I’ll always consider Emilio a true superstar in every sense of the word. Warm-hearted… open and honest… humble… helpful… kind… funny… positive… gracious… these are all words that described the man, and it is rare— especially in these times—to run across someone with such noble characteristics. Chatting with Emilio over the phone was always a capti-

A Fond Farewell To A Fawcett Friend

“A” Is For “Absolutely Beautiful”! (Left:) Emilio and his beloved Model “A” Ford—his “dream car.” See Jim Amash’s account on p. 80. (Below:) Naturally, Emilio wanted his artist-buddy John Romita to pose with the car, as well. Not that Jazzy Johnny seems to have minded!

vating adventure. With his faithful dog yelping in the background, he would routinely want to know how my family was doing and what I was planning for future FCAs. I’d sit back and listen to this wonderful teller of tales share with candor things about his life and career… the enduring friendships he formed at the School of Industrial Arts in Manhattan… the folks he loved working with at Fawcett… bringing first-hand recollections of the National vs. Fawcett court trials… and his remarkable tales surrounding the 900+ books he designed and the prominent people whom he met along his journey.

As one of Alter Ego’s most passionate and enthusiastic supporters, he’d always offer me appraisals of each issue. (He wanted it on the record that he wasn’t the one who was hypnotized by comics editor Roy Ald at a Fawcett Christmas party!) Emilio would make me laugh at things like calling Uncle Marvel a “pain in the neck” and referring to Mr. Mind as “that damn bug!” He considered Fawcett “the epitome of what a business should be” and treasured his time with them.

I’m going to miss my lovable friend … now a superstar in the heavens.

—P.C. Hamerlinck (FCA Editor)

A World Of Friends

I met Emilio Squeglio when I entered the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan in 1944, my freshman year. He was a sophomore and we became friends immediately. That’s the way Emilio was: he made friends very easily, and kept them for life. Denied a Cartooning major (too few to make a class), I began studying Illustration while Emilio concentrated on Advertising. But we shared other classes and lunches, too, where we enjoyed fun times talking about comics and our dreams for the future. Many of our fellow students—Joe Giella, Al Scaduto, and Seymour Barry (all life-long friends)—went on to great careers in art. It was a heady time for study and play.

We drifted apart after graduation, all scrambling to get work in comics. Emilio quickly found a job as a production artist at Fawcett, mostly working on “Captain Marvel” stories. I was not as lucky. I got a job as an office boy at a lithography house, doing

Coca-Cola ads for three years. But like the others I mentioned earlier, I did get to live out the dreams I used to tell Emilio about during our lunch hours.

We lost touch for a long while. Luckily, we met in the subway one day, and it was if we had just seen each other yesterday. Emilio never let us drift away again. No matter how seldom I’d call him, he made sure to phone me, always cheering me up with his infectious humor, like the best friend he was.

When Fawcett quit publishing comics in 1953, Emilio began a career in magazine editing, then became one of the most soughtafter book designers in New York, winning several awards along the way. He made movie stars, illustrators, and world famous painters a large part of his world of friends. Emilio’s friends… a group we’re all proudly part of.

—John Romita (Artist: The Amazing Spider-Man, et al.)

Walk On Hot Coals

There’s a lot of things about Emilio that come to mind as I write this, so I’ll jot down a few random thoughts. For instance, Emilio knew I liked music, which was a large part of his life. He used to make DVDs and CDs of operas, country-western, classical, and Italian music, some of it very rare. We spent many hours discussing the nuances of the musical scores, usually comparing the works of different artists. Once in a while, we’d disagree on some points, but we’d do so without argument.

Whenever Emilio gave lectures to the Berndt Toast Gang (the Long Island Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society), he held our attention so raptly that you could hear a pin drop as he talked about working with Norman Rockwell, Salvador Dali, Norman Kent, Robert Fawcett, Vincent Price, and many other people. He was a wonderful storyteller, and we never tired of hearing about the great people he had known. Emilio did a lot of artwork for friends, always for free. He wanted to share his work with his pals.

Alter Ego #113