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COMING RIGHT AT YOU!

3-D COMICS OF THE 1950s!

8.95

In the USA

No.115

March 2013

ALL IN 3-D FOR A QUARTER (in 1953)!

SIMON & KIRBY KUBERT & MAURER MESKIN • POWELL NOSTRAND • WOOD FELDSTEIN & MORE!!

3-D GLASSES

INCLUDED FREE! 1

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 #106

ALTER EGO #107

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BL AVAILA

ALTER EGO #103

ALTER EGO #104

ALTER EGO #105

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, & 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!

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!

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

ALTER EGO #108

ALTER EGO #109

ALTER EGO #110

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!

SHAZAM!/FAWCETT issue! The 1940s “CAPTAIN MARVEL” RADIO SHOW, interview with radio’s “Billy Batson” BURT BOYAR, P.C. HAMERLINCK and C.C. BECK on the origin of Captain Marvel, ROY THOMAS and JERRY BINGHAM on their Secret Origins “Shazam!”, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, LEONARD STARR interview, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

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

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

ALTER EGO #111

ALTER EGO #112

ALTER EGO #113

ALTER EGO #114

ALTER EGO #115

GOLDEN AGE NEDOR super-heroes are spotlighted, with MIKE NOLAN’s Nedor Index, and art by MORT MESKIN, JERRY ROBINSON, GEORGE TUSKA, RUBEN MOIRERA, ALEX SHOMBURG, and others! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, more 2011 Fandom Celebration, and part II of JIM AMASH’s interview with Golden Age artist LEONARD STARR! Cover by SHANE FOLEY!

SUPERMAN issue! PAUL CASSIDY (early Superman artist), Italian Nembo Kid, and ARLEN SCHUMER’s look at the MORT WEISINGER era, plus an interview with son HANK WEISINGER! Art by SHUSTER, BORING, ANDERSON, PLASTINO, and others! LEONARD STARR interview Part III—FCA—Mr. Monster—more 2011 Fandom Celebration, and a MURPHY ANDERSON/ARLEN SCHUMER cover!

MARV WOLFMAN talks to RICHARD ARNDT about his first decade in comics on Tomb of Dracula, Teen Titans, Captain Marvel, John Carter, Daredevil, Nova, Batman, etc., behind a GENE COLAN cover! Art by COLAN, ANDERSON, CARDY, BORING, MOONEY, and more! Plus: the conclusion of our LEONARD STARR interview by JIM AMASH, FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

MARVEL ISSUE on Captain America and Fantastic Four! MARTIN GOODMAN’s Broadway debut, speculations about FF #1, history of the MMMS, interview with Golden Age writer/artist DON RICO, art by KIRBY, AVISON, SHORES, ROMITA, SEVERIN, TUSKA, ALLEN BELLMAN, and others! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER and BILL SCHELLY! Cover by BELLMAN and MITCH BREITWEISER!

3-D COMICS OF THE 1950S! In-depth feature by RAY (3-D) ZONE, actual red and green 1950s 3-D art (includes free glasses!) by SIMON & KIRBY, KUBERT, MESKIN, POWELL, MAURER, NOSTRAND, SWAN, BORING, SCHWARTZ, MOONEY, SHORES, TUSKA and many others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover by JOE SIMON and JACK KIRBY!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

Vol. 3, No. 115 / March 2013 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

SPECIAL 3-D NOTICE:

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

This issue of A/E has been polybagged to include a pair of 3-D glasses at no increase in price. But hang on to them— ’cause we’ll be featuring additional 3-D images in future issues—including a second 3-D edition in 2014—and next time, we probably won’t be able to throw in free 3-D specs!

Jack Kirby & (probably) Mort Meskin— in association with Joe Simon

Digital Readers: For a pair of 3-D viewers, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614

Editorial Honor Roll

Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

Proofreaders

Cover Artists

Tom Ziuko

Cover Colorist

—John Morrow, Ray Zone, & Roy Thomas.

Andres Jimenez Heidi Amash Douglas Jones Pedro Angosto Jim Kealy Matt D. Baker Pete Koch Rod Beck David Anthony John Benson Kraft Al Bigley Henry Kujawa E.B. Boatner Richard Kyle Dominic Bongo Ruth & Jerry Levine Chris Boyko Jim Ludwig Bernie Bubnis Dennis McHaney Jim Burns Brian K. Morris James Cassara Ken Quattro Shaun Clancy Rita Perlin Chet Cox Ethan Roberts Jeff Deischer Gordon Robson Gary Dolgoff Fred Robinson Mark Evanier Randy Sargent Michael Feldman Jeff Taylor Al Feldstein Greg Theakston Shane Foley Dann Thomas Joe Frank Mike Tuohey Mike Gartland Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Janet Gilbert James Van Hise Clizia Gussoni Jennifer Hamerlinck Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Heritage Comics Craig Yoe Archives Ray Zone Alex Jay

With Special Thanks to:

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Glenn Lord & Bill Crouch —and of Joe Kubert, Norman & Leonard Maurer, and Archer St. John, the men who brought the dream of 3-D comics to life—

and of Ray Zone, who kept the dream alive

Contents Writer/Editorial: 3-D Or Not 3-D—That Is The Question! . . . 2 The 3-D-T’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Ray Zone on the rise and fall of 1950s 3-D comic books—including some incredible secrets! Michael T. Gilbert revisits Kanegson, Eisner, Feldstein—and Charles Atlas.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Update Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Bill Schelly interviews Richard Kyle, the man who coined the term “graphic novel.”

Comic Fandom Archive: Of Graphic Stories & Wonderworlds . . .59 Tributes To Glenn Lord & Bill Crouch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 re: [correspondence & corrections] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #174 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 P.C. Hamerlinck & Roy Thomas present George Evans’ Captain Video—part II

On Our Cover: Depicting the only 1950s super-hero created specifically to be printed in three dimensions, this drawing by Jack Kirby demonstrates the dynamics that would one day earn him his Marvel nickname as “The King.” Produced during his partnership with fellow great Joe Simon, who may or may not have contributed directly to it, this illustration—used as both the cover and lead splash artwork in Harvey Comics’ Captain 3-D #1 (Dec. 1953)—was most likely inked by yet a third artistic titan: Mort Meskin. Our cavorting co-publisher, John Morrow, combined the 2-D cover figure with the 3-D background of the interior splash to generate TwoMorrows’ first-ever 3-D cover! Read more—lots more— about Captain 3-D in this issue!

Above: Ye Editor suggested, at one point, the direct opposite of our peerless publisher’s approach—namely, a three-dimensional figure of Captain 3-D against a flat, colored background. So we figured you might as well see what this issue’s cover could have looked like! John Morrow prepared this version, too. [©2013 Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby; Captain 3-D is a trademark of the Estate of Joe Simon.] 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

3-D Or Not 3-D—That Is The Question!

’ll admit it. At age twelve, I was nuts about 3-D comics. Absolutely, positively, deliriously nuts!

As soon as I saw the first commercial 3-D movie, Bwana Devil— at a drive-in theatre, no less!—I was ready for 3-D comics. I didn’t know if it could be done, let alone how—but as soon as somebody did, I’d be right there.

Okay, so I was kind of disappointed that the first 3-D comic starred Mighty Mouse, not Superman or Batman or the stillhanging-on-just-barely Captain Marvel. Still, when I put on those 3-D glasses with red and green lenses (or, in a few cases, red and blue), I was transported to a world which was somehow much more real than the normal four-color landscape. Naturally, I’d have liked the 3-D comics to have been in color—and, being a kid on an allowance, I’d have loved them to be less expensive. 25¢ for a comic book!? Did those guys think we were made of money?

I’d also have loved for 3-D comics to have featured more superheroes. I could just imagine the (defunct) Human Torch throwing a fireball right at me—or Plastic Man stretching his arms from way deep in a panel’s background (where the green lines, when you looked at them without your 3-D glasses on, were on the left) to right in front of your face, his rubbery fist seemingly only inches from your own widened eyeballs (and now his hand would be drawn with green lines on the right, at least in most comics).

If I was to be disappointed again when first Superman, then Batman 3-D mags came out and their “3-D” wasn’t as good as in some other comics, at least I was overjoyed when the “Mighty Mouse” company that had started it all—St. John, they were called—issued a mag starring Joe Kubert’s caveman hero Tor in 3-D. Norman Maurer’s Three Stooges and both guys’ Whack had their moments, too… as did just about everything in 3-D from Harvey Comics, even though Adventures in 3-D and True 3-D were mostly filled with hero-bereft stories that left me cold. Why couldn’t anybody but St. John and Harvey really get 3-D right, I wondered.

Then Harvey’s Captain 3-D #1 came out—and I really went out of my (barely) pre-teen mind! Okay, so the striped pants looked pretty godawful—and that little knob on his helmet looked even sillier, almost as if he were wearing a beanie or something! But that Simon & Kirby art! And those stories! A kid putting on 3-D glasses and then a super-hero jumping right out of a book to take him on an exciting adventure—after which he jumps back into the book! The Cat People! Living paper dolls! “Iron Hat McGinty and His Destruction Gang!” I’d been a Simon & Kirby fan since I was six or so, but this was far-out stuff, even for them! I couldn’t wait for Captain 3-D #2 and King Solitaire!

Well, actually, as it turned out… I could. ’Cause as quickly as the 3-D fad came to comics, it went away again. Comics that cost a quarter—and you had to wear glasses to read them—become a “four-eyes”—even I wasn’t one of them yet! And when you read them, they looked like they were in black-&-white, not color! What kind of a deal was that? I was willing to compromise because I loved the 3-D effect… but clearly, most other kids weren’t.

I knew the day of 3-D comics was over when one day, around the turn of 1954, I walked into a Woolworth five-and-dime and saw a big table on which were strewn dozens and dozens of 3-D comics—all selling for just a regular ten cents, not the two-bits cover price.

And sure enough, over the next couple of months, 3-D comics were no more. But the era had been great while it lasted. You had to be there. And I was.

And, with this issue of Alter Ego, you can be, too—thanks to Ray (“3-D”) Zone and a number of comics fans who were generous with their time and scanners. But it’s not just nostalgia I feel when I read Ray’s article—it’s history. The history of a brief period which can never come again, not in quite the same way— but which left its mark on the comics industry of the 1950s. Come see!

Bestest,

COMING IN APRIL

116

JOE KUBERT in the GOLDEN & SILVER AGES! Remembering The Early Decades Of A Titan’s Life & Work! • Cover montage of KUBERT art—framing a portrait by DANIEL JAMES COX! • Honoring the first half of JOE KUBERT’s comet-like career, from the early 1940s to the mid-1970s! Revealing interviews by JK biographer BILL SCHELLY & RICHARD ARNDT & (re Enemy Ace) DANIEL JAMES COX—amid magnificent illustrations of Hawkman, Flash, Vigilante, Batman, Black Cat, Tor, Viking Prince, Sgt. Rock, Tarzan, et al.—many of them never seen before! (And keep those 3-D glasses handy!) • FCA presents the final chapter of a great Captain Video story drawn by GEORGE Prince, Enemy Ace, es Cox; Hawkman, Viking EVANS—plus MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Comic Crypt (KUBERT edition)—& MORE!! Portrait ©2013 Daniel Jam Comics; Tor art ©2013 Estate of Joe Kubert; 13 DC Sgt. Rock art ©20

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!

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the

The Rise And Fall Of The 1950s 3-D Comic Books by Ray Zone

Alpha And Omega—in 3-D! These two splash pages bookend the fleeting mid-1950s era of 3-D comic books: the first in St. John Publishing’s Three Dimension Comics #1 (Sept. 1953)—and that of writer/layout artist Harvey Kurtzman & artist Wally Wood’s “V-Vampires!,” a story redrawn and expanded from Mad #3 (Feb.-March 1953) for Three Dimensional EC Classics #1 (Spring 1954). EC’s Three Dimensional Tales from the Crypt of Terror #1-and-only had the same date as the latter. (Curiously, in most ’50s 3-D comics, the red lens covered the left eye; in EC’s, it covered the right one. Set your 3-D Zone/TwoMorrows viewers accordingly!) Thanks to Ray Zone and Rod Beck, respectively, for the scans. [Pages ©2013 the respective copyright holders & E.C. Publications, Inc.] The “Mighty Mouse” scripter may be Paul S. Newman, the comics series’ regular writer. The artist is unknown; the 1970s Who’s Who of American Comic Books credits Norman Maurer and Joe Kubert, but they “merely” added 3-D effects to a pre-existing story. Amazingly, by author Ray Zone’s tally, the entire original 3-D period lasted only nine months, from slam-bang start to dead-end finish!

The Rise And Fall Of The 1950s 3-D Comic Books

I. Overview In Three Dimensions

SIDEBAR #1:

hen Joe Kubert and Norman Maurer produced Three Dimension Comics #1 through St. John Publishing Company in the summer of 1953, it was something new under the sun.

3-D Comics Prehistory—Expanded

There had been stereo drawings, of course, beginning with Charles Wheatstone in 1838. And the Tru-Vue company put out 3-D cartoons as stereo pairs on 35mm film strips with popular comic strip characters in the 1930s. In 1937 the Keystone Company had even published a set of optometrical “Eye Comfort Training” stereo test cards for children which featured 3-D conversions of cartoon art. And, of course, the View-Master Company had been involved in the production of stereo cartoon reels since 1947.

But Joe Kubert was not aware of any of that when he proposed the concept of a 3-D comic book to his partner Norman Maurer. Both of them had a copublishing arrangement with publisher Archer St. John whereby they were paid royalties on sales for the comic book titles they produced.

A. Before—And During—The 1950s 3-D Movies

ne hundred years before Kubert and Maurer invented 3-D comics, Charles Wheatstone, the discoverer of 3-D, drew geometric pairs of images by hand to prove his discovery. Wheatstone used a complex mirror device to view the pairs of images in 3-D. In 1891 in France, Ducos du Hauron invented the anaglyph, the red/blue process that eventually was used to print 3-D comics.

In the early 20th century optometrists used 3-D cartoons to test children’s ability to see 3-D. The Tru-Vue Company of Rock Island, Illinois, in 1933 sold 3-D cartoons viewable on a strip of 35mm flexible film. Among the popular comic strip characters that were available as Tru-Vue 3-D cartoons were Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant, E.C. Segar’s Popeye, and Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy.

Norman contacted his brother Leonard, who had a background in printing technology. Working one full day, Kubert and the Maurer brothers assembled samples to test the 3-D process. Kubert worked up an image of his caveman character Tor, and Maurer created a Three Stooges sample. Archer St. John loved them.

In 1939, the View-Master system with its circular disks of seven 3-D pictures and viewing device invented by William Gruber was acquired by Sawyers Photo Processing of Portland, Oregon. After World War II, the View-Master system was distributed widely and featured many cartoon reels with such characters as Superman, Batman, Flash Gordon, and, by the 1970s, Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. 3-D effects for these comic-book reels were produced by drawing two separate left- and right-eye images so that full volumetric roundness was visible. View-Master 3-D cartoon reels were still being produced in 2012.

B. 3-D At The Movies In The 1950s

By the fall of 1953, when Three Dimension Comics was released, 3-D movies were playing strong in theatres all over the United States. Bwana Devil, the film that had launched the 1950s 3-D movie boom, had been released on November 26, 1952. The wave of interest in all things 3-D had actually commenced in 1947 when the David White Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, released the Stereo-Realist camera that had been designed and built by Seton Rochwite. Initially, a handheld “red button” viewer with internal illumination was also released for viewing the stereo slide transparencies produced by the Stereo-Realist camera. Then, stereo projectors appeared on the market, and this led to formation of a number of 3-D clubs where members gathered to view projected stereo slides as a group. Some of these clubs are still running strong today, like the LA 3D Club (LA3Dclub.com), with members producing 3-D images using digital cameras, and sharing their work in numerous programs and competitive exhibitions.

St. John was a licensee for TerryToons’ Mighty Mouse, and it was decided that a 3-D comic book featuring that character was to be rushed into production. When Three Dimension Comics #1 was published, it sold out a million and a quarter copies virtually overnight. It was immediately reprinted and proceeded to sell over two and a half million copies total.

Joe and Norman filed a patent for their 3-D conversion process, which they termed “3-D Illustereo,” with the intention of licensing their technique to other comic book publishers. Archer St. John intended to convert his entire line of comic books to 3-D. So he rented out two

Call Me Bwana Devil A theatrical poster for Bwana Devil (1952), the first feature length 3-D movie—and the cardboard 3-D “glasses” provided for it. The latter sported polarized (not red and green) “lenses.” Producer Arch Oboler had been one of the most celebrated writers in the Golden Age of Radio. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

By 1953, the wave had gathered full force, as anaglyphic 3-D began appearing in publications of various kinds, from 3-D Movie magazine with Marilyn Monroe on the cover to anaglyphic inserts in Popular Mechanics and full-page ads in newspapers like the Los Angeles Times. The 3-D comic books made their appearance in the midst of this worldwide wave of interest in stereoscopic photography and motion pictures.

The 3-D-T’s

additional floors of a building on Third Avenue for an assembly line.

Production of the St. John 3-D comics was done with the use of four to five clear acetate cels over a Craftint board. The different levels of depth were made as line drawings on the individual cels and then opaqued on the back with white. When the acetate cels were shifted left and right on top of each other over the Craftint board, the separate left- and right-eye views were produced and subsequently shot with negative printing film. The acetate cels were punched for accurate pin-registration in the same manner as that used for cartoon animation. It was a laborious process that produced a 3-D effect having as many as six levels of apparent depth on a comic book page.

Kubert and Maurer subsequently published threedimensional issues of Tor, The Three Stooges, Little Eva, House of Terror, and Whack, a satirical comic book along the lines of Mad. One of the stories included in Whack #1 was titled “The 3-D-T’s, A Look behind the Scenes of America’s Screwiest Industry,” and ridiculed the frenetic 3-D comics stampede, with Norman and Joe featured as characters. Archer St. John, with the nom de comic “St. Peter,” was also caricatured in a second, 2-D installment of this series.

As soon as Three Dimension Comics #1 had appeared on the newsstands in the summer of 1953, all the comic publishers had taken notice. For the March 1987 issue of Starlog magazine, David Hutchison interviewed DC production manager Jack Adler about DC Comics’ entry into the 3-D comic book market.

Of Mighty Mice And Men Publisher Archer St. John, from a 1950s photo courtesy of Fred Robinson & Matt D. Baker… and the 2-D cover of Three Dimension Comics #1, with thanks to Rod Beck. Artist unknown. [Cover ©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

They Were Nobody’s Stooges! (Left-to-right images from the dawn of 3-D comics:) Artists Joe Kubert (seated) and Norman Maurer in the oft-reprinted photo from the inside front covers of St. John’s Three Stooges #1 and One Million Years Ago #1, both cover-dated Sept. 1953. The first 3-D issues of both series (#2 of each) were dated Oct. 1953. One of the experimental “Three Stooges” panels that Norm prepared overnight and showed to publisher Archer St. John to demonstrate the viability of 3-D comics. This art, like the photo of Moe and the Maurers at right, saw print in Craig Yoe’s highly recommended 2011 hardcover Amazing 3-D Comics! (See p. 50.) There was reportedly a Kubert “Tor” sample 3-D page, as well. [©2013 Joan Howard Maurer.] Moe Howard (head of the “reel-life” Three Stooges, minus his fright-wig)… comics artist/writer/editor Norman Maurer (who was married to Moe’s daughter Joan)... and Norm’s brother, the technologically inclined Leonard Maurer. Thanks to Craig Yoe & Clizia Gussoni. To the extent possible, in this issue we’ve refrained from repeating images that appear in Yoe’s book, which reprinted a number of complete stories. Your comics library should contain both it and A/E #115—as well as Hal Morgan & Dan Symmes’ 1982 tome Amazing 3-D, which covers the whole ’50s phenomenon and contains an excellent section on the comics.

The Rise And Fall Of The 1950s 3-D Comic Books

The Shape Of 3-D Things To Come The full-page ad at right, supplied by Ray Zone, “boasts” a non-Kirby Captain 3-D figure—but the real kicker is that it showcases Kirby’s cover done for the second issue, plus a mention of someone called Infinity. [All images on this page ©2013 Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]

If you’re viewing a Digital Edition of this publication,

PLEASE READ THIS: This is copyrighted material, NOT intended for downloading anywhere except our website. If you downloaded it from another website or torrent, go ahead and read it, and if you decide to keep it, DO THE RIGHT THING and buy a legal download, or a printed copy (which entitles you to the free Digital Edition) at our website or your local comic book shop. Otherwise, DELETE IT FROM YOUR COMPUTER and DO NOT SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS OR POST IT ANYWHERE. If you enjoy our publications enough to download them, please pay for them so we can keep producing ones like this. Our digital editions should ONLY be downloaded at

www.twomorrows.com In addition, a caption in #1 had said that in “the next big issue” Cap would meet “King Solitaire.” Below is a 2-D house ad from Adventures in 3-D #2 that likewise heralded Captain 3-D #2; artist uncertain. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. But that ballyhooed issue, sadly, never appeared. [©2013 Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]

In 1992, however, artist & AC Comics publisher Bill Black re-inked that small image of the Captain 3-D #2 cover from the full-page house ad—and it became the cover art for Golden-Age Men of Mystery #15. (Still later, Black inked that 1953 cover yet again for TwoMorrows’ flagship publication The Jack Kirby Collector [#45]—this time from a photocopy of the original art that had been rescued from a dumpster by a former Harvey employee and sent to John Morrow.) [Art ©2013 Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby; Captain 3-D is a trademark of the Joe Simon Estate.]

The 3-D-T’s

Captain 3-D #2! Amazingly, it’s been learned in the past decade-plus that most of the interior pages of Captain 3-D #2 still exist—or at the very least, photocopies of the pencils do. Jack Kirby wasn’t directly involved in that art; but much of the penciling is by the great Mort Meskin, who (besides inking much of #1) had done stellar artwork in the 1940s on “Johnny Quick,” “Vigilante,” “The Black Terror,” “The Fighting Yank,” et al.! Seen below is Meskin’s splash page from one story intended for #2; it’s reproduced here, for the first time ever, courtesy of Ethan Roberts, owner of the original art. Thanks a 3-D million, Ethan! [Art ©2013 Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]

(Above:) Mort Meskin. Photo sent courtesy of sons Peter and Phil for A/E #24.

MIND-NUMBING NOTE: Want to see more of the never-published Captain 3-D #2? Just turn the page!

The Rise And Fall Of The 1950s 3-D Comic Books

The 3-D Effect Comics Several companies tried to grab the attention of 3-D comics enthusiasts with mags that (supposedly) approximated the look of them in some way, but didn’t require glasses—or a 25¢ price tag. One of the most imaginative techniques for referencing 3-D in a conventional four-color comic book was to design the art with receding or oblique panel borders that suggested a 3-D effect. Characters and objects would overlap the panel borders and seemed to be coming out of the picture. (Near left:) This was effectively done by artist Harry Lazarus in Adventures into the Unknown, published by the American Comics Group (ACG) via a gimmick dubbed “Truevision 3-D”—as per this page from AITU #53 (March 1954). The identity of the writer is unknown. Other ACG titles using this effect were Romantic Adventures, Lovelorn, Cookie, The Kilroys, and Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert for this and the following two scans. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: ACG’s black gutters were perhaps an attempt to duplicate the feel of sitting in a darkened theatre watching a 3-D movie.] [All art on this and the following page ©2013 the respective copyright holders.] (Facing page, top left:) Frank Bolle, in issues of Magazine Enterprises’ Tim Holt/Red Mask and Black Phantom, showcased what was called “3-D Effect Illustration.” Seen here is a splash page from Red Mask #42 (June-July 1954), the first issue after the magazine had officially changed its title from Tim Holt—though not the first “3-D effect” edition. Scripter unknown. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: This was pretty much just ACG’s “Truevision 3-D” with white gutters instead of black ones.] (Facing page, far right:) Lev Gleason Publications offered three 1954 issues of Crime and Punishment and one of Black Diamond Western, with stories featuring CinemaScope-shaped panels in an effect they called “Deep Dimension.” Art on this page from “War on the Streets” in the first of these, C&P #66 (March 1954) is by Alex Toth—who drew all the “Deep Dimension” stories; scripter unknown. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: To this then-young reader, the shape of the “Deep Dimension” pages was unpleasantly like reading a comics page that had been printed on wet cloth, with its four corners pinned to a wall, the rest of the page shrinking inward as it dried.] (Facing page, bottom left:) But the most bizarre of the “3-D effect comics” was Jungle Adventures #7 (1954), a one-shot “Story and Coloring Book” from the previously mentioned Star Publications, with cover art by publisher Leonard B. Cole and interior black-&white art by Jay Disbrow in what was dubbed “PictureScope”—“a new illusion without glasses.” The always-enterprising Cole doubtless hoped to make a killing charging 15¢ for this black-& white magazine that employed just one large cantilevered panel on each page and a tale featuring Jahka, Lord of the Jungle, and his encounter with a sacred red ape. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Ray Zone is too modest to mention it, but in the 1980s he would turn Jungle Adventures #7 into true 3-D; that art will be showcased in A/E #117’s upcoming coverage of L.B. Cole and his artist-colleague Jay Disbrow—so save your 3-D goggles!] [Art on this and facing page ©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

The 3-D-T’s

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Part II of

“The INDESTRUCTIBLE ANTAGONIST!” #174 March 2013

ast time, we reprinted pages 1-7 of this George Evans-penciled classic from Fawcett’s TV-licensed comic Captain Video #3 (June 1951); the inker was Martin Thall, while the scripter is sadly unidentified. Besides being an excellent science-fictional adventure— superior in both story and art to the average comics fare of the day—its antagonist Makino served as my initial inspiration for Ultron, the “robot” super-villain that artist John Buscema and I would introduce at Marvel in 1968 over the course of The Avengers #54-55 & #57-58. More about that last time and in A/E #117, though. This round, we’ve just got room, with thanks to P.C. Hamerlinck & Rod Beck for the scans, to re-present the middle section of this 19-page spectacular—right after Makino, having murdered his creator Prof. Seminik and vowed to prove his own superiority to mankind, has flown off at the controls of the hero’s Whirlojet, leaving Video and the young Ranger behind—amid a treacherous marshland.

—Roy Thomas, Guest FCA Co-Editor.

Alter Ego #115