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Roy C at aclysmic homas Thomas homas’’C ataclysmic aclysmic Roy T Cat Comics F anzine Comics Comics F Fanzine anzine

Forget Forget Forget Batman! Batman! Batman! Long Live Long Long Live Live CAT-MAN! CAT-MAN! CAT-MAN! TM

FELINE FELINE FERAL FOCUS FOCUS ON ON GOLDEN AGE GOLDEN GOLDEN AGE AGE ARTISTS ARTISTS ARTISTS

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In In the USA In the the USA USA

L.B. L.B. COLE COLE & & No.117 JAY JAY DISBROW DISBROW

June 2013

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 #107

ALTER EGO #108

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BL AVAILA

ALTER EGO #104

ALTER EGO #105

ALTER EGO #106

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!

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, & DITKO/GIORDANO cover!

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

ALTER EGO #109

ALTER EGO #110

ALTER EGO #111

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!

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!

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

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

ALTER EGO #112

ALTER EGO #113

ALTER EGO #114

ALTER EGO #115

ALTER EGO #116

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!

JOE KUBERT TRIBUTE! Four Kubert interviews, art by RUSS HEATH, NEAL ADAMS, MURPHY ANDERSON, MICHAEL KALUTA, SAM GLANZMAN, and others, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY’s Comic Fandom Archive, FCA’s Captain Video conclusion by GEORGE EVANS that inspired Avengers foe Ultron, cover by KUBERT, with a portrait by DANIEL JAMES COX!

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

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships April 2013

Vol. 3, No. 117 / June 2013 Roy Thomas

Editor

Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Associate Editors Christopher Day

Design & Layout John Morrow

Consulting Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck

FCA Editor

A BELATED NOTE ABOUT OUR 3-D ISSUE (A/E #115):

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 L.B. Cole

Cover Artist

Only when copies of Alter Ego #115 were shipped to the USA from the printer in China did we learn that the cardboard viewers polybagged with the magazines were designed so that the red lens fit over the right eye. In nearly all 3-D comics in the 1950s USA, the red lens needed to fit over the left eye. Only by re-bending the viewers could the proper 3-D effect be obtained. Sorry we couldn’t inform most of our readers of this fact until now. Try ’em out on p. 15 of this issue. —John Morrow & Roy Thomas

With Special Thanks to:

Heidi Amash Harry Andrews Richard J. Arndt Bob Bailey Pat Bastienne Rod Beck John Benson E.B. Boatner Lee Boyette Dominic Bongo Mike Bromberg Bernie Bubnis Bart Bush James Cassara Shaun Clancy Chet Cox Vince Davis Jay Disbrow Michael Dunne Joseph Eacobacci Jim Engel Mark Evanier Jon R. Evans Shane Foley Janet Gilbert Grand Comics Database (website)

Jennifer Hamerlinck Heritage Comics Archive Tony Isabella William B. Jones, Jr. Richard Kyle James Heath Lantz Jean-Marc Lofficier Jim Ludwig Bruce Mason Frank Motler Martin O’Hearn OHLIEi Vern Patrick Rita Perlin Scott Rowland Randy Sargent Ed Savage Cory Sedlmeier John Selegue Rick Starr Mike Stephenson Dann Thomas Maggie Thompson Albert Val Michael Vance Mike Vosburg

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Leonard B. Cole, Martin Filchock, & Jean Giraud

Contents Writer/Editorial: Old King Cole—Long May He Reign! . . . . . . 2 L.B. Cole—Giant Of The Golden Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Jay Disbrow’s remembrance of a colorful Golden Age colleague—and memorable cover artist. John Benson’s brief 1979 encounter with L.B. Cole—and, incidentally, Harvey Kurtzman.

Meeting Lenny Cole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Ray Zone’s conversation with 1950s comics artist Jay Disbrow.

A Four-Color Dreamer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Michael Vance continues his look at recently unearthed artifacts of an important writer & editor.

Richard E. Hughes: Life After ACG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Michael T. Gilbert on his favorite comic book cliché.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt: Evil Twins! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Bill Schelly concludes his talk with writer, publisher, & bookstore owner Richard Kyle.

Of Graphic Stories & Wonderworlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Tributes to Martin Filchock & Jean Giraud (Moebius) . . . . . 67 re: [comments, critiques, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #176 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 P.C. Hamerlinck & Roy Thomas host the final chapter from Captain Video #3.

On Our Cover: Over the past couple of decades, the irrepressible L.B. Cole has loomed ever larger on the comics landscape, due primarily to the large number of distinctive covers he produced, especially for his own 1950s imprint, Star Publications. One of his most celebrated subjects was Continental/Holyoke’s Cat-Man—whom he apparently never drew except on covers. Thanks to copublisher John Morrow for turning the cover of Cat-Man Comics #31 (June 1946) into an equally striking Alter Ego cover! With thanks to John Selegue for the scan. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.] Above: Another colorful Cole cover—this one for Star’s Terrors of the Jungle #4 (April 1953). Inside was a jungle-lord story (the hero was named Taranga this time) by co-featured late Golden Age artist/writer Jay Disbrow. [©2013 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

Old King Cole–Long May He Reign! Cole, whose career is touched on in no less than three separate articles and interviews in this issue, is one of those Golden Age figures who seem forever the subject of controversy.

L.B.

That he was a skilled artist is all but undeniably true—yet there are a few critics and comics historians who dismiss him as a mere purveyor of garish mini-posters.

He was a very capable illustrator of animals, a subject in which many comic book artists have definitely failed to distinguish themselves over the years—but he preferred being a publisher and limiting himself, whenever he could, to drawing nothing but covers.

He was much admired by Jay Disbrow, an artist who broke into the field under Cole’s tutelage circa 1950—yet even Disbrow, the other cover-blurbed subject of this month’s A/E, reports in this issue how Cole occasionally lifted one of the younger man’s splash pages and turned it into a Star cover, then signed his own name to it—even though the very same art could be seen inside that same issue beneath Jay’s byline!

These days, Cole is probably identified at least as closely with the Continental/Et-Es-Go/Holyoke characters Cat-Man and The Kitten as he is with any other heroes or comic book subject matter—yet, in all his life, he never drew a single story featuring those heroes, but only those bold covers, month after month.

He was a 1940s colleague of future greats like Mad creator Harvey Kurtzman—yet John Benson’s brief transcription on

pp. 27-29 shows Kurtzman trying to keep his distance when the two old pros found themselves guests at the same con in 1979.

Well, perhaps that’s only to be expected. Almost no one is universally beloved (or even respected)… and the fact remains, it seems to me, that Cole left behind a legacy of striking covers, as well as a few particularly artful illustrated stories, which richly deserve the collectability they’ve attained in the past few decades, especially since the two giant hardcover volumes of Ernst and Mary Gerber’s monumental Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books put them so prominently—and so prolifically—on display.

To me, the proof of this particular pudding is that, when layout guru Chris Day and I finished putting together the first nigh-half of this issue, I looked at the scans I had left over in my PC documents of Cole covers I wished we’d had room to print—and there were literally dozens of them which I regretted not having room to reproduce, big and in color.

Special thanks to Jay Disbrow, another talented artist I’ve long wanted to feature in A/E’s pages, for writing his elegant appreciation of L.B. Cole. Actually, he scribed it quite a few years ago now—and I greatly appreciate his unfailing patience. I told him, at least once every year or so, that I was going to find the right spot to publish it one of these fine days—in company with the late Ray Zone’s interview with Jay himself—and I finally did! Now what do I do with all those other great Cole cover scans? Bestest,

COMING IN JUNE

118

MARVEL’S AVENGERS— THE FIRST DECADE!

• Marvel didn’t print DON HECK’s 1966 cover art for Avengers #37—but we do (with their permission, natch!) • A/E celebrates 50 years of Avengers with a Hawkeye’s-eye view of its first decade by KURT MITCHELL! The Black Panther’s controversial roots—a pictorial by ARLEN SCHUMER! WILL MURRAY asks: Was Avengers just a last-minute stand-in for Daredevil? Avenging art & artifacts by JACK KIRBY, STAN LEE, WALLY WOOD, JOHN BUSCEMA, DON HECK, ROY THOMAS, NEAL ADAMS, SAL BUSCEMA, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, GENE COLAN, GEORGE TUSKA, RICH BUCKLER, FRANK GIACOIA, STEVE ENGLEHART, BOB BROWN, BILL EVERETT, et al.! • E.C. STONER—KEN QUATTRO profiles the pioneering African-American artist of Blue Beetle, Marvel Man, Night Devils, & others! • FCA presents MARC SWAYZE’s last comics story—BILL SCHELLY interviews BERNIE BUBNIS about the first comics convention ever—MICHAEL T. GILBERT pries open the Comic Crypt—& MORE!!

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L.B. COLE— Giant Of The Golden Age A Remembrance Of A Colorful Character— And Memorable Cover Artist by Jay Disbrow

“You’re Not Quite Ready For A Career In Comics”

any aficionados of the Golden Age of Comic Books look back with fond memories upon the work of a true giant of that era: L. B. Cole. He was a man of extraordinary artistic ability and editorial excellence. He was an artist, a writer, and an editor of both comic books and specialty magazines. During a long and fruitful career, he produced a plethora of comic book covers, as well as covers for sporting magazines and specialty publications. During the 1980s he turned his talents toward creating full-color renderings for medical books and charts.

I first met him in the summer of 1946, when at an early age I made my initial attempt to break into the industry that had become my obsession. In an ornate building at 220 West 42nd Street in Manhattan were located the editorial

Sparks And Re-Creation Leonard Brandt Cole in 1980, juxtaposed with his vintage cover for Continental (or is it Holyoke’s?) Catman Comics #29 (Aug. 1945)— his cover for Star Publications’ Blue Bolt #105 (April-May 1950)—and a re-creation of the latter, done several decades later and with a few interesting alterations, especially in the Green Sorceress’ attire. The Catman cover is reproduced from a scan of the color proof, with thanks to John Selegue; read more about this set of proofs on p. 29. The two versions of the Blue Bolt cover were sent respectively by Jim Ludwig and by Dominic Bongo, who retrieved the image from the Heritage Comics Archive. Photo sent by John Benson and printed by courtesy of photographer E.B. Boatner. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

A Remembrance Of A Colorful Character—And Memorable Cover Artist

Doing The Continental (Above left:) Cole’s cover for Continental’s Suspense Comics #8 (June 1945). His first cover for this series was for #4; after that, he illustrated all remaining covers for the 12-issue run of the “horror-suspense” series, whose cover star was a character called—Mr. Nobody. (Above center & right:) After doing a number of Captain Aero Comics covers for Continental that showed U.S. warplanes attacking Japanese forces, climaxing with #24 (Nov. 1945), Cole suddenly had to switch gears after V-J Day, and his covers immediately got more science-fictional in nature. Thanks to Jim Ludwig and John Selegue, respectively; the latter cover is reproduced from a cover proof. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.] The 1944 photo, taken in the Et-Es-Go/Continental offices, shows (l. to r.) Cole, editor Ray Herman, and Jack Grogan perusing a copy of Captain Aero #14. The pic was provided by Cole in 1995 to Comic Book Marketplace #30. Incidentally, although Herman’s first name is often spelled “Rae” in articles, she apparently spelled it with a “y” instead. Grogan, who’d drawn funny-animal features for Timely in 1942, would draw “The Hood,” “Red Cross,” “Mr. Nobody,” et al. for the related companies Continental, Et-Es-Go, and Holyoke. Photo credited to Sheldon Levens.

But before he entered the comics field full-time, he spent a number of years in advertising. For the truly creative artist, advertising can be the bane of his existence. But at times, it’s necessary to pay the bills and provide the necessities of life. Of course, if one has access to a few big accounts, advertising can be a very lucrative enterprise. For Leonard Cole this proved to be the case. But the money he was taking in could not compensate for the lack of artistic expression that he longed for. That did not come until he took the headfirst plunge into the comics.

After a short time of freelancing, in 1942 he was hired by Frank Temerson, publisher of Continental Comics on 42nd Street. He was brought in as editor and art director, and immediately set about upgrading the output of that publishing company. Later, Cole’s wife, Ellen, was brought in as staff letterer. After a little practice, she proved as proficient in lettering as he was in illustrating comic book covers.

Of course, lettering proceeds at a faster pace than penciling and inking comic pages. Since Continental published at least five different titles per month, Ellen never lacked for assignments. The fact is, she was often hard-pressed to keep up with the demand.

But fortunately there were other letterers to pick up the overflow which she could not handle.

The comics that Continental published were Suspense, Captain Aero, Contact, Catman, and Terrific. Besides these ongoing titles, the company published numerous one-shot publications over the years. When one considers that in those days each comic book contained 64 interior pages, it becomes obvious that five titles per month amounts to a large annual output. To be precise, it represents 3,840 pages, plus 60 comic book covers. With annual one-shot titles included, the annual page count would probably exceed 5,000. Quite an output for a small comic book company.

In those days, Leonard Cole was most closely identified with the Cat-Man character. He helped to mold the hero’s persona, and he wrote many of The Cat-Man’s adventures.

[Continued on p. 10]

L.B. Cole—Giant Of The Golden Age

A/E Special Section:

Forget BATMAN!

Here Comes The CAT-MAN!

Hep Cat-Man L.B. Cole was rediscovered by fans in the late ’70s and early ’80s—and yet again in the ’90s, when the magazine Comic Book Marketplace featured him in several issues in the mid-1990s. Especially celebrated have been his covers for Catman Comics. Seen here, clockwise from top left, are the ones for Catman, Vol. 3, #2 (Nov. 1944), #27 (April ’45), and #30 (Dec. 1945). [©2013 the respective copyright holders.] Incidentally, as Mike Bromberg assures us, the hyphen in the hero’s name was not always part of the mag’s indicia, but was often indicated, especially in story logos—so we’ve chosen to refer to him as “Cat-Man” in most instances—except in the case of the comic’s title. Call it a quirk. The two digest-sized color issues of Mike B.'s Cat-Man Collector fanzine from a few years back are out of print, but are worth seeking out for their mix of reprinted stories and well-researched articles on the series. Trust us on this!

A Remembrance Of A Colorful Character—And Memorable Cover Artist

[Continued from p. 21] Star Publications: (co-owner & editor & art director of all) AllFamous Crime 1950-51; All-Famous Police Cases 1952-54; Blue Bolt Comics 1949-51; Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror 1951-53; Confessions of Love 1953-54; covers 1949-54; Crime-Fighting Detective 1950-52; Criminals on the Run 1948-49; Dick Cole 1949-50; filler (w)(a) 1951; Film Stars Romances 1950; Flaming Western Romances 1949-50; 4 Most Boys Comics 1949-50; Frisky Animals 1951-53; Frisky Fables 1949-50; Fun Comics 1953; Gasoline Alley 1950; Ghostly Weird Tales 1953-54; Holiday Comics 1951-52; The Horrors 1953-54; Indian Warriors 1951; Indian Warriors 3-D 1953; Intimate Secrets of Romance 1953-54; Jungle Thrills 1952; Jungle Thrills 3-D 1953; Mighty Bear 1954; The Outlaws (a) 1952-54; Picturescope Jungle Adventures 1954; Popular Teen-agers 1950-54; School Day Romances 1959-50; Shock Detective Cases 1952; Shocking Mystery Cases 1952-54; Spook 1953-54; Sport Thrills 1950-51; Startling Terror Tales 1952-54; Super Animals Presents Pidgy and the Magic Glasses 3-D 1953; Super Cat 1953-54; Target Western Romances 1949-50; Terrifying Tales 1953-54; Terrors of the Jungle 1952-54; Thrilling Crime Cases 1950-52; Top Love Stories 1951-54; True-to-Life Romances 1959-54; Unsane 1954; Western Crime Cases 1951; Western Fighters 3-D 1953; White Rider and Super Horse 1950-51; Wild West Rodeo 1953; Zoo Animals 1954

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Unsane(d) Melody Unsane #15 (June 1954) was Star Publications’ sole attempt to compete with EC’s color Mad. Cole’s cover showcased Egypt’s corpulent playboy King Farouk, a popular figure to poke fun at in those days (not long before he was overthrown). Interior pages by George Peltz and Jay Disbrow can be found on pp. 12 & 42 of this issue of A/E. Thanks to Frank Motler. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

L.B. Cole’s bondage cover for Star’s Terrors of the Jungle #7 (Dec. 1953) featured Jay Disbrow’s hero Torga— who also starred in a story inside. That’s Torga waaay in the background. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

Meeting LENNY COLE A 1979 Encounter With L.B. COLE— And, Incidentally, HARVEY KURTZMAN by John Benson first became aware of Leonard Cole in late spring, 1954, when I bought a copy of Unsane #15 (the one and only issue) with a Cole cover. And I must admit that, years later, when I saw them at conventions, I was also intrigued by all those brash, artless, colorful covers that he did for Star in a style that betrayed his cigar-box-creation beginnings. I became aware of Cole as a person when I talked to Mad creator Harvey Kurtzman and artist Gil Kane in 1972 about their earliest days in comics, when, as teenagers, they had worked in the Louie Ferstadt shop. For a time, Cole had worked there, too. Cole, six years older, would use his age and life experience to play mind games with the innocent, naïve, 18-year-old Kurtzman. As I listened to Kurtzman and Kane talking about Cole... how shall I put it... it was evident that they did not have a high opinion of him.

The only time I met Cole was on June 30, 1979. It was at one of Phil Seuling’s New York Comic Art Conventions at the then-named Statler Hilton Hotel in New York. E.B. Boatner and I had arranged to meet with Kurtzman in his room to record his comments about Two-Fisted Tales for inclusion in the notes for Russ Cochran’s slip-cased reprints of that EC title. When we arrived at his room, he warned us that we might be interrupted, because he’d seen Cole downstairs and had to invite him up. He was plainly dreading the meeting and made several negative remarks about Cole. When there was a knock on the door, Kurtzman said, “I’m expecting a friend. I hope this is my friend and not Leonard Cole!” (It was neither.) Later, when Cole did arrive, Kurtzman jumped up to welcome him in a hearty tone that, to us who had heard his earlier comments, seemed rather hollow. The two then engaged in small talk about their current activities and mutual friends. Cole was not near the recorder and another conversation was going on in the room simultaneously, so much of this small talk is inaudible on the tape.

KURTZMAN: There he is: Lenny Cole! How’ve you been? [Boatner takes a picture.] We immortalized that moment. [laughter.] You’re still fishing, I see.

Over Hill, Over Dale, Overstreet (Above:) L.B. Cole looks on as Bob Overstreet (seated at left) shakes hands with Mad creator/editor/writer/artist Harvey Kurtzman at the 1979 New York Comic Art Convention. Thanks to John Benson and photographer E.B. Boatner. (Left:) A tangible result of the Cole/Overstreet confab: the former’s painted cover for the 1981 Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (Vol. 11)— a re-creation of one of his many Star Publications horror (or was it jungle?) covers. Retrieved from the Heritage Comics Archive by Dominic Bongo. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

COLE: Absolutely. How are you?

KURTZMAN: Pretty good. How’ve you been, how’s everything, how’s your wife? [Cole’s response inaudible.] Oh, yeah? No kidding. What are you doing now? COLE: Publishing... [inaudible]

KURTZMAN: [enthusiastic] You’re publishing! [more inaudible banter] We were just talking about when I first came here and I was looking at your book; it’s terrific stuff! Your fishing book. You’ve done more than one, I think. I remember you were fishing...

COLE: Even then. [long inaudible comment]

KURTZMAN: You know, [laughs] it reminds me of a story… which I won’t tell right now… of a lemon meringue pie in a Horn and Hardart’s.

COLE: Those were good days, Harvey—those were the good old days, believe me. They’re better now.

KURTZMAN: Down from Lou Ferstadt, God rest his soul.

COLE: You guys finish up [your interview]. I have to use your facility.

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A Four-Color Dreamer The JAY DISBROW Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Ray Zone

A/E EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: The following relatively short interview was conducted in 1981 and has never had previous publication in any form. At the time the conversation between Jay Disbrow and Ray Zone took place, the former was still working on his history of the Iger Comic Shop, which was published in 1985.

ith the rise of the adventure comic strip in the 1930s, there was a new American dream. It was nurtured by the illustrative genius of Alex Raymond with his graceful renderings of other worlds in the panels of Flash Gordon. It was further elaborated by Burne Hogarth and Harold Foster with Tarzan and Prince Valiant as a continuous, exotic, and highly detailed form of graphic storytelling.

The work of these graphic storytellers gave the artistically disreputable media of newspaper comic strips and comic books new status as an art form. The four-color stories reached an enormous audience and the artists became new American heroes.

Jay Disbrow got caught up in the dream. He is a native American dreamer, a writer and artist of visual narratives infected with the lure of the four-color comic medium. In the eighth edition (1978-1979) of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide he confessed to “a mania for adventure comic expression” that began in “early childhood.” For him the comics “represented an inner compulsion that demanded expression. Adventure comic story plots,” he wrote, “were bred within the very fiber of my being and they struggled incessantly to get out of my psyche and into print.”

From the time he was 14, Jay wrote and drew adventure comic stories “at a furious pace. I made up the plots as I went along,” he explained, “filling in the narration and the dialogue panel by panel.... As a teenager I sent my comic pages to Alex Raymond, Hal Foster, and Burne Hogarth for criticism. These titans of the syndicate world who were my heroes graciously took their time to encourage me in the pursuit of my chosen career.” Disbrow applied himself to studying the construction of the human figure and the riddles of perspective. He was in the process of developing one of the most unique styles in comics, art so individualistic it has been called “esoteric.” After high school graduation Disbrow spent three years in

Bantor—Rhymes With Tantor Jay Disbrow (in a 2002 photo) end one of his beloved jungle-lord creations: Bantor, with his mate Zentra, seen here in the splash page he drew (and probably wrote) for Star Publications’ Terrors of the Jungle #6 (Sept. 1953). Thanks to Jim Ludwig for the comics scan, and to Jay for the photo. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

frustration attempting to gain a foothold in the comic book industry. In January of 1950 he landed a job as an inker at the Iger Studios. “For about three weeks I lived in a dream world,” he wrote. “I was now on the inside. I had at last become a professional.”

At the Iger Studios Jay worked on the comic book “production line.” Eventually he was doing the pencilling for such popular Fiction House hero-features as “Sheena,” “Kaänga,” “Firehair,” and “Long Bow.”

After he had been with Iger for over a year, Jay decided “the time had come to launch out into that vast ocean of freelance opportunity.” Going to the office of Star Publications, he met (actually for the second time) Leonard B. Cole, the editor of Star and an artist of surpassing talent himself.

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RICHARD E. HUGHES: Life After ACG Part II Of A Study Of A Major Comics Editor & Writer by Michael Vance

EDITOR’S NOTE: As noted in Part I of this piece (in issue #112), a long-unsuspected cache of materials related to longtime comic book editor and writer Richard E. Hughes (real name: Leo Rosenbaum) was purchased two or three years ago by Yonkers, NY, resident Joseph Eacobacci. Joey has generously made it available to Ye Editor and to Michael Vance, author of the 1996 book Forbidden Knowledge: The History of the American Comics Group, which was serialized in A/E #61 & 62. These papers were apparently given some years ago by Hughes’ widow Annabel to a man she was dating and contained numerous photos and papers; he later sold them to Eacobacci.

A/E

In this issue, Michael Vance continues his guided tour of these artifacts, which add considerably to what we know about the life of the man who (for the B.W. Sangor Shop in the early 1940s) co-created such Standard/Nedor heroes as The Black Terror and The Fighting Yank, among numerous others—and who from 1948-67 was the editor and a major scripter for Sangor’s American Comics Group (ACG), publisher of Adventures into the Unknown, the first regularly published horror comic book. Hughes also co-created “Supermouse” and “Herbie,” ACG’s offbeat super-hero of its final decade; no fewer than three never-published “Herbie” scripts found among the Eacobacci trove were touched on and even partly illustrated in A/E #112. Now, Michael shows us that the Hughes/Eacobacci cache has yet another surprise or three to unveil….

Hughes Was Huge! Richard E. Hughes, smoking his omnipresent pipe in a undated, previously unpublished photo from the Joseph Eacobacci Collection, regards three of his major career milestones. (From the top:) “The Black Terror,” drawn here by the Nedor feature’s original artist Elmer Wexler for America’s Best Comics #6 (July 1943)—scripter unknown, but Hughes created the hero with Wexler as part of the Sangor Shop… Edvard Moritz’s cover for ACG’s groundbreaking horror title Adventures into the Unknown #1 (Fall 1948), edited by Hughes… …and Ogden Whitney’s cover for ACG’s Herbie #1 (April-May 1964), which Hughes both wrote and edited. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

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CBA’s Jon B. Cooke is back with his new mag, Comic Book Creator! Make ready for COMIC BOOK CREATOR, the new voice of the comics medium! TwoMorrows is proud to debut our newest magazine, COMIC BOOK CREATOR, devoted to the work and careers of the men and women who draw, write, edit, and publish comics, focusing always on the artists and not the artifacts, the creators and not the characters. Behind an ALEX ROSS cover painting, our frantic FIRST ISSUE features an investigation of the oft despicable treatment JACK KIRBY endured from the very business he helped establish. From being cheated out of royalties in the ‘40s and bullied in the ‘80s by the publisher he made great, to his estate’s current fight for equitable recognition against an entertainment monolith where his characters have generated billions of dollars, we present Kirby’s cautionary tale in the eternal struggle for creator’s rights. Plus, CBC #1 interviews artist ALEX ROSS and writer KURT BUSIEK, spotlights the last years of writer/artist FRANK ROBBINS, remembers comics historian LES DANIELS, talks to TODD McFARLANE about his new show-all book, showcases a joint talk between NEAL ADAMS and DENNIS O’NEIL on their unforgettable collaborations, as well as throws a whole kit’n’caboodle of other creator-centric items atcha! Join us for the start of a new era as TwoMorrows welcomes back former Comic Book Artist editor JON B. COOKE, who helms the all-new, all-color COMIC BOOK CREATOR! (And don’t miss the double-size Summer Special #2, paying tribute to JOE KUBERT, this July!

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Comic Fandom Archive

“Of Graphic Stories & Wonderworlds” A Conversation With Writer, Publisher, & Bookstore Owner RICHARD KYLE—Part 2

[This is the 8th installment of our 9-part series devoted to Fandom’s 50th-Birthday Bash held at Comic-Con International 2011 in San Diego. Richard Kyle was one of the guests of honor at that event.]

by Bill Schelly

Introduction

ere is the second part of my conversation with Richard Kyle, which took place in March 2011, about three weeks after Part 1. Last time, as recorded in Alter Ego #115, Richard discussed reading comic books in the late 1930s, quitting school when he was 13, some juvenile attempts at writing, and his involvement in science-fiction fandom. Then we covered his entrance into comics fandom through the pages of Dick and Pat Lupoff’s fanzine Xero and his entry in the “All in Color For a Dime” series, called “The Education of Victor Fox.” Now Richard and I discuss his increasing participation in comics fandom in 1964, both in the pages of CAPA-Alpha and in Bill Spicer’s fanzine Fantasy Illustrated.

I would like to simply add that it was really a kick to be able to talk at length with Richard, after having been a fan of his writing since I encountered it in some of the first fanzines I purchased as a teenager. Our talk was transcribed by CFA stalwart Brian K. Morris.

BILL SCHELLY: In 1964, Xero ended, but by then you’d linked up with Bill Spicer and Fantasy Illustrated. I’m curious how that occurred.

RICHARD KYLE: I don’t know. I don’t remember whether I ordered Bill’s magazine or what.

BS: He may have just written to you because he liked your Fox piece, and that somehow led to you getting a column in Fantasy Illustrated.

KYLE: Independent of me, he and Bruce [Berry] had been corresponding, and he had gotten Bruce to draw the adaptation of the Adam Link story [“Adam Link’s Vengeance” in Fantasy Illustrated #1 and 2]. That brought me back in touch with Bruce.

BS: And right into the middle of comics fandom. Xero was really a bridge between science-fiction and comics fandom

KYLE: Yeah, yeah. Bill asked me to do a column in Fantasy Illustrated. I had created a column for CAPA-Alpha—you know, the Amateur Press Association—and I was one of the original founding members. And at first, I was just really an enthusiast of the old comics because they awakened so many emotions in me.

What’s In A Name? (Left:) Richard Kyle, in a recent photo. (Above:) By the fall 1967 (#8) issue of Fantasy Illustrated, editor/publisher Bill Spicer had become so enamored of Kyle’s term for cartoon continuities that he renamed his fanzine Graphic Story Magazine. Even those who didn’t read Kyle’s article in it were hit with the title in the advertisements in the adzine Rocket’s Blast-Comicollector, which spread the term “graphic story” far and wide. [Cover art ©2013 George Metzger.]

Video-Grams A Look At Captain Video And His Video Rangers by James Heath Lantz, with Roy Thomas

[Abridged from the hardcover volume Roy Thomas Presents Captain Video, published by PS Artbooks, 2013— but originally prepared for this issue of Alter Ego]

Vini, Video, Vinci!

etween its birth in 1946 and its death in 1956, the DuMont Television Network gave home audiences such classics as The Ernie Kovacs Show and Cavalcade of Stars, the show that introduced The Honeymooners. The network was an offshoot of DuMont Laboratories, a company that manufactured television equipment—including TV sets. Launching its own network was presumably one way of selling those early sets!

And nothing on the DuMont Network was quite like Captain Video and His Video Rangers.

Ostensibly set in the year 2254, Captain Video (for short) aired from June 27, 1949, through April 1, 1955. Its 7:00-7:30 p.m. time slot from Monday through Friday made the series popular among both children and adults. It had all the staples of children’s programming of the day—including moral lessons and the use of film clips—even while it capitalized on the nascent adult interest in the possibility of space travel. The show ushered in science-fiction on television, a genre that would later include The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Doctor Who, et al. Unfortunately, only about two dozen of Captain Video’s more than 1000 have survived, and fewer still of those are available at present on DVD. Captain Video could claim a lot of firsts.

It was the first space-adventure program transmitted on live American television. The mechanical menace Tobor (played by 7’6” Dave Ballard) was the first automaton to appear in science-fictional TV, although he (it?) later reformed; “Tobor,” of course, is “robot” spelled backwards. Captain Video was also the first space show to spin off a TV series—two, in fact, as noted below. It inspired the first and indeed the only movie serial adapted from a TV program. The “Captain Video” board game released by Milton Bradley in 1952 was the first game of that type based on a TV series. The show also led to one of the first examples of TV cross-advertising, when, in one Honeymooners episode, Ed Norton (Art Carney) even tricked Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) into moving the TV aerial so he could finish watching Captain Video. Both were on the DuMont Network, of course. What, they should’ve been watching Milton Berle over on NBC instead?

One more first: In 1951, Fawcett Comics published the six-issue Captain Video comic book series. It was Fawcett’s first, though not last, TV license. First, though, re the TV series:

Video On Video

Captain Video and his Video Rangers operated from a secret mountain base. The Captain (portrayed first by Richard Coogan,

First Men In Space? From the DuMont Network’s TV series, here are shots of Captain Video and the Video Ranger—in their uniforms, and in space gear. That’s obviously Don Hastings as the Ranger—but we’re not certain if the Captain in these shots is first CV Richard Coogan or the later Al Hodge. You’ll have to compare their mug shots on p. 76. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.]

then by Al Hodge), the Video Ranger (Don Hastings), and their more sporadically seen colleagues received orders for missions from the Commissioners of Public Safety, acting on behalf of the Solar Council of the Interplanetary Alliance. The Rangers defended time and space from such evildoers as Mook the Moon Man, Prince Spartak, Princess Arura, Clumsy McGee (ace funnyman Arnold Stang, who also played Jughead on radio’s Archie Andrews), and Norgola (Ernest Borgnine, before his big break in the movie version of Paddy Chayevsky’s Marty). But no villain in the Captain’s rogues’ gallery could match the maniacal genius of mad scientist Doctor Pauli, whose nefarious inventions made him the archnemesis of the Video Rangers.

Being something of a technological genius himself, Captain Video would fight his enemies using such devices as the Atomic Rifle, the Astra-Viewer, the Remote Tele-Carrier, the Discatron, and the Opticon Scillometer. Throughout the television series, he and the Rangers would use the X-9 rocket plane and the spaceships Galaxy and Galaxy II to reach their various destinations.

It was perhaps a bit overly ambitious to have set the Captain Video program in a future replete with space travel and aliens, for neither the necessary special-effects technology nor a budget to purchase them if they had existed, was a possibility for the DuMont Network in 1951. The Rangers’ uniforms resembled military surplus with sewn-on lightning bolts. It’s been reported that the visual-effects budget for the series was a mere $25 a week—a lot more money six decades ago than it is now, but still not nearly enough! As a result, stories relied mostly on dialogue and exposition, with precious little action—which at least led to the Captain relying on his wits rather than his weaponry to defeat his enemies. As it happened, the series was shot on the floor above Wanamaker’s Department Store in New York City, so props were often made from odds and ends which had been purchased downstairs. Most amazingly of all, from 1949 to 1953, ten minutes

Video-Grams

In spite of all these limitations of technology and budget, Captain Video captured the hearts and imaginations of its viewers. It paved the way for other space adventure shows, including competitors Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and Space Patrol. One might even go as far as say that Captain Video inspired the characters of Commander J. J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen in the 1965 classic film Forbidden Planet) and Captain James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner in Star Trek). Or one might not.

The breaks in the action on Captain Video, called “Ranger Messages,” were meant to teach lessons to children. That was not uncommon back in the day. However, while most of its competition was preaching civic duty and safety first, the Captain was teaching children about freedom and nondiscrimination. This made the series a true innovator, paving the way for Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone and Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek.

of each episode featured scenes from old Western movies. Communications Officer Ranger Rogers (Fred Scott, who also had a career as a singer of Western ballads) would describe these as the adventures of Captain Video’s undercover agents on Earth—while in truth they were the result of a combination of budgetary restraints and the overwhelming popularity of vintage Western movies on TV at that time. After 1953, a pair of technicians provided models and practical effects scenes shot in 16mm film, and these were placed into episodes whenever needed.

Even so, as the Wikipedia entry on Captain Video makes clear, the scarcity of episodes available for viewing makes it unclear in what period the stories take place, despite the official 2254 date: “The stories in the surviving kinescopes could take place in 1950, as when Dr. Pauli plots to rob a bank in Shanghai, or centuries in the future, as when Captain Video seeks to establish a reliable mail service for far-flung interstellar (or at least interplanetary) colonies… or struggles to prevent the many space stations circling Pluto from being destroyed by an approaching comet.”

Since this was a kids’ show, Captain Video’s inventions were never lethal. Devices such as the Atomic Disintegrator Rifle and the Electronic Strait Jacket were merely used to capture or incapacitate the bad guys—perhaps partly because of the public concern at the time about violence on television and its possible connection to juvenile delinquency.

The DuMont series likewise pioneered something that is commonplace in science-fiction TV today: the spin-off. By 1951, the show had become so popular that Columbia Pictures acquired the rights to produce a movie serial titled Captain Video – Master of the Stratosphere (of which more on our next page).

And, on September 5, 1953, a second CV television series—The Secret Files of Captain Video—premiered on the DuMont Network, airing every second week on Saturdays. The only major difference between Secret Files and the original show (which continued in its five-times-a-week slot) was that the original series was a serialized program, while its spin-off told a complete story in 30 minutes. The final episode of Secret Files aired on May 29, 1954; no episodes from it are known to have survived.

After the original series itself ended in 1955, Al Hodge became the host of yet another show: Captain Video and His Cartoon Rangers, on which he introduced cartoons in host segments. No examples of this series are known to exist, either.

And “Atar” Spelled Backwards Is…? (Left:) Tobor the robot and one of the lovelies of the Captain Video series—both nicely labeled. [©2013 the respective copyright holders.] (Above:) Movie and TV robots hadn’t improved much by 1951 from what they were in comics a decade earlier. The late Marc Swayze, whose work has appeared in all 117 issues thus far of Alter Ego, Vol. 3, wrote and drew this amiable ending to his story featuring the robot Klang in Fawcett’s Captain Marvel Adventures #15 (Sept. 1942). Thanks to P.C. Hamerlinck. [Shazam hero TM & ©2013 DC Comics.]

Alter Ego #117