Issuu

Roy Thomas’ All-Star-Struck Comics Fanzine

SEE? WE TOLD YOU THERE’D BE ANOTHER ISSUE STARRING THE

8.95

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JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA

No. 121

Justice Society of America TM & © DC Comics.

November 2013

L! A I EC P S

HR!! T E D OTRHUN Y THW NN E! M! N O J EOF ONE ATO S! ! Y WOR S TH ET CI BC.REAT ANOR OF ACH SO SREAT SSTICE CO HEN R/ C N U O T J WRI LEER/CO AR19D51 J K 48 IN 19 RON F E BKER

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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!

2013 EISNER AWARD Nominee Best Comics-Related Journalism

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

ALTER EGO #111

ALTER EGO #112

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BL AVAILA

ALTER EGO #108

ALTER EGO #109

ALTER EGO #110

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

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

ALTER EGO #116

ALTER EGO #117

ALTER EGO #118

ALTER EGO #119

ALTER EGO #120

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!

GOLDEN AGE ARTISTS L.B. COLE AND JAY DISBROW! DISBROW’s memoir of COLE and his work on CAT-MAN, art by BOB FUJITANI, CHARLES QUINLAN, IRWIN HASEN, FCA (Fawcett Collector’s of America) on the two-media career of Captain Video, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, Cat-Man cover by L.B. COLE!

AVENGERS 50th ANNIVERSARY! WILL MURRAY on the group’s behind-thescenes origin, a look at its first decade with ROY THOMAS, STAN LEE, JACK KIRBY, THE BROTHERS BUSCEMA, TUSKA, ADAMS, COLAN, BUCKLER, ENGLEHART, MERRY MARVEL MARCHING SOCIETY, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, FCA, Golden Age Blue Beetle artist E.C. STONER, unused Avengers cover by DON HECK!

MARC SWAYZE TRIBUTE ISSUE, spotlighting FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America)! Salutes from Fawcett alumnus C.C. BECK and OTTO BINDER, interview with wife JUNE SWAYZE, a full Phantom Eagle story from Wow Comics, plus interview with 1950s Dell/Western artist MEL KEEFER, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and a SWAYZE Marvel Family cover art from the 1940s!

X-MEN SALUTE! 1963-69 secrets, rare ‘60s BRAZILIAN X-MEN stories, lost ‘60s XMen “character sheet” by STAN LEE, ROY THOMAS on the 1970s revival, art and artifacts by KIRBY, ROTH, ADAMS, HECK, FRIEDRICH, and BUSCEMA—plus the MARVELMANIA fan club story, interview with Golden Age writer ED SILVERMAN, FCA, Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, and JACK KIRBY’s unused X-Men #10 cover!

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

Vol. 3, No. 121 / November 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 Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich

Editorial Honor Roll

Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

Proofreaders

Shane Foley (after Irwin Hasen)

Cover Artists Tom Ziuko

Cover Colorist

Heidi Amash Mark Lewis Richard J. Arndt Jim Ludwig Bob Bailey Ed Malsberg Rod Beck Doug Martin Judy Swayze Bruce Mason Blackman Mike Lynch Dominic Bongo Cartoons (website) Mike Catron Tom Miller Shaun Clancy Brian K. Morris Brian Cremins Ken Nadle Ray Cuthbert Jake Oster Craig Delich Jay Piscopo Jim Engel Gene Reed Justin Fairfax Bob Rivard Stephen Fishler Tony Rose Shane Foley Heather Rowe Four-Color Shadows Steven Rowe (website) Bernice SachsJanet Gilbert Smollet Jennifer Go Maggie Sansone Grand Comics Randy Sargent Database Eric Schumacher Robert Greenberger Pat Sekowsky Larry Guidry Emily Sokoloff Heritage Comics Dan Stevenson Archives Bhob Stewart Bob Hughes Marc Svensson Douglas (“Gaff”) Dann Thomas Jones Steven Thompson Jim Kealy Dr. Michael J. Richard Kyle Vassallo Paul Leiffer Rebecca Wentworth

With Special Thanks to:

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

John B. Wentworth, Leonard Sansone, & Bernard Sachs

Contents Writer/Editorial: “…And All The Stars Looked Down”. . . . . . 2 John B. Wentworth—All-American Thunderbolt . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Daughter Rebecca Wentworth tells Richard Arndt about the creator of “Johnny Thunder,” “Sargon the Sorcerer,” & “The Whip.”

Special A/E Interlude: “The Will Of William Wilson” . . . . . . 18 Splitting The Atom—Three Ways! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Mrs. Emily Sokoloff & Maggie Sansone talk to Shaun Clancy about Leonard Sansone— inker/co-creator of “The Atom”—and about co-creators Ben Flinton and Bill O’Connor.

Bernice Sachs-Smollet to Richard Arndt about her late husband, JSA/JLA artist Bernard Sachs.

“The Life Of A Freelancer… Is Always Feast Or Famine” . . 40

Bill Schelly presents Landon Chesney’s fandom classic—in color for the first time since 1963!

Comic Fandom Archive: 2 Flashes Meet The Purple Slagheap . 59 Michael T. Gilbert looks at the nutty house ads of Golden Age Ace Periodicals.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Now That’s A Fan! . . . . . . . . . . 65

re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 71 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #180 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 P.C. Hamerlinck with Otto Binder’s madcap memoir—& Captain Marvel’s wartime record.

On Our Cover: Irwin Hasen’s cover for All-Star Comics #43 (Oct.-Nov. 1948) was, in addition to its own considerable merits, the inspiration for the second “Justice League of America” cover, for The Brave and the Bold #29 (April-May 1960)—no big surprise, since chances are that both were commissioned by editor Julius Schwartz. For Alter Ego #76’s printing of Bob Rozakis’ fantasy history of a takeover of National/DC by sister company All-American Comics, Shane Foley adapted the Golden Age cover to what it might’ve looked like had honorary JSAers Superman and Batman, who had guest-starred in AllStar #36, stuck around in place of less stellar members Johnny Thunder and The Atom… and Ye Editor has always wanted to see that artful homage in color, so our thanks to Tom Ziuko. Coincidentally, the cocreators of the two latter-named heroes are honored in this issue of A/E… hence the vintage cameo heads by Stan Aschmeier (Johnny Thunder) and Ben Flinton, Leonard Sansone, & maybe Bill O’Connor (The Atom). [JSA heroes TM & © DC Comics.] Above: The first work by the longtime team of penciler Arthur Peddy and inker Bernard Sachs on the “Justice Society of America” feature was the lead chapter of the story “The Plight of a Nation” in All-Star Comics #40 (April-May 1948)—except for the splash page, which was a Photostat of that issue’s cover by Carmine Infantino & Frank Giacoia. Seen above is the very first panel Peddy & Sachs ever drew of the JSA—in that first issue in which Black Canary replaced Johnny Thunder, even though she didn’t officially become a member till #41. Reproduced from Ye Editor’s bound volumes. [© DC Comics.]

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

“...And All The Stars Looked Down”

he line is by G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), from his poem “A Christmas Carol.”

Somehow, though it’s not quite yet the Yuletide season, the phrase called out to me, because none of the three comics creators who are the main focus of this latest “Justice Society of America” theme issue is down here amongst us at this writing. Two of them passed away late last century after reasonably long life spans, while the life of the other had been cut short, years earlier, in a tragic automobile accident. Our interviews this issue are with the daughter of one of those men (John B. Wentworth, writer/co-creator of “Johnny Thunder”) and the widows of the other two (Leonard Sansone, first inker and perhaps co-creator of “The Atom,” and Bernard Sachs, who inked entire book-length stories in the later Golden Age All-Star Comics)—though, in the case of Sansone, a daughter was also very much involved with the interview.

Naturally, it would have been wonderful had we been able to interview the comics pros themselves. Alas, however, they were gone from the scene before Alter Ego began its present incarnation.

We consider ourselves blessed, though, to record the memories of Rebecca Wentworth, Emily (Sansone) Sokoloff, and Bernice Sachs-Smollet. Understandably, these three ladies may have fewer recollections concerning their loved ones’ comic book work than about a forced move to Maine for reasons of family health… or the trials and tribulations of “making it” in New York City in the early 1940s… or a pop-art exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. But their vivid word-pictures serve as valuable context for all the comic and related art that accompanies them… or is it vice versa?

(And Bernice, it turns out, has clear and colorful memories of Bernie Sachs’ comics associates, especially his longtime partner, Arthur Peddy. While Becky reveals the source of the relationship

between Johnny Thunder and his foster-daughter Peachy Pet… and Emily provides the first information I’ve ever learned about “Atom” byliners Ben Flinton and Bill O’Connor. And if you’ve never before known about Len Sansone’s celebrated Wolf cartoons from the Second World War—well, you should. I myself had no idea, till recently, that there was a connection between that hardcover 1946 Wolf collection I found years ago in a used bookstore and Al Pratt, the youngest—and shortest—charter member of the JSA.)

Jim Amash, longtime interviewer and still one of A/E’s valued associate editors, has always maintained that some of the most important insights about the comics field come not necessarily from the “big names,” but from its lesser-known artisans. He could have added, “and sometimes from their wives and children.”

To round out our coverage of the first decade of the world’s first super-hero team—and the 50th anniversary of the JSA’s return in JLA #21—Bill Schelly and I are also proud to present Landon Chesney’s early send-up of Earth-Two stories, seen in color for the first time since its original presentation in 1963. You’ll also view two more “colorized” pages of that never-published, quasi-lost “JSA” story from the mid-’40s. All this, plus some truly outrageous house ads for less-than-stellar Ace comics of the Golden Age, courtesy of Michael T. Gilbert—and FCA’s loving look at “the real” Captain Marvel’s wartime adventures.

What was it that one early-1960s science-fiction fanzine said disparagingly about super-hero comics fanzines?

Oh, yeah… that they’d soon run out of interesting material and would die an early death. What was the name of that SF fanzine again? Bestest,

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JOHN B. WENTWORTH All-American Thunderbolt Daughter REBECCA WENTWORTH Tells Us About The Man Who Created “Johnny Thunder” & “Sargon The Sorcerer” Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: John B. Wentworth was born in 1908 and died in 1997. During his long life, he was an actor, a light opera singer, an information officer dealing with foreign diplomats, and, most important to Alter Ego readers, a comic book writer. All of his work in the latter field was done for All-American Comics (from 1939-45 the sister company to DC Comics) and for DC itself after AA founder M.C. Gaines sold his interest to the larger company in ’45. Wentworth co-created “Johnny Thunder” (a feature originally called “Johnny

Thunderbolt”) with artist Stan Aschmeier (aka “Stan Josephs”), cocreated “Sargon the Sorcerer” with artist Howard Purcell and “The Whip” with George Storm, and also wrote such AA/DC strips as “Red, White and Blue” and “The Ghost Patrol.” In fact, with rare exceptions, Wentworth worked only on series characters for his entire comics career. This interview with John B.’s daughter, Rebecca Wentworth, was conducted by phone in December of 2011.

John B. Wentworth

No Flash In The Pan Writer John B. Wentworth at work—surrounded by the first-ever splash pages of three DC heroes he co-created: “Johnny Thunderbolt” and “The Whip” from Flash Comics #1 (Jan. 1940) and “Sargon the Sorcerer” from All-American Comics #26 (May 1941). The respective artists are Stan Aschmeier, George Storm, and Howard Purcell. Note that Wentworth originally received a byline only on “The Whip.” With thanks respectively to the hardcover JSA All Stars Archives, Vol. 1, Jim Kealy, and Gene Reed—and to Rebecca Wentworth for the photo. The “Whip” page is probably ultimately from the 1970s tabloid-size reprinting of Flash Comics #1. [Page © DC Comics.]

Daughter Rebecca Wentworth Tells Us About The Man Who Created “Johnny Thunder”

A Family Portrait In Four Parts (Clockwise From Above:) The Wentworth family circa the early 1950s. (L. to r.: John B., Rebecca, Hazel (Mrs. John B.), Karen. Rebecca writes: “There are [virtually] no family pictures of us together. Dad was the photographer, and he was into candid shots.” Incidentally, both Rebecca and Karen have kept their original surnames. “Mom,” Rebecca says, “also stayed Hazel Wentworth.” A 1938 letter from John B. to Hazel. The “watermelon” bit refers to their as-yet-unborn first child, Karen. This clearly much-read copy of Flash Comics #77 (Nov. 1946) is the only comic book containing one of her father’s stories that Rebecca can recall having while growing up. It came out in the year she was born. For scenes from its rather atypical “Johnny Thunder” entry, see p. 11. The Hawkman cover is by Chester Kozlak. [© DC Comics.] Wentworth in the woods at Tenants Harbor, Maine… sometime between 1942 and 1947-48. Thanks to Rebecca Wentworth for the photos, Flash Comics scan, and letter.

“He Referred To His Work In Comics As ‘For The Pulps’”

RICHARD ARNDT: We’re chatting with Rebecca Wentworth, about her father, John. Can you tell us what you know of your dad’s early life?

REBECCA WENTWORTH: Dad went to the Chicago University High School. That school was run by a guy named John Dewey. Dewey was the progressive education guru for Americans at that time. He was an advocate of pragmatism, which supported classes like home economics and practical, skill-based learning, as well as the Latin or liberal arts classes. Although he was never a formal

John B. Wentworth—All-American Thunderbolt

teacher, Dad was very much an educator in his own way. My mother was a special-needs teacher back then. She was a remedial reading teacher, and she taught speech therapy and stuff.

Dad studied opera and theatre and writing privately while he was in college. He married Mom—well, I don’t actually know the year. I know he graduated with a Liberal Arts degree from Williams College in Massachusetts in 1929, the same year his dad died, and, of course, the year of the great stock market crash. The year the Great Depression started. For the first few years of their marriage they were in New York, and then they ended up in Colorado for five years. Dad did theatre work for the WPA [Works Progress Administration] in Silver City, near Denver, until the government stopped supporting theatre.

RA: That may have been when Orson Welles ticked off the right-wing members of Congress with The Cradle Will Rock, in 1937 or so.

WENTWORTH: That’s close, so that could have been it. They moved back to New York in 1938, and I’m pretty sure Dad started writing for comics—or the pulps—that’s what he called them. My sister was born in 1938, and he started working for the pulps in 1939. I was born in 1946, so I don’t know all the titles of the pulps he wrote for.

RA: There were a lot of [actual] pulps back then. Mostly, “pulps” refers to a particular short story [magazine] market, not comics. Do you know if he wrote prose stories for that type of genre pulps?

WENTWORTH: No, I just know the comics. He referred to his work in comics as “for the pulps.”

RA: A lot of writers back then wrote for one market, say, comics, using one name and an entirely different name for detective pulps. Would your father have used a pen name?

WENTWORTH: No, as far as I know, he used his real name, John Wentworth. In 1939, he became rather desperately ill, both he and my sister; and the family ended up moving to Maine in the early 1940s, I think 1942. My mother’s family is from there. They lived in Maine for five years. That’s where he wrote most of his comics from.

RA: Have you read a lot of your dad’s comics?

WENTWORTH: Well, when I was a kid, we had one copy of one of his comics. It was a “Johnny Thunder” comic and I read it a lot. I seem to recall him telling me when I was young that he wrote the first Lone Ranger comic book. I think I saw that one as well. All that memorabilia was lost over the years. [INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: I was unable to find any credits for John Wentworth on Dell’s Lone Ranger, though it is entirely possible that he did script early issues or stories. Although “The Lone Ranger” appeared in comics from 1937 on, his first full issue in his own title was in 1945, two years before Wentworth left comics.]

“[Johnny Thunder] Was His Character”

RA: I wasn’t aware of his work on “The Lone Ranger.” I know he wrote the first episode of “Johnny Thunder.”

WENTWORTH: He created Johnny Thunder. That was his character. He was originally called “Johnny Thunderbolt.” Peachy Pet, who was a little girl who appeared in “Johnny Thunder,” might have been based on my sister. The relationship between Peachy Pet and Johnny Thunder was like that of my Dad and my sister. Peachy Pet was probably a nickname for the character, not her actual name. Dad used to give us all nicknames.

RA: You mentioned that your dad was an opera singer, and Roy Thomas, Alter Ego’s editor, notes that there are some similarities between Richard Wagner’s Ring opera cycle and “Johnny Thunder” in that the son was sent away to be raised by others, like Siegfried in the Ring Cycle and, for that matter, Superman.

WENTWORTH: That wouldn’t surprise me. It makes sense. Dad had a subtle sense of humor. He was strictly a light opera singer, though, not the dramatic stuff or operettas.

RA: You mentioned earlier that he studied opera and theatre. Did he have any career in opera?

RA: Really? Most of the comics industry was in New York City at the time, and I’ve usually heard that a writer or artist had to live in the city pretty much full-time to get steady work. Did he have to commute down, or did he send the scripts in by mail?

WENTWORTH: I don’t really know, but I would assume he mailed them in. In those days it took six hours to drive from our house in Maine just to get to Boston, and it was another ten hours after that to get to New York. It was because you had to go and wait for ferries. They didn’t have the bridges they have today. There were two ferries you had to take. The roads were very curvy, and there was no Route 95, only Route 1. No freeways, only two-lane roads most of the way. It was a long trip.

Home On The Grange A recent photo of Rebecca Wentworth—“at the farmer’s market, peddling memberships for the Grange.” Pic taken by Heather Rowe.

WENTWORTH: Yes. In Colorado, during his time with the WPA, he worked with theatre projects and sang in light opera productions. There’s a long history of my family working or associated with the theatrical world. My grandparents met singing Gilbert & Sullivan, so there’s quite a lot of singing and performing in my family. One of the reasons he came to New York in 1938 was to try his hand at a singing career, but his illness cut that short. Mom taught school in Manhattan, but they lived in Hoboken. She used to take the ferry to work. I remember her telling me that. This is all pre-me, though. What I can tell you is all family myth and things I was told more than things I remember. My sister Karen would probably know more than me.

RA: He also co-created “Sargon the Sorcerer” with artist Howard Purcell. Did you know any of the people he worked with in comics?

WENTWORTH: Hmm, no, not really. I was only a year old when he left the

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Splitting The Atom— Three Ways! MRS. EMILY SOKOLOFF On Her Artist Husband LEONARD SANSONE—From Mighty Mite To Wolf To Willie Interview Conducted 7-24-12 by Shaun Clancy

Transcribed by Steven Thompson

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: Although it’s no secret that I’m one of the greatest fans still standing of the Golden Age “Justice Society of America,” I must admit that, until a few years ago, the name “Leonard Sansone” was as unknown to me as that of, say, Ernest Schroeder, artist of the 1948-50s “Airboy” and “The Heap.” Apparently, though, diligent researchers like A/E/Who’s Who founder Jerry G. Bails and Craig Delich (author of the 1977 All-Star Comics Revue) have been aware for much longer that Sansone was a bosom buddy of Ben Flinton and Bill O’Connor, whose names graced all the early stories of “The Atom” in National/DC’s AllAmerican Comics. Boy, was I surprised to find out that the cartoonist who had done the celebrated Wolf cartoons for U.S.

A/E

The Strength Of Sansone (Photo:) Leonard Sansone in 1944, on leave in Norwood, Massachusetts, with his wife Emily and his mother—framed by the two most noted comics features with which he was associated: (Top right:) “The Atom,” from All-American Comics #37 (April 1942), bylined “Ben Flinton & Bill O’Connor” as usual—although, according to researchers, virtually all of that pair’s “Atom” stories, at least in that title, had artistic input (mostly inking) from Sansone—and either Flinton or O’Connor told Jerry Bails, for the 1970s Who’s Who print volumes, that O’Connor was the writer, not a penciler. Doug Martin, who sent this scan, says the GCD specifically credits the inking of this page to Sansone. [© DC Comics.] (Above:) The Wolf—aka G.I. Wolf or Pvt. Wolf—Len’s own creation, published while he was an enlisted man during World War II. This cartoon, one of a number reprinted in the July 31, 1944, issue of Life magazine, was supplied by the artist/writer’s daughter, Maggie Sansone. [© Estate of Leonard Sansone.]

An Interview With Mrs. Emily Sokoloff About Her Artist Husband—Leonard Sansone

School Daze

Army camp newspapers during World War II—with which I was familiar—had also worked on “The Atom” from the very beginning, even though he never took a credit on it. Turns out he had a considerable solo career in comics for a couple of years, as well, until Uncle Sam called on him to help settle a little thing called the Second World War.

A year or two ago, Maggie Sansone, the artist’s daughter, posted a bit of material about her father online, which led the ever-researching Shaun Clancy to get in touch with her—and through her, with her mother (and Leonard Sansone’s widow), Mrs. Emily Sokoloff. What follows is basically Shaun’s interview with Mrs. Sokoloff, but with several informative interpolations from the ever-helpful Maggie. Between the four of us—and Craig Delich—we’re determined that Leonard Sansone gets some belated but very due credit…! —Roy.

“Everybody Wanted To Go To New York”

SHAUN CLANCY: I’m doing research for a comic book history magazine called Alter Ego. It specializes in people who worked in comic books in the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. EMILY SOKOLOFF: Oh, that’s Lenny.

SC: There are a few other classmates of yours who are credited for comic book work, also… Bill O’Connor and Bernard Flinton. He’s down as “Bernard” in the Massachusetts School of Art 1939 yearbook, which I have. Was his name Bernard or Ben? SOKOLOFF: I think it was Ben; I don’t remember a Bernard.

SC: Yeah, everybody else says Ben, too. “Ben” was apparently his nickname. Do you remember Bill O’Connor? SOKOLOFF: Yes.

SC: Bill O’Connor and Leonard and Ben all went to work in New York in comic books in the 1940 to 1942 time period. You met Leonard in school?

SOKOLOFF: In school, yes. It was a four-year college. Now it’s very, very posh, a very fine college.

SC: I see you took up costume design. I have the 1939 yearbook, which was given to me by Beatrice Holmes [who was in the same class as you]; she was in the art department. Did you know her—or a Richard Case? He was a couple of years behind you. I was just curious, because he was also in comics. SOKOLOFF: No [I don’t remember either of them].

SC: What year did you marry Leonard?

Three Massachusetts School of Art buddies who would soon use their surname initials to make up the comic book byline “FOS”— Bernard (Ben) Flinton, William (Oaky) O’Connor, and Leonard (Lennie) Sansone—plus a drawing by Sansone from the same 1939 yearbook in which these photos and captions appeared. Thanks to Shaun Clancy. [© the respective copyright holders.]

SOKOLOFF: January 1st, 1942, in Boston. We had three nights, three days. Then Lenny went back to where he was stationed, and I went to Dorchester. We were staying with my parents... until Lenny was transferred to CNS, in New York City. [NOTE FROM DAUGHTER MAGGIE SANSONE: CNS [“Camp Newspaper Service”] was a division of Yank magazine, where [my father] worked as art director and cartoonist for the duration of the war. His famous and wonderfully funny Wolf cartoons appeared in over 3000 camp newspapers. During this period at CNS, his colleagues were artists, cartoonists, and writers such as Sgt. George Baker [creator of The Sad Sack, originally a G.I. character], Bill Mauldin [creator of the cartoon G.I.s “Willie and Joe”], Marion Hargrove [author of the wartime bestselling humor novel See Here, Private Hargrove], Milton Caniff [creator of the comic strips Terry and the Pirates and Male Call], and Walter Farley [author of numerous popular children’s books about horses].] SC: That means you’d stayed in touch with him after you graduated.

SOKOLOFF: Yes, we stayed in New York City for about a couple of years. I lived in a nearby apartment with a girlfriend until the guys were drafted.

SC: Did Bill O’Connor and Ben come around a lot?

SOKOLOFF: No. When the war started, they all went into the Army. When they came out, they all dispersed in different areas. Some probably went back to Boston.

“When My Eyes Visualize A Family, I See Emily…” Emily Stone in 1939… the future Mrs. Emily Sansone, later Mrs. Emily Sokoloff. With thanks to Maggie Sansone & Shaun Clancy.

Splitting The Atom—Three Ways!

Up ’n’ “Atom”—Clockwise! The closing panel/caption of the “Adventures into the Unknown” feature in All-American Comics #18 (Sept. 1940)— no relation to the 1948+ horror comic from ACG. This story was the final chapter of a serial scripted by popular juvenile author Carl H. Claudy and drawn by Stan Aschmeier; its end-caption served as a tease for the next issue’s “The Mighty Atom,” as the series was originally called. Most likely Flinton and/or O’Connor drew The Atom here; but the colorist clearly had no clue what the hero’s color scheme would be. Thanks to Bob Hughes. The first five “Atom” stories, from All-American Comics #19-23, have been reprinted in the DC hardcover The JSA All Stars Archives, Vol. 1… so here’s the splash page from AA #26 (March 1941) by Flinton, O’Connor, and (reportedly) Sansone. No one has ever proven with any degree of certainty which of these young artists wrote the yarns (O’Connor is usually credited)—or even which of them penciled and which inked, except that Sansone apparently did at least some of the inking. Still, we’re following the lead of DC Comics in crediting Sansone as a probable “co-creator” of “The Atom.” Thanks to Bob Rivard. The Flinton/O’Connor/Sansone splash from All-American #32 (Nov. 1941)— a tale that owed a debt to Wilkie Collins’ classic mystery novel The Moonstone. But then, many a comic book and pulp yarn did, in that era! Thanks to Dan Stevenson. We kinda wonder if the name “Al Pratt” was an homage to the Pratt Institute, which educated many young artists… and if Al’s alma mater “Calvin College” referred to the actual college of that name, or rather was a takeoff on the moniker of one-time U.S. President Calvin Coolidge! [© DC Comics.]

SC: Let’s go back to college. After you graduated from college, what made you decide to go to New York?

SOKOLOFF: Everybody wanted to go to New York. We all considered it sophisticated and ahead of things. We were going to get ahead if we went to New York City. Everybody would be more impressed, that’s what we felt. I got a job in New York City. I wrote advertising. I went to Macy’s for an interview… and I became a copywriter for the department stores.

SC: Do you recall what Leonard was first working at in New York? It wasn’t in comics, was it?

SOKOLOFF: He always worked by himself and took things in to show people. I don’t think he ever had a boss. He was a freelancer. He worked at home in an apartment with a bunch of guys before they went into the Army. There were so many people, so many young men [working in comics]. Everybody was sending in [work], because everybody was buying them!

SC: It was definitely a very productive time period for comic books. Lenny was actually working for four or five different companies at once. Do you remember anybody else from the comic book industry?

SOKOLOFF: No.

“[Lenny] Didn’t Want To Have A Boss. He Wanted To Be The Boss”

SC: Did Leonard always want to get into the daily strips, as he did after the war?

SOKOLOFF: He just wanted to draw. He was very, very good and wanted to be his own man. He didn’t want to have a boss. He wanted to be the boss.

“The Life Of A Freelancer… Is Always Feast Or Famine” An Interview with BERNICE SACHS-SMOLLET About Her Late Husband—Comics Artist BERNARD SACHS Conducted by Richard J. Arndt

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Bernie Sachs (1918?-1998— birth name, Bernie Sachslate) was best known as a Golden and Silver Age inker. He began his comics career by doing a quantity of art for Quality Comics and Hillman Periodicals in 1943-1944. Much of his early work was as the inker of the pencils of Arthur Peddy. Following World War II military service, Sachs resumed work at Hillman.

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

From 1947 on, however, the majority of his comics output was done for National/DC Comics. There, he worked on “The Flash,” “Dr. Mid-Nite,” “Wildcat,” “Ghost Patrol,” “Black Canary,” and, notably, a lengthy period on “The Justice Society of America” in AllStar Comics. Later, he moved to Westerns such as Jimmy Wakely and All-Star Western, adventure titles like Danger Trail, and the science-fiction field with Mystery in Space

A Key Artist (Counterclockwise from above:) Interviewee Bernice SachsSmollet in 2008—Bernice and artist/husband Bernard Sachs at her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary a few decades back—the splash of All-Star Comics #57 (Feb.-March 1951), inked by Sachs over pencils by longtime partner Arthur Peddy for that landmark title’s final Golden Age issue—and the splash page of Justice League of America #41 (Dec. 1965), with Peddy inking Mike Sekowsky only two issues before their 46issue tandem run on that series would finally end. The 1951 Key didn’t actually wear key-shaped headgear; the 1965 story turned that symbolic drawing into a super-villain’s costume. The former script is by John Broome; the latter by Gardner F. Fox. Curiously, the rest of the art on the first chapter of the “JSA” story in All-Star #57 is credited entirely to Frank Giacoia, though Peddy & Sachs did draw the middle chapter and that issue’s cover. All All-Star images accompanying this interview are repro’d from Ye Editor’s bound volumes, not from the DC Archives reprints— but the JLA #41 image is indeed taken from the hardcover Justice League of America Archives, Vol. 6. With thanks to Bernice Sachs-Smollet for the photos. [Art © DC Comics.]

“The Life Of A Freelancer... Is Always Feast Or Famine”

X-Spionage Bernard Sachs was doing both penciling and inking when he drew these two “Espionage, with Black X” thrillers for the Quality group’s Smash Comics #42 & 44 (April & June 1943). Perhaps his earliest work in comics, since a story drawn earlier (and bylined “Bernie”) for Lev Gleason’s Silver Streak Comics #11 is actually the work of Bernard Klein. Scripter unknown. Thanks to Jim Kealy and Bruce Mason, respectively. [© the respective copyright holders.] According to the Grand Comics Database’s up-to-date “Indexer Notes” re the story in Smash #42: “Originally credited ‘Don Rico?,’ but the art is identical to Sachs’ signed story in #49. Note the typical ears with flat top and angled lines compared with Rico’s more rounded like a C. Also the more masculine face of Black X by Sachs…. [H]e has signed at least two stories with identical art to this one. Sachs is mostly known as inker, and with clear and sharp inclines as here.”

and Strange Adventures. He also began what would be a major aspect of his career by contributing to romance comics, initially for Fawcett and St. John; he soon became a mainstay on DC’s romance titles, as well. In addition, he worked on early war stories for Our Army at War and dabbled in the supernatural field with inking on The Phantom Stranger.

He branched out at times from DC, providing art in the early 1950s to Ziff-Davis and Fiction House as well as Fawcett and St. John, doing more SF, adventure, and romance strips. By the late 1950s, however, the majority of his work was appearing in DC’s war, romance, and SF titles. He also had a lengthy stint on The Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog. There was also work on give-away comics for the Big Boy restaurant chain.

Sachs began work on his most celebrated comics contribution with the first appearance of the “Justice League of America” in The Brave and the Bold #28 (Feb.-Mar. 1960), and for much of the 1960s his main inking jobs were “Justice League” tales and DC romance stories. In the late 1960s he made the decision to go full-time into television advertising, where he worked for the remainder of his professional career. Our interview with his widow, Bernice, took place in October 2011.

“Bernie Made It Very Clear To His Family That He Wanted To Be An Artist”

RICHARD ARNDT: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. What can you tell us about Bernie’s early life?

BERNICE SACHS-SMOLLET: Bernie was the eldest of three sons. His father had a small-time wholesale drug business, and the father stayed in that business his whole life, but Bernie hated it! He didn’t want any part of it. I met Bernie when I was eighteen, so I was practically a member of the family right away. Bernie made it very clear to his family that he wanted to be an artist. He wasn’t the type of person who went for book-learning too much. He didn’t like to study. His youngest brother was very, very bright and became a pharmacist. That made Bernie’s father very happy, because it was the youngest brother who eventually took over the drug business.

I don’t think his parents ever really appreciated Bernie. They had three wonderful sons, but, in many ways, they made slaves out of them.

Bernie went from one art school to another. He went to one that

Alter Ego #121