Alter Ego #125 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy Thomas’ Electrifying Comics Fanzine $

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No.125

In the USA

June 2014

Art © DC Co

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BRICKJOURNAL #29

BACK ISSUE #73

BACK ISSUE #74

BACK ISSUE #75

BACK ISSUE #76

“Batman’s Partners!” MIKE W. BARR and ALAN DAVIS on their Detective Comics, Batman and the Outsiders, Nightwing flies solo, Man-Bat history, Commissioner Gordon, the last days of World’s Finest, Bat-Mite, the Batmobile, plus Dark Knight’s girl Robin! Featuring work by APARO, BUSIEK, DITKO, KRAFT, MILGROM, MILLER, PÉREZ, WOLFMAN, and more, with a cover by ALAN DAVIS and MARK FARMER.

“Bronze Age Fantastic Four!” The animated FF, the FF radio show of 1975, Human Torch goes solo, Galactus villain history, FF Mego figures… and the Impossible Man! Exploring work by RICH BUCKLER, JOHN BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, GERRY CONWAY, STEVE ENGLEHART, GEORGE PÉREZ, KEITH POLLARD, ROY THOMAS, LEN WEIN, MARV WOLFMAN, and more! Cover by KEITH POLLARD and JOE RUBINSTEIN.

“‘80s Independents!” In-depth looks at PAUL CHADWICK’s Concrete, DAVE SIM’s Cerebus the Aardvark, and RICHARD AND WENDY PINI’s Elfquest! Plus see ‘80s independent comics go Hollywood, DAVID SCROGGY remembers Pacific Comics, TRINA ROBBINS’ California Girls, and DENIS KITCHEN’s star-studded horror/sci-fi anthology Death Rattle. Cover by PAUL CHADWICK!

“Let’s Get Small!” Marvel’s Micronauts, The Atom in the Bronze Age, JAN STRNAD and GIL KANE’s Sword of the Atom, the rocky relationship of Ant-Man the Wasp, Gold Key’s Microbots, Super Jrs., DC Digests, and Marvel Value Stamps. Featuring the work of PAT BRODERICK, JACKSON GUICE, ELLIOT S! MAGGIN, BILL MANTLO, AL MILGROM, ALEX SAVIUK, ROGER STERN, LEN WEIN, & more. Cover by PAT BRODERICK!

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #5 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #6 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #7

DRAW! #28

TECHNIC hot rod builder Paul Boratko and editor Joe Meno diagram instructions on adding functions to your models, shop-talk with LEGO TECHNIC designers, and more surprises to keep your creations moving at top speed! Plus Minifigure Customization by Jared Burks, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by Christopher Deck, BrickNerd Pop Art by Tommy Williamson, and more!

DENIS KITCHEN close-up—from cartoonist, publisher, author, and art agent, to his friendships with HARVEY KURTZMAN, R. CRUMB, WILL EISNER, and many others! Plus we examine the supreme artistry of JOHN ROMITA, JR., BILL EVERETT’s final splash, the nefarious backroom dealings of STOLEN COMIC BOOK ART, and ascend THE GODS OF MT. OLYMPUS (a ‘70s gem by ACHZIGER, STATON and WORKMAN)!

SWAMPMEN: MUCK-MONSTERS OF THE COMICS dredges up Swamp Thing, ManThing, Heap, and other creepy man-critters of the 1970s bayou! Features interviews with WRIGHTSON, MOORE, PLOOG, WEIN, BRUNNER, GERBER, BISSETTE, VEITCH, CONWAY, MAYERIK, ORLANDO, PASKO, MOONEY, TOTLEBEN, YEATES, BERGER, SANTOS, USLAN, KALUTA, THOMAS, and others. FRANK CHO cover!

BERNIE WRIGHTSON interview on Swamp Thing, Warren, The Studio, Frankenstein, Stephen King, and designs for movies like Heavy Metal and Ghostbusters, and a gallery of Wrightson artwork! Plus writer/editor BRUCE JONES; 20th anniversary of Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror with BILL MORRISON; and interview Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre's BATTON LASH, and more!

FAREL DALRYMPLE shows how he produces Meathaus and Pop Gun War, director and storyboard/comics artist DAVE BULLOCK dissects his own work, columnist JERRY ORDWAY draws on his years of experience to show readers the Ord-way of creating comics, JAMAR NICHOLAS reviews the latest art supplies, plus more Comic Art Bootcamp by BRET BLEVINS and editor MIKE MANLEY! Mature readers only.

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ALTER EGO #126

ALTER EGO #127

ALTER EGO #128

ALTER EGO #129

KIRBY COLLECTOR #63

Second big issue on 3-D COMICS OF THE 1950s! KEN QUATTRO looks at the controversy involving JOE KUBERT, NORMAN MAURER, BILL GAINES, and AL FELDSTEIN! Plus more fabulous Captain 3-D by SIMON & KIRBY and MORT MESKIN— 3-D thrills from BOB POWELL, HOWARD NOSTRAND, JAY DISBROW and others— the career of Treasure Chest artist VEE QUINTAL, FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

1940s WILL EISNER/”BUSY” ARNOLD letters between the creator of The Spirit and his Quality Comics partner, art and artifacts by FINE, CRANDALL, CUIDERA, CARDY, KOTZKY, BLUM, NORDLING, and others! Plus Golden Age MLJ artist JOHN BULTHIUS, more of AMY KISTE NYBERG’s History of the Comics Code, FCA, Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, cover by DANIEL JAMES COX and JASON PAULOS!

CAROL L. TILLEY on Dr. Fredric Wertham’s falsification of his research in the 1950s, featuring art by EVERETT, SHUSTER, PETER, BECK, COSTANZA, WEBB, FELDSTEIN, WILLIAMSON, WOOD, BIRO, and BOB KANE! Plus AMY KISTE NYBERG on the evolution of the Comics Code, FCA, Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLEY, and a new cover by JASON PAULOS and DANIEL JAMES COX!

Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure heroes in comics! With art by FOSTER, HOGARTH, FRAZETTA, MANNING, KANE, KUBERT, MORROW, GRELL, THORNE, WEISS, ANDERSON, KALUTA, AMENDOLA, BUSCEMA, MARSH, and YEATES—with analysis by foremost ERB experts! Plus, the 1970s ERB comics company that nearly was, FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover by TOM GRINDBERG!

MARVEL UNIVERSE! Featuring MARK ALEXANDER’s pivotal Lee/Kirby essay “A Universe A’Borning,” KIRBY interview, MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, a look at key late-1970s events in Kirby’s life and career, STAN LEE script pages, unseen Kirby pencils and unused art from THOR, NICK FURY, HULK and FANTASTIC FOUR, plus galleries of ETERNALS, BLACK PANTHER, and more!

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Vol. 3, No. 125 / June 2014 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck

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

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

PLEASE READ THIS:

Editorial Honor Roll

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

Proofreaders

Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

Cover Artists

Harris Levey, aka Lee Harris (restored and recolored by Tom Ziuko)

This is copyrighted material, NOT intended for downloading anywhere except our website or Apps. 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. Otherwise, DELETE IT FROM YOUR DEVICE 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 within our Apps and at

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With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Dave Asselin Bob Bailey Robert R. Barrett Allen Bellman William Biggins Jerry K. Boyd Christopher W. Boyko Bernie Bubnis Joe Cicala Shaun Clancy Brian Cremins Craig Delich Leonard De Sa Danny Fingeroth Shane Foley Janet Gilbert Jennifer T. Go Al Gordon Michele Hart Ben Herman Dr. M. Thomas Inge William B. Jones, Jr. Jim Kealy Jonathan Levey Mark Lewis Jim Ludwig Glenn MacKay Doug Martin Will Meugniot

Steven Mitchell Brian K. Morris Frank Motler Amy Kiste Nyberg Steve Perrin Rich Pileggi Jay Piscopo Sandy Plunkett Warren Reece Dale Roberts Tony Rose Allen Ross Cory Sedlmeier Vijah Shah Bill Spicer Jeff Taylor Dann Thomas Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Eddy Zeno

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Al Plastino & Larry Ivie

Contents Writer/Editorial: The Unusual Suspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The (Air) Wave Of The Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Lee Harris (nee Harris Levey) as revealed to Richard Arndt by son Jonathan Levey.

Seal Of Approval:The HistoryOf The Comics Code:Chapter 2. . 25 Strategies of would-be comic book censors, 1948-54, from the book by Amy Kiste Nyberg.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Inkspots! Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Michael T. Gilbert on his Kurtzman-inspired 1970s strip—clever stuff!

Comic Fandom Archive: “I Was There. I Remember.” . . . . . 62 Part 2 of Bill Schelly’s interview with noted 1960s fan/writer Steve Perrin.

Tributes To Al Plastino & Larry Ivie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 re: [correspondence, comments, and corrections] . . . . . . . 70 FCA (Fawcett Collectors Of America) #184 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Otto Binder, Brian Cremins, & Mr. Tawny—in that order!

On Our Cover: Harris Levey, who drew comics for several years under the name Lee Harris, was the original artist who brought the imaginative super-hero Air Wave (not to mention his aphorismspouting parrot Static) to life in the pages of National/DC’s Detective Comics, in the long shadow cast by Batman and Robin. He may also have been the first cartoonist ever to draw his own caricature in a comic book (see p. 5). A later self-portrait of Levey/Harris, from Detective #70 (Dec. 1942), adorns the cover of this issue of Alter Ego, along with images from several other “Air Wave” splash pages, with thanks to Doug Martin & Dale Roberts—and to layout man Christopher Day, who put them all together. The 1940s scripters and colorists, alas, are unidentified. [© DC Comics.]

Above: The “Air Wave” splash page by Lee Harris/Harris Levey for Detective Comics #129 (Nov. 1947) is reproduced from a tearsheet kept by the artist and scanned for us by his son Jonathan Levey. We could have sent out a call for a copy in better shape—but we liked the idea of using a page torn from an old comic book by the guy who drew it. Scripter unknown. [© 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: $67 US, $85 Canada, $104 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

The Unusual Suspects

s editor of Alter Ego, I often feel like someone who’s won an Oscar or an Emmy or something and is suddenly overwhelmed trying to remember the names of everyone he should thank—besides his ever-indulgent spouse, of course. Take, for instance, this issue of A/E….

It goes without saying (well, not really) that I’m proud of Richard Arndt’s interview with Jonathan Levey, son of the Golden Age artist best known as “Lee Harris”—and I put in several days’ more work than usual working on this month’s chapter of Amy Kiste Nyberg’s book Seal of Approval, though I think it was well worth it. Along the way, I laughed out loud at a couple of Michael T. Gilbert’s Inkspots! strips, and greatly enjoyed the FCA’s look at two of my favorite Fawcett characters, Mr. Tawny and Otto O. Binder. But it was this issue’s art spots that really made me stop and think about the way this mag is produced. Alter Ego is the result, each and every issue, of a lot more than whatever Roy Thomas feels like pulling together in a given time period—more, even, than the sum of the other editorial hands such as contributing editors Bill Schelly, Jim Amash, Michael T. Gilbert, P.C. Hamerlinck, and co-publisher John Morrow. Each of these provided images this time, as they usually do. In addition, there’s a veritable army of contributors who all but deserve a place on our masthead—which is one reason I list them in the “Special Thanks” columns on the contents page each issue. This time, for instance, while Jonathan Levey enthusiastically provided the majority of the scans for the piece on his father, we also needed hi-res scans of several “Air Wave” splashes for our cover, which were provided by Doug Martin and Dale Roberts— while Jim Kealy, Jim Ludwig, and Shaun Clancy also sent crucial pieces. The Seal of Approval chapter leans heavily on covers available in the invaluable Grand Comics Database, but also on

scans provided by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., Jim Kealy, Michael T. Gilbert, Jim Amash, Tony Rose, Jim Ludwig, Glenn MacKay, and Bob Bailey. Several of these really went above and beyond to help us find color versions of Wertham’s illustrated section in Seduction of the Innocent, since Doc and his publishers didn’t bother (or didn’t dare) to identify the sources of anything on those 16 pages.

Then there are the “usual suspects”—who have been unusually kind to A/E—who may not have been called on to provide art this time, but who are there for us whenever needed: the “Yancy Street Gang” (Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, Barry Pearl, and Nick Caputo); Dewey Cassell, Rod Beck, Chet Cox, Joey Eacobacci, Sean Howe, Mark Muller, Dave Reeder, Mitchell Senft, David Siegel, Michael Dunne, Ray Cuthbert, Aaron Sultan, Dominic Bongo, Craig Delich, Michael Feldman, Bruce Mason, Gene Reed, Mark Lewis, Jay Piscopo, Tony Rose, John Benson, Bernie Bubnis, Brian Cremins, John G. Pierce, Cory Sedlmeier, Harry Mendryk, Stephan Friedt, Warren Reece, Eric Schumacher, Gregg Whitmore, Ethan Roberts, Aaron Caplan, Jerry K. Boyd, Steven Rowe, Frank Motler, Douglas (“Gaff”) Jones, Eddy and Michael Zeno, Henry Kujawa, Ken Quattro, Greg Theakston, Randy Sargent, Larry Guidry, Tom Zuiko, Shane Foley in Australia, Ger Apeldoorn in the Netherlands, Dominique Leonard in Belgium, Pedro Angosto in Spain… the list could go on and on. And hopefully it will, each issue on our contents page. To all the above—to our peerless proofreaders Rob Smentek and William Dowlding—to layout guru Chris Day—and to the dozens of others who’ve helped Alter Ego with art scans and photocopies and CDs and whom I’ll soon be kicking myself for neglecting to mention here—as well as to the writers and interviewers and fact-checkers and information-providers who are a crucial part of the mix—you have my sincere thanks. And, more importantly, the thanks of everyone now reading this issue. Let’s not break up a winning team! Bestest,

# COMING IN JUNE 126 MORE 3-D COMICS OF THE 1950s!

Calling All 3-D Fans: 3-D goggles won’t be included with copies of A/E #126—but if you’ve misplaced yours since #115, you can get a pair by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope RIGHT NOW to: TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 te of Joe Kubert Tor is a trademark of the Esta Art © Estate of Joe Kubert;

• Vintage 3-D Tor cover by the late great JOE KUBERT! • 3-D Comics in the 1950s! The craze—the controversy— the cockeyed lawsuit—all put under a microscope by KEN QUATTRO! Featuring the work (& sometimes words) of KUBERT, MAURER, FELDSTEIN, & GAINES—plus more 3-Dimensional thrills from SIMON & KIRBY • MESKIN • POWELL • NOSTRAND • WOOD • KURTZMAN • KRIGSTEIN • EVANS • HEATH • DAVIS • ELDER • ORLANDO • CRAIG • BARRY • COLAN, et al.! • Catholic Publications action artist VEE QUINTAL, remembered by her daughter! • The U.S. Senate Investigates Comic Books—1954! Continuing Seal of Approval by AMY KISTE NYBERG! • Plus FCA—MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Inkspots! – Part 2—BILL SCHELLY with a STEVE PERRIN finale—& MORE!!!

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The (Air) Wave Of The Future! JONATHAN LEVEY Remembers His Father HARRIS LEVEY, AKA Golden Age Artist LEE HARRIS Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Golden Age artist Harris Levey (1921-1984) assumed the name “Lee Harris” when he began his career in the Eisner & Iger comics shop circa 1938-39. In 1940, through that studio, he worked for publisher Victor Fox at Fox Comics, doing spot illustrations and drawing “Super Sleuth” and “The Flame.” Later that year, he moved to MLJ Comics (later to become Archie Comics), where he drew “The Green Falcon.” From there he moved to DC Comics, where in 1941 he co-created, with editor Mort Weisinger, the super-hero feature “Air Wave,” drew that character’s adventures till 1943 along with at least one adventure of “Lando, Man of Magic,” and may have provided inking on both “Batman” and “The StarSpangled Kid.” After military service during World War II, Levey/Harris returned to DC and “Air Wave” from 1946-1948, following which he ended his comics career. This interview was conducted on Feb. 4 & 19, 2012, with his son Jonathan Levey.

“A Lot of Early Comics Professionals… Graduated From DeWitt Clinton” RICHARD ARNDT: Jonathan, can you tell us a little about your father’s background? JONATHAN LEVEY: My dad’s father was Joseph Levey. Joseph worked in the garment industry in Manhattan, primarily for a hat manufacturer. Dad’s mom was Nan Rifkin. He had a sister, Dorothy, who was a few years his senior. I never knew his mom or dad. Dad married my mom, Elinor Seidl, in 1955 and they had two sons, myself in 1956 and Theodore in 1960. Dad was born August 13, 1921, and grew up in the Bronx. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School there. DeWitt Clinton turned out some students that would later be very famous. Leonard Stern, who was a TV producer, and many other famous people, but probably the biggest in the comics world was Stan Lee. He and Dad were a year apart, from what I understand. Dad was the older

A Family Takes To The “Air Waves” Golden Age comics artist Lee Harris (real name for most of his life = Harris Levey) in a photo self-portrait taken in 1945 at age 24 (top left)—and his son, Jonathan Levey, seen with his family (wife Monique and son Samuel), from their 2013 Christmas card—flanking the former’s “Air Wave” splash page done for Detective Comics #68 (Oct. 1942). Thanks to Jonathan Levey and Doug Martin, respectively. [Page © DC Comics.]

of the two. Both of them worked on the school newspaper, as far as I know. The newspaper was called The Clinton News, but there was also some kind of school literary publication called The Magpie. My dad did illustrations for both magazines. After graduation, Dad went to live in, I think, Lake George to do sketching, caricatures as a summer job. Dad was very close with his mom, and she died when he was in his teens. During her illness, when she was in the hospital, he went to live with his aunt and uncle in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. I

Jonathan Levey Remembers His Father, Golden Age Artist Lee Harris

LEE HARRIS Checklist [The following Checklist is adapted from information found in the online edition of The Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999, established by the late Dr. Jerry G. Bails. Some additional information provided by son Jonathan Levey. Key: (w) = writer; (a) = artist; (p) = pencils only; (i) = inks only.]

Name: Harris Levey, later legally changed for a time [from late 1930s till 1955] to Leland Harris (Aug. 13, 1921-August 1984) - artist

(1973-75); N.W. Ayer, Inc. (1976-80); The Bomstein Agency (1980-83), a.k.a. The Bomstein-Gura Agency – art director at one or more of these

Pen Name: Lee Harris

Awards: Andy (advertising award) 1977, 1978, 1980; New Jersey A/D [Art Directors?] Club 1978; Clio (advertising award) 1977; as Harris Levey

Education: Empire State College, graduate with B.S. in Communications; Art Students League of New York; School of Visual Arts; NYU Film Production; Maine School of Photography (dates unknown) Comics Shop/Studio: S.M. Iger Studio circa 1938-39 (perhaps while it was still Eisner & Iger)

COMIC BOOK CREDITS (Mainstream U.S. Publishers)

Archie Publications (MLJ): The Green Falcon (a) 1940-41

DC Comics: Air Wave (p) 1942-43, (a) 1946-48; Batman (some i?); Lando One of Harris Levey’s Andy Awards, given to him by the Advertising Other Art: Cover of Amazing Stories (a) 1942; Star-Spangled Kid (some i?) Club of New York. Thanks to Jonathan Levey. magazine, March 1953 issue – 1942 over Hal Sherman pencils paperback book covers (according to [NOTE: the “Batman” and “StarWikipedia), plus other pulp covers not identified at present Spangled Kid” credits are less certain than other credits]

Handy Andy

Newspaper Work: New York Journal-American late 1950s to early 1960s (court drawings, ads, etc.)

Fiction House: Famous Detectives (a)(possibly w) 1938, in Jumbo Comics #1

Advertising Agencies: Fuller & Smith & Ross (1967-69); L.W. Frohlich (1969-70); Foote, Cone, & Belding (1970-73); Ted Bates

Fox Comics: Famous Detectives (a)(possibly w) 1939; The Flame (a) 1940; Super Sleuths 1939

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

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

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Lee Harris’ “Air Wave” splash panel for Detective Comics #117 (Nov. 1946). He only signed his initials to this one. Thanks to Jonathan Levey. [© DC Comics]

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Seal Of Approval:

The History Of The Comics Code Chapter 2 Of Our Serializing Of The 1998 Work On Comic Book Censorship

A/E

by Amy Kiste Nyberg

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: For the past two issues, we have been reprinting the above-named book, by kind permission of the original publisher, University Press of Mississippi, with thanks to William Biggins and Vijah Shah, acquisitions editors, and with special thanks to Dr. M. Thomas Inge, under whose general editorship the volume was originally published in 1998 as part of its Studies in Popular Culture series. The original print edition can still be obtained from the University Press of Mississippi at www.upress.state.ms.us. It is our aim to print the text of Dr. Nyberg’s book with the addition of photos and illustrations not in the original. Dr. Amy Kiste Nyberg is Associate Professor of Communications in the Department of Communication and the Arts at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code, being an academic work on comic book censorship, is extensively footnoted, though in the ALS style which lists book or article or author name, plus page numbers, between parentheses in the actual text: e.g. “(Hart 154-156)” refers to pp. 154-156 of whichever work by an author or editor named Hart is listed in the bibliography—which will appear at the conclusion of our serialization, several issues from now. When the parentheses contain only page numbers, that’s because the name of the author, editor, and/or work is printed in the main text almost immediately preceding the note. (In addition, there are a couple of footnotes that are treated as footnotes in the more traditional sense.) We have retained such spellings as “superhero,” etc., and the non-capitalization of “comics code” as they appear in the published book, even though our A/E “house style” would render those as “super-hero” and “Comics Code.” The book prints “E.C.” for one company, “DC,” without periods, for another; no big deal. We do, however, revert to our own style in captions, which are written by Ye Editor; naturally, neither Dr. Nyberg nor the University Press of Mississippi is responsible for any error or opinion in said captions. In the very rare instances in which Ye Ed felt a need to correct or at least quibble with a judgment or statement of fact in the main text, that is done—and clearly labeled, we hope—in captions, as well. Oh, and another thank-you to Brian K. Morris for re-typing the entire book specifically for Alter Ego.

A Coffin Fit

(Clockwise from top left:) Dr. Amy K. Nyberg—the Comics Code Seal adopted Last issue we re-presented Chapter 1, “Comics, Critics, and in 1954-55—and the cover of Ribage Publications’ Crime Mysteries #3 (Sept. 1952), Children’s Culture,” which featured an overview of attempts at a title from an obscure publisher that displayed all three types of subject matter censorship of such predecessors of comic books such as dime novels, that had the “public” up in arms at the time: a sexy woman, a criminal with a gun, newspaper comic strips, and motion pictures. The call for censorship and elements of horror. Artist unknown. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database for of comic books began with literary critic and author Sterling North most cover art that accompanies this chapter of Nyberg’s book. [© the respective in 1940, and helped lead to the major companies creating “advisory copyright holders.] boards” made up of psychologists, children’s book experts, celebrities, and the like. Partly as a result of this early debate, comic books made, however, until after the end of World War II, when publicity about became definitely considered by the general public as intended for and the alleged rise in juvenile delinquency came to the fore…. primarily read by children. No serious headway on censoring them was

An invitation to learning.

Chapter 2 Of The 1998 Work On Comic Book Censorship

Pity was the keynote when Homer described a dead body dragged beneath a war chariot. Dragging living people to death is described without pity in children’s comics.

Giving children an image of American womanhood.

What comic-book America stands for.

A sample of the injury-to-the-eye motif.

(P. 3) The top and bottom right panels are from different stories in Magazine Village’s True Crime Comics #2 (May 1947)—while the Statue of Liberty caption/panel, by an unidentified artist, is from Lev Gleason’s Crime and Punishment #59 (Feb. 1953). In TCC #2, the artist of “Boston’s Bloody Gang War” is uncertain; but the infamous ”injury to the eye motif” panel is from “Murder, Morphine, and Me,” drawn by “Plastic Man” creator Jack Cole. Thanks to Jim Kealy, Frank Motler, and Michael T. Gilbert. [© the respective copyright holders.]

(P. 4) The top panel (drawn by Walter T. Johnson) is from St. John’s Authentic Police Cases #6 (Nov. 1948); the bottom panel, by an unidentified artist, is from Fox Comics’ Women Outlaws #1 (July 1948). Thanks to Tony Rose, Jim Ludwig, Jim Kealy, & Glenn MacKay. [© the respective copyright holders.]

The title of this comic book is First Love.

Children are first shocked and then desensitized by all this brutality. Seal Of Approval: The History Of The Comics Code

Erotic spanking in a Western comic book.

The wish to hurt or kill couples in Lovers’ Lanes is a not uncommon perversion

Indeed!

Sex and blood.

(P. 5) One panel from the story “Tangled Love” in Avon Periodicals’ Frontier Romance #1 (Nov.-Dec. 1949), drawn by Walter T. Johnson… and two from Key/Gilmore Publications’ Weird Mysteries #7 (Oct.-Nov. 1953), with art by Tony Mortellaro and Vince Fodara, respectively. Thanks to Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., and Bart Bush for the former scan, and to Jim Ludwig & Tony Rose for the latter. [© the respective copyright holders.]

Stomping on the face is a form of brutality which modern children learn early.

(P. 6) The two panels on the left are from Harvey Comics’ First Love Illustrated #35 (Nov. 1953, art by Bill Draut) & Essankay’s Law against Crime #3 (Aug. 1948), for which we have no artist info. The two (now colored) panels on the right are from Trojan’s Beware #6 (Nov. 1953) and Charlton’s The Thing! #9 (July 1953), respectively. The Beware artist is unidentified; the Charlton story was drawn by John Belfi. Thanks to Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., Jim Kealy, & Jim Ludwig, respectively, for the color scans. [© the respective copyright holders.]

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“I Was There. I Remember.”

Part 2 Of Bill Schelly’s Chat with STEVE PERRIN, Co-Creator Of “The Black Phantom,” The African-American Crimefighter Published In Mid-1960s Fanzines! Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

CFA

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: In Part 1, Steve talked about how he got involved in comic fandom in 1961, contributed to numerous fanzines (including Spotlite and Yancy Street Journal), and began his “collaboration” with Margaret Gemignani on Mask and Cape. In a way, this was all a prelude to the discussion of his costumed hero Black Phantom, his stellar achievement in early fandom. But that’s not all, as Steve also discusses his involvement in the Society of Creative Anachronism, writing pro comics and role-playing games, and much more in the second part of our phone conversation of December 4, 2011. —Bill Schelly. BILL SCHELLY: In a way, all your fanzine writing seemed to lead up to your contributions to Bill Spicer’s Fantasy Illustrated. In FI #4, you wrote scripts for two strips. There was “Who Is the Mystery Patriot?” with art by Buddy Saunders, and “Dreamsman and Lucky” with art by Bill DuBay. Then in FI #6, there was “The Black Phantom,” with art by Ronn Foss. How did your association with Spicer come about?

Perrin & Prejudice Steve Perrin, sometime in the 1970s—and Ronn Foss’ splash page for Steve’s “Black Phantom” text story in the Perrin fanzine Mask and Cape #4 (1964). Foss was skilled at producing nice work in the ditto medium—and Perrin wrote some of the best and hardest-hitting ama-strips [=amateur strips] in fanzines of the mid-1960s. [Page © Steve Perrin & Estate of Ronn Foss.]

STEVE PERRIN: As it happened, Bill lived a couple of houses down from my grandmother. So we would visit my grandmother, and then I would go visit Bill. I saw him about three times that way, and somewhere along the line he said he was doing a super-hero issue of Fantasy Illustrated. I sent him the manuscripts, and he decided he liked all three.

BS: How did Ronn Foss end up handling the art for “The Black Phantom”? PERRIN: I was in college, and we collaborated on “Black Phantom” after both Grass Green and Bill DuBay turned it down. Grass felt it was too

rabble-rousing, and Bill’s father forbade him from working on it. Bill was still in high school. But Ronn wanted to do it.... If memory serves, we worked out that he would do spot illos for the “Black Phantom” text story in Mask and Cape #4, and then do the full strip for Fantasy Illustrated. BS: In 1964, there weren’t any African-American costumed heroes in comics or fanzines. How did you get the idea for “The Black Phantom”? PERRIN: I was going to San Francisco State, right across the bay from Berkeley, and the whole Civil Rights thing was very big at that point in time. So this was in the back of my mind. I did a lot of

“I Was There. I Remember.”

Fantasies—Illustrated Two of the three features on the cover of Bill Spicer’s Fantasy Illustrated #4 (1965) were Perrin creations. “Who is the Mystery Patriot?” was illustrated by Buddy Saunders—while “Dreamsman and Lucky” was drawn by Bill DuBay. The bottom-left illustration on the cover is by Jeffrey Jones, from the “Ku! Primordial” story reprinted in Hamster Press’ Fandom’s Finest Comics [Vol. 1], 1997. [Art © the respective artists.]

costume drawing of new character ideas, using outlines drawn by other people because I can’t draw. And I think I came up with the costume before I came up with the character. I drew a guy with a full face-mask, and thought, “Wait a minute, a full face mask would work great with a costumed hero who was actually a black man. Great!” It went on from there. “Freedom Riders, busses.... Okay, yeah. That’s cool.” BS: The story didn’t pull any punches. Right there on page one, the first word is the N-word. PERRIN: Yep! BS: Was the “burning cross” page layout your idea or Ronn’s? PERRIN: It may have been Bill’s. He always had a good graphics sense and had no problems acting like an editor. He added some dialogue, particularly where the local sheriff was calling Lafe a “spade,” which is jazz slang and wouldn’t have been used by a Southern sheriff. Don and Maggie Thompson pointed that out in their letter of comment in the next issue of FI. BS: It was just very hard-hitting. Of course, it also had a positive message in that Black Phantom’s sidekick, Wraith, was a white teenager, and they worked together.

PERRIN: Well, I had several theoretical teachers, and I still feel pretty strongly about a lot of what’s in there. So yeah, I Buddy Saunders, was trying for the late 1960s. hard-hitting “let’s bring comics into the modern day” kind of idea there. It got noticed....

Bill DuBay, 1964.

BS: Castle of Frankenstein ran a page from it in one of their issues. PERRIN: Yeah, one of those things I never knew about at the time. BS: You did three strips for Spicer. What about the other two? PERRIN: Yeah... Bill’s the one who arranged for Buddy Saunders to draw the “Mystery Patriot.” Bill DuBay did “Dreamsman” as a sort of a compensation for not having done “Black Phantom.” BS: Those were some of the better amateur costumed-hero strips from that era. Another one you scripted was “The Case of the Curious Crusader,” which appeared in Intrigue, a spin-off of Rich Buckler’s Super Hero zine. That was 1967 or so. It featured your characters Doc Darkness and Capt. Liberty.

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The Secret Life Of Mr. Tawny Captain Marvel Adventures #102 & James Thurber’s Walter Mitty by Brian Cremins Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

ames Thurber’s 1939 “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” the simple tale of a middleaged man’s shopping trip with his wife and the daydreams he has along the way, remains one of the most popular American short stories of the 20th century. In December 2013, Hollywood released Ben Stiller’s big-budget version of Thurber’s beloved, if often misunderstood, classic. Even Her, the recent Spike Jonze film, echoes Walter Mitty’s struggle to find the balance between his waking life and his fantasies. We might trace the origin of Thurber’s story to narratives like Cervantes’ Don Quixote, in which the hero inhabits a world of the imagination to escape from the mundane, often harsh realities and disappointments of his life. In dreams, anyone can be a hero, even a world-weary but charming talking tiger like Captain Marvel’s friend, Mr. Tawny.

Did Otto Binder and C.C. Beck read Thurber’s story? Or did they have the 1947 film version starring Danny Kaye in mind when they created “Captain Marvel and the Adventure within an Adventure,” published in Captain Marvel Adventures #102 (dated Nov. 1949)? Like Ben Stiller’s 2013 version, the 1947 film bears little resemblance to Thurber’s story. Danny Kaye’s Walter Mitty, however, makes better use of his imagination than either Thurber’s original protagonist or Ben Stiller’s skateboarding, worldMitty Marvel travelling, David Bowie-listening hero: in a touch Otto Binder’s “The Adventure within an Adventure” (Captain Marvel Adventures #102, Nov. 1949) that might have intrigued Otto Binder, the 1947 suggests a link between James Thurber’s 1939 short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and Walter Mitty is a pulp-magazine writer. So far, I Mr. Tawny’s adventures. Art by C.C. Beck. (Top right:) Photo of James Thurber. haven’t come across any letters or notes that [Shazam hero & Mr. Tawny TM & © DC Comics.] suggest a direct link between Thurber’s short story and Mr. Tawny’s adventures, but the two Companion, “was one of the most real characters ever to appear in share a number of structural and thematic similarities. Like comic books.” Like Don Quixote and Walter Mitty, Mr. Tawny is a Thurber’s yarn, “Captain Marvel and the Adventure within an fantastic character who just happens to be obsessed with fantasy. Adventure” is obsessed with the idea of time—time as a villain, time as an obstacle, time as a threat, and time as an opportunity for Since its first publication at the close of the 1930s, “The Secret change or for escape. Life of Walter Mitty” has remained popular with readers, teachers, and literary scholars. In his 2008 essay on Thurber’s story, Terry W. As Otto Binder explained in his letter to Alter Ego [Vol. 1, #7], Thompson summarizes decades of other critical responses to published in October 1964, Mr. Tawny was a character who “lent Walter Mitty and his troubles, and then turns our attention to the himself more to orthodox concepts” than Captain Marvel did and, character’s fascination with and fear of technology. “Simply put,” perhaps as a result, proved very popular with Captain Marvel Thompson writes, “‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ addresses the fans—so popular, in fact, that Binder and Beck further developed angst of a small and unimportant man who is threatened, diminthe character “as a possible syndicate newspaper strip.” One of ished, by the complicated technology of twentieth century those “orthodox concepts” was this philosophical investigation of progress.” the passage of time, of joy and disappointment, of wisdom and mortality. “Mr. Tawny, in his own way,” John G. Pierce explains in While I would agree that Mitty’s daydreams reflect Thurber’s his essay on the talking tiger in the TwoMorrows book Fawcett own discomfort with modern forms of technology—a comical