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Edited by ROY THOMAS The first and greatest “hero-zine”—ALL-NEW, focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America], MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY’S Comic Fandom Archive, and more!

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ALTER EGO #123

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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 MMMS fan club story, interview with Golden Age writer ED SILVERMAN, FCA, Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, and JACK KIRBY’s unused X-Men #10 cover!

GOLDEN AGE JUSTICE SOCIETY ISSUE! Features on JOHN B. WENTWORTH (Johnny Thunder), LEN SANSONE (The Atom), and BERNARD SACHS (All-Star Comics inker), art by CARMINE INFANTINO, BOB OKSNER, HOWARD PURCELL, STAN ASCHMEIER, BEN FLINTON, and H.G. PETER, plus FCA, Mr. Monster, and more! Cover homage by SHANE FOLEY to a vintage All-Star image by IRWIN HASEN!

Farewell salute to the COMICS BUYER’S GUIDE! TBG/CBG history and remembrances from ALAN LIGHT, MURRAY BISHOFF, MAGGIE THOMPSON, BRENT FRANKENHOFF, “final” CBG columns by MARK EVANIER, TONY ISABELLA, PETER DAVID, FRED HEMBECK, JOHN LUSTIG, classic art by DON NEWTON, MIKE VOSBURG, JACK KIRBY, MIKE NASSER, plus FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

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ALTER EGO #125

ALTER EGO #126

ALTER EGO #127

DENNY O’NEIL’s Silver Age career at Marvel, Charlton, and DC—aided and abetted by ADAMS, KALUTA, SEKOWSKY, LEE, GIORDANO, THOMAS, SCHWARTZ, APARO, BOYETTE, DILLIN, SWAN, DITKO, et al. Plus, we begin serializing AMY KISTE NYBERG’s groundbreaking book on the history of the Comics Code, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY and more!

We spotlight HERB TRIMPE’s work on Hulk, Iron Man, S.H.I.E.L.D., Ghost Rider, Ant-Man, Silver Surfer, War of the Worlds, Ka-Zar, even Phantom Eagle, and featuring THE SEVERIN SIBLINGS, LEE, FRIEDRICH, THOMAS, GRAINGER, BUSCEMA, and others, plus more of AMY KISTE NYBERG’s Comics Code history, M. THOMAS INGE on Communism and 1950s comic books, FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

Golden Age “Air Wave” artist LEE HARRIS discussed by his son JONATHAN LEVEY to interviewer RICHARD J. ARNDT, with rarely-seen 1940s art treasures (including mysterious, never-published art of an alternate version of DC’s Tarantula)! Plus more of AMY KISTE NYBERG’s exposé on the Comics Code, artist SAL AMENDOLA tells the story of the Academy of Comic Book Arts, FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

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!

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ALTER EGO #128

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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, 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!

CAPTAIN MARVEL headlines a Christmas FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) Fantasmagoria starring C.C. BECK, OTTO BINDER, MARC SWAYZE—and the FAWCETT FAMILY (presented by P.C. HAMERLINCK)! Plus: Comic book/strip star artist DAN BARRY profiled, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more! Cover by C.C. BECK!

GERRY CONWAY interviewed about his work as star Marvel/DC writer in the early ‘70s (from the creation of The Punisher to the death of Gwen Stacy) with art by ROMITA, COLAN, KANE, PLOOG, BUSCEMA, MORROW, TUSKA, ADAMS, SEKOWSKY, the SEVERINS, and others! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more!

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Vol. 3, No. 133 / May 2015 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck J.T. Go (Assoc. Editor)

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll

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

Proofreaders

Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

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Contents

Cover Colorist

Writer/Editorial: Golden + Silver Anniversary = 75 Years! . . 2 A Streak Of Scarlet—A Glimmer Of Green—And The Beating Of Mighty Wings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

With Special Thanks to:

Remembering Arthur Peddy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Cover Artists

Arthur Peddy or Irwin Hasen, Bernard Sachs, et al. Tom Ziuko

Heidi Amash Nancy Shores Richard J. Arndt Karlebach Bob Bailey Jim Kealy Jean Bails Dominique Leonard Dominic Bongo Mark Lewis Jerry K. Boyd Jim Ludwig Christopher Boyko Elliot S! Maggin Mike Burkey Dan Makara Nick Caputo Will Meugniot Mike Catron Kurt Mitchell Bob Cherry Bart Mixon Shaun Clancy Brian K. Morris William Colosimo Mark Muller ComicBookPlus Will Murray (website) Ken Nadle Chet Cox Palantine News Joshua Cozine Network (website) Fred DeBoom Fred Patten Jeff Deischer Barry Pearl Craig Delich Tony Pidone Jeff Dell John G. Pierce Al Dellinges Michael Posner Betty Dobson Francis Rodriguez Jim Doty Bernice Sachs-Smoller Michael Dunne Randy Sargent Mark Evanier Ed Silverman Shane Foley Anthony Snyder Frank Giella J. David Spurlock Joe Giella Aaron Sultan Janet Gilbert Tenth Letter of the Golden Age Comic Alphabet (website) Book Stories Dann Thomas (website) Toni Torres Arnie Grieves Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Larry Guidry Dr. Michael J. Bill Henley Vassallo Heritage Comics Hames Ware Archives (website) Bill Warren Richard Howell Steven Willis Bill Wormstedt

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Arthur Peddy & Al Feldstein

Kurt Mitchell’s brief history of The Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman (1940-1970). Richard Arndt talks with Michael Posner, stepson of the Golden Age artist.

“The Will Of William Wilson” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Flash and Green Lantern in the legendary lost Golden Age tale of the Justice Society.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The Mystery Of The Missing Comic (Part Two) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 More by Michael T. Gilbert on Bob Powell’s AWOL Man in Black issue.

Comic FandomArchive: Al Dellinges–“It’s Been A Great Trip!” . . 55 Bill Schelly introduces the ultimate Kubert fan, recalling a lifetime of fan-publishing.

In Memoriam: Al Feldstein. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 67 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #191 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Elliot Maggin, John G. Pierce, & Otto Binder.

On Our Cover: This issue’s major cover art is a bit of a mystery—but, just this once, we’ll mostly deal with that mystery in our writer/editorial on the following page. Here, we’ll just note that it was reproduced from a photocopy of the original art for the cover of All-Star Comics #49 (Oct.-Nov. 1949) that was sent years ago to Ye Editor by A/E’s founder, the late Jerry G. Bails, who then owned that art. For some reason, though, the bottom partial-inch of the art got cut off on that photocopy. Since that “Justice Society of America” art spotlighted The Flash and Green Lantern (plus Wonder Woman), it seemed a natural choice to front this issue that deals in large part with the first three decades of those two hero-concepts. The inker has been identified as Bernard Sachs, while the penciling is by either Arthur Peddy or Irwin Hasen. The Carmine Infantino/Joe Kubert insert of the Silver Age Flash is from Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), while the Gil Kane/Joe Giella head of the Hal Jordan GL is from an early adventure of that version of the Emerald Gladiator. [Art © DC Comics.] Above: This color illo of the Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern by the latter’s co-creator, Mart Nodell, was probably done in the 1990s, when Marty was drawing commissions and attending numerous comics conventions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time it’s been printed in color. [Flash & Green Lantern TM & © 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

Golden Anniversary + Silver Anniversary = 75 Years!

hen co-publisher M.C. Gaines and his editor Sheldon Mayer included first “The Flash” and “Hawkman” in All-American Comics’ Flash Comics #1 (cover-dated Jan. 1940)—and soon afterward greenlighted “Green Lantern” to headline their flagship title All-American Comics—it’s highly unlikely they, or anyone else, envisioned those concepts as still being around 75 years later. Yet here they are, in their Silver and/or Golden Age incarnations, not only in comics but also on TV and in a big-budget film.

Hence our celebration here of the first three decades of these concepts—with our TwoMorrows sister mag Back Issue #80 picking up the coverage circa 1970. Well, one difference: Because Hawkman, like Flash and Green Lantern, was a cover star from the get-go (as well as even more of a personal favorite of mine than the other two were), I asked Kurt Mitchell to include him in his masterful and lively A/E overview. Since publisher John Morrow’s original suggestion had been that we cover Flash and GL, it’s understandable that BI editor Michael Eury won’t be dealing with the post-1970 Hawkman there. For this issue’s cover, since DC doesn’t favor third parties commissioning cover artwork depicting its characters, I sidelined that notion (see p. 15) and instead utilized a photocopy of the original art for the cover of All-Star Comics #49 (Oct.-Nov. 1949), merely adding new mountain-carved lettering and insert head shots of the Silver Age Flash and GL. But one question kept bugging me: namely, who penciled that deceptively simple but iconic 1949 cover? I’ll let fan/historian Craig Delich take it from here, as per his “Indexer Notes” in the Grand Comics Database’s online entry:

Jerry owned the original cover at that time. Years later, when I did the All-Star Comics Revue [1977], I told Jerry that it looked like [Arthur] Peddy did the pencils, citing various reasons, and he agreed that it could have been him, so the credit was changed to Peddy. Hasen later denied doing the cover to me, so that change stayed in place. Before Jerry’s death, he sold me the original cover to AS #49… which I later sold to a friend back East, and that person, knowing Hasen personally, showed it to Hasen at a show. This time, Hasen stated that he did the cover. Studying the various aspects of the art very closely, the figures of Wonder Woman, GL, and Flash all carry [artistic] “signatures” of Peddy as well as Hasen being the penciler. What makes this the more difficult is the excellent inking of Bernard Sachs, who inked both pencilers over the years. That inking may very well hide telltale clues that would pinpoint either Peddy or Hasen as the true penciler…. So I am adding Hasen back [in the GCD credits], along with Peddy, and both with a “?” All of which goes to show how difficult it is to research artwork (let alone writing) in the Golden Age of Comics! Our combined Flash/GL/Hawkman and Arthur Peddy coverage this time around crowded out both the latest installment of Amy Nyberg’s history of the Comics Code and the latest segment of Alberto Beccatini’s study of Dan Barry. We’ll try to squeeze some of one or both into our next issue! So much history—so few pages. Best wishes,

Back when Jerry Bails did his original Authoritative Index to All-Star Comics, he listed [Irwin] Hasen as the penciler.

# COMING IN MAY 133 Spotlight On Gentleman JIM MOONEY! FROM BATMAN TO SPIDER-MAN AND BACK AGAIN—HE DREW ’EM ALL!

• Cover montage by MOONEY of some of his greatest DC hits (and we could’ve done an alternate cover of his Marvel ones!) • DR. JEFF McLAUGHLIN’s in-depth interview with JIM MOONEY—featuring art for Batman & Robin, Spider-Man, Supergirl, The Legion of Super-Heroes, Tommy Tomorrow, Ghost Rider, Dial H for Hero, Kaänga, The Invaders, The Moth, Wildfire, Flash Lightning—and a whole host more! • New segments of AMY NYBERG’s Comics Code history and/or ALBERTO BECATTINI on DAN BARRY—if the prodigious Mr. Mooney leaves us any room!

et, Streaky, Super Heroes, Supergirl, Com Batman & Robin, Legion of & Tommy Tomorrow TM & © DC Comics

• FCA with OTTO BINDER, plus JEAN-MICHEL FERRAGATTI on Fawcett’s fearless felon-fighters in French—MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s “Wertham Attacks!”—BILL SCHELLY begins multi-part coverage of the influential 1960s-70s adzine Rocket’s BlastComicollector—& MORE!!

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A Streak Of Scarlet— A Glimmer Of Green—

And The Beating Of Mighty Wings A Brief History Of The Flash, Green Lantern, & Hawkman (1940-1970) by Kurt Mitchell

utumn 1939: the dawn of the Golden Age of comic books. Established and newly minted publishers alike are going into the business right and left in the wake of the phenomenal debut of “Superman” the previous year. Among them is All-American Comics, Inc., a fledgling line jointly owned by entrepreneur Max Charles Gaines, the man who a few years earlier, some say, more or less invented the American comic book as we know it, and Jacob “Jack” Liebowitz, part-owner of Superman’s publisher, Detective Comics, Inc.

Frustrated by his DC partner Harry Donenfeld’s reluctance to expand their line, Liebowitz approaches Gaines, who has previously packaged titles for other publishers, about establishing a sister company that will share printing and distribution costs with Detective while maintaining separate editorial offices and

identities. The two companies advertise each others’ books and, as of AA’s June 1940 issues, both lines bear the ubiquitous DC “slug”’ on their covers. AA’s flagship title, AllAmerican Comics, features reprints of newspaper comic strips and original characters like aviator “Hop Harrigan” and two-fisted servicemen “Red, White, and Blue.” Two other AA titles, Movie Comics and Mutt & Jeff, are also on the

All-American Guys M.C. Gaines (1894-1947), recently of the McClure Syndicate (left), and DC accountant/co-publisher Jack Liebowitz (1900-2000) joined forces in 1939—with Harry Donenfeld’s blessing— to create the All-American Comics Group. The photo of Gaines is from Amazing World of DC Comics #5 (1975), that of Liebowitz was found online.

The Last Shall Be First! (Top left:) The final Golden Age panels that featured The Flash (seen only in a super-speed blur), Green Lantern, and Hawkman were featured on the last two pages of All-Star Comics #57 (Feb.-March 1951). Script by John Broome; pencils by Arthur Peddy; inks by Bernard Sachs. Reproduced from Roy Thomas’ bound volumes of the actual comic. (Top right:) More than a dozen years and a couple of revivals later, two Flashes, two Green Lanterns, and the Golden Age Hawkman shared the cover of Justice League of America #22 (Sept. 1963) with several other heroes of two ages. Art by Murphy Anderson. The editor of both comic books, a dozen years apart, was the late great Julius Schwartz. Thanks for these and various other comics covers accompanying this article to the online Grand Comics Database (see ad on p. 48). [© DC Comics.]

A Brief History Of The Flash, Green Lantern, & Hawkman (1940-1970)

“Now They Belong To The Ages” A 1994 Green Lantern color sketch by Mart Nodell—and a Sheldon Moldoff illo of the original Flash and Hawkman, of similar vintage. At right are a trio of photos of A/E editor Roy Thomas with three early-’40s creators (clockwise): Marty Nodell (and his gracious wife Carrie) at a comics convention a decade or so ago… original “Flash” artist Harry Lampert… and “Shelly” Moldoff, Golden Age “Hawkman” artist who did the first covers ever to feature The Flash and Green Lantern. Roy wanted to end this study on a personal note, because he is proud and humbled to have been fortunate enough to get to know, at least a little bit, these talented men who created (or, in Moldoff’s case, refined) three of the greatest, longest-lived concepts in the history of comic books. How many folks cast shadows that are 75 years long—and still growing? Thanks to Anthony Snyder for the Nodell sketch, and to the late great “Shelly” for his. [Green Lantern, Hawkman, & Flash TM & © DC Comics.]

KURT MITCHELL is a former business process analyst and database designer who has found his true calling as a comics historian. A graduate of the University of Washington, he resides in Tacoma, where he spends much of his time hanging out in chemistry labs praying for lightning to strike. He would like to thank Jim Doty, Tony Pidone, Bill Wormstedt, and two gentlemen who prefer anonymity for their generosity in giving him access to their collections.

FOOTNOTES: i

One aspect of the “Hawkman” series, arguably its most interesting one, does not survive: despite the first episode’s characterization of the Pinioned Paladin as “a phantom of the night … who from time immemorial has fought [for] the cause of justice,” the reincarnation angle is dropped almost immediately. Occasionally mentioned in origin recaps, it will figure in a plotline just once more (Flash Comics #16, April 1941) during the series’ run.

Bill Finger and Sheldon Mayer will in later years claim that Green Lantern’s civilian identity was originally to be Alan Ladd (an almost-anagram of Aladdin) but that, thinking such a name too corny and implausible, they rejected it, unaware that only a year or so later a film actor by that name would rocket to stardom in the noir classic This Gun For Hire. Mart Nodell, however, in an interview published years after his collaborators’ passing, will insist that the more prosaic Alan Scott was part of his proposal from the start. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Messrs. Finger and Mayer didn’t consider changing that name, which Mayer as editor would have had the power to do.

iii

The Grand Comics Database tentatively credits Bill Finger with the script for Green Lantern #4 & 5, but this may not be the case. Finger almost gets the wording of GL’s oath right, occasionally dropping a random “and” but otherwise staying faithful to Mart Nodell’s original oath. Whoever is writing these issues—and the GL episodes in All-American #47 and Comic Cavalcade #1—seems determined to improve or replace it, offering up six different variants, some simply truncated versions of the original, most wildly divergent. The GCD credits the script for Green Lantern #6, which features yet another new oath, to Joseph Greene, so perhaps he is the mystery writer. At any rate, it is Finger who returns, original oath and all, to muster the boys out and return the strip to its prewar status quo. (See Craig Delich’s article in Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #7 for the full texts of the various oaths.)

Hawkgirl, denied membership on the flimsy excuse that “our by-laws permit taking in only one new member at a time,” has to wait until Justice League of America #146 (Sept. 1977) for her induction.

Remembering ARTHUR PEDDY

A Talk With The Golden Age Artist’s Stepson, MICHAEL POSNER Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt

rthur Peddy (Dec. 26, 1916-May 15, 2002) began his comics career in 1939, illustrating Western, pirate, and adventure yarns for companies like Fox, Fiction House, and Brookwood. His first regular strip was “The White [by #2, ‘Red’] Panther” in Fiction House’s Jungle Comics. In 1940 he made the move to Quality Comics, co-creating the classic character “Phantom Lady” in Police Comics #1 (Aug. 1941). He worked for Quality through 1942, before making another switch to Hillman, where he worked for several months. After a stint in the military during World War II, Peddy returned to Hillman, where he worked on “Airboy” and “The Heap,” among other features. In 1948 he moved to DC, where he spent most of the rest of his comics career. There, he started off drawing “Wildcat” and “The Boy Commandos.” He also did covers for Wonder Woman. Around 1950, he went onto the book that he became most noted for: All-Star Comics, where he penciled “The Justice Society of America,” often drawing the entire nigh-book-length story, usually inked by Bernard Sachs. While still working for DC, he did art jobs for St. John Publishing in the 1950s, where he got his first experience drawing romance comics. He was also regularly doing war tales for both DC and Atlas during this time. From 1954 until the end of his comics career, he worked exclusively at DC, with most of his work in the later years focused on DC’s various romance titles. Around 1967 he left comics behind and moved into television advertising. Michael Posner, LTC, MC, USA (RET), and his brother Bruce are the stepsons of Arthur Peddy and the sons of the late Jerry Posner and Joanne Posner-Peddy. Michael and his wife of 46 years live on a working farm in the Gettysburg National Park’s “Battlefield Protected Region.” They moved there in 1984 from the U.S. Academy at West Point. Michael is an obstetrician/gynecologist and recently retired after 42 years of practice. He and his wife have seven children and fourteen grandchildren. He is an avid fisherman and tries to fish every day on their pond; he is also a deep-sea fishing enthusiast and enjoys surf casting on Assateague Island in Maryland. His son Matthew, recently returned from Afghanistan, is the chief of orthopedics at West Point, following his father’s 1976-1984 chairmanship of that department. This interview was conducted on February 2, 2014. RICHARD ARNDT: Arthur Peddy was your stepdad, is that right? MICHAEL POSNER: Yes, he was my stepfather. I don’t know much about his early life. My father passed away in the winter of

Being Peddy (Top:) Arthur F. Peddy in 1937, at age 20-21, at Pratt Institute. Thanks to Mark Muller & the Tenth Letter of the Alphabet website. (Above right:) Peddy in later years, with wife Joanne Posner-Peddy on left; between them is Bernice Sachs, wife (later widow) of Peddy’s longtime partner Bernard Sachs. A fuller version of this photo appeared in A/E #121 with an interview with Bernice Sachs-Smoller (whose last name, alas, was incorrectly rendered there as “Sachs-Smollet”). Pic courtesy of Bernice. (Left:) The Peddy & Sachs splash page of All-Star Comics #55 (Oct.-Nov. 1950), one of the best of the Julius-Schwartz-edited Golden Age issues. Script by John Broome. Repro’d from Roy Thomas’ bound volumes. [© DC Comics.]

“The WILL of WILLIAM WILSON” The Flash & Green Lantern In The Legendary Lost Tale Of “The Justice Society Of America” by Roy Thomas

t was around 1943 that Gardner Fox scripted the 48-page “JSA” story titled “The Will of William Wilson,” which then sat on a shelf for a year or two. Circa 1945, editor Sheldon Mayer (or his story editor, Julius Schwartz) seems to have altered two of its six solo-hero chapters so that they starred returning charter members Flash and Green Lantern, and the entire tale was drawn by various artists and slated to appear in All-Star Comics #31 in 1946. For one reason or another, however, “Will” never saw the light of four-color day.

Individual tiers/rows of panels also survive of the “Flash,” “Green Lantern,” “Atom,” and “Dr. Mid-Nite” chapters (though nothing from those of “Hawkman” or “Johnny Thunder”), in which the heroes individually seek out the “impossible” items named in the “last will and testament” of the tale’s title… and art from the “Flash” and “GL” adventures follows, as colored especially for A/E by collector/artist Larry Guidry. Those segments’ 2/3-of-apage symbolic splash panels were probably sliced up and thrust into the flames nearly half a century ago… but the bottom tier of “page 1” of the “Flash” section is reprinted below. It was drawn by Martin Naydel, also the artist of both full-JSA chapters. (Nearly all the non-splash “Flash” art still exists, mostly as tiers sold to RT by the late Mark Hanerfeld some years back.) The Scarlet Speedster’s “impossible” assignment: to retrieve the sword of the worldconquering Genghis Khan…!

Eventually its shelved pages were mostly sliced up and were either burned in the DC incinerator or (thankfully) carted off in the late 1960s by Marv Wolfman or other young staffers, who distributed them to eager collectors. A/E’s editor has made it his task for the past decade and a half to try to locate as much art from this story as possible; thus far, we’ve amassed originals or copies of nearly half its 48 pages, usually one tier of panels (each tier making up 1/3 of a page) at a time. The complete, never-sliced-up 5-page “JSA” intro and the nigh-complete 6page “JSA” finale have sporadically seen print in color in issues of A/E, beginning in #109; all art that has surfaced to date was printed, in black-&-white, in one of the four volumes of TwoMorrows’ and my All-Star Companion series.

“The Will Of William Wilson”

On page 2 of the “Flash” episode, whose three sliced tiers have been re-combined here, Jay Garrick arrives in Siberia at the turn of the 13th century and instantly finds himself called on to make a slight detour from his stated mission….

Mr. Monster's Comic Crypt!

The Mystery Of The Missing Comic! (Part 2) by Michael T. Gilbert

was a teenager when I first made the acquaintance of The Man in Black Called Fate. Or Mr. Twilight. Or perhaps you know him as... Death.

No, not the real Grim Reaper, but the Harvey company’s long-running comic book series. Sometime in 1965, I found the strip hidden in the back of a late-’40s Green Hornet comic. It was love at first sight! Bob Powell’s art on the strips was masterful, full of lush Eisneresqe black inks and dynamic layouts. The stories were great, too: short morality tales where a tiny twist of Fate forever alters people’s lives. The Man in Black himself was stern, but fair. If he had to claim the life of someone innocent, he felt bad. Sometimes his comic foils, Cupid and Venus, thwarted him. Love conquers all, and stuff like that. I searched out more “Man in Black” stories and found another three in issues of Green Hornet, each one a graphic masterpiece. Years later, I discovered that Fate really got around, with

Before And After! When Michael T. Gilbert discovered Bob Powell’s unlettered, unpublished “Man in Black” preview page (seen at left) on the Heritage Comics website, he decided to complete it, 46 years after the fact (see above art & text.). [© 2014 Harvey Comics or its successors in interest.]

stories in Harvey’s All-New Comics, Front Page Comics, Strange Story Comics, and even an issue of Terry and the Pirates. In the late ’50s, he even had four issues of his own title. But I didn’t have a clue to any of this in 1965, and no way to find the books if I had. So imagine my surprise, a few months later, when I spotted a new comic from Harvey starring my beloved Man in Black! The actual title of the anthology comic was Thrill-O-Rama #1, but Fate’s name was bigger than the logo. The first issue had three sci-fi and supernatural stories, but “The Man in Black” was the main feature—at least for that issue. The art was sparer than Powell’s 1940s work, but his drawings of faces and figures were still masterful, and the storytelling remained top-notch. Two more Thrill-O-Rama issues followed, and then... nothing. Harvey’s line had been launched amidst a tidal wave of interest in comics, thanks to the popular 1966 Batman TV show. But the general public’s short-lived love affair didn’t translate into sales for other characters. Harvey quickly decided to stick with Richie Rich

The Mystery Of The Missing Comic! (Part 2)

and their other highly profitable kiddie titles and kill their adventure line. After one final story in Thrill-O-Rama #3, Bob Powell’s signature character vanished, too. With Bob’s death on October 1, 1967, I thought I’d never read a new Powell “Man in Black” story again.

Back Again! Then, earlier this year, while browsing the Heritage Comics website, I spotted a mysterious Powell “Man in Black” story I’d never seen! By now my “Man in Black” collection contained every story the artist had drawn. Where did this one come from? Heritage itself provided some useful information. They suggested the unpublished 1958 story might have been dropped at the last minute because the subject matter involving the atomic bomb was considered too strong for the Comics Code. But further research led me to believe the story wasn’t censored at all, at least not in the ’50s, but was actually intended for the never-published Man in Black #5. Another unpublished page discovered on the Heritage website tipped me off: an unlettered “Man in Black” splash featuring previews of the comic’s other stories. When the title was abruptly cancelled in 1958 after issue #4, work on the page stopped. One of the vignettes depicted the mysterious Hiroshima story, so I knew I was on the right track. The next part of the puzzle was to find out what happened to the other stories shown on the unfinished page.

Unraveling The Mystery! The first one was easy. The story of the sculptor in ancient Persia appeared in Harvey’s Thrill-O-Rama #1 in 1965. Joe Simon, who edited Harvey’s mid’60s Thriller line, must have figured it would be a good place to burn off unused inventory from their late-’50s “Thrill Adventure” run, including the “Man in Black” story planned for issue #5.

Powell Unpublished! Printed here for the first time are pages 4 & 5 (the latter seen on next page) of the unpublished 1958 “Man in Black”/“Hiroshima” story we started last issue. Art by Bob Powell. From the Joe Simon Collection, courtesy of Heritage Auctions. [© 2014 Harvey Comics or its successors in interest.]

Thrill-O-Rama #1 also recycled stories from their late-’50s sci-fi and mystery books. Simon had done something similar with other Harvey titles, including his own Fighting American double-size comic—as well as Blast-Off, which ran unused Jack Kirby and Al Williamson “Three Rocketeers” stories intended for Race for the Moon #4.

Oddly enough, the “Man in Black” story in Thrill-O-Rama #1, “The Hate Cupids!,” would eventually be rejected three times. After it had been bounced from Man in Black #5 in 1958, the story was then rescheduled to appear in Harvey’s Alarming Tales #4 in 1962, as indicated by editorial notes on the original art.

Mr. Monster's Comic Crypt!

But Wait! There’s More! While searching the Heritage site, I also stumbled on another exciting find: a second unpublished “Man in Black” story (minus the splash page) intended for Thrill-O-Rama #4! But this one wasn’t by Bob Powell. With Powell out of the picture, Simon gave the script to George Tuska, one of his dependable regulars. Tuska’s work was solid, but lacked Powell’s moody atmosphere. The script was equally off-model, with Fate taking the form of a human for the first and only time. Perhaps at that point The Man In Black stepped in and convinced Harvey to cancel the book before Tuska’s tale could see print. After everything Bob Powell had done for him, it was the least he could do! Till next time...

The Long Goodbye! Joe Simon’s Sick Magazine #42 (Feb. 1966) featured a short Bob Powell biography, accompanied by this self-portrait. Shortly before his death, Powell here drew all his major characters aged in real time. This Man in Black cameo may have been Powell’s last. [© 2014 Estate of Joe Simon or successors in interest.]

The Comic Fandom Archive Presents...

Al Dellinges: “It’s Been a Great Trip!” The Artist, Editor, Publisher, & Kubert Fan Remembers! by Al Dellinges

CFA

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: When Roy suggested I do an interview with Al Dellinges— perhaps best known as the ghost artist in some issues of DC’s Tor series of the 1970s, and as the publisher of Near Mint magazine—I was all for it. Al had even done a little work for Roy’s All-Star Squadron in 1985. Shortly after broaching the idea with Al himself, I received an envelope from him full of photos, artwork, and an autobiographical article, appended with a note that read in part: “I really doubt that I would make a good subject for a feature in Alter Ego, as I didn’t even discover comic fandom until the late 1960s, and most people would have no idea who I am. But, if you are determined to do so, you’re welcome to run the enclosed biographical sketch.” I assured him that, while his “story” is different from those of most of the other people I’ve written about or inter-

viewed for CFA, readers would welcome the opportunity to learn about him and the unique way he approaches his interest in comic art. In order to fill in some gaps in the piece, I interpolated bits of a telephone interview with Al on January 21, 2008, and incorporated material from other things he had published in some of his books. A long time in the making, I’m delighted this piece has finally made its way into the pages of Alter Ego. —Bill Schelly.

was born in 1932 in San Francisco, and discovered comic books and the Sunday funnies around 1940. Prince Valiant and Flash Gordon were my favorites. I tried to copy the artwork, but found it much too difficult. I settled for coloring books instead, which were very popular with youngsters during World War II. Soon after that, I started collecting comic books. I didn’t really have favorites, although I did like The Spectre’s green and white costume a lot. I was different from a lot of kids, I guess, because I rarely read the stories. I just picked up the ones that had good art. And, as I got older, I found it was easier to copy the artwork that I liked. However, my general drawing skills had not improved, and trying to study the basics didn’t help at all. I just had a lot of trouble with anatomy. Copying art was fun; studying art was work and produced no satisfaction. I soon realized you either had to have a special spark, or you had to reach a certain point in your life when you could under-

A Man And His Hawks (From top of page:) Al Dellinges in 1981, and as an aspiring artist in his home studio in 1949—plus a copy of the classic 1946 masks of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, based on artwork by Joe Kubert, and hand-colored by Al. [Hawkman TM & © DC Comics.]

Comic Fandom Archive

COMING NEXT: Finally, after a great deal of (enjoyable) work, we are ready to begin our multi-part tribute to the great G.B. Love and Rocket’s BlastComicollector (RBCC). We’ll begin with an overview of the fanzine’s history, and follow with interviews and remembrances from Love’s friends and colleagues. ’Nuff said! Comments on the Comic Fandom Archive columns can be sent to Bill Schelly at hamstrpres@aol.com.

Two Cups Of Joe (Left:) Al re-does Kubert’s art on what is arguably the most celebrated of the numerous characters drawn by JK in comics: Sgt. Rock of Easy Company. (Right:) This special color version of Al’s copied version of Enemy Ace was prepared especially to accompany his article in this issue. [Sgt. Rock & Enemy Ace TM & © DC Comics.]

Black Light: The World of L.B. Cole Introduction by Alter Ego ’s Bill Schelly!

272 pages of the most bizarre, proto-psychedelic, eye-popping comic book covers of all time!

In Memoriam

About Al Feldstein...

A Reminiscence Of A Comics Legend In Three Acts

A/E

by Mark Evanier

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following piece appeared Sunday, July 13, 2014, on the www.newsfromme.com website of comics/ TV writer Mark Evanier. Our thanks to Mark for allowing us to reprint it here, and to Brian K. Morris for a typing assist.]

hen Al Feldstein died at the end of April, I was too swamped with work to write a long piece about him. Al was obsessive about meeting deadlines, so I used that as an excuse to defer this piece. Al was a fascinating, talented man whose career more or less divided into three acts….

Act One: Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein in 1950 Act One came when he was writer-editor of most of the EC Comics from 1948 to 1955. Before that, he was a journeyman comic book artist—not a particularly great one—who was, like most, trying to make a living in a business that seemed stacked against the guys who created the product. Publishers paid X dollars a page. An artist could, if he worked long hours, produce Y number of pages per week. X times Y was not a bad living wage… but it has never been the American Dream to be content with “not a bad living wage” for your entire life and how long can you work long hours, anyway? It was especially not satisfactory to those who grew up, as Al did, in the Depression. Another of those men, a fine artist named Jim Mooney, said this to me one time in an interview: If I put in a sixty-hour week at the board, I could usually finish seven or eight pages a week. That’s pencils and inks. That paid decently. I could support a family on that as long as my health didn’t falter and the publisher didn’t go under. I was nervous about relying on those two things. We all were. I wanted to get ahead, to get some cushion in the bank so I wouldn’t be in trouble if the work suddenly stopped or if I got sick. Hell, I just wanted to be able to cut back to forty hours a week. But, doing comics, there didn’t seem to be a way. That was the dilemma that Mooney faced, that Feldstein faced, that they all faced: How do you parlay this thing you can do into some sort of meaningful financial security? Feldstein took a giant step in that direction in the late ’40s when he connected with William M. Gaines, publisher of EC Comics. He became Gaines’ main editor, and they concocted one of the best-selling lines of comics at the time—Tales from the

Crypt, Crime SuspenStories, and all the rest. Gaines made money and some of that trickled down to Feldstein. They were good comics, some of the finest ever done. And all the time, Feldstein was looking for what he might do next, what might pay even better. Because, like everyone, he wasn’t content with just making a weekly wage. He wanted that cushion in the bank. He wanted to amass enough funds to see himself and his family through emergencies and for them to live better. He also thought it might be nice to have enough money that he could someday retire. One of the interesting things to me about those comics is that all the artists in them signed their work. That was not true at any other comic company of the day. Some companies discouraged [signing work], but even at the ones that didn’t care, most artists did not sign what they drew. EC did encourage it and even did little spotlight pages on their artists, promoting them. Still, in marked contrast to what Stan Lee would do less than a decade later, Feldstein did not put his name on what he wrote. He authored something like 80% of the stories that ran in the comics he edited, but he didn’t slap “Written by Al Feldstein” on any of them in the color comics. He mentioned it from time to time deep in the letter pages, so it wasn’t a secret. He just didn’t call a lot of attention to that because, you know, that was just his current job. He had fantasies of getting into something else, perhaps some other form of publishing that paid a lot better and offered more possibilities of getting rich. Maybe, if and when that opportunity presented itself, he’d want people to forget he’d written The Vault of Horror. There were some best-selling novelists around then who quietly omitted from their bios that they’d once scripted comic

On EC Street (Above:) Al Feldstein (1925-2014, on right) and EC publisher/managing editor William M. Gaines during the color comics’ heyday. (Right:) The splash page of a Graham Ingelsdrawn story from Tales from the Crypt #35 (April-May 1953); story by Gaines (plot) & Feldstein (script). The latter is repro’d from the hardcover The EC Archives: Tales from the Crypt, Vol. 4. [Page © William M. Gaines, Agent, Ltd.]

Alter Ego #132