Roy Thomas’ LENgthy Comics Fanzine
LEN WEIN
RE-LIVES THE LATE SILVER AGE AT DC & MARVEL!
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No.135 September 2015
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Characters TM & © DC Comics.
Hey—Maybe He Can get ME in!
P.S.: LEN WROTE A FEW OTHER THINGS, TOO!
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writer/editorial
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Out With The Old...?
he late 1960s and early 1970s were, as detailed in Richard Arndt’s interview this issue with writer Len Wein, a time of “Genesis and Exodus” in the comic book field.
Increasingly, the writers and artists (but especially the writers) who were holdovers from the 1940s were retiring or, less ceremoniously, being edged out of their long-running assignments to make room for a new generation. This was as inevitable as it was unfortunate for the likes of Gardner Fox, Otto Binder, Robert Kanigher, Bill Finger, and other top talents who’d been the mainstays of DC, Timely/Marvel, and other companies for the preceding two-plus decades. Readers’ tastes were changing, and the comics field had to adjust to the altered realities of the marketplace. It was ever thus. The new names increasingly appearing in the credits at DC and Marvel are those that have graced the covers of issues of Alter Ego in the recent past (and will continue to do so in the future). Names like Gerry Conway, Denny O’Neil, Steve Skeates, Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman—Jim Shooter, who will be highlighted in upcoming issue #137—Archie Goodwin and Gary Friedrich (both of whom we plan to get around to soon)—and of course Len Wein.
None of these new writers particularly wanted to unseat the older talents named above. For the most part, the former venerated the latter, and have often said as much. They simply wanted their own places in the sun. The problem is, of course, that, at any given moment, there are only so many “places in the sun.” When those are grabbed by newer arrivals, others must sit in the shade. Nor, naturally, did history stop with the late Silver Age comers. Most of these remain in the field to one degree or another, but no longer writing several top titles per month as in the “old days”— when they were the “new days.”
Perhaps the oddest factor in the above scenario is the fact that the major moving force in the scripting upheaval that took place during the latter ’60s and beyond was not a “brave new” writer— but Stan Lee, who’d already been 38 years old when he’d written Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961) in a style utilizing more realistic motivations and dialogue than most super-hero comics had previously featured… thus setting off an explosion whose reverberations were being felt increasingly, not decreasingly, by decade’s end. Lee’s shadow is now extending into the third or fourth or even fifth generation… influencing writers to whom the changes he helped set in motion have been not world-shaking revelations but, rather, mother’s milk.
Interestingly, though, those who formed that first generation of Lee-influenced writers were, by and large, never interested only in emulating his scripting. As noted above, they were also fans of Fox, Binder, et al.—and usually sought to combine what was best in Lee’s approach with what they liked from those other giants’ earlier scripting methods. And to this was added a healthy respect for the 1950s EC scripts of Al Feldstein and Harvey Kurtzman, perhaps even a nod to Charlie Biro’s Crime Does Not Pay and other Lev Gleason comics from the latter ’40s on—so that super-hero comic books, by the 1970s, were an amalgamation of several generations’ worth of scriptorial mutation. Stan Lee was a dominant, even perhaps deciding factor, yes… but his approach was leavened by appreciation for the virtues of other authorial voices, as well. Everything is synthesis… the old and the new, meeting in either a merger or a head-on collision to form a new way forward. Which is just as it should be. And as it will be, whether we want it to or not. Bestest,
# COMING IN OCTOBER 136 RASCALLY ROY THOMAS Celebrates 50 YEARS IN COMICS
By Talking About The 1990s At Marvel & Elsewhere!
Marie Severin. Characters, Inc.; cartoon © Marvel art TM & © Marvel
• Marvelous montage cover of RT’s ’90s work by MARIE SEVERIN, DAVE ROSS, JACKSON GUICE, ANDRE COATES, LOU HARRISON, & DAVE HOOVER! • ROY THOMAS talks to JIM AMASH about the late ’80s & the ’90s at Marvel— not to mention (which he does) DC, Dark Horse, First, Pacific, Topps, Heroic, Cross Plains, and a few other places—picking up where A/E #100 left off! • Awe-inspiring art by the above cover artists plus BUSCEMA, RYAN, TRIMPE, MIGNOLA, VALENTINO, BUCKLER, WYMAN, TEXEIRA, KAYANAN, CORBEN, RUSSELL, GILBERT, GIORDANO, MAROTO, HARRIS, SALE, COLAN, et al! • STAN LEE, ROY T., & film director KEVIN SMITH sparring on stage—in a museum, yet—last December! Plus—the final secrets of Dr. Strange’s Bleecker Street sanctum sanctorum! • FCA on Captain Marvel’s 75th birthday—MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Comic Crypt— & MORE!! • And, oh yeah—16 EXTRA PAGES this issue, to get it all in!
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“I’ve Never Had To Get A Real Job!” Award-Winning Writer & Editor LEN WEIN Talks About Nearly Half A Century In Comics
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Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt
NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Len Wein is one of the crew of teen-age writers who entered the comics field in the late 1960s. Over the past 45 years, he’s created or co-created “The New X-Men,” Wolverine, Swamp Thing, The Human Target, Dominic Fortune, and many more. He’s been the writer on The Teen Titans, Fantastic Four, Thor, The Phantom Stranger, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Before Watchmen, “Supergirl,” and an incredible number of other titles. He’s been an editor at Marvel, DC, and Disney. He was the editor who hired Alan Moore to write Swamp Thing, as well as the editor on Moore & Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen. He recently wrote the Ozymandias limited series for DC. This interview was conducted Aug. 21, 2012.
Len Wein in his photo card from Eclipse’s Famous Cartoonists trading card series of the 1980s. [© Eclipse or successors in interest.]
“Oh Boy, I’m Gonna Be A Comic Book Artist!”
RICHARD ARNDT: Let’s start things off with your background. Where did you grow up?
LEN WEIN: I was born in the Bronx, New York. I had one kid brother. When I was 7½ years old, I stepped out between two trucks onto the street. My father grabbed me by the back of the collar just in time to pull me out of the way of another truck driving by. He stood there for a second and said, “We’re going to the suburbs!” So I grew up in Levittown, New York. I wasn’t the only comic fan there. Even though I didn’t meet many of these fellows until I was grown, Michael Gilbert grew up there. Bob Schreck grew up there. Bill Griffith grew up there. So there was a small group of comics enthusiasts who grew up there, completely unaware of each other.
Swamped! (Above:) When Len Wein began writing The Phantom Stranger with #14 (July-Aug. 1971), he started off with a monster-in-a-swamp scene, illustrated by Jim Aparo. (Left:) A year later, he and artist Berni(e) Wrightson caused a minor sensation with Swamp Thing #1 (Oct.-Nov. 1972). Thanks to Jim Ludwig for the page from PS #14, and to the Grand Comics Database for the cover shot. [TM & © DC Comics.]
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Writer & Editor Len Wein Talks About Nearly Half A Century In Comics
Portrait Of The Writer As A Young Artist (Top left:) Len, like many another comic book writer, started out as a wannabe comic book artist, as witness the ad illo he drew for Dave Kaler’s third Academy Comics Convention. It was printed in the newszine On the Drawing Board, Vol. 2, #14 (June 1967). Thanks to Nick Caputo. [Characters TM & © the respective TM & copyright holders.] (Top right:) Wein’s first professionally published drawing was printed on a fan-page in Warren Publishing’s Eerie #22 (July 1969); thanks to George Warner and James Cassara. [TM & © The New Company, including characters Uncle Creepy and Cousin Eerie.] (Above:) Unlike many fans, however, Len penciled and even inked one story that made it into a four-color comic: “Walk the Plank” in Western’s Grimm’s Ghost Stories #9 (May 1973). And, of course, he had scripted it, as well. The first two pages of that four-pager appear courtesy of Stephan Friedt. [© the respective copyright holders.] (Right:) More than a decade later, fate struck again, when he penciled the “Despero” illustration for DC’s Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #6 (Aug. 1985), which was inked by Dick Giordano. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert and Nick Caputo. [TM & © DC Comics.]
“I’ve Never Had To Get A Real Job!”
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today—I drew a picture of a shark. My art teacher looked at me and said, “That’s a very good picture. You actually have artistic talent. Enough to be an actual artist.” I looked back at him and said, “Oh, boy! I’m gonna be a comic book artist.” He said, “That’s not what I mean.” But I said, “Yeah, but that’s what I meant!” So I majored in art the rest of my high school and college career, to help me in becoming a comic book artist.
RA: I haven’t actually seen a lot of your comic art… but I do recall you did a fan illustration for one of Jim Warren’s fan pages back in the 1960s… in Eerie #22 (July 1969). It wasn’t too bad, as I recall.
WEIN: Thank you. Yep, there were a lot of aspiring artists who showed up on those fan pages. When I became a professional, I actually got to draw one four-page story for Gold Key. It was a story called “Walk the Plank” for Grimm’s Ghost Stories [#9 (May 1973)]. That’s the only actual story I’ve ever drawn. RA: The Grand Comics Database lists three stories you illustrated, one apparently a ghost penciling job for Sal Trapani for
Masquerader Of The Lost Arcs (Above:) Len Wein was a fannish double-threat. First, as a writer: His brief interview with Jack Kirby in the 6th issue of future fellow pro Mike Vosburg’s fanzine Masquerader in the early 1960s was quite possibly the first conversation with “The King” ever published. Thanks to Doug Martin. [© the respective copyright holders.] (Right:) Secondly, as an artist: Besides being assistant editor of the fanzine Popular Heroes Illustrated, he drew this 1964 cover spotlighting Steve Ditko’s Marvel co-creations. Thanks to Nick Caputo. [Spider-Man & Dr. Strange TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
Later that same year, I got very sick. I spent some time in the hospital and my father brought me a bunch of comic books to keep me occupied. As they say, “Done is done.” I was hooked. I was a comic book fan from that moment on. RA: Do you remember any of the titles in that batch?
WEIN: They were mostly DC, I think. I remember Batman and Superman. There were no Marvels, because Marvel didn’t exist back then. They would almost have to have been DC comics.
RA: When did you first begin to make your move to becoming a professional in the comics field? WEIN: Eighth-grade art class. In the 8th grade back then, when the arts were part of our curriculum—unlike
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KIRBY COLLECTOR #66
BACK ISSUE #83
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“International Heroes!” Alpha Flight, the New X-Men, Global Guardians, Captain Canuck, and Justice League International, plus SpiderMan in the UK and more. Also: exclusive interview with cover artists STEVE FASTNER and RICH LARSON. Featuring the work of JOHN BYRNE, CHRIS CLAREMONT, DAVE COCKRUM, RICHARD COMELY, KEITH GIFFEN, KEVIN MAGUIRE, and more! Alpha Flight vs. X-Men cover by FASTNER/LARSON.
“Supergirl in the Bronze Age!” Her 1970s and 1980s adventures, including her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths and her many rebirths. Plus: an ALAN BRENNERT interview, behind the scenes of the Supergirl movie starring HELEN SLATER, Who is Superwoman?, and a look at the DC Superheroes Water Ski Show. With PAUL KUPPERBERG, ELLIOT MAGGIN, MARV WOLFMAN, plus a jam cover recreation of ADVENTURE COMICS #397!
“Christmas in the Bronze Age!” Go behind the scenes of comics’ best holiday tales of the 1970s through the early 1990s! And we revisit Superhero Merchandise Catalogs of the late ‘70s! Featuring work by SIMON BISLEY, CHRIS CLAREMONT, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍALÓPEZ, KEITH GIFFEN, the KUBERT STUDIO, DENNY O’NEIL, STEVE PURCELL, JOHN ROMITA, JR., and more. Cover by MARIE SEVERIN and MIKE ESPOSITO!
“Marvel Bronze Age Giants and Reprints!” In-depth exploration of Marvel’s GIANT-SIZE series, plus indexes galore of Marvel reprint titles, Marvel digests and Fireside Books editions, and the last days of the “Old” XMen! Featuring work by DAN ADKINS, ROSS ANDRU, RICH BUCKLER, DAVE COCKRUM, GERRY CONWAY, STEVE GERBER, STAN LEE, WERNER ROTH, ROY THOMAS, and more. Cover by JOHN ROMITA, SR.!
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KIRBY COLLECTOR #67
ALTER EGO #136
ALTER EGO #137
ALTER EGO #138
DOUBLE-TAKES ISSUE! Features oddities, coincidences, and reworkings by both Jack and Stan Lee: the Galactus Origin you didn’t see, Ditko’s vs. Kirby’s Spider-Man, how Lee and Kirby viewed “writing” differently, plus a rare KIRBY radio interview with Stan, MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, unseen and unused pencil art from FANTASTIC FOUR, 2001, CAPTAIN VICTORY, BRUCE LEE, & more!
UP-CLOSE & PERSONAL! Kirby interviews you weren’t aware of, photos and recollections from fans who saw him in person, personal anecdotes from Jack’s fellow pros, LEE and KIRBY cameos in comics, MARK EVANIER and other regular columnists, and more! Don’t let the photo cover fool you; this issue is chockfull of rare Kirby pencil art, from Roz Kirby’s private sketchbook, and Jack’s most personal comics stories!
BONUS 100-PAGE issue as ROY THOMAS talks to JIM AMASH about celebrating his 50th year in comics—and especially about the ‘90s at Marvel! Art by TRIMPE, GUICE, RYAN, ROSS, BUCKLER, HOOVER, KAYANAN, BUSCEMA, CHAN, VALENTINO, and others! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER’s Comic Crypt, AMY KISTE NYBERG on the Comics Code, and a cover caricature of Roy by MARIE SEVERIN!
Incredible interview with JIM SHOOTER, which chronicles the first decade of his career (Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman, Supergirl, Captain Action) with art by CURT SWAN, WALLY WOOD, GIL KANE, GEORGE PAPP, JIM MOONEY, PETE COSTANZA, WIN MORTIMER, WAYNE BORING, AL PLASTINO, et al.! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover art by CURT SWAN!
Science-fiction great (and erstwhile comics writer) HARLAN ELLISON talks about Captain Marvel and The Monster Society of Evil! Also, Captain Marvel artist/ co-creator C.C. BECK writes about the infamous Superman-Captain Marvel lawsuit of the 1940s and ‘50s in a double-size FCA section! Plus two titanic tributes to Golden Age artist FRED KIDA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!
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The Broadway sci-fi epic WARP examined! Interviews with art director NEAL ADAMS, director STUART (Reanimator) GORDON, playwright LENNY KLEINFELD, stage manager DAVID GORDON, and a look at Warp’s 1980s FIRST COMICS series! Plus: an interview with PETER (Hate!) BAGGE, our RICH BUCKLER interview Part One, GIANT WHAM-O COMICS, and the conclusion of our STAN GOLDBERG interview!
Retrospective on GIL KANE, co-creator of the modern Green Lantern and Atom, and early progenitor of the graphic novel. Kane cover newly-inked by KLAUS JANSON, plus remembrances from friends, fans, and collaborators, and a Kane art gallery. Also, our RICH BUCKLER interview conclusion, a look at the “greatest zine in the history of mankind,” MINESHAFT, and Part One of our ARNOLD DRAKE interview!
STAR WARS! Amazing custom ships by ERIC DRUON, incredible galactic layouts by builder AC PIN, a look at the many droid creations built by LEGO fans—truly, the LEGO Force has awakened! Plus JARED K. BURKS on minifigure customizing, step-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons by DAMIEN KEE, and more!
Super-star DC penciler HOWARD PORTER demos his creative process, and JAMAL IGLE discusses everything from storyboarding to penciling as he gives a breakdown of his working methods. Plus there’s Crusty Critic JAMAR NICHOLAS reviewing art supplies, JERRY ORDWAY showing the Ord-Way of doing comics, and Comic Art Bootcamp lessons with BRET BLEVINS and Draw! editor MIKE MANLEY! Mature readers only.
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41
Dr. Amy K. Nyberg
Seal Of Approval: The History Of The Comics Code Concluding Chapter 6 Of Our Serialization Of The 1998 Study By DR. AMY KISTE NYBERG
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: We near the conclusion of our reprinting of Dr. Nyberg’s groundbreaking history of comic book censorship—a work we’ve felt honored to be able to re-present, with a wealth of added illustrations, for Alter Ego’s audience. Previous installments have appeared in A/E #123-128, 130, 133, & 134. As we’ve said before, Seal of Approval is “footnoted” in the MLA style which lists book, article, or author name, plus page numbers, between parentheses in the main text: e.g., “(Hart 154-156)” refers to pp. 154-156 of whichever work by an author or editor named Hart appears in the bibliography (which will be printed at the conclusion of our serialization, a few issues from now). When the parentheses contain only page numbers, it’s because the other pertinent information is printed in the text almost immediately preceding the note.
A/E
We’ve again retained such usages and spellings from Nyberg’s book as “superhero,” an uncapitalized “comics code,” “E.C.” and “DC,” etc. In the captions we ourselves have added, however, we have reverted to A/E house style and preference. These captions, of course, do not necessarily
reflect the opinion of Dr. Nyberg or of the University Press of Mississippi, the original publisher of the book—the original edition of which can still be obtained from UPM at www.upress.sate.ms.us. Our thanks once again 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, and who was of great help to A/E in helping to arrange for its reprinting here… to William Biggins and Vijah Shah, acquisitions editors past and present at the U. Press of Mississippi… and to Brian K. Morris for retyping the text on a Word document for Ye Editor. The preceding segment dealt with the alterations made to the code in 1971 in order to acknowledge changes in American society since 1954— which included allowing the use of “vampires, ghouls, and werewolves,” as long as they were handled in the “classic tradition” of “high caliber literary works… read in schools throughout the World.” In 1976, outsider Jenette Kahn became DC’s new publisher, and longtime comics writer Jim Shooter ascended at the beginning of 1977 to the post of Marvel’s editorin-chief….
T
he four publishers who remained active in the CMAA during the late 1970s and the 1980s—Archie, Marvel, Harvey, and DC—continued to challenge the need for a code. Marvel president James Galton, at a meeting of the board of directors in October 1976, questioned whether there was any need to continue the use of the seal. Others, however, felt that the seal remained “essential to the viability of the comics magazine industry” (CMAA Files [minutes, 19 Oct. 1976]). Galton’s question was spurred in part by changes in the comic book publishing industry that would enable new publishers to bypass the CMAA and its code administrator entirely. Beginning in the late 1970s, an innovation was under way in comic book distribution that was to have tremendous impact on the way comic books were marketed and sold. That innovation was direct market distribution.
Changes in distribution during this period were linked to an earlier change in the industry, the rise of independent publishers. In the 1970s, there was a movement toward independent publishing, which initially served as an outlet for creator-owned properties. Until that time, all of the rights for characters were owned by companies, not by individual writers and artists. New publishing companies were started that allowed creators to retain the rights to their characters. At first, distribution was limited to mail order and a small number of specialty shops, and the profits
Publish Or Perish (Left:) Jenette Kahn, publisher of DC Comics from 1976-2002. Photo undated. (Right:) Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, on left, and Marvel publisher Jim Galton, circa 1980. From Jim Shooter’s blog. An in-depth interview with Shooter will appear in Alter Ego #137. (Note: Galton’s last name is spelled “Galston” in Nyberg’s book. Typist Brian K. Morris corrected the spelling for this reprinting.)
were not high enough to lure top talent away from the major companies. But by the end of the decade, a proliferation of specialty shops and the emergence of direct market distribution created a market capable of sustaining these independent publishers (Jacobs and Jones 269).
[©2015 Cracked Entertainment.]
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Bums On The Run! I don’t know who’s the bigger loser, the mug hot-footing it from the cops, or the clueless crook taking notes. From Real Clue Crime Stories Vol. 5, #1 (March 1950). Art by Dan Zolnerowich. [Real Clue cover © the respective copyright holders.]
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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!
Get A Clue (Part 2!) by Michael T. Gilbert
L
ast issue we shared some amusing Hillman crime covers. This time we’ve unearthed more gems, many drawn by the talented Dan Zolnerowich. “Zolne” is perhaps best remembered for his classic Planet Comics covers for Fiction House. But his work for Hillman is equally striking. And, speaking of Hillman....
Noted art collector, book, and magazine publisher Alex L. Hillman founded the company in 1938 with a line of True Confessions titles. These included Real Confessions, Real Romances, True Crime, Crime Detective, and Real Detective. Hillman branched out into comics with the publication of Miracle Comics #1 and Rocket Comics #1. Both sported a February 1940 publication date.
Stupid Crook Tricks! (Above:) Boy, leave it to those country hicks! First the store-owner sheriff makes a killing selling expensive bank-robbing gear to the city slickers—then he arrests them for the heist! Say, didn’t I see the same plot on an old Green Acres episode? From Real Clue Crime Stories, Vol. 4, #10 (Dec. 1949). Art by Dan “Zolne” Zolnerowich. [© the respective copyright holders.].
“I Get No Respect!” (Left:) Rodney Dangerfield has nothing on this poor slob. He’s too broke to afford a decent hotel, thanks to a botched bank job (see cover above!). And even mean Mrs. O’Leary doesn’t want the bum in her cheap flophouse. From Real Clue Crime Stories, Vol. 4, #4 (June 1949). Art by Zolne. [© 2015 the respective copyright holders.]
Get A Clue—Part 2!!!
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As their comic line grew, they added titles like Air Fighters (later Airboy), Dead-Eye Western, My Date, Pirate Comics, All-Sports, and Romantic Confessions. Many consider Hillman’s comics to be some of the best written of the Golden Age. Hillman’s crime comics were no exception.
While Gleason’s Crime Does Not Pay or Fox’s Murder Incorporated tended to focus on the brutal antics of high-profile crooks like Al Capone and Pretty Boy Floyd, Hillman’s Real Clue Crime Stories, Crime Detective, and Crime Must Stop! were just as likely to explore the smaller moments.
Fun With Words! (Left:) Double entendres were big with the Real Clue crowd. Here, a gun-toting ersatz janitor promises to “turn on the heat” for some stoolie. Hey, if it’s so cold, why’s that crook sweating like a stevedore? From Real Clue Crime Stories, Vol. 3, #7 (Sept. 1948). Art by Zolne. [© the respective copyright holders.]
Photo Finish! (Below:) This crook hopes his photographer pal will get “a good shot.” Careful what you wish, buddy! From Real Clue Crime Stories, Vol.3, #1 (March 1948). Art by Zolne. [© the respective copyright holders.]
Another Planet Heard From! (Left:) A classic Zolnerowich cover from Fiction House’s Planet Comics #16 (Jan 1942). [© the respective copyright holders.]
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The Limitations Of Comics by C.C. Beck Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck with J.T. Go From FCA’s C.C. Beck archives come two previously unpublished essays from the mid-1980s on the rudiments of comic art, dogmatically delineated by Captain Marvel’s co-creator and chief artist. The bonus second piece is a snippet from one of Beck’s several aborted book projects on comic art instruction. —PCH.
E
very form of art has its limitations. Drawing and painting are two-dimensional, sculpture is threedimensional. While such things as clouds, sunrises and sunsets, and pools or oceans of water can be put into pictures, they cannot be included in sculptures with any success. Strangely enough, although pictures have only two dimensions, the third dimension—or the illusion of the third dimension—can be included in pictures but not in sculptures, which are three-dimensional, because then it becomes real and reality is too cold and hard to create any illusions. In spite of this obvious fact, some artists are always trying to put things which belong in sculpture into pictures and vice versa. Neither form of art can show motion, which involves the fourth dimension, at all. It can be suggested in pictures but not in sculptures without becoming ridiculous. Statues of figures with flying hair, floating draperies, and either running or flying are unconvincing and silly, although many ignorant people admire them. Pictures which are over-modeled so that they seem to
be coming out of their frames instead of staying flat and twodimensional are also unconvincing and silly, however much some people may admire them. When any form of art exceeds its limitations it becomes bad art—even though the general public may love it. A human being is only five or six feet tall with a head about nine inches from chin to
Beck And Call (Above:) Charles Clarence Beck was always willing to impart his artistic wisdom and wizardry to aspiring artists everywhere, as he did with his one-page drawing lesson from the “Shazam!” issue of the tabloid-sized Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-21 (Summer 1973), published while he was still on board with DC during the Captain Marvel revival. (Left:) Believing in the power of a young person’s imagination, Beck gladly accepted an invitation to be a special guest speaker at the Hillcrest Elementary School in Lake Wales, Florida, on February 24, 1979, where he delighted students with his knowledge of cartooning basics. Photo by Chip Newton. [Shazam heroes TM & © DC Comics.]