Alter Ego #143 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Vol. 3, No. 143 / November 2016 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)

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Comic Crypt Editor

PLEASE READ THIS:

Michael T. Gilbert

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

Proofreaders Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

Cover Artists & Colorists: George Wilson, Jesse Santos, et al.

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With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Sal Amendola Ger Apeldoorn Richard J. Arndt Bob Bailey Bernie Bubnis Aaron Caplan Nick Caputo John Coates Chet Cox Vince Davis Craig Delich Mark Evanier Shane Foley Mark Foy Stephan Friedt Keif Fromm Janet Gilbert Donald F. Glut Grand Comics Database

Ernesto Guevara Adam Haney Jim Kealy Al Kracalik Mark Lewis Art Lortie Jim Ludwig Dan Makara Keith Morgan Mark Muller Michael Netzer Barry Pearl Gene Reed Steven Rowe Richard Rubenfeld Tom Sawyer Dave Siegel Dann Thomas Mike Tiefenbacher The Turek Family Andy Yanchus

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Jesse Santos & Mark Hanerfeld

Contents Writer/Editorial: That “Seventies” Issue! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 “[Gold Key] Didn’t Follow What Marvel Or DC Was Doing” . . . 3 An interview with Dr. Spektor creator “Dinosaur Don” Glut, conducted by Richard Arndt.

ACBA—The Academy Of Comic Book Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 A very informal history of comics creators’ 1970s professional association by Sal Amendola.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Michael T.: The Fanzine Years. . 51 Michael T. Gilbert on his early beginnings as a comic book artist.

Comic Fandom Archive: We Called Ourselves TISOS . . . . . 57 Richard Rubenfeld and Andy Yanchus on the 1960s-70s “Illegitimate Sons of Superman.”

In Memoriam: Jesse Santos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 67 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #202 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck interviews Bill Schelly about the new edition of his Otto Binder biography. On Our Cover: Sure, Don Glut (whose photo is seen in dead center of the page) wrote comics stories for Marvel, Warren, Charlton, Archie, Skywald—even a few for DC—but it was at Gold Key (Western Publishing’s 1962-1984 comic book imprint) in Los Angeles that he made his signature contributions, a trio of fantasy/science-fiction titles (Dagar the Invincible, The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor, and Tragg and the Sky Gods, plus a tale or two for its authorized Twilight Zone comic). So we decided to frame his 1970s mug shot with covers from those four series. The names of the cover-painting artists are hard to come by, but some are probably the work of George Wilson, and the cover of Tragg #1 (June 1975) is by interior artist Jesse Santos. Thanks to Don for the photo, and to the Grand Comics Database for the cover images. [TM & © Random House, under license to Classic Media, Inc.] Above: Perhaps the most influential Marvel issue Dinosaur Don ever scripted was What If? #9 (June 1978) in which four authentic 1950s characters and the retro 3-D Man formed The Avengers nearly a decade early—and saved the life of President Dwight D. Eisenhower! Pencils by Alan Kupperberg, inks by Bill Black, building on a concept by Roy Thomas. See p. 30 for details. Thanks to Barry Pearl for the scan. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Alter EgoTM is published 6 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. Six-issue subscriptions: $65 US, $102 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

That “Seventies” Issue! T T

he Seventies. Or, as I prefer to write it: the ’70s.

Actually, of course, when the locale is Alter Ego, we’re talking mostly about the first half of the decade, a perhaps-extended version of the Silver Age of Comics—through late 1974, when I stepped down as Marvel’s editor-in-chief (with issues bearing my editorial imprimatur coming out into ’75). A/E’s coverage of those years overlaps with that of our TwoMorrows sister mag Back Issue, whose franchise begins with 1970, the year some count as the end of the Silver Age. This, more than most, is a ’70s issue of Alter Ego.

First up is my longtime friend and associate Don Glut, whose first professional forays into the comics field were made in ’69, and who by the end of ’75 had written for Warren, Gold Key, Marvel, Archie, Skywald, DC, and Charlton. The first half of the 1970s also saw virtually the entire lifespan of the professionals’ Academy of Comic Book Arts, founded in 1970 and pretty much dead in the water by ’76. As artist/teacher Sal Amendola says in this issue’s informal study, a history of ACBA may never be written because, for a society made up of pro writers and artists, it left less of a paper trail than you’d imagine. Still, Sal and I make a start of it, with him providing the basic text and my singing harmony (or dissonance) in captions and notes… if only to challenge others to pick up where we leave off. Michael T. Gilbert’s second chapter on his “fanzine” days begins in the latter 1960s, but it encompasses his life and work through 1973—so it fits within our chronological compass, too. Richard Rubenfeld and Andy Yanchus’ article on the late-’60s fan-group TISOS—“The Illegitimate Sons of Superman”—might barely miss inclusive status, but only because, at the tail-end of the ’60s and start of the ’70s, several of its founding members went to work for Marvel, DC, or elsewhere, most prominently Len Wein and Marv Wolfman, but several others, as well.

Okay, so maybe there’s no way to tie this issue’s FCA and P.C. Hamerlinck’s interview with Bill Schelly on his reissued biography of Otto Binder to the ’70s hitching post. But then again, 1974 saw the passing of that seminal writer, and with him, a major connection to the original Captain Marvel, one of the great superhero concepts… even as DC’s Shazam! comic was offering a new generation a look at the World’s Mightiest Mortal. Interestingly, the ’70s theme has strong ties to the 1940s, the Golden Age of Comics which formed so much of the impetus for my launching this third volume of Alter Ego. For, before he scripted comics, Don made ambitious amateur films about Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Captain America, and other great ’40s heroes. ACBA was a meeting-ground for artists who’d been in the field since World War II and those co-existing uneasily with the Vietnam War. Michael T. Gilbert talks about the early NYC comics conventions, where 1940s pros were celebrated. TISOS were the self-styled bastard offspring of Superman—most of them born either in the ’40s or early ’50s. And Binder’s comics heyday came at Fawcett between the early ’40s and 1953. Numerous future issues will, of course, return to a 1940s focus—and those, in turn, will cast long shadows into the ’60s and ’70s. A star-spangled spectrum of derring-do at the dawn of heroic comics—merging into their Renaissance, sparked by editors Julius Schwartz and Stan Lee, a few key writers (Otto Binder definitely among them), and a number of monumentally talented once-1940s artists like Kirby, Infantino, Kane, and Sekowsky. One of the characters in the stage play The History Boys complains about how much he hates studying history, because it consists of “just one f***ing thing after another!” But it doesn’t, really. It is, rather, a cosmic continuum of cause and effect… with each historical effect becoming, in its turn, an historical cause. So let’s hear it for this ’70s issue—and for the decades before and after it! Bestest,

COMING IN DECEMBER #144 WHEN SUPER-HEROES WERE ACE’s ACE IN THE HOLE! The Deck Was Stacked—In Favor Of ACTION!

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• Vintage cover by B. CURRIE, from Four Favorites #4 (March 1942)—spotlighting Ace heroes Magno & Davey, The Unknown Soldier, Lash Lightning, and The Raven! • “Coming Up ACES!” by MARK CARLSON-GHOST—the saga of the heroic, horror, and romance comics of Ace Periodicals (1940-1956), showcasing the stellar artwork of KURTZMAN, MOONEY, BERG, COLE, PALAIS, CAMERON, FELDSTEIN, et al! • BILL HARRIS, 1960s editor at Dell/Western, Gold Key, & King Comics, talks to RICHARD ARNDT about working with WILLIAMSON, CRANDALL, BARRY, BOLLE, FREDRICKS, FUJITANI, MANNING, LIGNANTE, WILSON, etc. • Plus FCA —MICHAEL T. GILBERT—BILL SCHELLY on Houston fandom’s connection with RBCC—& MORE!! NOTE: New 100-page/$9.95 format starts in #145 (January)!

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“[Gold Key] Didn’t Follow What Marvel Or DC Was Doing” An Interview with Dinosaur DON GLUT Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt

on Glut [it’s pronounced “gloot”] entered the comics world in 1969, after an extensive period spent making amateur films. His breakthrough came writing horror stories for the Warren black-&-white magazines. He soon moved into color comics, first at Gold Key, and, later, Marvel, with a few stops along the way at Charlton and DC. In his career he created the characters Dagar and Dr.

Spektor and wrote for such series as Dagar the Invincible, The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor, Tragg and the Sky Gods, Kull the Destroyer, The Invaders, What If?, and Captain America, among many others. Today he continues to work in the film and television industries and has recently written his new first comics stories in nearly thirty years. This interview was conducted on Aug. 3, 2015.

Three To Get Ready… Don Glut (top center), framed by art from the three major comics companies for which he worked during his first decade in comics. (Left to right:) A Neal Adams-drawn horror story from Warren Publishing’s Vampirella #1 (Oct. 1969)—that’s what we call starting off at the top! The art was reproduced from the artist’s tight pencils. With thanks to Jim Kealy for this and the following scan. [TM & © DFI.] Jesse Santos’ splash page for Gold Key’s The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #18 (Dec. 1975). [TM & © Random House, Inc., under license to Classic Media, LLC.] The Alan Kupperberg/Frank Springer splash of Don’s first scripting gig on Marvel’s The Invaders (#29, June 1978). Editor Roy Thomas came up with the concept of the Nazi flying saucer piloted by Komtur the Teutonic Knight—and left pretty much everything else in “Dinosaur Don’s” capable hands! Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

An Interview With Dinosaur Don Glut

cartoons and newsreels and Westerns. I wanted to show my kind of films. I wanted to be able to show my movies on my home screen any time I wanted to. You just couldn’t do that back then. It’s funny that we even had a movie camera. Ours was a 16mm movie camera. Before he went into the Army, my dad was a baker, and one of his baker friends owed him some money and couldn’t pay him back. So the friend gave him a 16mm Keystone movie projector with a couple of little films that went with it. My mother, when she first started dating my dad, was trying to get something nice for him as a Christmas present. She was working in a building as a typist. In the building, on an upper floor, was a company from which you could buy things wholesale. She bought him a 16mm Keystone movie camera to go with his projector. So we’d always had the 16mm projector and camera in our family. Before I started using it, it was mostly used for family home movies—events, vacations, birthdays, weddings, that sort of thing.

Parental Guidance Suggested Don Glut’s father and mother, back in the day. Thanks to DG.

“Making Amateur Films Was My Hobby For A Long Time” RICHARD ARNDT: We should start with some information about your background—where you grew up—that sort of thing. DON GLUT: I was born in Pacos, Texas, on an Army base in 1944. My dad was stationed there, and my mother followed him. Our hometown was really Chicago, though. After my father was shipped overseas, my mother moved back to Chicago, and that’s where I grew up. I spent most of my formative youth in the Windy City. I moved out to California in 1964 when I transferred to USC and their film school. I liked the area so much I never went back to Chicago, except for visits.

So when I got this idea that I wanted to make movies, we already had some of the hardware. That year, 1953, a movie came out called The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It was a Ray Harryhausen “monster attacks New York” story. [NOTE: It was officially based on Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Foghorn.” —RA.] This was just when I was getting into prehistoric animals, which became one of my main interests. I wanted to get that movie to play in my house but, of course, you couldn’t get that movie back in 1953! So I got it in my head that the only way to show a dinosaur movie in my home was to make my own. That sort of lit the fire, and it turned out that most of the movies I wanted to see and show in my house I had to make myself. So I made dinosaur movies. I made movies with the Universal monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, which actually led to super-hero films. Super-hero films weren’t mainstream back in the 1950s-1960s. Making amateur films was my hobby for a long time.

RA: As I understand it, you had a fairly lengthy career doing amateur films. You actually started at a very young age…

RA: The super-hero movies you made—I’m assuming they were unauthorized?

GLUT: Everybody has a hobby when they’re kids. Where other kids were collecting stamps and baseball cards and things, I was making amateur films. I made my first one in 1953—I was only nine years old. I continued that into my early twenties. All told, I made 41 films, most of them in Chicago, although I continued to make them when I moved to California. I guess I was bitten by the movie bug at a very early age. That’s what I’ve always really wanted to do with my career, to make films.

GLUT: I didn’t even know what the word “authorized” meant back then. We just made some costumes and tried to figure out how to do the special effects. All my super-hero films were heavily influenced by the Republic Studios’ movie serials that I was a big fan of. My films were patterned in many ways after what we

The first one I made—well, initially I wasn’t interested in making films; I was interested in showing them. In those days you didn’t have video recorders or DVD players. You ordered films from places like Castle Films, which put out movies for home distribution. But they didn’t have any monster movies! No dinosaur films or Frankenstein movies. Nothing like that. It was

Monsters In Motion (Left:) Don in his 1960 opus Revenge of the Teenage Werewolf. At that time, the American-International cult movie classic I Was A Teenage Werewolf starring Michael Landon was only two years old! (Above:) Stop-motion models made by Don Glut for one of his monster movies: Son of Tor (1964). Somehow, we don’t think Joe Kubert had heard about this one…! Thanks to DG for these scans. [© Don Glut.]

“[Gold Key] Didn’t Follow What Marvel Or DC Was Doing”

“Faster Than A Speeding Bullet! KA-PWEENG!” (Above, left to right:) Don plays a rather “real”-looking hero in his 1962 ama-film Superduperman, inspired by the parody classic in Mad #4 (Hey—shouldn’t that emblem on his chest have changed every scene, like in the comic?)—then the main guy in Batman and Robin (1962)—next, the Sentinel of Liberty in Captain America vs. The Red Skull (1963)—and even relative “newie” Spider-Man in 1969. The first three had been the stars of live-action movie serials in the 1940s. Thanks to DG. [© Don Glut.]

rented or what I saw on television. RA: When you finished the movies, did you project them on a wall or a bedsheet or did you actually have a screen? GLUT: We had an actual screen. Not only would I project them, but I would put on shows in the basement and charge admission for kids to come over and see them. My brother and grandmother, upstairs, would make popcorn and drinks that I would sell in the basement to these kids. It was great fun. I got all my neighborhood friends to be in the films. It was a great way to learn stuff. There were no books, in those days, to teach you how to do special effects or makeup—especially monster make-up. I had to figure it out myself! A lot of those things that I learned on my own, I was later able to apply when making professional films.

“I Did Three Superman Movies In All” RA: I’m going to assume that the unauthorized super-hero characters that you did were Superman or Batman because they were Republic serials…

one was called The Adventures of The Spirit, which I filmed mostly here in California, with a great deal of input from Bob Burns. Bob looked somewhat like Kirk Alyn, who played Superman in the Columbia serials. Bob’s wife Kathy gave him the spit-curl, the Superman curl on his hair. We used a costume that my mother had made in Chicago and which I’d brought back with me to California after a visit home. This was 1963. I had planned to make a movie called Superman at the Earth’s Core, with all the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ characters and monsters in it. When I got out here [to California] I realized how impractical that was. So we made a serial called The Adventures of The Spirit, in which Superman and many other super-heroes, monsters, fantasy characters, whoever, made cameos and guest appearances. Then the third super-hero film I did was Superman vs. the Gorilla Gang. Bob Burns played the gorilla and a stuntman friend of mine named Bart Andrews played Superman. So I did three Superman movies in all.

GLUT: Actually, those two were Columbia serials. It would have been better if they’d been done by Republic. RA: Columbia was best-known, in 1950s short films, for some really cheaply made Three Stooges shorts. GLUT: Yeah, but also a lot of featurelength movies. RA: Who played Superman? Did you do it? GLUT: Yeah, I did. The first Superman I did was actually called Superduper Man and was a take-off on the old Mad comic book story [“Superduperman” by Harvey Kurtzman & Wally Wood, Mad #4, April-May 1953]. Then the second

Getting In The Spirit Of Things Two key moments from Don Glut’s 1963 film The Adventures of the Spirit: one with his friend Bob Burns as Superman and himself as The Spirit—and one which The Spirit faces the Frankenstein Monster, portrayed by none other than Glenn Strange, who had played the Monster in three 1940s Universal movies: House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Strange also played the bartender on TV’s Gunsmoke for years. Don’s interest in old horror movies led to his friendship with Strange, Lon Chaney Jr., et al.— but not, at this stage, with Will Eisner, creator and copyright-holder of The Spirit! Thanks to DG. [© Don Glut.]

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!

EISNER AWARD Winner Best Comics-Related Periodical

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ALTER EGO #134

ALTER EGO #135

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ALTER EGO #131

ALTER EGO #132

ALTER EGO #133

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!

75 YEARS of THE FLASH and GREEN LANTERN (a crossover with BACK ISSUE #80)! INFANTINO, KANE, KUBERT, ELIAS, LAMPERT, HIBBARD, NODELL, HASEN, TOTH, REINMAN, SEKOWSKY, Golden Age JSA and Dr. Mid-Nite artist ARTHUR PEDDY’s stepson interviewed, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more!

Gentleman JIM MOONEY gets a featurelength spotlight, in an in-depth interview conducted by DR. JEFF McLAUGHLIN— never before published! Featuring plenty of rare and unseen MOONEY ART from Batman & Robin, Supergirl, Spider-Man, Legion of Super-Heroes, Tommy Tomorrow, and others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

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ALTER EGO #136

ALTER EGO #137

ALTER EGO #138

Celebrates SOL BRODSKY—Fantastic Four #3-4 inker, logo designer, and early Marvel production manager! With tributes by daughter and Marvel colorist JANNA PARKER, STAN LEE, HERB TRIMPE, STAN GOLDBERG, DAVID ANTHONY KRAFT, TONY ISABELLA, ROY THOMAS, and others! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover portrait by JOHN ROMITA!

LEN WEIN (writer/co-creator of Swamp Thing, Human Target, and Wolverine) talks about his early days in comics at DC and Marvel! Art by WRIGHTSON, INFANTINO, TRIMPE, DILLON, CARDY, APARO, THORNE, MOONEY, and others! Plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MR. MONSTER’s Comic Crypt, the Comics Code, and DAN BARRY! Cover by DICK GIORDANO with BERNIE WRIGHTSON!

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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ALTER EGO #139

ALTER EGO #140

ALTER EGO #141

ALTER EGO #142

JIM AMASH interviews ROY THOMAS about his 1990s work on Conan, the stillborn Marvel/Excelsior line launched by STAN LEE, writing for Cross Plains, Topps, DC, and others! Art by KAYANAN, BUSCEMA, MAROTO, GIORDANO, ST. AUBIN, DITKO, SIMONSON, MIGNOLA, LARK, KIRBY, CORBEN, SALE, SCHULTZ, LIGHTLE, McKEEVER, BENDIS, and more! Cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN!

Golden Age great IRWIN HASEN spotlight, adapted from DAN MAKARA’s film documentary on Hasen, the 1940s artist of the Justice Society, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Wildcat, Cat-Man, and numerous other classic heroes—and, for 30 years, the artist of the famous DONDI newspaper strip! Bonus art by his buddies JOE KUBERT, ALEX TOTH, CARMINE INFANTINO, and SHELLY MAYER!

From Detroit to Deathlok, we cover the career of artist RICH BUCKLER: Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Black Panther, Ka-Zar, Dracula, Morbius, a zillion Marvel covers— Batman, Hawkman, and other DC stars— Creepy and Eerie horror—and that’s just in the first half of the 1970s! Plus Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, FCA, and comics expert HAMES WARE on fabulous Golden Age artist RAFAEL ASTARITA!

DAVID SIEGEL talks to RICHARD ARNDT about how, from 1991-2005, he brought the greatest artists of the Golden Age to the San Diego Comic-Con! With art and artifacts by FRADON, GIELLA, MOLDOFF, LAMPERT, CUIDERA, FLESSEL, NORRIS, SULLIVAN, NOVICK, SCHAFFENBERGER, GROTHKOPF, and others! Plus how writer JOHN BROOME got to the Con, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, FCA, and more!

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ACBA—The Academy Of Comic Book Arts Sal Amendola circa 1974. Photo courtesy of the artist/teacher.

A Bird’s-Eye View Of Comics Creators’ 1970s Professional Association by Sal Amendola

A/E EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: ACBA—the Academy of Comic Book Arts—was formed in 1970 as the comic book industry’s equivalent of the National Cartoonists Society, a group made up (especially in that era) primarily of newspaper comic strip artists, and which did not actively seek out members from the comic book field. Ironically, for an association that contained so many writers and editors, there seems to be nothing like a complete record anywhere of either ACBA’s doings or its meetings… only accounts, if one peruses comics and fanzines of the day, of the several years’ worth of Shazam Awards it handed out. In the interest of hopefully jump-starting a history of ACBA and inducing other comics pros to share their memories—via e-mails, letters, or full-scale interviews or articles—we asked longtime artist Sal Amendola to scribe his own recollections of the organization. Why Sal? Well, first and foremost: several years ago, out of the blue, he sent Ye Editor a collection of professionally taken photos of industry personnel at the 1973 ACBA Banquet, at which the Shazam Awards for the preceding year were handed out. (This particular group of photos, alas, proved elusive at the time of this publication, but will see the light of day in an early issue.) Sal was a young and upcoming artist at that time, was associated with ACBA directly or indirectly for much of its existence, and, being until 2015 an instructor at the well-known School of Visual Arts in New York City, has a more than passing interest in the field’s history. So I asked him if he could write a very informal piece about ACBA as a starting-point for a history of the 1970-75 organization… and he concurred, as witness what follows. One may disagree with some of his judgments—and Ye Ed does, hopefully good-naturedly, in some of the accompanying captions, which are written in order to give supplementary information and memories from Ye Ed, who was an ACBA board member for most of its five-year existence. But first and foremost, let’s let Sal share his remembrances with us…

s for an ACBA “History”—here’s what I know: Stan [Lee, editor of Marvel Comics] had the idea to start the Academy.

The Academy’s full name was originally to have been “The Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences” (perhaps after the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences). For whatever reason(s), the “and Sciences” was dropped. Personally, for several reasons, I wish the latter words had been retained. Stan called Carmine [Infantino, editorial director of DC Comics] in on it. This, perhaps, was to make it a joint effort by the two top rival companies—at once keeping it from appearing to be a perhaps-“corporate” Marvel enterprise, and also ensuring that it would become something that would inevitably come to encompass the entire comic book industry. As Stan, and then Carmine, had envisioned it, I believe, the

ACBA Goes To Mars Amendola’s first full-art assignment on the “John Carter of Mars” feature appeared in DC’s Weird Worlds #3 (April-May 1973). Done during the ACBA years, it was scripted by Marv Wolfman. Sal’s first pencil job for the series, in WW #2, had been inked by Joe Orlando. During this period, the (unofficial) cover title of the comic was Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Weird Worlds. [TM & © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.]

Academy was intended for the benefit of the people who actually created the comics: not the publishers, distributors, or dealers (“dealers” in those days being newsstand operators, candy stores, and pharmacists), except indirectly; i.e.: happy, respected workers produce increasingly profitable (as well as creative) products that would make the non-creators happy as they have their business managers’ accountants fill out their ever-enlarging personal and corporate monthly bank deposit slips.

Michael T.: The Fanzine Years! (Part 2)

y first comicon almost killed me.

As a young teen, my comic trading buddies had regaled me with tales of a fabled gathering in New York called a “comic convention”—a magical place where fans could find old Golden Age comics and meet actual cartoonists. But in 1966 I was a broke 14-year-old, stuck in the Levittown suburbs. Traveling alone on the Long Island Railroad to the big city was way too intimidating for this scaredy cat. But, a couple of years later, I finally managed to save enough to attend the 1968 SCARP-Con, run by Phil Seuling, Maurice Horn, and others in Manhattan. During the four-day convention, I kept costs down by crashing at Grandma Nurock’s apartment in the Bronx, a subway ride away from the con. It was fitting punishment, since she was the one who’d got me hooked on comics as a kid. Besides, the upscale Hilton charged a princely $11 a night. Who could afford that? I rarely get too excited by cons nowadays, but at 16 this was a BIG! DEAL! On the big day, heart tripping, I exited the subway and entered the Statler Hilton. Almost fifty years later, the details are hazy. Will Eisner and Burne Hogarth were listed as guests for the con’s Special Luncheon, but who had money for that when there were stacks and stacks of old comics everywhere?

I was particularly eager to pick up EC comics, including less popular “New Direction” titles like Impact and Aces High, which were the cheapest. Maybe they weren’t as sexy as Tales from the Crypt, but they still had superb work by Reed Crandall, Johnny Craig, George Evans, and other EC stalwarts. Condition? I didn’t care. Even coverless copies were acceptable if I could get them cheap enough. The more the merrier!

Zippy! Michael was 15 when he drew the above illo for his high school literary magazine. The budding cartoonist had just discovered a hidden stash of Zip-a-tone in the art department and really went to town! From Perceptions 1967 (June 1967), Island Trees Senior High. [© 2016 Michael T. Gilbert]

I spent days at the con, dragging myself, exhausted, on the subway each night to Gram’s Grand Concourse apartment. Food?

Positively Ditko-esque!

Pen Pals!

Michael, age 19, displayed his art at an amateur art contest at the 1970 New York Comics Convention. This included his Ditko-inspired Spider-Man montage (above) and his The Adventures of God cover (seen on next page). [Spider-Man TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Michael’s 1970 comic booklet, signed by Berni Wrightson, Neal Adams, Kenneth Smith, Dick Giordano, Archie Goodwin, and Frank Frazetta. What... no Roy Thomas?!

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Ha! What true fan would spend good money on such trivialities when there were musty comics to buy? This was a once-in-alifetime opportunity to snag Golden Age comics! Gram’s fridge was mostly empty, so for the duration of the con I survived on stale peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. By the end of day four, I was so starved and exhausted that my face broke out in a horrible case of hives. But it was worth it. Best... Con… EVER! However the 1968 comicon definitely taught me the value of pacing oneself.

Con Artists! As an aspiring cartoonist, I dreamed of someday being invited to the New York Comics Convention myself. It took a couple more decades, but that dream did eventually come true. I made return trips to the Seuling cons from 1969 (Phil’s first con on his own) until I moved to California in early 1975 (skipping the 1972 con to attend the first EC con). In the process, I saw some actual pros—and a young man on the verge of becoming one of comics’ greatest superstars. That story began with me waiting for a panel to begin at the 1968 con. Nearby, a small crowd began to form around a tall gangly kid a few years older than me, displaying an oversized portfolio. Curious, I looked over his shoulder and saw some jawdropping EC-inspired pages. The story was young Bernie Wrightson’s early horror masterpiece, “Uncle Bill’s Barrel.” Though not as slick as his later Swamp Thing and Frankenstein work, it was clear that this was an extraordinary talent. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the very con at which Bernie would be introduced to DC art director Carmine Infantino, leading to the young artist’s first pro assignment. But I knew him when!

No Sacrilege Intended!

Bernie and I crossed paths again at the 1973 con when I gave him a copy of New Paltz Comix #1, featuring my first comic book stories. Bernie was incredibly sweet and encouraging—remarkably so for someone who was now one of the top artists in the business. I’ve never forgotten his kindness.

When Michael T. drew this faux comic book cover for his art class at NY’s Suffolk Community College in 1970, he figured, if Thor was worthy of his own comic, why not the ultimate deity? And why couldn’t God specialize in tiny miracles, like finding a home for a family of birds in an abandoned urinal? How cute! [© 2016 Michael T. Gilbert]

In the decades since, I’ve attended many more conventions as both fan and pro, but my first 1968 con remains the most exciting.

Meanwhile…

By Brightest Night! Michael and his pal Harvey Sobel entered the costume contest at the 1971 NY Con, with Michael as Green Lantern and Harvey as Green Arrow. The winner? Future cartoonist Mike Zeck’s Black Bolt! Michael and Harvey also donned their costumes when riding on a float at Tom Fagan’s famous Rutland Halloween parade a few months later.

Money from odd jobs funded my comic collecting, and allowed me to keep up with the latest issues. At first I worked at my dad’s tailor shop on Saturdays, but later scored my dream job at a local drugstore, at least for a couple of months. Actually, the job itself wasn’t that great, but one of the perks was. The drugstore had a large comic book section, and I got a 40% discount. The owners recovered most of their money every week! Hmm! Speaking of that drugstore, I recall walking my new girlfriend, Jan Goodman, home after school. I was in 11th grade, having moved from Levittown to Commack, NY, that year. On the way, we passed the drugstore and stopped in to look at magazines. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the last copy of Creepy #21 sitting on the rack. I started to grab it when my date stopped me cold. “You don’t read magazines like that, do you?” she asked contemptuously. It was a classic scene right out of Seduction of the Innocent.