Alter Ego #152 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy Thomas’ “Ivie-League” Comics Fanzine

CELEBRATING THE COMICS FAN/ PRO WHO FIRST CONCEIVED...

9.95

In the USA

No.152 May 2018

LARRY IVIE ARTIST, WRITER, & VISIONARY A SURPRISING STUDY BY

82658 00112 1

Heroes TM & © DC Comics. Justice League is a trademark of DC Comics

SANDY PLUNKETT

Vol. 3, No. 152 / May 2018 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)

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

Comic Crypt Editor

PLEASE READ THIS:

Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll

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

Proofreaders

Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

Cover Artist

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Larry Ivie

Contents

Cover Colorist Tom Ziuko

With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash John Benson Louis M. Brill Ricky Terry Brisacque Bernie Bubnis Nick Caputo Peter Carlsson James Cassari John Cimino Pierre Comtois Chet Cox Ray Cuthbert Craig Delich Al Dellinges Jim Engel Steven Fears Shane Foley Drew Friedman Stephan Friedt Jeff Gelb Janet Gilbert Grand Comics Database (website) Mitch Hallock

Jessica Henwick Finn Jones Maureen Jones Jim Kealy Mark Lewis Richard A. Lupoff Doug Martin Jim McCaffrey Brian K. Morris Caitlin McGurk Mark Muller Barry Pearl Sandy Plunkett Rich Rubenfeld Steve Stiles Ronn Sutton Dann Thomas Mike Tiefenbacher Ellen Vartanoff Irene Vartanoff

Writer/Editorial: “A Key Comics Fan” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A Man Of Uncompromising Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Artist/friend Sandy Plunkett tells the story of Larry Ivie—fan, pro, artist, writer, & dreamer.

My Life In Little Pieces – Part IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 A brief excerpt from the 1998 memoir of Golden/Silver Age writer John Broome.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Fox Love Comics Sleaze-a-Palooza! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The supremely sleazy, suggestive, and salacious romance comics of Victor Fox.

Comic Fandom Archive: Sense Of Wonder—Times Two! . . 75 Bill Schelly revises—and super-sizes—his tale of his time in fandom.

re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 81 Tribute To Sam Glanzman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #211 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 P.C. Hamerlinck spotlights part 2 of Mike Tiefenbacher’s “Captain Marvel ©opyright ©risis!”

On Our Cover: The words say “Justice League”—but the heroes depicted seem to be half a dozen of the original members of the 1940s Justice Society of America! Find out why neither title nor illustration is quite what it seems to be, in Sandy Plunkett’s thorough-going coverage of artist and visionary Larry Ivie. [Characters TM & © DC Comics; other art elements © Estate of Larry Ivie.] Above: A previously unpublished full-color illo by Larry Ivie of his young super-hero Altron Boy, who was featured in the artist/writer/editor’s late-1960s magazine Monsters and Heroes. Courtesy of Sandy Plunkett. [TM & © Estate of Larry Ivie.]

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Larry Ivie & Sam Glanzman

Alter Ego TM 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, $99 Elsewhere, $30 Digital Only. 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

“A Key Comic Fan”

uch as I hate to anticipate any of what author and artist Sandy Plunkett has written about Larry Ivie for this issue (which commences on the facing page), I honestly can’t think of any good way to begin these remarks without risk of paraphrasing, just a bit, what he says there. This is a very unusual issue of Alter Ego, in that it celebrates a man who, despite his ambitions—and despite considerable talent— never quite rose to become a full-time professional artist or writer in the comics field, and eventually turned his back on it. Larry Ivie is primarily identified in Bill Schelly’s seminal 1995 work The Golden Age of Comic Fandom as “a key comic fan of the late 1950s.” A decade and half later, when writing Ivie’s biography for his follow-up Founders of Comic Fandom, Bill included him in the chapter on “Indexers” and devoted two pages to him, while penning six about Jerry G. Bails and two pages each on Howard Keltner and the (combined) McGeehan brothers. And this despite the fact that Larry was also a writer, artist, major collector, and even publisher. The relatively little wordage re Larry by Bill was not indicative of the latter’s lack of respect for his achievements. Far from it! As Sandy quotes him in the following article, Bill felt that one of Ivie’s lodgings in 1950s-60s New York City could almost be called “the apartment where fandom was born.” But it was not, alas, the apartment from which the pro career that might have been anticipated was launched. I probably first met Larry at an early comics convention in Manhattan, most likely in 1965. Our relations were always amicable, though I found him a bit standoffish. But then, I was a bit insecure myself in those days, having bounced from DC to Marvel and, till year’s end, without an apartment to call my own, essentially crashing at the Lower East Side pad of fan and Charlton writer Dave Kaler.

Still, I like to think Larry and I felt a certain kinship. He advised me, surely the first time we met, that, some months earlier, Stan Lee had offered him a staff position at Marvel akin to the one I then held; but he went right on to say that he’d been “too busy” to take it. I could never quite relate to that pronouncement. I knew he’d since done some writing for the first issue of Tower’s new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents comic and several stories for Warren Publishing… but how did that small amount of pro work add up to being “too busy” to accept an ongoing job in comics, the field he wanted to be in? I never worked out an answer to that question that really satisfied me. All the same, I admired Larry’s talent. His late-’60s “Altron Boy” feature for Monsters and Heroes wasn’t the kind of super-hero material Marvel wanted, but it showed developing skills. If he’d approached me about working for our 1970s black-&-white titles like Monsters Unleashed and Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction, I’m sure he’d have got a second shot at writing and even drawing for Marvel. But he didn’t, because by then he’d moved out west and he didn’t reach out to us. He’d have fit right in at Unknown Worlds, in particular, with new talent like Frank Brunner, Bruce Jones, Mike Kaluta, John Allison, and others. Still, Larry deserves his particular niche in comics history—and more notoriety than he achieved in his lifetime. Some time back, Sandy contacted me about his desire to tell Larry’s story, with copious artwork by Ivie and several of his illustrious friends and collaborators. And I was only too happy to devote the majority of an issue of A/E to the life and career of Larry Ivie. His name and accomplishments have been unrecognized by far too many for far too long. It’s time everybody interested in the history of comics knew of both.

Bestest,

153

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Remembering Fabulous

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FLO STEINBERG —Marvel’s GAL FRIDAY—

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A Man Of Uncompromising Vision

The Story of LARRY IVIE— Fan, Pro, Artist, Writer, & Dreamer by Sandy Plunkett

Larry Ivie

Author’s Introduction

he history of comics is filled with the names of esteemed artists whose creations have long outlived them. These are the men and women who most often receive the honor of posthumous articles on their lives and work. By contrast, Larry Ivie’s contributions to his chosen field, as a professional, were modest. His intention upon arriving in New York City in the mid-1950s was to join the ranks of the EC artists he admired as a teenager and to gain a livelihood in the business. In the ensuing years, he established himself as a major figure in the NYC comic fan scene and shared close friendships with some of the most talented artists of the day, often working shoulder-to-shoulder with them at the drawing board. But Larry suffered many professional setbacks during those years, and the dreams he held of a fulfilling career were never entirely realized. He was omnipresent in the early days of fandom and in a very real way helped shape and ennoble the fledgling movement that, within his lifetime, grew from crude, mimeographed newsletters to the phenomenon known as the annual San Diego Comic-Con.

Monsters & Heroes—Times Three! A triptych representing Larry Ivie’s many artistic interests/endeavors. (Left to right:) His Barsoomian cover for the Edgar Rice Burroughs fanzine ERBdom #14 (Oct. 1965)… the “Human Torch & Thing” splash page from Marvel’s Strange Tales #132 (May ’65), written by Ivie, with pencils by Bob Powell and inks by “Mickey Demeo” (Mike Esposito)… and his dynamic “Altron Boy” cover for his own magazine Monsters and Heroes #3 (March 1968). For more details, read on! Thanks to Barry Pearl for the Avengers scan. Unless otherwise noted, all art and Ivie-related photos accompanying this article were supplied by author Sandy Plunkett, most of them from the Ivie estate. [Strange Tales page TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art © Estate of Larry Ivie.]

The Story Of Larry Ivie

of the permanent archives of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum and Library. But what truly differentiated Larry from most other boys of the era, those who were likewise swept up in the fantasy worlds of these fictional heroes, was that he felt the need to save the pop-culture ephemera that most considered to be cheap and disposable amusement. Even at this early age, he was not only saving his comics but creating a library of his favorite comicbooks and comic strips, binding them into homemade books and decorating the cardboard covers with his own illustrations. This practice of amassing self-made volumes was one he would continue throughout his life.

Kid Stuff

It’s a little eerie how early in Larry’s life this aspect of his nature was in evidence, this desire to become completely immersed in, and knowledgeable about, the worlds of his favorite fictional heroes. In an autobiographical essay, he recalls his first exposure to comics:

(Above:) Larry with his parents Wilton and Arleen at Niagara Falls, circa 1947. (Right:) Ivie in a homemade costume based on Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster’s hero Funnyman. Since Magazine Enterprises’ Funnyman comicbook saw print in 1948, this photo was probably taken that year or soon afterward.

This article, then, is that story—not a profile of a well-known figure but a sketch of a unique individual and of a life tinged with sadness and disappointment, but which in the end had a greater influence on the field of comic art than has yet been fully recognized.

Part 1: Salt Lake City It’s possible that Larry Ivie’s expectations of life were higher than those of most children of his generation. He was born in 1936 and, according to all his autobiographical recollections, his childhood in Salt Lake City, Utah, was magical. He was an only child born into a prolific Mormon culture and a huge extended family. His one surviving cousin, Marcia Exeter, remembers him as a boy whom all parents would point to as a model for their own offspring to emulate.

When I was five years old, my mother decided I could select a magazine [for] myself. We were about to leave a department store and there was a large magazine rack against the wall to our right, just inside the door. Immediately, something caught my attention. On one cover there were three figures—a sailor, a soldier, and, between them, a man dressed in red and blue with a flowing cape. It was Superman #12. Eleven precious issues had come and gone, plus additional issues of Action Comics before that, without my environment bringing their existence to my attention! What treasures had been in those issues I had missed? I

Larry’s father, Wilton, was a larger-than-life figure whom his son revered. He would later compare his father to the adventurous Indiana Jones of the movies. Wilton was a star athlete in college, excelling both at track and wrestling. But he was a Hot Clippings serious science student as well, a Phi Beta Phi scholarship recipient, and eventually a renowned researcher of The cover that a spiders. He produced a prodigious volume of papers very young Larry Ivie created for a based on field research that took him across the country compilation, in binder and, later, on expeditions into Central and South America. Both Wilton and Larry’s mother (Arleen Berlin Ivie) encouraged Larry’s creativity, fueling his imagination with a steady stream of comics, adventure books (especially those of Edgar Rice Burroughs), and regular trips to the local movie theatre. In grade school, Larry was already writing and drawing his own comics, the number of which beggar the imagination. Inspired by Saturday matinee serials and radio programs like The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet, he began making his own costumes (extraordinary in quality) based on his favorite characters. The importance he placed on these emblems of his childhood is evident from the fact that many of them survived his death nearly seven decades later. Several of them are now carefully preserved as part

form, of “Human Torch” stories cut out of 1940s Timely comics. A/E V3#5 reproduced the binder cover he put together of his own “All-Star Comics #58,” which consisted of clipped-out stories of “Green Lantern,” “Hop Harrigan,” and “Aquaman.” [Human Torch & Toro TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art © Estate of Larry Ivie.]

A Man Of Uncompromising Vision

Home-made Heroes As a child, Ivie wrote and drew his own comicbooks, based both on established characters (like The Claw and The Flash) and on his own creations (Spider Man and Spider). The latter pair both predate Marvel’s wall-crawler by nearly two decades; nor did Larry’s Spider share anything but the name with the Spider pulp hero. Rather, his Spider characters were probably inspired by his father, an entomologist who did scientific research on spiders (see cover of one of his scientific treatises at bottom of page). [The Spider-Man name is a TM of Marvel Characters, Inc.; The Spider name is a registered trademark Argosy Communications, Inc.; The Flash TM & © DC Comics; other art © Estate of Larry Ivie or © the respective copyright holders.] Also depicted in A/E, Vol. 3, #5, in conjunction with Ivie’s controversial article “DC vs. the Justice Society of America,” was a small reproduction of an issue he wrote and drew` of “All-Star Comics” that featured the JSA’s “Arabian Nights Adventure.”

The Story Of Larry Ivie

Easy To Digest? Various illustrations done in the early ’60s for digest SF magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Amazing Stories. Also seen is the reference photo Larry had taken for the artwork to its right; both gents in the snapshot are unidentified. [© Estate of Larry Ivie or the respective copyright holders.]

A Man Of Uncompromising Vision

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Day-Tripping At Larry Ivie’s Comicbook Mecca

by Louis M. Brill

s a comicbook collector growing up in New York City during the 1960s, my contact with super-heroes was simple—all Silver Age stuff I bought, read, saved, and cherished. In the course of my comicbook travels I was introduced to Larry Ivie, a professional comicbook artist and most likely the ultimate comicbook fan boy of that era. I was invited by another comicbook fan, a friend of Larry’s, to meet him, not knowing who Larry was or the extent of his involvement with the comicbook industry. So, it was now weekends hanging out at Larry’s New York brownstone totally immersed in comicbook lore beyond anything one could believe. Larry’s apartment was like the Disneyland of comicbooks. Larry, as I was quick to find out, had an extensive comicbook collection that reached back to the Golden Age with editions of early “Superman,” the original “Sub-Mariner” from the 1940s, the original “Human Torch,” “Batman,” and the Justice League when they were a “Society” before re-emerging as the JLA. Not only did Larry have this enormous comic collection, but he was very gracious about letting us read anything we wanted. It was a new world of super-heroes, and a bit strange, as I grew up on the Silver Age (The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, etc.) but had no idea that a previous incarnation of all these characters had existed before I was even born. But there they were in print, all-powerful and fighting the good fight even then. Visiting Larry’s brownstone was like getting a master’s in American comicbook history. Not only did I pore over the varied

adventures, but we’d also talk about comicbook art from comic to comic, and getting a great sense of the varied techniques in illustrating the body in motion with or without super-powers. One day, in going through parts of Larry’s comicbook collection, I spotted a closet with very familiar blue tights and red trunks and accompanying red cape. “Larry, what’s this all about?” I asked somewhat suspiciously, as I discovered yet another costume, this one completely red except for its accompanying white cape in the back and a yellow lightning bolt across the chest (can you say “SHAZAM”?). Larry looked at me and said, “Oh, those are costumes from my super-hero movies.” I looked at him in awe: “Movies.” “About super-heroes.” “I gotta see this!” So he hauled out his 8mm movie projector, darkened the room, and we sat there watching Superman, Captain Marvel, and the like flying about, saving the world and having a good old time. The movies, as I remember them, were all filmed in Central Park (two convenient blocks from Larry’s apartment), which supplied a variety of locations and backdrops (let’s not forget Castle Belvedere) for these super-heroic flights of fancy, back in the days of 8mm film making. My favorite memory during that time I was hanging out at the Ivory pad: For some reason, I had opened Larry’s refrigerator, and there, lying on its side in all its glory, was a full three-dimensional replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, about a foot in length. It was very realistic, a miniature of the ones that prowled about, way back when. Luckily, it was not moving or snoring. I picked it up and it had a skin completely covering it, cold, clammy, and pebbly, like the skin covering a refrigerated chicken. Pointing to it, I said, “Larry, what’s this all about?” He looked at it and said, “Oh that’s from my dinosaur movie.” Not so surprised by now, I said, “dinosaur movie....” Inevitably, it all came to an end as I left for college, sports, girls, and preparing for entering the real world.

“Let’s Put On A Show!” (Left:) The Captain America costume made by Larry Ivie for his amateur movies was on display until mid-2017 in the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum in Columbus, Ohio. In addition, as depicted in A/E V3#5, he made better Hawkman and Dr. Fate helmets than any non-professional ones Ye Editor has ever seen—ditto for Starman’s Gravity Rod and Green Lantern’s power battery and Power Ring! Photo taken by Caitlin McGurk. (Above:) Castle Belvedere, in NYC’s Central Park, designed mostly for grandiose effect circa 1865, now serves as a gift shop, etc.—but it made the perfect backdrop for some of Ivie’s ama-films. Thanks to Louis M. Brill.

NEW FOR 2018! JACK KIRBY CHECKLIST: CENTENNIAL EDITION

This final, fully-updated, definitive edition clocks in at DOUBLE the length of the 2008 “Gold Edition”, in a new 256-page LTD. EDITION HARDCOVER (only 1000 copies) listing every release up to Jack’s 100th birthday! Detailed listings of all of Kirby’s published work, reprints, magazines, books, foreign editions, newspaper strips, fine art and collages, fanzines, essays, interviews, portfolios, posters, radio and TV appearances, and even Jack’s unpublished work! (256-page LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER) $34.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-083-0 • SHIPS APRIL 2018!

KIRBY & LEE: STUF’ SAID! (JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #75)

This first-of-its-kind examination of the creators of the Marvel Universe looks back at their own words, in chronological order, from fanzine, magazine, radio, and television interviews, to paint a picture of JACK KIRBY and STAN LEE’s relationship—why it succeeded, where it deteriorated, and when it eventually failed. Also here are recollections from STEVE DITKO, WALLACE WOOD, JOHN ROMITA SR., and more Marvel Bullpen stalwarts who worked with both Kirby and Lee. Rounding out this book is a study of the duo’s careers after they parted ways as collaborators, including Kirby’s difficulties at Marvel Comics in the 1970s, his last hurrah with Lee on the Silver Surfer Graphic Novel, and his exhausting battle to get back his original art—and creator credit—from Marvel. STUF’ SAID gives both men their say, compares their recollections, and tackles the question, “Who really created the Marvel Comics Universe?”. (160-page trade paperback) $24.95 • (Digital Edition) $11.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-086-1 • SHIPS FALL 2018!

COMIC BOOK IMPLOSION

AN ORAL HISTORY OF DC COMICS CIRCA 1978

Things looked bleak for comic books throughout the 1970s because of plummeting sell-through rates. With each passing year, the newsstand became less and less interested in selling comic books. The industry seemed locked in a death spiral, but the Powers That Be at DC Comics had an idea to reverse their fortunes. In 1978, they implemented a bold initiative: Provide readers with more story pages by increasing the pricepoint of a regular comic book to make it comparable to other magazines sold on newsstands. Billed as “THE DC EXPLOSION,” this expansion saw the introduction of numerous creative new titles. But mere weeks after its launch, DC’s parent company pulled the plug, demanding a drastic decrease in the number of comic books they published, and leaving stacks of completed comic book stories unpublished. The series of massive cutbacks and cancellations quickly became known as “THE DC IMPLOSION.” TwoMorrows Publishing marks the 40th Anniversary of one of the most notorious events in comics with an exhaustive oral history from the creators and executives involved (JENETTE KAHN, PAUL LEVITZ, LEN WEIN, MIKE GOLD, and AL MILGROM, among many others), as well as detailed analysis and commentary by other top professionals, who were “just fans” in 1978 (MARK WAID, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, TOM BREVOORT, and more)—examining how it changed the landscape of comics forever! By KEITH DALLAS and JOHN WELLS. (136-page trade paperback with COLOR) $21.95 • (Digital Edition) $10.95 • SHIPS SUMMER 2018! ISBN: 978-1-60549-085-4

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1990s

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: THE 1990s is a year-by-year account of the comic book industry during the Bill Clinton years. This full-color hardcover documents the comic book industry’s most significant publications, most notable creators, and most impactful trends from that decade. Written by KEITH DALLAS and JASON SACKS. (288-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $44.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.95 • SHIPS FALL 2018! ISBN: 978-1-60549-084-7

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THE 1990s was the decade when Marvel Comics sold 8.1 million copies of an issue of the X-MEN, saw its superstar creators form their own company, cloned SPIDER-MAN, and went bankrupt. The 1990s was when SUPERMAN died, BATMAN had his back broken, and the runaway success of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN led to DC Comics’ VERTIGO line of adult comic books. It was the decade of gimmicky covers, skimpy costumes, and mega-crossovers. But most of all, the 1990s was the decade when companies like IMAGE, VALIANT and MALIBU published million-selling comic books before the industry experienced a shocking and rapid collapse.

what must I do

(Above left:) Fox’s My Desire Intimate Confessions #4 (April 1950). Artist uncertain. [© the respective copyright holders.]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

The Supremely Sleazy, Suggestive Victor Fox Comics!

by Michael T. Gilbert

leazy” and “suggestive” sells. That about sums up Victor Fox’s publishing philosophy. Fox, who may (or may not) have been a former DC Comics bookkeeper, produced some of the most notorious comics of the ’40s and ’50s. Fox’s jungle comics were populated with erotic “jungle empresses” like Zegra and Tegra, while Crimes by Women (one of Fox’s most popular crime comics) mixed gals and gats in copious quantities. Similarly, Fox’s romance titles promised cheap thrills—and usually delivered! Other publishers might be content to print namby-pamby stories about high school cuties pining over dim-witted football stars, but Victor Fox had other ideas. He was selling sex.

My Life! Take Fox’s My Life cover on the right. Does anyone imagine that luscious babe in the sheer negligee would give that fop the time of day if he weren’t dangling gobs of bling? I mean, the guy’s wearing spats, f’gosh sakes! The My Love Secret cover is even more explicit. “These could be yours,” says the suave slob as he tempts her with diamonds and pearl necklaces. Meanwhile, the gal on the cover of My Love Affair doesn’t wait for an invite. She’s very clear about what her “favors” cost. “That’s what I want!” she says, eyeing what appears to be a squirrel stole that sports a hefty $1,392 price tag. The gal’s “John” doesn’t look too happy about it, but when it comes to lurid love comics, it was usually “pay to play” at Fox.

My Life… And Welcome To It! (Clockwise from top:) My Life #5 (Nov. 1948)… My Love Affair #3 (Nov. 1949)… and My Love Secret #29 (April 1950). Artists uncertain, to say the least. [© the respective copyright holders.]

The Supremely Sleazy, Suggestive Victor Fox Comics!

My Desire! Cheating spouses were also a Fox staple. The My Desire cover on the left depicts a loving couple sharing a romantic dinner. Ah, but in Victor Fox’s world appearances are not always what they seem. A closer look shows her passing a note to some unseen lover-boy under the table. The conniving vixen’s note says, “Call me at 8 o’clock!” Well! A cover for My Experience has a similar theme. A girl’s beau storms out the door, saying, “Another headache…?! I’ll go alone!” I’m guessing this isn’t the first time she’s used the ol’ “headache” excuse. But a closer look shows her holding a note that says, “Darling, meet me at the usual place. Love, Fred.” Apparently Fred’s the only one getting any action in this little sordid triangle! Of course, true cheating never runs smooth, as we see in My Love Life, when the boyfriend discovers one of those indiscreet notes. “Explain this if you can!” he sneers. Jeez, buddy, do we have to spell it out for you? C-H-E-A-T-E-R-!

Your Cheating Hearts! (Counter-clockwise from top:) My Desire #31 (Oct. 1949)… My Experience #19 (Sept. 1949)… and My Love Life #6 (June 1949). Artists unknown. [© the respective copyright holders.]

Captain Marvel & The ©opyright ©risis! – Part 2 MORE On Fawcett Publications & Its Complicated Legal Legacy by Mike Tiefenbacher

FCA EDITOR’S INTRO: In Alter Ego #151, Mike T. began his study (which sets out to clarify copyright complexities and trademark troubles related to Fawcett Publications) with an overview of the disposal and dispersal of Fawcett’s non-Marvel Family properties—from “Ibis the Invincible” to “Nyoka the Jungle Girl” to “Hopalong Cassidy”—among various publishers, including Charlton and, indirectly, DC. After musing on what might have happened if Fawcett and DC had arranged in 1953 for the latter company, post-lawsuit, to continue publishing the exploits of Captain Marvel and his relatives, he outlined the tangled road from Fawcett’s Captain Marvel to Myron Fass’ same-named android hero to Marvel Comics’ Kree “Captain Mar-Vell,” as well as DC’s late-1950s acquisition of the assets of Quality Comics and, in the early ’70s, DC’s licensing of the original Captain Marvel and the launching of its Shazam! series, and how that dovetails (or doesn’t) with Fawcett’s renewing—or not renewing—of various copyrights related to its 1940-1953 comicbook issues. Mike has done considerable hands-on research concerning Fawcett’s and others’ copyright renewals by actually dusting off and digging into decades-old volumes of the U.S. Copyright Office’s Catalog of Copyright Entries. We pick up his narration from that point… and if one or two technical copyright or trademark matters don’t seem restated quite clearly enough below, we urge you to go back and re-read last issue’s FCA installment. The whole thing is way too complicated to go over again from scratch! —P.C. Hamerlinck.

hile the tenor and tone of the first year’s issues of DC’s Shazam! comic were quite variable, eventually the lead stories began to more closely resemble the original run’s reprinted tales that were part of the overall package. And, lo and behold, undoubtedly due to those reprints, beginning with issues dated from April 1945 through the final issues of January 1954, Fawcett renewed (or attempted to renew) every one of the Marvel—or was that Shazam!—family stories. Captain Marvel Adventures #45-150, Captain Marvel Jr. #29-119, Captain Marvel Story Book #1-2 (#3-4 are missing from the listings in the Copyright Office’s Catalog of Copyright Entries, perhaps because the 1975 volume contained both the 1947 and 1948 renewals and #3 was simply overlooked; #4 came out in 1949), Fawcett’s Funny Animals #31-83, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny #1-15, The Marvel Family #1-89, Mary Marvel #1-28, Master Comics #61-133,

Captain Marvel Has Another Day In Court! Despite departed co-creator/artist C.C. Beck’s contention that the DC writers never caught the spirit of the original Fawcett stories, some readers—including Mike Tiefenbacher—beg to differ. The story “The Man Who Stole Justice” from the 100-page Shazam! #16 (Feb. 1975) might be considered a case in point. Under editor Julius Schwartz, the script is by Elliot S! Maggin, the art by former Fawcett artist Kurt Schaffenberger. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Whiz Comics #64-155, and Wow Comics #36-69 were each properly renewed by Fawcett Publications. CBS purchased Fawcett in 1977; so, beginning with the 1978 renewals, “CBS Publications, Inc.” was the name on them; and then, with the 1981 renewals, “CBS Inc. CBS Publications.” (Incidentally, CBS accidentally renewed copyrights for 1953 issues Battle Stories #9-11, Beware Terror Tales #7-8, Hopalong Cassidy #78-85, Lash LaRue Western #39-46, Six-Gun Heroes #20-23, Tom Mix Western #61, and Worlds of Fear #9-10, which didn’t even cover all of their 1953 non-Marvel-Family issues.) This information yields two significant facts. First, the renewals of these 2,070 (or 2,065, if the missing issues actually were overlooked by Fawcett) copyright registrations constitute an obvious attempt (at $4 each, that’s a cost of more than $8000) to protect their copyrights on these titles and characters, despite the lapse of the issues published from 1940-44—and again, we don’t really know whether Fawcett renewed any of those issues that are not explicitly shown in the Copyright Office’s Catalog, perhaps beginning with 1944 issues in 1972 when Fawcett learned that DC would be reprinting its old stories. Additionally, it indicates that, when National Periodical Publications (DC’s corporate name as of 1961, when the company was taken public) brought Captain Marvel and family under their auspices in 1972, it was a lease arrangement, in which they merely licensed the rights to the characters rather than buying them outright. However, DC treated the heroes as if they’d bought them, affixing only DC’s own company copyright on new stories and on products they licensed (including the 1974-77 Shazam! TV series and the Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam cartoon). Not until 1985 did DC finally purchase the full rights to the Marvel Family characters (and presumably the renewed copyrights); and by then it was from CBS. Between those dates, it wasn’t common knowledge among comics enthusiasts that DC hadn’t purchased the full rights in 1972. This confusion was aided by the fact that “Captain Marvel” stories reprinted in DC comics were listed as copyrighted by Fawcett Publications (starting with Shazam! #2), just as reprints from Quality magazines were copyright-credited to Comic Magazines or Comic Favorites. (Had the reprinted story starring “The Ray” sported a copyright, it would have listed Everett M. Arnold, the publisher name on Smash

With One Magic Series… Whatever its shortcomings, the 1974-77 Shazam! TV series caught at least some of the flavor of the old Fawcett comics, thanks in large part to the performances of its stars, Jackson Bostwick as Captain Marvel and Michael Gray as Billy Batson. As Mike T. says, DC copyrighted this series in its own name, not Fawcett’s. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Comics. Three Quality funny-animal titles, Buster Bear, Egbert, and Marmaduke Mouse, were also published by Arnold Publications, but those would hardly have been reprinted in a DC comic). In fact, DC may have simply been following its own precedent on its prior purchases of comics properties from other publishers. The company itself had started life in 1938 as the forced takeover of Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s National Allied Comics over incurred debt; and, in 1946, Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz’s Detective Comics, Inc., bought out partner Max Gaines’ All-American Comics half of the DC line to form National Comics Publications, Inc. But since those were essentially internal transactions, the first actual instance where DC absorbed another publisher was when they purchased the comics holdings of Everett M. “Busy” Arnold (the Quality Comics group) in 1956. In that instance, they continued only Quality’s four best-selling titles that didn’t duplicate something they were already publishing: Blackhawk, G.I. Combat, Heart Throbs, and Robin Hood Tales. The remaining 1956 Quality series, which DC didn’t continue, included: seven more romance titles (including Girls in Love; DC was already publishing Girls’ Love Stories)—teen comic Candy and funny animal Marmaduke Mouse at a time when DC was cancelling most of its own titles in each genre—The Exploits of Daniel Boone, since DC already had Legends of Daniel Boone—Yanks in Battle, a war comic too new to have any sales reports yet—and two long-running adventure titles which had fallen into reprints in 1955, T-Man and Plastic Man. Proof that DC had purchased the rights to more than simply the four Busy Arnold titles listed in the preceding paragraph was first made apparent in 1966, when it launched a new Plastic Man series, largely as a response to publisher Myron Fass’ attempt to hijack that hero’s name in his Captain Marvel. Turned out, they had indeed bought everything Arnold had published. Everything, that is, except the copyrights on the old issues. And why would they have cared about those in 1957? DC wasn’t reprinting anything, so it didn’t even ask for stats of old Quality stories. All the issues in question would still have active copyrights for the next decade for the earliest issues and nearly 30 years for the most recent, and who knew if there would even be comicbooks that far in the future? It wasn’t until 1979 that Arnold’s widow Claire (Everett died in 1974) began registering renewals for selected Quality titles beginning with 1951 issues. (Strangely, the Copyright Office misspells her name “Clare” on all those renewals.) Blackhawk #39-86, Doll Man #33-45, G.I. Combat #1-43, Love Letters #7-51, Love Secrets #32-55, Plastic Man #29-53, and Police Comics #105-127 were renewed by “Clare” C. Arnold (who had been a co-owner of the company), while DC itself also renewed Quality’s Blackhawk #87-107, Doll Man #33-47, G.I. Combat #35-43, and Plastic Man #54-64. No, I can’t begin to guess why Mrs. Arnold renewed those two particular romance titles out of the eight Quality had published in the 1950s, but not Heart Throbs, or Robin Hood Tales for that matter. Nor can I offer any explanation for her sudden interest in renewing her rights to her husband’s legacy. Perhaps the changes made in the copyright law in 1976 caught her attention, or her estate attorney recommended it after her husband’s death. Or perhaps she simply learned DC was not renewing any of Quality’s issues and she realized there might be a market for reprints of the old stores, with those being the titles she was made aware of. But even if she’d started immediately, that left a decade of Quality’s 1939-50 copyrights unrenewed, if, indeed, the copyright records as published were complete. Keep that in mind for later. In 1963, publisher Theodore “Teddy” Epstein also decided to leave the comics publishing business, and sold DC the last two titles still being published by the Prize Comics Group: Young Romance and Young Love. (Black Magic had ended in 1961; otherwise,