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ALTER EGO #157

Roy Thomas' Wonder-Full Comics Fanzine

ONLY Three YEARS INTO HER CATACLYSMIC CAREER—

GOLDEN AGE WONDER WOMAN SCRIPTER JOYE MURCHISON • BARBARA FRIEDLANDER’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH DC COMICS • FCA • BILL SCHELLY • MR. MONSTER • & MORE!

DC’S AMAZING AMAZON HAD A

FEMALE GHOST WRITER!

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No. 157

SPOTLIGHT ON GOLDEN AGE WONDER WOMAN SCRIPTER

82658 00359

Wonder Woman TM & © DC Comics

JOYE MURCHISON

March 2019

JOYE H

UMMEL

BONUS! BARBARA FRIEDLANDER’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH DC COMICS!

(MURCH

ISON), 1

943

Vol. 3, No. 157 / March 2019 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

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

Comic Crypt Editor

Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll

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

Proofreaders

Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

Cover Artist H.G. Peter

Cover Colorist Unknown

With Special Thanks to:

Joye Murchison Doug Abramson Kelly Heidi Amash Jack Kelly Pedro Angosto Thomas Kiefer Richard J. Arndt Todd Klein Bob Bailey Lamiek Linedia Benaca Barbara Friedlander Comiclopedia (website) Bloomfield Mark Lewis Jared Bond Art Lortie Dominic Bongo Jim Ludwig Ricky Terry Bruce Brisacque McCorkindale Bill Broomall John McElvee Bernie Bubnis Will Meugniot Mike Burkey Brian K. Morris Nick Caputo Larry & Marilyn John Cimino Niven Shaun Clancy Will Murray Joshua Hansen Jacque Nodell Clark Nate Palant Chet Cox Barry Pearl Brian Cronin Trina Robbins Sean Dulaney Bob Rozakis Mark Evanier Randy Sargent John Fahey Buddy Saunders Shane Foley David Saunders Stephan Friedt Jean-Paul Gabilliet David Shay David Siegel Janet Gilbert Anthony Snyder Great Comics Robin Snyder Database Dr. Elizabeth Bruce Guthrie Sudduth George Hagenauer Jeff Taylor Heritage Tenth Letter of Auctions, Inc. the Alphabet Roger Hill (website) Alex Jay Dann Thomas Alex Johnson Gary Watson Comic Douglas Jones Book Collection (“Gaff”) Rick Weingroff Jim Kealy Mike Zeck

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

James Galton, Herb Rogoff, Harlan Ellison, & Tom Wolfe

Contents Writer/Editorial: Wonder Of Wonders! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The First Amazon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Richard Arndt interviews 1944-48 “Wonder Woman” ghost writer Joye Murchison Kelly!

Barbara Friedlander’s Love Affair With DC Comics . . . . . . . . 35 Silver Age romance from Young Love to Heart Throb to Swing with Scooter.

Of Crows And The Cosmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Part VIII of Golden/Silver Age star scripter John Broome’s 1998 memoir.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Bruce McCorkindale’s Mighty Marvel Mashup! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Michael T. Gilbert shows how Marvel splash pages might’ve become Marvel covers!

Comic Fandom Archive: The Fan P.O.V. Of The Marvel Super-Heroes—In 1963! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Bill Schelly and Nick Caputo with some surprising vintage fan-opinions of early Marvel.

re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . . 72 Tributes: James Galton, Herb Rogoff, Harlan Ellison, & Tom Wolfe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #216 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 P.C. Hamerlinck hosts Will Murray on Henry “Lynn” Perkins—“The Stan Lee of ’43!”

On Our Cover: What artist’s work could we possibly have chosen to grace this issue’s cover but that of the legendary H.G. Peter, who drew (or at least penciled, with inking help from quasi-anonymous assistants) virtually every “Wonder Woman” story from 1941 through 1958, and every WW and Sensation Comics cover through the latter 1940s? For one of the reasons Ye Editor selected the first splash page from Wonder Woman #15 (Winter 1945), see p. 18. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. And thanks to Joye Murchison Kelly for the photo of her 1943 Joye Hummel self that appears up front. [Artwork TM & © DC Comics.] Above: Okay, so call it Personal Preference Month here at Alter Ego! Roy T. has always had a weakness for the cover of Wonder Woman #18 (July-Aug. 1946), which showed the Amazon lassoing a medieval knight in full armor. But the Joye Hummel-scripted, H.G. Peter-drawn lead-off splash page from that issue works even better here, since it depicts Diana battling menaces from various ages—as of course she did in her classic comicbook stories. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [TM & © DC Comics.] 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

Wonder of Wonders!

onder Woman holds a very special spot in the history of comicbook super-heroes.

No, she wasn’t the first super-heroine in the medium (“The Woman in Red,” “Invisible Scarlet O’Neil,” “Amazona the Mighty Woman,” and one or two other obscure characters all beat her out for that honor)—but she was probably the best, and by far the most successful. From late 1941 through the present, there’s never been a time when her adventures weren’t pouring forth from DC Comics or its one-time junior partner All-American Comics. And, for some years now, since Elizabeth Marston, the widow of Wonder Woman co-creator Dr. William Moulton Marston, first put my friend (and Alter Ego’s founder) Dr. Jerry Bails into contact with her, we’ve known that a young lady nee Joye Hummel and latterly known as Joye Murchison wrote a number of the Amazon’s adventures published between 1944 and 1949… including a few truly classic “Wonder Woman” tales, like “Villainy, Incorporated!” Last year, A/E interviewer Richard Arndt and I ran across an interview with Joye—now Joye Murchison Kelly—in a Florida Sunday supplement, and soon, Richard had recorded their phone conversations for this issue. Not long afterward, the San Diego Comic-Con also happened across Joye, and she became a major guest at its 2018 edition—even wound up sharing last year’s Bill Finger Award (given to writers who received too little credit back in their heyday) with 1940s DC story editor Dorothy Roubicek. Happily, Mark Evanier arranged for the excellent panel he and Trina Robbins conducted with Joye to be transcribed so that excerpts from it could be included in this issue. Around the same time, Richard interviewed Barbara Friedlander Bloomfield, who in the ’60s and early ’70s had been associate editor (and sometime editor) of DC’s line of romance

comics, as well as a co-creator of the teen title Swing with Scooter. So we’ve got both the Golden and Silver Ages covered in this issue— and that’s just the way we like it! Just one thing I have to say before we move on, though. I can’t deny that, over the past couple of years, I’ve been both personally and professionally bugged by the lack of credit given to Harry (H.G.) Peter as what I feel he most definitely is: the co-creator of Wonder Woman. I mean, the guy drew all but a bare handful of “WW” stories between 1941 and 1958—and it’s clear that he designed, under Dr. Marston, the Amazon’s star-spangled, eaglebreasted costume. And yet, on the three films to date in which she’s been ably portrayed by Gal Gadot, all credit for the heroine’s creation go to Dr. Marston. Worse: At the end of the otherwise excellent 2017 Wonder Woman movie, any number of comicbook artists and writers—including the second regular penciler, Ross Andru; Marston’s writing successor Robert Kanigher; later artists such as George Pérez, et al.—are all listed as contributing to the mythos… but nary a mention of H.G. Peter. I hold that not since the way-too-long denial of credit to writer Bill Finger as co-creator of Batman has such an injustice been dealt to an important comics creator… and it would be good to see DC, Warner, and/or whoever remedy this unfairness. Harry G. Peter has been dead for 60 years as of last annum. Isn’t it about time he had justice? After all, Wonder Woman was a member of both the Justice Society and Justice League of America!

Bestest,

158

COMING IN APRIL

Golden Age Writing Great

WILLIAM WOOLFOLK

& The 2017 STAR WARS COMICS

40-YEAR REUNION PANEL!

Art TM & © DC Comics,

Inc.

• Special FCA coverage of WILLIAM WOOLFOLK, often called the “Shakespeare of the [Golden Age] Comics” for his scripting for Fawcett, DC, Marvel, etc.! Featuring his own writing records—a RICHARD ARNDT interview with daughter DONNA CROSS—and a 2002 San Diego Comic-Con panel showcasing WOOLFOLK, NOVICK, LUBBERS, CARDY, OKSNER, [LEW SAYRE] SCHWARTZ, & EVANIER! Art by the likes of BECK, SCHAFFENBERGER, KANE, CRANDALL, COLE, FINE, LEAV, SIKELA, MOLDOFF, RABOY, THOMPSON, et al.! • Together again for the first time since San Diego, 1976! Artist HOWARD CHAYKIN, George Lucas’ media projects director CHARLES LIPPINCOTT, & writer/editor ROY THOMAS hold forth on a 2017 panel about their 1976-77 STAR WARS comicbook work for Marvel! Find out what didn’t make it into Alter Ego #145! • Plus: JOHN BROOME—MICHAEL T. GILBERT with more on PETE MORISI—BILL SCHELLY’s “Comic Fandom Archive”—& MORE!!

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The First Amazon

JOYE HUMMEL MURCHISON KELLY— Wonder Woman’s Mid-1940s Ghost Writer Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt

Joye Hummel in the early 1940s. Photo courtesy of Joye Murchison Kelly.

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Joye Hummel was born April 4, 1924. She started working with Dr. William Moulton Marston in 1944, after she graduated from the Katharine Gibbs School in New York City, where she had taken a psychology class from him. “Wonder Woman” was appearing in four comics at that time, in three of which Marston wrote nearly all the stories (Gardner Fox wrote Wonder Woman’s first appearance in a “Justice Society” tale in All-Star Comics, and the dialogue she exchanged with her fellow JSAers in various group chapters). Being also in the early stages of launching the Wonder Woman comic strip, Marston needed a second writer who was not only talented and reliable but could follow and believe in the underlying philosophy that formed the foundation for the heroine’s character and mythos. Joye Hummel was the answer to his prayers, and she was soon working at what was essentially Marston’s self-contained studio offices in New York City, where he and artist Harry G. Peter took the Wonder Woman comic, as well as the Amazon’s stories that appeared in Sensation Comics and Comic Cavalcade, from script to ready-forcoloring art pages, overseen by All-American Comics’ lead editor, Sheldon Mayer. Between 1944 and 1947, Hummel wrote at least 74 “Wonder Woman” stories, split between the three comics, none of which appeared with her name on them. Most of those stories were solo efforts, though some may have been co-written with Marston.

Joye Murchison Kelly with a Wonder Woman cosplayer at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. Joye was thrilled to be reminded of the impact the Amazon has had on readers down the decades. Photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie.

Wonder Woman #12 (Spring 1945) contains one of the earliest published comics stories written by young Joye Hummel, under the direction of Dr. William Moulton Marston. Read more about its Venusian subject matter on pp. 21-22. This book-lengther, scripted in 1944, went on sale at the turn of ’45, before her first “Wonder Woman” entries in Sensation Comics (#41, May 1945) and Comic Cavalcade #11 (Summer ’45). Art by H.G. Peter. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Joye Hummel Murchison Kelly—Wonder Woman’s Mid-1940s Ghost Writer

When Marston fell ill only a few months after her hiring, she found herself responsible for writing her own scripts, typing up both Marston’s and hers, as well as conducting the lengthy travels from her home on Long Island to New York City and the offices there, and then on to Rye, New York, where Marston was confined to his home. When Marston died in 1947, she became the lead writer of “Wonder Woman” and was expected to continue on the book, but very soon decided for reasons of her own (which are described in the interview) to leave the book following her marriage to David Murchison. Robert Kanigher took over the editing and writing of the “Wonder Woman” stories, greatly changing the way the character was perceived and behaved. Shortly after this interview took place, an effort was mounted to bring Joye (now Joye Kelly) as a Guest of Honor to the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. She did attend and was awarded the Bill Finger Award for overlooked excellence in comicbook writing. Joye is the first woman writer to receive that honor. (The “posthumous” half of that award went to the late Dorothy Woolfolk—who was Mayer’s assistant editor during part of the 1940s.) Long out of touch with the world of comics, this is Joye Hummel Murchison Kelly’s first interview to appear in a comics-history magazine, and was conducted on April 2 & 9, 2018. Although our cover refers to her as “Joye Murchison” because that’s how she’s identified in the Grand Comics Database, et al., we’ve used her current last name “Kelly” in the headings for her comments below.... RICHARD ARNDT: Today we’re welcoming Joye Hummel Murchison Kelly, the first female writer of “Wonder Woman.” Thank you for agreeing to this interview! JOYE HUMMEL MURCHISON KELLY: You’re welcome! RA: What can you tell us about your early life? Where you were born, where you got your education, anything about your family you’d care to share, that sort of thing. KELLY: I don’t like talking too much about personal matters. I believe a private life should be private. Professional things I have no trouble talking about, but I’d rather not discuss family matters. As I often say, “That’s personal.” I was born on Long Island. The town there was a slow, little place. Everything was slow back then, as compared to now. [laughs] My parents were divorced. I don’t really know the reason why, but I went to a number of different grade schools and high schools when I was a child and young teenager. I regarded that as somewhat of an opportunity. RA: Were you, or rather your parents, moving around a lot, or was there some other reason for all the different schools? KELLY: I wasn’t really paying all that much attention, or perhaps I just don’t remember. Part of that is that I just turned 94, and some of what you’re asking me about occurred when I was a child. I guess I was kind of an adaptable person. Imagination was something that was always present for me. All that moving around may have helped me in cultivating that imagination. I was a good storyteller. I was also a very good student. Following my high school graduation from Freeport High, there was a year spent attending Middlebury College in Vermont. Then my parents divorced and I didn’t want to leave my

Now, Voyageur (Left:) Joye in a photo from the Voyageur, the Freemont High School yearbook for 1941, the year she graduated. Thanks to the Tenth Letter of the Alphabet website, via Richard Arndt. (Right:) Title page from the 1924 edition of the Katharine Gibbs School handbook.

mother alone. So I transferred to the Katharine Gibbs School in New York City. RA: Was that a college, or a technical school, or an undergraduate school? KELLY: It was a school that offered a two-year college education. A certification [diploma] from the Katharine Gibbs School would open almost any door in the business world for an interview. It had two other branches—one in Providence and one in Boston. I spent a year at Middlebury and two years at Katharine Gibbs. You had to have really good grades in high school to attend either one of those schools. It was in my second year that I found myself taking a psychology class with Dr. [William Moulton] Marston. He was a brilliant teacher. I inhaled his class. Mind you, while taking the course I never had a personal conversation with him. Never even shook his hand or told him that I really liked his course. We didn’t go in for

Dr. William Moulton Marston (Left:) Probably around the time the “Wonder Woman” feature was first being developed, the well-known psychologist (seen wearing a lightcolored suit jacket) administered what was billed for publicity purposes as a “Jekyll and Hyde lie detector test.” He measured young women’s blood pressure while they watched footage from the then-new film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), starring Spencer Tracy. Posted by John McElvee; forwarded by Sean Dulaney. (Above:) Dr. Marston in the mid-1940s.

The First Amazon

SIDEBAR #1:

THERE’S JOYE IN SAN DIEGO…! A/E EDITOR’S INTRO: Not long after Richard Arndt conducted his telephone interview with Joye Murchison Kelly, we learned that the San Diego Comic-Con planned to invite her to be a special guest in mid-July 2018. Frequent panel-moderator (and TV and comics writer) Mark Evanier would handle her panel, in tandem with author and cartoonist Trina Robbins. Mark generously arranged for us to receive a recording of the panel so we could excerpt it in Alter Ego. It’s a fine conversation, which would’ve made a great lead piece for this issue if we didn’t already have one in hand. Over the course of Richard’s interview, we’ll be interspersing several sidebars such as this one to highlight exchanges on the panel. Mark (with Trina unavoidably delayed at another panel) opened the conversation before a packed room of several hundred people… MARK EVANIER: I have been looking forward to this panel for months. Every Comic-Con, there seems to be one moment that I really, really take home with me and I love, and there’s been a couple here, and they’ve all involved this person. Last night at the Eisner Awards, the professional community stood up and cheered for this lady when we presented her with the Bill Finger Award. [applause] Save it for one big burst, okay? And, this morning, we had her at the Quick Draw game and 2700 people leaped to their feet and cheered for her, and it took up about eight minutes of the game because they were just clapping all the time, and things like that, and we love that, too. One of the things that happens at this convention for years is that we honor people who never in the world, when they did their most famous work, thought it would endure, and thought they would— [to Joye Murchison Kelly] You never thought that you would be in front of a room of people clapping because of that work you did. You never dreamed of that. JOYE MURCHISON KELLY: Absolutely not. I’m thrilled. ME: So these people gave us wonderful work and characters we love, and characters that the industry was built upon, and that future stories were built upon. And this is one of the ways we pay people back…. We fly them out here and put them up in a good hotel, and show our appreciation for them. I thought we were done doing that, because we had run out of people who did comics in those eras. We just ran out. There was just nobody else we could do this to. And then we found this woman, and what a perfect that sort of thing much in those days. RA: Was it a large class? KELLY: I’d say it was a fairly large class. Their goal at Katharine Gibbs was to make you as perfect as you could be in any course that they wanted to teach—whether it was a business course or academic or anything in between. At that point in time, because of the conditions at home, I was aiming to obtain an education that would allow me to go out, get a job and make money. Very pragmatic. My mother was single at the time and I was very young. I did some research and discovered that the Katharine Gibbs School would, in two years, give me opportunities to do many different jobs in various fields. I looked at what other students had become after graduating and realized that there were a number of opportunities for women that weren’t so available elsewhere. I didn’t know it was going to lead me directly into comicbook writing, but the Gibbs school had a very good track record for women finding jobs after completing the year or two-year courses. That was what gave me the desire to go there.

A Panel About Panels (Left to right:) Trina Robbins, Joye Murchison Kelly, Mark Evanier. Thanks to Mark Evanier.

person to give the Bill Finger Award to. Ladies and gentleman, thank and welcome Miss Joye Murchison Kelly. [applause, cheers] KELLY: Thank you. Thank you very much. ME: Are you getting tired of people clapping for you here? KELLY: Never. [laughter] ME: [after a couple of introductory questions] What city did you grow up in? KELLY: Freeport, Long Island. ME: What did you want to do with your life? Did you have a career goal? KELLY: Actually, I wanted to be an actress. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: At this point, Joye relates how she felt a need to get a job as soon as possible, which led her to the Katharine Gibbs School. One day while there, she was giving a report on a book she had read—dealing with the then-ongoing Japanese invasion of China, quite likely one by Pearl S. Buck—and when she saw how enrapt the other students were, she thought to herself, “Well, this is a form of acting.”] [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Further sidebars featuring segments of the Joye Murchison Kelly panel at the July 2018 San Diego Comic-Con will appear at intervals throughout the A/E interview….] You couldn’t be late for classes. It didn’t matter if the Long Island Railroad broke down. You were not to be late for class. You had to dress to go to school, too. Hat, gloves, skirt. Not like today. You dressed up for work and you trained for that by dressing up for school. [laughs] RA: Am I right in assuming that your maiden name was Hummel? KELLY: Yes, that’s correct. I was Joye Hummel when I wrote most of those “Wonder Woman” stories. I use Murchison Kelly because I was married to David Murchison for many years and am currently married to Jack Kelly. I’ve been very lucky. Two great men in one life. RA: How did Dr. Marston end up offering you a job? KELLY: That was the surprise of my life. As I told you, I took the psychology class that Dr. Marston taught. It wasn’t by choice. It was a required second-year course that you had to take. I thought he was a remarkable teacher. The way he explained his philosophy, how to get along with people, how to treat people on an everyday

Benito Gallego’s ORIGINAL ART for SALE directly from the Artist Contact benitogallego@gmail.com

Art by John Romita. Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

BARBARA FRIEDLANDER’s Love Affair With DC Comics On Being A Romance Writer & Editor— Just Down The Hall From The Silver Age

by Richard J. Arndt

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Barbara Friedlander Bloomfield was a freelance writer and associate editor for DC editor Jack Miller and served as a sometime de facto editor on at least six romance titles for DC Comics between 1964 and 1970. She was also the co-creator (with Joe Orlando) of the comicbook series Swing with Scooter. Following her comics career, she worked in the jewelry and antiques fields. In August 2018 she attended her first comics convention (TerrifiCon in Connecticut) and enjoyed talking to fans of Swing with Scooter, in particular. Because she used her maiden name “Friedlander” during her years in the comics field, we’ve employed that appellation in this interview, which was conducted between January 26 and February 1, 2018. Special thanks to Jacque Nodell, Jim Ludwig, and Bob Bailey for their help in supplying art and info to accompany this interview….

Barbara Friedlander Bloomfield and her son, Cliff Bloomfield, a few years back—juxtaposed with: (Below left:) The lead splash page from Girls’ Romances #127 (Sept. 1967), one of the issues in whose indicia she’s listed as full “editor”— though she suspects Jack Miller wrote this particular story. Artist unidentified. Thanks to BFB for this & the photo scan. (Below right~:) Barbara scripted this tale from Girls’ Love Stories #152 (July 1970), with pencils by Werner Roth & inks by Jack Abel. Thanks to Jacque Nodell, and to Robin Snyder for the writer ID. [TM & © DC Comics.]

On Being A Romance Writer & Editor—Just Down The Hall From The Silver Age

RICHARD ARNDT: It’s a pleasure to talk with you, Barbara. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? BARBARA FRIEDLANDER: I was a baby boomer, born on Sept. 27, 1945. I was born and raised in New York and I loved it there. It was very hard for me to leave it. My father had a hardware store on 6th Avenue and 52nd Street. That entire area is now built up. The building number was 1303, and that’s now a huge building that houses the garment workers’ union, I believe. RA: What kind of education do you have? FRIEDLANDER: I went to PS [Public School] 69 in the city. Its main claim to fame was that Bernard Baruch, the financier, also went to that school. I graduated from Julia Richman High School. Then I went to Hunter College for a while, finally switching to taking night classes there. This was just after my father passed away and it was hard for me to think straight. So I decided I would work and go to school at night. I went to an employment agency and they got me several jobs. I really didn’t have any job skills at the time except that I could type and be a file clerk. The place that I eventually ended up was DC Comics. RA: Outside of the fact that you needed a job, what attracted you to DC Comics? Were you a comics fan? FRIEDLANDER: My introduction to comics was Archie Comics, Katy Keene, and Millie the Model. I loved pretty things, and those books had lots of that sort of thing. I never read Batman or Superman. I was surprised that those two titles were still being published. But I loved the romance books. That’s what got me interested. I started out in the DC subscription department. That office included Mr. Liebowitz’s secretary. I also knew Irwin Donenfeld’s secretary. I wrote a few stories as a freelancer and they liked them. It took a while, but after about a year of freelancing I was hired in editorial. I was working, freelancing, and going to school, and then I got the

job at DC. I enjoyed it because I got to meet some very interesting people. I also began to know the staff on the other side of the office. People like Jack Miller, who became my mentor. I learned a lot from Jack. RA: What sort of freelance work were you doing? FRIEDLANDER: I was writing love stories for Jack Miller. I wrote the advice columns— including “Advice to the Lovelorn,” which featured advice to young girls on how to put on makeup, all kinds of things like that. It was what they called filler material, but a lot of that filler material that I was doing wasn’t necessarily in those DC romance titles before I started doing it.

Jack Miller The former DC editor and writer at Barbara’s wedding in May 1969. Sadly, he died of cancer only a year later. Thanks to BFB & Linedia Benaca.

I started doing the freelance work in 1964, and then I became a fulltime worker in 1965, and in 1966 I became an associate editor, working for Jack Miller in the romance books. I still have a wonderful caricature of me, drawn by Joe Orlando, which also features caricatures of nearly everybody who worked in the DC bullpen at the time. It’s just adorable and came as a complete surprise to me. He did it when I got the associate editor’s position. RA: Do you remember the names of the other people in that caricature? FRIEDLANDER: Sol Harrison and Jack are in there for sure. I think the rather heavy-set man is Julie Schwartz. The young girl isn’t anyone in particular. I think she represented the switchboard operators. There was also E. Nelson Bridwell, Bob Haney, Arnold Drake, and several other editors depicted there. RA: Did you ever become a full editor? FRIEDLANDER: No, my job title was always associate editor, but I did all the work of a regular editor. I wrote my books, did the art assignments and so on… that’s what I did. I’m listed as the editor

Archie, Katy, & Millie Barbara’s “introduction to comics” most likely came with earlier issues of these series than the ones depicted above; still, as a teenager years she still might’ve encountered the likes of Archie #140 (Sept. 1963), with cover pencils by Harry Lucey… Katy Keene #61 (Sept. ’61), art by Bill Woggon… and Millie the Model Comics #106 (Jan. 1962), drawn by Stan Goldberg. [Archie & Katy Keene covers TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.; Millie cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Barbara Friedlander’s Love Affair With DC Comics

Joe Orlando was already a well-respected artist when he came to work for DC in the 1960s, but soon became the editor of DC’s most successful suspense comics, beginning with House of Mystery. He’s seen here penciling an issue of Daredevil for Marvel, circa 1964. Thanks to Shaun Clancy.

Venus Rising Orlando drew this cartoon of and for Barbara in 1966, upon her official promotion to associate editor of the romance comics. Thanks to BF. [Art © Estate of Joe Orlando.]

on a number of books. I don’t think I was ever listed as an associate editor, but that was my actual title. I think at some point the higher-ups at DC assumed that I was an actual editor. I can’t really explain that. That’s just the way it was.

He was a very interesting character. He was so ingrained there in the organization that he was just a permanent fixture. I don’t know how long he worked after I left DC but he was still there when I did leave.

RA: What can you tell us about the DC bullpen of the 1960s? Sad to say, there are not many people left who have direct knowledge of that period.

So many people—Irwin Hasen, Bob Haney, Arnold Drake, Carmine Infantino—so many, many people. The greatest authority on Superman there was a young man named E. Nelson Bridwell. He was the most complicated, quiet, nerdy person I ever met, but he was wonderful. He was just delightful. The office I ended up in I shared with Nelson and Jack Miller.

FRIEDLANDER: I knew Sol Harrison, Jack Schiff, Ira Schnapp, and Walter Hurlicheck. Walter was a letterer. I think he was also the fellow who escorted the young people who came to tour the offices. Ira was a letterer as well. Ira was ancient, an elderly person when I knew him. He’d worked at DC for years but before that he’d worked in the movies doing the lettering on movie posters. He could tell you about all the movies that he made posters for.

I think Nelson may have had a nervous disorder, because he would make sounds, interesting sounds while he worked. He was so dedicated to Superman! He would carry a razorblade to edit

Three Memorable DC People-Plus!

Sol Harrison

Ira Schnapp

DC head of production, later vice president—and apparently the guy who came up with “go-go checks” circa 1966 (see pp. 39 & 48). Photo by Bob Rozakis.

Major DC letterer, who designed some of its archetypal title logos. Photo courtesy of his son; forwarded by Michael T. Gilbert.

Jack Schiff Longtime DC editor. Photo by Jack Adler; courtesy of Todd Klein’s blog.

“Proofreading At Left, Lettering At Right” That’s how comics fan John Fahey labeled the above snapshot he took of part of DC’s production area during an office visit on December 29, 1964. This is the first time this photo has been reprinted since it first appeared in Alter Ego [Vol. 1.] #9 in 1965; it is reproduced from that issue. Sorry it didn’t repro better.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

The Mighty Marvel Mashup! by Michael T. Gilbert

ecently the Crypt published a series of articles on the late, great cartoonist Dan Adkins. In it, a number of respected comic professionals debated the pros and cons of swiping art without attribution—something that got Dan in hot water in the late ’60s. This issue we’re exploring a similar topic, but one less controversial: fully credited original art re-creations. Who among us hasn’t dreamed of owning Kirby and Ditko’s Amazing Fantasy #15 cover, or the one featuring Infantino’s classic “Flash Of Two Worlds”? However, with rare comic art going for stratospheric prices nowadays, many cash-strapped fans find cover re-creations to be a fun, affordable alternative. Hey, it looks great hanging on a wall, and you won’t need to get a second mortgage. Trust me— your “significant other” will thank you! For the artist, cover re-creations can be a fun challenge, and a profitable hobby. I’ve done a few, and it’s a kick to see how closely one can follow the original. One can also learn a surprising amount by imitating the masters.

Bigger Than Life? (Above:) Bruce replaced the Ditko cover image with Ditko’s splash page from the same ish (left). Bruce generally does his art in the classic large Golden Age size (13" x 20"). Say, is it just me, or does Steve’s splash drawing make an even more dramatic cover than the real one? [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Mighty Marvel Mashup!

Cartoonist Bruce McCorkindale has made comic art re-creations a specialty. Over the years he’s redrawn classic ’50s and ’60s covers from a variety of companies—always crediting the original artists. Bruce, a hardcore comic fan, clearly loves a wide range of comicbook creators. However, judging from his many Steve Ditko “What If” cover homages, Mr. Ditko must rank near the top of Bruce’s list. For this article, we’ve opted to focus on Bruce’s after-the-fact Ditko collaborations –– mostly cover re-creations from the early ’60s that most diehard Silver Age Marvel fans have long committed to memory. Ah, but Bruce decided it would be fun to do something a little… different. Bruce has re-purposed old Ditko splash page illos and interior panels into alternate “imaginary” classic 1960s Marvel covers! Looking at these, I was immediately impressed with McCorkindale’s sheer technical ability. Few can imitate Steve Ditko’s lively ink and brush line, but Bruce pulled it off. It should be pointed out that the illustrations published here are not simple Photoshop mash-ups, but fully penciled and inked re-creations. In an e-mail of April 29, 2018, Bruce explained the

Mysterioso (Below & upper right:) Two more of Bruce’s alternate covers, cobbled from Ditko’s interior art. The one on the right is particularly…uh…striking! [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Comic Fandom Archive

The Fan P.O.V. Of The Marvel Super-Heroes—In 1963! Bill Schelly here—presenting another trip in the Time Machine back to the early days of comic fandom—with a helping hand from Nick Caputo. Alter Ego is grateful to him for resurrecting the “Point of View” columns from Larry Herndon’s fanzine Hero in the early 1960s. Last issue, Nick introduced the round-robin discussion of the Justice League of America comicbook that had been printed in Hero #1. This time, he’s presenting the following discussion of the Marvel super-heroes as of early 1963. You have the floor, Nick!

Rick Weingroff Chairman.

Introduction by Nick Caputo

Buddy Saunders

Hero #2 continued the “Point of View” column, a round-table commentary, this time with a partly-new group of participating fans: Bob Butts, Buddy Saunders, and Al Kuhfeld. The first issue had spotlighted DC’s heroes, so it was only natural that issue #2 focused on the newly christened Marvel Comics Group and their super-hero features. Chairman Rick Weingroff supplied the questions to this trio, as he had in the previous issue. A little background: publisher Martin Goodman’s super-hero revival was less than two years old when Hero #2 was mailed out to fans in May of 1963. Lee and Kirby’s Fantastic Four had started the ball rolling in mid-1961 and had become one of the best-sellers from what remained of the line once known as Timely Comics (or Atlas, or occasionally even as Marvel). The FF was soon followed by The Incredible Hulk (which failed to achieve adequate sales and only ran six issues), “The Mighty Thor” (in Journey into Mystery); “The Astonishing Ant-Man” (in Tales to Astonish); “The Human Torch” (in Strange Tales), “The Invincible Iron Man” (in Tales of Suspense), and The Amazing Spider-Man. With six super-heroes either starring in their own comicbook or as the lead feature in

And now, from the pages of Hero #2 (Spring 1963), the narration by Chairman Rick Weingroff: A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Last issue, we altered the identifying proper nouns of the “speakers” (e.g., Chairman:) to all-caps and bold (e.g., CHAIRMAN:). This time around, however, in the interests of authenticity, we’ve left them in non-bold upper-and-lower case, as they appeared in the original fanzine. Ditto with the phrase “comic book,” which A/E now customarily spells as one word. Oh, and the cover of Hero fanzine #2 (May 1963) was printed with last issue’s installment.

ooking through the eyes of a young, enthusiastic, and talented group of fans from the distance of 55 years is intriguing. One can’t help but be impressed by their efforts: unpolished, certainly, but bursting with fervor. It echoed a similar development with a different set of teens that formed bands and practiced in their basements (later dubbed garage rock). Both were deeply inspired by their passions and sought to create something they could call their own. As editor and publisher of Hero, Larry Herndon achieved those results.

a fantasy title (The Avengers—mentioned in the article—and The X-Men would follow in three months), more than half of Goodman’s comicbook output now consisted of costumed heroes. These colorful characters were seized upon by young fans (and a selection of older ones) who not only read the stories but had strong opinions on their content, as will be evident in the discussion republished below.

Bob Butts

Once again, Hero throws open its pages to discussion on one of the favorite topics for fan consideration: The Marvel Comics Group. This issue the opinions were supplied by Bob Butts (editor of Fan-to-Fan), Buddy Saunders (artist and writer for many zines), and Al Kuhfeld (popular contributor). Before we start this discussion, for the benefit of any newcomers, I will briefly explain how “Point of View” is done. The article is made up of opinions sent to me by several fans, asking seven or eight questions which I sent to people who I feel will have a good, honest opinion on the topic. I reserve the full right to alter and edit these answers, in order to make a more smoothly moving article, although in no way do I change the opinions of the people queried. That out of the way, let’s get on with the discussion. Chairman: Just to start this discussion off, I’ll ask one of the original questions and see if we can’t get a discussion going on the point: Who is your favorite hero at Marvel? Buddy: My favorite hero is Spider-Man. He greatly outranks any of the other Marvel heroes, and Ditko draws the character in a manner that actually suggests the spider qualities.

Al Kuhfeld

Al: I agree that Spider-Man is the best Marvel has to offer, not only because of his great artwork, but also because of Spider-Man’s sense of humor. Though it

The Fan P.O.V. Of The Marvel Super-Heroes—In 1963!

think the art teams are better than the artists themselves. For instance KirbyDitko is the best Marvel has, while Kirby-Heck is certainly good.

doesn’t receive a full play in the stories, Spider-Man is the only Marvel hero with a fully-developed sense of humor. Only he would get a job with Jameson for the reason that he did.

Bob: I personally think that Kirby’s art is often too outré and bizarre, but then I’m not exactly an authority on the Marvel artists.

Bob: Actually, although Spider-Man and the Ant-Man are my two favorite single heroes at Marvel, their adventures are, when probable, either too mundane or too outré. They can’t seem to hit the balance between science fiction and plausibility.

Al: Of course the art is important, but I think the best thing about the Marvel heroes is the general impression they give. Rather than appearing to have been stamped out by cookie-cutters as some heroes do, they have knocks and bumps all over their psyches.

Al: I can’t agree with you there, Bob. “Spider-Man versus the Vulture” was, for example, very good, although how much of that was due to the “brick wall effect” (it feels so good when I stop) is uncertain.

Bob: There’s no question but that Stan Lee is Marvel personified. If he fails, Marvel fails. If he succeeds, Marvel succeeds. He makes each hero act alive! They’re heroic humans, not gods who never make mistakes or show emotion.

Buddy: And the Vulture, and also Dr. Octopus from the third issue, brought out very well the many potential story lines for the Spider-Man.

Buddy: One of Marvel’s greatest accomplishments has been its characterization; no other group has done so well with this.

Al: Right. Certainly the introduction of a villain like the Vulture—with every bit as much dash as Namor or Doctor Doom—is worthy of a good deal of credit. Buddy: Of course the art does have a lot to do with Spider-Man’s success. Ditko has a clear snap that I like. Al: Strictly speaking, although he may not be one of the best draftsmen Marvel has, his work is stylistically attractive, being decorative rather than merely illustrative.

You Don’t Know Jack! One or two of the panelists seem dismissive of Jack Kirby’s early Marvel work. What can we say? Best just to show the Kirby cover, inked by Ditko, of Fantastic Four #14 (May 1963), which went on sale a couple of months before Hero #2 went into the mails. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Bob: One thing about the art at Marvel in general is the new art concept. Basically, there seems to be a change in the coloring. Marvel is more somber than DC and the layout of colors is different. Buddy: The coloring of the Spider-Man is actually one of the few points that I think this dark coloring has helped. The covers, for instance, are colored too darkly to be good. Bob: Perhaps so, but the darker coloring and the more rigid panelstructure and grey-building-backgrounds are a relief from the monotony. Since Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko seem to have created this style, I would say they are my favorite artists at Marvel. Buddy: I go along with your second choice, but couldn’t agree with you less on Kirby. Some say Jack is overworked, but whatever the problem is, the fact remains that his work isn’t as good as it should be. Al: I don’t even consider Kirby in a rating of Marvel artists. To me the order is: Ditko, followed at a great distance by Joe Sinnott and Don Heck. The latter two just plug along, doing nothing poorly enough to annoy and occasionally something quite good; Ditko’s forte, on the other hand, is in his flashes of brilliance, which Heck and Sinnott can’t even come near matching. Buddy: Yes, other than Ditko, Heck, and possibly Sinnott, the Marvel group is producing very little good art. Actually, though, I

Al: Of course this characterization doesn’t always work out right. The recent attempt to give Ant-Man emotions by introducing the Wasp and his late wife is still too uncertain to be evaluated, but right now he is the worst Marvel has to offer—thanks mainly to the loss of the Hulk from his own comic.

Buddy: I disagree with you on that point, Al. Ant-Man is my favorite hero (aside from Spider-Man), mainly because of the Heck art and the fact that, although his stories aren’t as good as the DC type, they are much better than the trash forced upon Iron Man, Thor, and the Human Torch. Al: I couldn’t disagree with you less on that. Until the Wasp, Ant-Man could have been replaced by an exceptionally smart ant with little loss in interest except for those who prefer human heroes. As for the Torch, where most heroes would hesitate to give hot feet to their enemies, the Torch passes them out with abandon to his friends. This is the type of good story line in this series. Buddy: I guess the main problem with the Torch, as far as I’m concerned, is that I expect the villains to be of the caliber of those in the Flash, and Marvel just doesn’t make those kind. If the Torch has to be tied down with poor enemies like the Wizard and Paste-Pot Pete, it’s no wonder he doesn’t get his own mag! Bob: In my opinion the Torch is one of the most un-fantastic Fantastic Four. He still looks like a “cheap cigar”! In fact, I hope that he is eventually removed from Strange Tales and replaced by another hero. Buddy: Actually, the Torch’s art doesn’t fit him. Those thick ink lines give him a heavy appearance—unlike the old Timely Torch. Bob: But the Thing falls into an entirely different category. He is the

“The Stan Lee Of 1943!”

Fawcett Associate Editor Henry “Lynn” Perkins by Will Murray Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

[The following piece originally saw print in Comic Book Marketplace #120 (March 2005). It is re-presented here with its text revised/updated, and accompanied with new illustrations. —PCH.]

ew remember Henry “Lynn” Perkins. Yet, back in the Golden Age of Comics, he was a significant writer and editor. How significant? In addition to being a pivotal presence at Fawcett, where he inaugurated intriguing changes that smack of the kind of super-hero revolution Stan Lee kicked off in 1961, Perkins constituted a one-man British Invasion as well. I had never heard of Henry Perkins until the day I was going through bound library volumes of a forgotten 1940s writers’ periodical called the Writer’s Journal. The April 1943 issue carried a cover story titled “Comic Magazines Turning Comic, And Hungry For New Writers.”

Henry Aveline (“Lynn”) Perkins Born in Petropolis, Brazil, on April 22, 1919, he was the second son of British parents, F.W. and Winifred Perkins. His brother, Frederick F. Perkins, was five years older. After the family moved back to England, Henry attended the Charterhouse School near Godalming before beginning his writing career, which encompassed newspapers, pulps, comics, and movie serials. Officially becoming a U.S. citizen in 1951, Perkins and his wife left Hollywood and returned to New York; the couple had a least one child. By the 1970s, he was working at public relations firms. Henry Perkins passed away in New York City on July 20, 1999.

Perkins plotted the “Captain Marvel” story “The World of Your Tomorrow,” which appeared in America’s Greatest Comics #7 (Spring 1943); art by C.C. Beck & staff. Read this FCA article to learn the thing that occurred in that story that became the last time anything of its sort ever happened in a Fawcett comic! [Shazam, Billy Batson, & Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

“The Stan Lee Of 1943!”—Henry “Lynn” Perkins

“I was a literary agent before I got into comics,” recalled Schwartz. “Among the magazines I dealt with was Weird Tales. The editor up there was Dorothy McIlwraith. To my knowledge, Perkins was her first reader. He had a strong British accent. He was quite tall and good-looking. Blond hair as I recall.” Schwartz remembered him as Lynn Perkins, the first name an apparent diminutive of his middle name, Avelyn. Soon mastering the position, Perkins grew bored with the work and sought out freelance opportunities. As the Writer’s Journal explained it, “From the time of his arrival in this country, he had been fascinated by the quantity and success of the comic magazines. They were pretty crude in the early days, but they seemed to him to have tremendous possibilities.” So Perkins took a swing at comics scripting. By night, he pounded them out. His originality caught the attention of various editors, who began buying everything he could turn out. Quickly, he was selling to “Superman” and Detective Comics, Inc. He claimed to have sold hundreds of scripts without a single rejection. It was an education in writing. “The search for novel and different plot angles is endless,” Perkins said. “And in the searching, a writer automatically learns a vast amount about plotting.

The Road From Rio Perkins arrived in New York City from Rio de Janeiro in December of 1939. Soon thereafter he became an associate editor for the pulp magazines Short Stories and Weird Tales—the latter from the issues for May 1940 through September 1942. Above is Margaret Brundage’s cover for the March ’41 Weird Tales. [Weird Tales art TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

It was a long interview/profile of Fawcett Comics Group associate editor Henry Perkins. Although I was researching another project, I knew I had to record this information. The problem was that the Writer’s Journal was a tabloid newspaper. Its browning pages were crumbling into pulp dust. I could not photocopy it. Recognizing the significance of the piece, I laboriously hand-copied all of the quotes and essential information. They were fascinating. According to the Journal, Henry Perkins was born in Brazil of British parents. Life took him back to London, where he went to the School of Charterhouse. Writing was an early interest, and Perkins landed a reporting job on the London Daily Mirror. Relocating to Rio, he became a staff writer on the Rio de Janeiro News. In 1939, Perkins came to the USA, where his writing and editing skills got him a position on the New York-based pulp magazines Weird Tales and Short Stories. There, he came into contact with future comicbook editor Julius Schwartz.

A Hard Day’s Knight Henry Perkins took part in the early development of DC’s “Shining Knight” and is credited for writing his stories for Adventure Comics #s 73-78—and there may have been more. Above is the first page of “The Black Baron” from Adventure #78 (Sept. 1942); artwork by Louis Cazeneuve. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Alter Ego #157