Alter Ego #162 by TwoMorrows Publishing

“A PROPHECY IN FOUR COLORS?” THE SCINTILLATING UNSEEN CREATIONS OF GOLDEN AGE ARTISTS

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HAL SHERMAN, LEE HARRIS, & FRANK FOSTER!

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No. 162 January 2020

THE AY ON NDING RR U M OU WILL LSE-P OME OF S LE PU B F I POSS ESSORS O C E PRED

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Figure at left © Estate of Frank Foster; central figure © Estate of Hal Sherman; figure at right © Estate of Harris Levey.

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Vol. 3, No. 162 / January 2020 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

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With Special Thanks to: Paul Allen Heidi Amash David Armstrong Richard Arndt Bob Bailey John Benson Brett Canavan John Cimino Pierre Comtois Chet Cox Cash-Book Journal (newspaper) Comic Book Plus (website) The Sven Elven family Frank Foster, Jr. & the Foster family Michael D. Fraley Wayne Gassmann Jim Gaylord Janet Gilbert Don Glut Grand Comics Database (website) Shane Foley Dan Hagen George Hagenauer Tom Hamilton Heritage Auctions (website)

Tom Horvitz Carla Jordan Joyce Kaffel Jim Kealy Paul King Jonathan Levey Art Lortie Doug Martin Peter Meskin Philip Meskin Brian K. Morris Will Murray Peter Normanton The Paul Norris family Barry Pearl John Pierce Sandy Plunkett Larry Rippee Charlie Roberts Al Rodriguez Bob Rozakis Randy Sargent Janet Myers Schuette David Siegel Southeast Missourian (newspaper) Dan Tandarich Dann Thomas Nicky WheelerNicholson Kent Wilson

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Hal Sherman, Frank Foster, & Sven Elven

Contents

Writer/Editorial: A Prophecy In Four Colors? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Super-Hero Skullduggery -1941? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Will Murray unlocks the mystery of the lost Batman, Wonder Woman, & Tarantula!

The Golden Bat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Dan Hagen tells us all about Japan’s “Dark Samurai” of 1931.

“Welcome Home, Roy Thomas!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 A photo-strewn remembrance of a comics celebration in Jackson, Missouri—Feb. 2019.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The Other Stan Lee, Part 2 . . . 51 Michael T. Gilbert continues to compare and contrast Smilin’ Stan & Charles Biro.

re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 58 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #221 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

P.C. Hamerlinck and Michael D. Fraley showcase early DC & Fawcett artist Sven Elven.

On Our Cover: It was a real dilemma—what to feature on the cover of an issue that dealt with neverpublished possible prototypes of “Batman,” “Wonder Woman,” Tarantula, and other classic superheroes. Spotlighting the DC characters themselves didn’t seem right, so Roy T. suggested to Aussie artist Shane Foley that he utilize the predecessors, using as a template the several-hero cover of 1950’s AllStar Comics #50, by the team of Arthur Peddy & Bernard Sachs. Shane improved on that notion by basing the figures of the non-DC, unpublished 'Batman' and 'Wonder Woman' on the work of Bob Kane (from the cover of Detective Comics #27, 1939) and H.G. Peter (from the cover of Sensation Comics #1, 1942). The result, we think, is nothing short of terrific! [Art © Shane Foley.] Above: Maybe Hal Sherman never got to draw a “Wonder Woman” of his own concoction, but he was the first artist of the feature “The Star-Spangled Kid” in DC’s Star Spangled Comics! Seen here are transformational panels from the two-for-one origin of the Star-Spangled Kid & Stripsey team. SSC #18 (March 1943); possibly scripted by Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman. [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: $67 US, $101 Elsewhere, $27 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 Prophecy In Four Colors?

ollowing two issues in a row celebrating a pair of recently departed giants of the comics field (Steve Ditko and Stan Lee), this edition of Alter Ego is—well, not “a return to normalcy,” that odd phrase coined a century ago by President Warren G. Harding, but a one-issue swerve in a somewhat different direction.

Chances are, you didn’t recognize any of the three costumed heroes on Shane Foley’s color-splashed cover, unless maybe you recalled Golden Age “Air Wave” artist Lee Harris’ sample page for DC’s “Tarantula,” first published in A/E #125 (but not in color). Instead, if Shane’s and my intent is realized, the only things that might’ve given you a slight feeling of déjà vu would’ve been that the pointy-eared, rope-swinging hero’s pose echoes that of Bob Kane’s Batman on the cover of 1939’s Detective Comics #27—and/or that the hard-charging super-heroine’s stance is an homage to H.G. Peter’s Wonder Woman on the late-1941 cover of Sensation Comics #1. Will Murray, a pre-eminent comics historian, will explain the connection between our cover non-stars and the four-color luminaries whom they not only resemble—but even pre-date. Now, please understand: Will as writer (and I as editor) are not saying that unknown artist Frank Foster’s cape-less Batman of 1932 is (or is not) a direct precursor of DC’s dynamic Dark Knight. Or that Hal Sherman, the original artist of the early-’40s “Star-Spangled Kid,” can be definitively proven to have given anyone at DC or sister company All-American the precise notion to launch a character called Wonder Woman. Or that early editors Whitney Ellsworth and Mort Weisinger were necessarily playing fast-andloose with concepts submitted by aspiring young freelance artists. All three of the above notions are possibilities that Will explores, skillfully and succinctly, in the pages that follow. But they are and remain, of course, only possibilities.

Still, once I ran across Will’s original articles on the subject in a now-defunct magazine, they became possibilities that I felt should see the light of day in Alter Ego. Let us know what you think of this odd game of “what if,” okay? (And that includes your comments on Dan Hagen’s study of the “Golden Bat” hero from early-’30s Japan.) After all, this is a magazine concerned with the history of comicbooks—and every once in while, in pop culture history as in the annals of the broader world, previously unknown facts come to light that, from that day forward, refuse to let us ever again look at things in quite the same way we did before. I myself had that same hair-standing-up-on-the-back-ofmy-neck feeling when I first read Philip Wylie’s 1930 novel Gladiator and recognized in it a brilliant road map for much (though not for all, mind) of Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster’s world-changing “Superman.” We’re all archaeologists, just working with PCs and old, yellowing pages rather than with pick and shovel.

Bestest,

11TH HOUR P.S.: Just room to say that, alas, Alter Ego, since it’s printed in China, has become a minor casualty of the U.S./China tariff disputes. At the last minute, we had no choice but to delay Bill Schelly’s “Comic Fandom Archive” and the latest installment of John Broome’s memoir till next time, as the interior page count of issues drops for the foreseeable future from 96 to 80 to keep our prices the same. Hope you’ll help us “keep ’em flying”!

NOTE FROM ROY T.: Just as this issue was going to press, we were startled to learn the sad news that our good friend Bill Schelly had died on September 12 of multiple myeloma. Bill, who was only 67, had mostly kept the news of his serious illness to himself; I myself had learned of it (from his friend Jeff Gelb) only days before his passing. Bill’s contributions to Alter Ego (in his regular “Comic Fandom Archive” section) and to comics history (via his books on fandom and in his excellent biographies, such as the Eisner-winning one on Harvey Kurtzman), make his death a very real tragedy to comics fans everywhere, but even more so for those of us who knew and loved him. A longer, more fitting tribute will appear in an early issue of this magazine. We can only wish it weren’t necessary.

Bill Schelly

Super-Hero Skullduggery – 1941? Or, The Mystery Of the Lost BATMAN & WONDER WOMAN! by Will Murray

Seeing Double? Or Not! Bob Kane’s Batman & H.G. Peter’s Wonder Woman—juxtaposed with Frank Foster’s “Batman” & Hal Sherman’s “Wonder Woman.” Read the article for the rest of the story! [Batman & Wonder Woman TM & © DC Comics; Foster art © Estate of Frank Foster; Sherman art © Estate of Hal Sherman.] The Kane Caped Crusader is from a circa-1980 painting by that artist, belonging to David Siegel and photographed years ago by Dr. Jerry G. Bails… while Peter’s Amazon princess is from a Junior Justice Society of America ad that ran in 1947 issues of All-Star Comics, although that illo had appeared several years earlier in ads for the Wonder Woman newspaper comic strip. All Frank Foster art accompanying this article is courtesy of the Foster family, via Will Murray; while all the Hal Sherman “WW” art accompanying it was provided by the late artist to Will for Comic Book Marketplace magazine #78 (May 2000) and appeared therein.

The Mystery Of The Lost Batman & Wonder Woman

Preface: One Awesome Overview— Sprinkled With Star-Spangled Kid & Aquaman s a comics historian, I enjoy unearthing lost lore and making new discoveries. Not all of them are pleasant. Some are puzzling, and a few were downright weird.

Periodically, I stumble upon dark, cobwebbed corners of the Golden Age of Comics that no light has touched in generations. Especially in regards to DC Comics and its affiliate, All-American Comics. Among the most remarkable were a series of seemingly unrelated interviews I did for the late lamented magazine Comic Book Marketplace, which uncovered something bizarre. It all started back in 1998, when I read a Boston Globe article about Frank Foster, an obscure artist whose surviving son claimed that his father had created an unpublished super-hero called “Batman” years before the Bob Kane and Bill Finger version had appeared in 1939’s Detective Comics #27. Interested, I interviewed Frank Foster, Jr., heard his story concerning his father, and examined the yellowing pieces of art that survived of an Art Deco version of a hero called Batman—as recorded in the following section of this article, which is a slightly edited version of my piece that appeared in Comic Book Marketplace #66 (Jan. 1999). Though intriguing, the story ultimately proved to be something of a dead end, since nothing concrete connected Foster with DC Comics.

editorial director Whitney Ellsworth—only to find himself handed art chores on Jerry Siegel’s brand new “Star-Spangled Kid” feature instead of being offered work drawing the super-heroine concept he had submitted. The Kid was first seen by readers in a house ad in Action Comics #40 (Sept. 1941); the origin of Wonder Woman came along a month or so later, in All-Star Comics #8. This, too, I wrote up for Comic Book Marketplace (#78, May 2000)—an interview reworked somewhat and added to for this issue of Alter Ego. Still, there was little or no direct evidence of anything sinister going on in this case, either, and I did not suspect a pattern. Then, a few years later, David arranged for me to interview artist Paul Norris on the creation of “Aquaman,” whereupon the character’s original artist told me something he had not previously revealed––an anecdote even David did not know. “Well,” Norris related, “a couple of weeks before he called me in on ‘Aquaman,’ Whit [Ellsworth] asked a number of artists to come up with some ideas for new features. And I submitted one. They used the title, but they didn’t use the feature at all.”

Whitney Ellsworth had been a National/DC editor early on, had left, and returned to take the top editorial spot when Vin Sullivan moved on to co-found Columbia Comics.

“What was the title?” I asked innocently.

So imagine my surprise when comics maven David Siegel read my original article in CBM and informed me that he knew of a potentially similar instance!

“‘The Vigilante.’ But I had the idea of having him in tights. He wasn’t a cowboy like they did later. He was a super-character, in long underwear.”

David quickly put me in touch with Golden Age artist Hal Sherman, the original 1940s illustrator of the DC feature “The Star-Spangled Kid,” and I soon heard his tale of creating a character he called “Wonder Woman” in 1941 and offering it to DC Comics

I was staggered. Here was another artist telling the same story! Instead of accepting his Vigilante, Ellsworth handed Norris a humorous sketch of a character called Aquaman who lived underwater––while smoking a cigar!––and asked Norris to rework it into a super-hero. A completely different version of another character calling himself The Vigilante swiftly appeared in Action Comics #42, scripted by new DC editor Mort Weisinger and drawn by Mort Meskin. Both features—“Aquaman” and “The Vigilante”—debuted the same month! Here, perhaps, was the smoking gun, or something very much like it. Testimony that Ellsworth was soliciting fresh characters, but not acting on them in concert with the original artist. The coincidence of so many such switcheroos seemed compelling. So when Alter Ego ran the story of “Air Wave” creator Lee Harris (Harris Levey) in issue #125, accompanied by a neverbefore-published illustration of a completely different version of “Tarantula” than the one that had debuted in Star Spangled Comics #1 (Oct. 1941), I thought to myself, “That sure looks like another possible example of a bait-and-switch editorial ploy.”

Coming Up To Bat! DC “Batman” co-creator/artist Bob Kane (on left) & fan David Siegel on right, with a copy of a 1980s French “Futuropolis” reprinting of the Batman comic strip. Dave, whose main claim to fame, perhaps, is helping to get many Golden Age artists to attend the San Diego Comic-Con between 1987 and 2005 (see A/E #142), was also instrumental in bringing the Hal Sherman “Wonder Woman” story to Will Murray’s attention—and, a bit later, a similar occurrence related to “Aquaman” co-creating artist Paul Norris. Read on! Thanks to Charlie Roberts for the photo, via Tom Horvitz.

It’s especially damning inasmuch as Mort Weisinger is credited with creating “Tarantula” and “Air Wave,” as well as with scripting the first “Aquaman” and “Vigilante” stories! (It must be said: some sources claim it was DC editor Murray Boltinoff who scripted the first “Air Wave” tale.) The four above-mentioned features debuted only months apart, with “Air Wave” showing up last, in the Feb. 1942 Detective Comics. Harris’ Tarantula page was dated April 24, 1941. Hal

Super-Hero Skullduggery—1941?

Mort Meskin Courtesy of sons Peter and Philip.

Paul Norris circa 1942-43. Thanks to the Norris family, via Richard Arndt.

Sherman recalls coming to New York City early that same year, and having Lee Harris assigned to ink him on “Star-Spangled Kid.” Harris started early in May of that year, so the Tarantula concept may have been his entry into DC employment.

Be Ever-Vigilante! (Left grouping:) Artist Paul Norris informed Will Murray that he came up with a costumed hero he called “Vigilante”—but was then given a different debuting feature, “Aquaman,” to draw. Seen here is the first “Aquaman” splash page, from More Fun Comics #73 (Nov. 1941). Thanks to Jim Kealy. (Right grouping:) When a “Vigilante” series did appear, he was a modern-day Western hero, illustrated by Mort Meskin. This illo, which became the cover of the Meskin-centered Alter Ego #24, seems quite likely to have been Meskin’s own concept drawing for the character. “Vigilante” had its premiere in Action Comics #42, which had the same cover-date as More Fun #73.

character in 1941 didn’t necessarily lead to being assigned to draw the feature.

This revelation also Surprisingly, a makes one wonder about surviving letter of reference the true origins of other [Art TM & © DC Comics.] from Murray Boltinoff DC characters Weisinger unequivocally credits Levey allegedly “created,” such as as the originator of both Green Arrow, Johnny Quick, and TNT, all of whom also debuted characters! Dated August 18, 1975, it states flatly: “Shortly after during the company’s late-1941 super-hero wave. joining us, Levey created two new features for this company: All the participants involved in these proceedings have by ‘Tarantula’ and ‘Air-Wave.’” now passed on and cannot speak for themselves. Anyone who This, despite the fact that Hal Sharp (original artist of “Mr. ever worked in comics knows the problems inherent in managing Terrific”) drew the “Tarantula” feature from its inception, working talent and submissions. I will point out, however, that in a frantic from a Weisinger script. In later years, Weisinger developed business like comicbooks, it was understood early on that the a reputation for appropriating the ideas of others, reportedly creator of a popular character possessed significant rights. But rejecting writer’s plots only to hand them off to other scripters in a if the character was created in-house, all rights would naturally vicious circle wherein he claimed credit. That he is at the center of reside with the publishing company. The complicated legal some of these reports is interesting, but not by itself damning. Whit situations surrounding “Superman” and “Batman” bear that out. Ellsworth was Weisinger’s superior and would have had to approve Editors might well have been instructed to develop new all new characters. properties in such a way that no creator could later claim Boltinoff’s letter, however, reprinted on page 7 of this issue, ownership. clearly documents the fact that being the creator of a new DC

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The Golden Bat Japan’s “Dark Samurai” Returns! by Dan Hagen

e was a caped, flying champion from a lost, distant civilization, who fought monsters and criminals in defense of humanity.

In Japan. In 1931. As comics historian Zack Davisson observes, “Five years before Lee Falk’s ‘Ghost Who Walks,’ The Phantom, stalked the daily strips of newspapers everywhere, and seven years before Superman burst from the pages of Action Comics, 6,760 miles away in the island country of Japan kids were already thrilling to the adventures of super-powered heroes all their own.” Even before the first modern comicbooks appeared, Japan had evolved a form of sequential fantasy art that put it “deep in a Golden Age of strange visitors from another planet flying through the sky in brilliant costumes, righting wrongs and battling mad scientist inventors,” Davisson notes. Street performers painted and presented what were essentially oversized, itinerant comicbook adventures in Japanese communities, selling candy, roasted potatoes, and chestnuts to the

Fleischer Brothers, Look Out! (Above:) The Golden Bat is shown in his own “fortress of solitude” in the mountains of Japan, telepathically tuning in to a woman’s plea for help. (Right:) The hero vs. a giant robot, by Nagamatsu—doubtless illustrating a story by Suzuki. These scenes somewhat resemble some of those in the early-1940s theatrical Superman cartoons by the Fleischer Brothers’ animation outfit—but this is a decade earlier! And of course they’re a precursor to all those Japanese robots like Astro Boy, Gigantor, and 8th Man. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Golden Bat Dan Hagen reveals how, in the early 1930s, Japanese creators developed a super-hero in the medium of Kamishibai, which, he writes, “is described as a form of participatory storytelling that combines hand-made art with a performance by a live narrator (“kami” means “paper,” and “shibai” means “play” or “drama”—so they were sort of oversized, itinerant comicbooks!” ). Above is one of artist Takeo Nagamatsu’s original watercolor-onposter-board illustrations of The Golden Bat, a.k.a. Ōgon Batto, who was scripted by Ichiro Suzuki. Read on! The illustrations accompanying this piece appeared in Eric P. Nash’s book Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theatre, published by Abrams Comicarts, NY (2019), and were scanned from various kamishibai collections in Japan. Nash’s book is a must-have— because it features many, many other wonders besides these few! [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

youngsters who’d been summoned to the show by the clacking of wooden sticks. These “paper theatre” performances provided inexpensive, colorful children’s entertainment during the Depression, as well as much-needed employment opportunities for the benshi (script narrators who sat next to the screen in the newly outmoded silent movies). “Storytellers would travel from town to town with their butai (miniature stage) on the back of a bike,” observes Liesl Bradner in the Los Angeles Times. “The setup was reminiscent of a Punch and Judy show, but instead of puppets the narrator would slide a series of poster boards with watercolor illustrations in and out of the box. He would act out the script, which was written on cards placed on the back of a board. Each show consisted of three stories of about

Japan’s “Dark Samurai” Returns!

A Never-Ending Story A montage of Golden Bat images from various sources, from the 1930s on up, assembled by article-writer Dan Hagen. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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“Welcome Home, ROY THOMAS!” A Remembrance Of The “February Annual” Event In Jackson, Missouri, 2019

by Carla Jordan Director, Cape Girardeau County History Center of the Cape Girardeau County Historical Society

A/E

“Roy Thomas Day” in Jackson, Missouri… Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Above:) The official February Annual poster, created by local graphic designer Megan Lopez, utilizing an art print drawn by pro comics artist Joe St. Pierre that spotlights Roy and many of the Marvel characters he had a hand in creating; concept by John Cimino. (The art print itself, produced by special arrangement with Marvel Entertainment, is sold only at comics conventions at which Roy appears, with part of the proceeds going to the comics’ own charity, Hero Initiative.) [Art TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] (Left:) A photo taken that afternoon outside the Cape Girardeau County History Center on High Street, with Jackson’s town square, county courthouse, and bandstand prominent in the background. One summer in the late 1950s, Roy had the job of announcing the musical numbers performed in the latter by the town’s municipal band. Photo & poster courtesy of Carla Jordan.

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: Loath as I was (and if you doubt that, I can’t really blame you, I suppose) to showcase yet another article centered around myself so soon… the bald fact is that, nearly a year ago, my Missouri hometown surprisingly named me guest of honor at a local arts celebration. Even though flying from South Carolina to Memphis, then facing a several-hour drive north in the dead of winter, were hardly tops on my wish list, my wife Dann and I agreed that I could hardly refuse. And then, the person central to it all—the above-bylined Mrs. Carla Jordan—and her volunteer crew did such a spectacular job with the event that I felt I should document the whole magilla in Alter Ego… mostly from her POV. To the extent I’m involved as editor and caption-writer, just consider this article an early Valentine to a town that had, at the very least, a powerful hand in molding any creative virtues I may have brought to the comics or to other fields….

Prelude Jackson, Missouri, is a small, peaceful town not far from the Mississippi River. Though its current population is just 14,000, it has a bustling town square that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district is known as Uptown Jackson, because its grouping of blocks is set on the highest point in the town, on two sides of a classic stone courthouse and its grounds, on which sits an old-fashioned bandstand right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Jackson also happens to be the hometown of comicbook writer Roy Thomas, although it boasted only about one-fourth as many people when he was a child. (He memorized its 1950 census figure of 3694 as he drove past the city-limits sign countless times as a teenager in the late ’50s.) Each late winter for the past half-decade, the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization (UJRO) has hosted a celebration of arts and culture known as the “February Annual,” organized around one guest of honor. Since no

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

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ALTER EGO #153

ALTER EGO #154

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BLE

AVAILA

ALTER EGO #150

ALTER EGO #151

ALTER EGO #152

STAN LEE’s 95th birthday! Rare 1980s LEE interview by WILL MURRAY—GER APELDOORN on Stan’s non-Marvel writing in the 1950s—STAN in Britain in the 1970s—and more special features than you could shake Irving Forbush at! Also FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), BILL SCHELLY, and MICHAEL T. GILBERT! Colorful Marvel multi-hero cover by Big JOHN BUSCEMA!

Golden Age artist FRANK THOMAS (The Owl! The Eye! Dr. Hypno!) celebrated by Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt’s MICHAEL T. GILBERT! Plus the scintillating (and often offbeat) Golden & Silver Age super-heroes of Western Publishing’s DELL & GOLD KEY comics! Art by MANNING, DITKO, KANE, MARSH, GILL, SPIEGLE, SPRINGER, NORRIS, SANTOS, THORNE, et al.! Plus FCA, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

Unsung artist/writer LARRY IVIE conceived (and named!) the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, helped develop T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS, brought EC art greats to the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more! SANDY PLUNKETT chronicles his career, with art by FRAZETTA, CRANDALL, WOOD, KRENKEL, DOOLIN, and others! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95

ALTER EGO #155

ALTER EGO #156

ALTER EGO #157

Remembering Fabulous FLO STEINBERG, Stan Lee’s gal Friday during the Marvel Age of Comics—with anecdotes and essays by pros and friends who knew and loved her! Rare Marvel art, Flo’s successor ROBIN GREEN interviewed by RICHARD ARNDT about her time at Marvel, and Robin’s 1971 article on Marvel for ROLLING STONE magazine! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

ALLEN BELLMAN (1940s Timely artist) interviewed by DR. MICHAEL J. VASSALLO, with art by SHORES, BURGOS, BRODSKY, SEKOWSKY, EVERETT, & JAFFEE. Plus Marvel’s ’70s heroines: LINDA FITE & PATY COCKRUM on The Cat, CAROLE SEULING on Shanna the She-Devil, & ROY THOMAS on Night Nurse—with art by SEVERIN, FRADON, ANDRU, and more! With FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

Golden Age artist/writer/editor NORMAN MAURER remembered by his wife JOAN, recalling BIRO’s Crime Does Not Pay, Boy Comics, Daredevil, St. John’s 3-D & THREE STOOGES comics with KUBERT, his THREE STOOGES movies (MOE was his father-inlaw!), and work for Marvel, DC, and others! Plus LARRY IVIE’s 1959 plans for a JUSTICE SOCIETY revival, JOHN BROOME, FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY and more!

All Time Classic Con continued from #148! Panels on Golden Age (CUIDERA, HASEN, SCHWARTZ [LEW & ALVIN], BOLTINOFF, LAMPERT, GILL, FLESSEL) & Silver Age Marvel, DC, & Gold Key (SEVERIN, SINNOTT, AYERS, DRAKE, ANDERSON, FRADON, SIMONSON, GREEN, BOLLE, THOMAS), plus JOHN BROOME, FCA, MR. MONSTER, & BILL SCHELLY! Unused RON WILSON/CHRIS IVY cover!

Interview with JOYE MURCHISON, assistant to Wonder Woman co-creator DR. WILLIAM MARSTON, and WW’s female scriptwriter from 1945-1948! Rare art by H.G. PETER, 1960s DC love comics writer BARBARA FRIEDLANDER, art & anecdotes by ROMITA, COLAN, JAY SCOTT PIKE, INFANTINO, WEISINGER, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, and others! Extra: FCA, JOHN BROOME, MR. MONSTER, & more!

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ALTER EGO #158

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FCA SPECIAL! Golden Age writer WILLIAM WOOLFOLK interview, and his scripting records! Art by BECK, SCHAFFENBERGER, BORING, BOB KANE, CRANDALL, KRIGSTEIN, ANDRU, JACK COLE, FINE, PETER, HEATH, PLASTINO, MOLDOFF, GRANDENETTI, and more! Plus JOHN BROOME, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and the 2017 STAR WARS PANEL with CHAYKIN, LIPPINCOTT, and THOMAS!

Peter Cannon–Thunderbolt writer/artist PETE MORISI talks about the creative process! Plus, read his correspondence with comics greats JACK KIRBY, JOE SIMON, AL WILLIAMSON, CHARLES BIRO, JOE GILL, GEORGE TUSKA, ROCKY MASTROSERIO, PAT MASULLI, SAL GENTILE, DICK GIORDANO, and others! Also: JOHN BROOME’s bio, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY!

REMEMBERING STEVE DITKO! Sturdy Steve at Marvel, DC, Warren, Charlton, and elsewhere! A rare late-1960s Ditko interview by RICHARD HOWELL—biographical notes by NICK CAPUTO—tributes by MICHAEL T. GILBERT, PAUL LEVITZ, BERNIE BUBNIS, BARRY PEARL, ROY THOMAS, et al. Plus FCA, JOHN BROOME, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Spider-Man cover by DITKO!

Full-issue STAN LEE TRIBUTE! ROY THOMAS writes on his more than 50-year relationship with Stan—and shares 21stcentury e-mails from Stan (with his permission, of course)! Art by KIRBY, DITKO, MANEELY, EVERETT, SEVERIN, ROMITA, plus tributes from pros and fans alike, and special sections on Stan by MICHAEL T. GILBERT, BILL SCHELLY, and even the FCA! Vintage cover by KIRBY and COLLETTA!

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{Above:) Daredevil meets Crimebuster and Squeeks, C.B.’s pet monkey. This was for a “Win A Live Monkey” contest from Daredevil #9, April 1942. Biro owned one! (Right:) Biro from a 1950 film “Famous Cartoonists.” [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.\]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Charles Biro—The Other Stan Lee! (Part 2) by Michael T. Gilbert

ast issue we explored some notable similarities between Marvel writer/editor Stan Lee in the ’60s, and Gleason Publications writer/artist/editor Charles Biro in the ’40s. But wait! There’s more!

Reality Check! Perhaps Stan’s greatest contribution to Marvel was injecting a dose of reality into the tired super-hero formula. Under Lee and Ditko, Spider-Man became a refreshingly real-world take on super-heroes. Take for instance Amazing Spider-Man #12, in which our hero, weakened by the flu, was easily beaten by Dr. Octopus. Ock triumphantly unmasked his foe, only to react with dismay when Spider-Man is revealed to be a kid named Peter Parker. At staid DC, the writer would have figured some contrived gimmick for Superman or Batman to fool the villain. But Lee (along with co-plotter Ditko) took a startling different route. In this story Parker didn’t figure some clever way out. Instead, Doc Ock, surprised at how easily he defeated “Spider-Man,” reacts in shocked disbelief as he stares at the face of the helpless teenager.

Who Was That Masked Man? Stan Lee had Spidey revealed as Peter Parker in this scene from Amazing Spider-Man #12 (May 1964). Art by Steve Ditko. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“I should have known!!” he bellows. “It isn’t Spider-Man! It’s that weakling brat, Peter Parker!” Of course! In the real world, the logical conclusion would be to assume that the kid under the mask, beaten so easily, was just some dumb teenager playing Spider-Man (while the real Spidey was clearly missing in action). Lee’s solution to the problem was brilliant in its simplicity. But, back in the ’40s, Charles Biro had beaten Stan to the punch. Daredevil #42 (May 1947) had a reporter stumbling onto Daredevil removing his costume, revealing himself as Bart Hill. Rather than threaten the reporter, Bart decided to do what no other ’40s comicbook hero would have done in the situation: bribe him! “Look,” says Bart, “perhaps you and I could work out a little something.” No goody two-shoes, this hero! Unfortunately for Bart, the reporter, a guy named Killroy, declines even after being offered a car, an apartment, hot stock market tips, and a horse (!).

A Daredevil By Any Other Name… Bart Hill, having revealed his Daredevil identity to the world, is shoved in front of a truck by a crook. But while Bart may not have been wearing his costume any more, he still had exceptional reflexes. From Daredevil #44 (Sept. 1947). Art by Norman Maurer. [© the respective copyright holders.]

“Tut, tut! Mustn’t bribe!” chastises Killroy. “Remember that won’t look so good in my story!” Just Daredevil’s luck, finding an honest newshound. It was a very unexpected twist, but then, Biro was known for them. In the same story Charlie added another

Charles Biro—The Other Stan Lee (Part 2)

twist by having Daredevil actually reveal his identity to the world! And then, in a refreshing, realistic turn, Biro showed us why having a secret identity was vitally important for these masked vigilantes. Initially, DD’s greatest danger is being attacked by a bevy of lovesick beauties set on ravaging hunky, hapless Bart Hill. What a fate! But things get worse. Next day, Bart is strolling along when some lowlife recognizes him and pushes him right in front of a huge truck. Anyone else would have been dead meat, but costume or not, Daredevil is still Daredevil. In a beautifully choreographed scene, Bart manages to spring out of the path of the deadly vehicle. Minutes later another crook blasts him with a Tommy gun. Bart survives that attack by sheer luck. It’s a sobering lesson, one that Bart takes to heart when, a couple of issues later, he invents another secret identity for himself. The story was remarkably plotted, with a sense of realism that would be at home in any ’60s Marvel comic. In fact, a famous Lee storyline in Marvel’s Daredevil #25 also featured that Daredevil’s secret identity being compromised. In that one, Lee salvaged Matt Murdock’s secret identity by having him invent an imaginary twin brother, Mike Murdock. Now there’s a curve even Biro missed! Charles Biro also played with some of the soap opera elements that Stan made famous. One Biro storyline had Bart finally propose to his long time gal-pal Tonia Saunders, who was in on Bart’s secret from the first. But she turned him down cold, afraid marriage to a reckless daredevil like Bart might make for a disastrously short-term union. Hmm! Now where have I heard that plot before?

Stan & Charlie All of which is not to suggest that Stan consciously copied Biro. He may have come up with a similar approach on his own. Or he may have remembered the old Boy and Daredevil comics and recalled how successful Biro’s more sophisticated approach had been decades earlier. Our own Roy Thomas weighed in on the issue. In an e-mail of Nov. 20, 2018, Lee’s former right-hand man wrote: “I think I mentioned in a caption in AE #155 that Biro’s personal approach to the readers and a couple of other things were forerunners of what Stan did later, even if he always said his main influence was those Poppy Ott and other kid novels of his youth.” We know that Stan was very familiar with Biro, and admired his work. Asked to name some of his influences, Lee once said this of Biro: “Chas. Biro was an influence because he stressed (and produced) intelligent stories in his comics. No matter the subject matter, they were beautifully structured, written, and edited.” He

All Guys Should Have Such Problems! The gals went crazy for Bart Hill—once he revealed he was also hunky Daredevil! Art by Dan Barry from Daredevil #42 (May 1947). [© the respective copyright holders.]

was also quoted as saying, “Biro was a genius!” No doubt about it, Stan was a fan!

The Sincerest Form Of Flattery! Stan’s admiration for Biro may have been evinced in 1953 when Marvel publisher Martin Goodman, notorious for stealing ideas, likely ordered Stan to come up with a knockoff of Biro’s very successful Boy Comics. Stan probably figured if Boy Comics was a hot title, a more mature Man Comics would be twice as good! Man started out as a war comic, but the later issues starred “Bob Brant and the TroubleShooters”—a mash-up of Gleason’s Crimebuster from Boy Comics (note the school letters on both characters) and Daredevil’s Little Wise Guys. “Bob Brant” was illustrated by Gleason mainstay Carl Hubbell, who also drew features for both Boy and Daredevil

At Least He Wasn’t An Evil Twin! Stan invented Matt Murdock’s imaginary swingin’ twin brother, played by Matt Murdock himself! From Daredevil #25 (Feb 1967). Art by Gene Colan & Frank Giacoia. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]