Roy Thomas' Ship-To-Shores Comics Fanzine
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SYD SHORES SALUTE! SALUTE!
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No. 167 January 2021
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Featuring a JACLYN SMITH interview, as we reopen the Charlie’s Angels Casebook, and visit the Guinness World Records’ largest Charlie’s Angels collection. Plus: an exclusive interview with funnyman LARRY STORCH, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Captain Action, a vintage interview with Jonny Quest creator DOUG WILDEY, a visit to the Land of Oz, the ultra-rare Marvel World superhero playset, & more! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Now shipping!
Vol. 3, No. 167 / January 2021 Editor
Roy Thomas
Associate Editor 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, Bill Schelly
Proofreaders
Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding
Cover Artist Syd Shores
Cover Colorist
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Contents
Writer/Editorial: “Syd The Kid”?? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Syd Shores: A Daughter Remembers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Richard Arndt interviews Nancy Shores Karlebach about her talented father.
Unidentified
With Special Thanks to: Doug Abramson Heidi Amash Richard J. Arndt Bob Bailey Rod Beck Roz Bellman Ricky Terry Brisacque Bernie Bubnis David Burd Nick Caputo John Cimino Shaun Clancy Comic Book Plus (website) Pierre Comtois Chet Cox Dial B for Blog (website) Shane Foley Joe Frank Janet Gilbert Grand Comics Database (website) Dan Hagen Dennis Haycock
Don’t STEAL our Digital Editions!
Tom Hegeman Eric Jansen Alex Jay Nancy Shores Karlebach James Kealy Douglas R. Kelly Mark Lewis Art Lortie John Lustig Glenn MacKay Doug Martin Mike Mikulovsky MinuteMenDarthScanner (website) Mike Nielsen Barry Pearl Philip (a.k.a. Bluelark) David Saunders Jeff Taylor Dann Thomas Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Geoff Willmetts
This issue is dedicated to the memory of
Syd Shores, Chu Hing, & Allen Bellman
“Syd Is Really Unrecognized For The Contributions He Brought To Comics” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Fellow Golden Age Timely artist Allen Bellman on his friend and colleague, Syd Shores.
“Doc V” On The Life & Legacy Of Syd Shores . . . . . . . . . . . 27 A comics historian’s view of one of the 1940s’ most prominent artists.
The Voice Of The [Green] Turtle Is Heard In The Land . . . . 41 The life and tough times of Chinese-American artist Chu Hing, by Alex Jay.
Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The Superman Behind Superman (Part 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Michael T. Gilbert presents Sam Moskowitz’s account of DC editor Mort Weisinger.
The Family Car(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Part XIV of Golden/Silver Age writer John Broome’s “offbeat autobio.”
A Tribute To Allen Bellman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 64 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #226 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
P.C. Hamerlinck showcases Shaun Clancy on Golden Age Fawcett staffer Harvey Janes.
On Our Cover: When World War II ended, Captain America was basically out of a job—at least until the Cold War began. So editor Stan Lee decided Steve Rogers should trade in his shield and Army fatigues for the suit and tie of a high school teacher! While he didn’t draw the related story in Captain America Comics #59 (Nov. 1946), Syd Shores penciled and inked this memorable cover—one of many featuring Cap, The Human Torch, or Sub-Mariner that he produced during the 1940s. Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo and Jim Lustig. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Above: Maybe you virtually never got much of a look at the masked face of the wartime Asian super-hero “The Green Turtle,” but he sure had a beautifully flowing cape, didn’t he? Art (and perhaps script) by Chu Hing, from Rural Home Publishing’s Blazing Comics #4 (Feb. 1945). Thanks to Comic Book Plus website, your one-stop shopping for public-domain Golden Age comics. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.] 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.
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writer/editorial
“Syd The Kid”??
I
’ve got to admit it: when Smilin’ Stan Lee was writing the Bullpen Bulletins page for the Marvel issues cover-dated January 1968, and he wanted to mention Syd Shores’ return to active comics duty, he didn’t exactly do himself proud in coming up with one of his usual “nutty nicknames” for him.
Sure, it was amusing to call Syd “a new Marvel oldtimer—or an old Marvel newcomer, if you prefer”… or to say he’d drawn top Golden Age strips like “Captain America, The Black Rider, The Blonde Phantom” (95% of Marvel’s readers had no idea who the latter two were). But then Stan decided to refer to him as—“SYD (The Kid) SHORES”! “The Kid”?? Maybe he was being ironic… since, as he well knew, Syd Shores had worked for Timely Comics before the name “Stan Lee” was a gleam in the mental eye of Stanley Martin Lieber. Syd, after all, seems to have contributed to Captain America Comics #1 in late 1940, helping to ink either the cover or an interior story—or both. Stan didn’t arrive till a few weeks later. Still, if Stan’s choice of a nickname for Syd wasn’t his finest hour, I know he respected his talent and was glad to see him back. As Richard Arndt, Nancy Shores Karlebach, Allen Bellman, and Dr. Michael J. Vassallo discuss in this issue, Syd never quite found the place he probably deserved on the Marvel roster. And, though I was around at the time, I’m at a loss as to how that happened. After all, Syd’s 1940s work on the three action features Stan mentioned above was exemplary, as was his 1950s horror and Western work. Many ’40s staffers considered him Timely’s “art director” (even though editor Stan officially held that title)… he’s listed on at least one inside cover as “art associate”… and he’s the guy Stan chose to execute three sheets of drawing guides for the rest of the bullpen (see p. 38).
Yet, when he returned in 1967, he seemed to become pigeonholed almost at once as an inker, and not as the penciler he’d always been. Oh, he was given the “Red Wolf” feature—but, by then, the Western genre was fading. And he was given “mystery” stories to pencil and ink, in such titles as Tower of Shadows—but almost every artist got a shot at doing some of those. No, it really does seem there was some sort of missed cue between Stan and Syd this time around (i.e., from 1967-73). Did Stan at some stage give Syd a shot at penciling one of the all-important super-hero features, then find the results disappointing? Possibly— but I don’t recall ever knowing about such an assignment. Rather, it’s always seemed to me as if Stan instantly assigned him to ink Jack Kirby’s Captain America pencils—then Gene Colan’s on Daredevil—and since Syd comported himself so well on those, Stan turned his mind to other problems. Like Richard, Allen, and Doc V., I like to think that, given a bit more time, Syd would’ve found his rightful place in the Bullpen as a penciler, having served a creditable second “apprenticeship” on Red Wolf. Sadly, however, his unexpected passing in 1973 prevented that from ever happening. Even so, Syd leaves behind a rich legacy of Golden Age work— of 1950s horror and adventure illustration—of Red Wolf and all those fine inking jobs on Captain America and Daredevil. And I’m only sorry it’s taken 167 issues to get around to giving him at least a little bit of his due, thanks to the efforts of the above gents—and particularly those of his daughter, Nancy Shores Karlebach. Let’s just make certain that, from this day forward, no one can ever refer to Syd Shores as “the forgotten Marvel artist”! Because very few guys deserve to be so richly remembered!
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• Aquaman cover art by the Sea-King’s co-creator PAUL NORRIS! • Two very different life stories to have come out of World War II! REED NORRIS talks to RICHARD ARNDT about his father, PAUL NORRIS, & the wartime exploits of Aquaman, Sandman and Sandy—and of “The Secret WWII Comic from Military Intelligence” that saved American and Japanese lives— • —while WILLIE ITO tells of life in the early-’40s Japanese-American internment centers, and of his later career doing animation for Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera—and comic art featuring Pogo, Winnie the Pooh, Beany and Cecil, etc.! • Plus: FCA showcases Fawcett’s Jackie Robinson Comics—MICHAEL T. GILBERT and “The Raiders of the Lost Art!”—JOHN BROOME on fellow Golden/Silver Age DC writer DAVID V. REED—& whatever else we can squeeze between two glossy covers!
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A Star-Spangled Salute to SYD SHORES – Part I
3
SYD SHORES: A Daughter Remembers
An Interview With NANCY SHORES KARLEBACH Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt
Nancy Shores Karlebach & Stan Goldberg at a New York comics convention in October 2010. Nancy Shores was born in 1948. Stan G. colored many of Shores’ covers in the ’40s and ’50s; sadly, the beloved colorist and “Millie the Model”/”Archie” artist passed on in 2014. Photo courtesy of Dr. Michael J. Vassallo.
Syd Shores A studio-portrait photo of the artist as a middle-aged man. Courtesy of Nancy Shores Karlebach and Shaun Clancy.
From Golden Age To Red Wolf Syd Shores’ dramatic cover for Captain America Comics #21 (Dec. 1942)—and one of his last covers for Marvel Comics: Red Wolf #6 (March 1973). John Romita reportedly did a touch-up or two on the latter. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
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An Interview With Nancy Shores Karlebach
I
NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Syd Shores was born in 1913 and passed away on June 3, 1973. He began his career in comics as an art assistant for Mac Raboy while working in the shop run by Harry “A” Chesler. While there, he was also partnered with fellow artist Phil Sturm. He soon became an inker on Joe Simon & Jack Kirby’s Captain America Comics. When they left Timely Comics for National (DC) Comics, Shores was one of the artists chosen to replace them on “Captain America” stories. He soon also became Timely’s unofficial art director. After an interruption in his career for military service in World War II, he returned to draw Captain America. He also co-created and drew “The Blonde Phantom.” After Martin Goodman directed Stan Lee to fire the Timely bullpen staff in 1949, Shores also did work for comics publishers Avon and Orbit Publications, perhaps also for Lev Gleason’s Crime Does Not Pay. During the late 1940s and early ’50s, Shores moved from super-hero comics to Western, war, and jungle comics. When assignments in the field dried up from the effects of the Comics Code and Atlas’ distributor woes, he moved into illustrating men’s-adventure magazines for about eight years. In 1967 he returned to Goodman’s comics line, now called Marvel Comics, as an inker on Gene Colan’s Daredevil and Jack Kirby’s Captain America, among other titles. He also worked on Marvel’s war and mystery comics, as well as drawing non-Code horror stories for Warren, Skywald, and Major’s black-&-white magazine titles. When Marvel began publishing its own b&w horror magazines in the early 1970s, Shores was clearly poised to become a major part of that line. However, his work there was interrupted by a fatal heart attack at the age of 59. This interview took place on July 12, 2018. RICHARD ARNDT: We’re welcoming Nancy Shores Karlebach, Syd Shores’ daughter, to talk about her dad. Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Nancy. What can you tell us about him? NANCY SHORES KARLEBACH: His full name when he was born was Sidney Lawrence Schwartz. He changed it when he became an artist. RA: Was that change the same reason that so many other Jewish writers and artists changed their names? To have a name that sounded less ethnic? KARLEBACH: That could have been, but I think he just wanted a name with a little more of a ring to it. Schwartz was a common name in the area he grew up in, but an awful lot of people, not just Jewish people but immigrants in general, wanted an Americansounding name and changed their names or the spellings of their name to achieve that. And in comics, a lot of that was happening— Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Gil Kane—these men and a lot of others changed their names. I can’t say for certain why he changed it, but I know that he wanted it to stand out. RA: Sure, if you’re going to pick a new name for business reasons, you’d want to pick one that stands out. That makes perfect sense. Do you know where he got his education, particularly his art education? KARLEBACH: Dad went to Pratt. RA: That would be the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn? KARLEBACH: That would be correct. The Pratt Institute of Fine & Applied Art. He went to night classes there and graduated. He attended classes there for some time, perhaps as long as seven years before finishing up his coursework and receiving his certificate. He also had an art display at the Brooklyn Museum when he was a teenager. He had won an art contest and that was the prize. He also won an art contest sponsored by a dog food company, that may have been the first publication of any of his art. He drew a poster dealing with the mistreatment of puppies. I should tell you that while we talk I’m looking at a folder I have about him. My children never met him because he passed
away before I was even married. For years I’ve been thinking of writing up a whole book of stories about him and his life. I didn’t really follow his work when I was a kid because he was just my dad. [laughs] I knew what he did and so on, but I never followed the details of comics. In fact, my father discouraged my sister and I from reading comics because he felt books were better for The Shores Of Tripoli? (Or Maybe France?) our education, Although he may have contributed inking and not because comics perhaps even some penciling to previous Captain were bad but America Comics covers, this is the first one that is because we were definitively his: for issue #20 (Sept. 1942). [TM & © girls and I guess Marvel Characters, Inc.] he didn’t think there were many prospects for girls reading comics. So I thought I would write about his life for my children. Then I thought that, if it sounded OK, maybe it could be turned into a book, because a lot of artists have had books written about them in the last few years. So that’s on my to-do list. That why I’ve put material together in a folder. RA: That’s not a bad idea. Now, I know that before he entered comics he worked for his uncle in a whiskey-bottling place. KARLEBACH: Yes, that’s correct. I don’t know the exact name of that business, however. When he entered into comics, he was working for my mother, Selma’s ...well, she was his wife-to-be at the time... cousin, Phil Sturm. It was with Phil that he worked on his own debut story, “Introducing The Terror,” which appeared in Timely’s Mystic Comics #5 [cover-dated Mar. 1941]. I don’t know if “The Terror” became a regular feature or not. I think that Phil wrote the story and my father did the artwork. [INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: George Klein is credited with inking that story.] I always have a little hesitation when talking about this sort of thing, because I feel I should know all this stuff, but this happened, of course, before I was born. My father was the third person hired on staff for Timely. Joe Simon was his editor. This was working for Simon and Kirby, under Martin Goodman. My father was working as an inker on Captain America fairly early on. First over Kirby’s pencils in All Winners Comics #1 [Summer 1941], and then on the cover of the regular Captain America title, starting in #5 [Aug. 1941]. RA: He continued on Captain America for quite some time after that point, as I recall.
Syd Shores: A Daughter Remembers
5
Syd & Selma Shores (at right) have a night out in 1965. Syd’s first comics story, “The Terror” in Timely’s Mystic Comics #5 (March 1941), was written by his future wife’s cousin, Phil Sturm—as was “Mr. Liberty” in U.S.A. Comics #1 (Aug. ’41). Interviewer Richard Arndt tells us that George Klein inked the first effort. Thanks to Nancy Karlebach & Dr. Michael J. Vassallo for the photo, and to Doc V for the art scans. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
Jack Kirby & Joe Simon (left to right in above photo), during their World War II days—Jack was in the infantry, Joe in the Coast Guard. Nancy says her father told her he’d done at least some inking on the Simon & Kirby “Captain America” story in All-Winners Comics #1 (Summer 1941), and on their cover for Captain America Comics #5 (Aug. ’41). Thanks to Jim Kealy and Dr. Michael J. Vassallo for the art scans, and to Mike Mikulovsky for finding the photo on the Internet. [Pages TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
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An Interview With Nancy Shores Karlebach
SYD SHORES Checklist [This checklist is adapted primarily from information provided in the online Who’s Who of American Comic Book 1928-1999, established by Dr. Jerry G. Bails and viewable at www.bailsprojects.com. Names of features that appeared both in magazines with that title and also in other publications are generally not italicized below. Key: (w) = writer; (p) = penciler; (i) = inker.] Name: Sydney Lawrence Shores (1918-1973) – artist. Primarily known as “Syd,” his first name was occasionally spelled “Sid.” Pen Name: Jim Elder Art Education: Pratt Institute Influences: Hal Foster, Alex Raymond Print Media (Non-Comics): artist – magazines, pulps, Westerns, various men’s-adventure magazines. Co-owner: Commercial Art Studio. Partners: Mort Lawrence and Norman Steinberg 1952-55 Syndication: The Satirists (p)(i) 1971, for Canada (publication uncomfirmed); Tales of the Macabre (daily & Sunday) c. 1972, unsold Promotional Comics: advertising comics (p)(i) for Schneider/Allen and Wash, Inc. Comics Studio/Shop: Harry “A” Chesler Shop (assistant) c. 1940 COMICBOOKS (U.S. Mainstream Publications): Avon Comics: Police Lineup (p)(i) 1952; science-fantasy (p)(i) 1952; war (p)(i) 1952 DC Comics: Casebook Mystery (p)(i) 1952; Gang Busters (p)(i) 1950, 1955 Major Magazines: Cracked (p)(i) 1958-59; horror (p)(i) 1969-70; Web of Horror (w)(p)(i) 1969-70 Marvel/Timely Comics: All Winners Squad (p) 1946; The Avengers (i) 1969, 1972; backup feature (p)(i) 1954 in Combat Kelly; backup feature (p)(i) 1956 in Jann of the Jungle; backup feature (p) (i) in Kid Colt Outlaw 1956; backup feature (p)(i) in Sailor Sweeney; backup feature (p)(i) in Two-Gun Kid; Battle Action; Battle Brady (p)(i) 1952-54; Battle (p)(i) 1953, 1956-58; Battlefront (p)(i) 1954-55; Battleship Burke (p)(i) 1956; The Beast (p)(i) 1972; Black Fury (p)(i) 1950; Black Knight (p) 1955; Black Panther (i) 1976; Black Rider (p)(i) 1948-50, 1953-56; Blonde Phantom (p)(i) 1946-49; Captain America (credited as “art associate”) 1946; Captain America (p)(i) 1941-47, 1968-69; Captain Marvel (i) 1969; Captain Savage (i) 1968-69;
Captain Wonder (p)(i) 1943; Chamber of Chills (i) 1972-73; Chamber of Darkness (i) 1970; Combat Kelly (p)(i) 1954; Commando Adventures (p) (i) 1957; Complete Mystery (p)(i) 1948; covers (p)(i) 1946-49, 1953-56, 1968-69, 1972-73; Creatures on the Loose (i) 1971; The Crusader (p)(i) 1955-56; Daredevil (p)(i) 1969-73; Dracula (i) 1973; Dracula Lives (p) (i) 1973; fillers (i) 1953, 1956; Frankenstein (p)(i) 1974; Ghost Rider (i) 1971-73; Hulk (i) 1968, 1976; Human Torch (p)(i) 1942, 1946-48; illustration (p)(i) 1947; Journey into Unknown Worlds (p)(i) 1956; Jungle Adventures of Greg Knight (p)(i) 1955; Kid Colt (p)(i) 1948, 1950; Kid Colt Outlaw (p)(i) 1956; Lo-Zar (p)(i) 1955; Major Liberty (p)(i) 1941; Man Comics (p)(i) 1949-51; Man-oo the Mighty (p)(i) 1955; Marines at War (p)(i) 1957; Marvel Tales (p)(i) 1957; Masked Raider (p)(i) 1940; Miss America (i) 1946-47; Mr. Wu (p) 1946; My Own Romance (p)(i) 1949; Mystery Tales (p)(i) 1956; Navy Action (p) (i) 1956-57; Navy Combat (p)(i) 1958; Nick Fury (i) 1969; Rawhide Kid (i) 1971; Rawhide Kid (p)(i) 1956; Red Hawkins (p)(i) 1950; Red Wolf (p) 1971-73; Rex Hart (p) 1950; Sailor Sweeney (p)(i) 1956-57; Sgt. Fury (i) 1971-72; Strange Tales (p)(i) 1952; Sun Girl (i) 1949; Suspense (p)(i) 1956; Tales of Fort Rango (p)(i) 1970; The Terror (p) (i) 1941; Two-Gun Kid (p)(i) 1948-49, 1955; Uncanny Tales (p)(i) 1957; Unknown Jungle (p)(i) 1955-57; The Vision (p)(i) 1942; War Comics (p)(i) 1952, 1954; Tales of the Watcher (i) 1968; Tales of the Watcher (p) 1969; Western Outlaws (p)(i) 1957; The Whizzer (p)(i) 1941; World of Suspense (p)(i) 1956; Young Allies (p)(i) 1940s Orbit Publications: covers (p)(i) 1951-52; crime (p)(i) 1950; romance (p) 1950-53; Wanted Comics (p)(i) 1951-52; Wild Bill Pecos (p)(i) 1950-51 Skywald Publishing Company: The Bravados (p) 1971; covers (p) 1971; mystery/occult (p)(i) 1970; Nightmare (p) 1970; Western (p) 1971; The Wild Bunch (p) 1971 Warren Publications: Creepy (p)(i) 1970-71; Eerie (p)(i) 1971; horror (p)(i) 1969 Ziff-Davis Comics: horror (p)(i) 1952; Nightmare (p) (i) 1952
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A Star-Spangled Salute to SYD SHORES – Part II
19
“Syd Is Really ALLEN BELLMAN Unrecognized For On His Friend The Contributions He &SydColleague, Shores Brought To Comics” I
Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt
NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Allen Bellman began his comics career in October 1942 when he answered an ad that led to a job at Timely Comics. He worked in the Timely bullpen as both inker and penciler-inker until 1949, when he became a freelancer. He continued working as such with Timely/Atlas and also began taking assignments from Lev Gleason Publications in 1950. He left the comics industry in 1953. Most comics historians believed him to be the last of the Timely (non-humor) artists from the early 1940s alive. He was also the author of Timely Confidential: When the Golden Age of Comics Was Young (2017). Allen Bellman passed away on March 9, 2020. This interview was conducted July 16, 2018.
RICHARD ARNDT: We’re welcoming Allen Bellman, one of the last surviving 1940s artists to have worked on the original Captain America comic, to reminisce about his old friend, Syd Shores. Welcome, Allen! What can you tell us about Syd?
Allen Bellman Sadly, we don’t have a photo of the late artist Allen Bellman with his Golden Age colleague, Syd Shores— but here’s one of Allen with Syd’s daughter, Nancy Karlebach—flanked by images drawn by both men. (Left:) Shores’ cover for Captain America Comics #32 (Nov. 1943) depicts the hero rescuing his young ally Bucky, who’s strapped to a plummeting bomb. Courtesy of the Grand Comics Database. (Right:) Besides later working unheralded on various “Captain America” stories, Allen drew the Cap-derived “Patriot” for Marvel Mystery Comics #62 (March 1945). Scripter unknown. Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
ALLEN BELLMAN: When I came there, to Marvel, he was already working on Captain America, penciling the lead story and other work as time permitted. He was inked by a gentleman named Vince Alascia. RA: Alascia used to do a lot of work for Charlton in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, usually inking Charles Nicholas. He also worked on Jack Kirby’s pencils in the 1940s and 1950s. But we should probably start with when you first met Syd.
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Allen Bellman On His Friend & Colleague, Syd Shores
America. Best character he ever created. It still seems to me that Stan or somebody should have found a place for Syd to pencil and ink his own work. Having him just ink was pushing him back, because his 1940s “Captain America” work was just so good. Maybe Kirby was a better artist, but that’s no excuse for pushing a man as good as Syd was back. He was Marvel’s top artist at one time. To me, pushing Syd into only an inker’s role was cold and cruel. RA: I’m sorry to hear you think that. BELLMAN: Maybe I’m wrong to put it like that. A lot of good artists, who just weren’t around during the 1960s and 1970s, are forgotten today. Just because they didn’t do their art on today’s popular characters or because they died before they could be recognized. Sam Burlockoff, an old friend of mine, should be written up, too. He did a lot of work for Timely—freelance. Also for Quality and Archie Comics. His daughter got in touch with me and sent me a picture of me and him. RA: Syd did do some pencil and ink jobs for Marvel, mostly in 1972 or 1973, just before his death. He was doing anthology stories for the mystery titles and the black-&white magazines, as well as working on Red Wolf. BELLMAN: That may be, but I had to speak my heart here. Marvel pushed him back as though he were a second-rate artist. He was not. I don’t think that Stan defended his artists like he should have. I remember Gene Colan telling me that he was getting a lot of grief from an art director at one time. He went in to Stan to see if Stan would sort out the problem and Stan did not defend Gene, either. In other words, he’d defend editorial before he’d defend the artists. Another time, a rat went to Robby Solomon to say one of the artists in the bullpen took one piece of Bristol Board home and got that artist fired. Some of the artists just were not very nice, either. RA: When Syd passed away, was that from a heart attack? BELLMAN: The story was that he was having chest pains. He was asked by his family, who told this to me, to go to the hospital, but he told them that the pain would go away. Instead, Syd went away. He was only about sixty. So young. To me, anyways. Syd and I were best friends. Roz and I were often over to his house for dinner. We’d talk to each other about any problems we were having. It was a great relationship. He was a quiet gentleman, and he was a gentleman. He was also a great artist. I hope people recognize that. He just didn’t live long enough to be recognized by his peers and his fans. I’d like to see Syd Shores adopted into the Hall of Fame at the San Diego ComicCon. It’s about time.
Putting A Cap On It Future Mad artist Dave Berg drew the above caricature of Syd Shores for Stan Lee’s 1947 “how-to” book Secrets behind the Comics. Syd himself, of course, drew the slam-bang action page from Captain America #40 (July 1944 – scripter unknown) at top right—and the humorous illustration for a 1973 artists’ portfolio published by the industry’s own Academy of Comic Book Arts. [CA #40 page & Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; caricature © Estate of Stan Lee.]
A Star-Spangled Salute to SYD SHORES – Part III
“DOC V” On The Life & Legacy Of SYD SHORES
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A Comics Historian’s View Conducted & Transcribed By Richard J. Arndt
I
NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, better known to comic fans as “Doc V,” is one of the primary authorities on the company that started out as Timely, became Atlas, and ended up as Marvel Entertainment. His website timely-atlascomics.blogspot.com is an excellent place to gain more information on all things related to that company. At Nancy Shores Karlebach’s suggestion, we contacted Doc V for his take on Nancy’s father—Syd Shores. This interview took place July 27, 2018.
RICHARD ARNDT: Michael, it’s nice to finally talk to you. I’ve admired your work for quite some time. It’s been invaluable to comic historians. MICHAEL J. VASSALLO: Thank you. RA: I guess we should start out on how you got acquainted with Syd Shores. VASSALLO: I remember seeing his work, back in the early 1970s,
Syd Shores In The Marvel Age Of Comics Doc V reports he first encountered Syd Shores’ work as inker of Jack Kirby’s Captain America (as per above splash from #107, Nov. 1968), with script by Stan Lee—but his first glimpse of what Syd himself looked like was most likely his self-portrait that accompanied his full-art job in Tower of Shadows #5 (May 1970), scripted by Gerry Conway. Thanks to Barry Pearl for the scans. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
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A Comics Historian’s View
VASSALLO: Yes, right! The two of them were probably the go-to guys on how to do-it-right. If Syd hadn’t gotten ill and then passed away, I think he would have been a major 1970s artist for Marvel. He certainly was a tier below John Buscema but perhaps a tier up from Don Heck, and that’s no insult to Don, whose work I adore. Plus, he was fast! He probably could have done anything given to him. The last things he worked on, to my knowledge, were Ghost Rider and the black-&white version of [The Monster of] Frankenstein. Horror stuff. RA: Or horror-adventure stuff, since Marvel only rarely did straight-out horror in the 1970s. VASSALLO: His illness and death just took away the chance. I don’t know if he got enough practice doing that sort of modern Stan Lee-Jack Kirby style of doing a book. The synopsis/then plot/pencils/then dialogue/then inking that they developed for super-hero comics. However, if he’d had the chance to do more of that, I think he would have been just fine. RA: Syd was actually quite prolific in the last year of his life. In addition to Red Wolf, he completed penciling and inks for a “Daredevil” story
Spotlight On A Spirit The mystical origin of Red Wolf, as depicted by writer Gardner Fox, penciler Syd Shores, and inker Wally Wood in Marvel Spotlight #1 (Nov. 1971). Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
[#99], completed pencils and inked a “Dracula” story for Dracula Lives #2, drew or inked various mystery stories, was drawing The Bravados for Skywald, and was inking Ghost Rider. VASSALLO: I’m glad that people are getting around to looking at Syd Shores’ work again. It’s long overdue.
The Bible Tales Me So No disrespect intended by the above pun, but Timely’s Bible Tales for Young Folk had a somewhat puzzling history, though we do know that Shores drew the “Samson” story in issue #2 (Oct. 1953). Jerry Robinson, Fred Kida, and other fine artists likewise contributed to this five-issue series. Scripters unidentified. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
Dr. Michael J. Vassallo is a noted comics historian, frequent Alter Ego contributor, and a chief authority of the Timely/Atlas period of Marvel’s history. A Manhattan dentist by day, Doc V is the co-author of The Secret History of Marvel Comics, has written twenty introductions to Marvel Masterworks volumes, as well as providing writing and editorial support to Taschen Publishing (75 Years of Marvel, The Stan Lee Story), and is editor of Allen Bellman’s biography Timely Confidential and the upcoming Atlas at War anthology, to be published by Dead Reckoning, the graphic novel division of the Naval Institute Press. He is working on an art biography of Atlas titan Joe Maneely, maintains his busy blog www. timely-atlas-comics.blogspot.com, and resides in Westchester County with his wife Maggie (and their sheltie Holly), where they raised their two children, Michelle and Jason.
Dr. Michael J. Vassallo
and Nancy Shores Karlebach.
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The Voice Of The [Green] Turtle Is Heard In The Land The Life & Tough Times of Chinese-American Artist CHU HING
A/E
by Alex Jay
EDITOR’S NOTE: Alter Ego #162 featured Mark Carlson-Ghost’s illuminating article on several fly-by-night, often quasi-legal (at best) comicbook publishers of the late World War II years, 1944-45. One of the most memorable super-heroes to emerge from those days was “The Green Turtle,” drawn and quite possibly written by Chu Hing, for Rural Home Publications’ Blazing Comics #1-4. At that time, Alex Jay provided us with scans of interior art from those issues, and— even more welcome—with a photo of Chu Hing as a young man. Alex had also scribed a biographical article about the artist for his online blog http:// chimericaneyes.blogspot.com/2014/01/aboutartist-chu-f-hing.html. Although it is written in a somewhat more formal and bare-bones style than the usual A/E entry, we found the piece fascinating, as it illustrates yet again how much thorough research is being done concerning comics and their creators, and we’re delighted that Alex permitted us to reprint it here, only slightly edited—mainly by omitting lengthy “http” and other references, which interested readers can obtain by logging onto the original online article….
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hu Fook Hing was born on January 17, 1897, in the city of Kapaa on the Kauai island of Hawaii.1 His father was Chu Kin, and his mother was Chong Shee (Miss Chong).2 Chu was the family name; it is customary in Chinese culture to state the family name first. From China, Chu Kin arrived in Hawaii in 1882.3 Chong Shee arrived ten years later and they married that year.4 Chu Kin was a dry goods merchant.5 Hing was the second of 15 children.6 Around 1909 the Chu family moved from Kapaa to Hilo, Hawaii.7 Nothing is known of Hing’s Hawaiian art education, but there was evidence of his enthusiasm. A Minnesota newspaper, the Duluth News Tribune, published an article on October 13, 1912, about how its fifth- and sixth-grade students studied geography. The fifth-graders mailed picture postcards and letters about Duluth to fifth-graders in Arizona, Hawaii and other states. Soon, hundreds of cards arrived. The most prolific correspondents of the Duluth schoolchildren seem to be the fifth-graders of Hilo. In addition to dozens of cards from Chu Fook Hing, Chu Fook Tang, and Dora Conradt, there are
Chu Hing in 1919, the only known photo of him—plus two of his later comicbook covers: (Left:) His masked-aviator hero “The Green Turtle” starred inside and on the covers of the first four issues of Rural Home Publications’ Blazing Comics. Seen here is that of #2 (July 1944), co-featuring his sidekick Burma Boy. The other three “Green Turtle” covers of Blazing were depicted in A/E #162. Surprisingly, this is virtually the only time the hero’s face, even though masked, was seen straight on in the entire series; usually, it was turned away from the reader, for reasons speculated on three issues back. (Below:) Other features’ heroes had taken over the cover spot from the former superhero Blue Bolt some time before Vol. 4, #5 (Dec. 1943) of that Novelty comic. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database & Alex Jay for the cover scans. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
many letters careful and conventional in both English and punctuation, and containing such quaint bits of information as “Hilo is a rainy place and is called in sport the ‘Rainy City,’” “The chief industries of Hawaii are sugar-cane and coffee,” and “Each gulch has ever-running streams.”8 Hing’s brother, Tang, was a year older than he.9 Hing continued making art in junior high and high school. He was 21 years old when he filled out his military registration card on July 31, 1918.10 Apparently he did not serve in the military. World
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“There Was Always A Party In The Comics Department On Payday!” The Thrilling True Story of HARVEY JANES & Fawcett Publications Interview Conducted by Shaun Clancy Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck
Harvey B. Janes in the backyard of his Salt Point, NY, residence in March 2012, with one of his rescued racetrack dogs. Photo courtesy of Shaun Clancy. (Above left:) Harvey Janes wrote the cover story “Science Creates a Monster”—a behind-the-scenes article on the Universal horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon—for the May 1954 issue of Fawcett’s Mechanix Illustrated. Janes later became the magazine’s Science & Auto Editor. (Above right:) The masthead of Fawcett’s Jackie Robinson #6 (1952) listed Janes as editor. The 32-page story centered around the baseball star’s most famous plays and was scripted by Charles Dexter, with art by Clem Weisbecker. Fawcett Publications led the way, among mainstream comics companies, in comics featuring African-Americans… in this case, the first “Negro” player in Major League Baseball. [TM & © the respective copyright holders.]
“There Was Always A Party In The Comics Department On Payday!”
FCA
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: You may be asking yourself, “Who’s Harvey Janes?” In 2010, Golden Age comics fan-collector-historian Shaun Clancy had managed to locate Chris Lieberson, son of 1950s Fawcett managing editor Will Lieberson. Chris was still living in the same New York City apartment Will had lived in back in the day. During one of their conversations, the name “Harvey Janes” popped up. Harvey was just 19 years old when he began working in the comics department at Fawcett, and became a close friend of Will and his family. Shaun was able to track down Harvey, and a series of phone calls, beginning in January of 2012, revealed a vivid memory filled with fascinating stories from the former Fawcett employee. In March of 2012, during a road trip from Seattle to Boston, Shaun stopped by to visit Harvey at his house in Salt Point, NY. Reminiscing with Shaun of days gone by was at the forefront of Harvey’s mind, as he had just survived a bout with cancer and was quietly taking care of two rescued greyhound race track dogs. Sadly, Harvey B. Janes passed away on June 17th, 2014. —P.C. Hamerlinck SHAUN CLANCY: Let’s begin with some background information. When and where were you born? HARVEY JANES: I was born December 12, 1930, in the Bronx at a place called Webb’s Sanatorium. One of my father’s older brothers was a doctor there, as well as the co-owner of it. SC: Any siblings? JANES: No.
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JANES: Yes, I was an editor for the newspaper at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, along with Edward S. Feldman, who became a famous movie producer [Witness], and Bruce Jay Friedman, who became a famous novelist and screenwriter [Stir Crazy]. When I later got a job at Magazine Management editing a car magazine, there sat Bruce [laughs] editing one of their men’s magazines! What a small world. SC: Did you go to college? JANES: I attended the New School of Development and Research in New York City. SC: Was Fawcett Publications your first full-time employment out of school? JANES: No, my first full-time job was with a clipping bureau. One of the duties I had there was carrying large sacks of envelopes full of mailings from the post office a few blocks away. One day, I’m carrying these huge bags down the sidewalk when I was accosted by some guys. One of them pushed me and I fell over. At the time I happened to be a welter-weight boxer about to turn pro, and so I got up and beat the s*** out of him. I thought that the other guys would jump me, but they didn’t. I called up the next day and quit the job. I didn’t like the people there anyway and, for all I knew, those guys would’ve tried to gang up on me again. After that, I went looking for another job, and that’s how I wound up at Fawcett! [both laugh]
SC: Your father, J. George Janes, was a pulp artist. Did he want you to become an artist?
SC: How did you get the job at Fawcett? JANES: I got it through an employment agency. I was hired to be a clerk in the comics production department under Annette Packer.
JANES: My dad thought I was going to be an artist. My mom even kept some drawings I had done when I was 4 or 5 years old. My dad would’ve loved to have helped me, and I did study art, but I became more interested in writing. Because of my dad’s contacts, I was already selling articles to publishers when I was 16 and 17 years old, so I went in that direction instead of art.
SC: Was she the one who actually hired you at Fawcett? What year was this? JANES: Annette hired me in late 1949. After a week there I got my first paycheck and Annette called me and said, “You got a raise!” The reason I got a raise was because the minimum wage law had just changed. [both laugh]
SC: Were you on the high school newspaper?
Pulps & Pinups (Left to right:) Harvey B. Janes’ father, pulp artist J. George Janes, in 1927. For further information on the elder Janes’ career, compiled by David Saunders, visit https://www.pulpartists.com/Janes.html. J. George Janes’ cover for Secret Agent X (April 1934), published by A.A. Wyn’s Ace Magazines. Scan courtesy of Heritage Auctions. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.] In this March 2012 photo, Harvey proudly displays one of his father’s pinup paintings.