Roy Roy T Thomas' homas' Obsessive Obsessive Comics Comics F Fanzine anzine
No. 175 May 2022
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REDUX WITH
ARVELL JONES RICHARD HOWELL JERRY ORDWAY
8
82658 00453 1
All-Star Squadron heroes TM & © DC Comics.
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KIRBY COLLECTOR #83
FAMOUS FIRSTS! How JACK KIRBY was a pioneer in all areas of comics: Romance Comics genre, Kid Gangs, double-page spreads, Black heroes, new formats, super-hero satire, and others! With MARK EVANIER and our regular columnists, plus a gallery of Jack’s pencil art from CAPTAIN AMERICA, JIMMY OLSEN, CAPTAIN VICTORY, DESTROYER DUCK, BLACK PANTHER, and more!
Vol. 3, No. 175 May 2022 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) Mark Lewis (Cover Coordinator)
Comic Crypt Editor
Michael T. Gilbert
Editorial Honor Roll
Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich, Bill Schelly
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Cover Artist
Arvell Jones (pencils) & Bob McLeod (inks)
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Contents
Writer/Editorial: …And That’s The Last Time We’ll Ever Say “Final”! . . . 2 “Roy Kept Adding Characters To [The All-Star Squadron]” . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Arvell Jones interviewed by Richard Arndt about his early years in comics.
Cover Colorist
“[Drawing Golden Age Heroes] Was Sort Of A Dream Of Mine” . . . . . 27
With Special Thanks to:
“Something Different Or Distinct From The Justice Society…” . . . . . . 37
Gerry Turnbull
Arvell & Wanda Mike Alderman Jones Heidi Amash John Joshua Pedro Angosto Jim Ludwig Ger Apeldoorn James E. Lyle Richard J. Arndt Mike Machlan Jean Bails Bob McLeod Jeff Balke Stephen Baskerville Al Milgrom Mark Muller Ray Bottorff, Jr. Jerry & Peggy John Burk Ordway Aaron Caplan Bob Peak Matt Childers Barry Pearl Craig Demak Ian Richardson Michael Dunne Randy Sargent Janet Gilbert Ron Shalda Grand Comics Derrick Simpson Database Ian Sokoliwski (website) Jim Starlin Mike Gustovich Dann Thomas Shane Foley Gerry Turnbull Brendon Fraim Shawn van Briesen Brian Fraim Mike Vosburg Scott Goodell John Watson Richard Howell Christopher Ivy Staz Johnson
Richard Howell documents his time on All-Star Squadron.
A conversation with Jerry Ordway about the 1980s All-Star Squadron—& Infinity, Inc.
The All-Star Squadron Covers That Never Were—Till Now! . . . . . . . . . 57 John Joshua reveals all concerning his multi-artist online fan project.
Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!: It’s A Cracked, Cracked, Cracked, Cracked World! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Michael T. Gilbert shines a spotlight on Mad magazine’s longest-lived competitor.
FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #234 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck hosts Ger Apeldoorn’s look at Fawcett’s Mad wannabe—Lunatickle!
On Our Cover: Amid the many All-Star Squadron-related commissioned drawings that our three iridescent interviewees have done over the years, we had a plethora of riches from which to choose re this issue’s cover. But we decided at an early stage on Arvell Jones’ “wraparound”-style image of the AllStars, as inked by fellow pro Bob McLeod… and we thank both gents for permission to use it! Of course, when you first spy this issue’s front cover, it may look like “merely”a depiction of the 1940-spawned Justice Society of America—because all the non-JSA Squadders happen to appear on the left half of the Cinemascopic drawing, which means they wound up being relegated to the back cover. But then, if Arvell had decided to draw all the heroes in the Squadron, we’d have had to have at least a four-page cover, right? Special thanks to art owner Mike Alderman. [Characters TM & © DC Comics.] Above: One memorable example of All-Star Squadron splash-page art (among many!) is this one by Richard Howell & Larry Houston from #27 (Nov. 1983), in which Al (The Atom) Pratt and Danette (Firebrand) Reilly wave adieu to some friends, as they hold infant Terri Curtis, future mother of the Infinity, Inc. hero who’ll be known first as Nuklon, later as Atom Smasher. To see whom they’re waving to, sneak a peek at p. 27. [TM & © DC Comics.] Alter Ego TM issue 175, May 2022 (ISSN 1932-6890) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage pending at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Alter Ego, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. 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: $68 US, $103 Elsewhere, $29 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. FIRST PRINTING.
2
Article Title writer/editorial
L
ast issue’s tease for this issue read: “The Final (?) Secrets Of The All-Star Squadron!” The emphasis, as it turns out, was definitely on the question mark—because this issue contains only half or so as much as I’d hoped to cram into it. Originally, I intended to include just interviews with artists Arvell Jones and Richard Howell, neither of whom has spoken before (at least not in Alter Ego) about their 1980s work on Squadron… plus many if not all of the “faux covers” commissioned by fan John Joshua (see pp. 57-61 for a few of them, at least), and photos of some All-Star Squadron models constructed by intrepid fans. However, Arvell’s interview ran a bit long, because he talked with Richard Arndt about his career before Squadron, and I didn’t want to lose any of that. In addition, I’d asked Richard A. to speak with Jerry Ordway, one of the series’ original artists—but since previous interviews with Jerry have appeared in A/E, I figured he’d just want to say a few words, we’d run specimens of his work (including some astonishing commissions), and that would be that. Turns out, though, that Jerry had some new things to say about All-Star Squadron—and the related title Infinity, Inc. that debuted in it—and everything he had to say was fascinating, so RA and I wanted folks to read all that as well. So we wound up with an issue that, though crammed to the gills with art and verbiage about the WWII-set super-hero series I conceived for DC Comics in 1980-81, no longer had room for all the faux covers I wanted to run—or for the hinted-at commissions by Ramona Fradon, et al.—or for the photo feature mentioned above— so that even our “re:” section and the penultimate chapter of John Broome’s memoir had to be delayed till #176.
And that means two things: (a) the remainder of those intriguing faux Squadron “covers” are going to be serialized over several of the next few issues of A/E; and (b) sometime in the next year or so, there’s gonna be another issue of this mag devoted to Squadron and the artists and concepts associated with it. Hope that’s okay—even though we might as well announce here and now that A/E #180 was already scheduled to throw a spotlight on The Young All-Stars, the sequel series DC and I birthed when the mid-’80s events of Crisis on Infinite Earths undercut All-Star Squadron. So hang in there—and maybe, sooner or later, you really will learn the “final final secrets of the All-Star Squadron”! Meanwhile, in closing: we’ve had requests for info about which issues of the 70 or so in that 1980s series have been reprinted—and are either currently in print, or at least might be easily attainable in collected format via the Internet. As it turns out, nearly half the editions of All-Star Squadron have been reprinted. To wit: #1-18 (plus the 16-page insert from Justice League of America #193, and Annual #1) – in the softcover, black-&-white Showcase Presents: All-Star Squadron, Vol. 1 (2012); #25, 26 & Annual #2 – in hardcover Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Vol. 1 (2011); #50-60 – in hardcover Crisis on Infinite Earths Companion Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1 (2019); #67 (plus a color version of the JLA #193 prologue)– in hardcover Justice Society of America: A Celebration of 75 Years (2015). Hopefully, one of these days, DC will reprint the entire run in color and hardcover!
Bestest,
176
#
COMING IN JUNE
STREET & SMITH CRED! What THE SHADOW Knew— & DOC SAVAGE Forgot!
Publishers, Inc; TM & © Advance Magazine . ions licat Pub t Nas de The Con
• THE SHADOW! DOC SAVAGE! RED DRAGON! SUPERSNIPE—& many more! The grandiloquent Golden Age comics from major pulp-magazine publisher STREET & SMITH—examined in dynamic detail by MARK CARLSON-GHOST! Plus–ANTHONY TOLLIN on “The Shadow/Batman Connection”—& WILL MURRAY interviews Shadow scribe WALTER GIBSON! Tons of 1940s art by BOB POWELL, HOWARD NOSTRAND, GEORGE ROZEN, FRANK TINSLEY, GEORGE MARCOUS, VERNON GREENE, CHARLES COLL, JACK BINDER, et al. • Extra! More awesome ALL-STAR SQUADRON goodies that didn’t quite make it into #175—FCA—MICHAEL T. GILBERT continues on his Cracked way— JOHN BROOME—& MORE!!
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3
Part One
“Roy Kept Adding Characters To [The All-Star Squadron]!” An Interview with ARVELL JONES About His Early Years In Comics Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt
Arvell Jones in a recent photo, above a pair of All-Star Squadron art commissions he’s done in recent years: (Left) A Jones-penciled illo that could easily have become a Squadron cover, had he drawn it in the mid-1980s! Featured are Liberty Belle, Firebrand, Johnny Quick—and that time-traveling troublemaker Per Degaton from the first three issues of All-Star Squadron in 1981 (and originally, of course, from 1947’s All-Star Comics #35). Scan provided by Pedro Angosto. (Below:) Another Arvell Jones commission of the All-Stars, this one inked by Bob Peak and colored by Derrick Simpson. Thanks to AJ. [All-Star Squadron heroes TM & © DC Comics.]
4
An Interview With Arvell Jones About His Early Years In Comics
I
NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Arvell Jones got his first professional comics gig doing background artwork for fellow Detroiter Rich Buckler on the early-1970s “Black Panther” feature in Marvel’s Jungle Action and on Buckler’s creation “Deathlok,” which ran in Astonishing Tales. After doing backgrounds and breakdowns on various comics, his first solo penciling credit came with Marvel Premiere #20 (Jan. 1975), featuring “Iron Fist.” During his time on that strip, he visually co-created Misty Knight, originally a supporting character, with writer Tony Isabella. Other Marvel books he worked on included Iron Man, Captain America, and Daredevil. For DC he drew Super-Team Family, The Superman Family, Superboy and the Legion of SuperHeroes, and All-Star Squadron. This interview was conducted May 22, 2019. RICHARD ARNDT: We’re welcoming Arvell Jones today! Thanks for agreeing to this interview. ARVELL JONES: Before I was working at Marvel, Roy Thomas was an idol of mine. I’ve always enjoyed his work. When I was a little younger, the original Alter Ego was the gold standard. After, what—forty or fifty years—it still is. I’m honored to do this. RA: Now, I know you were raised in Detroit. I’m originally from Michigan myself, the Big Rapids area… JONES: Really? I’ve never actually been to that town myself.
RA: It’s a nice town, but if you’re living in Detroit, most of what you’re really looking for is likely right around the corner. JONES: [chuckles] I was born and raised in Detroit. I only left that city because in the 1970s you had to go to New York if you wanted to work for Marvel. RA: How did your interest in comics get started? JONES: I probably had three big influences. My father was somewhat of a comicbook fan and somewhat of an artist in his own right. He saw what I could do as a kid, saw that I had an interest in drawing things, and decided to push that ability that I had. My original intentions were based on television. I wanted to be a TV producer or a director or a writer. I tried to push my father into buying me a super-eight-millimeter film camera. He went with me to a department store to take a look at one. I was probably eleven or twelve years old at that time. He told me that he was going to buy it for me. I was trying to convince him that I was going to do some amazing things with it. So we looked at the prices and I had a good feeling about it. My father pretty much had his wallet out to buy the camera. Then the salesman said that we were going to need film for it; and then, once we got the film developed—which we could do at the store we were at—then we’d need a film projector to see it and likely a screen to project it on as well. My father was deterred by the list of future attachments and expenses that the salesman was trying to sell us on. He then decided that a better investment was in order. He sat me down at our dining room table and gave me a stack of paper, a bunch of #2 pencils, and a stack of comicbooks. He told me that once I convinced him that I could create stories that people might buy, then he would buy me the film camera. Long story short, he never bought me the film camera. [laughs]
Let’s Appoint A Commission! (Left:) A 2016 All-Star Squadron commission, penciled by AJ and inked by Mike Gustovich—plus (right) a color one of Thor. Roy T. recalls that Arvell and his wife Wanda attended a comics convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, several years back… and when she saw the demand for his drawings of the All-Stars and various other DC & Marvel heroes, she said, “We’re gonna be going to a lot more conventions!” Covid concerns temporarily derailed those plans, but readers who’d like to inquire about a commission drawing by Arvell should see his ad on p. 9. [Heroes TM & © DC Comics & Marvel Characters, Inc., respectively.]
So when I finally got to Marvel and showed my father the books that I would be working on, he said, “Great! Now you can buy your own film camera!” [laughs] He did take me around to a lot of the comic-cons. Remember, this was in the late 1960s and early 1970s; comic conventions were nowhere near as huge as they are today. These would
“Roy Kept Adding Characters To [The All-Star Squadron]!”
5
The Fist & The Mist (Left:) One of Arvell’s first solo assignments at Marvel was penciling the “Iron Fist” feature in Marvel Premiere #20 (Jan. 1975); he and scripter Tony Isabella started on the series at the same time. Inks by Dan Green. (Right:) By the next issue (#21, March ’75), the pair co-created Misty Knight, who’d go on to a long career in Marvel’s comics—and on Netflix. Inks by Vince Colletta. Thanks to Barry Pearl for both scans. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
have been the ones that Phil Seuling put on in New York from the mid-1960s through the early 1970s. I remember finding out about the first convention from one of the fanzines that I subscribed to. I think I was only thirteen years old when I went to my first New York Comic-Con. From that experience I was inspired to create my own fanzine, called Fan Informer. My father always supported all of that. He gave me enough allowance, which, combined with my newspaper route, gave me enough money to buy everything that I wanted or needed. He also never minded taking me where I needed to go, either.
they’re called Crime Does Not Pay—adventure/drama comics, Prize Comics, Jack Kirby’s Blue Beetle. I think it’s the first Blue Beetle. It’s all torn up. You know, this came from the days when you rolled up or folded those comics and stuck them in a side or back pocket. It’s in horrible shape, but I’m keeping it! [laughs]
He would drive me to some of the other local fanzine writers’ houses. Me and my other friends. So my father was a big influence in terms of allowing me to develop as a cartoonist or an animator. He could see me making a living doing that. He was pretty good about everything, but he never did buy me that film camera. [laughs]
JONES: Yeah! Very well-used. Still, he never threw them away. He kept them in a box that kind of went along with him wherever he moved. Actually, they were originally in a bag, and then later in a box.
RA: You mentioned that he was a comics fan in his own right. What did he read? JONES: When he started to introduce me to comics, he did have a little collection of his own. He had some Fawcett titles, a few crime comics—in fact, I think I’ve still got a couple of those, I think
My father also had an old Captain America, some of Will Eisner’s Spirit newspaper comics from the Detroit Free Press. Again, though, anything he had from that era was in terrible shape. RA: I guess you could say that it was well-used, certainly well-read.
RA: What comics were you using for your inspiration when you were working on your early comics? JONES: Initially, my father went out and bought me a stack of used Marvel and DC comics. This would have been the early 1960s, again. I had Amazing Fantasy #15—the first appearance of Spider-Man—the first few issues of The Fantastic Four. I had some Incredible Hulk, some Batman, some Superman. All kinds of stuff,
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27
Part Two
[Drawing Golden Age Heroes] Was Sort Of A Dream Of Mine” RICHARD HOWELL Talks About His Time On All-Star Squadron
Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt
Richard Howell in a recent photo with some of his current work— juxtaposed with the double-spread title panel from his penciling debut on All-Star Squadron #27 (Nov. 1983). Inks by Larry Houston. Clearly, writer/editor Roy Thomas put him right to work drawing a baker’s dozen of All-Stars— after a first-page splash that depicted only The Atom and Firebrand, holding the infant son of the villain Cyclotron— as seen back on p.1 of this A/E issue. [TM & © DC Comics.]
28
Richard Howell Talks About His Time On All-Star Squadron
I
NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Richard Howell (born Nov. 16, 1955) broke into comics in 1977 with his own self-published title Portia Prinz of the Glamazons. In 1980 he and Carol Kalish became the co-editors of the comics-related publishing & distribution company called New Media/Irjax. Among the titles they worked on was Comics Feature, which sported articles and interviews related to the field. Richard also edited two short-lived comics magazines—Fantasy Illustrated and Adventure Illustrated. In 1982-1983 he began working as an artist first for Marvel, then for DC, on such titles as Conan the Barbarian, Moon Knight, The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, The Vision and The Scarlet Witch, All-Star Squadron, Hawkman, The Shadow War of Hawkman, Firestorm, and numerous others. In 1993 he became a founder of Claypool Comics, which published Deadbeats, Phantom of Fear City, Soulsearchers and Company, and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. He also worked on various titles for Eclipse, Comico, and Harris Comics. This interview was conducted on April 19, 2021. RICHARD ARNDT: We’re talking with Richard Howell, largely about his work on DC Comics’ All-Star Squadron. Welcome, Richard. RICHARD HOWELL: Happy to be here. RA: Before we get too deep into All-Star Squadron, I wanted to ask you about New Media. I didn’t read a lot of comics-related material at the time, but was that also the publisher of Fantasy Illustrated, which introduced The Djinn and Alexander Risk, and Adventure Illustrated? HOWELL: Yes, I was the editor for both of those titles. RA: I did read those two titles and admired them quite a bit—they introduced the Steve Englehart-Steve Ditko & Steve Leialoha Djinn character and Don McGregor & Tom Sutton’s Alexander Risk, among other stories and serials. They didn’t last long, but I very much liked them. I still have them somewhere in the house.
HOWELL: I do, too, somewhere. We’d hoped to have them last longer than a single issue each, but it was hard to get people to continue to work for you, if your publisher doesn’t pay them. RA: Now, how did you get involved with All-Star Squadron? HOWELL: My wife, Carol Kalish, had just gone to work for Marvel. I was trying to break into the industry as… well, really anything… a penciler, an inker, a colorist. I wound up doing all of those things at some point. Marvel, at the time, however, was not a welcoming community for me. So, my first Marvel job, which was a Conan fill-in, also wound up looking terrible. I was not used to having other people ink my pencils. I got that fill-in job from Louise Simonson, sort of a good-will gesture. Also, just because she’s nice. It turned out that DC was a bit more open to employing me as a freelancer, not as an editor, which is what I’d been doing at New Media. Carol and I had already interviewed Roy for a New Media magazine called Comics Feature #11, so I had a relationship of sorts with Roy. I don’t know if Roy really wanted to keep the Justice Society adventures separate from what was happening in All-Star Squadron. It certainly wound up that most of the issues that I drew were largely Justice Society stuff. I got to draw the Golden Age versions of Starman, The Atom, and Wonder Woman. That was kind of a dream of mine. Roy basically called me up out of nowhere and told me that he had a two-part fill-in for All-Star Squadron and was I available? Well, boy, was I! RA: That would have been All-Star Squadron #27-28 (Nov.-Dec. 1983), correct? That was basically a Spectre and Dr. Fate story. HOWELL: Yes. There was some confusion about the first issue— #27. Larry Houston inked the first nine pages, then left to take on an animation job, which certainly paid better than inking for DC. So I got to ink the rest of the issue myself, which worked out well for me. I’m not sure that DC was all that fond of it, however. I had a discussion with Dick Giordano about inking the second issue—#28— and he said “Yeah, yeah, we can think about that.” Then the next thing I knew, it was inked by Gerald Forton. [chuckles] RA: Sometimes when that happens, there’s a worry on the company’s part that they’re going to lose control if they depend on one guy to do all the artwork.
And We Do Mean “Illustrated”! Howell served as the editor of the single issues of the anthology comics Adventure Illustrated (Winter 1981) and Fantasy Illustrated (Spring 1982), with covers by P. Craig Russell and Jim Starlin, respectively. They featured work by an honor roll of comics creators. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
HOWELL: And they’re also considering deadlines, which can creep up on you so fast that you don’t really know that you’ve made a bad decision until the exact moment it turns bad. RA: Especially on fill-in
“[Drawing Golden Age Heroes] Was Sort Of A Dream Of Mine”
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“Looking Ahead At DC” (Left:) Richard Howell, Jack “King” Kirby, & Carol Kalish at a comics convention a few decades ago. Photo courtesy of RH. (Below center:) Howell & Kalish’s New Media company published the comics-related magazine Comic Feature, whose 11th issue (Aug. 1981) heralded the imminent first issue of All-Star Squadron. But, in answer to Rich’s musing in this interview: No, Roy had no plan to keep the exploits of the Justice Society “separate” from what was happening to the rest of the All-Stars… except from time to time when the comic veered off to deal particularly with JSA matters, often events which had occurred in the early-1940s pages of All-Star Comics. Howell probably wound up working primarily on issues that dealt with JSA stories because they were a bit more easily detached from the main story arc. [Heroes TM & © DC Comics.]
issues, because you’re basically working off the last guy’s deadline. HOWELL: The next issue I did was again one of those situations that started when Carol and I were getting ready to go to the San Diego Comic-Con and Roy called me to ask if I could swing by the house. He had something important that he wanted to talk to me about. So, we went to his place, which was quite nice. He told me that he had another issue of All-Star Squadron that was to feature the Justice Society, mostly. It was mainly centered on Liberty Belle, telling a story which Wonder Woman was transcribing, or maybe it was the other way around. Anyways, there were chapters for individual characters. I remember The Atom fighting various Japanese stereotypes. The thing was that either DC had changed the deadlines or Roy was running a little late and he just wanted to get it done. So, I spent the entire San Diego Comic-Con that year up in the hotel room, drawing pages for All-Star Squadron #30 [Feb. 1984]. I think Carol had to keep telling people, “Yes, Richard’s here. Maybe he’ll get
A Fate-ful Encounter (Left:) Jerry Ordway’s cover for All-Star Squadron #27 (Nov. 1983), which apparently was drawn before Richard Howell had penciled the issue… a departure from the way editor Roy Thomas usually operated. Courtesy of the GCD. (Above:) Inside #27, as penciled and inked by Howell, Dr. Fate does indeed find The Spectre—and realizes he’s about to be caught up in a battle for his life! Script by Roy Thomas. [TM & © DC Comics.]
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Richard Howell Talks About His Time On All-Star Squadron
Lantern Corps (p) 1983; Hawkman (p) 1985-87; illustrations (p)(i) 1984-85; Infinity, Inc. (i) 1985-86; Superman & Hawkman (p) 1986; Who’s Who in the DC Universe (p)(i) 1985-87 series Disney Productions: Dinosaurs (p) 1993 Eclipse Enterprises: Alien Encounters (p)(i) 1986; Amber (p) 1983-84, 1986; covers (p)(i) 1984-87; DNAgents (p) 1984-86; Liberty Project (p) (i) 1987-88; Merchants of Death (i) 1988; Portia Prinz (w)(p)(i) 1986-87; support (letterer) 1982 on own features; text (w) 1986 Harris Publications: backup feature in Vampirella (i) 1991-92; Creepy: The Classic Years (e) 1991; introduction (w) 1991; support (e) (lettering) 1991-92 Marvel Comics: Avengers (p) 1990; Conan (p) 1983; covers (p)(i) 1983-90; Coyote (p)(i) 1984-85; The Dark Crystal (i) 1982; Hellcat and Son of Satan (w)(p) 1991; Indiana Jones (p) 1983; Inhumans (p) 1984, 1990; Iron Man (p) 1990; Marvel Universe (p) 1983, 1985-86; Moon Knight (p) 1983; Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (p) c. 1985; Open Space (i) 1990; Power Man and Iron Fist (plot) (p) 1984; Rick Jones (w)(p)(i) 1990; Scarlet Witch (w)(p)(i) 1990-91; Spider-Man (plot)(p) 1990; support (e) 1985; support (lettering) (coloring) on own features; The Vision and The Scarlet Witch (p) 1985-86; What If? (w)(p) 1990; Willie Lumpkin (p) 1989; Wolverine (w)(p)(i) 1990-91
Onward & Upward!
COMMISSIONS ARE AVAILABLE
This house ad in 1986’s All-Star Squadron #60 (among various other DC issues) shows that Richard Howell would be continuing his association with such heroes as Hawkman—only in his second (so-called “Silver Age”) incarnation, in a new ongoing Hawkman series. Inks by Dick Giordano. [TM & © DC Comics.]
Comico the Comic Company: covers & illustrations (p)(i) 1988; Jonny Quest (p) 1988; support (colorist) 1988 Elite Comics (Independent Comics Group): cover (p)(i) Official Hawkman Index; cover (p)(i) 1986; The All-Star Index & Official Legion of Super-Heroes Index (p)(i) 1987 New Media Publishing: Adventure Illustrated (w) c. 1981; editorial (w) 1982; support (e) 1981-82 COMICBOOKS (U.S. Mainstream Publishers): Dark Horse Comics: Creepy: The Limited Series (i) 1992 DC Comics: All-Star Squadron (p)(i) 1983-86; Blackhawk (p)(i) 1990; Blackhawk Detached Service Diary (p)(i) 1994; covers (p) (i) 1985-87; Firestorm (p) 1988; Green Lantern (w)(p) 1988; Green
[Scarlet Witch TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
Claypool Comics: covers (p)(i) 1993-94; Deadbeats (w)(p)(e) 1993-2007; Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (w)(p)(i) 1993-94, (e) 1993; Fear City (w)(p) 1993-94; Phantom of Fear City (e) 1993-94; Soulsearchers and Company (plot)(e) 1993-99
from
RICHARD HOWELL B&W Cameos: $50-75 Color Cameos: $85-125 B&W Full Figure: $150 Color Full Figure: $200
RHOWELL@nj.rr.com Personalizations also an option!
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Part Three
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“Something Different Or Distinct From The Justice Society…” A Conversation with JERRY ORDWAY About The 1980s All-Star Squadron Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt
Jerry Ordway was obviously feeling in a “Three Stooges” mood at a comics convention a few years back. Also seen is his first full-art cover for All-Star Squadron (#19, March 1983)—the first issue, likewise, in which he penciled the story as well as inking it. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © DC Comics.]
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NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Jerry Ordway (born Nov. 18, 1947) is one of the mainstays of modern comic artists/writers. His artwork reminds one a bit of the classic work of Curt Swan; and, like Swan, he had a long run on DC’s various Superman titles, as inker, writer, penciler, and full artist. After appearances in various fanzines in the mid-late 1970s, he entered professional comics in 1980 at DC, inking the likes of Carmine Infantino, Joe Staton, Dave Cockrum, and Trevor Von Eeden. With writer Roy Thomas, he helped launch All-Star Squadron, the principal subject of this interview, in 1981. He also co-created Infinity, Inc. with his friend Mike Machlan and Roy & Dann Thomas in 1983. He inked the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths over George Pérez’s pencils in 1985-1986. In 1987 he helped re-launch Superman, in the pages of The Adventures of Superman, with writer Marv Wolfman. In fact, he spent nine years straight drawing, inking, and penciling (sometimes all three) on various Superman titles. He was the co-writer of the “Death of Superman” storyline in 1992. He has also drawn such characters as Batman, the original Captain Marvel (Shazam!), Wonder Woman, The Human Bomb, Challengers of the Unknown, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and many others. Additionally, he has worked for Marvel, WaRP Graphics, AC Comics, Charlton Comics, Paragon Publications, Eclipse Comics, and Dark Horse Comics. One of his more recent accomplishments has been a stunning adaptation of one of Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology chapters for a Dark Horse comic. This interview took place on April 22, 2021. RICHARD ARNDT: We’re welcoming Jerry Ordway, to talk about his work on All-Star Squadron and, to a lesser extent, Infinity, Inc. How did you get involved with the All-Star Squadron, as your inking work there came before your pencil work on Infinity, Inc.? All-Star was set in the 1940s, correct? JERRY ORDWAY: Yes. It was a separate group from the Justice Society. I think Roy Thomas probably knows more about the reasoning behind that than I do. I suspect he wanted to do something different or distinct from the Justice Society. I mean, nobody is a bigger Justice Society fan than Roy is. Fans have often asked me why the book wasn’t just the Justice Society, but I think it really was Roy, and not DC in particular, who probably wanted it to be distinct from the Justice Society.
The way I look at it is that All-Star Squadron reminded me very much of what Roy did when he took over The Avengers from Stan Lee. At that time, he wound up inheriting the B-Team. Not the Avengers that everyone remembers from the early days, but the much-weaker team of Captain America, Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. Goliath and the Wasp had returned by
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A Conversation With Jerry Ordway About The 1980s All-Star Squadron
Martin Greim: Hyperman and Black Terror (p)(i) 1977; Thunderbunny (i) 1977
Charlton Comics: covers (i) 1982
Armageddon: Alien Agenda (p)(i) 1991; Batman: A DC Movie Special (p) (i) 1989; Black Racer (w) 1989; covers (p)(i)(paint) 1982-99; Creature Commandos in the War That Time Forgot (i) 1981; Crisis on Infinite Earths (i) 1985-86; filler (p)(i) 1987; Gangbuster (w) 1993; Geo-Force (p)(i) 1986; Green Arrow (i) 1989; Green Lantern (i) 1982; Heroes against Hunger (i) 1986; House of Mystery (p)(i) 1983; The Huntress (i) 1982; illustrations (p)(i) 1983, 1985, 1987; Infinity, Inc. (p)(i) 1984-85, 1988; Jimmy Olsen (w)(p)(i) 1990; Justice League of America (p) (i) 1981; Justice Society of America (p) 1985; Lex Luthor (w) 1989; Lois Lane (i) 1988; Mr. Mind (i) 1999; Mr. Mxyzptlk (w)(p)(i) 1989; Mystery in Space (i) 1981; Secret Origins (p)(i) 1986; Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC (i) 1996; Shazam! (w)(p)(i) 1993, 1995-98; Superman (p)(i)(w) 1987-93, 1995-98; support (color/paint) 1988-99; support (lettering) 1983; War That Time Forgot (i) 1991; Weird War Tales (i) 1981; Who’s Who in the DC Universe (p)(i) 1985-87; Wonder Woman (i) 1982; Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (p)(i) 1994
Dark Horse Comics: covers (p)(i) 1993
Eclipse Enterprises: covers (p)(i) 1986-87; DNAgents (p) 1985
DC Comics: All-Star Squadron (p)(i) 1981-84; America vs. the Justice Society (p) 1984; An Untold Tale of Tom Strong (p) 1999;
First Publishing: covers (p)(i) 1988; Munden’s Bar (p)(i) 1985 (reprinted 1988)
Paragon Publications: Star Fems (p)(i) 1982 Tiger Comics: Phantasy against Hunter (i) 1987 AC Comics: covers (p)(i) 1983-86; The Messenger (w)(p)(i) 1983; The Slayer (i) 1983; support (letterer) 1983 Deluxe Comics: Codename: Danger (p) 1986; covers (i) 1986; filler (p) (i) 1985; illustration (p)(i) 1984; T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (p)(i) 1986 WaRP Graphics: covers (i) 1985 COMICBOOKS (U.S. Mainstream Publishers):
Image Comics: covers (p) 1993; Wildstar (p) 1993 Marvel Comics: covers (i) 1985-c. 1986; Fantastic Four (p)(i) 1985-86; Marvel Universe (p) 1984-88
Wedding Belles & Bunnies (Left:) Our inspired interviewee did this exquisite rendering of the wedding of Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick as a commission in 2017, acknowledging a Dick Dillin/Blackhawk drawing as his template. Thanks to Michael Dunne. [TM & © DC Comics.] (Below:) Jerry, masked in the age of Covid, poses at a comics convention with Captain Carrot—or perhaps with a cosplayer garbed as same. Maybe Jerry never drew CC himself, but he did draw Infinity, Inc., into one panel of an issue of the Captain’s 1980s DC comic.
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Part Four
The ALL-STAR SQUADRON Covers That Never Were— Till Now! A One-Fan (And Multiple-Artist) Project by John Joshua A/E EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: I (that’s Roy, of course) had long assumed that the 70 or so covers that original editor Len Wein or later I myself had overseen for DC’s 1981-87 All-Star Squadron series were the only ones ever commissioned related to that particular concept. Imagine my surprise in 2020 when my longtime correspondent Ray Bottorff, Jr., sent me samples of a whole slew of imaginative “faux covers” that had been posted online, which picked up the numbering of the actual series after #67 (and of the Annuals after #3) and assumed the magazine had never been canceled and replaced with The Young All-Stars on the heels of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I quickly contacted the mental progenitor of all those covers, one John Joshua, and was delighted that he and the talented artists (a few of them longtime pros) involved would allow Alter Ego to print them, beginning in this issue. And we thank DC Comics in advance for its presumed indulgence in understanding that this is totally a fan homage for the fun of it, not an attempt by anyone to usurp trademarks or copyrights (which are rendered for DC in any event). Alas, we had room this time around for only the initial handful of these wonderful faux covers… but we plan, going forward, to stick a new batch of them into each and every issue of A/E where we can find the space, till they’ve all seen print! Meanwhile, here’s John Joshua himself on the subject….
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lending super-hero action, real history, and a strict adherence to Golden Age comics continuity, Roy Thomas’ All-Star Squadron has been my favorite series for forty years. Since DC wasn’t doing anything with the property in 2018 (or for years beforehand), I thought it was about time someone picked up the baton—and it might as well be me. I’d commissioned a few covers from artists, both professional and amateur, on other subjects prior to this, but I knew I wanted to do something special with this project. After some thought, I came up with the following rules: First, I’d assume the Squadron’s adventures would continue without being affected by the Crisis on Infinite Earths (as it was on our Earth), and with the heroes who were thereby removed from continuity (Superman, Batman and Robin, Aquaman, et al.) still in place; Second, not only would the team’s ranks include all the DC/ All-American and Quality Comics heroes either published or set in the World War II years, but the roster would also include the Fawcett characters, Charlton’s retroactively-wartime martial artist Judomaster (actually created in the 1960s), and the post-Crisis heroes and villains created for The Young All-Stars; Third, each and every commission would adapt the cover of some comicbook issue written, plotted, or scripted by Roy—for any
All-Star Squadron #112 Wait—hold it right there! Maybe it’d be best if you read John Joshua’s text before you peek at the image above. Oops—probably too late! Well, actually, we’re jumping the gun a bit here by showcasing this out-oforder (and colored) “faux cover” among the many commissioned by John to “continue” the World War II adventures of the All-Stars… or at least, the types of covers that might have accompanied such a continuation. In this case, actual All-Star Squadron veteran artist Rick Hoberg drew this one, an homage to John Buscema & George Klein’s for that of The Avengers #56 (Sept. 1968)—here with the emphasis on The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy. Colored by Ron Shalda. Pretty intriguing stuff, right? Okay—now read the article! [Characters TM & © DC Comics.]