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WHEN THE FUTURE

KING OF ROCK’N’ROLL

ENCOUNTERED

THE POWER OF

SHAZAM

Satiate Your Sinister Side!

“Greetings, creep culturists! For my debut

All characters and properties TM & © their respective owners.

issue, I, the CRYPTOLOGIST (with the help of FROM THE TOMB editor PETER NORMANTON), have exhumed the worst Horror Comics excesses of the 1950s, Killer “B” movies to die for, and the creepiest, kookiest toys that crossed your boney little fingers as a child! But wait... do you dare enter the House of Usher, or choose sides in the skirmish between the Addams Family and The Munsters?! Can you stand to gaze at Warren magazine frontispieces by this issue’s cover artist BERNIE WRIGHTSON, or spend some Hammer Time with that studio’s most frightening films? And if Atlas pre-Code covers or terrifying science-fiction are more than you can take, stay away! All this, and more, is lurching toward you in TwoMorrows Publishing’s latest, and most decrepit, magazine—just for retro horror fans, and featuring my henchmen WILL MURRAY, MARK VOGER, BARRY FORSHAW, TIM LEESE, PETE VON SHOLLY, and STEVE and MICHAEL KRONENBERG!” (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

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CRYPTOLOGY #2

CRYPTOLOGY #3

CRYPTOLOGY #4

The Cryptologist and his ghastly little band have cooked up more grisly morsels, including: ROGER HILL’s conversation with our diabolical cover artist DON HECK, severed hand films, pre-Code comic book terrors, the otherworldly horrors of Hammer’s Quatermass, another Killer “B” movie classic, plus spooky old radio shows, and the horror-inspired covers of the Shadow’s own comic book. Start the ghoul-year with retro-horror done right by FORSHAW, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, RICHARD HAND, VON SHOLLY, and editor PETER NORMANTON.

This third wretched issue inflicts the dread of MARS ATTACKS upon you—the banned cards, the model kits, the despicable comics, and a few words from the film’s deranged storyboard artist PETE VON SHOLLY! The chilling poster art of REYNOLD BROWN gets brought up from the Cryptologist’s vault, along with a host of terrifying puppets from film, and more comic books they’d prefer you forget! Plus, more Hammer Time, JUSTIN MARRIOT on obscure ’70s fear-filled paperbacks, another Killer “B” film, and more to satiate your sinister side!

Our fourth putrid tome treats you to ALEX ROSS’ gory lowdown on his Universal Monsters paintings! Hammer Time brings you face-to-face with the “Brides of Dracula”, and the Cryptologist resurrects 3-D horror movies and comics of the 1950s! Learn the origins of slasher films, and chill to the pre-Code artwork of Atlas’ BILL EVERETT and ACG’s 3-D maestro HARRY LAZARUS. Plus, another Killer “B” movie and more awaits retro horror fans, by NORMANTON, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, VOGER, and VON SHOLLY!

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82 International 19 Digital Only

Vol. 3, No. 191/Jan. 2025 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editor Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck J.T. Go (Associate Editor) Mark Lewis (Cover Coordinator)

Comic Crypt Editor

Contents

Editorial Honor Roll

Writer/Editorial: Rock Of Eternity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Fawcett Collectors Of America #250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Michael T. Gilbert Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich, Bill Schelly

Proofreader

William J. Dowlding

Cover Artist

Mac Raboy

Cover Colorist Unknown

With Special Thanks to:

Johnson & Heidi Amash Alcack, Ltd. Ger Apeldoorn Sharon Karibian Mike Bromberg Jim Kealy Bernie Bubnis Doug Kelly John Cimino Dominic Leonard Shaun Clancy Jean-Marc Lofficier Comic Book Plus Art Lortie (website) Jim Ludwig Chet Cox Dave’s Comic Hero John Lustig Mitch Maglio Blog (website) Russ Maheras Dawson, Anna Will Murray Estate of Elaine Chris Pitzer Dundy Priscilla Beaulieu Shane Foley Presley Dr. Cynthia Foster Randy Sargent Joe Frank Carl Lani’Keha Drew Friedman Shinyama Stephan J. Friedt Bryan Stroud Janet Gilbert Dann Thomas Grand Comics University Press Database of Mississippi (website) Kroum Valchkov Tony Isabella Thomas Yeates Alan Jadro

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Trina Robbins, Richard Ashford, Liz Berube, Paul Coker, Jr., Ron Fradkin— & Elvis Presley

Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

The World’s Mightiest Boy—And The King Of Rock’n’Roll . . . 4 Captain Marvel Jr. & Elvis Presley—in real life, reel life, & comics— by Carl Lani’Keha Shinyama.

“…And I Was The Hero Of The Comic Book” . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Author Elaine Dundy (& a couple of others) on the connection between Elvis and Freddy Freeman’s awesome alter ego—as per Roy Thomas.

Breakfast Of Champions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 When Captain Marvel went from serial—to cereal!—by PCH.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The 1966 New York Comicon 35 Michael T. Gilbert introduces a first-hand account by attendee Alan Jadro.

Tributes to Liz Berube, Paul Coker Jr., Ron Fradkin, Richard Ashford, & Trina Robbins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 48 “It’s A Jungle Comic Out There!” – Part II (Sections A To D) Jaguar Of The Jungle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Will Murray on The Jaguar—Archie’s Silver Age quasi-jungle super-hero.

Once Upon A Time, There Were Jungles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Thomas Yeates presents beautiful Tarzanic art from the Golden & Silver Ages.

Four French Tarzanides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Jean-Marc Lofficier salutes Gallic jungle heroes—and a few others, to boot.

Last Kiss In The Jungle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 John Lustig’s online gag-a-day feature—showcasing vintage jungle-comics art.

On Our Cover: Comics legend Mac Raboy’s cover for Fawcett Publications’ Captain Marvel Jr. #1 (Nov. 1942). Raboy’s work on the character mostly appeared in the monthly Master Comics—but he churned out some truly iconic covers of CMJr for both titles! [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics. Above: Not too many years ago, renowned comic artist Thomas Yeates drew the Tarzan newspaper strip. In 1997 he adapted The Return of Tarzan, the second of ERB’s novels about the ape-man, over several issues for Dark Horse Comics, scripting as well as illustrating. It was soon collected as a breathtaking graphic novel. [TM & © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.] Alter EgoTM issue 191, January 2025 (ISSN 1932-6890) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid 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: $73 US, $117 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.

The World’s Mightiest Boy— And The King Of Rock’n’Roll CAPTAIN MARVEL JR. & ELVIS PRESLEY— In Real Life, Reel Life, & Comics by Carl Lani’Keha Shinyama “You know, I believe there’s a superboy inside me, just waiting to bust out.”

—Elvis Presley to his cousin Earl t’s widely acknowledged that Elvis Presley was inspired by Captain Marvel Jr., simply from Elvis’ on-stage attire… but I feel the character of Freddy Freeman was the model which Elvis would use to shape his entire persona as an entertainer.

Before watching the 2022 film Elvis, I contemplated the Elvis/ Captain Marvel Jr./Freddy Freeman connection. On Robby Reed’s now-defunct Dial B For Blog website, which I had read more than a decade prior, he reported which years that Elvis most likely first encountered Captain Marvel Jr. (September 1949 through January 1953), as well as which specific issues Elvis could’ve read (likely Captain Marvel Jr. #77-119). I also called to mind that, as a child, Elvis lived in what was seemingly abject poverty (which wasn’t uncommon for many in those days, as the Great Depression was still impacting America), and that his father had been sent to prison for forging a check. Taking into account just these factors alone, it’s easy to understand why Elvis gravitated to Captain Marvel Jr.; Freddy Freeman lived in relative squalor and lost the only father figure he had (his grandfather). Elvis did the same in his days as a young boy, though his father would come to live with him and his mother again after a short time in prison. Elvis likely saw a lot of himself in Freddy Freeman. In my first viewing of the film, I was impressed by director Baz Luhrmann’s brisk pace, moving from beat to beat without wasting a single scene, and keeping only what was essential to the movie. I was also elated by the relatively extensive references to Freddy Freeman/Captain Marvel Jr. When the opening credits of the movie begin, it is to a beautiful kaleidoscopic montage of gold and diamonds resembling Elvis’ jewelry. In fact, the first thing we see is a diamond-encrusted gold object adorned with Elvis’ famous “TCB” logo—which is said to have been designed by Elvis’ wife, Priscilla—with the lightning bolt, surrounded by yet more golden lightning bolts. Elvis’ motto was “Taking Care of Business in a Flash.” He has been said to have had a strong work ethic and often believed in handling business in an urgent fashion. Obviously, “TCB” stood for “Taking care of business” while the lightning bolt represented, “in a flash.” Many comicbook fans think the lightning bolt of the “TCB” logo was inspired by Captain Marvel Jr. There are no definitive sources that confirm that outright, and there are contradicting accounts. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: But please see p. 24 for what Ye Editor considers the “definitive source.”]

Blue Lives Matter Cover art (by an unidentified illustrator) from Fawcett’s Captain Marvel Jr. #23 (Sept. 1944)—juxtaposed with a photo of Elvis Presley on stage in the early 1970s, garbed in one of his blue jumpsuits. (There were also red, black, and most often white versions as well… some with, some without capes. Over the five occasions when A/E editor Roy Thomas saw Presley perform in person, the singer wore black in Las Vegas in ’69, more often white.) This montage first appeared on “Dave’s Comic Heroes Blog,” with the sub-head “The Elvis Presley Experience.” [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics; Elvis photo © the respective copyright holders.]

Marty Lacker, a member of Elvis’ Memphis Mafia, believed that Elvis liked the fact that the West Coast Mafia had a lightning bolt as their logo, so he used it as well. Meanwhile, Billy Smith, Elvis’ cousin and lifelong friend,

The World’s Mightiest Boy—& The King Of Rock’n’Roll

believes the reason for the lightning bolt may have been one of two things: The first was that it may have been inspired by Elvis’ Army days, where the insignia of his battalion was a lightning bolt. The other reason is that it may have been inspired by Freddy Freeman. Elvis biographer Elaine Dundy thought so, too. “The lightning bolt emblem Captain Marvel Jr. wore on his chest became Elvis’ logo, his signature,” she said. [FCA EDITOR’S NOTE: For considerably more on Dundy’s research, and even that lightning bolt logo, see our next article in this issue.] Throughout the 24-second opening credits, we see different lightning bolts in different shapes, including some that more closely resemble Captain Marvel Jr.’s. Unable to resist the temptation to read into it, I felt that it certainly seemed as if director Luhrmann leaned more towards Captain Marvel Jr. as the inspiration for the TCB lightning bolt. Either way, the TCB logo symbolizes Elvis. Not only did he get diamond-encrusted gold rings made with the logo (and gave them to his inner circle), it was even the logo of his plane, the Lisa Marie. In the movie’s third minute, we see the Elvis cape worn by actor Austin Butler duplicating one of Elvis’ Las Vegas

A Bolt Of Magic Lightning Presley bling opens the 2022 film Elvis, highlighted by his famous “TCB” thunderbolt insignia. [TM & © Warner Bros.]

performances. Like with the lightning bolt and the cape, both Billy Smith and Elaine Dundy believe that Captain Marvel Jr. is where Elvis got the idea. Unfortunately, neither Bill Belew, Elvis’ costume designer who designed his jumpsuits, nor Elvis himself ever stated outright that Captain Marvel Jr. was the inspiration for the cape. Bill Belew has only ever said that he was asked to do a full-length cape, but because Elvis had a hard time moving in it, changed the cape to a short one—a length which just happened to resemble that of Captain Marvel Jr.’s (and Captan Marvel’s) capes. Interestingly, the movie is narrated by Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who was born Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk in Breda, Netherlands, in 1909. Kuijk changed his name to Tom Parker when he was 18 after he left for America and joined the U.S. Army. Just as Captain Marvel was not a real captain, Tom Parker was not a real colonel; he was given an honorary title by the governor of Louisiana at the time, one-time singer/composer (“You Are My Sunshine”) Jimmie Davis. Parker (portrayed by Tom Hanks), giving narration from his deathbed, provided a unique perspective from one of Elvis’ inner circle. The first one-third of the film contains the heaviest amount of Captain Marvel Jr. references, and it was there that it was worth the price of admission, so to speak, for Fawcett fans. In the movie’s ninth minute, as Colonel Tom Parker is narrating what were essentially the Cliff Notes of Elvis’ childhood, we are treated to a marvelous animated sequence of comic panels depicting Elvis’ childhood, rendered in Golden Age (but not really Mac Raboy) art style. In one panel, we see Elvis (Chaydon Jay) as a young blond boy in overalls, wearing a lightning bolt made of cardboard around his neck, transform into a faithfully illustrated Captain Marvel Jr. to break his dad out of prison and take him to the Rock of Eternity— imagery of how Elvis may have fantasized about being his hero. Seeing this sequence made my heart leap, and should cause any other Fawcett fan to rejoice. It was a respectful recognition of the classic Fawcett-era Marvel Family that none of the Shazam! movies, nor the Dwayne Johnson-featured Black Adam movie, paid. Better yet, it was sheer delight seeing the name “Captain Marvel” in a speech balloon and “spoken aloud” by Captain Marvel Jr.— especially in a Warner Bros. film!

I Was A Teenage Influencer One prominent website postulated that Elvis—then fourteen—probably first encountered Captain Marvel Jr. in issue #77 (Sept. 1949). Cover by Kurt Schaffenberger. For other possibilities, see the following article in this issue. Courtesy of the Grand Comics Database. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

(Sure, the second Shazam! movie made a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Captain Marvel name, but that struck me as being quite blithely backhanded, as if they were doing us a favor. In the Elvis movie, the name was treated as something of reverence by Elvis himself in a matter-of-fact manner and with no jesting irony. That contrast in treatment made all of the difference in the world!) Next, in the film’s tenth minute, the comicbook sequence

Fawcett Collectors Of America #250

The “Captain” & The “Colonel” (Above:) Elvis (portrayed by Austin Butler) explains Captain Marvel Jr. to Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) as the two strike a deal, in director Baz Luhrmann’s acclaimed 2022 movie Elvis. (Below:) A screen-save from the unforgettable animated sequence in Elvis underscores the potential CMJr connection. Kelly Baigent did all the comic art in the movie… all of the artwork for the animation sequence, and the re-creation of the CMJr comic that young Elvis was reading. Baigent: “I really enjoyed working with director Baz Luhrmann. He’s a real character! I did a lot of studying before and during the project to ensure I stayed as true as possible to the classic comic art style. (I am not a comicbook artist.) I learned to admire the skill the old artists had.” [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics; screen-save TM & © Warner Bros.]

Like A Bolt From The Blue (Above:) Wearing his handmade lightning bolt that inspired him, the young film-Elvis plays make-believe in Tupelo, Mississippi. This makeshift thunderbolt had no precise equivalent in real life, but was devised to suggest his connection with Cap Jr. [Film image TM & © Warner Bros.]

transitions from comicbook Elvis to the live version of him, where the youth is reading Captain Marvel Jr. #2 in his hometown of Tulepo, Mississippi. Was young Elvis reading a second-hand copy of an earlier issue he had run across… or (more likely) was that particular issue chosen because Mac Raboy’s depiction of Cap Jr. and Freddy on its cover

When Everybody Read Comicbooks (Above left:) As a boy, Elvis Presley (Chaydon Jay) spends an afternoon with his favorite super-hero, in this scene from Elvis that shows him reading a copy of Captain Marvel Jr. #2 (Dec. 1942), when he was seven— juxtaposed with the same Fawcett-published comic, with cover art by Mac Raboy. (Left:) We didn’t run across any actual photos of Elvis reading comics as a kid—but here’s a circa-1956 one of him on tour, killing time with an issue of Betty and Veronica. Whether he actually read those comics, or they were just a gag, is anybody’s guess. [© the respective copyright holders.]

The World’s Mightiest Boy—& The King Of Rock’n’Roll

beautifully exemplified their duality and simply looked good on-screen? According to Robby Reed, Elvis most likely discovered (and read) the World’s Mightiest Boy some time between September of 1949 through January of 1953, after he moved to Memphis on November 6th, 1948. Captain Marvel Jr. #2 was released in 1942 when Elvis was seven years old, living in the town of Tulepo. The film assumes it is likely that Elvis read Captain Marvel Jr. comics in his hometown. Granted, these types of biographical movies always err on the side of entertainment rather than fidelity to the facts themselves. I imagine that Elvis historians nitpicked the movie for inaccuracies, and we’ll leave them to do so. Nonetheless, there’s always the possibility that Elvis did actually read Captain Marvel Jr. or Master Comics in Tulepo, but we can only speculate. Still, no complaints from me. Since when do we ever get anything of the Fawcett-era Marvel Family front and center in a major media? I chose to enjoy the moment. Shortly after, still in the movie’s tenth minute, Colonel Parker makes another reference to Captain Marvel Jr., highlighting just how much the boy’s hero had influenced Elvis and how much Elvis believed that he had a super-hero inside him. As young Elvis is mesmerized by nearby music emanating from shanties, the Colonel remarks, “Them comicbook heroes all have them super-powers. His was music.” Next, in the fifteenth minute, came a scene that gave me goosebumps. In what appears to be the first time that Colonel Parker witnesses Elvis on the stage, he is awed as he watches him take an audience who thought he was odd (Elvis was a young man in a pink suit, his hair dyed black, and seemingly wore eye-liner, all of which were unusual for men in that day and age) and transform them into a roaring crowd that could not get enough of him, particularly the female members of the audience. Elvis goes from being visibly nervous, seemingly moments

Art Imitating Life Imitating Art (Left:) During early performances, Elvis (played in the film by Austin Butler) not only transformed himself but his euphoric audiences as well. [TM & © Warner Bros.] (Above:) Captain Marvel Jr. #73 (May ’49); art by Kurt Schaffenberger. Besides the numerous Captain Marvel Jr. influences, Elvis also took on the scarf look of Junior’s alter ego, Freddy Freeman. [Shazam hero & Freddy Freeman TM & © DC Comics.]

from disaster, to instantaneously transforming into an electrifying performer. In what was a clear reference to the World’s Mightiest Boy, Colonel Parker describes that moment as if he were witnessing Freddy Freeman transform into Captain Marvel Jr.: “In that moment, in a flash of lightning, I watched that skinny boy in the pink suit transform into a super-hero.” Seeing that powerful transformation by Elvis (played to perfection by Austin Butler) which channeled Elvis’ mannerisms and sexually suggestive dancing style and his ability to command the crowd to a “T,” paired with a reference to Freddy Freeman, I could not help but feel a wave of horripilation travel along my skin. I felt as if I were watching—nay, experiencing—a genuine Elvis performance, which only served to make Colonel Parker’s super-hero comparison even more appropriate. Tom Hanks himself thought so, too. “Look, every super-hero has very specific powers: X-ray vision, can run fast, has a ring that does magic stuff for him. Elvis had that. Elvis had some brand of

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his life, strove to make himself look. On the last page, Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr., are flying through the air deep in conversation. “Now you have all the powers I have. Use them to fight the forces of evil wherever they appear,” says Captain Marvel. “And do I change back to my own shape, like you do to Billy Batson?” “Yes, you will have to go through life in your own form, but whenever you need me speak my name and as Captain Marvel, Jr., you will be able to do the things I do. Now go back to the hospital and get well. And then I’m going to send you into Master Comics to take care of Captain Nazi.” “Goodbye, Captain Marvel,” replied Jr., stalwartly.

The belief in magic is inherent in us all. We are born with it, grow up with it, and secretly never really abandon it. As often as we thrust down this illogical belief, it pops up again, and always when we least expect it—quite suddenly we find ourselves colliding into a car in the street corner to avoid walking under a ladder on the pavement. Or wishing on a wishbone. We have all, at one time or another, accepted magic: coincidences, superstition, miracles—call it what you will. What is interesting is the direction in which some particular person’s faith in magic may lie. “I was the hero of every comic book I ever read,” said Elvis in the 1970s. His belief in his supernatural strength and power was reinforced by his reading matter. The golden age of the Comic Book [sic] was

And with the lightning bolt panel that precedes all changes in psyche and geography, Freddy wakes up in the hospital exclaiming: “Gosh! I wonder if it’s all really true! Well, I’ll be out of here tomorrow and then I’ll find out!” And he does find out. It is true. Although, as a caption points out, “The poor boy is destined to carry on with a crippled leg as a souvenir of his encounter with Captain Nazi.” Yet what the evil Captain does not know is that the innocent lad he crippled is now “the most powerful boy in the world! Captain Marvel, Jr.!” Thus Captain Marvel, Jr., began starring in his own series beginning in January 1942. It was six years to the month after Elvis was born. Roy again: Far as I can tell, neither Dundy nor I nor anyone else can be dead certain that young Elvis ever read the above story, which went on sale shortly before his seventh (not sixth) birthday—but if he did, he might very well have obtained Whiz Comics #25 in a comicbook trade session with his buddy Wayne Earnest. Or, when he hit the age of ten, he might’ve read the extremely truncated version of Junior’s origin that took up just a few flashback panels in The Marvel Family #1 (1945). (That account, however, telescopes the events Dundy relates into a handful of panels, with only passing mention of the violence that nearly cost Freddy his life, and none of Captain Nazi.) This might be as good a place as any to bring up, albeit respectfully, my skepticism regarding one reference mentioned on page 4 of Carl Shinyama’s article. Fan Robby Reed’s oft-invaluable (but now “defunct”) website Dial B for Blog suggested some time back that Elvis had “most likely” first run into Captain Marvel Jr. in 1949, around issue #77 of his eponymous comic. I’d love to learn when and how Reed (or somebody else) made that assumption, because I’ll admit that neither that issue number nor that date seems at all likely to me. It would make Presley already 14 years old when he first encountered the World’s Mightiest Boy—and very few kids in the 1940s “discovered” ongoing comic super-heroes at so late an age. “Most likely,” I feel (as did Dundy, clearly), it was actually half a dozen or more years earlier—i.e., during the period when he and his buddy Wayne were eagerly reading and trading comics, beginning in the first grade in 1941-42, or in the following few years. After her above recounting of Cap Jr.’s origin, we next encounter in Dundy a comicbook connection in Elvis’ life on pp. 67-70 (in the 2004 reprint edition of Elvis and Gladys, from University Press of Mississippi):

King Marvel In the 1996 limited series Kingdom Come, which takes place in the distant DC future, artist Alex Ross re-created Freddy Freeman into King Marvel, a minor/background character in the series with an overall likeness to Elvis Presley who wore a high-collared jumpsuit with bell-bottomed boots. The above penciled character design was originally published (in black-&white) in a “bonus material” section of one of the collected editions of the series. [TM & © DC Comics.]

“...And I Was The Hero Of The Comic Book”

from 1939 to 1954. Growing up, our folk hero was immersed in this space form of folk art. Many of the most popular of these books shared the same theme—the twinship that resides within one person. The heroes had two identities: one powerful, one powerless. In his powerless identity the young man led a normal everyday life. But within him existed his secret powerful self who, through various devices, emerges as a magical being with various super powers, the most important of which, in Elvis’ mind, was the ability to fly. Superman was the first of the double-identity characters to appear in comic book form. Then came Batman, who, by day, was a lightweight playboy called Bruce Wayne and, by night, donning a menacing cat [sic] mask and a black cape, buzzed around striking fear in the hearts of evildoers, catching criminals and putting the world to rights. Another thug-thwarter was called the Spirit. This calmly powerful hero has perhaps the most interesting powerless double identity of all of them. He was called Denny Colt. And he was officially dead. He used Wildwood Cemetery as the base of his operations. As the Spirit, he wore ordinary street clothes and only the slightest of masks. His approach to crime-fighting scorned dramatics and it was his very nondescript appearance and no-nonsense methods that made him impressive. The elastically powerful Plastic Man could stretch his limbs like rubber bands… for miles. He began as a failed gangster called the Eel, whose chums ran out on him when he was wounded in a robbery. He was nursed back to health by a sympathetic monk, at which time he discovered that a chemical that had entered his wound gave him the ability to distort his body into any shape. In his double identity he became the Plastic Man, sporting a very odd bathing suit with a plunging décolleté and a pair of goggles. Elvis loved all these comic books. He not only kept them, he took care of them as scrupulously as any bibliophile. His cousin Harold Lloyd remembers that when Elvis was in high school in Memphis he and Harold would swap comic books. “Sometimes I would go over and borrow some books from him. He would let me have them because he knew I would return them in good shape when I finished reading them. He had a large bookrack made out of wire to keep the books in and he always made sure they were in neat order and not out of place.” But the Captain Marvel series, and in particular, Captain Marvel, Jr., were Elvis’ unquestioned favorites. Adding greatly to the popularity of the series were the characters that derived and sprang up from the stories. A sort of family eventually surfaced—some self-appointed and eager to get in on the act. “Wilfred Batson from Arkansas figured we must be cousins. We really aren’t, but I hadn’t the heart to tell him…” says Billy Batson/Captain Marvel. And, “Uncle Dudley pretends to be our uncle and to turn into Uncle Marvel. We aren’t related but we all love him anyway.” On the other hand, “Mary and I have only one living relative… our Uncle Ebenezer Batson. But we’d just as soon forget him… he’s a crook.” Mary Batson is the real thing. She turns up out of the blue as Billy’s twin sister. “She’d been raised by wealthy Mrs. Bromfield,” explains Billy. “Mary has the power to turn into Mary Marvel.” Apart from being a delightful-looking adolescent, fresh-faced with shoulderlength brown hair softly curled below her ears, Mary is innocent, good, sunny-natured, and so full of spunk and adventure that she and her superpowers are soon awarded a comic book series all their own. Freddy Freeman, another of these derived creations, “…isn’t a Batson at all… but he is a member of the Marvel family, as Captain Marvel, Jr.,” confirms Billy. Like Mary, he too made an enormous hit on his first appearance and was immediately sent into his own comic

Battening Down—And Battering—The Hatches Mac Raboy’s cover for Master Comics #26 (May 1942). While that artist, in the first half of the 1940s, drew Captain Marvel Jr. covers for both the hero’s own title and the anthology title Master Comics (which featured just one “CMJr” adventure), Raboy’s interior work at that time appeared almost exclusively in the latter. A couple of Raboy assistants, approximating Raboy’s style, drew most of the stories in Captain Marvel Jr. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

book series. Elvis’ twin-fusion with Freddy/Captain Marvel, Jr., was total, and it was from reading his adventures that the young Elvis secretly began to create himself. The power of Captain Marvel, Jr., symbolized by his ability to fly high over the earth, was twinned with his external powerlessness in the form of his other identity, the poor crippled newsboy (symbolizing for Elvis his own “crippling” by the death of [his own stillborn twin brother] Jesse?) whose name is nevertheless Freeman. Millions of other children, of course, were reading this same comic book in bright, primary colors at the same time, but Elvis’ specific background and temperament made him singularly susceptible to its magic. He must have felt it drawn and written for his eyes only. It was Captain Marvel, Jr., who helped mold Elvis’ personality, humble and humorous, and who crystallized his desire to save the world and his family. It was Captain Marvel, Jr., who sculpted Elvis’ authoritative stance, legs exultantly wide apart, the graceful gestures of his hands, palms flat, fingers outstretched, thumbs extended. It was Captain Marvel, Jr., who styled Elvis’ glimmering hair, side-parted

Fawcett Collectors Of America #250

found his answer. The key to power was secrecy. Captain Marvel, his twin sister Mary, and Captain Marvel, Jr., had each embarked on their finest hour. They were taking on “the wickedest family in the world” whose head, Dr. Sivana, was popularly known as the Big Red Cheese and whose children—Georgia and Sivana, Jr.—were the wickedest children in the world. While Captain Marvel took on Dr. Sivana and Mary Marvel, Georgia, Captain Marvel, Jr., took on Sivana, Jr.

Now enters the evil young Sivana, Jr., got up in natty plus fours and checkered socks. He greets Chass Passon’s emergence on dry land with a mighty crack on the head. But just when young Sivana is about to steal the electrium, Captain Marvel, Jr.—“the most powerful boy in the world”—swoops down and settles his hash with an explosive right to the jaw. When Chass comes around, naturally the grateful young scientist wants to know his benefactor’s name.

In Marvel, Jr’s futuristic adventure Atlantis Rises Again, which takes place in the thirteen-thousandth century A.D., the secret of his super-human power does escape and we see the result.

Marvel, Jr., begins, “Why, I’m Captain Mar… er… uh…” And then he halts.

“Far in the future,” begins the story, a young scientist, Chass Passon, whose ancestor was Chal Patzun, an original inhabitant of Atlantis, has managed to raise the continent from its watery grave by, it turns out, stoking a thirteen-thousandth-century boiler—which resembles a twentieth-century one with knobs on—called an “electrium.” Chass looks exactly like Marvel, Jr., except that he wears glasses. Twinship again.

Why? On the last page is the explanation: “Captain Marvel, Jr., alone of the Marvel family, always has a peculiar problem when people ask his name for… “And then Marvel, Jr., explains it to his readers in a thought balloon: The words “Captain Marvel” make him change back into poor Freddy Freeman! So he hesitates. However, as he is so far in the future, he then decides why not disclose his true powerful identity? What has he to lose? “I’m Captain Marvel, Jr., of the twentieth century,” he says. Boom! More lightning zigzags with the uttering of the two key words. For with the telling of his name, he is transformed back into Freddy Freeman, the poor crippled newsboy. Thirteen-thousandth-century Chass is astonished. “Wh-what! There are two of you?” “Yes,” says Freddy. “You see, we change back and forth by magic lightning. It’s safe to tell you because this is far from the twentieth century. Nobody knows my secret back there.” In short, Elvis must constantly be on guard against declaring himself to anyone, for if his outrageous secret were known he would no longer be the most powerful boy in the world. Re Marvel Family #10, even a comics-savvy person who hasn’t read that particular story can easily guess that the young superhero’s changing back to Freddy Freeman (as scripted by Otto Binder and drawn by then-regular “CMJr” artist Bud Thompson) was done primarily for story purposes—i.e., so that the more vulnerable newsboy could get conked on the head, rendered unconscious, tied up, and gagged before he could re-transform back to his Marvel self. That kind of thing happened all the time to Billy, Freddy, and Mary. It’s impossible to know, of course, whether or not Elvis Presley ever read Marvel Family #10. After all, most of us missed issues now and then of even our favorite comics. Besides, when that one went on sale, the now-Memphis-dwelling lad had just turned twelve, and might (though he might not) have decreased his comicbook intake somewhat. My own estimation is that Dundy recounted the above particular episode largely because she found it in the same collection where, most likely, she found most if not all of her Captain Marvel Jr. material—in the aforementioned 1970s Crown/ Harmony hardcover, which also included an insightful essay by DC editor E. Nelson Bridwell, a lifelong fan (and ’70s revival scripter) of Captain Marvel and his over-extended family.

Family Feud C.C. Beck’s cover for The Marvel Family #10 (April 1947)—perhaps with an inking assist from partner Pete Costanza. This issue followed, if only by coincidence, the format of DC’s All-Star Comics, in that Beck drew the opening pages and the finale, in which the three Marvels appeared together—while each of the three chapters in which Cap, Mary, and Junior went off on their own into various times was drawn by an artist who regularly drew that hero’s solo adventures elsewhere. In the case of Captain Marvel Jr., the artist was Bud Thompson. Script by Otto Binder. Courtesy of the GCD. [Shazam heroes TM & © DC Comics.]

Still, the fact that, by the rules of the series, Cap Jr. could not speak his own name without instantly changing back to Freddy was mentioned in other comics besides Marvel Family #10, and Elvis could’ve obtained from any number of stories the insight Dundy suggests for him. (Well, in the interests of full disclosure: From time to time, comicbook writers being the harried, hasty souls they historically have been, Freddy or Junior did occasionally say the words “Captain Marvel” without changing—but that was only because the writer carelessly made a mistake and the harassed

“...And I Was The Hero Of The Comic Book”

Dundy’s next mention of the Fawcett heroes occurs on p. 159, with a reference to the discontinuance of the company’s entire comicbook line: The death of two of Elvis’ heroes the previous winter [of 1953-54] might be seen as the passing of the old order making way for the new. [Country Tony Curtis singer/composer Hank Williams died.] And the Captain Marvel/ The young screen actor in the 1950s. Captain Marvel, Jr., comic books had folded as a result of a long, drawn-out and losing battle over a lawsuit with Superman and were no longer on the newsstands. Of course, neither Elvis as he turned 18 (even assuming he still regularly read comics), nor I at age twelve, was aware in 1953

All In Black-&-White For $10 (In 1977, Anyway!) This sequence from the “Captain Marvel Jr.” sequence in The Marvel Family #10, drawn by Bud Thompson, is reprinted from Crown/Harmony’s 1977 hardcover Shazam! From the 40’s to the 70’s—in black-&-white, which is probably the way author Elaine Dundy first encountered it. Script by Otto Binder. [Shazam hero & Freddy Freeman TM & © DC Comics.]

editor let it slip by, not because magic lightning shouldn’t have struck at that moment.) Oh, and one correction to Dundy’s research: It was Captain Marvel, not the evil Dr. Sivana, who was sometimes referred to as “The Big Red Cheese”—by a contemptuous Sivana, actually. Another, more tenuous but still intriguing mention of Cap Jr. is made by Dundy on p. 137: [Elvis’] favorite actor then [fall of 1950] was a dead ringer for Captain Marvel, Jr.—glistening black hairstyle and all—the handsome young Tony Curtis, who was making a series of wonderfully funny junior swashbuckling epics with titles like The Prince Who Was a Thief and brandishing his Bronx accent as triumphantly as his sword. I wouldn’t call Tony Curtis exactly a “dead ringer” for Marvel Junior—but there was certainly at least a cursory resemblance— and it seems well-documented that the teenage Elvis, at least to some extent, patterned himself after the look of Hollywood’s young heartthrob.

“And Then There Were None!” Kurt Schaffenberger’s cover for The Marvel Family (#89, Jan. 1954) may or may not have been prepared with the fore-knowledge that it would be that issue’s final issue—and one of the very last comicbooks Fawcett would publish before folding its four-color lineup after settlement of the lawsuit with DC. Courtesy of the GCD. [Shazam heroes TM & © DC Comics.]

The WHO’S WHO of American Comic Books 1928-1999 Online Edition Created by Jerry G. Bails FREE – online searchable database – FREE http://www. bailsprojects.com/ whoswho.aspx – No password required La of Opar, as visualized by artist Doug Wildey (and writer Gaylord DuBois) for Gold Key/Western’s Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes #182 (Feb. 1969), which adapted ERB’s novel Tarzan the Invincible. Courtey of Thomas Yeates. [TM & © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.]

Breakfast Of Champions

When Captain Marvel Went From Serial—To Cereal!

ne of the best American comicbook promotions of the Golden Age came from General Mills—and their widely known, normally-associated-with-sports “Breakfast of Champions” cereal, Wheaties. What made this particular series of giveaway comics so significant? The advertisement for the books that appeared in Sunday newspapers across the country on May 11, 1947, let consumers know why these comics were so unique: Adventure! Excitement! Fun! Famous Comic Books! Any book YOURS with 2 boxes of Wheaties. REAL comic books. It’s True! You get special editions of your regular newsstand favorites. You choose from four best-selling titles. Same famous characters! Same dramatic writers! Same skilled artists! But all-new, action-packed stories.

by P. C. Hamerlinck THRILLS! Excitement! Laughs galore—in these sensational comic magazines. Thirty-Two pages! 6 1/2 by 8 1/4 inches big! Every page in full color! Every page loaded with action. HURRY! Get your book right away! Supplies are limited to quantities now available on your

Not Just For Breakfast Anymore A vintage box/package of Wheaties, the cereal long heralded in ads as the “Breakfast of Champions,” floats above the covers of two of the four miniature comics from the May 1947 giveaway campaign: special editions of Captain Marvel Adventures and Whiz Comics. CMA cover art by C.C. Beck; the various images on the Whiz cover are by Beck, Bernard Krigstein, Gus Ricca, and Earl Lonsbury. [Wheaties image TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders; Shazam hero, Crime Smasher, Golden Arrow, & Ibis the Invincible TM & © DC Comics.]

$1,000,000 PAID FOR ORIGINAL COMIC ART! COLLECTOR PAYING TOP DOLLAR FOR “ANY AND ALL” ORIGINAL COMIC BOOK AND COMIC STRIP ARTWORK FROM THE 1930S TO PRESENT! COVERS, PINUPS, PAGES, IT DOESN’T MATTER! 1 PAGE OR ENTIRE COLLECTIONS SOUGHT! CALL OR EMAIL ME ANYTIME!

330-221-5665 mikeburkey@aol.com OR SEND YOUR LIST TO:

MIKE BURKEY

P.O. BOX 455 • RAVENNA, OH 44266 CASH IS WAITING, SO HURRY!!!!! Art by John Romita. Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

The 1966 New York Comicon: A First-Hand Report

by Michael T. Gilbert

recall my first comic convention, way back in 1968 at the SCARPCon, co-hosted by Phil Seuling, Maurice Horn, and others. I was 17 and (after reading about them in fanzines for years!) thrilled to attend my first one. I’d managed to put a few dollars aside for buying old comics and was delighted to score a handful of poor-condition ECs. I focused on the post-Code “New Direction” titles like Impact, Extra,

Batman & The Con Man (Above:) Alan Jadro’s con-review article appeared in The Comic Vendor #3 (JulyAug. 1966). Alan published the ‘zine, and likely drew the cover, too! [Batman TM & © DC Comics.]

and Aces High, because they were the cheapest and I could get more for my money! I bunked at my grandmother Nurock’s Bronx apartment (the lady who gave me my first comics as a kid!) and rode the subway to the con every day. Food? Why waste good comic-buying money on that? By con’s end I was so exhausted (and hungry!) that I broke out with the worst case of hives in my life. My judgment? Totally worth it!

Make Mine Marvel! (Above:) ”Jolly” Jack Kirby was the con’s guest of honor, with James Warren footing the bill for the 1966 NY Con program book. The convention was put on by SF/comics fan John Benson. His con committee included Mike McInerney , Andy Porter, Ted White, Jon White, and our very own Roy Thomas! Above is Marvel’s official ad in the program book, reprinting Kirby art from the cover of Fantastic Four Annual #3 (1965). [Art TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Well, Alan Jadro did something similar, but beat me by a couple of years. Al’s delightful essay was originally printed in The Comic Vendor #3 in July-August 1966, mere weeks after the convention he was covering. His reporting (lightly edited for this printing) brought back fond memories of my own first con when I was still a teenager (choke!) 66 years ago! I’m sure many of you will find Alan’s account equally fascinating. So now… …Take it away, Alan!

The 1966 New York Comicon: A First-Hand Report

The July 23, 1966, New York Comicon!

by Alan Jadro

ust barely catching the bus to New York City at the Upper Saddle River stop was the least of my problems at about 7:30 AM on July 23rd. During the ride to Port Authority, many assorted thoughts coursed through my eager brain. Had I brought too many comics? Too few?! Had I forgotten anything? None of these questions would be answered for at least two and a half hours, so I sat back and enjoyed the ride. It was noisy. The bus terminal, that is. People running all around the place. After collecting myself, I took the down escalator to the information booth where I was to meet Louis Black. I held a few copies of the Comic Vendor in my hands so that he would know me (we had never seen each other before). In about fifteen minutes he found me, and we set out for the Park-Sheraton Hotel, where the con was going to be held. Upon reaching the towering skyscraper, we inquired as to what floor the Comicon was on, and then went up a flight of stairs to the second floor. We were early. There were only about five other fans there at 9:30 AM. At about 10:30 AM, we found out that the con was not going to commence until 1:00 PM!

Even though the con was an hour and a half off, Louis and I walked into the Liberty Suite and saw at least 300 chairs, a movie screen, podium, and table. At about 11:00 there were about 50 fans there. Then the dealers arrived. They took up two suites, the Freedom Suite, and the Gotham Suite (there’s a coincidence for you!). Among the dealers present were Phil Seuling, Howard Rogofsky, and Jim Steranko. Mr. Steranko showed us some of his Strange Tales Nick Fury original art, which will be published in a month or two. Jim is one of Marvel’s new artists. [MTG NOTE: So new, in fact, that Alan misspelled Jim’s name as “Sturanko” throughout. Hey, it was 1966, and who knew who “Sturanko” was? We’ve corrected Al’s phonetic spelling for this reprint. Onward!] Then everyone bought their tickets. The fee was $4.00 for both days. As I walked around the hall and through the suites, I saw such fans as Don Foote, Margaret Gemignani, Roy Thomas, Ted White, and Mike Ulsan. At about 12:00 or 12:30, Louis suggested we go out for lunch so that we could be back in time for the start of the con. To begin the program, a representative from the Comics Code Authority [MTG NOTE: General counsel Leonard Darvin] was sitting at the table up front. When his name was announced, the booing echoed like Captain Marvel’s thunder from the four walls. When everyone finally quieted down, he said that he was happy to hear us boo, because people outside of fandom complained that the Code was not strict enough! After some moderate discussion, the fireworks really began! Ted White started blasting away at the Code, asking them to defend their position with EC comics. Ted was shouting at them, asking their defense on the point that the Code put pressure on EC’s distributors, thus forcing them out of business. As most of you know, EC published some of the best horror comics ever during the forties and fifties. Can you imagine how the Code, with its rules on abuses, etc., would destroy horror mags like these? Well, Ted kept the battle going and never let down. The Code representative was practically speechless. Once, though, he claimed that the Code did not pressure

Some Faces In The Crowd Attendees at the con included Comics Code counsel Leonard Darvin (middle left, facing left), “Rascally” Roy Thomas from Marvel (top), counterculture guru Paul Krassner (right), and probably “Magnificent” Maggie Thompson (bottom left).

EC’s distributor. Ted White answered with a thrashing, “That, is a pile of crap, sir!” Then the point was brought up about a panel of Thunder Agents [sic] artwork done by Wally Wood. This panel depicted a robot socking a policeman, and sending him flying head over heels. This panel was rejected by the Code because police aren’t supposed to get punched like that! Then the topic came to sex—in relation to artwork. In the pre-Code days, many artists drew overly full-breasted women—or so the Code claims. “This is not allowed now,“ says the Code. Kiddies shouldn’t look, or be allowed to look upon such pictures. But the women shouldn’t be drawn flat-chested, either, states the Code meekly. At about 2:00, this discussion ended and an auction was held. Sold at the auction was some original art. From about 2:30 to 3:00 there was a break and a chance for exchanges of old comics. Never had I ever seen so many rare and almost forgotten issues of old titles. At 3:00 a discussion (by a panel) was held. Three fans, among them Ted White, discussed the comics of the fifties. Mostly they talked about EC. There were some fiery testimonies, and then Ted White told the story of EC’s downfall. He told about the pressure put on EC’s distributors, about how the Code would not allow an illustration with flying snakes because it was a picture that mocked angels (you know, the wings on the snakes!). Ted also mentioned how, in the end, EC was forced out of business along with 40 other comic publishing companies. Not titles, but 40 companies. Then there was some good mocking on, ugh, you guessed it, Dr. Wertham. At about 4:30, Roy Thomas began pointing out some of the pros who had graced the Comicon with their presence. There was Jack

[correspondence, comments, & corrections]

Steel This Book! (Left:) Bernie Bubnis’ “March” drawing for the 1964 Super Hero Calendar, a major fan-project of that early time in comics fandom. Jack Kirby and Russ Manning contributed pencil drawings of Cyclops and Korak that were traced onto spirit-duplicator masters for other months. (Right:) Irv Novick’s original “Steel Sterling” splash page for Zip Comics #36 (April 1943). Scripter unknown. Thanks to the Comic Book Plus website. [Steel Sterling TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.]

comic section.

First of all, Irv Novick did more than just the Biblical stories. He contributed to all sorts of features and even did illustrations for the magazine itself, many of them signed with his recognizable “IN” signature. He also did some newspaper ad work for J&C around that time. One of the most intriguing things I found by him was a series of illustrations he did for the SF pulp Amazing Stories. This is not to correct [what was in the article], just in addition. Ger Apeldoorn

We look forward to your book, Ger. A full listing (with copious examples) of the comic strips produced by Johnson and Cushing would indeed take up an entire tome, and be a welcome addition to the library of comics history!

Want to comment on or correct something in this issue? You can do so at: Roy Thomas e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com 32 Bluebird Trail St. Matthews, SC 29135

In addition, you can join our online chat group about Alter Ego and related matters, at https://groups.io/g/Alter-Ego-Fans. If you have trouble getting on board, just contact moderator Chet Cox at mormonyoyoman.com and he’ll give you a helping hand!

And/or, you might wish to check out The Roy Thomas Appreciation Board, owned and operated on Facebook by John Cimino. It’ll help you keep in touch with the Rascally One’s activities of late, and what’s to come. See ad on p. 56. Oh, and if you’re a convention promoter or comic store proprietor who’d like to inquire about booking Roy T. for a future event—or if you’re an interviewer or podcaster looking for a connection with him—please contact that selfsame John Cimino, RT’s pal and media rep, at johnstretch@live.com. He likes to keep Roy (and himself) busy!

“It’s A JUNGLE COMIC Out There!” – Part II-A

JAGUAR Of The Jungle

A Silver Age Super-Hero Spawned In South America

by Will Murray ot all jungle heroes wore loincloths like Tarzan of the Apes.

Some wore pith helmets: Alex Raymond’s Jungle Jim and his poor cousins, DC’s Congo Bill and TV’s Ramar of the Jungle, belonged to that select group of great white hunters. Still others are not ones we would normally think of as jungle heroes. One such was Ralph Hardy, worldtraveling zoologist, who was secretly The Jaguar. He got his start in the Peruvian jungles in 1961 and, at least as far as his first cycle of adventures was concerned, his career culminated in that same locale. Hardy was the hero of Radio Comics’ (a.k.a. Archie Comics’) Adventures of The Jaguar. In his origin story, “Menace of the Inca Serpent!”—written by Robert Bernstein and drawn by John Rosenberger—he discovers a magical jaguar belt that transforms him into the scarlet-clad master of the animal kingdom. Hardy seems to have been based––at least in part––on hunter Frank Buck of “Bring ‘Em Back Alive” fame, who also sported a pencil mustache. Buck was a big-game hunter who had captured animals alive for exhibition in zoos back in the 1920s and ’30s. [EDITOR’S NOTE: See previous issue for more about Frank Buck and his appearance in comics.] In the Peruvian jungles, Archie Comics version, Hardy lassos a drowning jaguar from a rushing river, thereby establishing his love for all animals, even the savage ones. In short order, the expedition spies a rare white jaguar. But, before they can capture it, an earthquake intervenes. From a crevice in the Earth merges a kind of savage dinosaur-serpent hybrid. Seeking shelter, they follow the white jaguar to the ruins of an Incan temple. Spotting the feline’s paw prints in the temple corridors, Hardy splits off from the group and enters a chamber that appears to be otherworldly.

John Rosenberger drew nearly all the 1960s “Jaguar” stories, and many romance stories as well.

Robert Bernstein Sometime “Superman” writer who would also script a number of early Marvel stories in the next couple of years. Thanks to Jim Kealy for the ID.

Hanging from a wall is a jaguar-pelt belt. Its buckle displays a winged jaguar. Hardy is able to read a wall inscription, which says that only he who is loved by the animal kingdom may wear this belt; if he speaks the words “The Jaguar,” he will be transformed into a human jaguar. Furthermore, he’ll gain the power to communicate with any beast over great distances, and will acquire any ability associated with the animal kingdom, but multiplied thousands of times. The ancient Inca priests who left the message apparently

Hop Into My Jaguar! John Rosenberger’s cover for Adventures of The Jaguar #1 (Sept. 1961), whose interior stories would be written by Robert Bernstein. Courtesy of the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.]

anticipated the serpentine dinosaur re-emerging from hibernation and left the belt so that a champion could be there to defeat it. This suggests an earlier Incan incarnation of The Jaguar. But never mind. Speaking the words “The Jaguar!” Hardy transforms into the scarlet-suited hero and captures the beast, whose crushing jaws cannot overcome his invulnerability. Then he commands an army of armadillos to burrow a great hole, into which he deposits the creature. (No kidding—he really does!) Speaking his own name, The Jaguar goes back to being Ralph Hardy, and the expedition members cluelessly and excitedly tell him about the new super-hero they witnessed. The rare white

“It’s A JUNGLE COMIC Out There!”–Part II-A

Encountering the first of many alien invasions he would thwart, The Jaguar pounds his chest, summoning every gorilla in the neighborhood. Telepathically he commands them to beat the stuffing out of the aliens, which they obediently do. But the foe is not finished. The Jaguar and his gorilla army are next encased in icy blocks. Because he’s like “a-hundredpolar-bears-in-one,” The Jaguar can survive being frozen alive. His nucleon-energy belt jet’s thrust melts the ice while a herd of telepathically summoned elephants break the gorillas free. The aliens skedaddle. The Jaguar’s weaknesses are few. Gas can overcome him. Fire saps his strength. Radiation is a problem, as he discovers in his third exploit, when he encounters a giant irradiated white mouse. Summoning an ordinary feral cat is sufficient to spook the rampaging super-rodent, which shrinks back to normal size, ending the monster mouse menace. The magical jaguar belt transformation causes Hardy’s mustache to vanish… a peculiar touch. And, as in the case of Clark Kent’s glasses, apparently its disappearance fools his assistant, Jill Ross, into not recognizing the mustached face of her boss in the clean-shaven countenance of the heroic Jaguar. Comicbooks in 1961 were quite different than they are now….. As a zoologist, Hardy roamed all over the world, ranging from South America to Africa. Often he encountered enemy aliens, and I don’t mean of the terrestrial type. Surviving dinosaurs were another threat bumped into more often than not when seeking live specimens.

There’s Always A First Time For Everything! With his scientist friends in danger, Ralph Hardy transforms into The Jaguar for the first time ever, in issue #1. Wonder if he’s noticed yet that his mustache has disappeared!? Script by Bernstein; art by Rosenberger. Thanks to Doug Kelly & Art Lortie. [TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.]

jaguar is seemingly forgotten. The Jaguar’s abilities are carefully calculated to replicate Superman‘s basic powers—but with animal rationales. His skin is a thousand times tougher than rhinoceros hide, rendering him virtually invulnerable (not that the Incas would have been familiar with the rhino, but never mind). He can run many times faster than an antelope. Like his namesake, The Jaguar can see in the dark. His “ultra-animal cunning” is also mentioned. In one story, he transforms his head into that of a real jaguar. One peculiarity of the character’s transformation into The Jaguar is that the belt sprouts what scripter Robert Bernstein called “nucleon energy” jets. These are two yellow pods attached to either side of the belt, which provide The Jaguar with jet-powered propulsion, enabling him to fly. How the Incas acquired such technology is never explained. In the follow-up story, “The Invaders from Kordu!,” Hardy finds himself in Africa. Seeking refuge from a rainstorm, he stumbles into a den of leopards, who attack him. Becoming The Jaguar thanks to his “animal telepathy,” he soon has them purring.

In his second issue, Ralph Hardy goes to the Kenyan jungle in a story called “The Gulliver of the Jungle,” wherein tiny aliens from a dying world land to take over the Earth. As The Jaguar, Hardy comes up with a novel way to defeat them. He telepathically orders every animal in the jungle to set up a racket. The resulting bestial cacophony is so loud that it cracks and shatters the aliens’ space helmets. Since they can’t breathe our atmosphere, they hastily depart without further violence. They don’t write comics like that anymore! Evidently, “animal magnetism” was one of The Jaguar’s powers. Early on, in conscious emulation of Superman’s complicated love life, the Jaguar began attracting exotic girlfriends. The first was Kree-Nal, the green-skinned Sea Circe from Space, who is apparently a stand-in for Superman’s mermaid love, Lori Lemaris. She falls hopelessly in love with The Jaguar. As does Cat Girl, the immortal inspiration for the Sphinx, who was first introduced in the Radio/Archie companion title Adventures of The Fly, and segued into becoming a Jaguar regular. After a first brush as an enemy, she decides that she has the hots for The Jaguar and becomes determined to marry him. When Ralph Hardy’s secretary Jill Ross shows up in issue #6, Cat Girl flies into a jealous rage, and the struggle for The Jaguar’s affections among this trio of lovely ladies commences in earnest. Soon, they form the Jaguar Rescue Team, in case our hero is ever knocked out of action. Jill Ross is cut from the same cliché cloth as Lois Lane. Blackhaired and sporting a short-cut professional hairdo, she is in love with The Jaguar and strongly suspects her boss of being him. The plot parallels with the Man of Steel were no coincidence.

Jaguar Of The Jungle

Classic Situations—Illustrated (Clockwise from top left:) This splash page from Adventures of The Jaguar #2 (Oct. 1961) highlights one of the several alien invasions foiled by the Archie-group superhero… though, obviously, first he has to recover from this situation swiped from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Script by Robert Bernstein; art by John Rosenberger. JR’s cover for Jaguar #3 (Nov. 1961) introduced Kree-Nal, “The Sea Circe from Space”—performing a most Circe-like stunt. And, on Rosenberger’s cover for Jaguar #10 (Nov. 1962), the scarlet-clad stalwart battles a T-Rex. What took him so long? Thanks to Will Murray & the GCD. [TM & © Archie Comic Group, Inc.]