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THE BEST IN COMICS AND LEGO MAGAZINES!

ALTER EGO #105

ALTER EGO #106

ALTER EGO #107

ALTER EGO #108

DRAW! #22

See comic art and script BEFORE and AFTER the Comics Code changes, with art by SIMON & KIRBY, DITKO, BUSCEMA, SINNOTT, GOULD, COLE, STERANKO, KRIGSTEIN, O’NEIL, GLANZMAN, ORLANDO, WILLIAMSON, HEATH, and others! Plus: FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, JIM AMASH interviews Timely/Atlas artist CAL MASSEY, and a new cover by JOSH MEDORS!

DICK GIORDANO through the 1960s—from freelance years and Charlton “Action-Heroes” to his first stint at DC! Art by DITKO, APARO, BOYETTE, MORISI, McLAUGHLIN, GIL KANE, and others, Dick’s final convention panel with STEVE SKEATES and ROY THOMAS, JIM AMASH interviews Charlton artist TONY TALLARICO, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and ROY ALD, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY, GIORDANO cover, and more!

Big BATMAN issue, with an unused Golden Age cover by DICK SPRANG! SHEL DORF interviews SPRANG and JIM MOONEY, with rare and unseen Batman art by BOB KANE, JERRY ROBINSON, WIN MORTIMER, SHELLY MOLDOFF, CHARLES PARIS, and others! Part II of the TONY TALLARICO interview by JIM AMASH! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

1970s Bullpenner WARREN REECE talks about Marvel Comics and working with EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, STAN LEE, MARIE SEVERIN, ADAMS, FRIEDRICH, ROY THOMAS, and others, with rare art! DEWEY CASSELL spotlights Golden Age artist MIKE PEPPE, with art by TOTH, ANDRU, TUSKA, CELARDO, & LUBBERS, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, cover by EVERETT & BURGOS, and more!

Interview with inker SCOTT WILLIAMS from his days at Marvel and Image to his work with JIM LEE, and PATRICK OLIFFE demos how he produces Spider-Girl, Mighty Samson, and digital comics. Also, MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ “Comic Art Bootcamp”, a “Rough Critique” of a newcomer’s work by BOB McLEOD, art supply reviews by “Crusty Critic” JAMAR NICHOLAS, and more!

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LEE & KIRBY: THE WONDER YEARS (KIRBY COLLECTOR #58)

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LEGO SPACE WAR issue! A STARFIGHTER BUILDING LESSON by Peter Reid, WHY SPACE MARINES ARE SO POPULAR by Mark Stafford, a trip behind the scenes of LEGO’S NEW ALIEN CONQUEST SETS that hit store shelves earlier this year, plus JARED K. BURKS’ column on MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION, building tips, event reports, our step-by-step “YOU CAN BUILD IT” INSTRUCTIONS, and more!

Go to Japan with articles on two JAPANESE LEGO FAN EVENTS, plus take a look at JAPAN’S SACRED LEGO LAND, Nasu Highland Park—the site of the BrickFan events and a pilgrimage site for many Japanese LEGO fans. Also, a feature on JAPAN’S TV CHAMPIONSHIP OF LEGO, a look at the CLICKBRICK LEGO SHOPS in Japan, plus how to get into TECHNIC BUILDING, LEGO EDUCATION, and more!

LEGO EVENTS ISSUE covering our own BRICKMAGIC FESTIVAL, BRICKWORLD, BRICKFAIR, BRICKCON, plus other events outside the US. There’s full event details, plus interviews with the winners of the BRICKMAGIC CHALLENGE competition, complete with instructions to build award winning models. Also JARED K. BURKS’ regular column on minifigure customizing, building tips, and more!

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Vol. 3, No. 19 / December 2002 Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout Christopher Day

Consulting Editors John Morrow Jon B. Cooke

FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editors Emeritus Jerry Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White, Mike Friedrich

Production Assistant Eric Nolen-Weathington

Cover Artists Dick Sprang Fred Ray

Contents Writer/Editorial: Hope Sprangs Eternal! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Ask not what the now-monthly Alter Ego can do for you, but rather—! Dick Sprang Rides Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The late Golden Age Batman illustrator, interviewed by Ike Wilson.

Cover Colorists Tom Ziuko Fred Ray

The “Good” Batman Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Road to Perdition writer Max Allan Collins extols the one and only Dick Sprang.

Mailing Crew Russ Garwood, Glen Musial, Ed Stelli, Pat Varker, Loston Wallace

The Greatest Batman Artist Who Ever Lived!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Don’t be shy, Bob Koppany! What do you really think of Richard W. Sprang?

And Special Thanks to:

Who Cares? I Do! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Comics master Alex Toth on comic art in general—and Batman in particular!

Manuel Auad Mark Austin Bob Bailey Mike W. Barr Jack Bender Ray Bottorff, Jr. Jerry K. Boyd Alan Brennert Len Brown Jack Burnley Steven Butler Tony Cerezo Max Allan Collins Teresa R. Davidson Al Dellinges Joe Desris James Doty Don Ensign Ron Fernandez Carl Gafford Jack Gilbert Michael R. Grabois Janice Green David G. Hamilton Bill Harper Ron Harris Roger Hill Bob Koppany Mort Leav

Mitch Lee Steve Leialoha Arthur Lortie Brian Makara Dan Makara Dennis Mallonee John Moret Jim Motavalli John Province Charlie Roberts Ethan Roberts Jerry Robinson Eric Schumacher Dr. Augustus Scott Noreen Shaw Marc Simms Jeff Smith Robin Snyder Dick & Cindy Swan Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Alex Toth Michael J. Vassallo J. Villalpando Ron Webber Dylan Williams Ike Wilson Michael Zeno

—In Memoriam—

Richard “Grass” Green

Batman during the “Sprang Era” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 We’ve also got a fondness for Kane, Robinson, Schwartz, Mooney, and Moldoff! Partners in Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Sprang and inker Charles Paris talk about their longtime Batman collaboration.

FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America] No. 78 . . . . . . . . . . . 43 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Marc Swayze, and a look at Captain Marvel Jr. Focus on Fred Ray & Mort Leav . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: A late-1980s photo of Dick Sprang juxtaposed with a detail—just a part, mind you—of a 1986 Batman and Robin “conceptual illustration,” which was previously printed only in Ike Wilson’s contribution to the fanzine CFA-APA in ’88. For the full “double truck” drawing, see p. 11. Art and photo courtesy of Ike Wilson. [Art ©2002 Richard W. Sprang estate; Batman & Robin & other artifacts TM & ©2002 DC Comics.] Above: We like Ike! (Wilson, that is.) And not just because Ike, the agent for the Sprang estate, sent us what he calls an “unfinished illustration for [a] Gotham Graphics litho certificate” by the fabled artist. Since Dick Sprang is the focus of this half of the issue, we’ve used it as our contents page header, though without altering a single line of the art—except for putting our A/E logo inside it, of course. [Art ©2002 Richard Sprang estate; Batman & Robin TM & ©2002 DC Comics.] Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. Phone: (919) 833-8092. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: Rt. 3, Box 468, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $8 ($10 Canada, $11 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $120 Canada, $132 elsewhere. 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 Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

Title writer/editorial

Hope Sprangs Eternal! Okay, so it’s a lousy pun. I just had to get it out of my system.

Naturally, John and I hope that you readers will prove equally supportive.

There really isn’t much I can say about the extensive coverage given to classic “Batman” artist Dick Sprang in this issue. Although mostly anonymous and unknown as a Bob Kane “ghost” by most fans until the 1980s, long after he had retired, he is definitely up there with Kane himself and Jerry Robinson as the artists who shaped the mythos of Batman and Robin—along with writer/co-creator Bill Finger, of course.

And how can you do that, you ask? I’m glad you asked that question—or at least allowed me to ask it on your behalf. Well, above all else—you can help by buying each and every issue of A/E, not just the ones that happen to showcase a Golden or Silver Age superstar, or DC Comics, or Timely/Marvel, or Fawcett, or a cover by a favorite artist. We don’t care whether you buy the mag at your local comics shop (which certainly deserves your patronage) or via subscription (well, we make a little more money that way, and you save $1 an issue, which now is $12 a year... but we’re not pushy). We just want you to buy every issue.

When I think about it, I realize that it was most likely Sprang’s art that I saw on that first Batman cover I spotted on a Jackson, Missouri, comics rack at age four in early 1945, and which I induced my long-suffering mother to buy me. It was probably one of the very first comics, if not the first, I ever owned. Of course, as I’ve said elsewhere, I was a bit shaky on the concepts of both crimefighters and bats at that age, so when Mother read the stories to me, I mentally translated the lead characters into “Badman and Robber,” a couple of lovable, Robin Hood-style crooks. (They had to be crooks, didn’t they? They wore masks!)

The frustration of doing a magazine like ours is seeing advance orders fluctuate—to more when we can spotlight a Buscema or a Romita or a Wood (or perhaps a Sprang), and to a bit less when we’re bringing your attention to other creators of genuine importance Nope—unlike most of the art on the pages surrounding this one, (like Vince Fago or Gill Fox or even the this illo isn’t by Dick Sprang, but is rather a spirited, goodgreat Lou Fine) who haven’t had a natured homage to his work by pro artists Steven Butler (pencils) presence in comic books for a while, and Though I was privileged to meet Dick and Jim Amash (inks). Not to worry, though—you’ll be inundated hence may be less familiar to readers. by Sprang art in the pages that follow! [Art ©2002 Steven Butler & Sprang only once in passing, I believe, After all, A/E is a mag about the history Jim Amash; Batman, Robin, & Joker TM & ©2002 DC Comics.] I’m exceedingly pleased to be able to of hero comics and their creators—and dedicate half of this issue of Alter Ego to what would be the use of reading only about people and characters you him and his work, with the help of Ike Wilson, Bob Koppany, Jim already know a lot about? Shouldn’t it also be about discovering talents Amash, Mike W. Barr, and various others. My only regret is that another, and features which have been there all along, but which you never knew early-’90s interview with Sprang, conducted by Shel Dorf, had to be left much (or anything) about till now? out for reasons of space—but that just means that I’ll have an excuse to devote still more pages to Sprang, some months down the line! Moving on: With this issue, A/E shifts to monthly publication, after an “eight-a-year” schedule... and only about a year since it was published quarterly.

I’ll level with you: this increase to putting out three times as much material in a year’s time is not primarily due to sales. Oh, sales are good enough... though neither John Morrow nor I nor our contributors are getting rich from what is basically a labor of love disguised as something resembling a day job. No, it’s because I’ve been on the receiving end of such a bonanza, a cornucopia, almost a plethora of vintage artwork and worthwhile articles and interviews, that I’m plagued by guilt at seeing what I term “art and artifacts” stockpile faster than I can get them into print. I have a hunch that even monthly publication won’t solve that problem entirely—but at least I’ll know I’m doing all I can. And I want to thank my otherwise eminently practical (as well as loving) wife Dann for supporting me in devoting more of my time and energy to Alter Ego instead of to other endeavors that might be more economically profitable.

Another way you can help is to show Alter Ego to your friends and fellow comics aficionados. And, related to this: we always appreciate it when we learn that someone has talked his comics retailer into ordering a few extra copies of A/E—copies he can display on a shelf in his store—rather than ordering just the precise number of copies that he is absolutely, 100% positive he can sell, because customers have ordered it from him. Think about it. If nobody but regular readers ever sees an issue of A/E—because it goes straight from under the counter into the buyer’s hands, without anybody seeing it sitting alongside copies of Batman or The X-Men—how the heck is the readership ever going to grow? We don’t expect comics store owners to order A/E on a scale with the more popular Marvel or DC titles—but these folks are supposed to be entrepreneurs, right? And being an entrepreneur involves at least a modicum of risk-taking... of taking a chance, in order to make your own business (and the businesses that your business depends on) grow. Oh, yeah—and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Bestest,

™

COMING IN JANUARY #

STILL MORE

TITANS OF TIMELY!

s Plu

THE 1965 NEW YORK COMIC-CON REVISITED—WITH A VENGEANCE!

• Two color covers—by Marvel artist AL MILGROM—and a 1965 comic-con composite by KUBERT, NODELL, BECK, BORING, & SCHELLY! • “Secrets behind THE INVADERS!”—World War II Forever—with JACK KIRBY, GIL KANE, FRANK ROBBINS, DAVE HOOVER, PAUL RYAN, & ROY THOMAS! • Rare Timely/Marvel art by JOE SIMON, MIKE SEKOWSKY, BILL EVERETT, SYD SHORES, & CARL BURGOS—and ALEX TOTH on comic art! • You probably never heard of Golden Age Timely artist BOB DESCHAMPS—but once you read JIM AMASH’s in-depth interview, we’ll bet you won’t forget him!

NOW MONTHLY!

• The 1965 NYC Comics Convention—perhaps the first full-fledged con—covered by BILL SCHELLY & ROY THOMAS—plus, a never-before-seen panel with three great Golden/Silver Age writers—BILL FINGER, OTTO BINDER, & GARDNER FOX—also MORT WEISINGER & MURPHY ANDERSON! • MICHAEL T. GILBERT talks (and draws) with Flash Gordon artist JIM KEEFE! • FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, RABOY, SCHAFFENBERGER, & others!

Edited by ROY THOMAS • Now 108 PAGES for the same price!

SUBSCRIBE NOW! Twelve Issues in the US: $60 Standard, $96 First Class (Canada: $120, Elsewhere: $132 Surface, $180 Airmail). NOTE: IF YOU PREFER A SIX-ISSUE SUB, JUST CUT THE PRICE IN HALF!

TwoMorrows. Bringing New Life To Comics Fandom. TwoMorrows • 1812 Park Drive • Raleigh, NC 27605 USA • 919-833-8092 • FAX: 919-833-8023 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

Submit Something To Alter Ego! Alter Ego is on the lookout for items that can be utilized in upcoming issues: • Convention Sketches and Program Books • Unpublished Artwork • Original Scripts (the older the better!) • Photos • Unpublished Interviews • Little-seen Fanzine Material We’re also interested in articles, article ideas, or any other suggestions... and we pay off in FREE COPIES of A/E. (If you’re already an A/E subscriber, we’ll extend your subscription.) Contact: Roy Thomas, Editor Rt. 3, Box 468 St. Matthews, SC 29135 Fax: (803)826-6501 • E-mail: roydann@ntinet.com

Submission Guidelines Submit artwork in one of these forms (in order of preference): 1) Clear color or black-&-white photocopies. 2) Scanned images—300ppi TIF (preferred) or JPEG (on Zip or floppy disk). 3) Originals (carefully packed and insured). Submit text in one of these forms: 1) E-mail (ASCII text attachments preferred) to: roydann@ntinet.com (NEW) 2) An ASCII or “plain text” file, supplied on floppy disk. 3) Typed, xeroxed, or laser printed pages.

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Spotlight On DICK SPRANG part one

An Interview with One of the Greatest of Golden Age “Batman” Illustrators Conducted by Ike Wilson [NOTE: This interview was conducted in the Phoenix [Arizona] area home of Dick and Marion Sprang on August 12, 1987, by Ike Wilson. It was transcribed by Barry Burris, copy-edited by David Bachman, and edited by Dick Sprang and Ike Wilson, and has previously been printed only in the limited-edition apa-zine CFA-APA #13, Sept.1988. Text ©2002 Ike Wilson.] IKE WILSON: How did you get started in comics? DICK SPRANG: I was living in New York City, illustrating for the pulp magazines—the western, detective, and adventure magazines in the era of the late 1930s. I wanted to leave New York and move west, and the only way I could see to make a living as a commercial artist in the Far West was to become a ghost artist for a major comic strip, because there were no significant commercial art outlets in Phoenix or anywhere else in the area I wanted to live, which was Arizona, Utah, or New Mexico. Perhaps there may have been in Los Angeles or San Francisco, but I didn’t want to live in or near those cities. I was able to take over a portion of “Batman” production, prove myself, and after the war I came west and did “Batman” and a share of “Superman” up until the time I retired, voluntarily, in the mid-’60s. IW: Did you have any special art training, or did you study on your own? SPRANG: A lot of studying on my own, in addition to high school art classes with a very good teacher who emphasized the fundamentals of drawing—how to draw a box, a hand, an automobile, in perspective. Then I went to work for the Scripp-Howard newspaper chain in Toledo, Ohio. I was in the art department, where we had to meet five deadlines a day. We Dick Sprang in 1991 at the AcmeCon in Greensboro, North Carolina—and a reproduction had five editions on the street that, in part, carried different from photocopies of original art from Batman #56 (Dec. ‘49-Jan. ‘50). According to advertisements for jewelry stores, furniture stores, and so on. interviewer and Sprang estate agent Ike Wilson, this splash is “one of the rare Dick Sprang We had to originals that turned up at the Kansas City Convention [in 1987].” Photocopy courtesy of Ike and of Batman collector/expert Joe Desris, from whose collection it comes; draw the photo by Teresa R. Davidson, courtesy of TRD & Jim Amash. [©2002 DC Comics.] items they sold, plus SPRANG: It was for me. Given a native sort of talent to draw and the editorial cartoons and motivation and drive to develop it is one of the best ways to train. You editorial illustrations. learned your craft by working at it, especially if you were working I had to work with under deadlines. Self-discipline is the best discipline, because it’s the engravers, and I toughest. mastered the technology of IW: Did you ever have the opportunity to work for any other comics printing. I learned the company besides DC? value of meeting a deadline. You grew SPRANG: Yeah, one I remember was Prize Comics. I think we did a up fast in that atmosfew of the “Power Nelson” stories, and perhaps a cover or two. Norman phere. That was Fallon, Ed Kressey, and I had a little studio loft on 42nd Street between better training than 5th Avenue and Grand Central Station. We did the Prize stuff and a few could be found in the sketches for the Lone Ranger comic strip, and a bit of script writing for majority of art that title’s radio show. But that’s the extent of the comic work I did schools of the day. before I joined DC. Our main thrust was advertising illustration, and I, independent of Norm and Ed, did pulp illustrations. A half-inked panel by Sprang, done for some early IW: So actually comics feature but never used; provided by Ike practice was the best IW: Were you ever influenced by any particular artist? Wilson. [©2002 the Richard Sprang estate.] method of training?

–––Rides Again

5 would never copy as well as those men did their work, which would have been a mistake anyway. But one of those studies we probably developed was a proficiency somehow that derived from their work.

SPRANG: Yes. Concerning comics, I was mainly influenced by Alex Raymond. In those years when we had full-page Sunday supplements with Terry and the Pirates, Prince Valiant, and Flash Gordon, some of us who wanted to become comic book illustrators studied those men, envied them highly, copied them, and decided we

Alex Raymond was a superb figure man. He could draw figures in any form of action. That was a great influence, and evidence of the need to draw figures well. I also studied men like Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth, the great illustrators who brought great compositions and motion to their work. Wyeth’s illustrations of pirates fighting on the deck of a ship—I mean they moved! My A triptych of Sprang art: (1) Napoleon in exile, from a student project (grade/age uncertain). Sprang’s notation indicates that other favorites he felt this previously-unpublished drawing (one of a series) among the illuswas the “Best of series - ‘gazing out upon the sad and solemn trators of my sea’”... evidently a quotation. (2) President Franklin youth were Roosevelt, drawn for the Toledo News-Bee in the late Harold Von ’30s; (3) a half-finished pulp illo, courtesy of Dr. Schmidt, Robert Augustus Scott. The latter drawing appeared in Bob Fawcett Kopanny’s fabulous 1998 coffee table book The Art of —truly a master Richard W. Sprang (more about it on pp. 20-22); the others draftsman— are courtesy of Ike Wilson. [First illo ©2002 the Richard Sprang estate; second ©2002 the respective copyright holder; third Tom Lovell, ©2002 Augustus Scott & the Richard Sprang estate.] John Gannam,

At left, an ad for the “Fallon-Sprang” studio indicates they were providing art to Prize Comics’ “Power Nelson,” Harvey’s “Shock Gibson,” and Hillman’s “Sky Wizard” (see A/E V3#2), among others. A/E’s founder Jerry Bails feels the splash at right, from Prize #8 or #9 (1941), was probably penciled by Ed Kressy and inked by Norman Fallon, rather than drawn by Sprang, who drew the stronger artwork in the ad. Anybody know where “K-7,” “The Scorpion,” and “Speed Martin” appeared—and what the heck they were? Ad provided by Ike Wilson. Thanks to Jerry Bails for the Prize page. [©2002 the respective copyright holders.]

Spotlight On DICK SPRANG part two

The “Good” Batman Artist by Max Allan Collins [This article originally appeared in CFAAPA #13, Sept. 1988, and is ©2002 Max Allan Collins.] It seems fitting that Dick Sprang’s limited return to Batman in recent years has been with a series of paintings based upon his own classic covers. After all, that was the way Carl Barks returned to Donald Duck, and Sprang is to the caped crusader what Barks is to Walt Disney’s foul-tempered fowl. I owned one of those lovely Sprang paintings for a time, but sold it a year or two ago. I’d had the painting—Batman and Robin fighting thugs atop a suspension bridge at night (I’ll leave it to the collectors to pin down which Batman cover that is)—framed and hanging in my office, near my desk. But, frankly, my unhappy experience as the writer of the Batman comic book made the Sprang painting’s presence an intolerable reminder of a glorious assignment gone wrong. Very little good came of my brief Batman tenure. I was signed for a year’s worth of scripts, but quit mid-way. A good number of readers hated my approach—which was a reversion to the Sprang era humor-tinged adventure (not camp) of the late ’40s and ’50s. I wrote very good Batman scripts (one of the best, a Joker story, has never been published), but I was subjected to editorial tampering and a succession of inappropriate artists, with the notable exceptions of Norm Breyfogle and Denys Cowan. I did have the opportunity to write two brief articles about Batman, which were published in lieu of letters pages, and was able to express my opinions about the greatest “Batman” artist of them all, Dick Sprang. I said, among other things, that “Sprang’s A 1990s photo of Max Allan Collins (writer of, among many other things, the graphic novel wonderfully exaggerated, perspective-bending style” was “as The Road to Perdition, the ultimate source of the recent hit movie—and before that the vibrant and dynamic a vehicle for the dark-night detective as the longtime scripter of the Dick Tracy comic strip)—juxtaposed with the Dick Sprang art he Batmobile itself.” In discussing the Batman/Dick Tracy formerly owned, a re-creation of the cover of Batman #76 (April-May 1953). This was connection, I mentioned that Sprang—while obviously influenced apparently Sprang’s very first cover re-creation. [Art ©2002 DC Comics.] by Tracy creator Chester Gould—was a more fluid artist than Chet; I’ll add now that Sprang’s line—while as wonderfully work—it’s too much like the despised TV show. (Never mind that, thick/thin as Chet’s—is more supple, and his camera angles more daring. without that TV show and the resulting rekindling of interest in comics, Both Gould and Sprang mingle caricature and illustration in a manner our hobby might be history.) perfect to the larger-than-life villains that plague their respective detecI do have a Sprang original in my collection. Years ago, I stumbled tives. across some early strip artwork (Swinnerton stuff, primarily) and traded When I was growing up, I thought (like most of you, I’d wager) that it for material that was more up my alley; I had one particularly tough Sprang’s work was that of Bob Kane. While the fans of Carl Barks (at trade with an older collector who was incredibly paranoid that he might least those over age eight) knew very well that “Walt Disney” wasn’t make the wrong deal. To get anything out of this guy, you had to be drawing Donald Duck, Batman fans like me had every reason to believe stupidly generous or the deal wouldn’t come off. He had a Sprang that Kane was really drawing Kane. Later, as I began getting hip enough “Batman” page and I gritted my teeth and let him have a Swinnerton (a to art styles to realize several hands were at work here, I began assuming Little Tigers and Bears or whatever, a four-panel square daily). I that the good “Batman” stuff was Kane’s, and the rest ghosted, never thought I was getting taken (and, truth be told, that Swinnerton would realizing that the work I identified as “clearly Kane” was inevitably still be pretty valuable). But I had no idea at the time that Sprang Sprang. “Batman” originals were so hard to come by. That page (which is a beauty from the late ’40s) will never leave my collection. I don’t remember, exactly, when I first heard Sprang’s name. Not all that long ago—I have a feeling it was George Hagenauer who wised me The best thing, incidentally, that came from my brief association with up (as he so frequently does), which means probably sometime in the Batman was to receive several nice letters from Dick Sprang—telling me ’70s. It’s gratifying to see Sprang’s name becoming widely known in the that my scripts were exactly the kind of “Batman” stories he field, although I fear the knuckleheads who consider the Neal Adams liked to draw. and Frank Miller versions of Batman definitive will bridle at Sprang’s Better vindication I couldn’t ask.

Spotlight On DICK SPRANG part three

The Greatest Batman Artist Who Ever Lived! A Paean of Praise—and News about a Book You Probably Never Heard Of by Bob Koppany Yes, I’m him. That guy who wrote a book about the greatest “Batman” artist who ever lived. What book, you’re wondering? Which artist, you’re asking yourself? I’m not surprised most people don’t know the book. DC Comics only allowed me to print 200 copies of the book, after I spoke with three lawyers about it for more than two hours. And I wasn’t allowed to sell them—I had to give them away! The books ended up going to libraries, collectors, and friends. That’s why the book instantly became the rarest Batman collectible ever produced. That’s why the book was bringing over $1000 less than six months after it was printed. I myself have a standing offer to buy back these books at market rate for an impromptu list of collectors (over thirty in line currently) who wanted a copy, but not one book has come my way for redistribution. Let me tell you about this book, the Holy Grail of Batmania that you’ve probably never heard about, let alone seen. Its title is The Art of Richard W. Sprang. Dick Sprang. Yes, I know, what a quirky “comic” name. You may never have heard of him, either, but I’ll get to that shortly.

Dick Sprang signs copies of The Art of Richard W. Sprang on Dec. 1, 1998, at the home of editor Bob Koppany. Bob’s lovely wife Marguerite Harning is seen at right, and Sprang’s agent Ike Wilson at left... but alas, Bob doesn’t seem to have had any photos taken of himself with the artist! “This,” Ike says with regret, “is the last time I ever saw Dick. Since [his wife] Marion was ill and Dick apparently had cancer, we never got together for another convention.” [Photo ©2002 B. Koppany III.]

200 copies plus sixteen publisher’s proofs were printed, and that’s it. That’s Dick Sprang’s legacy. That’s the notice for future generations that he walked the Earth, and what he left behind. Let me go into detail about what’s in this book. The first 38 pages cover his early years growing up in Ohio, his comic and art influences, high school, art correspondence, and work he did for newspapers. Then he went to New York and became an artist for the pulps, and even wrote some pulp stories, mainly westerns. Forty pages in the book cover these years of Sprang’s life. Then we get to his work at DC, covering twenty pages or so. Sprang talks about the people at DC, and his work, a bit. In 1948 he left New York for Arizona, and settled in Sedona.

The book was 272 pages, hardback. In its pages there are 174 illustrations, 68 He was still producing stories for DC but started his first of which cover his love, exploring. Believe it or not, that’s what he’s known for. years at DC (from He explored parts of Arizona, Utah, and Colorado that few 1941 through 1963 people had explored before. He literally carved the paths and beyond sporadithat turned into the roads that traverse that region. He cally until 1998), found Anasazi (also know as the Cliff Dwellers) Indian with 63 illustrations The “cover page” of the Sprang/Koppany tome—except that the ruins that no one knew about before. For those of you in full color. The white framing area shown here printed as black on the actual book. Its Civil War scene was one of several samples Sprang used unfamiliar with the Anasazi, they were native to the book discusses to land work in the pulp magazines in the late ’30s. No wonder he Southwest in the 1300s or so. Anasazi artifacts are Sprang’s life, his got the job! (“The sword,” he told Bob, “was authentic. It’s my considered to be national treasures and it is illegal to remove work, and everygreat-great-uncle’s.”) [©2002 Richard Sprang estate.] them from America. Vases that were sold before legislation thing in between. It to protect them brought hundreds of thousands of dollars. came out in Sprang’s name is legend among pioneers of the American Southwest. His November of 1998, with Sprang himself signing every one. Then, a year correspondence and explorations are in the Utah Historical Society. and a half later, in May of 2000, at the age of 82, Dick Sprang died. Only

Spotlight On DICK SPRANG part four

Partners In Time An Interview with the Classic “Batman” Team of DICK SPRANG and CHARLES PARIS Conducted by Ike Wilson

Transcribed by Jim Amash

[TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: I used to put on comic book conventions for Mark Austin’s Acme Comics in Greensboro, North Carolina—the city where Charles Paris was born. In November of 1989 I was privileged to have both Dick Sprang and Charles Paris as guests. As it turned out, this was the only comic-con where these two longtime artistic collaborators—penciler and inker of many a “Batman” tale— ever appeared together. I had so much to do during the AcmeCon that I asked Dick’s art agent and close friend, Ike Wilson, to moderate the panel with those two gentlemen. What follows is a well-rounded discussion about comics and the first Batman movie, with my personal favorite “Batman” art team. —Jim.]

(Left to right:) Inker Charles Paris, moderator Ike Wilson, and artist Dick Sprang at the AcmeCon panel, 1989. Photo by Teresa R. Davidson; courtesy of TRD & Jim Amash.

DICK SPRANG: [who was already speaking when the tape started] ...and I wasn’t getting anywhere. In 1936 I made up some samples and went to New York City. I tried to break into magazine illustration, mainly the pulp magazines... the western, detective, sports, pulp magazines. That went along pretty well for two or three years. While reading some of the scripts I was to illustrate, I decided to try my hand at writing some pulp stories, and so I did. And that worked; I sold about thirty of them. Then I could see that the pulps were going down the stream and the comic books were coming on. I could also see that New York City was not a place I wanted to live in after World War II. I figured the only thing I could do was to get a job as a ghost artist on a major comic strip. I didn’t care to create my own. I went to DC Comics [then National Periodical Publications] and I caught on. I worked in New York until 1946; then I left and moved to Arizona and have been there ever since. And up to the time I retired, I did it all by mail. I would send my pencils to New York, they would send them to Charlie in Tucson. We lived about, what, 300 miles apart? [Charles Paris agrees.] We never met during that period, but he would ink my pencils and send them to New York. So we didn’t become enemies because we never had close contact, you see. [audience laughs] But I’m telling you that if anyone would ever make an enemy out of an inker of the quality, skill, and vitality of Charley Paris, that penciler would have been crazy, because Charley is the best in the business. Absolutely! IKE WILSON: Okay, Charley, how did you get started in comics? CHARLES PARIS: I was going to the Grand Central School of Art,

studying under Harvey Dunn, who was a very famous illustrator. Some of the fellows in that class were working for DC at that time, so I knew them there. Every year in the spring, after school was out, Dunn would have a cookout for the students and past students. It was at one of those that [comic artist] Jack Lehti asked me if I’d like to be his inker. I had to ask him what an inker was, because I was in the department store display at that time. He told me and advised me to keep my job while he taught me how to ink. I inked for him for about two or three months, when he told me I could quit my job. From then on, I was into comics; I just fell in the back door. IW: Charley, what was it like to work in the DC bullpen? Who were some of the other pencilers you inked? Did you influence each other or bounce ideas off of each other? PARIS: We discussed things. Cliff Young was in the bullpen and was doing “Green Lantern.” Alex Brodie [NOTE: Did he mean Steve Brodie? —Jim.], whom Dick knew up in Sedona... he was inking stuff.

Partners In Time

George Roussos was doing the backgrounds on “Batman,” and Jerry Robinson was doing the figures. Raymond Perry was in charge of coloring at that time. I was there, Stan Kaye was in the next desk... Freddy Ray, Jerry Robinson. There was a change because World War II came along and a lot of guys were being drafted, so the staff changed from time to time. It was a great experience to work in the bullpen with those people. I was able to ask them how to proceed because I didn’t know anything about this business, really. When Jack Lehti was called into the service and Whit Ellsworth, who was the head editor there, put me in the bullpen... he put me to work inking Lee Harris’ strip called “Air Wave.” Then Lee was called into the service and they gave the strip to George Roussos, then put me to inking Mort Meskin’s stuff [e.g, “Vigilante”]. He was a great, great penciler, too, and was patient with me. He was one of the best in the business. You’re probably going to ask me how we got together, so go ahead right now. [audience laughter] IW: [to Sprang] Well, how did you feel about Charley inking your pencils? SPRANG: I felt wonderful. Until I saw them, well, naturally a penciler gets a little worried about what an inker will do to his all mighty creations, you know. But that turned out to work as beautifully as ever could be expected. I always did a very tight, detailed pencil job of not only the construction of objects and figures, but also the line shading and paid great attention to any background detail such as lamp posts or the mechanics of some of those huge machines that Bill Finger dreamed up. He was one of the great writers of the comics. And I provided these to my inker, and while it denied the inker some creativity in regards to putting himself into the rendition, Charley didn’t seem to mind that at all.

But his great creativity was the vigor of his inked lines. He had a masterful control of the most difficult inking instrument there is, which is a sable brush. It comes to a fine point and you use a number three or a number two or sometimes even a number one brush. That’s awfully hard to master. Charley is the ultimate master of that particular brush [Note: Dick is talking about a Winsor-Newton sable brush. —Jim.] and his work just made my pencils sing, and I’m eternally grateful to Charley for the fine job he did. I felt absolutely no regrets once I saw that this man, whom I met only once in the hallway at DC or in Whit’s office, just long enough to say hello to, that he was doing my work. I paid him great silent respect. Today, I’m paying him verbal respect at long last. IW: Didn’t Charley once say that the job of an inker was to follow the penciler’s intentions? SPRANG: That’s an astute statement. IW: What was it like inking Dick’s pencils as opposed to some of the other artists’ you were inking? PARIS: It was very great to work on his stuff, because I never had any doubt as to what he wanted me to do with his pencils. I certainly couldn’t say that about some of the other pencilers I inked. I don’t think there was ever any criticism from the office when I turned the stuff in. Nothing ever had to be changed. Some of these other guys’ stuff would come in and I’d wonder, “What is that supposed to be? What am I supposed to do with it?” Sometimes I didn’t know, but that wasn’t the case with Dick’s stuff. He laid it out beautifully and I’d simply try to do the best job that I could on his pencils. It was a great pleasure to be able work with him, and to say this because after 40 years, we didn’t see each other. He lived in

We Didn’t Know...

An “off-the-cuff” examination. Marc says the cuffs C.C. Beck drew on Cap’s forearms were “feathered with three bold strokes per band” (as on the cover of Whiz Comics #27, Feb. 1942)—while his own CM cuffs sported “five or six finer-pointed strokes per band” (as per the Swayze cover of Whiz #37, Nov. ’42). We just hope you can tell the difference between the two versions printed here! [©2002 DC Comics.]

I had learned to ink using a fine point metal pen, the Gilotte 290. Although I never considered it superior to the brush for comic book work, I found it difficult to resist for such as the cuff highlights, where it allowed as many as 5 or 6 strokes per band. Do you see what I’m saying? If the super-hero’s cuffs on the covers of the Whiz and the Captain Marvel Adventures published during the period we’ve been talking about appear to have been feathered with three bold strokes per band… it is very likely to have been the work of one particular artist. If the cuffs show five or six finerpointed strokes per band… well… …what do you think? [Marc Swayze’s reminiscences of his Fawcett years will continue next issue.]

WANTED: C.C. BECK FAWCETT COVER RE-CREATION PAINTINGS contact: fca2001@yahoo.com

The Post–War Years

Captain Marvel Jr. The Post-War Years by Don Ensign Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck Part I [NOTE: Over the next few issues of Alter Ego, FCA will serialize this study of Captain Marvel Jr.—his artists, stories, and themes—in the years after World War II.]

included “Junior” stories from 1942-53; the issues sampled are from the post-war and post-Mac Raboy era, Raboy being the artist most associated with the character). The stories reviewed for this article were from Capt. Marvel Jr. #35-40, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69-71, 93-94, 96, 98-99, 108, 110, 117 and Master Comics #65, 68, 83, 93, 95, 111, 117. This is a total of 86 stories out of the more than 580 “Captain Marvel Jr.” stories produced between 1942 and 1953. But first, an overview of...

Introduction Who were the most popular super-heroes during the Golden Age of Comics? Superman? Batman? Captain America? Captain Marvel? Plastic Man? If one were to look at the total number of stories published during what is sometimes called the First Heroic Age, the breakdown is (1) Captain Marvel (over 730 stories from 1940-53); (2) Captain Marvel Jr. (over 580 stories from 1942-1953); (3) Batman (over 525 stories from 1939-1953); (4) Superman (over 465 stories from 1938-53); and (5) Captain America (over 250 stories from 1941-49). While magazines featuring Batman and Superman had total circulations higher than Capt. Marvel Jr. (if not Cap himself, at least for a few years during the mid-’40s), why did the World’s Mightiest Boy achieve such heights of popularity? While Junior was created as a spin-off of the amazingly popular Captain Marvel, he sustained a significant measure of popularity until the end of Fawcett’s comic book publishing dynasty in 1953.

The focus of this series will be on the post-war years of Captain Marvel Jr. What made readers come back again and again to buy and read his adventures? We’ll explore the characters of Cap Jr., Freddy Freeman, and the strip’s supporting characters, and what kind of stories made “Captain Marvel Jr.” the popular comic book strip it was. Also, we will take a glimpse at the “CMJ” artwork produced during the post-World War II era, as well as analyzing the worldview that was conveyed through Junior’s stories. In preparing for this article, I read and analyzed a sampling of stories from issues of Capt. Marvel Jr. and Master Comics (which

Cap Jr. was forged in the fiery cataclysm of World War II. This dramatic splash page by Mac Raboy from Master Comics #27 (June 1942) features both Junior and his ultimate foe, Captain Nazi—the super-fascist whose violent arrogance led both to Freddy Freeman’s crippling and to the origins of Cap Jr.! Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of Jack Bender, the current (and only the third) artist of the Alley Oop comic strip—but Jack tells us that, true to Raboy form, the looming Captain Nazi figure and all art in the panel at bottom right is pasted-on photocopies; only the lettering is new! Much of the breathtaking rendering of London in the Blitz is probably by Raboy’s background ace, Rubin Zubofsky (now Bob Rogers). All the same, Mac Raboy’s masterful style had an enduring influence even in the post-WWII years. [©2002 DC Comics.]

Title writer/editorial

A Ray of Hope Two “hope”-ful puns for the price of one, gainfully employed as titles of this issue’s writer/editorials. The “hope” expressed, here as on our flip side, is that readers who like the idea of a monthly Alter Ego (or even just of A/E at all!) will be inspired to try to get their fan-friends interested in a magazine dedicated to the antediluvian (i.e., more than a few years ago) history of the heroic comic book... maybe even try to get comics store dealers to order a few more copies than they expect to sell within fifteen minutes of arrival. If so, Crom bless you, one and all. This half of the issue might be said to be dedicated, even more than the Dick Sprang section, to comics creators who are well-known to their peers, but whose names are even less recognizable than Sprang’s these days to the average comic book fan. Frederic E. Ray, Jr., was the artist/designer of some of the most famous, influential, and collectible covers ever of Superman, Action, and World’s Finest—but he never signed a single one of them. Even his longrunning “Tomahawk” was rarely signed with his “FRay” signature. But his professional colleagues and latter-day collectors learned his name, as

they learned Sprang’s, and sought out his work as eagerly as any Uncle Scrooge aficionado ever tracked down that of Carl Barks. In fact, two other Golden Age greats, Jerry Robinson and Jack Burnley, have their own say about Fred Ray in this very issue, even if they seem to differ somewhat concerning the attribution of a few key covers. (Our only regret is that we wound up with so much Ray material, “Tomahawk” in particular, sent by generous collectors, that we’ll have to run more coverage on the artist and/or series one of these days, to use it all up! Not that we’ll mind.) Mort Leav is, if anything, even less well known than Fred Ray, but he contributed a lot of nice work to comics from 1941-55, when he quit the field to do TV storyboards and other advertising work. The late Jerry de Fuccio put me in touch with Mort, who was a favorite artist of his. Among other things, Mort drew the first “Heap” story or two, but that was only a brief moment in his long career. Reprinting his anecdotal reminiscences from the pages of Robin Snyder’s The Comics! convinced me that Mort, too, will have to receive still more space in future issues of A/E. Sadly, Richard “Grass” Green is honored in this issue only in requiem, for the early fan-artist, who also drew for Charlton Comics in the latter 1960s, passed away this past summer. He may be gone... but he won’t soon be forgotten. Fred Ray... Mort Leav... Grass Green... add to that list a few names from our FCA section—Marc Swayze, the Fawcett artist who’s referred to himself as “the most forgotten of the unknowns”; Bud Thompson; Joe Certa; Bill Ward; even Kurt Schaffenberger and Mac Raboy—and you have a litany of artists whose names don’t quite resonate on a cover the way those of Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, John Buscema, John Romita, Wally Wood, and a few others do. But that, really, is what a “fanzine” like Alter Ego is all about. Mitra forbid that I should have to strive, issue after issue, month after month, to find a comic book “Big Name” to emblazon on the cover! Sure, such names are great when they happen—and Dick Sprang, virtually unknown to most “Batman” readers till the last decade of his long and productive life, has perhaps become one of those Big Names in recent years, at least among the cognoscenti. But if I had to weave every issue around a big name—either an artist or writer, or a particular hero or comics series—I’d go stark staring mad. Much of the thrill of Alter Ego, to me, is in showcasing a talent who was little-known, or even completely unknown, to comics readers in the Golden and Silver Ages... but who made his/her own definite contribution. People like Bob Rogers (née Rubin Zubofsky), who assisted Mac Raboy on “Captain Marvel Jr.” and Flash Gordon for years... or Marc Swayze, who co-created Mary Marvel and drew “Captain Marvel” stories that even C.C. Beck sometimes thought he had done... or Arnold Drake, whose name didn’t appear on his first “Doom Patrol” and “Deadman” stories... or Bob Deschamps, whose memories of his 1940s50s days at Timely Comics will rock you next issue, we kid you not... Or Fred Ray, Mort Leav, and Grass Green. Hope you’ll come along for the ride. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to Alter Ego, I prefer rides where you’re not 100% certain of the destination in advance.

This Fred Ray splash from Star Spangled Comics #107 (Aug. 1950), unlike many, bears his signature at the top; the bottom blur was probably caused by removal of the issue’s indicia when this page was photocopied from the original art. [©2002 DC Comics.]

Bestest,

Focus On Fred Ray part one

JERRY ROBINSON On FRED RAY The Harrisburg Patriot One of the Great Early “Batman” Artists Talks about His Friend— the Illustrator of “Batman and Robin in Buckskin”!

“Superman” story, collaborating with Mort Weisinger. After the war he traveled throughout Europe, South America, and the American West. He studied art at the Pennsylvania School of Fine Art. In 1947 [INTERVIEWER’S INTROhe took over the feature “Tomahawk” for DUCTION: By all accounts, Fred Ray Star Spangled Comics. A strip with a was a private person, respected by his novel setting in Colonial times whose peers and by the many comic book fans coonskin-capped hero anticipated the who knew and loved his work. The 1955 success of Davy Crockett, history of early DC Comics was made “Tomahawk” began in SSC #69 (June richer by Fred’s engaging cover artwork. 1947) with art by Edmond Good and an He both wrote and drew features and uncredited writer; Ray took over with rarely received a byline. Fans knew him #72 and became the artist most identified by his fresh, clean drawing style, Photos of a young Fred Ray in uniform during World War II... with the strip, though Sy Barry, Bob sometimes signed with a small “F.R.,” and of his colleague Jerry Robinson today... flanking one Brown, Leonard Starr, and Frank “FRAY,” or “F.RAY.” of their collaborative efforts, the cover of World’s Finest #3 Frazetta also drew it in later years. DC (Fall 1941). Jerry told Alter Ego that, though the cover [His work first appeared in late 1940. As a originally promoted “Tomahawk” as “the was basically Ray’s, he [Jerry] was asked by DC to ink the DC bullpen artist, he is sometimes Buckskin Batman.” In 1950 DC added a Batman and Robin figures, to keep the official “Bob Kane” credited with contributing to the 1940 Tomahawk title, which Ray wrote and look. Photos courtesy of Ron Webber, Dan Makara, Superman Gum Card series; some of the drew for 22 years; “Tomahawk” also and Jerry Robinson. [Art ©2002 DC Comics.] early advertisements for “Superman appeared in various issues of Adventure Bread” bear a resemblance to his style. His first cover credit is the Comics and World’s Finest Comics. In Les Daniels’ history of DC 1940 Macy’s Christmas giveaway. He was then assigned to produce Comics, editor Jack Schiff credited the success of the Tomahawk comic covers for Superman comics, beginning with issue #8, Jan. 1941. For entirely to Fred Ray: “He was magnificent.” the next two years Ray also produced many of the covers to Action [In 1960 Ray became art director for The Civil War Times, American Comics, featuring Superman, and World’s Finest Comics, History Illustrated, and British Heritage, based in Harrisburg, spotlighting both Superman and Batman, as well as an occasional Pennsylvania. In the 1970s he painted full-color re-creations of his cover for Detective Comics and Leading Comics. His early interior early comic book covers, which sold at the time for $250 each. In 1997 work was on “Radio Squad,” “Sgt. O’Malley,” and “Congo Bill.” At Sotheby’s sold his original cover art to Superman #17 for $37,000. It times he wrote, penciled, inked, and colored the features. You can also was sold privately by a dealer; Ray himself saw none of the profit. find spot illustrations by Fred on many of the two-page text stories.

Interview and Transcription by Dan Makara

[He joined the Army Air Forces in 1942, and I’ve found at least one of Fred’s editorial cartoons in Yank magazine. While in the service, he continued to illustrate “Congo Bill” and did his first and only

[It was a surprise to see Fred Ray’s personal effects for sale on the Internet auction site eBay in July 2001. Not many had even heard that he had passed away. While alive, he rarely conducted interviews,

A Fred Ray Interview

Three examples of Fred Ray art concerning Colonial, Civil War, and World War II themes, repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Ron Fernandez. [©2002 the respective copyright holders.]

Ray’s cover for Tomahawk #42 (Aug. 1955) has also been repro’d here from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of Ron Fernandez. By this time, there was an attempt to incorporate more “modern” and even anachronistic themes into Ray’s stories, which were set in the days of America’s Revolutionary War.

Brock, who worked in first half of 20th Century. Discovered his work in England some years ago and have been looking for his work ever since. Not originals but published work. CR: Any comments on Superman’s fifty years in comics? RAY: Not really.

In a 1971 letter, Ray, who had been asked by Charlie Roberts about memories of his comic book period, responded: “Not really much I can tell you about it... it was a lot of work at miserable wages, but invaluable experience for most of us who were really a bunch of kids at the time.” [©2002 DC Comics.]

Monthly! Edited and published by Robin Snyder

[Charlie Roberts began collecting original art in 1966 after meeting Milt Caniff at a chalk-talk at the Smithsonian, and was a co-founder of the Orlando-Con in Central Florida. He has written various articles and interviews, and currently works part-time for Hake’s Americana & Collectibles, the catalog/Internet auction house in York, PA. He lives near Oceanside, CA, with his wife Joan and possibly the world’s largest yellow Lab, Hobie.]

Write to: Robin Snyder, 2284 Yew St. Rd. #B6, Bellingham, WA 98226-8899

Focus On Fred Ray part three

Artist--Chronicler of American Landmarks [NOTE: Our thanks to Dan Makara and Ron Webber for this piece, which was apparently written to appear in a publication which featured some of Ray’s historical artwork. It contains, of course, no mention that he ever drew comic books of any kind. Though no author is named, Ron believes Fred Ray wrote this third-person bio himself, “to be used as an intro to some published Civil War material used at some state parks in Pennsylvania.” —Roy.] Frederic Ray is the sole author, artist, and publisher of a series of little booklets vividly portraying the history of famous American landmarks. An illustrator of adventure series, Ray’s second love to art has always been American history. His motor trips about the country are always planned to include an historical landmark. The idea of producing a Fred Ray in front of some ancient landmark or other—flanked by a pair of Ray art pieces with series of booklets on historical related themes from the 1949-50 period: a page from his booklet Fort Ticonderoga, and his spots had simmered for a long “Tomahawk” splash from Star Spangled Comics #90 (March ‘49). Dan Makara says he’s not certain if time before it was triggered six Ray inked the latter as well as penciling it, but that the story “reminds me of the research Ray did for years ago when, returning from his historical booklets on forts. This is more than likely a nice example of his writing as well as a trip to old Quebec, Ray drawing!” [Fort Ticonderoga art ©2002 estate of Frederic Ray; “Tomahawk” art ©2002 DC Comics.] stopped off at historic Fort Ticonderoga. Recognizing the adopted by other publications at the park. A trip with sketchpad to St. need for an attractive, easy-to-read picture history of the fort, Ray Augustine, Florida, and the old Spanish Castillo de San Marcos resulted returned to his drawing board in Philadelphia, where he was attending in book no. 3, St. Augustine. Ray personally visits the locale for all his art school on the G.I. Bill, and there designed a 16-page booklet. Each drawings to insure accuracy in background portrayal. When his fourth page graphically depicted in word and picture a highlight of the history book, Lake George, was conceived, he journeyed in early March to of the fort. The trustees of Fort Ticonderoga saw the first roughs and Lake George, New York. Says Ray, “Arriving late, I spent the night in a were enthusiastic. Every spare minute that winter went into the booklet, tourist house, rising early in the morning to make my sketches and and it appeared on the counter at the fort the following summer. reconnoiter the site of Fort William Henry (this fort has since been Each year since then, Ray has produced a different booklet for some history-minded tourist like himself who loves exploring the walls of an old fort, inspecting an ancient muzzle-loading cannon, and conjuring up the ghosts of the past. But Ray is also directing his particular approach to American history to the small fry... the youth of America... to whom the picture technique of storytelling is most attractive. His drawings bring it all back to stirring life, being both educational and entertaining at the same time. Fort Ticonderoga was followed by Valley Forge. His picture map of Valley Forge Park, which appeared in this booklet, has since been

reconstructed). The temperature was 5 below zero, the lake frozen solid. I can assure you that it was a double-time reconnaissance I made that morning.” An exploratory trip to Old Fort Niagara on Lake Ontario was followed by a booklet on that famous landmark. The center spread, in which Ray usually depicts a bird’s-eye view of the fort in question or a map of the area, was here elaborated upon to illustrate Fort Niagara in the 1770s. An aerial view of the present structures supplemented by an 18th-century plan made by the French commander of the fort, Captain Pouchot, made this reconstructed view possible.

Alter Ego #19