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No. 28

September 2003

1950s Timely/Marvel Great

JOE MANEELY

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Vol. 3, No. 28 / September 2003

™

Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

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 Joe Maneely Don Newton

Contents

Cover Colorists Tom Ziuko Don Newton

And Special Thanks to: Lee Ames Ger Apeldoorn Terry Austin Mike W. Barr Alberto Becattini John Benson Bill Black Steve Brumbaugh Mike Burkey Tony Cerezo Scott Deschaine Jaime Echevarria Carl Gafford Stan Goldberg Walt Grogan George Hagenauer John Haufe, Jr. Mark & Stephanie Heike Larry Ivie Ed Jaster

JOE MANEELY & The Atlas Age of Comics!

Mort Leav Stan Lee Mark Lewis Nancy Maneely Scotty Moore Brian K. Morris Anthony Newton John Petty Steven Rowe John Severin Marie Severin Steve Skeates Jeff Smith Robin Snyder Marc & June Swayze Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Hames Ware Tom Wimbish

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Joe & Betty Jean Maneely and Pierce Rice

Writer/Editorial: Mighty Joe Maneely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 WHAT IF–-–Joe Maneely Had Lived and Drawn in the Marvel Age? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Dr. Michael J. Vassallo takes a year-by-year look at the life and legend of this remarkable artist! My Father, Joe Maneely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Nancy Maneely talks about the father she loves, but hardly knew. “Joe Was the Best!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Stan Lee looks back 45 years, and remembers one of Timely’s greatest artists ever! A Golden/Silver/Bronze Age Potpourri . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: Our peerless publisher John Morrow designed this marvelous (or perhaps we should say timely) montage of five of the comic book characters most associated with Joe Maneely—an artist who, because of the era in which he did most of his work (the 1950s), never drew a single flat-out super-hero story! John assembled the cover from a photo supplied by Joe’s daughter, and color photocopies or original comics provided by Doc Vassallo and Roy Thomas. Even though we shortchanged the horror tales which were one of Maneely’s most prolific genres, we think it captures something of the spirit of that remarkable talent. And here we thought John Morrow was just another pretty face—no, wait, that’s his wife Pam! [Art ©2003 Marvel Characters, Inc.; photo courtesy of Nancy Maneely.] Above: Ye Editor makes no apologies for preferring Maneely’s work on three issues (and five covers) of the 1955-56 Black Knight to anything else he ever did. When you put out your own magazine, you can spotlight Ringo Kid or Combat Kelly or Yellow Claw or a creeping corpse— or Dippy Duck, for all we care! They’re all great! To paraphrase Stan Lee—“’Nuff said!” [©2003 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Above panel from Black Knight #1 by Lee and Maneely. 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, $11.00 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

Mighty Joe Maneely Back in the 1960s and ’70s, just about everybody working for Marvel, staff or freelancer, had a colorful nickname. These were usually alliterative, like Smilin’ Stan, Jolly Jack, Sturdy Steve, and Rascally Roy—but not always. E.g., ’twas Stan himself who coined “Gil (Sugar) Kane,” as well as (I believe) “Stan the Man” and (maybe) “Our Pal Sal Buscema.” Later I dreamed up the non-alliterative “Roy the Boy,” “Steve (Baby) Gerber,” “Rich (Swash) Buckler.” And, if I’d been Stan’s assistant editor in 1949 instead of starting in ’65—and assuming “Joltin’ Joe” was already taken by Joe Sinnott—I’d have been strongly tempted to refer in print to a certain talented new artist as—“Mighty Joe Maneely.”

see the dinosaurs drawn by Kubert or Wood, but everything else is pure Maneely.

1949, after all, was the debut year of what is today my second-favorite giant gorilla movie, Mighty Joe Young. And Joe Maneely was a mighty man, by every account I’ve ever heard, whether from Stan, Bill Everett, Stan Goldberg, Marie Severin, Sol Brodsky, John Romita, or whomever.

For, y’see, whenever I daydream about a vintage comics adaptation of the original Mighty Joe Young—or of King Kong, which I first saw in theatrical re-release in the early 1950s—they’re always drawn by Joe Maneely! The apes—the jungles—the heroes and heroines—the dinosaurs in Kong—well, I

Doc V. and Maneely’s daughter Nancy tell their stories well—and it was equal parts of fun and frustration putting art with them, since Doc sent me at least ten times the amount of art I could squeeze into even 40-plus pages. But that just means there’ll be more about Joe Maneely coming up in Alter Ego, whenever the occasion presents itself—like next issue! Bestest,

COMING IN OCTOBER NOW MONTHLY!

That, along with the dedicated research shown by Michael J. Vassallo—“Doc V.” in fannish circles, since he’s a bona fide dentist—is one reason I’m happy to devote half of this issue to an artist who never once drew a masked, be-caped super-hero flying through the sky or swinging on a rope against a Manhattanesque skyline. Maneely is an artist I’ve admired ever since the early 1950s, and even then I was amazed by all the times I saw his signature on things—and, not being a horror-comics reader, I didn’t see nearly everything he did, not by a long shot. I was also aware from the mid-’60s on of the high esteem in which Stan and others held him.

# ™

OUR FIRST (AND MAYBE LAST)

olly; e Von Sch 3 Pete 3 the respectiv 0 rt ©200 Kong a g © & TM 20 n King Ko holders ht copyrig

HALLOWEEN ISSUE WITH BRUNNER, EVERETT, & MORE!

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The Life and Times of One of Timely/Atlas’ Greatest Artists

WHAT IF... JOE MANEELY Had Lived and Drawn in the Marvel Age of Comics? A Year-by-Year Look at the Life and Times of One of Timely/Atlas’ Greatest Artists [With this issue's long-overdue look at Timely/Atlas titan Joe Maneely, I hoped Betty would have come to realize this. With the passing of this strong and beautiful woman, I like to think Joe and his Betty Jean are finally back together again. —MJV.]

by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo [AUTHOR’S INTRO: On April 16th, as this issue was being assembled, Betty Jean Maneely, the widow of Joe Maneely, passed away after an extended illness. Over the years I had written to Betty many times, often encouraged by my friend Nancy, Joe's youngest daughter. Nancy assured me that my letters were appreciated and read by her mom, but she doubted that they would ever be answered, as Betty rarely spoke about her late husband, especially to someone whom she had never met. As predicted, my letters were not answered. In those letters I had expressed my admiration for her husband's work. I talked about his unique art style and prodigious output, and I asked about particular recollections and memories about his career, trying to explain to her how truly important her husband was to the full history of Marvel Comics. I wanted her to understand that, despite the passage of years, when you study the history of this medium, specifically the history of Marvel in the decade of the 1950s, you start and stop with a single name: Joe Maneely.

[NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated, all art accompanying this article is from photocopies of vintage comic books provided by the author.]

Overview: The Fabulous ’50s The decade of the 1950s was a strange period of unique dichotomy in this country. On the one hand, the American people were enjoying a booming postwar prosperity. The G.I. Bill had helped the returning heroes of the Second World War on the road to a hopeful future in the new decade. The great evil had been conquered, industry was soaring, and a new medium, television, was aborning. At the same time, however, a pervasive feeling of uncertainty was evident. A “Cold War” with our former ally was becoming entrenched, and the world was being divided into an “us vs.

Okay, so the above photo (which also appears on our cover) was taken while Joe Maneely was in the Navy, a year or three before he drew his first comic book in 1948—but he’s in civvies and he’s at the drawing board, so what the hey! Flanking this caption are two great Maneely covers: Adventures into Weird Worlds #25 (Jan. 1954) and Sub-Mariner #37 (Dec. 1954). Joe’s foray into super-heroics was atypical—but his horror covers adorned myriad Timely fear-fests! Photo courtesy of Joe’s daughter, Nancy Maneely. [Art ©2003 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Joe Maneely

them” scenario, with a concurrent build-up of weapons that were capable of destroying this fragile planet many times over. A new “police action” war was beginning in Korea, and as the decade progressed, a distinct, almost palpable uneasiness was clearly evident. A close study of the time will reveal that this uncertainty was also reflected in many aspects of popular culture. Films spawned Cold War thrillers and radioactively-induced “B”-movie monsters. In the music industry there would be an explosion of youth culture music—i.e., rock ’n’ roll—further worrying an already concerned adult populace. It’s no surprise, then, that the comic book industry would likewise reflect these diverse trends. The Golden Age of Comic Books waned with the return of our boys from the war in 1945. By the late 1940s, as super-heroes began to fade from the newsstands, they were replaced by genres reflecting an audience with changing and divergent tastes. Crime, romance, horror, and war titles joined the humorous ones already being published. At Timely Comics, a major publisher of the Golden Age, the editor-in-chief was a precocious wunderkind named Stan Lee, who had been at the helm since 1941 and whose cousin Jean was married to the publisher, Martin Goodman.

publisher, tried to wean his company from the shops by starting an in-house staff. Simon and Kirby, followed by Syd Shores, Al Avison, Fred Bell, Don Rico, Al Gabrielle, Mike Sekowsky, George Klein, Allen Bellman, and a score of others joined a staff that would create and produce material “inhouse.” Timely’s earliest creators, Bill Everett and Carl Burgos, both Jacquet shop alumni, continued to freelance for Goodman, and Burgos joined the staff only at the end of the decade. By mid-1942, two distinct bullpens were operating, one turning out the myriad superhero titles, and the other turning out the humor titles.

When Stan Lee went into the service in the summer of 1942, Vince Fago, a funny-animal freelancer, assumed the editor-inchief mantle. This coincided with the boom in humor titles, as Fago, a former Fleischer animator, continued to draw numerous Rarer than rare! This original cover art for Black Knight #5 (April 1956) funny-animal features concurrent was featured in the Christie’s East Comic Collectibles catalog for a 1993 with his editorial duties. Comedy auction. Not only is original Maneely art extremely scarce—but, because Comics, Joker Comics, Krazy of reprintings by Marvel, Black Knight is today the best-known of his Let me start with a little history.... work. As for the Atlas globe symbol enlarged at right: from 1951 to 1957 Comics, and Terry-Toons all began it identified not only Martin Goodman’s distribution company, but—as appearing in mid 1942. Fago’s initial far as most readers at the time were concerned—his comic book company, humor staff consisted of Ernie as well. The name “Timely” was all but forgotten outside the industry. Hart, Al Jaffee, Ed Winiarski, [©2003 Marvel Characters, Inc.] By 1950 Timely’s super-hero George Klein, Kin Platt, Jim titles, a major force during the boom Mooney, Moe Worth, Mike war years, were all defunct. Previously, along with Marvel Mystery Sekowsky, David Gantz, and later Frank Carin. Chad Grothkopf, and Comics, Captain America, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, et al., humor Dave Berg freelanced, as did Basil Wolverton; Milt Stein was an even comics (both funny-animal and “teen”) had filled the stands, as well. later freelancer. There was also a lot of crossing over, as many of the Teen titles had eventually eclipsed the funny-animal books, and by about humor artists (such as Mike Sekowsky, George Klein, David Gantz, and 1946 had even overtaken the super-hero titles in sales and popularity. By Fred Bell) frequently worked on super-hero scripts. Pvt. Stan Lee 1947, with super-hero sales declining, Timely had expanded in other continued to send in scripts from where he was stationed in North directions—first crime, followed by westerns, romance, and, by 1949, Carolina. horror. Following the war, as sales peaked, the years chugged along as Timely There was a last attempt in 1948 to jumpstart super-heroes again with churned out titles and features by the carload with an ever-changing the quick introduction of new titles like Namora, Sun Girl, a second bullpen staff, which by 1948 included Gene Colan and John Buscema. All Winners, The Witness, Venus, and Blackstone, but all except the It is into this milieu that Joe Maneely stepped in mid-1949. ever-adaptable Venus were quickly gone. Similarly, Marvel Boy, a gorgeous science-fiction-based feature drawn by Russ Heath, then Bill Everett, attempted in 1950 to cash in on the sf/horror trend and lasted two issues in his own title and another four after a title change to Astonishing before bowing out to the more popular all-horror format.

First—the Fightin’ ’40s

Joe Maneely— A Man for a Decade

Creator-wise, Timely originally (starting in 1939) bought their features from the Lloyd Jacquet shop, Funnies, Inc., and from the Harry “A” Chesler shop. But, almost immediately, Martin Goodman, Timely’s

Ask anyone who reads and collects comic books today who Joe Maneely was, and you’re likely to get a blank stare. Put the question to someone with a marginal knowledge of comic book history, and you

The Life and Times of One of Timely/Atlas’ Greatest Artists

may get a glimmer of recognition pertaining to Marvel’s 1955 Black Knight series. That’s about it, and even that will probably be because Marvel reprinted some of those stories in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and again in the 1997 trade paperback The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1). What most people don’t realize is that, with the stars aligned a little differently 45 years ago, the birth of the Marvel Universe as we know it might have been vastly different. Maneely was Stan Lee’s star artist for most of the 1950s, during what is known as the Atlas period of Joe Maneely’s Navy portrait photo, taken at age 17 (in 1943), juxtaposed with a comic strip he did for a Navy Marvel Comics history. Atlas, a name derived from newspaper sometime by 1946. Both courtesy of Nancy Maneely. [©2003 the respective copyright holder.] Martin Goodman’s distribution company and easily identified by a small “globe” on the cover, was by cartooned for the North Catholic newspaper, creating an original mascot far the industry leader in quantity of titles and issues published in the character “The Red Falcon” before dropping out in his sophomore year. first 3/4 of the decade. Dell/Western sold more books, but no one had as “The Red Falcon” was also drawn as a comic strip for the school many redundant titles on the stands as Goodman’s Atlas. With Lee as newspaper and remained the school’s mascot for decades; perhaps it still editor-in-chief, every imaginable type of comic book was published, is. Gertrude Maneely, a strong and proud woman, gave her son an flooding the market with score after score of books utilizing a huge ultimatum: either return to school or “ship out,” which meant join the stable of freelancers, many of them comic book royalty. service. Maneely chose the latter and served three years as a specialist in visual aids for the U.S. Navy, contributing cartoons to his ship’s newspapers. Joe Maneely was born in Pennsylvania on February 18, 1926, the son of Robert and Gertrude Maneely and one of at least five children. He grew up in Philadelphia, where the Maneelys were poor, and attended Ascension BVM Elementary School, often embarrassed to go to school in worn, patched clothing. At North Catholic High School, he

Upon discharge from the Navy, he married Elizabeth Kane, his childhood sweetheart, in 1947. Joe was 21 and “Betty Jean” was 20. Taking advantage of the G.I. Bill, he began studies at Philadelphia’s Hussian School of Art, where he met fellow artist George Ward. They

Doc Vassallo tells us these stories represent some of Maneely’s earliest work for Street & Smith, and thus his debut in comic books. All three stories appeared in Red Dragon #5 (Oct.-Nov. 1948). [©2003 the respective copyright holder.]

Nancy Maneely

My Father, Joe Maneely A Loving Daughter Talks about the Father She Never Got a Chance to Know by Nancy Maneely Like my friend Michael Vassallo, I have asked the question, “What if...?”

drawn the card. It reads: “Heigh-ho, Daddy-O! Congratulations to Betty Jean and Daddy Joe!” It was signed by Stan Lee and the rest of the Atlas gang.

My reflections on the subject are personal, and mainly speculative. They are based on fragments of information I’ve managed to piece together about my father, Joe Maneely, from the many friends and loved ones who respected and admired the man and the artist.

I have in my possession a meager collection of my father’s original artwork. There would have been more—much more—but for a 1960s flood in the basement of my mother’s house that destroyed a trunk filled with Joe Maneely panels and sketches. Not to mention hundreds of comic books that disappeared over the years. (I have been rebuilding a collection of my dad’s comic books, painstakingly, in recent years. I have some 125 books, acquired from flea markets, comic book stores, online auctions—and from my friend Michael.)

I have no conscious memory of my father, who Wedding photo of Joe and Betty Jean was only 32 when he died in Maneely, 1947. Courtesy of Nancy Maneely. June 1958, leaving his widow Betty Jean and three daughters: Kathleen, age 8; Mary Carole, 7; and me, the two-year-old “baby.” My mother assures me, however, that I missed my dad terribly. For weeks after he died, I would call out “Doe! Doe!” in my baby voice (in imitation of my mother’s calling “Joe” to the dinner table).

Other treasures include a set of three framed pen-and-ink cowboy panels signed by Joe Maneely. They once graced his home office. The two smaller panels hang in my guest room—we call it “The Cowboy Room.” The third and largest picture takes pride of place at my son’s home. Westerns were my father’s favorite theme (at least until The Black Knight came along to capture his imagination), and so I cherish these wonderful pieces. In the years following my father’s untimely death, Mom struggled to raise us three girls. It was tough. In the ’50s and ’60s the working world was not clamoring for unskilled housewives seeking gainful employment. My dad had left us virtually penniless. In the mid-1950s,

After my sisters were born, my mother went on to suffer two miscarriages before I came along. My birth was dangerous and difficult for both mother and baby. Joe stated firmly there would be no more children, but Mom felt differently; she believes I might have had several younger siblings, had my father lived. I’m told I was my daddy’s much-loved and fussed-over baby girl. He insisted on taking me everywhere with him. I even had my own special booster seat, which hooked over the passenger seatback and came complete with a little steering wheel (child safety devices were not a part of consumer culture yet!). My most cherished piece of original art is a hand-inked caricature of baby Nancy (me!) against a giant shamrock backdrop (I was born the day after St. Paddy’s Day, 1956). There I am, wearing a diaper, cowboy hat, and holster, and my father’s blackframed eyeglasses askew. I don’t know which of my dad’s coworkers in the “bullpen” had

“Westerns were my father’s favorite theme,” Nancy says, “at least till The Black Knight came along to capture his imagination.” Here’s an early Maneely “Black Rider” splash, from BR #10 (Sept. ’50), while Joe was still honing his craft—and Sir Percy of Scandia donning the dark armor for the first time after being given it by Merlin the Magician, in Black Knight #1. [©2003 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

My Father, Joe Maneely

having just begun to earn a decent living, the thought of savings (or even life insurance) hadn’t entered his head! But Joe Maneely’s resourceful widow managed to put food on the table for her daughters, thanks to Social Security and a series of part-time clerical and waitress jobs. Amid those years of struggle, my mother—a smart and beautiful woman— enjoyed an occasional date, but never remarried. When asked why, she would say that no man could hold a candle to Joe Maneely. (If you would like to know what my mother looked like in those years, here’s a little-known secret: just about every gorgeous dark-haired bombshell in Joe Maneely’s comic book repertoire bore a close resemblance to her!). (Above:) Photo from Easter of some year in the 1950s (probably ’57) of the Maneely daughters—from left to right, Kathleen, baby Nancy, and Mary Carole. (Right:) Nancy cherishes this handmade and -colored cartoon-card given to Joe and Betty Jean on the occasion of her birth in 1956. The artist was most likely Bill Everett, whose distinctive signature is at left. All signatures on the card are from Timely/Atlas staffers, so there’s naturally a preponderance of letterers and production people. More or less counterclockwise from the top (and ignoring the three names printed in all-caps for the moment), the signees are: Marie Severin (production person, former EC colorist, and destined to become an important Marvel artist in the 1960s)— Christopher Rule (veteran inker, and a chief suspect later as possible inker of Fantastic Four #1-2 in 1961)— Bill Everett (creator of Sub-Mariner and many other great comics—‘nuff said!)— Ray Holloway (Timely letterer since the ’40s, one of the few African-Americans in comics)— Morrie Kuramoto (Japanese-American letterer and production man who worked on staff again in the 1960s and ’70s)— Gerda Gattel (proofreader, who after the Atlas “implosion” would perform that same function for DC—splendidly by all accounts—until her retirement)— Al Sulman (longtime writer and sometime editor at Timely)— Herby Cooper (letterer and production man—as “Herb,” he lettered a bit for Marvel in the ’60s)— Stan S. (Stan Starkman, staff letterer who would work for DC from 1950-68)— Stan Lee (wonder what ever happened to him)— Art Simek (a letterer—in the ’60s, the first one to receive credit in Marvel’s mags)— Danny Crespi (production man—he returned in the ’70s, too)— George Kapitan (a writer for Timely in the early ’40s—not sure of his bullpen function in ’56)— Sol Brodsky (artist and production man—he’d become Marvel’s production manager circa 1965, and remain with the company, later as a vice president, for most of the rest of his life)— June Paley (Doc Vassallo suggests that reading of the name, since there are three Atlas romance stories signed “Colletta and Paley” in 1957—any other info out there?)— John Severin (artist—Marie’s big brother, and one of the best draftsmen in the history of the comics field)— Carl Burgos—(creator of the original Human Torch, and sometimes an unofficial cover editor in the 1950s Atlas bullpen, by various accounts)— Joe Letterese (with a name like that, he just had to be a letterer, and he was—a good one!) As for those three non-signature names lettered in upper-case at the upper far left— well, Stan G. is colorist/artist Stan Goldberg—Vince might’ve been inker Vince Colletta, if not former Timely inker Vince Alascia—and Sal could have been any of several people. Any suggestions? Photo and art courtesy of Nancy Maneely. [Art ©2003 the respective copyright holder.]

Title writer/editorial

Showing Our Age(s) This issue’s “flip-side” runs the gamut from the Golden Age through the Silver to the Bronze, and maybe beyond (depending on your definitions of these things). Artist Lee Ames, for instance, tells Jim Amash about his work in the comic book field from the early 1940s through the mid-’50s, just about encompassing the period I personally define as the Golden Age—in which I generously include everything from the debut of Superman until the Comics Code finally brought down EC and its ilk, like biplanes firing at King Kong—while we pay tribute to a recently departed 1940s comics illustrator, Pierce Rice, who has left us a legacy of accomplishment.

of the 1940s and ’50s... Steve Skeates’ acerbic comments about the Isis comics he wrote in the ’70s... and Walt Grogan’s recounting of E. Nelson Bridwell and Don Newton’s “Monster Society of Evil” serial in the early ’80s. So enjoy! There’s an age here for everyone... Bestest,

P.S.: Artist-for-all-ages Alex Toth will be back next issue!

Michael T. Gilbert shows some of the work that several EC greats and other artists turned to in order to survive in the hostile environment of the late 1950s, and John Benson talks to Bill Schelly about post-EC comics fandom as it headed from the late ’50s into the 1960s. In both these pieces, we’re creeping Silver Ageward, at the very least, as The Flash is already dashing around Central City, and Green Lantern is firing his Power Ring at that yellow guided missile streaking toward Coast City. And P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA, this time around, definitely hits several ages—with Marc Swayze’s continuing reminiscences Ensign Rod Reilly becomes Firebrand in these Lee Ames panels from a recent reprinting from Police Comics #10 (July 1942); see our very next page for full details. [Restored art ©2003 AC comics; Firebrand TM & ©2003 DC Comics.]

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

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Lee Ames

Lee Ames in a recent photo.

“The Family of Cartoonists Is My Family!”

Golden Age Artist LEE AMES Talks about a Long and Lively Career Conducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash [INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: Lee Ames tells stories as well as he draws them. His presence at various comic book companies over the years enables him to comment on some of the all-time greats in the history of the medium. Still working at age 82, Lee continues a vitally gifted art career, of which we can give you only a taste. For more, visit his web-sites <www.draw50.com> and <www.leeames.com>, and indulge in the work of a master craftsman. Special thanks for their help to Lee, and to Jerry Bails, Tom Wimbish, and Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. —Jim.]

“The One Thing I Could Do above Everything Else Was Draw” JIM AMASH: In looking over your biography, I see you spent time at several different comic companies, so I figure the best place to start is to ask where and when you were born... and what got you interested in art. LEE AMES: I was born in Manhattan, New York, on January 8, 1921. The name on my birth certificate read “Male Abramowitz.” Eight days later, I was given my first name, Leon. Twenty-five years later we legalized my nom de plume, Lee J. Ames. From as far back as I can remember, the one thing I could do above everything else was draw. There was never any question that this was what I was going to do. My father, however, always said I should learn a trade and become a tailor, like he was—or something like that Many Jewish immigrants came over to America and got into the “needle trades,” as they called it then. My father was a presser and later bought a store in the throes of the Depression. How he was able to get the $400 to buy the store is still a mystery, but he didn’t steal it. [laughs] As was needed, he hired a tailor or furrier. Meanwhile, he managed to hold two or more outside jobs, day and night, to pay the store workers and keep us alive and eating. My mother would tend to the customers and I would make deliveries. We also lived in three small rooms behind the store. But we were too busy to consider these things unusually tough. Later, after we had sold the store, at a loss, we moved to the Bronx. There, on a visit to the local public library, I saw a book by Washington Irving entitled The Knickerbocker History of New York, with illustrations by James Dougherty. Those illustrations just knocked me over. At that point I decided I wanted to be an artist, an illustrator, just like Dougherty. The first job I had, for a short period of time in 1938, was at

“Firebrand” splash page drawn by Lee Ames for Quality’s Police Comics #10 (July 1942). Well, actually, all art from that Golden Age story printed with this interview are taken from Men of Mystery Comics #23 (2000), with grey tones and art restoration done by the caring crew at AC Comics, and used by permission of publisher Bill Black. See AC Comics’ ad elsewhere in this issue. [Restored art ©2003 AC Comics. Firebrand is TM & ©2003 DC Comics.]

an advertising agency as a “go-fer.” Then I got another job with a signmanufacturing company under the Third Avenue El [short for “elevated train”]. It was a very grimy, Dickensian place. Along with a bunch of other kids, I painted signboards and ground, cut, polished, and painted metal and wooden letters for the Ross Sign Company.

Lee Ames

In 1962 I did a book for Doubleday titled Draw, Draw, Draw. I started doing it in 1960 and I had the copyright on it. I got royalties on it and the book did rather nicely. It was at this time that Doubleday phased out my department and I lost my job there. I went back to them and suggested that we do a sequel to it. They thought that was a great idea and I got a thousand dollar advance. The “how to draw” books that existed at that time were simplistic in nature, and I wanted to push it a further. But Doubleday had problems. How to put this new type of book together? Where to market this new idea? Manufacturing costs? Appropriate title? Editors dying—two of them in succession! The book sat on the shelf for several years and finally, a new editor, John Ernst, who was probably afraid of dying, too, told me to keep the advance under the proviso that I didn’t try to sell the book somewhere else.

or 1965. AMES: I don’t recall anything about working for Charlton. JA: Do you remember anything about working for Classics Illustrated in the 1950s? AMES: No. I didn’t mention that I worked for Hanna-Barbera in the 1960s. One of the features I storyboarded was the Fantastic Four cartoon. I did everything by mail. JA: Alex Toth worked on that series, too. He did great work for that company. AMES: He’s a tremendous artist, and I wish he understood how important he’s been to all of us.

Years later (1972), it occurred to me that I still wanted to do a sequel to the Draw, Draw, Draw book. I went up to see the newest editor, Tom Ellsworth, who said, “Let’s go back to your original idea.” We narrowed the focus of the book from 200 items to 50. The first book was Draw 50 Animals and it really sold well. We did a sequel to that, and it did well, too. So we launched this as a new series until now we have over 26 Draw 50 books in the series. Down the line I needed help and took in a partner. I could have kept the Draw 50 series out of the partnership, but I didn’t. That was a mistake, but we finally worked out our problems.

JA: I think he probably knows, because a lot of us who admire him have told him so. He’s certainly had a big influence on my life, artistically and otherwise. Did you miss comics once you left the business?

JA: So you basically left comics in the mid-1950s. I have a credit listed for you stating you did some comics for Charlton Press around 1964

AMES: As I used to say when I was in public school, “Hey, teach! May I leave the room?”

AMES: I didn’t miss the agonies of the deadlines. Today, I consider myself as much a cartoonist as an illustrator. The family of cartoonists is my family, and I don’t know that I can say the same about my association with the Fine Arts. Anything else you want to know? JA: It looks as though we’ve covered your comics career pretty thoroughly.

JA: Why, certainly, young man! [NOTE: Much of the Lee Ames art that accompanies this interview appears on Lee’s website, www.leeames.com. In addition, many of Lee’s series of Draw 50 books are available from bookstores and online. You can check these out at www.draw50.com. Lee Ames just doesn’t quit—and we wouldn’t have it any other way!]

A recent photo of Lee outside his home—and, just because this is Alter Ego, after all, a good Ames action page from that “Firebrand” story in Police Comics #10. Photo courtesy of Lee Ames. [Retouched/restored art ©2003 AC Comics; Firebrand TM & ©2003 DC Comics.]

Title Comic Fandom Archive

A Talk with JOHN BENSON An Overdue Interview with the Editor of Squa Tront about “Post-EC Comic Fandom” —and Why Harvey Kurtzman Left Mad! BENSON: Yes. Barks worked on these huge boards and he cut them in half for ease of handling. This page was cut in half, and the two halves happened to be completely different scenes. One was just a bunch of town-father pigs standing around in the street, and I gave that half to Mike Last issue, John talked about his early life, and McInerney. But the other half has Scrooge how he became interested in comic books, especially sitting on a pile of money and also has him Harvey Kurtzman’s Mad. He also discussed his first pointing at Christmas on a calendar and contacts with EC fandom in 1955, and lots more. This saying, “Bah!”—which is probably the time, John fills us in on the fascinating “Post-EC Fandom” closest he ever acknowledged his period in the late ’50s and his groundbreaking interview with Dickens namesake. So, yes, I still artist Bernard Krigstein, and have that half-page, you bet. gives us his “rap” about Anyhow, Jones never did pay me, Kurtzman, Bill Gaines, and and the paperback never came out. Little Annie Fanny. This Jones had gotten my script illusinterview was conducted in trated by Bob Jenny, who probably January 2003, was transcribed never got paid, either. But that didn’t by Brian K. Morris, and is stop Russ from selling it to Warren, copyright ©2003 Bill Schelly. and it appeared in Creepy or Eerie. The writer is listed as “unknown” in The Warren Companion. Which is my BILL SCHELLY: Have you own fault, because I think the author of ever written any comics profesthe book tried to contact me through sionally? John Benson in 1957—and art from the cover of the first issue of Gamut (Sept. someone else and I didn’t respond. I 1960), which graphically illustrates the high volume of fanzine activity during the JOHN BENSON: I wrote guess I didn’t realize he was going to 1958-62 period. All the covers depicted on the Gamut cover are of real issues of several stories for Warren: one include a checklist. real fanzines, and include Ec-hhhh, Fanfare, Tales from the Shag, Spoof, Foo, in collaboration with Bhob Hoohah!, Frantic, Concept, Image, and Insight—many of which are discussed in BS: When you graduated from Stewart, which was nicely this installment. Gamut had “dittoed” front and back covers, with mimeographed Westtown, what did you do? Was it illustrated by Angelo Torres; interiors. It was published by Gary Delain, and contributors to the issue included college or was it the military? one with Clark Dimond; and Ken Winter, E. Nelson Bridwell, Marty Pahls—and Robert Crumb. Photo courtesy of one on my own. Bill Harris John Benson. [Art ©2003 the respective copyright holder.] BENSON: I was a Quaker, was editor when I wrote that remember? [laughs] I went on to last one, and he edited it heavily and I thought he messed it up. I had it college, Grinnell College, in Iowa. I wanted to go to a small liberal arts take place on the headwaters of the Orinoco River, and he changed it to college. I looked at various ones. Probably that was the wrong one to give the river some fictitious name. I couldn’t understand the point. I choose. It was culture shock. Actually, the guys who were farmers from think if you tie horror to reality it’s more interesting. He tried to make it Iowa, they were great guys. But most of the people there were from the all really simple, like for little kids. Not that my script was any classic to suburbs of Chicago, and I wasn’t really on their wavelength. [laughs] I begin with. became friends with several people from the East there, though, including Clark Dimond, whom I later collaborated with, and who I wrote another story that appeared in a Warren book, though I wrote some comic scripts on his own for the black-&-white horror didn’t write it for Warren. Russ Jones, who was the editor of Creepy for magazines the first issue or so, had put out a comic book version of Dracula in paperback for Ballantine. This was when Ballantine had just brought out BS: Did you continue your fannish activity at college? the EC Bradbury horror and science fiction comics reprints. Russ was going to produce a book of famous short horror stories in comics form BENSON: Yeah, I did. I published my fanzine Image during that for them, and he asked me to do an adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu’s period. And I continued to correspond with various fans, like like Marty vampire classic Carmilla. I think he knew it was a favorite story of Pahls, Gary Delain, Dick Voll, Ron Parker, of course, and Ken Winter, mine, which I got interested in because I loved Roger Vadim’s film Doug Brown, Doug Payson. Payson was the principal artist for Image. version, Blood and Roses. Anyhow, Russ Jones did not have a very You can see the great cover he did for me reprinted in Squa Tront 10. A good reputation for paying, so when he invited me over to his place, very good artist. Esmond Adams was another guy I corresponded with, before he even asked me about doing it, he spread out some original a contributor to Hoohah! from Huntsville, Alabama. I think he later comic pages on the floor and suggested that I pick one out and keep it. went to Harvard and had culture shock. I exchanged a few letters with This was sort-of like those little gifts they give you when you go to see a Robert and Charles Crumb, too. Then there was Fred, of course, and product demo, a little bribe to get you to be there. So I took a Barks Larry [Ivie]; those are probably my principal correspondents. I still have Uncle Scrooge page. most of that correspondence.

by Bill Schelly

Part II

BS: Really! Do you still have it?

Missing a Back Issue? Got a hole in your Mr. Monster collection? We’ll gladly e-mail you a free Mr. Monster EEEK-Mail Catalog! Just Contact Michael T. Gilbert at:

MGILBERT@EFN.ORG

For a printed version, send one dollar to Michael T. Gilbert, P.O. Box 11421, Eugene OR 97440

GUARANTEED TO SET ANY EC FAN’S HEART TO RACING

SQUA TRONT 10

After a twenty-year hiatus, the legendary EC magazine is back with an all-new issue! It’s more than worth the wait, too, with a recent interview with Al Feldstein (supporting art by Roy G. Krenkel); a 1978 panel discussion with Wally Wood, Bernard Krigstein and Harvey Kurtzman; a conversation with Kurtzman, Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth; previously-unseen Wally Wood art; interior color art by Feldstein, Kurtzman, Wood, and Jack Davis; early fanzine ephemera, and much more! Edited by John Benson. Only $7.95. Ask your retailer for a copy, or order direct from www.fantagraphics.com. BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE from Editor: #3 (1969/75) 80 pages. Feldstein, Bradbury, Frazetta, Evans, Crandall, Williamson, Krenkel, Wrightson, Metzger. More! $30. #6 (1975) Special Krigstein issue: revealing, heavily illustrated 28 page interview. Detailed checklist. $15. #7 (1977) Krenkel horror art; Kurtzman; Elder, Davis, Williamson, Krigstein. $15. #8 (1978) Complete transcripts of 1972 EC convention; Wood, Evans, Davis, Krenkel, Feldstein, Williamson, etc. $20. #9 (1983) 100 pages, interior color. Interviews with Feldstein, Elder, Gaines, and Kurtzman; early Wood art; EC’s writers; overflowing with art by Feldstein, Elder, Kurtzman, Ingels, Severin, Crandall, Davis, etc. $20. Please add $5 for Priority Mail postage & handling.

JOHN BENSON 205 W 80th ST (#2B) NEW YORK NY 10024 (No phone orders, please.)

Monster Society of Evil

Low Society The MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL Struck Back–––and Struck Out–––in 1980-81 by Walt Grogan Edited By P.C. Hamerlinck As the bad-guy contingent in the first extended comic book serial, the Monster Society of Evil wasn’t even a formal group when it first appeared in its original Fawcett version from 1943 to 1945... although it contained the major and several minor Captain Marvel villains of the time. This assemblage, formed by the mysterious Mr. Mind– who was eventually revealed to be a mere worm, though one from another planet—plagued the World’s Mightiest Mortal between issues #22-46 of Captain Marvel Adventures. (The entire serial, crafted by writer Otto Binder and editor Wendell Crowley and illustrated by the C.C. Beck studio, was beautifully reprinted in a limited slipcasehardcover edition from England’s Hawk Books in 1989.) (Above:) With Captain Marvel serving as prosecutor in the trial of Mr. Mind in Captain Marvel Adventures #46 (May 1945), the worm from another world was found guilty of murdering 186,744 people in cold blood, with script by Otto Binder, art by the C.C. Beck shop. (Left:) In Shazam! #14 (Sept.-Oct. 1974), the O’Neil/Schaffenberger/Schwartz team pitted the revived Marvel Family against a new version of the Society. [©2003 DC Comics.]

Captain Marvel eventually captured Mr. Mind after 25 eventful chapters and, after a brief court trial, the wicked worm was executed—never to be heard from again. In the Golden Age, that is. For, when DC Comics licensed and revived the Marvel Family in 1973, with original “Captain Marvel” artist C.C. Beck as illustrator for a brief spell, it soon resurrected Mr. Mind. After that, it was only a matter of time till the nefarious alien worm re-formed his band of evildoers, and in Shazam! #14 (Sept.-Oct. 1974) he did just that! “The Evil Return of the Monster Society” was written by Denny O’Neil, with art by Kurt Schaffenberger. They were unable to capture the excitement of the original “Monster Society of Evil” adventure within the mere 20 pages they had to work with, and with a much-reduced roster of villains that had the Sivana Family and Ibac joining forces with Mr. Mind. This was the last appearance of the Monster Society drawn in the traditional style. To revive flagging interest in the revived Marvels, DC Comics took drastic action and updated both the art and stories of the World’s Mightiest Family. The Shazam! series went through this radical change with issue #34 (April 1978). Artists Alan Weiss and Joe Rubinstein gave Cap, Mary, and Junior a muscular, more realistic look in a story that featured the Marvel Family battling the evil Captain Nazi in the skies over Chicago. With #35, Weiss and Rubinstein were replaced by Don Newton and Kurt Schaffenberger, while E. Nelson Bridwell continued as writer. Newton would become the artist most associated with the “new look” Captain Marvel and was vilified by both fans and C.C. Beck himself for this updating. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Cap’s “new look” period will be dissected further in a future edition of FCA. —PCH.] The Shazam! series was cancelled after the 35th issue, and Captain Marvel immediately

Monster Society of Evil

Immortal, resume his true form. Black Adam had been Shazam’s champion in ancient Egypt. Soon after gaining the powers granted by Shazam, Adam turned evil. Shazam banished Adam to the farthest star in the universe. Black Adam eventually made his way back to Earth after a 5000-year journey and landed in the United States in 1945. After a brief battle with the Marvel Family, he was tricked by Uncle Marvel into saying the wizard’s name and turned back into his mortal form of Teth-Adam. Captain Marvel’s tap to Teth-Adam’s chin caused Adam’s millennia-old body to crumble to dust, and it seemed as if Black Adam’s first appearance from the Fawcett-era in Marvel Family Comics #1 would be his last. DC revived Black Adam during a series of city-visiting stories in the 1970s. His return was Dr. Sivana’s doing. Sivana used a reincarnation machine of his own design to reincarnate the body of Teth-Adam. The newly-living Adam wasted no time into changing into his super-powered form by shouting the name of the ancient wizard Shazam! But Captain Marvel was successful in defeating Black Adam and placing him in jail. In the 1980 World’s Finest serial, the warden of the prison that held most of the Monster Society members alerted Cap to their escape. Black Adam was immediately spotted in Cairo, Egypt, and Cap realized he would need help from a secret weapon. After landing near Cairo, Cap changed to Billy Batson to do some reconnoitering of the area and was soon confronted by Oggar, who made Billy mute so that he couldn’t turn back into Captain Marvel. Soon joined by Black Adam, Oggar created an army of soldiers from the sands of the Egyptian desert to conquer Cairo.

Just as the army was to set off for Cairo, Cap’s secret weapon swooped down: Mary Marvel, the World’s Mightiest Girl. Since his powers had a built-in limitation of ineffectuality against the fair sex, Oggar called down a bolt of magic lightning to change Mary Marvel back into her mortal form. Mary’s quick thinking allowed her to place Billy into the path of the bolt. He was changed back into Captain Marvel, and he and Mary quickly mopped up the sand army and had all but defeated the villains when Oggar used his powers to return them all to the Monster Society headquarters. Realizing that the Monster Society had once again banded together, Cap knew he and his fellow Marvels were in for the fight of their lives.

moved over to a DC anthology title, the dollar-sized World’s Finest Comics, with issue #253. With a new creative team in place, the Monster Society of Evil was soon re-formed in World’s Finest Comics #264-267 (Aug.-Sept 1980Feb-Mar 1981). The splash page of “The Monster Society of Evil Strikes Back!” by E. Nelson Bridwell, Don Newton, and inker Dave Hunt revealed the new line-up of Mr. Mind’s gaggle of felons: Dr. Sivana, Mr. Atom, Ibac, Black Adam, and Oggar (who had appeared in his own short-lived serial back in Captain Marvel Adventures). Mr. Mind’s objective had not changed between reorganizations; he still wished to “crush” Captain Marvel with help from the other villains. Oggar and Black Adam, neither of whom was in the classic “Monster Society,” took center-stage in the first chapter.

“The Monster Society of Evil Strikes Back!” Oggar had originally been a student of the great wizard Shazam. When he was granted immortality, Oggar became part of the septet of elders that formed Shazam’s name, changing it to Shazamo. When Oggar turned evil, Shazam dropped the “o” from his name, banished Oggar from the group of elders, and gave Oggar cloven hooves and horns. The sorceress Circe imprisoned him in the body of a boar and tossed the boar over a cliff. And Oggar was nearly never seen again. Unbeknownst to Captain Marvel, during a battle with that wicked worm, Mr. Mind, he unwittingly helped Oggar, the World’s Mightiest

Alter Ego #28