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Roy Roy T Thomas’ homas’ Legendary Comics anzine Comics F F anzine

5.95

In the USA

SILVER AGE-GOLDEN AGE-BEYOND!

No. 2 AUTUMN 1999

THE

ATOM

was CREATED by:

Gil Kane B) Gardner Fox C) Julie Schwartz D) Jerry G. Bails E) All of the Above A)

Don’t answer Till you read this issue’s Extensive ExEgesis of the Tiny Titan--&

Mike W. Barr’s AwEsome Addendum!

A Surprise-Filled Interview with

Larry Lieber First scripter of THOR, IRON MAN, et al.!

A Rare Photo Gallery

Fandom’s FAN-tastic Past! From the ’60s to the ’90s!

PLUS RARE ART BY:

Michael T. Gilbert Jerry Ordway

BLOCKBUSTER BONUS!

Mr. Monster Presents a Never-Reprinted

Gil Kane John Romita And much more!

SPIRIT story by Will Eisner!

TwoMorrows Publishing Update 15%

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SUMMER 2011

WHE N YO ORD U ONL ER INE!

BACK ISSUE #51

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(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “AllInterview Issue”! Part 2 of an exclusive STEVE ENGLEHART interview (continued from ALTER EGO #103)! “Pro2Pro” interviews between SIMONSON & LARSEN, MOENCH & WEIN, and comics letterers KLEIN & CHIANG. Plus JOHN OSTRANDER, MICHAEL USLAN, and longtime DC color artist ADRIENNE ROY! Cover by Englehart collaborator MARSHALL ROGERS!

“Gods!” Takes an in-depth look at WALTER SIMONSON’s Thor, the Thunder God in the Bronze Age, “Pro2Pro” interview with TOM DeFALCO and RON FRENZ, Hercules: Prince of Power, Moondragon, Three Ways to End the New Gods Saga, exclusive interview with fantasy writer MICHAEL MOORCOCK, art and commentary by GERRY CONWAY, JACK KIRBY, BOB LAYTON, and more, with a swingin’ Thor cover by SIMONSON!

“Liberated Ladies” eyeing female characters that broke barriers in the Bronze Age: Big Barda, Valkyrie, Ms. Marvel, Phoenix, Savage She-Hulk, and the sword-wielding Starfire. Plus a “Pro2Pro” interview with JILL THOMPSON, GAIL SIMONE, and BARBARA KESEL, art and commentary by JOHN BYRNE, GEORGE PEREZ, JACK KIRBY, MIKE VOSBURG, and more, with a new cover by BRUCE TIMM!

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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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Special double-size book examines the first decade of the FANTASTIC FOUR, and the events that put into motion the Marvel Age of Comics! New interviews with STAN LEE, FLO STEINBERG, MARK EVANIER, JOE SINNOTT, and others, with a wealth of historical information and Kirby artwork!

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #59

BRICKJOURNAL #17

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“Kirby Vault!” Rarities from the “King” of comics: Personal correspondence, private photos, collages, rare Marvelmania art, bootleg album covers, sketches, transcript of a 1969 VISIT TO THE KIRBY HOME (where Jack answers the questions YOU’D ask in ‘69), MARK EVANIER, pencil art from the FOURTH WORLD, CAPTAIN AMERICA, MACHINE MAN, SILVER SURFER GRAPHIC NOVEL, and more!

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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Volume 3, No. 2 Autumn 1999

™

Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editor Bill Schelly

Consulting Editors John Morrow Jon B. Cooke

FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

Contents

Contributing Editor

Silver Threads among the Gold (& Bronze, & Beyond!) . . . . . . . . . 2

Michael T. Gilbert

Our Only Writer/Editorial This Ish.

Editors Emeritus Jerry G. Bails, Ronn Foss, Biljo White, Mike Friedrich

Cover Art

Splitting The Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Roy Thomas Tells All (We Hope!) about the 1960-61 Origins of the Tiny Titan, starring Gil Kane, Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox, and Jerry Bails.

Gil Kane, Jack Burnley

Cover Color

Splicing The Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Tom Ziuko, Jack Burnley

Mike W. Barr’s Fearless Footnote to the Previous Piece.

Design & Layout Jon B. Cooke/ GREAT SWAMP GRAPHICS

“Stan Made Up the Plot... and I’d Write the Script” . . . . . . . . . 18

Mailing Crew

A Conversation with Larry Lieber, Spidey Comic Strip Artist—and One of the Most Important Scripters of the Silver Age.

Russ Garwood, D. Hambone, Glen Musial, Ed Stelli, Pat Varker

Mr. Monster Introduces “The Spirit”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

And Special Thanks to:

Michael T. Gilbert Presents an Ultra-Rare 1966 Spirit Story by Will Eisner.

Neal Adams Mike W. Barr Jack Burnley Ernie Colon Craig & David Delich Al Dellinges Will Eisner Nancy Ford Ron Goulart Grass Green Mark Hanerfeld Roger Hill Gil Kane Robert Kanigher David Anthony Kraft Stan Lee Larry Lieber Russ Maheras Lou Mougin Will Murray Jerry Ordway Jon E. Park Julius Schwartz J.E. Smith Marc Swayze Daniel Tesmoingt Joel Thingvall Marv Wolfman

Hark, The Herald Tribune Sings! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Ye Editor Examines an Extraordinary Issue of the Trib’s New York Magazine.

Fandom’s FAN-tastic Past—from the ’60s to the ’90s! . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Bill Schelly’s Guided Tour of Photos and Other Artifacts of the Early Movers and Shakers of Comics Fandom.

Golden Age Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! Our sincere thanks to Gil Kane for giving us his blessing to print as our cover the little-seen, undated illustration of himself and The Atom. Thanks also to Mike Barr for making us aware of it, and John Dacey at Hi-De-Ho Comics in Santa Monica, California. [Atom ©1999 DC Comics, Inc.] Alter EgoTM is published quarterly 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@oburg.net. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $5.95 ($7.00 Canada, $9.00 elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: $20 US, $27 Canada, $37 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. Alter and Captain Ego ©1999 Biljo White. The Atom, Batman, Billy Batson, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Junior, Doll Man, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Flash, Green Lantern, Infinity, Inc., JSA, Mary Marvel, Mr. Mind, Rex the Wonder Dog, Robin, Rose & Thorn, Shazam, Sivana, Starman, Steamboat, Superman, Wonder Woman ©1999 DC Comics Inc.; Ant Man, Captain America, Captain Britain, The Hulk, Iron Man, Mr. Morgan’s Monster, Rawhide Kid, Spider-Man, Thor, Wasp, Watcher ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.; The Destructor, Tiger-Man, Warhawk ©1999 Atlas Comics; Xal-Kor ©1999 Grass Green. Mr. Monster © Michael T. Gilbert. The Spirit ©1999 Will Eisner; The Eye, The Eclipse ©1999 Bill Shelly; The Viper ©1999 Ronald E. Foss. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING

Writer/Editorial

Silver Threads among the Gold

(and Bronze and even beyond!)

eems like only days ago that publisher John Morrow and I were as frantic as ferrets, trying to finish off the layouts and proofreading of A/E V3#1, after original layout man Chris Knowles had to withdraw soon after making a good start.

called a fanzine at this point, as we wrote on our first-issue cover.

And here we are finalizing V3#2 already, with Comic Book Artist editor Jon B. Cooke now regularly handling the layout chores even as he prepares for CBA to go bimonthly. (Yea, team!)

If we do continue to use the term “fanzine” from time to time, it’s because, even though A/E (like CBA and TwoMorrows’ third mag, The Jack Kirby Collector) is professionally published and printed, it still retains much of the spirit of a fanzine.

While here I sit at my word processor—my “glorified typewriter,” to use Isaac Asimov’s pithy phrase—trying to come up with an editorial, because custom demands a few hopefully-well-chosen words up front to help orient the reader to the magazine to follow. Custom is undoubtedly right, but our second issue is so chock-full of material that Ye Editor begrudges every page, every paragraph, that doesn’t contribute directly in some way to the history of comic books and comics fandom. That’s why, though I did manage to squeeze in a letters section this time around (and will strive mightily to include one in each and every issue in the future), you won’t find any book reviews and the like. I’ll print such features now and then, if either a book or a particular review catches my fancy, but I’d prefer to leave such things to Jon Cooke and his thicker (and soon more frequently published) CBA. A couple more thoughts, tossed out under the gun literally an hour before this issue must be Express-Mailed en toto to Jon, and then I’ll leave you to it (with no apologies for the fact that there’s no Golden Age editorial as such this time— consider this it): First, I’ll confess I’m a bit puzzled whether Alter Ego should be

Four seasoned pros smile for the camera at the 1995 Chicago con which produced last issue’s Stan Lee Roast: (L.-to-R.:) Irwin Hasen, Roy Thomas (the baby of the group), John Romita, Stan Lee. Together this quartet has more than two centuries’ worth of professional comics experience! [Photo courtesy of Nancy Ford]

The original definition of “fanzine” is, of course, an amateur magazine published by fans expressly for fans, and not for the more casual comics-buyer, let alone the general public.

That’s the way I always intended it, and that’s the way it will stay. As I announced in Vol. 2, #1, when it ran as part of CBA #1 in early 1998, the revived A/E came about partly out of my offer to Jon and John simply to “spotlight the bits and pieces of artwork and information I’ve salted away over the years, particularly in three major areas: “(1) The Golden Age of Comics, by which I mean anything from the 1930s up to, say, the creation of the second Flash in 1956; “(2) Those aspects of the Silver Age and beyond, from ’56 till the day after yesterday, of which I have personal knowledge, either as active participant or as bemused spectator;

Writer/Editorial

“(3) Certain material from early comics fandom which I feel deserves a new audience....” Still, perhaps I should have clarified things, to indicate that: (a) The special purview of A/E is, and will remain, the Golden and Silver Ages, even though I place the end of the latter vaguely somewhere in the early to middle 1970s; (b) I’ll cover anything else I feel like covering, though in consultation with Jon Cooke and John Morrow so that our three magazines don’t step on each other’s toes too often or too hard.

ed a couple of minor errors in) my article on the salvaging of DC art. Stan Lee (who still does a lot more than just “present”) sent us a fax. Even Ye Writer/Editor is still scripting a comic or three, but won’t let anything keep him from putting out an issue of Alter Ego every three months, even as he puts the finishing touches on The All-Star Companion, coming very soon from TwoMorrows. We’re pros, yes... But we’re all fans at heart, too.

End of Mission Statement Revisited.

Every coin has two sides. By the way, when I said above that Alter Ego retains the spirit of a fanzine, I meant it.

And love of the comics medium is the coin of our realm. Bestest,

For, even though the major thrust of this magazine has shifted from “Volume I’s” straight fan-oriented viewpoint back in the 1960s to a more professional, behind-thescenes approach, everyone associated closely or even peripherally with A/E (as with CBA and TJKC) is doing it out of love for the comics medium, not for any sizable commercial reward. Take this issue, for instance: Michael T. Gilbert, though busy with his own comics work, not only contacted Will Eisner about our reprinting a hard-to-find 1966 Spirit story, but drew a two-page Mr. Monster introduction; Bill Schelly is a small-press publisher involved with comics-related material. Marc Swayze, who continues his Fawcett reminiscences in the FCA section, was one of the most in-demand artists of the 1940s. Jack Burnley, another top Golden Age artist, not only consented to be interviewed, but put together and mailed me a mountain of additional materials for inclusion; Larry Lieber, always pressed by those daily Spider-Man comic strip deadlines, did very much the same; Will Murray has written numerous novels under both his own name and that of “Kenneth Robeson” et al., but still loves to dig up historical info on comics and pulps (as does novelist Ron Goulart, who supplied us with a few pieces of art this time around);

Co r r e c ti o n Roy Thomas’ longtime fandom associate Marty Greim, who published the excellent Comic Crusader some time back, has pointed out that V3 #1’s previously unpublished H.G. Peter art of Wonder Woman atop a bucking bronco was from his collection, a copy of which

Gil Kane took time off from drawing a Superman prestige-format book for DC, among other projects, to sketch us a brand new Atom drawing to approximate one he did circa late 1960, and Julie Schwartz was gracious enough to talk with us at length, as well;

he sent Roy years ago. We

Longtime comics writer Mike W. Barr photocopied a number of much-needed pieces of Silver Age art to go with his own (and even with others’) articles;

Bails, who’d sent the actual

Even longer-time writer Robert Kanigher wrote us a long, long (and extremely colorful if potentially controversial) letter. New Teen Titans co-creator Marv Wolfman read over (and correct-

apologize to Marty for crediting its source as Jerry WW scripts, Marston letter, and Phi Beta Kappa piece we also ran last issue.

Splitting The Atom

Splitting The Atom More Than You Could Possibly Want to Know about the Creation of the Silver Age Mighty Mite! #34 (cover-dated Dec. 1961, but actually on sale several months earlier). After appearing also in #35-36, he graduated at once to his own bimonthly magazine, The Atom (#1, June-July 1962).

by Roy Thomas

AST YEAR AT RASHOMON DEPT.: Back in A/E V2#2, Ye Editor offered the classic 1950 Akiro Kurosawa film Rashomon, whose theme is the impossibility of ever knowing the whole truth about any event, as a template for comics (or any other kind of) history. Then there’s New Wave director Alain Resnais’ 1961 masterpiece Last Year at Marienbad, in which the male protagonist confronts the heroine again and again to insist the two of them had an affair “last year at Frederiksbad, perhaps at Marienbad.” In its own way, the French film plays with truth and memory every bit as much as does Rashomon—which, believe it or don’t, brings us to the creation of the Silver Age Atom. Ray Palmer wasn’t the first DC hero called The Atom, of course. The original one appeared from 1940-1951 in All-American Comics, Flash Comics, Comic Cavalcade, and All-Star Comics.

The Mighty Atom, as he was called in his origin in AllAmerican #19 (Oct. 1940), was a short, red-headed Calvin College student named Al Pratt who had been trained to physical perfection. Until 1948 this Atom had no superpowers, just a rather odd, leather-girdled outfit with a full face mask. Then, still early in the Atomic Age, DC decided a crimefighter with so timely a name needed powers to match; so The original, non-super-powered Atom, overnight, in a 1945 page drawn by Jon Chester with no explaKozlak. [Art courtesy of Jerry Bails; nation, he Atom ©1999 DC Comics Inc.] gained “atomic strength” and, soon afterward, a new costume with a stylized atom emblazoned on its tunic. The first Atom’s last Golden Age appearance was in All-Star #57 (Feb.-March 1951). A few facts about the creation of the second Atom are pretty much set in concrete: Scripted by Gardner Fox, penciled by Gil Kane (with Murphy Anderson inks), and edited by Julius Schwartz, he debuted in National/DC’s Showcase

Alas, almost everything else about the origins of the six-inch stalwart is up for grabs. Fact is, a study of The Atom’s less than immaculate conception is a textbook example of how difficult, if not downright impossible, it is to reconstruct comics history—even when most of the people involved in a particular creation are still alive. Maybe especially then, because it’s harder for anyone to make sweeping assumptions without someone else arising to vociferously deny them! Offered for your consideration:

Background image: Jerry Bails’ 1960 concept of The Atom— like the one that eventually appeared in this panel from Showcase #35—called for a hero who shrank from 6’ tall to 6”! [Original artwork by Kane & Anderson courtesy of Mike W. Barr; Atom ©1999 DC Comics Inc.]

The Silver Age versions of Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, for all the science-fictional trappings which set them apart them from their 1940s forebears, were still basically “revivals,” as DC editors and fans alike called them back then. However, the star of Showcase #34 was destined to have virtually nothing in common with the old Atom except his name. The new hero’s main schtick would be that he fought crime while shrunk to a height of six inches. For the first time, DC would take one of its “revivals” off in a radically different direction from the original, making him in effect a totally new character. Ever wonder why? In attempting to reconstruct the creation of the Silver Age Atom, we must examine the potential contributions of four principals. In alphabetical order: Jerry G. Bails, in 1960 a young associate professor of natural science at Wayne State University, Detroit, and soon to become the first editor/publisher of Alter Ego (Volume 1) and a founding father of comics fandom;

Jerry G. Bails, circa 1960-61. [Reprinted from Alter Ego V1#5 by way of the 1997 trade paperback The Best of Alter Ego.]

Gardner F. Fox (1911-1986), writer/co-creator of the Golden Age Flash, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, and Justice Society, among others—who by late 1960 had likewise co-created the Silver Age Justice League, Hawkman, and Adam Strange; Gil Kane, a professional comics artist since 1942, best known in late 1960 as the illustrator of the Silver Age Green Lantern—a perennial

Splitting The Atom JERRY BAILS

Neither Jerry nor I ever nurtured any ill will toward anyone at DC over what happened with regard to The Atom. After all, Jerry had originally suggested the concept in passing in a letter to Gardner Fox—treating it as a notion of some neighborhood children, not his own—while my own intention had merely been to help Jerry convince DC to publish a Doll Man-like Atom.

Gardner Fox, one of comics’ major creators and true nice guys, passed away in December 1986. As the original writer, he must certainly be counted as a co-creator of the 1960s Mighty Mite. As editor of The Atom, Julie Schwartz, too, must be considered a co-creator; he even named the hero’s civilian identity (after his sciencefiction writer friend Ray Palmer) and came up with the dwarf star origin, at the very least.

As Jerry wrote recently: “I have no reason not to believe that Gil and Julie arrived at their concept of the Atom before our ideas reached them…. As I recall, Julie responded to me [i.e., to Jerry’s letter of 12/8/60] rather quickly, indicating that he had already been at work on a similar idea. It’s not like it wasn’t an obvious next step. Now that I think about it, he wouldn’t have been doing his job had he not been toying with such ideas. We were only part-time dreamers. He was getting paid to think full-time about the next hot idea. It’s interesting to demonstrate that historical events are not strictly linear, but emerge from interweaving threads.”

And both Gil and Julie are clear nowadays that Gil Kane drew his first Atom illos totally on his own volition. Even if he hadn’t done that, Gil’s work on the seminal issues would earn him, at the very least, cocreator status on the minuscule hero. He may well have been his major creator.

Jerry has also stated, “Clearly I wrote the 8/29/60 letter with the thought they [DC] might use it. If it sparked Julie’s thinking, he could certainly not be faulted for forgetting it.”

1.) Jerry’s letter of August 29, 1960, which Gardner showed to Julie a few days later, led Julie to toy (consciously or unconsciously) with the notion of a “real small” Atom—and some time later, while talking with Gil, Julie may have mentioned the concept to him in passing. Since Gil was familiar with Doll Man, the idea resonated subconsciously in him, too, and he soon executed his illustration, bringing it in to Julie.

True enough, even if there was a period of weeks between Jerry’s Dec. 8, 1960, letter and Gardner’s and Julie’s replies (both dated in early January), making chronologies impossible to pin down. And of course Jerry had suggested a “real small,” “Dollman”-like Atom to Gardner on August 29, 1960—in a letter soon given to Julie—even though neither DC pro ever confirmed that he had consciously noticed the suggestion for a pint-size Atom. GARDNER FOX In the last decade of his productive life, Gardner stated, in a letter to comics fan James Flanagan dated March 26, 1979, and printed in Robin Snyder’s History of Comics, Vol. 2 #2 (Feb. 1991): “I rather imagine the [Showcase] Atom sold very well, which would be its reason for being published ahead of Hawkman in its own book. I enjoyed writing Atom, as I liked writing all the stories I did. The Atom’s small size naturally made me think about what situations such a tiny character would be most effective in, certainly.” A paragraph later, after a few comments about his surprise at the extent of early comics fandom, he wrote— most likely in response to a query about the Atomic Matter: “I doubt that any feedback from Bails or Thomas had very much of an influence, though we always kept their ideas in the back of our minds.” That’s all we ever asked. SUMMING UP No, the full truth about the creation of the Silver Age Atom will surely never be known—not to Julie Schwartz, not to Gil Kane, not to Jerry Bails, and certainly not to me.

In closing: After reviewing all the documents—and there are enough of them that we’ve probably told many readers more than they care to know about the origins of the Silver Age Atom—I submit that there are many scenarios possible, only a few of which are:

Or— 2.) Jerry’s initial letter caused Julie to begin to think about a miniature Atom, even if he soon forgot the source of the idea—and Julie was mulling over the notion when, quite independently, with no prior consultation between them, Gil brought in his unsolicited but all-important illustrations. Or— 3.) Jerry and Gil (and possibly even Julie) each came up independently with the idea of a miniature super-hero called The Atom, with Julie having never noticed the part of Jerry’s 8/29/60 letter to Gardner that suggested it. Even in this scenario, it’s unlikely that either Gil or Julie conceived the “shrunken Atom” idea before Jerry did; but of course that’s immaterial if Gil never heard about it. Or— The reader, naturally, can easily compose myriad other possible scenarios in his own mind. We’ll probably never know exactly what actually happened. In one sense it hardly matters, even in terms of comic books, and even though The Atom was one of the early stars of what is now revered as the Silver Age of Comics. For, in any sane scenario, Gil Kane and Julius Schwartz and Gardner Fox (at the very least) are co-creators of The Atom, albeit perhaps in varying degrees; while Jerry Bails, however great or minuscule his role, was never seeking self-aggrandizement or profit, but simply wanted to suggest a potentially good idea to DC Comics. Or, as I said in that Writer/ Editorial in A/E V2#2: “Rashomon, Mon Amour.”

Splicing The Atom

Splicing The Atom by Mike W. Barr [NOTE: This short piece serves as a footnote to the foregoing article—but what a footnote! —R.T.]

’m told that a 19th century scientist named John Dalton was the first man to gather evidence for the existence of the atom, although many had theorized of it for centuries. In a way, I know how he feels. In October 1977 I moved from my native Ohio, leaving my job as night maintenance man at a local Sears & Roebuck (which taught me the real value of a B.A. in English) to take a position as the staff proofreader at DC Comics in New York. The hours were long; the pay was, to be diplomatic, meager ($125 a week—which, after taxes, shrank to about $99 a week— to live in New York? I was making less than that in Ohio, but the money went farther there); and the benefits weren’t much. But, like many before me, I was glad to have made at least a foothold in becoming a fulltime comics pro. I realized much later that I had come into comics at a crucial time. In 1977 the business of comics—printing, distribution, payment, rights—had remained essentially unchanged since the dawn of comics, over forty years before. It could not have been predicted with any reliability that within a few years the entire business—with the advent of the direct market, some tentative steps toward creators’ rights, the payment of royalties, among other, long-overdue innovations—was about to change forever. (More to the point, several old pros were convinced the business was dying. And from the quality of the work they were turning out, you couldn’t say they were wrong.) As remarked, my lowly job didn’t have much in the way of perks. I had to proofread the original art for each and every DC comic (which, in the days of This double-page pinup by Gil Kane from The Atom #26 (Aug.-Sept. 1966), Mike tells us, is quite similar to the late100-page all-new comics, 99 of which 1960 concept drawing which he returned to the artist while on staff at DC. (©1999 DC Comics Inc.) often seemed cranked out by the aforementioned “old pros,” was not ipso facto a But the job did have its advantages, though none of them were of a bed of roses, though it was better than waxing floors at Sears), as well as financial nature. I really wanted to be a fulltime writer, so meeting make copies for the editors, fetch lunches, and run errands for the higher scripters I’d always admired, like Robert Kanigher, was a genuine thrill. echelon of the editorial staff. (Remind me to tell you the time DC art I was also in charge of returning original artwork, which I enjoyed, as it director Vinnie Colletta tried to get me fired because I refused to do his put me in direct contact with a number of pencilers and inkers who supjob by writing critiques on a seeming mountain of unsolicited art samplied a different perspective on comics from that of the writer. And if a ples and signing his name to them. [Hey, I guess I just did.])

COMICOLOGY COMICOLOGY COMICOLOGY COMICOLOGY G N I M CO 2000 COMICOLOGY G N I R P S FROM COMICOLOGY S W O R R COMICOLOGY O M O W T COMICOLOGY COMICOLOGY COMICOLOGy

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Fandom’s FAN-tastic Past!

Fandom ’s FAN-tastic Past... from the ’60s to the ’90s Photos and Other Artifacts of the Founders of Comics Fandom Commentary by Bill Schelly

f few people once thought that old comic books would ever be sought after as prized items, fewer still ever anticipated that photographic images of the early gatherings of comics fans would be treasured as they are today—let alone that these photos, often taken with early portable cameras “on the fly,” are studied like rare artifacts of an ancient culture.

Almost forty years have passed since Jerry Bails set in motion the twin wheels that became comics fandom and Alter Ego. Before this, no one except the late Don Thompson seems to have imagined that a fandom for admirers of comic art could exist apart from science-fiction fandom—let alone that it would become a self-sustaining phenomenon, with sufficient impetus to propel us into the next millennium. Such photos provide a portal to a time before anyone had heard of price guides, autograph fees, or signed editions—or the word “comicon”! In the early 1960s, just bringing together a handful of fans from different cities was an unbridled thrill. A new fraternity of comics aficionados was busy being born. Or, as a well-known troubadour of the day sang, “The times, they are a-changing!” Let us begin our travels back in time with… Spring 1963. Bill J. (“Biljo”) White was visited at his new home in Columbia, Missouri, by fan-artist Ronn Foss, who showed him a Grass Green drawing which inspired Biljo to launch his own super-hero, The Eye. (Ronn and writer Drury Moroz’ creation, The Eclipse, would debut in the Foss-edited A/E #5, which was at the printer even as Ruth White snapped this photo.) In the cinder-block “White House of Comics” built in his backyard to house his collection of rare comics and art, Biljo showed Ronn the original Kubert cover of The Brave and the Bold #35. Only a few days later, Biljo hosted the first face-to-face meeting of A/E cofounders Jerry Bails and Roy Thomas. This photo appeared postage-stamp size in Voice of Comicdom #4 (Apr. 1965) from Golden Gate Publishers. Reproduction is far from ideal, but it remains the only photo of the three and their ladies together. (L-to-R: Roy Thomas, Linda Rahm, Jerry & Sondra Bails, Biljo & Ruth White.) Surprisingly, Biljo also has home movie footage of the visits of Ronn, Jerry, and Roy!

[Above] As Jerry and Sondra examine the White House treasures, can you identify the pieces of original art adorning the walls? (Biljo ruefully informs us he has parted with most of this artwork in the ensuing years.) [At right] “Fannish Love in Bloom.” Ronn Foss and Illinois fan Coreen Casey married in 1965 and co-edited the fanzine Pandora: The Romance of Adventure. Their own romance produced two talented children, Scott and Alexandra, now grown and living in Oregon.

Fanzine writer Glen Johnson lounges on the porch of Magnus artist Russ Manning in 1964, soon after assuming editorship of The Comic Reader from Jerry Bails. Then a school teacher, Glen now makes his home in Brigham City, Utah.

“It Was Only Starman I Paid Attention To!”

A Conversation with Jack Burnley Conducted & Edited by Roy Thomas Transcribed by Jon B. Knutson

s a kid in the late 1940s, I ran across an “old” (i.e., 1942) copy of Superman #19 at my grandparents’ farm. Inside were advertised the covers of other DC comics—including All-Star Comics #13, wherein the Justice Society were “Shanghaied into Space.” I spent years yearning to see the comic that went with that ad. But it would be more than a decade before I’d see it—or would learn that the artist of that stunning cover (and, as it happened, of quite a few pages inside) was one Jack Burnley… who was also responsible for some of the most beautiful Superman, Batman, and Starman artwork ever done, including much of the 1940s Superman and Batman newspaper comic strips. In the final, 150th issue of his pace-setting Comics Interview magazine in 1995, David Anthony Kraft presented a lengthy talk with the artist, ably conducted by Lou Mougin, and I urge readers to seek out a copy. I was tempted to reprint it here, with Dave’s permission, but decided that, because I had a few questions of my own, it would be better to accept Jack Burnley’s kind offer to be interviewed again. However, Lou’s interview for CI blazed the trail I followed, and I hereby acknowledge that debt, with thanks. Thus, on July 10, 1999, I phoned Mr. Burnley (who quickly insisted I call him “Jack,” which I found a bit difficult, given my upbringing) and taped the following interview.—RT.

ROY THOMAS: You were born Harden Burnley. How did you get “Jack” out of that? JACK BURNLEY: Well, my middle name is John, so I used Jack. Harden Burnley’s a family name. When I first became a syndicated sports cartoonist with King Features, I was eighteen. That sports cartoon, which was syndicated to the Hearst newspapers, or to any newspaper throughout the country, used the name “Harden Burnley” for a year or two. But then I had them change the byline to just “Burnley.” By two years before I went into comics, I was using the name “Jack Burnley” professionally. RT: Where were you born? BURNLEY: New York City. We lived in a large apartment house on Riverside Drive, just across from Grant’s Tomb. It’s been torn down, and now there’s the Riverside Church there. RT: You were born in 1911. Your older brother, Depree, who was called Ray…. BURNLEY: I’d like to correct that, if I may. His name was Dupree. With a “u.” It’s pronounced “dew-pray.” It’s a French name. He didn’t use “Ray” until he went into comics with me. RT: I understand both of you got into comics around the same time, in 1939. BURNLEY: He never settled into any particular art line. He was interested in fine arts. He liked the French impressionists, and he liked to do This page: Superman, Batman, and Starman—the Big Three of Burnley’s comic book career. [Superman-Batman illo ©1999 Jack Burnley; Superman, Batman, Starman ©1999 DC Comics Inc.]

Jack Burnley illustrations, but he was never really successful. When I left King Features and went into comics, I took him with me, and he worked as my assistant. He did penciling and inking of some of the backgrounds.

times after that. I didn’t see his actual fights—I was too young—but I saw him work out in the gymnasium. RT: Jim Steranko’s History of Comics says you got into sports cartoons professionally because your sister took you up to King Features.

RT: He was never interested in a separate comics career for himself?

BURNLEY: Her name was Martine. My other sister, Elizabeth—who goes by the name of Betty—did the lettering for several years.

BURNLEY: He just got into it with me; he didn’t have a regular job otherwise, and it just turned out he was able to become a successful inker. But that was only through the association with me. He knew nothing about comics otherwise.

RT: So you were an artistic family.

RT: Comics Interview mentioned that some of your influences included one of my favorites, George Herriman, who did Krazy Kat, and Billy DeBeck on Barney Google… also Alex Raymond on Flash Gordon, and William Gould…. BURNLEY: Will Gould was a sports cartoonist. He spent a A past master holding a past masterpiece: This photo, taken a few years ago, shows year at King Features before I Jack Burnley holding a copy of the 1940 edition of World’s Fair Comics—the first time Superman and Batman appeared on a comic cover together, and containing took over the job. He later did his first Superman story. a Dick Tracy type of strip called Red Barry. But his influence on me was only as a sports cartoonist. apprenticeship. RT: You also mentioned Bill Ripley…. RT: Was it your idea, BURNLEY: He was originally a sports cartoonist with the New York or your sister’s, to Globe in the ’20s. I was still a sports cartoonist when he started doing show your cartoons? Believe It or Not, which started out as a sports cartoon. But it became so Were you pushing popular that he dropped the sports part. this, or was it just something she RT: You did a lot of boxing cartoons. Was boxing a special favorite, or saw and said, did you like all kinds of sports? “People ought BURNLEY: When I was quite young, I was interested in boxing and to see this”? baseball. I’m one of the only persons around who can say they saw Ty BURNLEY: Cobb, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, and of course Babe Ruth. I used to I wanted to go to ballgames at Yankee Stadium; we weren’t living too far from there. be a cartoonIt was the old Polo Grounds where the Yankees played, and from the ist! I wanted time I was around nine or ten years old, I used to go there, sitting in the to get out of bleachers. school! I felt I RT: The 1920s are often called “The Golden Age of Sports.” Do you could go right agree that it was a particularly golden time? in and start a comic strip BURNLEY: I think it was probably the most colorful time…. RT: You’ve said you saw Jack Dempsey fight. BURNLEY: I saw him work out in an open air stadium, when he was training for a fight with Bill Brennan in 1921, and I saw him a number of

Jack Dempsey, heavyweight champion 19191927, as drawn by Jack Burnley.

BURNLEY: I guess. Martine had done some modeling for an illustrator who used to do work for The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s, which had short stories with some illustrations. She showed an artist some of my cartoons when I was about thirteen. He liked them and suggested she take them to Jack Lait, who was an editor at King Features. Lait liked the stuff. He said, “Just sit in the art department there, and do whatever you want. Watch the cartoonists work; eventually you’ll learn and go on from there.” It was just like an

Submit Something To Alter Ego! Alter Ego is on the lookout for items that can be utilized in upcoming issues: • Convention Sketches • 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@oburg.net

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@oburg.net 2) An ASCII or “plain text” file, supplied on floppy disk. 3) Typed, xeroxed, or laser printed pages.

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How Marv Wolfman & Co. Saved (a Bit of) the Golden Age

You’ve Heard of the Book Titled “How the Irish Saved Civilization.” Now read—

How Marv Wolfman and Co. Saved (a Bit of) The Golden Age by Roy Thomas

e can’t get around it. We have to begin with what seems like an unabashed plug. And maybe it is:

In the works is a new book from TwoMorrows Publishing: The All-Star Companion, compiled by Ye Editor with the help of several other prominent fans of the Justice Society of America. One of the highlights of that volume will be more than a dozen pages’ worth of art panels from a never-published JSA story written and drawn circa 1946: “The Will of William Wilson,” with script by JSA co-creator Gardner Fox, and art by Martin Naydel, Jon Chester Kozlak, Stan Aschmeier, and Paul Reinman. The story of how so many pages of this story—and literally hundreds of other pages of Golden and even Silver Age art—came to be salvaged and preserved is virtually a comic book epic in and of itself. It’s a story that deserves telling. Circa 1967-68, a young New York fan named Marv Wolfman was just edging into the comic book field. Such scripting triumphs as Tomb of Dracula and The New Teen Titans still lay several years in his future. In the late ’60s he worked for a couple of summers as an “intern” (gopher) at DC Comics, performing whatever odd jobs needed doing around the offices. One of which was to cut up original comic book artwork to prepare it for incineration. For, believe it or not: Until the early 1970s, DC (and doubtless other companies, as well) routinely burned all original art once it had been printed, presumably so that no unscrupulous artist or writer (or editor!) could sell entire covers and stories to some Godless foreign land which might re-publish same without paying for the privilege. Also incinerated on such occasions was unpublished artwork, which was often stamped “WRITTEN OFF”: i.e., DC had decided not to print it, either because a feature had been canceled or for some other reason. Actually, we need to back up a little, because the

This “Written Off” page of a 1940s Dr. Mid-Nite story, most likely by Arthur Peddy (pencils) and Bernard Sachs (inks), is unusual in having four tiers rather than three, but was rescued during the episode recounted here. Only one piece at the bottom right was missing from the photocopies sent to A/E by Mark Hanerfeld. [Dr. Mid-Nite ©1999 DC Comics Inc.]

Fawcett Collectors of America

The Captain ’s Chief The Original, Genuine, Golden Age Captain Marvel, the World’s Mightiest Mortal As Remembered by C.C. Beck, Chief Artist, Captain Marvel, 1940-53, Fawcett Publications Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck (with special thanks & love to Jenny) I. ABOUT MYSELF My first paying job as an artist was drawing cartoon figures on lampshades. Rather than print pictures of popular comic characters of the time (1928) on their custom-made lampshades, the company for which I worked hired artists like myself to draw figures taken from work by the top syndicated cartoonists, whose permission to do so they had obtained.

on his books disappeared. III. CAPTAIN MARVEL CHARACTERS BILLY BATSON AND CAPTAIN MARVEL The first character to appear in the first Captain Marvel story in the first issue of Whiz Comics was Billy Batson, a homeless newsboy. (Although Captain Marvel appeared in the title splash preceding the story, he didn’t appear in the story itself until later.) Billy Batson was, although the publisher wasn’t ever aware of it, the real hero of all the Captain Marvel stories from the first issue till the last. A previously unpublished Captain Marvel head by C.C. Beck. [Captain Marvel ©1999 DC Comics Inc.]

Actually, it was cheaper to draw the characters than it would have been to print them, for the work was done at rather low piecework rates. I made a very good living at the job, however, and got a good education in cartooning at the same time.

At one time, believe it or not, the publisher sent down word to drop Billy from the stories, saying that he was only taking room that could have been used to show Captain Marvel instead, and that he wasn’t

This education enabled me to get a job with Fawcett Publications later, working on their humor magazines Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang, Smokehouse Monthly, and other titles. In 1939 Fawcett got into the comic book field and I was assigned the job of illustrating three stories in the first issue of Whiz Comics. These stories, featuring Captain Marvel, Ibis the Invincible, and Spy Smasher, had all been written by Bill Parker, and I simply put them into picture form. When Captain Marvel was discontinued in 1953, I went back to being what I had always wanted to be: a commercial artist and copywriter. Over thirty years later, however, people still remembered me for my work on Captain Marvel. II. FAWCETT COMICS Fawcett’s Captain Marvel was produced by writers and artists working separately. The scripts were prepared by the editorial department, the drawing by the art department. The writers, who worked under the supervision of a managing editor, had nothing to say about the art, and the artists, who worked under the direction of an art director, had nothing to say about the stories they were given to illustrate. In the thirteen years I spent drawing Captain Marvel, I wrote only one story (“The Temple of Itzalotahui,” Whiz #22), which had to be submitted in typed form and edited and approved before I was allowed to illustrate it. As Fawcett’s writers, artists, and editorial and art directors were all professionals with years of experience in their trades, Fawcett’s comic books quickly took over the market, and Captain Marvel and his family of characters became famous all over the world. Captain Marvel was a big hit for thirteen years. Then, as times changed, his style of comedy and old-fashioned storytelling went out of fashion. Loose morals and unrestrained behavior patterns took over, and Captain Marvel and all the editors, writers, and artists who had worked

Beck drew this page especially for the 1974 Orlandocon. See later in the article for references to Dr. Sivana’s penchant for transparent disguises. [Captain Marvel and Billy Batson ©1999 DC Comics Inc.]

The Captain’s Chief

Previously unseen (and still pretty darn hard to see) treasure: Unfinished C.C. Beck extraterrestrial panorama featuring Billy, the Big Red Cheese, Sivana, and the wicked (if loveable) Mr. Mind! [All characters ©1999 DC Comics, Inc.]

contributing anything to the stories. Fortunately, the editors paid no attention to so ridiculous a memo and Billy Batson continued to appear in every story. Without Billy Batson, Captain Marvel would have been merely another over-drawn, one-dimensional figure in a ridiculous costume running around beating up crooks and performing meaningless feats of strength like all the other heroic figures of the time who were, with almost no exception, cheap imitations of Superman. It was always Billy Batson who got into trouble and had to call Captain Marvel to the rescue by saying the magic word “Shazam!” As silly as this bit of childish magic was, it was accepted without hesitation by readers all over the world who really didn’t believe that comic book stories were actual accounts of events in the real world, but knew that they were nothing more than entertaining fiction. As a fictional character, Billy Batson didn’t have to look like a real boy at all, but was definitely a cartoon character. He had dots for eyes in the best tradition of comic characters from Felix the Cat to Charlie Brown. A March 1970 Beck sketch of Billy Batson, done for fan John Ellis. [Billy Batson ©1999 DC Comics Inc.]

When other artists than those under my supervision drew Billy

Batson, they never got him quite right. Fawcett farmed out some of the early Captain Marvel stories and Billy came back looking like a wooden puppet or a witless imbecile. In the DC Captain Marvel stories, and also in the movie and TV versions, Billy Batson appeared as a rather stupid young man about twenty years old. Why he appeared this way I have never been able to understand. Perhaps it was because A Beck drawing previously published only in other people didn’t the Legion Outpost fanzine. [Captain Marvel understand that the con©1999 DC Comics Inc.] trast between a 14-yearold boy and a grown man was a more effective literary and artistic device than presenting the same character in disguise or two characters who didn’t look anything like each other.

Alter Ego #2