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THE TRIUMPH, TRAGEDY, & TALENT OF

MIKE SEKOWSKY

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February 2004

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Vol. 3, No. 33 / February 2004 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors

™

MIKE SEKOWSKY & Company Section

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

Contents

Production Assistant

Eric Nolen-Weathington

Writer/Editorial: Three Songs for Mike Sekowsky....................... 2 “Chicken Scratchings”................................................................... 3 A 1963 meeting of Sekowsky and comics fan Bernie Bubnis—in the days when many

Cover Artists Ron Frenz Joe Sinnott Sal Buscema

fans loved to hate Mike’s art!

Cover Colorists Tom Ziuko

And Special Thanks to: Lee Ames Ger Apeldoorn Mark Austin Brian H. Bailie Bob Bailey Valerie Barclay Jack Bender Chris Brown Bernie Bubnis Mike Burkey Pat Calhoun Bob Cherry Lloyd Clingman Steve Cohen Jon B. Cooke Rich Dannys Theresa R. Davidson Mike Esposito Mark Evanier Shane Foley Stephen Friedt Todd Franklin Carl Gafford Paul Gambaccini Janet Gilbert Jennifer T. Go Stan Goldberg Tom Horvitz Glen D. Johnson

John Kelly Stan & Joan Lee Mark Lewis Dennis Mallonee Nancy Maneely Joe & Nadia Mannarino Mile High Comics Matt Moring Brian K. Morris Mark Muller Will Murray Floyd Norman Don Perlin Tom Ranheim Gene Reed Paul Rivoche Trina Robbins Pat Sekowsky Scott Shaw! David Seigel Jeff E. Smith Dave Stevens Marc Swayze Greg Theakston Dann Thomas Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Mrs. Hazel White

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Mike Sekowsky & John Tartaglione

Pat and Mike.................................................................................5 A candid interview with Pat (Mrs. Mike) Sekowsky about a talented—and troubled— cartoonist, conducted by Jim Amash.

The Mike Sekowsky Dinner.........................................................22 Four artists and writers reminisce about “Big Mike’s” years in comics and animation. Comic Crypt: The Unknown Kurtzman.....................................37 Michael T. Gilbert presents early work by the creator of Mad.

“Shelly Mayer Thumped My Thick Young Head” .....................44 Alex Toth on learning to do the job of a cartoonist. Barclay, Sekowsky, & Others Section..............................................Flip Us! About Our Cover: This issue is largely a “Mike Sekowsky Special,” and we wanted to cover both his DC and Timely/Marvel years. But rare or unpublished Sekowsky artwork with either the Justice League (his most important work) or the super-heroes he drew for Stan Lee back in the 1940s is rarer than hens’ teeth. An inspiration: Roy had met longtime Marvel artist Ron Frenz at a comics convention a year or so ago, and Ron said he’d love to pencil a cover for Alter Ego—so we bit the bullet and asked him to do not one, but two—both homages to the work of Mike Sekowsky, with a few other elements thrown in! To our delight, Ron said yes. We then lined up two first-class inkers to embellish his pencils. On this side, it’s Joltin’ Joe Sinnott—and on our flip side—but we’ll let you see who inked that cover when you turn the book (or yourself) upside down! Us—we’re happy whether standing on our feet or on our head! [Art ©2004 Ron Frenz & Joe Sinnott; JLA TM & ©2004 DC Comics.] Above: Since our theme is “Three Songs for Mike Sekowsky,” we figured we might as well start with a panel from the only Sekowsky-penciled “Inferior Five” story, in Showcase #65 (Nov.-Dec. 1966). in which that slaphappy super-group teamed up with a takeoff on Marvel’s X-Men to sing “the old school song”—with lyrics by E. Nelson Bridwell & inks by Mike Esposito. Thanks to Shane Foley for the black-&-white art copies. [©2004 DC Comics.] Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. Phone: (919) 833-8092. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: Rt. 3, Box 468, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $8 ($10 Canada, $11.00 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

Three Songs for Mike Sekowsky

Torch songs—because the original Human Torch was one of many, many characters he drew during his days at Timely.

There are many songs that can be sung for—and about—comic book artist Mike Sekowsky, who is largely (but, we hope, not only) remembered for his work on five dozen-plus tales of the Justice League of America.

Even sing-alongs, because four talented men who admired Mike’s comics and animation work took an evening to assemble over dinner and a tape recorder to talk and joke and reminisce about this artistic titan whom they knew in the twilight of his days.

Sad songs—because, as his widow Pat Sekowsky says in her frank interview with Jim Amash, he was often his own worst enemy, both personally and professionally, and wrestled all his life with his personal problems. Love songs—because, without prodding by Jim, two strong women who were a part of Mike’s life two decades apart wanted to speak about their deep feelings for this talented and tormented man—Pat Sekowsky on this side, and 1940s Timely inker Valerie Barclay on our flip side.

Fight songs—because Mike was a fighter, right to the end, striving to master the world of TV animation in which he found himself late in life, but determined to the last to return in triumph to the comics field that had turned its back on him.

Accompanied by all that dynamic, often gorgeous Sekowsky artwork, these songs comprise a virtual symphony of artistic accomplishment... a lasting legacy to the man who made music with his hand, his brain, and a simple graphite pencil. Bestest,

COMING IN MARCH NOW MONTHLY!

So, this issue, we sing three songs for—and about— the late great Mike Sekowsky—four, if you count Valerie Barclay’s words on our editorial-less flip side (though Ms. Barclay deals with many other subjects, as well). Her interview, in fact, covers an era that comes first chronologically in our tale.

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Three Songs For Mike Sekowsky part one

“Chicken Scratchings”

A 1964 Meeting of MIKE SEKOWSKY and a Comics Fan by Bernie Bubnis

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Keeping the three movements of our Sekowsky symphony on this side in rough chronological order, we begin with a piece more than forty years old—headed by a photo of Big Mike at work, surrounded by images of his and others’ DC work from the same era. After the initial joy of there simply being a Justice League of America comic in the early 1960s wore off, many readers became increasingly critical of Sekowsky’s penciling even on Murphy Andersoninked covers such as the one below left of JLA #32 (Dec. ’64)—

compared to the cleaner lines and more realistic approach of Murphy himself on full art (Hawkman #4, Oct.-Nov. ’64), Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella (The Flash #138, Aug. ’63), and Gil Kane & Anderson (Green Lantern #29, June ’62). Mike’s work was coming in a distant fourth with fandom—even though Justice League was selling as well as or better than the other three comics. Incidentally, all art is taken from photos of the originals appearing in 1990s Sotheby’s art-auction catalogs, and is ©2004 DC Comics.

“Chicken Scratchings”

[So how did a dyed-in-the-wool comics fan behave in 1964 when he suddenly found himself face to face interviewing an important comic book artist of whose work he had been outspokenly critical? We found out in the fanzine The Rocket’s Blast #27 (Feb. 1964), courtesy of Bernie Bubnis—a short article based on a meeting that most likely took place in mid-’63. Thanks to Bill Schelly for locating this gem, and to Bernie for giving us his blessing to reprint it. Photo courtesy of Pat Sekowsky. —Roy.] Did you ever feel you were walking into a trap from which there was no escape? Well, this is the sensation that tingled all over my body as I proceeded to visit an artist I knew was not appreciated by the majority of comic books fans. “Chicken scratchings” is what they call his style. How do you try avoiding this term when referring to his work, when you yourself feel the same way about it? Well, there is the prologue to what I was certain would be my death at the hands of a dirty-fighting pro. He greeted me at the door sporting a ragged T-shirt and a frown that aptly matched my disposition. He escorted me through the living room, where I noticed that the woman’s touch had left its mark of fashion magazines, and my curious mind began to wonder where his wife was. From some source I learned he had a wife and two kids, but they were never around when any fan visited Mike.

He told me that he was officially working on the love mags at DC when Schwartz came into the department and asked him to work on the JLA. This was reported to have caused some friction between the two editors. When I asked about covers, he said that Julie was now offering original art to fans who sent in good ideas for JLA covers. He went on to say that the group can become a little bogged down for the loss of a good idea. He then pulled out a sketch of what appeared to be somebody pulling a figure into or out of another dimension (I think this is the sketch that eventually appears as the cover for JLA #25). He seemed very pleased that he could help in some creative way with an issue he was drawing for. He says that Murph Anderson usually gets to do the covers because they take a little longer and the price the artist is paid is considerably less (just what he meant by sticking that part of the statement there escaped me). Anderson is one of the few DC artists that works there at the office—seems he has five screaming children at his home in New Jersey.

I dragged the conversation around to Joe Kubert and Hawkman (this was the time his fate was higher in the air than he will ever be). Mike explained that Schwartz didn’t like Kubert’s work because it was too sloppy, and preferred to have another artist take over the helm. It seems that, while the pros themselves like Kubert’s work, no one else seems to. This is the point a I entered his studio, to be greeted huge smile made its slow path across by typical FM-jazz and a cool air his face, and he exclaimed in joy, conditioner. He explained that he “Speaking of Kubert—how would was in the middle of a JLA story and you like some original art by Joe? would have to work while we talked. Traded off with Gil Kane for some Here is where I found that the gruff other stuff I had.” I leaped in joy as exterior Mike presented was he handed me a stack of it and I something that was merely in my The sketch which Sekowsky showed Bernie Bubnis (doubtless in late 1963) spurted out, “I can get $20 apiece imagination. He eventually turned would have been the one for the cover of Justice League of America #25 from some fans for this stuff.” At out to be a freewheeling guy that (Feb. 1964). Inks by Murphy Anderson. [©2004 DC Comics.] this point his eyes leveled off and he would answer anything that was muttered, “If I knew that, I would have kept them for myself.” presented to him, if he had the reference. The conversation seemed to draw closer to that ever-threatening question, which I popped after sneaking a look at his originals before Bernie Sachs got hold of them. They were much better than the usual “Sekowsky junk,” and that is what led me to ask, “Do you think Sachs is the one who ruins your work?” He explained that Sachs had helped him out of many a tight spot by sometime redoing panels where Mike had not found adequate time to complete the story. He was happy to have Sachs doing the inking job, because it gave him additional time to illo for other companies. Which brings about my next observation. He appears to be out for money and money alone when it comes to illustrating. He explained that his one big ambition was to crack the newspaper syndicates with a lovelorn strip, like the one of [The Heart of] Juliet Jones [popular 1960s strip by Stan Drake]. He showed the other work he had done for outside houses and still wanted to make more money. He is completely justified in his aims, but he goes a little overboard.

At that interlude I bade farewell to Mike, fearing I’d have to wrestle him over the original art. All kidding aside, Mike Sekowsky was a very friendly type of fellow, who is willing to help fandom out in any way he can. At first, he appeared to be grouchy, but that being only his exterior self, I found by digging into the real Sekowsky that he has a heart bigger than comic fandom or the comic industry will ever know. [Bernie Bubnis told A/E editor Roy Thomas by phone that, years ago, he gave up thoughts of being a pro artist and entered the doorand-window business... which apparently has been very good to him. One of these days, he promises to share with us his memories of the 1964 New York comics convention, the first comicon ever held, and which was largely his brainchild. We suspect that, in his youth, he misinterpreted a remark or two by Julie Schwartz. Bernie didn’t say what opinion, if any, he has today about the art of Mike Sekowsky.]

Three Songs For Mike Sekowsky part two

Pat and Mike

A Candid Interview with PAT (MRS. MIKE) SEKOWSKY about a Talented (and Troubled) Cartoonist Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash [INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: The Mike Sekowsky story is a complicated one. By most accounts, he was a terrific artist with inner demons that plagued him throughout his entire life, and this interview explores this subject in some detail. Mike was one of those men who gave his life to creating comic book art and eventually found himself cast out of the industry for which he had given his artistic blood. Maybe we’ll never quite know what all his problems were, but despite them, he created an amazing body of work during his comic book days, probably never fully realizing his own importance. Special thanks goes to Josephine (Pat) Sekowsky for her honest portrait of a man she loved very much, and for her willingness to share Mike’s story with his admirers. —Jim.]

Mike was preparing to get back into comics. He always had that thought in his head, “I’m going to get back into comics!” That’s when he went to work for Daerrick Gross. Daerrick was working up a comics line of ninja and skateboard comics, and this was when I took Mike back, because he had taken ill and passed out in the street. They thought he was drunk, of course. JA: When was this? 1985? SEKOWSKY: Yes, I guess so. That sounds right. Mike was going to do this ninja thing and said, “I’m going to do it and prove to them that I can do everything.” Mike was on medication at this time, and I don’t know if he stopped drinking, because I’d go to work and leave him alone and he wasn’t bad when I got home. He knew

“His Life Was Difficult” PAT SEKOWSKY: Well, there’s no getting around the fact that Mike was an alcoholic, and it ruined his life and the lives of a lot of other people. It didn’t help make him loved by his peers, but he could be very charming, and I don’t think Scott [Shaw!] and Mark [Evanier] ever really got to see the bad side of him. Mike was very shrewd about that. JIM AMASH: Maybe so, but both Scott and Mark are very smart people and probably did know about his problem. I believe Mark mentioned it in a piece he wrote about Mike. SEKOWSKY: Well, they had to know. I mean, when they wrote about Mike’s being a diabetic and stuff; they knew he was sick. I didn’t even know about some of these things. For the last decade of his life, Mike primarily worked in animation (Scooby-Doo being one that I recall), but occasionally did comics for various places, like Hanna-Barbera’s foreign department. He did things like He-Man, Captain Carrot, and Blackhawk for DC Comics, and comic booklets. I left him about two years after he started with Hanna-Barbera, because the drinking was getting worse. Nobody knew he had diabetes at that time, and the drinking wasn’t helping matters. He’d go out with friends who drank and did other things, which Michael never did. Later on, Mike was on the rebound from some serious health problem due to his diabetes, and Scott called me. I went to the hospital, but Mike didn’t tell me about the diabetes. He got home and I helped him get a nice apartment. That’s when I started seeing him again, and

[Above left:] Josephine (Pat) Sekowsky and Mike Sekowsky, date unknown— and the Sekowsky-Sachs splash of Justice League of America #1 (Oct.-Nov. 1960), repro’d from a black-&-white photo of the original art printed in a 1990s art auction catalog. Script by Gardner Fox. [©2004 DC Comics.]

Three Songs For Mike Sekowsky part three

The Mike Sekowsky Dinner

Four Los Angelenos Reminisce about “Big Mike’s” Years in Comics and Animation Moderated by Mark Evanier [MODERATOR’S INTRO: One of comics’ most prolific artists, Mike Sekowsky, died in 1989, far from his native New York and even farther from the comic book industry. For the last eleven years of his life, he worked primarily in animation in Los Angeles... and comics’ loss was our gain. Those of us who worked in the cartoon business welcomed him, for he was not only a terrific artist but a genuinely fascinating individual—shy but feisty, outspoken but timid, and alternately very intense and very funny. [One Tuesday night in November of 2003, four of us gathered in a restaurant in Burbank, California, to share memories of “Big Mike.” Present were cartoonist and “Oddball Comics” curator Scott Shaw!—illustrator and creator of The Rocketeer Dave Stevens—and longtime Disney and Hanna-Barbera cartoonist Floyd Norman. Oh, yeah—and I was there, too. Any excuse for a meal. All four of us had worked with Mike at H-B, and at other local enterprises, as well. After the dinner plates were cleared away, I hauled out a tape recorder and led off the proceedings.... —Mark Evanier.]

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris MARK EVANIER: We are sitting here at a restaurant, talking about our friend Mike Sekowsky, who left us some time ago. I am here with Scott Shaw!, Floyd Norman, and Dave Stevens, and we’re going to talk a little bit about Mike, and try to remember this friend of ours whose career was tragically cut short just as he was starting to get ample recognition for the work he did. I thought I would try to draw a strained analogy this evening between Mike and his artwork, because Mike’s artwork was the kind of art that, sometimes, you couldn’t warm up to immediately. A lot of people didn’t like it when they first saw it. But eventually it grew on them and they discovered the joys of Mike Sekowsky art.

Animator Floyd Norman generously drew the above fine sketch of his take on the Mike Sekowsky Dinner—but, since Big Mike was at least there in spirit, we couldn’t resist adding overhead the Sekowsky-penciled, Bernard Sachs-inked image of the Justice League, from the splash of JLA #21. (Left to right at the dinner table:) Mark Evanier, Dave Stevens, Floyd Norman, Scott Shaw! And if you have to ask who those guys are in the cloudy patch above them—boy, have you got the wrong magazine! [Bottom art ©2004 Floyd Norman; top art ©2004 DC Comics.]

And Mike was, in some ways, the same kind of person. When you first met him, he was a little standoffish, a little cold. He wouldn’t look

The Mike Sekowsky Dinner

Mike Sekowsky in the Catskills, a resort region in upstate New York —and a model sheet of The Penguin he drew for Hanna-Barbera’s Super Powers series. Photo courtesy of Pat Sekowsky; for the model sheet, thanks to Bob Bailey. [Art ©2004 DC Comics.]

23 up doing a freelance job for me on some educational film strip I was doing around that time, because I just loved the way the guy drew and I couldn’t wait to get him to do something for me besides the regular Hanna-Barbera stuff. I seemed to follow Mike around, or he followed me. We were at Disney around the same time. I know he did the comic book work on Condorman. He was supposed to do work on Roger Rabbit, but [laughs] had kind of a falling-out with Daan Jippes, so that didn’t work out. And then we all ended up at a very strange studio in Newport Beach—Tom Carter—and that’s kind-of where our story ended.

you in the eye. Still, when you got to know him, he turned out to be a pretty decent guy. All of us worked with him when he was at HannaBarbera, where he fled after he decided there was no place for him in the New York comic book community. Floyd, how close was he to your drawing table?

NORMAN: Oh, man... what were those? Super Friends, Scooby-Doo.

FLOYD NORMAN: Maybe a few desks away. He was pretty close by.

DAVE STEVENS: I know he worked on The Shmoo.

EVANIER: What was his job description at HannaBarbera?

NORMAN: The Shmoo. How about Casper and the Space Angels? That was a strange show.

NORMAN: Mike was a layout artist, but he also probably did character design. When I first met Mike, probably in the mid70’s, when a lot of the guys came out from New York, Mike, as Mark said, was a pretty scary guy, and kind of standoffish, and a big guy. But, once you got to know him, he was a pretty nice guy and we became good friends. I, maybe unlike many, fell in love with his work the first time I saw it. He even ended Floyd Norman, in a photo provided by the animator—and Sekowsky art for the Disney movie Condorman, in which a comic book writer (played by Michael Crawford) plays spy and pursues a beautiful Russian defector (played by Barbara Carrera). Thanks to Pat Sekowsky, Jim Amash, and Theresa R. Davidson for scans of the Condorman art. [Art ©2004 The Disney Company.]

EVANIER: Let’s go back to Hanna-Barbera. Any idea what shows Mike worked on?

Comic Crypt

The Unknown Kurtzman

Valerie Barclay

Viva Valerie! An Interview with “Glamorous Girl Inker” VALERIE (a.k.a. VIOLET) BARCLAY Conducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash

[INTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Many people who give interviews naturally tend to gloss over negative aspects of their careers. Not so with Valerie Barclay. She’s a gutsy lady, honest in her appraisals of herself and of those she knew. In the quest for more knowledge pertaining to Timely Comics in the Golden Age, I found her candor both surprising and informative. Trina Robbins briefly profiled her in Alter Ego, Vol. 3., #11, but this is the first in-depth interview with Valerie Barclay ever published. —Jim.]

Valerie Barclay in a photo taken in 1987—and her caricature (by Ken Bald? Dave Berg?) as it appeared in that 1947 Stan Lee classic, Secrets behind the Comics. She feels that it “didn’t look like me. It’s just a cartoon of a girl.” Yet, ever since, Timely/Atlas/Marvel collectors have referred to Valerie/Violet Barclay as that “glamorous girl inker”! Photo courtesy of V.B. [Art ©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

who were almost college age. And Mike Sekowsky said that he saw me in the hall and decided right then and there to marry me. I remember him walking around in a green sweater. He had a head full of thick, wavy, blonde hair. He was not that good-looking, but he was a sweet, sweet person.

“It’s Okay to Ask That”

JA: Some people liked him, some people didn’t.

JIM AMASH: I know it isn’t gentlemanly to ask this first question, so I hope you’ll forgive me. When and where were you born?

BARCLAY: He was a good man. A very good man. JA: In our first phone conversation, you asked me about Sekowsky’s later life. He had become diabetic and was a fairly heavy drinker. He had become surly and difficult in the eyes of several people who knew him then. In the last year of his life he quit drinking, but the damage was done and he passed away from diabetic complications.

VALERIE BARCLAY: It’s okay to ask that. I was born November 5, 1922, in Manhattan. JA: Where did you get your art training? BARCLAY: I went to the School of Industrial Arts with Mike Sekowsky. I met Mike at the school; we were fellow students. Later on, I studied with Jack Potter at the School of Visual Arts. And for the past thirty years I’ve been going to the Arts Students League. But I didn’t learn anything at Industrial Arts. They had English teachers teaching art. They taught us nothing. And then they had a school that was very much like the Arts Students League, where they had all these students that were goof-ups like me. These students didn’t learn anything; they didn’t want to go to school. They were like truants. One day, a truant officer took me out for coffee and said, “If you don’t go to school until you’re seventeen, they’ll send you to reform school.” So I had to go to school and went to the School of Industrial Arts. They had a lot of students

One of the earliest signed Sekowsky-drawn stories is this “Father Time” tale from Captain America #11 (Feb. 1942), written by a guy named “Neel Nats.” Wonder what ever happened to him!? Thanks to Mile High Comics. [©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

BARCLAY: His being difficult was just a defensive mechanism, to protect his feelings. Mike always told me that he hated me because I always liked the pretty boys and I didn’t like him. He went with me for four years and bought me clothes, jewelry, everything. He drew these beautifully finished penciled comic book pages and he let me ink them. He did everything for me. I was just a girl lover of his, and even when I met my husband, Mike said he hated me, which meant he really didn’t.

Viva Valerie!

The dialogue in the partial-panel above, from an early-’40s Timely humor story penciled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by George Klein, even contains the names of the two colleagues; they also drew (and signed!) the “Black Widow” splash reprinted at right from U.S.A. Comics #5 (Summer 1942). Mike and George became enemies over Violet Barclay—so we’ve printed these two pieces of art even though you already saw them if you picked up A/E #20. Caricature art provided by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., and Dr. Michael J. Vassallo; “Black Widow” art thanks to Mark Austin of Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC—interviewer Jim Amash’s one-time boss. Small world, ain’t it? [©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

I had problems and I was young, and Mike wasn’t really my type. I liked George Klein. I don’t know what George looked like when he was older, but he was attractive when he was young. JA: I know Klein died in 1969, but I don’t know what he died from.

“When I Was Young I Was a Terrible Person” BARCLAY: I didn’t know he died that long ago. Trina Robbins told me he had a heart attack. But you know, Mike was a very good human being. Everybody at Timely liked Mike. Nobody liked me, because they thought I was doing a number on him. Which was true. World War II was on and there were no men around, so I just killed time with him. Everybody, Dave Gantz

especially, picked up on that. Dave didn’t like me because when I was young I was a terrible person. An example: Mike married this girl Joanne [Latta], who was a petite little blonde. It was Christmas time and she came over to me at a big party we were having at Timely and she showed me these slippers that Mike had bought her from the Lord and Taylor department store. She was very happy and she was very proud of them But I did something I’d never do now. I’m a different person today. I said, “Oh, really?” And with that, I went over and I got this great big box. In it was a two-piece negligee, all of lace and pleated chiffon, that Mike had got from Lord and Taylor, and I said, “This is what Mike got me for Christmas.” Later, I heard she was sitting in the middle of the floor, crying and getting drunk. That was a terrible thing for me to do. I’d never do that today. And Mike used to do another thing with me. He used to look in the window at Lord and Taylor, and he’d see an outfit that he liked, then go inside and buy me the whole outfit. Mike bought me my first mink jacket; he was very kind to me, though he once tried to get me fired over my fling with George Klein. Mike went to Stan Lee and said, “Stan, I want her fired, and if she doesn’t get fired, I’m going to quit.” Well, you couldn’t ever tell Stan Lee what to do. Stan said, “Well, Mike, it’s been nice knowing you.” Stan wasn’t going to do what Mike wanted, and yet Mike “Stan Lee,” says Valerie, “was a sweetheart”—so he surely won’t mind our reprinting this oft-seen caricature of him from Secrets behind the Comics yet again—or our juxtaposing it with a nice page inked by Valerie/Violet Barclay over penciler Kin Platt in Rusty #18 (Aug. 1948). This is one of the few comics stories that even so dedicated a researcher as Doc Vassallo has definitely been able to identify as having been inked by our interviewee, in that day of quasi-anonymous styles. [Stan Lee caricature ©2004 Stan Lee; Rusty page ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Valerie Barclay

a couch wearing just a slip until it’s time to put on what you’re going to model. I hated it. After I tried waitressing, I became a restaurant hostess for several places. One time, Buddy Rogers, the actor, asked me out. He called me “Miss Astoria,” and I said, “Aren’t you married?” Rogers said he was married but that he had an understanding wife. But I wasn’t attracted to him. The problem with those jobs was that I couldn’t use my brains. In comics, you had to know how to draw in order to create something believable for the reader. I didn’t draw well, but somehow I did it. I used a lot of swipes to help me through. Alex Raymond drew properly, but I couldn’t. I can’t draw out of my head; I’m only as good as my swipe files. [laughs]

I worked for years as a fashion illustrator for several places, like Elaine Bryant and Abraham Strauss. But computers came in, and I was computer-illiterate, so they had to find other things for me to do. Usually, they were jobs that needed comic book type of art. But my swiping of other people’s work got me in trouble, and that made things more difficult, too. [See Trina Robbins’ profile of Ms. Barclay in A/E V3#11.] Eventually they let me go, and that was the end of my job. But I didn’t care, because I didn’t like doing fashion art. I wanted to paint so I retired.

I studied the work of Jim Howard, who was a great illustrator. He drew beautiful women, as did John Singer Sargent. These days, I paint re-creations of Sargent’s work, and it gives me great pleasure. I’m no John Singer Sargent, but painting’s what I love to do.

Recent photo of Violet Barclay in her New York City apartment— surrounded by images of several of her re-creations of the work of painter John Singer Sargent. Photo courtesy of Trina Robbins. Art courtesy of Valerie Barclay. [Re-creations ©2004 Valerie Barclay.]

Lost Comics Lore

Part 3: Continuing Our Look at the Early Comic Book Biz, as Witnessed in the Pages of Writer’s Digest Magazine by Will Murray [EDITOR’S NOTE: In Alter Ego #23 & 32, Will began his examination of the Golden Age comics industry as a market for would-be writers, as reported in a major trade magazine. He now moves his study into the post-World War II years in showing what the companies planned to do—and what actually came to pass—which were not always one and the same thing. —Roy.]

Hoppy sold so well he was given his own title in December 1945, along with four other new magazines. The November 1945 Writer’s Digest carried a notification of Fawcett’s postwar comics push:

The year 1946 was the beginning of a rough patch for comic book publishers. Once the war was over, the bottom dropped out of the market for comics in general and super-hero titles in particular. Fawcett Comics would suffer along with the rest of them, despite the formidable presence of Captain Marvel. Fortunately, they had already pioneered the funny-animal genre with Fawcett’s Funny Animals,

“Fawcett has definite plans for putting out 28 comic books as fast as paper and presstime permit. Of these, 12 will be monthlies. Books will be increased to 64 pages each, with two bi-monthlies at 96 pages. By December, four new comics will be out: Mary Marvel Comics, George Pal Puppetoons, Marvel Family Comics, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny— all monthlies. Captain Marvel Adventures will become a semimonthly book.”

where Hoppy the Marvel Bunny had made his auspicious debut, so they had something to fall back on that wasn’t super-heroes.

Writer’s Digest occasionally included what movie theatres then referred to as “Prevues of Coming Attractions” concerning comics companies. Here’s one “funny animal” that made the grade in his own mag, and one that didn’t, quite. Since we printed the original art for the cover of Animal Fair #1 (probably née Silly Animals) in A/E #25, here are the contents page for Hoppy the Marvel Bunny #1 (Dec. 1945) and an “Billy the Kid and Oscar” splash from Fawcett’s Funny Animals #43 (Oct. 1946). Billy, of course, was a cowboy—er, we mean, cow-goat! [Hoppy, Billy the Kid, & Oscar TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

Cavalcade of Comics

Cavalcade of Comics Charity Begins at Home—Even for Comic Book Artists by Don Perlin [EDITOR’S NOTE: I am happy to turn these two pages over to industry veteran Don Perlin, artist of Werewolf by Night in the 1970s and of many other comics over the years. —Roy.] The Cavalcade of Comics was a charitable event that took place on September 13, 2003, for the benefit of the Tourette Syndrome Association, to raise funds for and public awareness of this neurobiological disorder. My teenage grandson has been battling Tourette Syndrome for over three years, and his fighting spirit made my wife and me realize that it was time for us to get involved in a more meaningful way. It started out as a nameless one-man event (me) in a local comic book store, doing sketches and signing old comic books for donations to this worthy cause. The nagging realization that this effort would not be significant enough prompted us to consider enlarging its scope. The idea of an auction of original cartoon art came to mind, and then suggestions and ideas of all sorts came to us from many good folks. We were now on a roll! The Cavalcade of Comics raised $10,000, more than half of which came from the auction. So I sat down to write a thank-you message to the artists who took part in the Cavalcade, when I realized that I wasn’t sure what a cavalcade was. Turning to Mr. Webster for enlightenment, I discovered it meant a mounted procession, a parade of guys on horses… what did this have to do with comics or Tourette Syndrome? Something told me there was a connection and I had to find it. The task of contacting the artists and asking for their donations fell to me. I felt very hesitant about asking people to donate pieces of art that could be worth handsome sums. But, remembering the battle my grandson was waging, I managed to chuck my inhibitions and started calling. Being the chairman of the Florida Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society gave me access to cartoonists of all types, not only my comic book buddies.

Don Perlin, grandson Joshua Blomenfeld, and Rebecca Perlin.

Soon the donations of artwork came rolling in. Comic book pages, comic strip art, political cartoons, magazine illustrations, even pieces created just for this event. NOW I UNDERSTAND why “Cavalcade” was an appropriate name! I had put out a call for help to fight this dreaded disorder, and by sending their work for the auction (some even manned the tables with me doing sketches for the public), these artists were mounting up and aiding us in the battle to make Tourette Syndrome a memory. Thanks to: Tom Armstrong, Sy Barry, Bruce Beattie, John Beatty, Chase Browne, Chris Browne, Mike Carlin, Jack Cassady, Jose Delbo, Don Edwing, Hy Eisman, Jim Fern, Ed Gamble, Bob Hall, Ed Hall, Bill Janocha, Joe Kubert, Bob Layton, Dennis LeBrun, Jeff Parker, Mike Peters, Joe Quesada, Ann Sabo, Ralph Smith, Rob Smith, Jason Sobol, Dana Summers, Mort Walker and his group, George Wildman, Dean Young, and others I may have forgotten to mention. The Cavalcade of Comics has just begun its battle to help find a cure for Tourette Syndrome. The call to mount up will go out yet another time, and I hope you will join us again. Anyone interested in joining us and/or learning more about Tourette Syndrome, please contact me at: (904) 2879605, or online at dperlin@bellsouth.net.

(Artists, left to right:) Ed Hall, Jason Sobol, John Beatty, Don Edwing, Claire Edwing, Don Perlin.

Featuring Don Perlin

Alter Ego #33