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RUSS HEATH JIM AMASH INTERVIEWS AN ARTIST FOR ALL SEASONS

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No. 40

September 2004

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

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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Vol. 3, No. 40/September 2004

™

Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

RUSS HEATH & FRIENDS Section

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 Gil Kane Russ Heath

Covers Colorist Tom Ziuko

And Special Thanks to: Neal Adams Ger Apeldoorn Manuel Auad Brian H. Bailie Bob Bailey Jeff Bailey Mike W. Barr Nick Barrucci Blake Bell Allen & Roz Bellman Dave Bennett Karen Berger Bruce Bristow Mrs. Peggy Broome Gary Brown Frank Brunner Mike Burkey Joe Caporale Nick Caputo Mike Carlin Bob Cherry Shaun Clancy Jon B. Cooke Peter David Teresa R. Davidson Al Dellinges Shel Dorf Terry Doyle Michael Dunne Harlan & Susan Ellison Mark Evanier Al Feldstein Bill Field Elliot Fine Shane Foley Neil Gaiman Carl Gafford Ken Gale José Garcia-López Frank Giella Janet Gilbert Glen David Gold Scott Goodell Bob Greenberger Beth Gwinn

Jennifer T. Hamerlinck Jack C. Harris Irwin Hasen Russ Heath Daniel Herman Roger Hill Andrea Hopkins Tom Horvitz Elaine Kane Fred & Rita Kelly Adele Kurtzman Paul Levitz Guy H. Lillian III Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier Ricia Mainhardt Rich Markow Donald Dale Milne Sheldon Moldoff Alan Moore Brian K. Morris Frank Motler Scott V. Norris Denny O’Neil Adam Phillips Robert Pincombe Paul Rivoche Steve Saffel Arlen Schumer Scott Sheaffer Bhob Stewart Marc Svensson Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Maggie Thompson Brian Thomsen Mike Tiefenbacher Anthony Tollin Alex Toth Michael Uslan Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Len Wein Tom Ziuko

This Issue Is Dedicated to the Memory of

JACK BRADBURY

Contents “I Was So Interested in Drawing That I Didn’t Want to Do Anything Else!”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Russ Heath talks to Jim Amash about comic books, comic strips, and Playboy. Gary Brown, Comic Book Reporter––Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Bill Schelly completes his interview re Comic Comments, Gremlin, and Comixscene. Comic Crypt’s Delightful “Clean-up” Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Michael T. Gilbert, Mr. Monster, Al Feldstein, Harvey Kurtzman, and more.

FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) #99. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Paul C. Hamerlinck presents Marc Swayze & The Fawcett/Charlton Connection, Part 2. Julie Schwartz & Gil Kane Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: As you’ll learn starting on the next page, if you didn’t know it already, Russ Heath has worked for a multitude of comics companies, in a multitude of genres—war, western, romance, jungle, horror, humor, science-fiction, adventure—and has even drawn a super-hero or two on occasion. Our cavortin’ colorist Tom Ziuko assembled this collage from a vintage photo and photocopies of original art provided by Russ himself, plus the cover of 1950’s Marvel Boy #1. Tom then applied his kaleidoscopic coloring skills to it. The result, we think, is a monumentally matchless montage. [Punisher & Marvel Boy art ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Lone Ranger art ©2004 King Features, Inc.; soldier & Roman ©2004 Russ Heath.] Above: In the final Sunday of their Lone Ranger comic strip, on April 1, 1986, Russ drew himself and writer Cary Bates as a sheriff and deputy bidding farewell to the Masked Hero of the Plains. [©2004 Lone Ranger Television, Inc.] Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. 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.

“I Was So Interested in Drawing That I Didn’t Want to Do Anything Else!” RUSS HEATH on Comic Books, Comic Strips, and Playboy Interview Conducted and Transcribed by Jim Amash

Russ at the drawing board, circa 1998—framed by two dramatic personalized figure drawings. On the right, Storm of The X-Men, done in 1987—and on the left, an illo of Sgt. Rock, dated 2002. For a guy who says he never liked drawing super-heroes, he sure didn’t do bad by Ororo! Photo courtesy of Russ Heath. [Storm TM & ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Sgt. Rock art ©2004 DC Comics.]

[INTRODUCTION: Russ Heath is one of those greats who backs up good draftsmanship with a terrific drawing style. Real people, not cardboard cutouts, dominate the visual planes of Russ’ pages. Almost no one conveys the realities of a war story like he does, and even his cartoon work has a solid reality base that is pleasing and believable. Russ was the artist who made you believe you were underwater with the Sea Devils, fighting high above the battlefields of war, and down in the mud with Sgt. Rock and Easy Company. For the purposes of this interview, and because of Alter Ego’s general franchise, we are mainly focusing on Russ’ earlier work (though we do stray somewhat), in order to discover how his artistic vision was formed, and his thoughts about how that affects artists personally and professionally. Of course, since this interview was conducted specifically for A/E, we want to touch on his rare (but outstanding) forays into super-hero work, but Russ begins by explaining why he didn’t do more in that genre... —Jim.]

“I Couldn’t Believe Superman” RUSS HEATH: I was too much a realist and maybe too literal-minded to ever really get into super-heroes. I couldn’t believe Superman could jump over the Empire State Building without cracking the pavement on landing, or carrying his Clark Kent clothes. The minute you create a

super-hero, who are you going to put against him? It leads to unreality. JIM AMASH: And your earliest reading habits were not grounded in that genre, either. You were born in 1926. HEATH: September 29th, in New York, though I lived in New Jersey. I discovered comics in Florida, when I was a kid. I was in a store with my parents and saw the eleventh issue of Famous Funnies. Later on, I looked at comics like Captain America, but I really started out to be an illustrator. Then, when I got married and was expecting a kid, I thought I’d better take whatever I could get. JA: Did you have any previous involvement in comic books by the time you were married? HEATH: I had done a couple of freelance jobs in the summer when I was in high school, in 1943 or ‘44. I might have done this for two different summers, but I’m not sure. I worked for Holyoke Publications’ Captain Aero Comics, on the “Hammerhead Hawley” feature. My dad knew somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody who published Holyoke. I had an interview and got the job. Well, it wasn’t really an interview... I just went to see this artist who was working for them. His name was Charles Quinlan. The page rate was so low that you tried to turn them out as fast as

“I Was So Interested in Drawing That I Didn’t Want to Do Anything Else!”

HEATH: I went into the Air Force in my senior year of high school, in 1945. I originally wanted to sign up with the RCAF, because you only had to be seventeen to join in Canada. The high school said they’d put me in an accelerated class so I could get through with high school. I almost made it, but then the [US] Air Force called me and in I went. I was in the service for nine months. JA: Did you do any artwork in the service? (Above:) Russ as an infant, between his grandmother and mother. (Right:) Russ’ father in 1916. Photos courtesy of Russ Heath.

you could. I didn’t spend that much time with him. I had always assumed that penciled pages were inked with a pen, and he said, “No, no, it’s brush work.” So he gave me a number three Winsor-Newton and I became a brush man. I drew two complete stories for Quinlan. I had been practicing and had done pages in school, just for my own amusement, so I was already into storytelling. JA: Where did you go from there?

HEATH: Yes. When they were waiting to find out what it would take to finish off Japan, I went over to the camp newspaper and did cartoons for them. I could do three cartoons in an afternoon. I had my own desk and a typewriter, and I’d write a couple of lines to my folks or something on it. I had a press pass, so I could leave the base at any time for 48 hours. I’d leave, come back, and go out again. I’d spend all morning on the beach, go to town, have lunch, and go to a movie. I’d probably be there yet, because my papers hadn’t arrived and I wasn’t getting paid. There’s only so much money your folks’ll send you, and I kept running up against this one sergeant, who said, “You’re lucky. You have nothing to do. Go away... you bother me.” After another month, I called headquarters up and said, “I’m Lieutenant So-and-So. Where are Russ Heath’s papers?” That got them hopping. They found them in a dead file, or else I’d still be there. JA: It occurs to me that you must have developed very quickly as an artist in order to draw for Charles Quinlan. Were you taking classes, or were you self-taught? HEATH: I was self-taught. I took regular art classes in school, but they hardly qualify.

(Above & center:) Russ’ first ongoing assignment—in fact, his first comics assignment, period!— was “Hammerhead Hawley,” in Holyoke’s Captain Aero Comics. These two pages are from Vol. 3, #12 (real #14, April 1944)—the feature’s final appearance—and are courtesy of Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. (Right:) The Holyoke artist/editor who basically hired Russ was Charles Quinlan, who drew its major feature, “Cat-Man.” Seen here is the cover of Cat-Man Comics #1 (1941), initiated after the hero had become a hit in Crash Comics. Thanks to the guys at Heritage Comics; check out their auctions and website at <www.HeritageComics.com>—and tell ‘em Alter Ego sent you, okay? We wanna keep on getting those bee-yootiful catalogs! [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

Russ Heath on Comic Books,Comic Strips, and Playboy

Russ in US Air Force uniform in 1945, juxtaposed with a drawing of another World War II flyboy (and his ladyfriend) that he drew in 2003 especially for collector Michael Dunne, who generously sent us a copy. [Art ©2004 Russ Heath; Blackhawk & Lady Blackhawk TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

“I Figured I’d Better Get a Regular Job” JA: When you got out of the service, what did you do? HEATH: I was in the 52-20 club, which was 52 weeks at twenty bucks a week to adjust to civilian life. I spent most of it in a bar, and then I got a job as a lifeguard at a swim club. I met a girl there and got married. After finding a baby was on the way, I figured I’d better get a regular job. I took my portfolio to New York every day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., looking for work. I used to visit famous artists, which was easier to do in those days because they didn’t have people to turn you away. I called up Albert Dorne, told him I was a young artist with a portfolio, and he invited me up. That’s how it was in those days. It took me seventy-some days to find a job. I’d go see someone and they’d say, “We don’t have anything now. Check back later.” And they’d tell me to go see someone else, so the list kept growing. Eventually, I got a job as a gofer at an ad agency, Benton and Bowles. I was making $35 a week, half of which went to travel expenses and laundry, so I decided I needed a better job. Eventually, I walked into Stan Lee’s office at Timely, and he hired me at $75 a week. I staggered out of there, realizing that I had just doubled my salary. This was in 1947. JA: What was Stan like when you met him? HEATH: He was exactly like he is now. I worked in the bullpen, and after a few months, Stan said, “You don’t have to come into the office every day. You can work at home if you want.” I was still on salary. I think Two-Gun Kid was the first thing I worked on. JA: What was it like to work in the bullpen?

HEATH: If I remember correctly, there were two other guys working in the room with me. There were other guys in other rooms, but it’s all pretty vague to me now. I remember that Syd Shores worked there, but I’m not sure if he was in my room. JA: Were many other staffers working at home, too? I know Dave Gantz did that. HEATH: It seems to me that there were. Some guys worked in the office and at home, too. Some only worked in the office. It varied from person to person. I started off doing complete art on the stories. The pencilers were filling in the black areas for the inkers (in pencil, not in ink) and I said, “That takes too much time. The inker can do that faster than the penciler,” but they had their own ideas. I took one of my pages, made a copy, which I darkened, and told them that they could just print from this. They thought it was a terrific idea, so Stan fired most of the inkers. Quite a few inkers were down on me for a couple of years. But then Timely found out that I was one of the very few pencilers who could pencil that cleanly, so it didn’t last that long.

“I Was So Interested in Drawing That I Didn’t Want to Do Anything Else!”

Stan Lee in the 1940s (above, in a photo from Les Daniels’ 1991 masterwork Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Heroes)—Russ Heath drawing away in the 1950s—and the artist’s dynamic cover for Navy Action #1 (Aug. 1954). Thanks to Nick Caputo for the copy of the latter, and to Russ for the photo. [Art ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

years. [laughs] Did you have any interaction with the writers? HEATH: Not really. Some of them I liked, like Bob Haney at DC. For the most part, I never met the writers. I never paid much attention at Timely as to who wrote the scripts. I was paying attention to how I was going to draw them. I know Stan Lee wrote a lot of stuff and I drew many of his scripts. Everybody went freelance because Stan found it too hard to fire people. He didn’t want to get into that again. JA: So you worked at home. Did you have a studio in your house? HEATH: Since I wasn’t working when we got married, we lived with my folks. My parents had a four-bedroom house, so one of the bedrooms was my studio. In two years, I had saved up enough money to make a down payment on a four-bedroom, $18,000 house.

“My Editor [at Timely] Was Don Rico” JA: While you were making the $75 a week, did you do freelance work for Stan, too? HEATH: Well, the rate kept going up. I don’t think I was doing anything else at the beginning, but I started doing some illustrations at ad agencies. What I found out was that, if you work at just one place, they have a tendency, if you’re under someone’s heel, to grind you into the ground. It’s just human nature. If you keep two or more accounts, they’ll know you’re not dependent on them, so it seems to work better for you. The amount of outside work I did depended on what was available. I always seemed to have multiple places to get work from. Once I worked at home, I only went into the offices once a week. Stories were usually seven pages, unless I got a ten-pager, and then there was no reason to go in until that job was finished. I’d go in, get a check for the last job, turn in the story I brought with me, and get a script for the next job. JA: How fast were you then? Were you doing a page a day, pencils and inks? HEATH: Sometimes. Sometimes, I’d do two pages. It depended upon what was on the pages. Obviously, it took longer to do battle scenes than it did to do talking heads. I did Kid Colt, Outlaw, and I hated that damn vest he wore. It was too “Hollywood.” JA: It must have been a good vest, because he wore it for twenty

JA: Was Stan handing you full scripts? HEATH: Yeah. JA: When you started out as an artist, did you make thumbnail sketches first, or did you just start drawing on the page? HEATH: I didn’t do thumbnails at the beginning. I just started drawing on the page. JA: Did you deal with Stan on a regular basis? HEATH: My editor was Don Rico, and he was a very easy guy to work for. JA: Oh really? I didn’t realize that Rico was editing that late at Timely. Al Jaffee was editing the humor books, and Al Sulman was editing, too. So Stan was not an editor so much as he was an editorin-chief? HEATH: Yeah. I didn’t get to know Jaffee until I began working on “Little Annie Fanny.” JA: You’re the only person I’ve talked to who remembers that Rico was editing at this point. What else do you remember about Rico? Did he have his own office? HEATH: I kind-of remember that he had his own small office. You had to go in there to realize he was there. And I remember that he later worked for Hanna-Barbera [in Los Angeles]. I met Harvey Kurtzman when I was working for Timely. I went to lunch with him... this was when he was doing “Hey Look!” for Stan. Some years later, when he was an editor at EC Comics, he asked me to do a story for the first issue of Frontline Combat. I kept having lunch with him, and I got “in” with the guys, like Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Willy Elder, John Severin, etc. I’d go to lunch with them and I’d get a story from Harvey. I didn’t realize there was a connection, or I’d have had more lunches with Harvey. But to be one of the guys on the inside was much better than being on the outside of the group. I didn’t know they were getting vacations all over the world. [NOTE: EC publisher Bill

Comic Fandom Archive

Gary Brown,

Comic Book Reporter PART 2 of Our Interview with the Editor of Comic Comments, Gremlin, & Comixscene

by Bill Schelly Introduction When one starts thinking about highly active “second-generation” members of comics fandom of the 1960s, the name of Gary Brown pops right up, alongside Tony Isabella, Gary Brown (on right) and science-fiction great Ray Bradbury at the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con—juxtaposed with Steve Gary Groth, and Dwight Decker. In Fritz’s art for the cover of Comic Comments #24 (April 1971). [Art ©2004 the artist; Batman TM & ©2004 DC Comics.] Part I (in A/E #37), Gary discussed how he got involved in comicdom BS: At that point, in the spring of 1970, Comic Comments came back. and came to publish two popular fanzines, Comic Comments and So it was never too far from your mind, as far as something you Gremlin, with a lot of help from Wayne DeWald and Alan might want to do. Hutchinson. This time, we learn about some of Gary’s other fan activities, including writing a popular column for Rocket’s BlastBROWN: Right. I wasn’t out of fandom or collecting at all. It was just Comicollector for several years. But before that, we must first cover doing the fanzine that I couldn’t do. I stayed active in [comics amateur the second half of the publishing history of Comic Comments—the press alliance] CAPA-alpha, which I joined in 1966. I think my first half Gary did as sole editor. [This interview was conducted by zine was in ’67, early ’67. telephone on October 2nd, 2003, and was transcribed by Brian K. BS: If I’m not mistaken, your Ibid zines have been in appearing in Morris.] K-a ever since, and are still ongoing. And, of course, you were Central Mailer for a while in the 1970s, too. Has there been any break?

Gary Takes Over

BILL SCHELLY: After establishing Comic Comments as one of the most popular news and letters fanzines, there was a hiatus. You did Gremlin #1, which was your general fanzine, and those issues of Comic Comments. But in mid- to late 1967, it ended. Why? GARY BROWN: Basically, when Wayne [DeWald] didn’t come back to school [at the University of South Florida], I couldn’t do it. I started to take over a lot of it that one summer because I had access to a mimeograph. But, in school, it was tougher to do by myself. It was my third year of college; I was getting involved in a lot of other things. I decided to kind-of drop it for a while, because it was just a hassle. BS: Sometimes people don’t realize that fanzine publishing isn’t just typing it up and getting the artwork ready—it was running it off, it was collating the issues, it was putting on stamps, it was keeping track of addresses and subscriptions. There’s a lot of time involved, especially when a fanzine was selling close to 300 copies per issue. BROWN: Yeah, it would take up a good part of your weekend, just the production work alone. BS: When did you graduate from college? BROWN: I graduated in early ’70. My degree was in English Literature, with a minor in Mass Communications.

BROWN: I had an Honorary Membership for two or three years when I first got married, and moved around, but I still was getting the mailings, so there hasn’t been a break for me at all. It goes through a lot of different phases. Sometimes, it was, [flat voice] “Uhh, okay,” and other times, it’s like—I think, for the last seven or eight years, it’s been wonderful. I’ve really enjoyed it, more than ever. BS: Getting back to Comic Comments… you were the sole editor and publisher of its second heyday. Wayne contributed to it sometimes, though, didn’t he? BROWN: He did a little. I told him I’d like to do this, and he kind-of gave me his blessing. Wayne was just getting married. I was just out of college; I was really into it. I decided I was going to do this monthly newszine, maybe 6-10 pages at the most, and try to have a few letters, but mostly news. I talked to a few people who were my sources in New York, and had some editors who fed me some, basically, press releasetype news. BS: Sometime in its second run, your fanzine became a little bit more like a Comic Reader, where there was more emphasis on news and what was coming out. You were more like a fandom reporter this time. BROWN: Right, that was my intent. I didn’t want to make it too big a

Gary Brown, Comic Book Reporter

early and went up to DC. When I was waiting to go in, who should walk up but Al Williamson! He was turning in his first DC work. It was a science-fiction story, I can’t remember which mag it was for, maybe Witching Hour or House of Mystery. And Wayne had become fast friends with him the year before; in fact, he even visited his house after the con. So I introduced myself to Al, said I knew Wayne, and Williamson said, “That’s great. Come on with me. We’ll go in.” Neal Adams was there, and Giordano—you name it! We talked for a while, and when they decided to go to lunch, Al dragged me along. So I had lunch with Al Williamson, Neal Adams, Frank Robbins, Dick Giordano, and maybe Archie Goodwin. We were all there, sitting, talking comic books. I thought, “Boy, I wish I could take a picture of this!” [laughs] BS: Luckily, someone did get that photo of you and those guys at the banquet. That had to be a thrill, almost a surreal experience for a guy from Florida. BROWN: It was amazing. It really was. BS: And of course, that meant that, when you came back, your contacts were that much better for Comic Comments. BROWN: Oh, yeah, yeah. That helped a lot. Some said, “I’ll just let you know when I hear something,” and they did. Sometimes not for attribution, though. Occasionally, someone would call and say, “Hey, have you heard so-and-so?” I’d go, “No,” and they’d tell me what they heard, and I’d try to confirm it then. An Alan Hutchinson Deadman illustration for Gremlin #2 (1970). [Art ©2004 Alan Hutchinson; Deadman TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

job, because sometimes the early issues of CC would be 20-some pages, and I didn’t want to go through all that. I wanted to be able to do Xamount of pages and that was it. I could keep it on a monthly schedule that way, too.

The 1969 New York Comicon BS: For a while, you stuck pretty much to that schedule. I suppose some of those news contacts came from people you met in New York City at the 1969 Seuling con, so maybe now would be a good time to talk about that. Was that the first convention you attended? BROWN: Well, we had a mini-convention in Florida with seven or eight of us, but that didn’t count. Wayne had gone to the 1968 SCARP-Con the year before. He came back with sketches by Al Williamson, Murphy Anderson, and all these people, and just blew me away. So I said, “I’m going next year.”

An International Scoop! BS: The news of Fatman [see A/E #37] was a great scoop, but an even bigger one involved Hal Foster. How did that one come about? BROWN: One day, out of the blue, Marv Wolfman phoned and said, “Hey, have you heard that Hal Foster’s not going to be doing Prince Valiant any more?” He told me Foster had arranged for some people to try out for the strip: Gray Morrow, and Wally Wood, and John Cullen Murphy, and a few others. Marv said, “That’s all I know. I don’t even know if it’s true.” So I called King Features. See, this wasn’t big news back then, outside of the comic book realm. It wouldn’t have been considered particularly newsworthy. Now they’d have it on the front page of many newspapers. So King wasn’t really equipped to handle stuff like that. When they got my question, I talked to Bill Harris—I think it was Bill Harris— and he confirmed it. It was as easy as that. I wasn’t able to confirm it with Foster, who lived in Florida, but we ran with it anyway. As far as I know, we broke it before anyone else, worldwide.

BS: There’s that famous photograph—you actually were the one who provided it to me for The Golden Age of Comic Fandom—of the banquet at the 1969 New York Comicon. Among the sea of faces, you can be seen sitting at a table with a bunch of pros, including Archie Goodwin, and so forth—a lot of people you became associated with. Some of the Charlton people such as Sal Trapini. And there’s Angelo Torres and Gray Morrow. Just sitting at that table must have blown your mind. BROWN: You bet. That whole experience was the best I’ve ever had at a convention. I knew Marv Wolfman and Murray Boltinoff, and I made arrangements. I got there a day

A one-table detail from a panoramic photo taken at Phil Seuling’s first solo New York Comicon in 1969. Moving clockwise from Archie Goodwin (the man with glasses who has his hands folded under his chin, the revelers are: [unidentified], Gary Brown (the only other guy wearing glasses), artists Jeff Jones and Al Williamson, Jerry Weist, artist Sal Trapani, [unidentified, with first goatee], and artists Gray Morrow and Angelo Torres. For the big picture, pick up a copy of Bill’s ground-breaking volume The Golden Age of Comic Fandom, still available from Hamster Press (see ad on p. 42.).

Comic Fandom Archive went to the San Diego Comicon together in 2002. We still good friends, even beyond comic books. BS: What about your interest in comics and the hobby in general? How has it changed over the years? What is your current level of interest?

BROWN: Well, back in the ’70s, I was what was called a “completist.” I would just buy everything. I can’t afford it any more. [laughs] I’ve never lost my enjoyment of the Superman books. I buy Batman and a few other things. I like the Alan Moore stuff, and special projects, the Frank Miller Batman stuff, and so forth. I buy books every week. I like the DC Archives and that type of book, also.

BS: Was the concept of “Keyhole” that you were kind-of peeking over the pros’ shoulders?

BS: Is your collection accessible, or is it one of those things where, to get in to look at your stuff, you have to dig out and it’s a big ordeal?

BROWN: Getting some news in, plus trying to make some sense of it— not just “Murphy Anderson’s going to ink So-and-so,” but, “Gee, this is great because he’s one of the better inkers, blah, blah, blah.”

BROWN: Yeah, I have a lot of great books here... but if you offered me a million dollars to find one of them, I couldn’t. [laughs] Because I’ve got boxes all over the place. Yeah, someday, someday I will untangle all this stuff. Then I’ll probably drop dead the next day! [laughs]

BS: You’d do a little featurette about it. It was the kind of thing where you’d have little sections in each column, right? BROWN: Yeah. It ended, I think, when I got married. I sort-of left fandom for about four years. I had two sons, so that was kind of allconsuming for a while. Even most of my comic book buying went by the wayside for that period while I tried to get things straight. BS: Was that when you had an Honorary Membership to CAPAAlpha, which meant you didn’t have to contribute but would continue to receive each mailing? BROWN: Yeah. I didn’t leave fandom, or the comic book hobby... but it was much, much more minimal than before. I just didn’t have time, being a dad, and all.

[P.S. FROM BILL: It occurs to me that, since 1964 represented the 40th anniversary of the Alley Tally Party (see A/E #34), it also represents my own 40th anniversary in comic fandom. In the fall of 1964, thanks to a plug from Julius Schwartz in an issue of Justice League of America, I first got my hands on Rocket’s Blast-Comicollector, and then Batmania, Yancy Street Journal, and (natch) Alter Ego. Never mind the fact that I dropped out of fandom for a number of years while I was trying to cope with that troublesome thing called “the mundane world”... I was always a fan at heart, and have had as much fun since re-joining as I did during my original stint. Comic Fandom Forever!!]

BS: When you think back on that period of time, what are the memories that come back? BROWN: It was a lot of fun making new friends left and right. You and I met that period. And I met—not met in person, but got to know—Jeff Gelb a little at that period and later on in K-a. For the first 5-6 years, it was all new—doing fanzines, going to conventions. It was so much fun sitting down and talking with all these other people who collected comic books—and meeting the professionals, the guys you admire, who would be very humble, and talk about how they’re grateful that you buy their work. BS: Right, the pros were rather accessible. They weren’t like movie stars or people that had to have buffers. The pros—especially the older pros—were just very happy that people appreciated their work. BROWN: Well, the last couple of Megacons I’ve gone to in Orlando, I’ve spent at least a half an hour with Nick Cardy and then Carmine Infantino, Russ Heath, and Jim Mooney. One of the things I never will forget is—a number of Megacons ago, Alan Hutchinson and I saw Gil Kane. He was sitting there sketching at a table, and there was nobody around him. There were two long lines for one of the new “hot” artists. Alan and I went up to Gil and chatted with him for, like, 40 minutes. And he talked to us, and he signed some things. Then finally another guy came up to talk to him, but nobody was crowding around, and this guy’s a legend. BS: At least Gil knew he was appreciated among the older fans. He knew because of Gary Groth, and Roy Thomas, and all his friends that his work was important in the history of fandom. Do you still keep in touch with Wayne DeWald and Alan Hutchinson? BROWN: Oh, yes. Wayne and I e-mail almost every day. Alan and I

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt

Introduction

Next we have… Color, Commando, Communication. The Harwyn Picture Encyclopedia (later reprinted as Art Linkletter’s Picture Encyclopedia For Boys And Girls) was a multi-volume series published in the late 1950s. The books featured art by many well-known comic book artists, including Al Williamson, Reed Crandall, and George Evans.

by Michael T. Gilbert This issue we’re featuring some rare material by Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, and Al Feldstein, three of Mad magazine’s most famous alumni! So without further ado… Follow That Girl! (Opposite page & p. 36:) A few months back, the “Crypt” reprinted a series of late-’40s Harvey Kurtzman cartoons from Varsity magazine. Kurtzman, of course, was the genius who created Mad as a comic book in 1952. Dutch Kurtzmaniac Ger Apeldoorn discovered these rare Varsity strips, drawn at the dawn of Harvey’s brilliant career, and “lost” for half a century. The two articles in Alter Ego #33-34 collected what we believed to be all the strips Kurtzman had drawn for Varsity. But, shortly before our article appeared, Ger uncovered one more! This beauty is from Varsity, Vol. 2, #21 (Nov.Dec. 1949). We’re delighted Ger allowed us to share his latest find with you. Let’s hope there’s even more out there waiting to be rediscovered.

Wally Wood also contributed a handful of drawings for the series. We published some of these in A/E #26 & #28, but were unable to fit these two fine examples of Wood’s commercial work. Now we have, on pp. 37-38! The EC Crew. And finally, directly below, we have a short piece by former EC editor Al Feldstein. Here, Al discusses how he and publisher Bill Gaines hired many of the EC creators, including fellow Mad-men Wally Wood and Harvey Kurtzman. This sidebar got squeezed out of Al’s two-part e-mail interview in Alter Ego #37 & #39—but those issues’ loss is this one’s gain! And now, without still further ado, anyway…

The EC Crew in a Nutshell... as seen by Al Feldstein! WALLY WOOD: Wally Wood was recruited when he and his senior “partner,” Harry Harrison, solicited work from EC… and I consequently, after a job or two, talked Wally into getting Harry off his back and doing stories for me on his own. JOE ORLANDO: I noticed the talents of Joe Orlando when he became Wally Wood’s assistant after Wally struck out on his own… and I encouraged him to break free of Wally just as I’d encouraged Wally to break free of Harry. (I don’t know what it is about these talented guys that assist other artists while preferring to remain anonymous and in the background! Shyness? Insecurity?) JACK DAVIS: Jack Davis walked into our offices, a hayseed Southerner fresh from Atlanta, with a drawing and inking style like no other I’d ever seen before... (and I really doubt that Jack would have been received with open arms at any other comic book publishing house with those hairy, scratchy early samples!)... but I saw his potential and grabbed him for our newly-launched horror and crime books... later giving him sci-fi to do, as well.

me a spectacular portfolio and immediately earned his place on the EC team based on those wonderful samples. I wasn’t to learn until much later that he had his own unofficial stable of artists (“The Fleagles”) helping him and ghosting for him, including Frank Frazetta, Roy Krenkel, Angelo Torres, etc., etc. GEORGE EVANS: George Evans visited the EC office, soliciting work, and was hired because he filled an empty niche somewhere between Jack Kamen and Jack Davis... a more dramatic style than Kamen’s… but tighter and more illustrative than Davis. And, later on, his incredible knowledge of World War I airplanes was invaluable in Aces High, one of our post-Code “New Direction” titles. [continued on p 33]

Jack… was the personification of the “Art Philosophy” that I was promoting at EC... encouraging artists to work in their own, inimitable, personal “signature” styles instead of imitating what was being done by other, successful artists. JACK KAMEN: Jack Kamen and I had worked together after World War II in Jerry Iger’s studio... until I decided to strike out on my own and freelance. Years later, when Jack walked into EC looking for an assignment, I made him a regular because I needed an illustrator-type who could draw handsome men and beautiful women in a clean, crisp illustrative style. REED CRANDALL: Ditto Reed Crandall, with his distinctive style. We’d worked together at Iger’s, and when he showed up at EC, I hired him on the spot as an EC team member. AL WILLIAMSON: Al Williamson showed

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt together on June 19th at the Toronto Comicon. Roy was also a guest, so Alter Ego was well-represented.

It was at my urging that he began to expand Mad’s subject matter... from merely satirizing the comic book genres EC was publishing (a funny “crime” story, a funny “science-fiction” story, a funny “horror” story, etc.)... to other areas of Americana... like syndicated comic strips (“The Lone Stranger”), other competitive comic book titles (“Superduperman”), movies (“Ping Pong”), literature (“The Hound of the Basketballs”), etc., etc...

It was Fred’s first con, and he shared the stage with fellow Canadian GoldenAgers Ed Furness and Jerry Lazare. I was there, too, the odd man out! It was truly a delight to finally shake the hand of the man who created the original Mr. Monster—and especially memorable coming exactly 20 years after my first “Mr. Monster” story appeared in Vanguard Illustrated #7 in the summer of 1984.

...and Mad was on its way.

Postscript from MTG:

The historic first meeting of Mr. Monster creators Fred Kelly

Better yet, my wife Janet had a chance (right) and Michael T. Gilbert, minutes before their panel in Before we go, I’d like to update you on to chat with Fred and his charming wife Toronto, Canada, on June 19, 2004. Photo by Janet Gilbert. another recent “Crypt” column. Alter Ego Rita over breakfast the next morning. I’ll #36 featured my tribute to Canadian give a more detailed report of our meeting in a future column. And cartoonist Fred Kelly, creator of the Golden Age Mr. Monster. Kelly when we do, we hope to print an extensive interview with Fred Kelly toiled in the Canadian comic industry in the 1940s, leaving for greener that Robert Pincombe recorded shortly before the con. pastures when that industry collapsed at the end of the decade. Beyond It’s funny. When I wrote my tribute in Alter Ego #36, I dedicated it that, little was known about the mysterious Mr. Kelly. to Fred Kelly “… wherever you may be!”—never dreaming “wherever” A few weeks after my article appeared, I received an astonishing would be at the Toronto Comicon only a few months later! e-mail from Robert Pincombe, an expert on the history of Canadian Till next time… comics. Robert informed me that, days earlier, he’d managed to track Fred Kelly down! We’re happy to report that 81-year old Fred Kelly is alive and well— and a few days ago (as of this writing!) I actually got to meet him. Robert and Roy Thomas arranged for the two of us to appear on a panel

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:

mgilbert00@comcast.net

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

BACK ISSUES OF THE ISSUE!

Want to see even more of JULIE SCHWARTZ and GIL KANE? Then pick up copies of A/E #2 for the full, unfettered story behind the secret origins of the Silver Age Atom—and A/E #38 for our “Julie Schwartz Special”! Still available wherever TwoMorrows back issues are sold—which means mainly via ad pages on an inside cover of this very issue! Thunder Agents TM & ©2004 John Carbonaro

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 32 Bluebird Trail St. Matthews, SC 29135 Fax: (803)826-6501 • E-mail: roydann@ntinet.com

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[FCA EDITORS NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was a top artist for Fawcett Comics. The very first Mary Marvel character sketches came from Marc’s drawing table, and he illustrated her earliest adventures, including the classic origin story “Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel (CMA #18, Dec. ’42); but he was primarily hired by Fawcett Publications to illustrate Captain Marvel stories and covers for Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. He also wrote many Captain Marvel scripts, and continued to do so while in the military. After leaving the service in 1944, he made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories for them on a freelance basis out of his Louisiana home. There he created both art and story for The Phantom Eagle in Wow Comics, in addition to drawing the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip for Bell Syndicate (created by his friend and mentor Russell Keaton). After the cancellation of Wow, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s top-selling line of romance comics, including Sweethearts and Life Story. After the company ceased publishing comics, Marc moved over to Charlton Publications, where he ended his comics career in the mid-’50s. Marc’s ongoing professional memoirs have been FCA’s most popular feature since his first column appeared in FCA #54, 1996. Last issue, Marc gave us a glimpse of what would’ve happened if Captain Marvel had appeared in Fawcett’s romance comics. This time, the artist discusses some of his drawing techniques... specifically, “body torque.” —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

have been a last-minute med school directive that, when confronted with such a question, they busy themselves at something else… to most assuredly denote utter indifference. “No, no,” I explained. “When you discuss that turn of the torso… what is the language you use?” “English,” said the doctor. Okay… so much for his vernacular… I would try my own: “I call it ‘body torque.’ It’s like when your hero stands flat-footed and swings a fist at his evil foe, his feet stay planted and…” “What’s wrong with ‘body torque’?”

If there’s one thing I learned along the professional trail about drawing people… it’s what I refer to as “body torque.” I call it that because of a long, completely unsuccessful quest for words that might be considered more appropriate.

What I learned about body torque… other than there being absolutely no acceptable substitute term for it…was like an awakening… a discovery. It had been there all the time and I hadn’t noticed. Interesting subjects for discussion were plentiful during my first job after the milk wagon. Russell Keaton knew so much about the business, and I so little. Yet, I don’t recall one word about “body torque.”

At one point I even turned in desperation to the medical profession. “How do you guys say it when you’re talking about the twist the body takes… that business where the shoulders turn one way and the hips another?” “Where does it hurt most?” was the reply. Those guys! There must

“Sounds too mechanical… like in an auto shop.” The doc, who also happened to be my son, was deliberately giving me a bad time. “Never mind,” I said. “I’ll take an aspirin and call you in the morning.”

In drawing Captain Marvel, a little later on, it was not a topic filed away in the back of the mind ever ready for action, as were his super-powers. If the mighty superhero twisted his hips a bit while slamming bad folks around, it was a natural action and, at my board, drawn as such.

…And Then There Were None! Charlton and the Remnants of the Fawcett Comics Empire–-–Part II by Frank “Derby” Motler

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Last issue we presented Part I of Frank Motler’s study of how Fawcett titles and even art and story were segued over to Charlton and its distributor, Capital Distribution Company, after Fawcett left the comics business near the end of 1953. Also examined was how Charlton/CDC released published and unpublished material from a third company, Toby Press, in a joint 1955 venture. Frank continues this account with, first, a look at Charlton and its history—then highlights some non-Fawcett inventory it also appropriated. —PCH.]

New Kid on the Block Based in Derby, Connecticut, Charlton Comics began publishing comics sometime in the mid-1940s. The company had been founded on the unauthorized reprinting of popular song lyrics, with such magazines as Song Hits and Hit Parader. While in prison for the offense, publisher John Santangelo formed a partnership with accountant Ed Levy, a fellow inmate, as detailed in Comic Book Artist #9. Upon their release, they sorted out the copyright problems and forged the necessary steps to becoming a successful business.

The champ and the not-quite-Charlton challengers: Captain Marvel, then the big chief among Superman rivals, contemplates “Yellowjacket,” “Diana the Huntress,” and “Telltale Heart” splashes from Yellowjacket Comics #6 (Dec. 1945). This mag (artists uncertain) was published by a forerunner of Charlton/CDC, which in the mid-1950s would pick up the reins of many of Fawcett’s non-super-hero titles. In 1945, however, Fawcett was still riding high, and even launched the brand new Marvel Family Comics. The C.C. Beck Cap figure at left is from the cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #83 (April 1948). [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

Unlike most companies, they would print and distribute their own publications. Most publishers of that time would contract this work out. Early editions of the cult super-hero title Yellowjacket Comics were published by “Frank Comunale Publishing Co., 49 Hawkins Street, Derby, Connecticut,” and later “The Frank Publishing Co.,” same address. This name would evolve into “Charlton Publications.” Yellowjacket ran ten issues between September 1944 and June 1946. Issues #3-5 feature Rudy Palais’ fine renderings. Regular features included “Diana the Huntress,” somewhat in the Wonder Woman mold, plus seven-page adaptations of stories from the pen of horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe. Under the banner “Famous Tales of Terror,” these included “The Black Cat,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Pit and the Pendulum.” During the period Yellowjacket Comics was in print, its super-hero star also made an appearance in TNT Comics #1 (Feb. 1946). Although published by the “Charlton Publishing Co.,” it is thought to be another Charlton precursor. With issue #11 (Oct. 1946), Yellowjacket Comics was retitled Jack in the Box, now published by Charlton; it featured the masthead “A Charlton Magazine” and corresponding indicia. Yellowjacket, presumably, was advised not to let the door catch his cape on the way out! A companion title was the earnest but dull Marvels of Science. In

...And Then There Were None!

“One short step for a man—one giant leap for mankind” (perhaps even into womankind!)—or, “From Sagebrush to Sci-fi, in One Issue!” With #40 (Oct. 1952), Cowboy Western became Space Western, starring “Spurs Jackson and His Space Vigilantes.” Frank Motler, er, points out Spurs’ “decent pair of breasts, shapely legs, plus riding shorts”—a hint that this cover was probably partly redrawn (by bylined artist John Belfi or others) from art that had originally featured a female protagonist. Fawcett horse operas were never like this! [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

1948, Jack in the Box was retitled with its 17th issue and became Cowboy Western. Fans of the obscure will relish its further retitling, as it became Space Western #40 (Oct. 1952), featuring “Spurs Jackson and His Space Vigilantes.” Zoo Funnies was another early runner. This was also renamed— initially for real-life western movie star Tim McCoy #16-21 (1948-9), with the final five issues becoming Pictorial Love Stories. The latter quintet feature odd but attractive, semi-painted photo covers. The weirdness continues inside with “Me, Dan Cupid,” with a mischievous semi-clad sprite as the lead in the romance issues. New offerings in 1951 were Sunset Carson, True Life Secrets, Hot Rods and Racing Cars, plus the crime titles Crime and Justice and Lawbreakers. (Sunset Carson was another western film star, whose true name was Winifred Maurice Harrison.)

The Big Time

With the acquisition of around 30 titles from Fawcett, Toby, and others, Charlton entered the major leagues. Before this, their range was modest, with no more than eleven titles. The loss of Fawcett, with its huge sales and quality product, would leave opportunities for the surviving comics companies. CDC’s early management was erratic. Edward Levy appears to have been the senior partner, with fellow owner John Santangelo assuming the role of business manager. Their respective sons, both named Charles, were given editorship credits in several early indicias. However, the more important “Statement of Ownership,” required by the US Post Office, ignored this in favor of Burton N. Levey [sic], who in 1953 was also listed as a co-owner. Charles W. Bishop edited the early Hot Rods and Racing Cars issues, until Alfred V. Fago assumed a general editorship of all titles in 1953. After 1954, his credit was changed to “Designed by Al Fago Studios.” Fago’s arrival in 1951 corresponded with an influx of interesting artists. Among them were John Belfi, Stan Campbell, Art Cappello, Albert Tyler, Bob Forgione, Frank Frollo, Dick Giordano, and Lou Morales. Any lack of polish on the part of these craftsmen was more than compensated for by their wild enthusiasm for the material they

These titles were supplemented in 1952 by Racket Squad in Action, Space Adventures, and The Thing! A large-format magazine, the shortlived Fantastic Science Fiction, also from 1952, is noteworthy. Edited by fabled pulp writer Walter Gibson, its issues contain covers and spot illustrations by several Charlton comic book artists. In 1953, the foregoing modest inventory of titles was supplemented by Atomic Mouse, a revamped Zoo Funnies, and the Mad imitation Eh! Dig This Crazy Comic!

Some of Charlton’s earliest titles, published while Fawcett Comics was still a going concern, were: Pictorial Love Stories (#23, Jan. 1950—really the 2nd issue, featuring a Don Ornitz cover photo of B-movie/Hal Roach TV actress Joy/Joi Lansing)—Hot Rods & Racing Cars #10 (June 1953; interior splash)—Crime and Justice #12 (March 1953)—and The Thing! (#5, Oct.-Nov. 1952; inside front cover). The latter three pieces of art are all by Lou Morales, who in Crime and Justice #5-18 drew the husband-and-wife detective team of “Curtis and Merry Chase,” doubtless inspired by the 1930s-40s Thin Man movies starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. The “Chase” stories in #1921 were penciled by Joe Shuster and inked by Ray Osrin. [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) Toby—Comic Media—Mainline—even St. John! Charlton/CDC acquired comic book leftovers by the ton and repackaged them, often in helter-skelter fashion. But the good folks in Derby, Connecticut, saved some space to recycle Fawcett heroes, as well—for example: TV Teens #5 (Oct.-Nov. ’54) was the last issue to feature “Ozzie and Babs” who’d originated in Wow Comics. Art signed by Chic Stone. Range Busters #10 (Sept. ’55) showed western hero Golden Arrow putting together one of his famous candlelight suppers, in a tale probably from Fawcett inventory from the late lamented Whiz Comics (artist unknown). Danger and Adventure #22 & #23 (Feb & March 1955) cover-featured former Fawcett stars Ibis the Invincible and the sea-going adventurer Lance O’Casey, both also formerly of Whiz (artists unknown). The latter issue, whose dinosaur cover appears to have been cobbled together from Fawcett inventory, also contains a “Nyoka” tale. Nyoka the Jungle Girl #17 (July 1956) boasted a cover signed by Maurice Whitman, formerly of Fiction House’s Jungle Comics. [All art on this page ©2004 the respective copyright holders; Ibis the Invincible TM & ©2004 DC Comics; Nyoka TM & ©2004 AC Comics.]

“Nyoka the Jungle Girl,” and “Ozzie and Babs.” Some titles such as Bo, Scotland Yard, and Terry and the Pirates filled their spare pages in much the same way, utilizing those heroes and other material from Fawcett, Comic Media, Fox, Mainline, etc. Danger and Adventure #24-27 (1955-6) featured “Mike Danger” and “Johnny Adventure” stories, which appear to be ancient Fawcett inventory. This Is Suspense #24 reprinted Fawcett’s Suspense Detective #1 in CCA-censored form, with the new cover clearly derived from the original. Had it not been for the 1955 flood in Derby, Connecticut, which destroyed so much inventory material, CDC would probably have carried on this way for years. (Again, see Comic Book Artist #9 for more on this disastrous flood and its aftermath.) Others, like Range Busters #8 (really #1) (May 1955), have the definite look of Fox Features art. Fox is credited with a one-shot of its own. The final issue of Range Busters (#10, Sept. 1955) features new Charlton art alongside Golden Arrow, the former Fawcett hero, in “The Cattle Fraud.” The classic innuendo cover to CDC’s True Life Secrets #23 (Nov.-Dec. 1954) was reprised from Fox’s My Desire #4 (April 1950). CDC also used western characters who had been published by Avon. These include the famous outlaw Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, and Kit Carson. This is likely the shared use of public-domain characters, as with Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and others. “Jesse James” made appear-

ances in Cowboy Western from #31-39, plus #50-58 (1951-55). “Wild Bill” was featured in Cowboy Western #31-34 during 1951, with later appearances in Masked Raider #27-28 (1961). Wild Bill Hickok was also a radio and TV series, starring Guy Madison, with Andy Devine as his humorous partner Jingles. Charlton featured these stories in Cowboy Western/Wild Bill Hickok and Jingles #59-75, plus Six-Gun Heroes #38-43. Appearing briefly in Six-Gun Heroes #44-45 (1957) was “Kit Carson,” which starred Bill Williams in the television originals. Both these adaptations shunned photo covers, which brand-leader Dell employed to such great effect. [The conclusion of this series, including a full listing of the Fawcett-toCharlton titles, will appear in Alter Ego #42, two issues from now— we’ve got to make room next issue, as FCA celebrates its 100th issue!] [Frank Motler is old enough to know better, but still loves comics and collects comic books. There was a brief period when he traded them in for fast women and faster cars. However, common sense prevailed and he returned to the fold in 1975. He was born into a post-World War II London, England, in 1946. He has a much-loved teenage son, Francis, and a passion for Charlton, EC, Atlas, Ajax/Farrell, A-bomb ephemera, and numerous other Atom Age American comics.]

Now—FLIP US for our SCHWARTZ & KANE Section!

JULIE SCHWARTZ 1 & GIL KANE 5.95 1994--2004

’Nuff Said Said? ? ’Nuff

In the the USA USA In

No. 40

September 2004

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Vol. 3, No. 40/September 2004

™

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 Gil Kane Russ Heath

Contents

Writer/Editorial: Three’s a Crowd––but That’s Not a Bad Thing! . 2 The Julius Schwartz Memorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 March 18, 2004: Remembrances of a Legend. My Second Favorite Julie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Mr. S. said to Jim Amash: “Tell these stories after I’m dead!” So he did.

Covers Colorist Tom Ziuko

JULIE SCHWARTZ & GIL KANE Section

This Issue Is Dedicated to the Memory of

JACK BRADBURY

Tributes to a Titan: The Sequel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Still more comics pros recall their close encounters with Julie Schwartz. The Agent of Cthulhu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 J.S. as science-fiction agent, recounted by Scott Shaeffer. “You Can’t Measure Comics Up against Anything Else!”. . . . 33 A short 1998 interview with the great Gil Kane, conducted by Daniel Herman. Sort of The Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Prototypes, precursors, and maybe just plain parallels of DC’s Silver Age Mighty Mite, by John Wells. Silhouettes Redux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Alex Toth on the awesome power of the outline in comic art. Jack Bradbury Remembered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Russ Heath & Friends Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: Collector Marc Svensson, who sent us this splendiferous piece of neverbefore-printed art, informs us that artist Gil Kane drew it as a gift for Julie Schwartz on his 80th birthday in 1995, and that it became “Julie’s most favorite thing on his office wall.” It’s a superb piece, which just cried out to be a cover on Alter Ego—and who are we to resist such a siren call? You can see it in black-&-white on p. 43 in this issue. [Art ©2004 Elaine Kane; Green Lantern, Flash, Atom, Rex, & Johnny Thunder TM & ©2004 DC Comics.] Above: In the second “Two Flashes” team-up, in The Flash #137 (June 1963), Vandal Savage forced the Crimson Comets to duke it out, both on the cover and in these panels drawn by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, written by Gardner Fox, and edited by Julie Schwartz. Reproduced from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of a generous donor whose name we have ungenerously overlooked—but whom we owe a free copy of A/E! [©2004 DC Comics.] Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. 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’s A Crowd– But That’s Not A Bad Thing! Talk about “domino effects”! As most of you already know, we devoted 90%+ of Alter Ego #38 to DC editor/legend Julius Schwartz, who passed away last February. But we had so much material on hand, so many contributions, that we still couldn’t fit it all in. So when, by an amazing coincidence, Marc Svensson submitted an absolutely breathtaking drawing Gil Kane had done of Julie surrounded by the major heroes he’d drawn for him—yes, boys and girls, Gil did have a brief stint as artist of The Flash—I seized the opportunity to devote half of this issue to those two talented gents. There’d have been more about Gil, of course, if I hadn’t had so much already on hand concerning Julie— but rest assured we’ll be “raising Kane” again before long! And, can you believe it—with regard to Julie alone, we still had two more Will Murray interviews and an offbeat 1965 tape from Shel Dorf with Julie and Carmine Infantino left over! So we’ll make a commitment right here and now—approximately one year from now, an A/E

issue will once again spotlight Julius Schwartz, plus art he shepherded by the likes of Kane, Infantino, Anderson, Sekowsky, Adams, Novick, et al. And there’ll be scarcely an anecdote or art spot repeated from #38 or #40! Still, devoting half this issue to Julie and Gil meant that, since we already had Jim Amash’s long and informative conversation with artistic great Russ Heath lined up, as well, our regular departments—FCA, Bill Schelly, “Comic Crypt,” even Alex Toth—got kinda crowded. And our letters section got just plain crowded out, yet again… inspiring us to make a solemn vow to ourselves to catch up in the next 2–3 issues so that we’ll be back to allowing only five months between issues and comments thereon, so help us Crom! Bestest,

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The Julius Schwartz Memorial Service Remembrances of a Legend Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

We couldn’t think of any more appropriate way to begin this transcript of the memorial than to reproduce the front and back covers of the four-page pamphlet handed out that day. The photo by Beth Gwinn was one of Julie’s all-time favorites of himself, a fuller copy of which adorned the cover of his 2000 memoir Man of Two Worlds: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics— while Joe Kubert’s masterful caricature-plus had first been published in color in a 1970s issue of DC’s own house fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics. Thanks to Marc Svensson for loaning us his personal copy of the pamphlet. [Art ©2004 the respective copyright holders; heroes TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE: On the morning of March 18, 2004, a memorial was held by DC Comics for Julius Schwartz, who had passed away at the age of 88 on February 8. Because of the limited time available, only a relatively small number of those in attendance were able to voice their thoughts about the man they had known… but those few words speak volumes. We have omitted noting points at which the audience laughed or burst into spontaneous applause; but rest assured, there were many such. You can imagine those places as well as we can. Julie was loved and revered by his peers… as you are about to be reminded. The remarks have been edited slightly, in spots, in the interests of space. These omissions are generally indicated by ellipses (…). —Roy.] PAUL LEVITZ: Good morning. Before we begin the formal memories—in his usual organized fashion, Mr. Schwartz decided to edit this event, and has had a long-standing arrangement with Rich Markow, who is the custodian of his jazz collection. Rich burned the CD you’re listening to, and it will play again as we’re going out, but Julie had a specific selection that he asked to be played today. Organized, as always, and keeping us on our toes, as always. May we please have a selection from the Schwartz Collection? [Tape plays of “Flee as a Bird/Didn’t He Ramble” by Louis Armstrong] LEVITZ: As far as I know, Julie had not arranged for anything else to happen here—but none of us would put it past him, so we’ll just take it a

Videotape Courtesy of Marc Svensson step at a time. Thank you all for coming. Over the years, days like this have been a very special tradition within our field. It’s now for me to share the life experience we’ve had as a community and of some unique people who have come through our lives and times. Julie was certainly unique among the unique, our self-proclaimed “Living Legend.” He had touched a tremendous amount of lives.

To those of you who have not been to one of these before, we have no system, we have no organization; we have an open mike, and there’s usually more than enough love and enough memory in the room to carry us. Because of the venue in which we’re doing this, we do have to wrap up by noon and then be out of here so the entertainment can go on for the rest of the world. And Julie would not approve of our missing our deadlines in the process. So I’m going to simply turn the mike over to people as we go. And my preference would be perhaps the suggested limit would not be more than a minute or two for every decade you’ve known Julie. There are a few people here who might account for quite a bit of time. Just to start it rolling, Brian? If you’d be so kind as to read the formal eulogy? Harlan Ellison sends his deep regrets at not being able to make it here, but a combination of the snow canceling a flight and last-minute health problems has stuck him in California, waiting for Julie’s call, and I’ll ask Julie’s collaborator to fill in. BRIAN M. THOMSEN: Nobody can deliver a piece the way Harlan can, so if you’ll bear with me. Also, it now gives me the rare honor to have now collaborated with two living legends…. In deference to the piece, I’m only going to take a minute before reading it and a minute again, and one minor interruption, in reading it. This piece came to Harlan about the Friday before Julie passed. I got a phone call from Harlan and he basically said, “Kiddo, the time has come. I’ve got to put something together and I don’t know where to start. And can you possibly just give me the key dates and facts and I’ll fill in everything else so that I don’t have to keep referring back to the book?” So I basically put together a one-page that was decade-by-decade… probably no more than 125 words. Oh, he hit the Lovecraft time, he hit the Solar Sales time, and all that, to send it all off to him so that he

Remembrances of a Legend

would have something to frame the story, but he was obviously upset, too. And then at the end, he said, “And while you’re doing this, you can’t tell anybody,” because we were doing this in preparation for Julie. So I sent off the research and Harlan put it together and I was quite surprised to see that I got a collaborative note on it by Harlan. And with that in mind, I will start reading it and please forgive me for not being Harlan’s equal. He doesn’t have many, and one of them has just passed. [begins reading; piece is ©2004 The Kilimanjaro Corporation]

“‘Softly, A Living Legend Passes’ “Obituary by Harlan Ellison “There are great men, and there are good men. Seldom are both qualities met in one person. But even Mel Brooks knew how to honor this great, good man: ‘May the Schwartz be with you!’ And now he has gone through that final doorway, if not the last of the great Golden Age editors, then surely the oldest. Julius Schwartz died peacefully from complications of pneumonia at Winthrop Hospital, Mineola, New York, at a minute or two of 2:30 AM, Saturday night/Sunday morning, 8 February 2004. “His vita of achievements will read, to anyone even passingly familiar with 20th Century literature and popular culture, as if someone had combined the dossiers of a dozen men and women working overtime, 24/7, for decades. He was the quiet, balding, gentle taskmaster whose creativity was pumped into hundreds of writers, artists, editors, and fans of the heroic milieu on a daily basis for at least three generations. His name again was Julius Schwartz, though everyone called him Julie; and his going confounds all of us who knew him, truly, as a Living Legend; and stuns us because we were convinced he was immortal. And until Sunday, none of us had lived in a world where Julie did not exist. Now he is gone, and 88-plus years doesn’t seem, somehow, nearly as amazing a run as we’d thought. The great educator and social reformer John William Gardner once noted, ‘Some people strengthen the society just by being the kind of people they are.’ Great, but also good. “That he was Ray Bradbury’s first agent, you may know. “That he was the editor of Superman for close on a quarter of a century, you may also know. “That he was the man who got Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness published, is also common legend. But here is a skeletal chronology of the Horatio Alger-style climb of Julie Schwartz from child of poor immigrants to, well, Living Legend: “His parents, Joseph and Bertha, emigrated from a small town outside Bucharest, Romania. Julie was a Jew, and damned proud of it, despite the tsuriss that pride would later bring. He was born at home. 817 Caldwell Avenue in the Bronx. 19 June 1915, smack in the middle of World War I. There is no truth whatever in the canard that he emerged from Bertha waving a New York Yankees pennant. But he did teethe on one. “He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School and was the humor editor of The Square Deal, the high school paper at that time edited by his mentor, the famous Norman Cousins. Mid-teens, and already an

DC President and Publisher Paul Levitz (top left) and Brian Thomsen (left), who collaborated with Julie (seen here with B.T.) on Man of Two Worlds—flanking a page from the first JLA-JSA team-up ever, in Justice League of America #21 (Aug. 1963), “Crisis on Earth-One,” which Paul has often said was the first comic book he ever bought. That’s what we call starting off at the top! Sekowsky/Sachs art repro’d from photocopies of the original, courtesy of Jerry G. Bails. Script by Gardner Fox. Thanks to Locus Publications at <locus@locusmag.com> for the Thomsen/Schwartz photo. [JLA page ©2004 DC Comics.]

editor; already reading science fiction pulp magazines; already writing (his column was called ‘Jest a Moment’); the cultural amber in which he lazed was already setting firmly. He graduated high school at age seventeen. In 1931, a mere five years after Hugo Gernsback published the first science fiction magazine, Julie made contact with a kid named Mort Weisinger, through the letter column Gernsback had initiated in Amazing Stories. In 1932 he and Weisinger and Allen Glasser started the first science fiction amateur magazine, the fanzine titled The Time Traveller. Letter columns that solidified a literary community, amateur publications that had the imprimatur of professionalism and editorial acuity, friendships with writers struggling to find their voices… foreshadowing. “1934, the year the writer of this encomium—” Mr. Ellison, not Mr. Thomsen “—was born, Julie, with Mort, started the first sf literary agency, Solar Sales Service. Their first sale was of Edmond Hamilton’s ‘Master of the Genes’ to Wonder Stories. They got 10% of the magnificent fee. The sale was for $35, do the math. “In 1935, Julie actually met H.P. Lovecraft, the great recluse, and somehow convinced him to let Solar Sales market one of his stories. An astounding $350 sale to Astounding Stories, the only time the supernatural scrivener managed to get into any of the top-paying markets. By

The Julius Schwartz Memorial Service

and encouraged what came to be known as the finest cadre of writers and artists who worked in the era famed as the Silver Age. Silver, because Julie brought back to life a pantheon of great comics heroes who had been dormant since the demented witch-hunt days of Wertham, the Kefauver hearings, and the Legion of Decency. He started by redesigning and reintroducing, in contemporary terms, The Flash. Then Green Lantern; The Atom; Hawkman; and then the Justice League of America from the ashes of the Justice Society in the 1940s.

(Above:) From left to right, three giants of science-fiction—authors Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison, and agent & super-fan Julie Schwartz— with awards they received at the 1998 Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Scott V. Norris, from the Julius Schwartz Collection. (Right:) By his accounts, Julie’s Solar Sales Service agented the first 70 stories young Bradbury sold, including his first—“Pendulum,” written with an assist from Henry Hasse and appearing in the Nov. 1941 issue of the pulp magazine Super Science Stories, with title illustration by Ray’s close friend, the talented Hannes Bok. [Art ©2004 the respective copyright holders; text ©2004 Ray Bradbury & Henry Hasse.]

the time Weisinger left the agency for editorial jobs, Julie was representing the absolute caviar of that pool of imaginative writers: Henry Kuttner, the magnificent Stanley Weinbaum, Leigh Brackett, Manly Wade Wellman, Eric Frank Russell, Otto Binder, and even Robert Heinlein for one story. 1938: Julie snags Robert Bloch, eventually selling 75 stories, including the memorable, many-times-reprinted ‘Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper.’ 1940: a kid named Alfred Bester comes to Julie, is mentored by him, and Julie makes his first sale, ‘Life for Sale,’ to Amazing Stories. 1939: Julie meets a kid named Ray Bradbury, takes him on, sells ‘The Pendulum’ to Super Science Stories, and it appears on newsstands on Bradbury’s 21st birthday. “In February of 1944 (Julie remembered it was the 23rd of February; he remembered that at age 87; he was old, he wasn’t senile), Julie entered the next phase of his career when he went to work for All-American Comics as an editor. All-American was one of the divisions that we know today as DC.

“He was the turbine that drove the resurgence of comic book popularity. He saved from nearextinction one of the few truly American art-forms. He was the Simon Bolivar of his genre. “And all through those times, those decades, no matter how many friends he had—and anyone who met him usually came away with a smile, an anecdote, and a tiny lapel pin of Superman—he was also the loving husband of Jean, and the loving father of Jeanne. Though few who knew him, however intimately, knew of the pain and difficulty that existed in his marriage to his beloved Jean. Not my place to speak of such here, but Julie lived to see not only his children grow into estimable adults, but his grandchildren, as well. He doted on them, brought them into his comics world, and led two separate and equally beguiling lives. Jean’s death… well, he never got over it.

“He wrote for DC and edited for DC and created for DC from 1944 till 1989 when he retired as Editor Emeritus, Comics Ambassador Plenipotentiary without Portfolio, and endless resource for the comic book industry. “But for those 45 years, nearly half his life, during which he went to the office every day in a jacket and tie like a real adult, during which time he worked on virtually every important DC title that shaped the morality and ethics of kids everywhere in this country—editing more than 160 issues of Strange Adventures, and more than 90 issues of Mystery in Space, and shepherding the revival of Batman—one of DC’s two most important, flagship characters—with his assumption of the editorship of Detective Comics with issue #327, and in 1970 becoming the group editor of all the Superman comic books, a job he held for twenty years, even through the legendary Neal Adams revamp and the Man of Steel’s appearance on the cover of Time magazine—for those 45 years he supported

This photo is one of a number taken in 1946, featuring (left to right) Mindy & Dave Feuerstein (she was the sister of Mrs. John Broome), Jean Ordwein (the future Mrs. Schwartz), and Julie. Though we weren’t aware of the fact when we printed several other pics from this period in Alter Ego #38, many of these photos were digitally restored a year or two before Julie’s death by comics fan & historian Marc Svensson. Marc says: “There are a bunch [of photos] from ’46 that I want to put all together in print someday, and write up the stories that resulted. I have video of Mindy, David, and Peggy [Broome] going over these photos.” Thanks, Marc, for sending us this one— and we hope you’ll give us a chance to print those additional photos and your notes in a future issue!

“This is his story, and I won’t shoehorn myself into it, save to say that one of the delights of the last eighteen years for me was the weekly call from Julie. Every Wednesday morning, 8:15 Los Angeles time, 11:15 in the DC offices whence Julie made his subway hegira every week, Julie called and we talked about what each of us knew of the week’s gossip, events, scandals, and hiring-firings. He was amazed that if he called me, 3000 miles away from the office in which he sat, I knew secret stuff that no one in the halls would talk about. He always wanted to know who my ‘inside man at the skunk works’ was. I never told him. “We talked about the Yankees (which he loved)—” I’m going to interrupt for a moment now. I, too, always had a weekly phone

Tributes to a Titan: The Sequel

Still More Comics Folk Remember Julius Schwartz [EDITOR’S NOTE: In A/E #38 we printed numerous tributes to Julius Schwartz that were sent in by pros and fans who had known and loved him. Because of the sheer volume of the responses—and we could have had far more, had we solicited them—several folks got bumped from that issue to this. Also, at the last minute, I remembered that I had forgotten to invite one of Julie’s most prominent artists, Neal Adams, to contribute, so I remedied that at once. So here is another round of tribute, from “Adams” to “Ziuko”! —Roy.]

NEAL ADAMS [Neal Adams is one of the most influential artists in the history of comic books, most noted for his contributions to DC’s “Deadman,” Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and the “Batman” titles, and on Marvel’s X-Men and “Kree-Skrull War” issues of The Avengers. His work on GL/GA, “Batman,” and The Spectre was done for Julie Schwartz.] When I was in high school, I wrote and drew comic book stories… that never saw print (because they were bad). I drew my stories and Bob Kanigher-type stories and Julie Schwartz stories.

I figured out Julie Schwartz’s style of story. He loved science gimmicks and concepts and discovery concepts. To do a Julie Schwartz story, you had to insert a scientific or technological concept that hadn’t or had rarely been explored before in a comic story.

(Above, left to right:) Neal Adams, Julie Schwartz, and A/E founder Jerry G. Bails, circa 1971—flanked by two superb specimens of Adams art featuring heroes he drew for Julie: a page from Green Lantern #89 (April-May 1972) and a Batman cover. The former page, in the mag then often unofficially called Green Lantern/Green Arrow, was inked by Dick Giordano. Both illos are repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Scott Goodell. [Comic art ©2004 DC Comics.]

I never knew why this near-legendary comic book editor had this way of doing stories, but I knew it was true. Then, as a professional, I met him. He was exactly like I’d expected him to be, cranky, brusque, and sometimes loud. I was drawn to him immediately.

In time I drew an “Elongated Man” story for Julie, then later a “Spectre” story, then another and another. I watched the painful process writers went through to sell a story to Julie. I wanted to jump in and help as Julie shot down story after story. I wanted to tell the writers the secret: “insert a concept.” The secret that, apparently, only I knew. I said nothing. Finally, I asked Julie if I could pitch a “Spectre” story. I gave my writing credential and he said okay. I quickly threw up the first two “shoot-down” concepts which he invariably “shot down,” and got to the real story I wanted to sell.

Tributes to a Titan: The Sequel

He went for it like I knew he would. It was a story called “Stop That Kid before He Wrecks the World!” It was concept-driven. A month later I did the same thing. This time it was a Psycho-Pirate story, and I convinced him it should be a two-parter (a rare “sell” to Julie). He wasn’t finished with me. He was curious. He said he intended to give me a really hard time. He wasn’t a big booster of artists who write. How did I make such an easy time of it with him?

Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier scripted this Superman“Asterix” story, featuring an homage to the famous French comics character, in Action Comics #579 (May 1985). Art by Keith Giffen. [Page ©2004 DC Comics.]

I told him my secret. I even told him about the story I did in school in which the scientific hook had to do with electro-plating, and even then I saw the twinkle in his eye. He knew he was trapped, and he smiled and relaxed. Then he said, “Do you know that I worked with Ray Bradbury?”

I was stunned. And then Julie told me about his history in sciencefiction. I must’ve sat there slack-jawed listening to him tell me about the pioneer science-fiction writers that I’m sure others will tell you about in these tributes. Well, we made some news, Julie Schwartz, Denny O’Neil, and I, and that’s all well and good, but the story I just told you is the soil in which my relationship with Julie Schwartz grew. It was an oddly rich relationship. I have many stories that I won’t tell here. I resent Julie being taken away. I wish he was with us. I wish I could have given him a hug, damn it. I loved you, Julie.

JEAN-MARC LOFFICIER [As “R.J.M. Lofficier,” Jean-Marc and his wife Randy have written and/or edited numerous comics. Their Black Coat Press, as seen in A/E #37, has published two Shadowmen books about the heroes and villains of French pulp magazines and comics.] Randy and I remember going in to see Julie at the DC offices in 1985, during his penultimate year there as editor of the Superman books. He was such a character. He’d tell great stories about the early days of science-fiction fandom; he was a fount of information about all kinds of DC-related things (such as the German-produced-for-the-Germanmarket Superman)—and he could always make you laugh. But when it came to working with him as an editor, which we did when we wrote that infamous Superman-“Asterix” cross-over (Action Comics #579—art by Keith Giffen, 1986), he was a real pro. That’s something that is often missing today. Julie knew how to work with writers. He was clear in telling you what he was looking for and didn’t beat around the bush if you weren’t coming up with something that he wanted. He was wonderfully receptive to new ideas—let’s face it, a Superman-Asterix cross-over was a rather odd and unusual proposal— and he also stood up for his writers. That’s a rare trait, and one that was greatly appreciated.

JOHN MORROW [John Morrow and his lovely wife Pam are the co-publishers of TwoMorrows, and John edits The Jack Kirby Collector.]

John Morrow—and a pencil-and-ink illo done by Jack “King” Kirby for the 1983 San Diego Comic-Con program book. Seems only fitting to print the latter here, since Julie helped pull off the very first science-fiction convention in 1939, and contributed materially to the founding of comic book fandom in the 1960s. Thanks to Shel Dorf. [Art ©2004 Estate of Jack Kirby.]

Whenever I stop to remember Julie Schwartz, I’ll always picture him walking down the aisles of a comics convention (take your pick; he seemed to be at nearly every one I ever attended), with a beautiful woman on at least one of his arms. And, though he had probably more than a hundred people to see at each convention, he would, without fail, stop at our booth and chat for a while. It was always something encouraging about what we were publishing, mixed with some useful, constructive criticism, and an offer to help us in any way he could. I guess, coming from his background in early sci-fi fanzines, he could relate to the trials and tribulations we face in putting out our fan publications. I’ll also remember the day when, out of the blue, I went to my mailbox and found a copy of

28 [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Much could be written about Julie Schwartz’s career before he started his job as Sheldon Mayer’s story editor on Feb. 23, 1944… but for the most part, we’ll let the reader interested in that aspect of his life read his 1985 memoir Man of Two Worlds: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics, written with Brian Thomsen. This piece by Scott Sheaffer, however, can suggest that earlier period even as it sheds light on Julie’s relationship with the brilliant 20th-century horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. —Roy.]

The Agent of Cthulhu

When the Future Architect of Comics’ Silver Age Met the Master of the Macabre by Scott Sheaffer The Colour Out of Providence Before he revived super-heroes and ignited the Silver Age, Julius Schwartz already had accomplished a great deal— outside of comics. The milieu he moved in before he took a job at All-American Comics in 1944 contained all the wonder of the four-color comic books he later oversaw. He and his pal (and fellow future DC editor) Mort Weisinger rank among the founders of science-fiction and fantasy fandom. Together with Allen Glasser, they created the first real sf fanzine, The Time Traveller. Julie also helped stage the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939. Though agents like Otis Adelbert Kline already represented pulp authors, Julie and Mort had earlier established the first science-fiction literary agency, which they christened Solar Sales Service. When Mort became an editor for the Thrilling group of pulp magazines, Julie carried on alone. Among many other now-legendary clients, Julie represented a fledgling Ray Bradbury, Alfred Bester, and Robert Bloch. The name of one client arrests particular attention: H.P. Lovecraft, author of such stories as “The Colour Out of Space,” “The Rats in the Walls,” “Pickman’s Model,” and “The Call of Cthulhu,” and of course the creator of what has been called the Cthulhu Mythos. In his study of the horror field, Danse Macabre, Stephen King calls Lovecraft “the twentieth-century horror story’s dark and baroque prince.” Writers such as Robert Bloch (later author of Psycho) and Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan, regarded the Providence, Rhode Island, resident as a friend and mentor. Working with such a legend must have been great, right? Julie remembered it with fondness, but others might have pulled their hair out. Some of Lovecraft’s friends undercut Julie’s efforts to represent him. In addition, by then the writer’s productivity was virtually at an end. Even so, Julie aided the biggest financial success of Lovecraft’s literary career. All of this earned $35 for Julie’s agency. And yet, the meeting that made it possible nearly didn’t happen. Despite Lovecraft’s current posthumous reputation, in life he earned little from writing. Though he could live on $10 a week, he often found himself in desperate financial straits. His sales usually came courtesy of low-paying and slow-paying pulps like Weird Tales. The latter often paid not on publication, as promised, but months afterward. While some pulp writers compensated for low rates by cranking out material, HPL, a perfectionist, worked slowly. Nor did he tailor stories to the markets,

(Left:) A 1934 photo of horror/science-fiction master H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). (Above:) By 1937, sf literary agent Julie Schwartz was hangin’ with sciencefiction heavyweights in what they called “The Steuben Gang.” From left to right standing are: Jack Williamson, L. Sprague de Camp, John D. Clark, Frank Belknap Long, Mort Weisinger, Edmond Hamilton, Otis Adelbert Kline. Kneeling, left to right, are: Otto Binder, Manly Wade Wellman, Julie. If you never heard of some of these guys, trust us—one day, virtually all of them would be pulp sf and/or comics legends! Photo from the Julius Schwartz Collection.

but rather he insisted on writing what he wanted to write the way he wanted to write it. He sometimes went long periods without producing any work. Nor did he follow Robert Heinlein’s sage advice about putting a story on the market and keeping it on the market until it sells. When one magazine rejected a story, Lovecraft often gave up submitting it professionally and merely sent it around to his friends. After Farnsworth Wright, editor of Weird Tales, rejected it in 1931, his short novel At the Mountains of Madness—the longest tale he ever wrote—shared this fate. Lovecraft told one friend: “Its hostile reception by Wright and others to whom it was shown probably did more than anything else to end my effective fictional career.” [H.P. Lovecraft: Selected Letters, Vol. 5, Arkham House, 1976, p. 224.] On their own initiative, Lovecraft’s friends submitted his stories to Weird Tales, but Lovecraft himself wouldn’t send another story to that magazine until 1936—only a year before his untimely death. There are other cases in which Lovecraft didn’t market a story at all. Dissatisfied with his work, he sometimes destroyed stories he’d labored over. An early version of “The Shadow Out of Time” met this end. He also considered destroying the final version. Lovecraft thought so little of the story that he didn’t type his handwritten manuscript; yet it is now considered one of his greatest stories.

The Agent of Cthulhu

Challenges from Beyond

McCauley’s plot to exploit the memories of HPL, Robert E. Howard, and Howard Wandrei. Stephen King? He was a client of McCauley’s.

Lovecraft knew Julius Schwartz through the latter’s fan activities. He read and contributed to fanzines Julie edited. Lovecraft also met Julie in person prior to their fateful 1935 encounter. Writing to Robert Barlow on January 13, 1934, HPL discussed visiting Frank Belknap Long in New York City:

In a recently published collection of Lovecraft and Wandrei’s correspondence, Wandrei mentions Julie only once. He says:

“On one occasion Long and I received a call from the youthful editors of Fantasy Magazine—formerly The Science Fiction Digest— Conrad Ruppert and Julius Schwartz. Both are admirably bright and pleasant boys….” [HPL: Selected Letters, Vol. IV, p. 342.] On another occasion, Lovecraft spoke about a crisis he and Julie faced with the all-star cast writing “The Challenge from Beyond.” Julie recruited five top science-fiction writers for a round robin sf story based on the title; he also asked five top fantasy writers to write a fantasy story using the same title. Julie originally set the fantasy order as C.L. Moore, Frank Belknap Long, A. Merritt, H.P. Lovecraft, and Robert E. Howard. Disaster loomed when Long devised a clever plot twist for the second chapter. Merritt balked at following Long. Back then, Merritt was a bigger name than either Howard or Lovecraft. He demanded that he get the second spot instead of Long. Julie gave in. Merritt’s behavior so incensed Long that he dropped out of the project. However, Julie and Lovecraft changed Long’s mind, and he wrote the final chapter. [See HPL: Selected Letters, Vol. V, p. 200, for Lovecraft’s account.]

The Shadow Out of Minnesota In summer of 1935, Lovecraft visited his friend Robert Barlow in Florida. During the visit, Barlow typed “The Shadow Out of Time,” creating a professional-looking manuscript for magazine submission. Heading homeward in late August, HPL left word of the addresses where he’d stop along the way. This allowed him to continue getting letters as he headed north. He said he wanted to visit his New York City friends, but that he was so broke he’d probably skip the stop.

“Copy of Fantasy Magazine arrived, containing interview with me. Schwartz & Weisinger garbled a remark I made about ‘The Call of Cthulhu’ into an anecdote that is discreditable to both you and me. I have already taken them to task, and I herewith extend apologies for my unfortunate part in the incident. I knew nothing of their action until the interview appeared, and the quotations are flatly not mine.” Joshi and Schultz quote the passage from Fantasy Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 3, May 1934, p. 11, that bothered Wandrei: “When I met Lovecraft I chanced to comment on his excellent story, ‘Call of Cthulhu,’ and I pronounced the word as it was spelt. Lovecraft enlightened me on its correct pronunciation, which sounds like a series of witches’ whistles. I asked Lovecraft how he could possibly pronounce the name different from my version of it, which was correct phonetically. He then said to me, ‘Look here, I ought to know how to say it, don’t you think?’” Anyone wondering where the fireworks were? If it was a misquote, setting the record straight is understandable, but what was “discreditable” about it? On pages 10-11 of HPL: Selected Letters, Vol. V, HPL tells Duane Rimel the anecdote was “largely fictitious,” but that he probably did explain the pronunciation to Wandrei. Lovecraft says human attempts to replicate the non-human pronunciation would sound like a man imitating a steam whistle or a crowing rooster or a neighing horse. Lovecraft answered Wandrei’s protest:

Enter Donald Wandrei. Lovecraft and Wandrei became friends in the 1920s. The Minnesota native corresponded with and visited Lovecraft in Rhode Island. HPL encouraged the young writer, and Wandrei began selling stories and making a better living at it than Lovecraft did. Since so many publishers resided there, Wandrei moved to New York. After Lovecraft’s death, Wandrei and August Derleth founded Arkham House, a small press centered on HPL’s work. Wandrei also conducted a smear campaign against Robert Barlow, HPL’s literary executor. He gave up his share in Arkham House during World War II, when he served in the Army and fought in France. After Derleth died in 1971, Wandrei fought Derleth’s estate over HPL copyrights which Wandrei and Derleth co-owned. In his last years, Wandrei refused permission for his own work to be reprinted, and he battled Kirby McCauley, the World Fantasy Convention, and Stephen King. Wandrei saw the World Fantasy Convention as literary agent Kirby

“Leedle Shoolie can be pardoned for careless reporting considering the wide territory he covers.” [See Mysteries of Time and Spirit, pp. 344-346, edited by S.T. Joshi and David Schultz, Night Shade Books, 2002, for the full exchange between Lovecraft and Wandrei, as well as the interview quote.] “Leedle Shoolie” refers to Julie. Lovecraft nicknamed members of his circle: Clark Ashton Smith was Klarkash-Ton, Robert E. Howard was Two-Gun Bob, Robert Bloch was Bho-Blìk, etc., etc.

At the Mountains of Manhattan or, The Greenwich Horror

Although Howard Phillips Lovecraft was one of Weird Tales’ most popular authors, his oblique, moody prose and the difficulty of artistically rendering many of his concepts meant that his stories rarely rated a cover painting—not even on this May 1941 issue, four years after his death, when a “never-before published novel” of his was bruited on that cover! Seabury Quinn’s tales of occult detective Jules de Grandin were for many years the most popular thing in WT. Cover by Hannes Bok. [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

In the summer of 1935, Wandrei shared a Greenwich Village apartment with his brother Howard at 155 E. 10th Street. Howard Wandrei departed. Learning of Lovecraft’s plight, Donald Wandrei invited HPL to stay with him. Arriving in New York on September 1st, Lovecraft stayed nearly two weeks. During this visit Lovecraft met Julie, now a fledgling agent, again. When Julie asked Lovecraft if he had anything which he hadn’t been able to sell, he must have made quite a pitch. Lovecraft mentioned to more than one correspondent about how insistent and anxious Julie had

When the Future Architect of Comics’ Silver Age Met the Master of the Macabre

The Outsider and Some Others Then, on October 6, 1936, Lovecraft’s friends entered the fray again. Wilfred Blanch Talman, an old friend of HPL’s, worked for a New York publisher. At the time, so far as Lovecraft knew, Julie still had the other manuscripts and planned to send them to Britain. There is no indication from him that Julie had sent them yet. If Julie and Lovecraft’s correspondence survives anywhere, it could shed light on exactly what happened. Did Julie ever submit the stories? If not, was it because he was waiting to use the stories submitted to Weird Tales? Talman asked to present a collection of Lovecraft’s stories to his employer, Morrow. HPL decided he’d rather have Talman as an agent than Julie. He gave Talman his blessing and left up to him how to handle everything. Lovecraft didn’t think Julie’s British activities would interfere with parallel agenting by Talman in America.

write one at the moment, but he promised Talman could agent any novel he submitted to Morrow. On November 18th, Lovecraft told Fritz Leiber (of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser fame) that a large batch of previously loaned material had returned. Were these the stories Julie had meant to sell? If so, Lovecraft intended to resume lending them to friends, and Julie’s British plans looked moribund.

Julie with Robert Bloch, then famed as the author of Psycho, in the 1980s (photo by Beth Gwinn, from the Julius Schwartz Collection). Young Bob Bloch wrote “The Shambler from the Stars” as a contribution to HPL’s “Cthulhu Mythos,” in which a Lovecraftian monster gobbled up an unnamed dead ringer for the Providence author —and Lovecraft returned the favor by having “Robert Blake” killed by “The Haunter of the Dark” (right). Incidentally, to get in the last word, Bloch wrote a third related tale, “The Shadow from the Steeple.”

There was a problem, though. In those days before scanners and photocopiers, to make another copy, Julie would have to retype the stories. If he or Talman didn’t make copies, one of them had to wait on the sidelines. If Julie hadn’t submitted the stories by October 6th, it seems unlikely he had a chance after that. Less than a month later, Talman’s employer rejected a Lovecraft collection that included “The Colour Out of Space” and “The Music of Erich Zann.” On November 2nd, Lovecraft discussed the collection with Talman. Talman said his employer wanted HPL to try a novel. Lovecraft said he wasn’t ready to

In the coming months, Lovecraft complained of intestinal problems. The illness eventually hospitalized him, and he died of cancer on March 15, 1937. Shortly after, Donald Wandrei and August Derleth took charge. They formed Arkham House and published limited collectors editions. They raised awareness of HPL until mass market paperback publishers got onboard the Lovecraft bandwagon. Lovecraft’s posthumous success and recognition have dwarfed that which he received in life.

Julie went on to sell hundreds of stories for his clients, including 75 for Robert Bloch and 70 for Ray Bradbury. Though Julie only sold one Lovecraft story, it was a noteworthy sale. It gave HPL much-needed financial and moral support. It’s arguable that Julie impacted three other sales in Lovecraft’s favor. Julie’s British project prompted Lovecraft’s submission to Weird Tales of “The Haunter of the Dark” and “The Thing on the Doorstep”—and one can also wonder if Julie spurred Wandrei’s submission of “The Shadow Out of Time.”

Everyone deserves a

Golden Age!

Roy here, with a personal note: "Talk about a long time between drinks! In 1974-75 artist Dick Giordano and I adapted the first near-half of Bram Stoker's 1890 novel Dracula in six issues of Marvel's Dracula Lives! and in Legion of Monsters #1. We've been wanting to finish it ever since—and, at the invitation of Marvel editor Mark Beazley, we're finally doing it—three decades later! The first of four issues serializing this nearly 200-page adaptation will go on sale by Halloween. Above is Dick's eerie art for cover #1! GiVE BACK TO THE CREATORS WHO GAVE YOU YOUR DREAMS.

"Oh, and I've also written introductions to two new hardcover Marvel Masterworks volumes containing my Silver Age scripting that'll be in stores in September and November, respectively: The X-Men, Vol. 4, and The Avengers, Vol. 4. Hey, who knows—with 2005 about to mark my 40th year in the field, I might just make a career out of this comic book thing yet!" Thanks to Mark Beazley and Cory Sedlmeier for the scan. [Art ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“You Can’t Measure Comics Up Against Anything Else!”

GIL KANE Speaks—Mostly about LOU FINE, JACK COLE, & MAC RABOY Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Daniel Herman

CITIZEN KANE—BEFORE & AFTER! Gil Kane—in a photo which appeared in the Fall 1973 (#3) issue of Foom!, Marvel’s “house fanzine”— is remembered for various projects and many series, but probably most of all for his body of work on the Silver Age Green Lantern.

(Above:) A page from GL #26 (Jan. 1964), from a period when action art was mostly eschewed at National/DC. Gil referred to this as the era when “the Dan Barry look”—by which he meant “good but bland drawing” (though of course Barry had shown himself adept at action earlier)—dominated at the company. Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, autographed by Gil, inker Joe Giella, and editor Julie Schwartz, courtesy of Joe’s son Frank. Script by John Broome. [©2004 DC Comics.]

(Left:) Beginning in 1966-67, Gil sought to re-capture his Jack Kirby roots, partly by drawing several “Incredible Hulk” stories for Stan Lee at Marvel. This pure-Kane cover for Tales to Astonish #89 (March 1967). [©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Gil Kane Speaks––Mostly about Lou Fine, Jack Cole, & Mac Raboy

[A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: In 2001, a year after Gil Kane’s untimely passing, Daniel Herman and Hermes Press produced Gil Kane: The Art of the Comics, the first book-length study of the artist’s career. In 2002 the same author/publisher put out a second volume, Gil Kane: Art and Interviews, made up of transcriptions from Dan’s interviews with Gil, Julius Schwartz, Roy Thomas, and sf/mystery/comics writer/comics historian Ron Goulart. The following is a short conversation Dan had with Gil on September 5, 1998. Though Dan quoted from it in the earlier book, it has never before been published in its original form, and is ©2004 Daniel Herman. —Roy.] DANIEL HERMAN: Gil, you have always been very fond of Lou Fine, and it’s clear from looking at your work that he was a big influence. This comes through especially in the Green Lantern and Atom strips you did in the 1960s. GIL KANE: Louie Fine was always one of my heroes. I remember when I was searching for his stuff the very first time and it just knocked me out. I was extremely devoted to him and have been for most of my adult life. Then someone swiped my clipping file. I had been clipping and saving Louie Fine material for years and years. Slowly, someone started sending me material that comprised a lot of the early stuff that Louie Fine had done. At that point I realized that his early work was very crude. However, as his style more fully developed, it’s clear that his work became much more assured, and that’s the Louie Fine that everybody admires. Ultimately he followed that early work with the more polished work that he is remembered for, but it’s still in the spirit of that early material. The spirit was always there. DH: At the end of his career as a cartoonist, Fine worked on Eisner’s Spirit and the work was toned down considerably. It’s clear that not only was Fine attempting to modify his style, but he was also clearly interested in keeping with the style of the strip at that time. Nevertheless, it’s clearly Lou Fine and not Will Eisner—or Jack Cole, who worked in tandem with Fine during the 1940s after Eisner had been drafted.

as an influence on my anatomy, and he was replaced immediately by other figure men. I was reading Crandall, who was a classic Bridgman man, and who was interested in composing a classic 19th-century sort of body, right out of the old Michelangelo school. And the fact is that Bridgman epitomized that approach to anatomy. Ultimately, the quality of grace that I was looking for I found in Bridgman. It took me a long time before I was able to finally crack the code of Bridgman. DH: Lou Fine turned in a lot of work for Eisner as well as Busy Arnold at Quality. Another artist that I already brought up who also worked on The Spirit after Eisner left was Jack Cole. What was your take on Cole’s cartooning? KANE: Well, of course, I watched the progression from the time he began working in comic books until after the Second World War. He did some of the most remarkable stuff I ever saw in comics. He was absolutely brilliant and going off in a new direction with enormous creativity, but he left after getting bored and ultimately ended up at Playboy. DH: Then for some unknown reason he killed himself. KANE: Yes, no one really understands why Cole did that, since he was successfully turning out cartoons at Playboy for Hefner and he had sold a humor strip to the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate, called Betsy and Me. Nobody could ever match Cole’s work on “Plastic Man.” There was something in Cole’s personality that clashed with some people, but that is a separate situation. In any case, the fact is that he was a remarkable artist. There was also an artist named John Spranger, and he did a lot of Cole’s work at Quality on “Plastic Man,” and he had Cole’s style down so close very few people could tell the difference. Ultimately Spranger was replaced by Alex Kotzky, and after that “Plastic Man” became more and more watered-down.

Working with writer/editor Roy Thomas in the late 1980s, Gil Kane drew Lou Fine-influenced pencil layouts for a 19-page retelling of The Ray’s origin for an issue of Secret Origins—but due to changes in company policy, it was never inked, let alone published. [©2004 DC Comics.]

KANE: When Fine went into advertising he became almost photorealistic. The fact is that his early stuff really influenced my take on action, and there was a very emotional connection between that work and the work that I was trying to bring forth. I never lost my connection with Fine because of the lyricism in his work, and that’s still part of what I am trying to convey in my work up to the present. DH: Your point about lyricism is very well taken. Clearly the work that Fine did on “The Ray,” “The Black Condor,” and “Uncle Sam” has a lyrical, almost gliding quality about it. KANE: All of his work during that period had a lyricism that I absolutely loved. Ultimately I discarded Fine as a teacher of anatomy or

DH: You worked on an homage to Cole with DC Comics when you did Plastic Man in the mid-’60s.

KANE: Yes, it was an homage of sorts, but that never seemed to take off. Plastic Man is a great character, and I still think that he could be appreciated by new audiences. DH: If I remember correctly, in our previous conversation we had spoken about your working for Bernard Baily and Mac Raboy. You worked on strips in Baily’s shop, and if I remember correctly you worked on the “Captain Marvel Jr.” strip. It is very well documented that Raboy was extremely slow. What was your firsthand experience with Raboy? KANE: Well, first thing is that Raboy worked with a hand mirror. He used to hold it up to his face, and that is how he would draw. I thought he was excellent in his best work, but I always found there was a certain

“You Can’t Measure Comics Up Against Anything Else!”

THE THREE LOU FINES [Clockwise, starting below photo provided by Lou Fine’s son Elliot for Alter Ego #17:] (Above left:) This vintage page of the “lyrical” Lou Fine from the “Ray” story in Quality’s Crack Comics #20 (March 1941) illustrates what interviewer Daniel Herman said in his 2001 study Gil Kane: The Art of the Comics: “Fine’s elegant figure work, where violence was choreographed as if it were ballet, influenced Kane and every other comic artist who saw his work.” [©2004 the respective copyright holders; The Ray TM & ©2004 DC Comics.] (Above right:) From 1942-45 Will Eisner’s Sunday-comic-book feature The Spirit was drawn by Fine, with assistance from other artists… but over this period, as Michael T. Gilbert points out in his introduction to the hardcover Will Eisner’s Spirit Archives, Vol. 11, Fine “changed his style. Radically…. He wanted to graduate from ‘kiddy comics’ into the more lucrative cartoon fields of syndicate comic strips and advertising.” The drawing in The Spirit was still good— perhaps better technically than it had been before, as can be seen by this splash page for Sept. 2, 1945—but the stories and art became “less fun.” Even so, \every one of the baker’s dozen of Spirit Archives volumes published to date is worth picking up—and DC Comics apparently doesn’t intend to quit until they’ve published the entire run. Good for them! [©2004 Will Eisner.] (Below:) Fine’s more sophisticated and sedate advertising style—which made him a major force in the field during the latter 1950s—carried over into his newspaper strip Adam Ames. This daily is from August 22, 1959. [©2004 The Hall Syndicate, Inc., or its successors in interest.]

Alter Ego #40