Issuu

FRANKENSTEIN FEAR-FEST WITH

BERNIE WRIGHTSON, DICK BRIEFER, & FIENDS

1994--2004

5.95

In the USA

No. 41 October 2004

Vol. 3, No. 41 / October 2004

M ™

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

A Fiendish FRANKENSTEIN Festival

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

Production Assistant

Eric Nolen-Weathington

Cover Artists Bernie Wrightson Marc Swayze

Covers Colorist Tom Ziuko

And Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Michael W. Kaluta Ger Apeldoorn Allen G. Kracalik Bob Bailey Richard Langlois Richard Bealzley Marshall Lanz Alberto Beccatini Mark Lewis John Benson Christy Lockstein Jackson Bostwick Vatche Mavlian Jerry K. Boyd Mike Mikulovsky Chris Brown Sheldon Moldoff Gary Brown Brian K. Morris Frank Brunner Frank Motler Bernie Bubnis Peter Normanton John Coates John G. Pierce Howard Leroy Bud Plant Davis Virginia Provisiero Al Dellinges Ed Rhoades Michael Dewally Alex Ross Roger Dicken Dorothy & Wendy Hunt Schaffenberger Jay Disbrow David Siegel Michael Dunne Robin Snyder Don Ensign Emilio Squeglio Conrad Eschenberg Mike Tiefenbacher Michael Eury Dann Thomas Ed Fields Alex Toth Shane Foley Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Ray Funk Dr. Michael J. Carl Gafford Vassallo Janet Gilbert Mark Voger Donald F. Glut Pete Von Sholly Ron Goulart Loston Wallace Paul Gravett Delmo Walters, Jr. Chris Green Jean Marie Ward Walt Grogan Hames Ware Jennifer Hamerlinck John Wells Jim Harmon Mark Wheatley Bill Harper Tom Wimbish Kyle Henry Bernie Wrightson Greg Hunyager Mike Zeno

Contents Writer/Editorial: “Lost in Darkness and Distance” . . . . . . . . . . 2 “A Lifelong Love Affair with Frankenstein” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Bernie Wrightson talks to Roy Thomas about those sensational 1970s-80s illustrations.

Frankenstein in Four Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Don Glut spins an informal biography of Mary Shelley’s Monster in comic books. A Not-So-Spirited “Spirit of Frankenstein” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Michelle Nolan on the American Comics Group’s odd Adventures into the Unknown. Alex Toth Meets Frankenstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 “A Tip of the Topper to Dick Briefer” from one of his greatest fans. Frankenstein: Monster in Tights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 When Dell Comics stitched together super-heroes and horror, by Stephan Friedt. Spawn Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Victor Frankenstein’s fearful fiend at DC Comics (1948-1994), by John Wells. Frankenstein in the Funny Pages? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Dick Briefer nearly pulled it off it back in the 1970s—in his own words and pictures! Happy 100th, FCA! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: What can we say, except—“a plethora of riches!” Bernie Wrightson generously gave us our choice of using any one of his fabulous Frankenstein drawings as this issue’s cover—and that’s when our dilemma began. Because there are literally a dozen of his 1970s-80s illustrations for Mary Shelley’s novel—spread over no less than two different books—any one of which would have made our day! We settled on this one, to avoid repeating the cover of the 1983 edition. Any complaints? We didn’t think so. [Art ©2004 Bernie Wrightson.] Above: Since this section’s twin spotlights are on the Frankenstein art of Silver-Ager Bernie Wrightson and Golden Age cartoonist Dick Briefer, here’s a favorite splash of ours by the latter, from the Prize Comics Group’s Frankenstein #1 (Summer 1945), courtesy of Al Dellinges. [©2004 the respective copyright holders.] Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, N C 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

“Lost in Darkness and Distance” “He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.” I’ll confess I’ve always found this last sentence of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus terribly poignant and moody, even poetic. Translation: I’ve swiped and/or paraphrased it numerous times in my nearly four decades in the comic book field. My own first exposure to Frankenstein came in fits and starts back in the (for me) pre-TV mid- to late 1940s—with Dick Briefer’s wonderful humorous comic book of that name… with caricatures of a Karloffian Monster in cartoons shown at Saturday movie matinees… with grainy black-&-white trailers for Universal movie re-releases I was too young to be allowed to attend (at least partly because the films usually played at Halloween midnight shows)… and with the marvelous best-of-bothworlds Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, which my mother took

me to see at age seven or so in 1948, when it was fresh and new, on the theory, I suppose, that because Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were the stars, it wouldn’t be scary. It was—but I loved it, and have been happy to note in the years since that all intelligent movie critics do, too. So here’s a look at the Monster as rendered by some great comic book artists—Bernie Wrightson, Dick Briefer, Michael W. Kaluta, Mike Ploog, Graham Ingels, Alex Toth, and others. We only wish we could have featured even more art by the half dozen listed above, and by their comic book compeers. But ’tis enough—’twill serve. Happy Halloween!

COMING IN NOVEMBER ™

THE FORGOTTEN ARTISTS OF

SILVER AGE MARVEL—

& THE GOLDEN AGE OF

HILLMAN & ZIFF-DAVIS!

• Two never-before-published color covers—The Avengers by STEVE FASTNER & RICH LARSON and Airboy & The Heap by Golden Age artist ERNIE SCHROEDER! • Silver Age Threads among the Gold! Spotlight on the 1960s Marvel work of DON HECK, WERNER ROTH, and PAUL REINMAN! (But there’s liable to be a bit of JACK KIRBY, DICK AYERS, GENE COLAN, SAL BUSCEMA, NEAL ADAMS, JOHN ROMITA, JOHN BUSCEMA, et al., on view, as well!) • Golden Age Gallery! From the 1940s-50s glory days of Hillman and Ziff-Davis comics! Airboy/Heap artist ERNIE SCHROEDER—editor HERB ROGOFF—artist WALLY LITTMAN—in deep conversation with JIM AMASH! With fabulous added art by FRED KIDA, MURPHY ANDERSON, DAN ZOLNEROWICH, ALEX KOTZKY, DAN BARRY, BERNIE KRIGSTEIN, DAN DeCARLO, MORT LEAV, JOHN PRENTICE, EVERETT RAYMOND KINSTLER, MIKE SUCHORSKY, MARV LEVY, BILL ELY, & many others! • FCA with MARC SWAYZE and the (delayed) finale of The Fawcett/Charlton Connection, plus a full, profusely-illustrated index! • MICHAEL T. GILBERT with KIRBY & DITKO “Twice Told Tales”—BILL SCHELLY on early fanzines—ALEX TOTH on Quality Comics talents we missed in A/E #34 —& MORE!!! Edited by ROY THOMAS • 108 PAGES!

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

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“A Lifelong Love Affair With Frankenstein ” BERNIE WRIGHTSON on Illustrating Mary Shelley’s Monster Conducted by Roy Thomas

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

[INTRODUCTION: There will probably be very few readers of Alter Ego—especially of this issue of it—who will be unfamiliar with Bernie Wrightson’s work, in particular his art on DC’s Swamp Thing comic book in the early 1970s and his illustrations for a special edition of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, which was published in 1983—with an introduction by Stephen King, no less. This phone interview was conducted, in a rather impromptu fashion on Ye Editor’s part, on August 2, 2004. —Roy.] ROY THOMAS: How far back does your interest in the Frankenstein character go? BERNIE WRIGHTSON: Oh, Jesus. It goes way back to the 1950s, when I was a kid and Universal released their monster movie package to TV. Just seeing all the Frankenstein movies for the first time—who knows what a little six-year-old brain is going to latch onto? I just fixated on the Monster. That’s the guy that really grabbed me. I have friends who got really caught up in The Mummy or the Creature [from the Black Lagoon] and became fixated on those guys. Frankenstein was mine. RT: Before you did the illustrations for the novel, you had done quite a few Frankenstein drawings in your early professional work for various black-&-white comics, hadn’t you? WRIGHTSON: Oh, sure, sure. The character showed up again and again in stuff I did for fanzines and things like that. There were even several aborted attempts to do it as a graphic novel. It never went beyond a couple of pages of continuity. RT: When do you think was the first time you depicted the Monster in a story? Did you do anything in some of the Warren magazines or Web of Horror with him? Or was it when you did things like The Patchwork Man in Swamp Thing? WRIGHTSON: You know, that was probably the first time he showed up in any published work, like newsstand stuff. And there was a story in one of the Warren magazines. I can’t remember the title, it was either Creepy or Eerie, called “Muck-Monster,” which was a total Frankenstein rip-off and kind-of done in the style of the illustrations that would appear in the book. RT: So the first thing that you came out with, as regards the illustrations that were later printed with a special edition of Mary Shelley’s novels, was the first of the two portfolios you did? WRIGHTSON: Right. At some point, I kind-of decided that this was never going to happen as a graphic novel. You know, an adaptation to comic books. And I thought, “Well, I don’t think anyone has done a fully-illustrated edition of the novel.” I mean, there was the edition in the ’30s or ’40s…. RT: Lynd Ward? [NOTE: See illustration on p. 11.]

Bernie Wrightson (top left), in a photo from an interview done for Crescent BlueÕswebsiteÑand the cover of the 1983 Dodd, Mead hardcover edition of Frankenstein which existed primarily to showcase BernieÕsexquisite illustrations. (He then spelled his first name ÒBerni.Ó) Bernie told Crescent Blue, a website presided over by Jean Marie Ward: ÒMy mother took me to see a Frankenstein movie when I was really young, and it affected me very deeplyÉ That led to seeing all the other Frankenstein movies, led to reading the book, and I developed a lifelong love affair with Frankenstein and anything associated with it. Illustrating the book had always been a dream of mine. I always wanted to see that storyÑMary ShelleyÕsÑillustrated faithfully.Ó In another recent online interview, with Christy Lockstein (which you can read at <Christy@sequentialtart.com>), Bernie related how Stephen King came to write the introduction to the volume: ÒWhen I did the comic book adaptation of [the film] CreepshowÉ I met with Stephen King and it turned out that he was a fan of mine. He had read Swamp Thing and a few other things I had done. I told him I was illustrating FrankensteinÉ I asked him if he would write an introduction to it, and he said that he would be happy to. It was like a favor.Ó Thanks to Tom Wimbish and Fernando Correa de Carvalho for their help in locating these two website interviews. [Art ©2004 Bernie Wrightson.]

Bernie Wrightson on Illustrating Mary Shelley’s Monster

Ò[The Frankenstein Monster] showed up again and again in stuff I did for fanzines.Ó Here are two samples of same from the 1960s and early Õ70s: an early Wrightson illustration with a very Karloffian look, and a single-page gag. This art was reprinted in Apple PressÕ1993 book Bernie Wrightson: The Lost Frankenstein Pages. That volume collected numerous preliminary sketches for the 1983 book, plus drawings the artist decided not to use, as well as examples of BernieÕsearlier depictions of the Monster. The Lost Frankenstein Pages is a worthy companion to the illustrated novel, and is available from publishers Michael & Hilary Catron for $9.95 a copy postpaid. Their address is P.O. Box 309, Greencastle, PA 17225Ñor you can e-mail them (Hilary, really, since sheÕllbe doing the heavy lifting!) at <hcatron@earthlink.net>. PayPal accepted. Do yourself a favor and pick up this one, as well as the illustrated novel! [Art ©2004 Bernie Wrightson.]

WRIGHTSON: Lynd Ward, yeah, with woodcuts, which was great. But I really wanted to do something that looked a little more archaic. My original intention was, I wanted the illustrations to look as though they could have been done at the time Mary Shelley’s novel was first published, given the printing process and reproduction techniques of the time. So I settled on something that would look like a woodcut or a steel engraving: all black-&-white, pen-and-ink and everything, and kind of old-fashioned-looking. RT: And the portfolios, I guess, were what—a way to finance things as you went along? WRIGHTSON: Yeah, that was early along in the process. Originally, I was going to self-publish, and the portfolios were to make the money to cover the printing costs for the book. And, of course, that never happened because I was young and I had no idea what I was getting into. So we sold the portfolios; they made quite a bit of money for the time. RT: They were classic portfolios. I think they’re some of the most valuable that came out during that era or after. WRIGHTSON: That’s what I hear, yeah, yeah. You know, there never were too many of them; I think maybe a thousand or so were made, but I wasn’t thinking about that. It’s just, “This is what I’ll do. I’ll make money from this, put it back into the book.” And, of course, all the money went to trivial, inconsequential things like rent. [laughs] And

then Marvel came along. RT: Well, wasn’t the original portfolio done in ’77? That’s the earliest copyright date I’ve seen on any illustrations in the edition that I have of the novel version. Some illustrations were copyright ’77, others ’78. WRIGHTSON: I remember it made its debut at Phil Seuling’s convention in Philadelphia. RT: Please forgive my ignorance, but I have the Dodd, Mead version. Which came first, the Marvel or the Dodd, Mead? WRIGHTSON: Well, they came kind-of simultaneously. What happened was that [Marvel editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter wanted to do a whole line of comic and graphic novels, illustrated novels he could put into bookstores. And I remember him telling me that he wanted to get it into airport bookstores, which was a pretty big venue at the time. And he saw Frankenstein and said, “Yeah, we’d like to do this and this would be our introduction into this venue. It’d be like our flagship book.” And by that point, I thought, “Well, I’m not going to publish this myself,” and here comes Jim. So I said, “Okay, sure.” So I signed the contract, and it never actually made it into the airports, as far as I know. But anyhow, they had a deal with Dodd, Mead for the hardcovers. RT: Ah, so Marvel led to the Dodd, Mead thing.

“A Lifelong Love Affair with Frankenstein”

(Left:) One of the pages Bernie did in the 1960s, during his first attempt to adapt the novel Frankenstein into comics form. (Right:) In 1975, he drew this page as a sample for a French publisher. Both pages were reproduced in Bernie Wrightson: The Lost Frankenstein Pages. See them lots bigger there. Thanks to Michael & Hilary Catron. [©2004 Bernie Wrightson.]

These reproductions are far too small to do them justiceÑbut here are the sleeves of the two Wrightson Frankenstein Portfolios produced in the late 1970s, ostensibly to finance BernieÕswork on the illustrations. These sleeves, too, were reprinted in Bernie Wrightson: The Lost Frankenstein Pages. [©2004 Bernie Wrightson.]

Frankenstein In Four Colors An Informal Biography of Everybody’s Favorite Monster in Comic Books by Donald F. Glut

ÒFrankenstein Meets the Comics!Ó Author Don Glut as the Frankensteinian DC super-villain Solomon Grundy, at the 1971 Witchcraft & Sorcery Convention in Los AngelesÑbookended by Dick BrieferÕscover portrait for PrizeÕsFrankenstein #23 (Feb.-March 1953), and Boris Karloff in that wonderful Jack Pierce makeup from the 1931 James Whale film. You tell us which of the three is the scariest! Glut photo by Allen G. Kracalik. [Frankenstein photo ©2004 Universal.]

[A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Among his other considerable achievements, which include such cult films as Dinosaur Valley Girls and Countess Dracula’s Orgy of Bood and past comics creations such as Dr. Spektor and Dagar the Invincible for Gold Key, Don Glut is one of the world’s outstanding experts on and catalogers of the many appearances of the Frankenstein Monster in various media over the decades—no, make that centuries. This article has been abridged by Ye Editor, with Don’s permission, from a chapter in his still-in-print 2002 McFarland book The Frankenstein Archive, with beaucoup illustrations added. That chapter, in turn, made use of material by Don that had previously appeared in The Comic-Book Book (1973), edited by Dick Lupoff and Don Thompson, and this writer’s All-Star Companion (TwoMorrows, 2000). A reprint of The Comic-Book Book is currently available from Krause Publications, while the revised edition of The All-Star Companion appeared this past summer. Oh, in adding some boldly-lettered division headings below, I’ve slipped in even more puns than usual—because Don is one of the few people I know who can dream up more and worse ones than Jim Amash and I put together! —Roy.]

A lightning storm raged in the bleak heavens as Frankenstein eagerly manipulated the controls of his laboratory apparatus. After the giant humanoid received the life-giving jolts of electricity, it sat up on the platform. Victor stared into the face of his living creation, oblivious to the ghastly features he himself had stitched together. Perhaps it was his plan to give this being a new face, someday. But with the absentmindedness of most such unorthodox scientists, he had overlooked that single detail. The face of this being was that of a hideous monster. The dead white flesh barely covered the contours of the misshapen skull. The bloodgashed forehead was high, with stringy black hair hanging in uneven lengths almost to the wide shoulders. The two bulging eyes rarely looked in the same direction. A skeletal stub, which Victor assumed to be a nose, was set up between those eyes. The lips were torn to reveal a set of ugly teeth. Despite the proximity of the wretched face, the scientist failed to recognize the potential horror he had created.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein stared at the giant white-skinned form stretched before him on a platform in his laboratory. The creature was at least 15 feet tall, assembled from parts of many corpses and covered with a sheet.

The actual blame for the creation of this Frankenstein Monster falls upon Richard Briefer. A previous appearance of the infamous Monster had been an adaptation of the Universal motion picture Son of Frankenstein in the premier issue of Movie Comics (April 1939), published by Picture Comics (now DC Comics, the publisher of Superman and Batman). But this was presented as a one-shot combination of retouched movie stills and artwork. It was Briefer who took the Frankenstein concept and, for the first time ever, developed it into a comic-book series.

In his enthusiasm, Dr. Frankenstein thought he had created a perfect man.

Seemingly Richard (later just “Dick”) Briefer was a fan of the novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, written by Mary

A Briefer History of Frankenstein

Frankenstein in Four Colors Wollstonecraft Shelley and first published in 1818, and of the series of Frankenstein movies (including the afore-mentioned 1939 Son of Frankenstein) then being made by Universal Pictures. Both seemed to have greatly influenced his comic book work. Before he actually utilized that concept of a scientist creating a monstrous living being, Briefer began to do his own experimenting. Briefer had already been writing and illustrating the “Rex Dexter, Interplanetary Adventurer” series in Mystery Men Comics, a four-color comic book published by Fox. Rex was kind of a poor man’s Flash Gordon who rocketed about the universe battling extraterrestrial menaces. In the fifth issue of Mystery Men (Dec. 1939), the space hero defeated a fiendish robot having a squarish head, sunken cheeks, straight black hair that hung in bangs, and a pair of electrodes protruding from its head. Obviously this robot was patterned after the Frankenstein Monster stalking through the Universal series; also, it was virtually the face of Briefer’s own future Frankenstein Monster. Taking the basic facial structure of Universal’s Monster (high forehead, straight black hair with bangs, scars, and powerful physique) and altering it enough to avoid any problems with copyright infringement, Briefer put his own version of the character into a comic strip and tried selling it professionally. Briefer was not one of the upper echelon of comic book writers and artists, nor would he ever be, occasionally “ghosting” for other talents on such features as the very popular “Captain Marvel.” His style was simply too loose and often unfinished-looking to compete with the work of some of the fine draftsmen then seeing their work printed. Therefore, Briefer took his intended series to Feature Publications’ Prize Comics (the title which gave that comic book line its name of the Prize Group), where he sold it under the title “New Adventures of Frankenstein,” supposedly written and drawn by “Frank N. Stein.” (Naturally no one believed that the pseudonym was a real name. Fans of “Rex Dexter” could immediately recognize Briefer’s style, which during the 1940s would be applied to a few more strips, including “Pirate Prince” in Silver Streak Comics and Daredevil Comics, published by Lev Gleason.)

Dead Eyes on the Prize Prize Comics, which made its debut in March 1940, was one of the more successful magazines in the ’40s primarily featuring super-heroes. National, Timely, and Fawcett led the field in that area. Prize’s star characters included The Black Owl, who did his best to imitate National/DC’s Batman; Doctor Frost, who controlled coldness as kindof an opposite of Timely’s Human Torch; the Great Voodini, who seemed to have been a fan of Mandrake the Magician of newspaper-strip fame; and Power Nelson, a futuristic imitation of National’s Superman, who traveled to the 20th century to perform his super-heroics. Of course, none of the Prize heroes could compete with the original characters that inspired them. It would take an ugly anti-hero like the Frankenstein Monster to give the magazine its special distinction. Briefer’s “Frankenstein” strip debuted in Prize Comics #7 (Dec. 1940). When the Prize version of the Monster came to life in Frankenstein’s laboratory, its movements were sporadic. Inadvertently the creature knocked his creator unconscious; then he fled the castle to find his place in the world. As would be expected, the hideous being was persecuted wherever he went. He experienced happiness for the first time in his short life when he came upon the cabin of a blind man who fed and befriended him. When the blind man’s son returned to the cabin and found his father in the company of a 15-foot-tall horror, he blasted the creature with a shotgun. The Monster was driven away by an angry mob that attacked him with clubs and stones. Briefer adapted these first four pages from the plotline of Mary Shelley’s novel. The Frankenstein castle and fantastic laboratory reflected Briefer’s own interest in the Universal movies and were an attempt to present on paper what was already familiar to filmgoers. It should be mentioned, however, that at the time that Briefer produced his first “Frankenstein” comic book tale, he did not—unlike the many writers and artists of illustrated stories that would follow him—have the tradition of a long list of Frankenstein movies upon which to pattern his stories. In 1940, for example, Universal Pictures had filmed only three movies in its Frankenstein series—Frankenstein, Bride

(Left:) Perhaps the first print visualization of the Frankenstein Monster was this Chevalier illustration which appeared in the 1831 edition of Mary ShelleyÕs immortal work. (Center:) In the 1930s Spanish artist Nino Carbe did 46 definitely non-Karloffian drawings for an edition of the novel. (Right:) In the 1940s American artist Lynd Ward produced numerous wood engravings for yet another edition. Some of WardÕsother work has been posthumously hailed as forerunners of todayÕsgraphic novels. [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

An Informal Biography of Everybody’s Favorite Monster in Comic Books left him. However, the Marvel series, al least when it began, was set in 1898, while DC’s series was set in contemporary 1973. During the succeeding years, numerous Frankenstein-related stories have been published in comic books and comic magazines, some of them comprising their own series. However, of all such stories published since the first in that 1939 premier edition of Movie Comics, Dick Briefer’s efforts remain, for many aficionados, the most memorable, even though they were far from the most literary or artistic. There was something compelling in that flat head, those sunken cheeks, and that impossible nose set between the eyes in Briefer’s versions of the Frankenstein Monster. Briefer’s character, whether battling Bulldog Denny in the subway tunnels under New York City, napping in the garden outside his haunted house, or enacting some horrible vengeance upon some human being who had feigned friendship only to exploit his misplaced trust, had power—a strange charm by which the series endured in its original form until the coming of the Comics Code Authority. (Thankfully, Briefer’s stories, like the immortal Monster they featured, are, to this day, still sometimes reprinted in one format or another.) Pete Von Sholly painted one of last year's Halloween covers, so we invited him to be in this year's issue, as well. Here's a nice overhead shot of FrankensteinÑand the letter "F" from Òa project IÕmtrying to sell called ÔTheMonster Alphabet.ÕÓLast year, Pete's Crazy Hip Groovy Go-Go Way-Out Monsters parody mag was a hit for TwoMorrows, so this year we've got CHGGGWOM #32 (the second issue!)Ñon sale now wherever more discriminating monster-mag parodies are sold! [©2004 Pete Von Sholly.]

Victor (or Henry) Frankenstein had created a being charged, as the movies showed us, with eternal life. Dick Briefer’s version of the Monster, at least during his comic books’ original run, was somewhat less immortal. Still, the character had survived and thrived in those old publications for almost 15 years. When compared with other characters bearing the name of Frankenstein who lumbered through their illustrated adventures, that is quite an impressive accomplishment.

version of the Universal creature, and one given to long dissertations, like the original conception in the novel), salvaged his creator’s corpse from the icy waters of the Arctic and used his superior transplanted brain to turn Frankenstein himself into a resuscitated horror. The Monster was exhibited along with a company of human oddities in the next issue’s “Freaks of Fear!” (Sept. 1971). In Paris the Monster met Quasimodo, the famed Hunchback of Notre Dame. The third installment, “The Sewer Tomb of Le Suub!” in Psycho #5 (Nov. 1971), pitted the Monster against an octopus-like behemoth in the sewers beneath Paris. The creative effort devoted to this series was appreciated, although the long-winded dialogue of the Monster quickly became stultifying.

Make Mine Frankenstein! In 1972 Marvel Comics began publishing the excellent Monster of Frankenstein, a new comic book series adapted (in its early issues) from the Shelley novel, originally done by writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog. The series joined Marvel’s Werewolf by Night (also drawn by Ploog) and Tomb of Dracula, werewolf and vampire comic books now being permitted again thanks to a slight relaxation in the Comics Code rules as revised the previous year. Very shortly afterward, DC introduced “The Spawn of Frankenstein,” a shorter-page-count Frankenstein series, in the pages of Phantom Stranger #23 (Jan.-Feb. 1973), written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Mike Kaluta. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: See the article that begins on p. 38.] Both the Marvel and DC versions of the Frankenstein Monster represented the original character, and both series began with their respective Monster being chipped out of polar ice where Mary Shelley’s story had

COMICS’ GOLDEN AGE LIVES AGAIN!

[Continued from p. 24]

FRANKENSTEIN COMMANDO YANK BLACK TERROR AVENGER PHANTOM LADY CAT-MAN DAREDEVIL CRIMEBUSTER CAPTAIN FLASH MR. SCARLET SPY SMASHER SKYMAN STUNTMAN THE OWL BULLETMAN FIGHTING YANK PYROMAN GREEN LAMA THE EAGLE IBIS The above is just a partial list of characters that have appeared in AC Comics’ reprint titles such as MEN OF MYSTERY, GOLDEN AGE GREATS, and AMERICA’S GREATEST COMICS. Virtually all issues published to date are available at $6.95 each. To find over 100 quality Golden Age reprints, go to the AC Comics website at <accomics.com>. AC COMICS Box 521216 Longwood FL 32752 Please add $1.50 postage & handling per order.

A Not-So-Spirited “Spirit of Frankenstein” The American Comics Group Meets Mary Shelley’s Monster—or Does It? by Michelle Nolan

The American Comics GroupÕsAdventures into the Unknown was the first regularly-published ÒhorrorÓ comic. Above is the cover of issue #1 (Fall 1948); cover artist uncertain. The Spirit of Frankenstein never appeared or was even mentioned on any AITU cover. [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

One can only shudder at the verbal horrors faced by young readers who might have tried to make sense of the “Spirit of Frankenstein” series in seven early issues of Adventures into the Unknown. This series did for logic and the English language what the original Dr. Frankenstein did for body parts while trying to stitch them together. The “Spirit of Frankenstein” debuted in AITU #5 (June-July 1949) and also ran in # 6, 8, 9, 10, and 12, before the final installment in #16 (Feb. 1951). The art is average, at best, but the stories are one of the strangest mishmashes of horror and pseudo-science in the history of comic books. The series actually had nothing to do with Frankenstein or his classic monster. Instead, the seven stories detailed the adventures of a scientist, his girlfriend, and a quasi-lifelike robot he created, as he put it, “in the spirit of Frankenstein.” The Frankenstein name, no doubt, was simply used as an evocative tag to grab the attention of the kids. Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, the series appeared during the time when Crestwood’s versions of Frankenstein were temporarily on hiatus. The 17th and last issue of the original series from Crestwood (Prize) was dated Jan-Feb. 1949, and artist Dick Briefer’s series did not pick up until #18 (March 1952). So the only Frankenstein in comics— aside from the occasional reference in other horror comics—was the endlessly reprinted Classics Illustrated version of Frankenstein, which had debuted in Classic Comics #26 (Dec. 1945). Perhaps, then, editor/writer Richard Hughes and his tiny American Comics Group felt they could fill a need with “Spirit of Frankenstein.” After all, Universal’s original cycle of “serious” Frankenstein films ran from 1931-45 before the monster temporarily bowed out in 1948 in the ludicrous Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Of course, Universal’s Frankenstein films were re-released and re-shown many times, first in theatres and then on television. I saw and loved them all. Even so, the character was missing from original films shown in America until returning in 1957 in the superb The Curse of

In the splash from the very first ÒSpirit of FrankensteinÓ story, in Adventures into the Unknown #5 (June-July 1949), the incurably ill Lambert Parkway fumes at being referred to in a newspaper photo caption as Òan unidentified assistant.Ó The android who harbors the ÒspiritÓ of Frankenstein stands in the foreground. Thanks to Michelle Nolan. Incidentally, researcher Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., informs us that Òboth Frank Belknap Long and Manly Wade Wellman [pulp writers who also scripted comics for a time] were early contributors to Adventures into the Unknown, so one of them might have written it.Ó [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

Frankenstein: Monster in Tights When Dell Comics Stitched Together Super-Heroes and Horror by Stephan Friedt It must have been difficult working at Dell in 1962. Dell, with their partner Western Publishing, had been the epitome of niche comics publishing since 1938… with licenses to publish new and adapted stories from the stable of characters from Disney, Warner Bros., MGM, Edgar Rice Burroughs, every major newspaper comic, every cowboy you can think of, the favorite TV shows, and almost any movie you can name. In the late 1940s, Dell was the largest comic publisher in America. And they did it all without a stable of super-heroes. 24 years later, in 1962, their travel down the road of success hit a major pothole, when Western Publishing took their lucrative licenses, split off, and formed the new company of Gold Key. Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, and Tarzan, along with a host of others, now had a new home. Dell stayed afloat until 1973 with a smaller dose of TV and movie adaptations. The most successful of these were a string of Universal Pictures monster movie adaptations. In 1962 they issued Dracula, The Mummy, and The Creature (as in, from the Black Lagoon). In 1963 they followed this up with Frankenstein and The Wolfman. The adaptation of Frankenstein, titled “The Monster Lives,” has been described as “loosely” based on the Universal film. That is an understatement. The Monster and his creator escape from the villagers in the Balkans. Using hypnotism to control the Monster (a technique predating Hammer’s 1964 film The Evil of Frankenstein), the good doctor puts his creation on a boat and sails to America to plead his case at a conveniently-timed medical convention. Of course, the Monster breaks free, shocks the gathering of physicians, and is chased to the harbor where, in the best Murphy’s Law tradition, he climbs on board a ship filled with explosives that catches fire. Dr. Frankenstein watches helplessly as his creation is pulled out into the harbor aboard the burning, explosive-filled ship to its inevitable end…vowing of course to one day raise him back up again. The cover of DellÕsFrankenstein #1 (1963). Evidently no great shakes as movie adaptations goÑbut the cover painting ainÕtbad.

Skip ahead three years… it’s 1966. Super-hero comics are again all the rage.

ÒThis looks like a job for… FRANKENSTEIN!Ó Our cross-genre hero goes into action in Frankenstein #3 (Dec. 1966). Just for the record, Frank had a green face and neck (plus white hair), yet his exposed arms were Caucasian-flesh pink. His blouse and tights were red, his belt blueÑwith a big blue ÒFÓ on his yellow belt buckle. No, no, donÕtthank usÑitÕs the least we could do. All art in the series is by Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico; all scans for this article courtesy of Stephan Friedt. [©2004 Western Publishing, Inc.]

Marvel is taking the world by storm. Batman begins his run on TV and will soon appear on the big screen in Batman: the Movie. Forrest J. Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland is on every magazine rack. And Dell is publishing Mighty Mouse, Alvin the Chipmunk, and comic versions of Bewitched and F-Troop. Somebody at Dell must have thought: “What can we do to jump on the craze? Hmmm… Monsters are popular… super-heroes are popular… What if we mix the two?” So, under the watchful eye of editor Don Arneson, out pop superhero versions of Frankenstein in September of 1966, Dracula in November, and Werewolf in December. (The film title “The Wolf Man” was a name trademarked by Universal, while the novels Frankenstein and Dracula were in the public domain. We’ll save Dracula and Werewolf for another time, though you can see covers of both magazines in Alter Ego #36.) Frankenstein #2 (#1 was a 1964 reprint of the 1963 movie “adaptation”) claimed to be introducing “The world’s greatest and strangest super hero!” with “The origin of the New Frankenstein.” We open with a splash of a European castle that somehow has existed untouched near a “great American Metropolis” (named, conveniently enough, Metropole City) for “over a hundred years.” Murphy’s Law, once again, brings a bolt of lightning into the castle to strike a cadaver

Frankenstein: Monster in Tights

(conveniently dressed in a red jumpsuit) that has also gone untouched for 100 years. And thus awakes our hero! After two months of wandering the castle, and sneaking out at night to witness “the dark world that surrounds him,” our hero dons a plastic mask and takes his new name from a chunk of stone with the letters FRANK carved on it. “Frank Stone” is born!

Rebirth of Frankenstein,” Frank dedicates himself to serving good: “The Doctor was a brilliant man. His visions of the future I can now construct. The devices will enable me to fight the evil intentions of those men who cannot learn to live peacefully in this world.” Contrary to his statement, he never does use an arsenal of devices.

Frank’s first act of heroism is most fortunate: he comes upon a car wreck, saves the wealthy financier inside (the financier's father had been the business partner of the late Doctor!), becomes his companion, and inherits his fortune. Bruce Wayne never had it so easy! Plastic-faced millionaire by day, green-faced super-hero in a red jumpsuit by night!

Over the next days Frank tests and perfects his powers. He extends his jumping power from thirty feet to fifty feet from a standing start. He lifts thirty times his own weight… and “can throw it as easily as a baseball.” He can run faster than a leopard, and his body can take “more punishment than an elephant,” he says as he smashes through a stone wall. His disguise is kept folded in a small package tucked in his belt…mask and full business suit, no less. Super-herodom’s “unstable molecules” had nothing on this guy! We’ve got a super-hero, his trusty butler, a noisy female acquaintance… all we need now is an arch-enemy!

Very little of the movie Monster’s character is retained in this story. His brainpower is now “50 times greater than the average human”… rather than the abnormal criminal brain he started with in the Universal movies, or whatever precisely Mary Shelley’s hero placed inside his skull. His countenance is striking (green skin, white hair), but hardly what you would call ugly. His size is unusual: “Get a load of that other guy… he’s bigger than both of us!” according to the first people to see him… the ambulance drivers. His talents quickly make themselves evident. His next heroic act is saving Miss Ann Thrope (great name!) and gains him the required blonde female character. He discovers his strength is “greater than fifty normal men.” In the story’s second chapter, “The

Our next introduction is to his foil…a diminutive mad scientist named Mr. Freek, who rides around on the shoulders of Brute, “the largest gorilla in the world,” and is aided by a pro-wrestling reject named Kilo. Mr. Freek’s goal is unstated… other than to get attention. Only a trip to the United States will do it!

Frankenstein’s Fearful Fiend at DC Comics––1948-1994

“The Spawn of Frankenstein” was gone but not forgotten. Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson had crafted a far more successful misunderstood monster series in the form of Swamp Thing, launched in the latter half of 1972. Their own take on the Frankenstein Monster— The Patchwork Man— appeared in Swamp Thing #3 a month after Phantom Stranger #23 and was later the subject of an abortive ongoing series, whose sole installment appeared in House of Secrets #140 the same month Phantom Stranger was cancelled. The completed second installment—“Night of the Bat”—appeared only in Gigant #3, published in Finland in 1983. And a Wein-plotted, Paul Levitz-scripted story in Superman #344 (Feb. 1980) brought another version of the Frankenstein Monster and Dracula into conflict with the Man of Steel. These entities were pulled to Earth from another dimension (perhaps the one where Captain Thunder had trapped the iconic Monster League of Evil back in #266) and wound up being sent back by our old friend, The Phantom Stranger.

Marv Wolfman, of course, achieved fame as writer of one of the 1970s’ greatest horror comics, Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula, but managed a nod to one of his earliest strips not long after he began scripting the 1980s Superman series in Action Comics. In issue #531 (May 1982), the spirit of a long-dead Daily Planet typesetter brought the Spawn of Frankenstein to life as part of a ploy to scare a media mogul out of buying the newspaper. Penciled by Joe Staton, the long-haired, yellow-skinned creature bore a striking resemblance to the Kaluta-designed monster. And Kaluta, who’d moved directly from that series to the much-heralded 1973 revival of The Shadow, drew the Spawn of Frankenstein one last time for DC—as an entry in 1986’s Who’s Who #21. Coming full circle from Detective Comics #135, writer Jack C. Harris and painter Bo Hampton offered another, very different take on the Frankenstein legend in 1994’s Batman: Castle of the Bat. And somewhere along the line, a fellow named Thomas made his own contribution to the DC Comics accounts of the legend. But that’s another story. Over to you, Roy!

Behind a Ross Andru/Frank Giacoia cover, Superman didnÕthave much better luck against this yellow-skinned, very ÒSpawn of FrankensteinÓ-looking Monster in Action Comics #531 (May 1982). Art by Joe Staton (penciler) & Frank McLaughlin (inker). Script by Marv Wolfman. [©2004 DC Comics.]

[A/E EDITOR’S P.S.: ’Tis a tale already told in an art caption on p. 27, friend John—which see for the appearance of “Victor Frankenstein II” in The Young All-Stars #18-19 in the latter 1980s. —Roy.]

Frankenstein In The Funny Pages? Yep! It Could’ve Happened Back in 1970-Something—Courtesy of DICK BRIEFER! by Roy Thomas, with special thanks to Al Dellinges

Sometimes you get more than you bargained for—and this is one of those times. As a longtime fan of the several different incarnations of the Frankenstein Monster written and drawn by the late Dick Briefer for the Prize Comics Group from the early 1940s through the mid-’50s, it was with delight that I arranged to reprint Don Glut’s “Frankenstein in Four Colors” article in this issue, with its emphasis on Briefer’s work. But it’s also been known for some years—including by Don, who was in touch with the artist in the 1970s and commissioned two painted recreations by him—that Briefer didn’t write and draw the Monster only for comic books.

poster-size sheets that the printing company he worked for at that time made up for him to use as promotional guides. I still have those sheets, but I never did have Dick’s original art they were made from.

Dick Briefer circa the late 1970s (left) and Al Dellinges in 2002 (right). Briefer is holding up copies of three issues of his Prize Comics Frankenstein. (Center:) Around that same time, just for kicks, Al toyed with the notion of a knock-down drag-out fight between BrieferÕsFrankenstein and another four-color monstrosity, Solomon Grundy, who between 1944-47 appeared in four ÒGreen LanternÓ and ÒJustice Society of AmericaÓ tales. Naturally, as a fan of both Briefer and his fellow artist Irwin Hasen, Al composed this art spot, combining elements of the covers of All-Star Comics #33 (Feb.-March 1947) and Frankenstein #21 (Oct.-Nov. 1952). Maybe that battle happened on ÒEarth-FÓ before the Crisis on Infinite Earths? [Art ©2004 Al Dellinges; Solomon Grundy TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

Back in the ’70s, comics fan/historian Al Dellinges—hardly a stranger to the pages of Alter Ego—published his own fanzine, which was titled Near Mint. And, when I started to think about having a “Frankenstein” issue of A/E, I remembered that at least one issue of Near Mint reprinted 36 never-sold humorous Frankenstein daily comic strips by Dick Briefer, who at that time was still very much alive. I even recalled that some of those strips adapted one of my favorite stories in Prize’s Frankenstein #4 (Sept.-Oct. 1947), in which Stanley the Sorcerer tries to ruin Franky’s “birthday party.” So, naturally, I contacted Al and learned that—well, I’ll let his return letter speak for itself:

Roy, There were two [comic book] versions of the Frankenstein “Birthday” story done by Dick Briefer. The one I used in Near Mint #35 was the first one, and it originally consisted of 25 daily strips, but I used only the first 15. I have, however, enclosed for you in this package all 25 daily strips that you may use as you see fit. These 25 dailies were sent to me by Dick in the form of large

Now, the second version consisted of 36 dailies of totally different artwork by Dick, but also based in part on the “Birthday” theme. Dick sent me these originals, which I used to make up a promotional booklet that could be sent to prospective clients for possible syndication. I have enclosed one of these booklets for you. The printing quality is poor, but I have much sharper copies if you ever want to use them. Anyway, nobody bought the strip, so Dick asked me to try to sell his artwork, and after several ads, not one was sold, so I returned all his

original artwork to him. Sometime later, I asked him if I could try to sell the strips again. He said fine, but a few days later he died, and it was after his passing that I began getting inquiries about his artwork. I let his wife Lee know about it, she thanked me for the info, and I never heard from her again. Al On reading this note, I was flabbergasted! Somewhere along the line, although I’d seen them, I’d forgotten that there were two sets of Dick Briefer Frankenstein dailies—apparently 61 strips in all—with some overlapping of general storyline, but no precise duplication of script or art! And, Al informed me, Briefer had given him permission to reprint the strips anytime he wanted… though of course they are still copyrighted in the name of Briefer’s estate. When I perused the earlier 25-strip version in beautiful photocopies made by Al, I discovered that roughly half of them retold the

“Fawcett Knew How To Do It Better Than Anyone Else!” A Talk with Artist/Production Man EMILIO SQUEGLIO Interview Conducted and Transcribed by Jim Amash

Emilio Squeglio, circa 1949-50, juxtaposed with a recent drawing of Captain Marvel and Billy Batson he drew especially for interviewer Jim Amash. Emilio writes: ÒThis photo is of me at my drawing table in the Advertising Dept. of Fawcett, working on ads and sometimes on unfinished comic pages and drawings for the court trial. I still have the drawing table in the photo, in my studio.Ó [Art ©2004 Emilio Squeglio; Captain Marvel & Billy Batson TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

[INTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Emilio Squeglio may be a name unfamiliar to most of you, but you certainly won’t forget him after reading this interview! Emilio worked in the production department at Fawcett near the end of their comic book publishing days, before moving on to magazine work and then book design. However, this charming, funny man has interesting tales to tell us about his time at Fawcett. His Berndt Toast Gang buddy, the great Stan Goldberg, gets special thanks for putting me in touch with him. As payment for Stan’s generous help, we’ll start off with a few words about him, before Emilio digs into his own checkered past. Hey, Stan — that’ll teach you to be our friend!! Oh, and unless otherwise noted, all photos and art were provided by Emilio—with enough left over that one of these days he’s bound to pop up in FCA, as well! —Jim.]

”What Are You Gonna Do with That Stuff?” JA: Since Stan Goldberg was the one who alerted me about your comic book career, we ought to get a few words in here about him. EMILIO SQUEGLIO: What can I say about Stan? He’s the most wonderful man you’d ever want to know. He’s kind, he’s generous, and exceptionally talented, as you know. Above everything, he’s a good friend. I’m very proud to have him as a friend.

JA: Are there any stories we can blackmail Stan with? SQUEGLIO: Unfortunately not, but I could invent one! [mutual laughter] There is one I can tell. Every month at the Berndt Toast Gang meetings, an artist shows his work. One month, it was John Buscema’s turn. John brought in a bunch of pages and spread them out on a table. I sort-of sauntered over there, and Stan was walking over from the other side. We both stood there, looked at these great drawings, and said, “What the hell?” [laughter] Stan faked a disgusted look on his face and said, “What are you gonna do with that stuff?” And we walked away. That was such a hilarious thing to do, because John Buscema was just an amazing artist. I was proud to know him. I miss him. Stan can cut up when he wants to, but generally he’s a quiet man. Some guys make a big deal about the work they do, but not Stan. He lets his work do the talking. And that’s powerful enough. JA: Okay, Emilio—that’ll hold Stan for a while! [laughter] SQUEGLIO: It should! Seriously, there’s nothing bad that can be said about Stan Goldberg. You know, I’ve read a few of your articles lately. My friend John Romita gave me a couple of issues. JA: So you know John Romita?

A Talk With Artist/Production Man Emilio Squeglio Two recent photos of Emilio and friends. [Left:] At the October 2003 meeting of the cartoonistsÕget-together known as the Berndt Toast Gang, Emilio is flanked by veteran Archie/Millie the Model artist Stan Goldberg (left) and (right) classic DC inker (now longtime Mary Worth artist) Joe Giella. [Below:] Every June, Bunny Hoests throws a party for cartoonists at her Lloyd Harbor home. Here, from summer of 2003, we have (left to right): Al Scaduto (who succeeded Jimmy Hatlo on the famed panel They’ll Do It Every Time)Ñcartoonist Valerie ConstintinoÑSy Barry (major artist of The Phantom, who was interviewed in A/E #37)ÑJoe GiellaÑand Emilio Squeglio.

him crazy. Some of the guys trapped some pigeons and put them in his closet. He opened the closet and the pigeons flew out into the room. Now, Mr. Magon started trying to catch them. It drove him crazy! By the way, ventriloquist Paul Winchell was in our class. So was Tony Bennett. Paul drove us crazy. This was a tight building we were in. I don’t know if you knew this or not, but it once was a Civil War hospital. In fact, Mr. Rose, our anatomy teacher, found a skeleton in the cellar. It was the skeleton of a Civil War veteran. Paul would walk ahead of us as we’d go up the stairs to class and throw his voice to the girls. They’d turn around and

SQUEGLIO: Do I know John Romita? Let me tell you something: there are four people in my life whom I’ve known since high school. They are John Romita, Al Scaduto, Sy Barry, and Joe Giella. We went all the way through high school together and are still good friends. JA: That’s a good group of guys to have as friends. But let’s start at the beginning. When and where were you born?

“We Were All Clean-cut Guys” SQUEGLIO: I was born in Brooklyn, May 19, 1927. I started at a Parochial school, and in the last two years at grammar school, I was taught by Christian brothers. One of the brothers was very influential in my life. He knew I wanted to be a cartoonist. When I graduated from grammar school, he found that the only school in Brooklyn that had an art class was Grover Cleveland High School. I attended that school for one year, and one day, after school, I found this brother waiting for me at home. He had found a high school in Manhattan that taught art: The School of Industrial Arts. He had the applications all filled out and ready for me to sign. He helped me transfer to SIA, where I studied for the next three years. That’s where I met John and the gang.

get mad at us!

JA: The late Les Zakarin went to school there, too. Did you know him? SQUEGLIO: Yes. He was a wild man! Lester was crazy! JA: How was he crazy? SQUEGLIO: He was nuts! JA: [laughs] Okay. Give me an example! SQUEGLIO: When he got out of school, he got into the comic book business. He got people to draw stories for him—like John Romita—and put his own name on them. [laughs] That was Les! In my second year at the school, I met Chic Stone— right before he went into the Army. He was helping a friend of mine. I wrote to Chic while he was overseas, and made little drawings on my letters. He’d correct them and send them back to me.

JA: What were you guys like in school? SQUEGLIO: Well, we were clannish; we always had lunch together. We were all clean-cut guys. We were never rowdy. John worked on the school newspaper. Sy Barry is one of the most wonderful guys you’d ever want to know. So is Al Scaduto, who’s the wildest of the bunch. He is so witty that you can’t sit across from him when you’re eating. I tried to do that and got sprayed every time. [laughter] Al did a strip for the school paper, and you know, that guy never changed. He was always fun to be with. Joe Giella was always a very quiet, deep thinker; a generous, wonderful guy. I was recently in the hospital and they came up regularly to see me. We all get together for lunch and at cartoon meetings. We used to have snowball fights in school—and I mean inside the school. One time, we had such a big snowball fight that snow covered the ceilings and walls and floors. When the teacher came in, we just sat down like angels and acted like nothing had happened. In the meantime, these snowballs were sliding off the walls. The teacher looked around and thought we were crazy. Another time, in puppet class, our teacher, Jerome Magon... he was a short guy. He looked just like Dr. Sivana. [mutual laughter] We drove

“We Have a Problem Right Now with the Comic Department” SQUEGLIO: [cont’d] A month after I graduated from school in 1947, Chic called me up. He was home from the service by this time. Chic asked if I was interested in a job, and told me that there was an opening at Fawcett Publications. He said, “Although I’m a little teed off at them for not giving me my job back, it might be a good start for you.” Before Chic went into the Army, he was told his job would be waiting for him when he returned. But when he came back, Fawcett was mainly using freelancers. Chic demanded that they give him his job back, but it wasn’t there anymore. He was very angry about it. Anyway, I took his advice, went up there, and made an appointment to see the art director, Al Allard. He said, “We have a problem right now with the comic department. They got wind of the court case.” Fawcett was being sued by DC over Captain Marvel. Allard said, “I don’t know how long we’re going to last.” Al Allard was a wonderful man—very honest and fair. He said, “You can have a job if you’d like,” so I took the job. I’ll tell you, Jim, the

Alter Ego #41