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CAPTAIN MARVEL headlines a Christmas FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) Fantasmagoria starring C.C. BECK, OTTO BINDER, MARC SWAYZE—and the FAWCETT FAMILY (presented by P.C. HAMERLINCK)! Plus: Comic book/strip star artist DAN BARRY profiled, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more! Cover by C.C. BECK!

GERRY CONWAY interviewed about his work as star Marvel/DC writer in the early ‘70s (from the creation of The Punisher to the death of Gwen Stacy) with art by ROMITA, COLAN, KANE, PLOOG, BUSCEMA, MORROW, TUSKA, ADAMS, SEKOWSKY, the SEVERINS, and others! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more!

75 YEARS of THE FLASH and GREEN LANTERN (a crossover with BACK ISSUE #80)! INFANTINO, KANE, KUBERT, ELIAS, LAMPERT, HIBBARD, NODELL, HASEN, TOTH, REINMAN, SEKOWSKY, Golden Age JSA and Dr. Mid-Nite artist ARTHUR PEDDY’s stepson interviewed, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more!

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Gentleman JIM MOONEY gets a featurelength spotlight, in an in-depth interview conducted by DR. JEFF McLAUGHLIN— never before published! Featuring plenty of rare and unseen MOONEY ART from Batman & Robin, Supergirl, Spider-Man, Legion of Super-Heroes, Tommy Tomorrow, and others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

Celebrates SOL BRODSKY—Fantastic Four #3-4 inker, logo designer, and early Marvel production manager! With tributes by daughter and Marvel colorist JANNA PARKER, STAN LEE, HERB TRIMPE, STAN GOLDBERG, DAVID ANTHONY KRAFT, TONY ISABELLA, ROY THOMAS, and others! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover portrait by JOHN ROMITA!

LEN WEIN (writer/co-creator of Swamp Thing, Human Target, and Wolverine) talks about his early days in comics at DC and Marvel! Art by WRIGHTSON, INFANTINO, TRIMPE, DILLON, CARDY, APARO, THORNE, MOONEY, and others! Plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MR. MONSTER’s Comic Crypt, the Comics Code, and DAN BARRY! Cover by DICK GIORDANO with BERNIE WRIGHTSON!

BONUS 100-PAGE issue as ROY THOMAS talks to JIM AMASH about celebrating his 50th year in comics—and especially about the ‘90s at Marvel! Art by TRIMPE, GUICE, RYAN, ROSS, BUCKLER, HOOVER, KAYANAN, BUSCEMA, CHAN, VALENTINO, and others! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER’s Comic Crypt, AMY KISTE NYBERG on the Comics Code, and a cover caricature of Roy by MARIE SEVERIN!

Incredible interview with JIM SHOOTER, which chronicles the first decade of his career (Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman, Supergirl, Captain Action) with art by CURT SWAN, WALLY WOOD, GIL KANE, GEORGE PAPP, JIM MOONEY, PETE COSTANZA, WIN MORTIMER, WAYNE BORING, AL PLASTINO, et al.! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover art by CURT SWAN!

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Science-fiction great (and erstwhile comics writer) HARLAN ELLISON talks about Captain Marvel and The Monster Society of Evil! Also, Captain Marvel artist/ co-creator C.C. BECK writes about the infamous Superman-Captain Marvel lawsuit of the 1940s and ‘50s in a double-size FCA section! Plus two titanic tributes to Golden Age artist FRED KIDA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

JIM AMASH interviews ROY THOMAS about his 1990s work on Conan, the stillborn Marvel/Excelsior line launched by STAN LEE, writing for Cross Plains, Topps, DC, and others! Art by KAYANAN, BUSCEMA, MAROTO, GIORDANO, ST. AUBIN, DITKO, SIMONSON, MIGNOLA, LARK, KIRBY, CORBEN, SALE, SCHULTZ, LIGHTLE, McKEEVER, BENDIS, and more! Cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN!

Golden Age great IRWIN HASEN spotlight, adapted from DAN MAKARA’s film documentary on Hasen, the 1940s artist of the Justice Society, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Wildcat, Cat-Man, and numerous other classic heroes—and, for 30 years, the artist of the famous DONDI newspaper strip! Bonus art by his buddies JOE KUBERT, ALEX TOTH, CARMINE INFANTINO, and SHELLY MAYER!

From Detroit to Deathlok, we cover the career of artist RICH BUCKLER: Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Black Panther, Ka-Zar, Dracula, Morbius, a zillion Marvel covers— Batman, Hawkman, and other DC stars— Creepy and Eerie horror—and that’s just in the first half of the 1970s! Plus Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, FCA, and comics expert HAMES WARE on fabulous Golden Age artist RAFAEL ASTARITA!

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Vol. 3, No. 54/November 2005 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 Artist Mike Esposito (after Andru & Esposito)

Cover Colorist

Contents Writer/Editorial: “The Triple Pillar Of The World”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Mike Esposito: The DC & Marvel Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Part II of a tintinnabulatin’ talk about Andru, Kanigher, Lee—and Up Your Nose!

“It Wasn’t My Turn To Do Another Showcase”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Tom Ziuko

Lynn Woolley and Robert Kanigher on the creation of the Metal Men.

And Special Thanks to:

Who Created Sgt. Rock? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Heidi Amash Don Mangus Bob Bailey Joe & Nadia Mannarino Pat Bastienne Don Markstein Allen & Roz Bellman David Massengill John Benson Matt Moring Daniel Best Frank Motler Al Bigley Mark Muller Dominic Bongo Paty Doug Bost Ken Quattro Michael Browning John G. Pierce Mike Burkey Ken Pierce Bob Cherry Gene Reed Ernie Colón Jerry Robinson Tom Conroy Herb Rogoff Ray A. Cuthbert Eric Schumacher Teresa R. Davidson David Siegel Tony DeZuniga Robin Snyder Mike Esposito J. David Spurlock Mark Evanier Jim Stanley Michael Feldman Jim Steranko Ed Fields bhob Stewart Creig Flessel Marc Swayze Shane Foley Dann Thomas Dave Fontaine Alex Toth Carl Gafford Michael Uslan Janet Gilbert Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Dick Giordano Pete Von Sholly Stan Goldberg Tom Watkins Matt Gore John Wells Gary Groth Jennifer Hamerlinck Ted White Robert Wiener Jack C. Harris Tom Wimbish Heritage Comics Marv Wolfman Larry Ivie Lynn Woolley Rob Jones Rodrigo M. Zeidan Joe Kubert Rodriguez Zelis Larry Lieber Eddy Zeno Mark Luebker Michael Zeno Glenn MacKay Michele Maki

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

John Albano, Jim Aparo, Sam Kweskin, & Byron Preiss

Robert Kanigher, Bob Haney, Joe Kubert, & Robin Snyder take the Easy (Co.) way out.

Comic Crypt: Focus On John Stanley – Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Michael T. Gilbert takes a second look at the brilliant writer of Little Lulu.

“Paint With Your Pencil”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Alex Toth with advice for aspiring—and professional—artists.

1966: The Year Of The THREE (Or Maybe 2H) New York Comicons – Part II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Bill Schelly on Day Two of the landmark John Benson con.

Tributes to Sam Kweskin, Jim Aparo, John Albano, & Byron Preiss. . . . . 71 re: [comments, corrections, & correspondence] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Rogoff, Uslan, and Bellman write us. Who says the fans should have all the fun?

FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) #113 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 P.C. Hamerlinck spotlights Marc Swayze, Michael Uslan, and Brazil’s Capitão Marvel! About Our Cover: To illustrate the sterling work of the Ross Andru/Mike Esposito team at DC, Marvel, and elsewhere over the past half century, Mike Esposito could’ve re-created any number of fondly-remembered and well-composed covers, featuring Wonder Woman, the Metal Men, Spider-Man, or other characters. But Ye Editor unabashedly prevailed upon his old poker buddy to do a slightly different riff on that of Wonder Woman #108 (Aug. 1959), with the mugs of Ross and Mike replacing that of the original Princess Di on the “Wanted” poster. Incidentally, the original art of this cover—and numerous other commissions—is for sale by Mike, who can be reached at Espo@mightymikeesposito.net; or see his website at: http://mightymikeespo.net/ [Art ©2005 Mike Esposito; Wonder Woman TM & ©2005 DC Comics.] Above: An Andru & Esposito panel from The Amazing Spider-Man #156 (May 1976). [©2005 Marvel Characters, 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: $9 ($11 Canada, $12.00 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.

2 writer/editorial

“The Triple Pillar Of The World” S

ure, the Shakespearean quote above (from Julius Caesar) is a tad hyperbolic when applied to comics creators (or to most triumvirates, come to that), but it seemed like the logical title of this page—just as the way the three-man theme that emerged for this issue of Alter Ego seemed the most natural thing in the world. For the three names seem destined to be intertwined forever, in some thick underbrush of comic book history: Ross Andru—Mike Esposito —Robert Kanigher.

We began, of course, with the second half of Jim Amash’s epic interview with Mike, which would deal in large part (though far from solely) with the years he and partner/penciler Ross Andru spent drawing Wonder Woman, Metal Men, and “The War That Time Forgot” for DC, before they became a bit less of a team first at Marvel, later at DC again, as well. And since Robert Kanigher was both the editor and writer of virtually every one of the stories Ross and Mike drew for the three above series, and for a few other tales as well, we were delighted when Lynn Woolley showed up with notes written by RK himself about the origins of the Metal Men. For good measure, we asked Robin Snyder for permission to reprint material from his excellent monthly magazine The Comics! (née History of Comics, about a decade and a half ago) which

was written by Kanigher—as well as by the late Bob Haney, by Robin as moderator of sorts, and by artist Joe Kubert (who’s long since given us his blessing to print any old material of his that we run across—as long as we don’t ask him to draw anything new on his backbreaking schedule). Maybe Ross and Mike were just as well out of that one, though they did draw other war stories for Kanigher. You’ll find some disagreements in these pages as to who did what, and when, and to whom—but that’s par for the course in any situation that deals with history, and not merely that of lowly comic books. Basically, though, despite a few harsh words exchanged in print a few years back between Kanigher and Haney, two great talents who sadly are no longer with us, we hope you’ll find this issue a celebration of them as well as of Mike Esposito and Ross Andru, and the numerous other collaborators with whom one or the other of that team worked— including Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Carmine Infantino, Julius Schwartz, Gil Kane, John Romita, Barry Smith, the Brothers Buscema, Marie Severin, Gerry Conway, even a Thomas named Roy. Well, every issue can use a bit of comedy relief. Bestest,

COMING IN DECEMBER

Special Fawcett & Christmas Issue!

The Marvel Family, Bulletman, Captain Midnight, & The Men Who Made Them Live (Plus ISIS)! • Full-color flip covers! A fabulous painting of the mighty Marvel Family by ALEX ROSS—and WWII pin-up Veronica Lake as Liberty Belle! • An FCA Special! “A Real-Life MARVEL FAMILY!” JACK & OTTO BINDER— legendary Golden Age artist-and-writer brothers—in a candid self-interview never before published! Plus rare art by C.C. BECK, PETE COSTANZA, BILL WARD, BOB McCAY, KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, MAC RABOY, et al.! • Golden Age artists (& brothers-in-law!) KEN BALD & VIC DOWD—plus colleague BOB BOYAJIAN—all interviewed by JIM AMASH about the years at Fawcett, Quality, and elsewhere! • Special double-size FCA section! Fawcett artists MARC SWAYZE & EMILIO SQUEGLIO—JOANNA PANG of TV’s “Isis” speaks!—Marvel Family Christmas stories—& Brazil’s Capitão Marvel! Comics.] vel Family TM & ©2005 DC [Art ©2005 Alex Ross; Mar

Edited by ROY THOMAS

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Mike Esposito: The DC & Marvel Years

Part II Of A Tintinnabulatin’ Talk About ANDRU, KANIGHER, LEE–––And Up Your Nose! Interview Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Tom Wimbish

olden/Silver/Bronze Age inker Mike Esposito has had primarily a two-pronged career—as half of the longrunning team of Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, and as an inker (and, in the early days, penciler) on his own. Last issue dealt with Mike’s early years in the comics field, how he and Andru teamed up in the postwar 1940s—and even briefly became, in the pre-Comics Code 1950s, publishers with their own companies, Mikeross (also sometimes spelled MikeRoss), and Mister Publications, with such titles as Mister Mystery, Mister Universe, 3-D Romance, 3-D Love— and Get Lost, which resulted in their being sued by EC as an imitation of the fourcolor Mad! During this long period they also drew for Timely/Marvel, Ziff-Davis, Standard— you name it. At the end of Part I, Mike related how he and Ross first began doing work for DC Comics, the company with

Four On The Floor— And Amid The Skyscrapers (Top left:) “Mighty Mike” Esposito at work at Marvel, 1975. Courtesy of the artist. (Left:) A late Andru & Esposito teaming at DC—the first page of the lead story in The Flash #182 (Sept. 1968); with script by another Silver Age legend, John Broome. Thanks to Carl Gafford. [©2005 DC Comics.] (Top right:) Marvel reprinted Andru & Esposito’s Amazing Spider-Man #141 (Feb. 1975) in the 1995 trade paperback Spider-Man: Clone Genesis. [©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.] (Above:) This rare photo of Rapturous Ross Andru appeared in Marvel’s FOOM Magazine #15 (Sept. 1976). [©2005 the respective copyright holders.]

Andru, Kanigher, Lee–––& Up Your Nose!

JA: I know how Kanigher treated some people; he was brutal to Mort Meskin. ESPOSITO: Oh, he ruined Mort. He almost gave him a nervous breakdown. [Meskin had already suffered one such breakdown. –Jim.] One day, I was coming into the office as Mort was leaving, and he was holding a package of drawings under his arm. He had a frozen look on his face. I opened the door for him and said, “Hey, Mort,” and he was just staring. I said, “Are you all right?” He kept right on staring. I put my arm around his shoulder and said, “Come on, Mort. Relax. Everything’s all right. Things are going to be fine.” It was like he was on drugs; his eyes were frozen as if he’d been on heavy tranquilizers. That’s when I realized that he’d probably had a nervous breakdown, though not at that very moment. He seemed like such a nice guy. Ross was very upset with Kanigher for being that way. Years later when Kanigher had his nervous breakdown, I felt sorry for him; I shook his hand and asked how he was feeling. Ross said, “What’re you doing?” I said, “I’m sorry, Ross, but I can’t carry my anger to this stage, where I’m feeling well and he’s feeling terribly.” Ross felt that Bob’s mistreatment of freelancers and tight deadlines were unjust, but that was just Bob’s style. He didn’t mean it. He was like General Patton. [Mike wordlessly imitates George C. Scott’s growling for several seconds.]

The Kanigher Touch The caricature at right of DC editor & writer Robert Kanigher appeared (first?) in conjunction with an RK interview in The Comics Journal #86 (Nov. 1983), and was drawn by Ernie Colón. With thanks to Ernie, Gary Groth, and Fantagraphics. See RK photo on p. 41. [©2005 Ernie Colón.] (Above:) This Andru-&-Esposito-drawn “Suicide Squad” page from The Brave and the Bold #26 (Oct.-Nov. 1959) has all of RK’s trademark flourishes, including multiple-panel sequences in the top and bottom tiers. Whether or not he was the “first” to employ such cinematic techniques in comic books as he and others often claimed, he was definitely an early and prolific (and skillful) user of same. Thanks to John Wells. [©2005 DC Comics.]

which the Andru-Esposito team is forever associated in the minds of many comic aficionados. This issue focuses on their DC work during the 1950s and beyond—and on their later work (both separately and together) at Marvel and occasionally elsewhere.

“Kanigher Was Our Man” JA: When you went back to DC, you worked strictly for Kanigher, right? ESPOSITO: Kanigher was our man. If I liked him at the time, it was only for fear of not liking him. I was so afraid of losing the jobs we had that I wouldn’t do anything to disturb his temper or his mood. Once, Ross and I made the mistake of going to Howard’s Clothing Store and buying matching suits. So we walked into DC wearing the same outfit. [chuckles] Bob Kanigher looked over and said, “What’re you two, the Bobbsey Twins?” So we got a reputation: it was like we were Siamese twins; we were glued together.

He was tough on the workers, but not on everybody; he was a great man to his friends. He was very close with Irv Novick. Later on, he mellowed, but I’m sorry to say he wasn’t always like that. After his nervous breakdown, I wrote some nice things about him in a magazine. He wrote an article for another magazine in which he said, “Thank you, Mike. I wish my family could hear you say that.” I said nothing but complimentary things about him. I praised him for his genius work on Metal Men, and the way he handled Wonder Woman. He was a brilliant writer for comics, and I can’t help but appreciate that he gave me a chance to develop what I do today. I respected him for what he gave me and what he gave Ross. Ross didn’t; he had his own feelings. I’ve always had nice things to say about Bob, because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be as good as I have become. I meant it; he may have been tough, but he made me work. He made me not hack. He made me worry about the quality of what I was doing, and even if it wasn’t up to other people’s standards, he made me believe that I had done the best I could. He didn’t have to do that to Ross, because Ross was damned good, and he knew what he was doing. Bob was responsible for helping Ross and myself to develop as we did, whether Ross believed it or not. He knew we were a team. He said to Ross, “Think of this as a TV screen. It’s not a giant movie screen. Get close; get in there on the faces, and then put those other things behind it.” Ross got a little better at it, as you can see in some of his war and Metal Men stories. Bob thought that Ross was a genius at storytelling. He taught him how to get up close, so that we could read the characters’ expressions. It rubbed off on Ross, whether he would have admitted it or not. We were good to Bob, and Bob was very good to us; he kept us working when other places had no work to offer us. When things got tied up at the office and he had no work for us, he recommended us to other editors. That was unheard-of: each editor had his own stable of artists, and there wasn’t much sharing, but Bob let us do Rip Hunter for Murray Boltinoff.

Mike Esposito: The DC & Marvel Years Bob also recommended me to Jack Miller. When Ross bolted to Marvel, Jack Miller pulled me in to do Swing with Scooter, Inferior Five, and The Maniaks. Finally, he agreed to try Ross out on a romance story. Ross penciled the story and made it really powerful. Jack Miller didn’t like it, but Bob Kanigher said, “You’ve got to admit that it’s dramatic.” It was; Ross saw it as a really dramatic story. It wasn’t pretty; it wasn’t in the Bernie Sachs style, or Bob Oksner’s, with those pretty legs on the women. That wasn’t Ross’ style. Ross was a dramatist, a storyteller, and Bob defended Ross when he heard Jack’s criticism. Eventually, Miller decided that since everybody else was saying it was a good job, it must be. Bob had his moods. Sometimes I’d think, “Gee, what a nice guy he can be.” But then he’d make me feel very uncomfortable. Once I said to him, “Y’know Bob, we’ve never had a vacation.” He said, “You had all of last month off.” I said, “What do you mean? You were away for the whole month, and we were out of work!” He saw that as a vacation. We were biting our fingernails for six weeks while he was skiing in Switzerland. He had said, “Take off, boys. I’m going away.” When Christmas time came, he would tell everybody what he wanted for Christmas. One time he was going skiing, and he wanted something that had to do with skiing. I couldn’t afford to buy it, though. But we always had to buy him Christmas presents. JA: Or else? ESPOSITO: Or else. When we went to Marvel, they said, “We don’t do that here. We don’t buy Christmas presents for the editor.” Big difference. [NOTE: It was never company policy at DC, either. —Jim] There were times when Ross and I would have to pull all-nighters in order to finish a job. When that happened, we’d be so involved in what we were doing that we’d end up sleeping in our clothes. After one of these sessions, I went to Bob Kanigher’s office, tired and beat—my hair wasn’t combed, my clothes were a little wrinkled, my shirt was open at the collar, and I wasn’t wearing a tie. But here I was, feeling like a hero because Ross and I had broken our backs getting this job done on time for Kanigher, and I was thinking I’d at least get some praise for delivering the work under those conditions. Kanigher looked at me and said, “Don’t come in here looking like that. When you come in here, wear a coat and tie.” Thanks for nothin’!

“[Kanigher] Couldn’t Take Any More of Harry G. Peter” JA: How did you and Ross get the Wonder Woman job? ESPOSITO: Kanigher wanted a change. He couldn’t take any more of Harry G. Peter. Peter was always late with his work, and Bob didn’t know how to get rid of him. I was in the office one day, and I heard Kanigher saying very gently to Peter, “Do you like to go fishing? Do you want to keep going fishing?” Peter said, “Yeah, I love to fish,” and Bob said, “Then you’ve got to keep turning the jobs in, to get the money. You can’t be late all the time, unless you want to retire.” This went on for a while, and then one day Bob said to Ross and me, “I think maybe, down the line, you may be able to do Wonder Woman, because I think Peter’s going to retire or be eased out.” We were elated, but Ross was a little frightened by it, because he didn’t think he could draw pretty girls. And he couldn’t, at the time. His work wasn’t pretty like Johnny Romita’s. We got the OK to do it in about 1957. Ross started laying it out and got very upset. I said, “Let me call Johnny Romita and ask him if he’d like to do just the women’s figures and faces.” I only vaguely knew Romita then. Johnny was a couple of years younger than I, and all he was doing at the time was romance stories for DC. I called him at his home, and he wasn’t too keen on the idea. He drew very slowly, and he probably wasn’t too sure of himself. Taking on a lot of responsibility is not too good for a guy who doesn’t draw that quickly. A guy like Mike Sekowsky would say, “Hey, give it to me,” because he’d do one story with his left hand and one with his feet, but Johnny and Ross gave the work so much of their attention that they couldn’t split themselves up and still do good jobs. Ross could never do more than one thing at one time. I think Johnny is the same type of guy. When he does a job, he breaks his back to do it; he gives it all of his attention. When I suggested the Wonder Woman thing to him, he backed off.

So Ross said we would do it on our own. I had a lot of arguments with him about it. Sometimes he drew her eyes too big—they The Wonder-Full Worlds of Robert Kanigher were buggy—but that’s the way Ross wanted To any but the youngest readers, Wonder Woman to draw her. When Ross left DC for Marvel, seemed overcrowded with quasi-clones of herself as Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot—with even Hippolyta Irving Novick drew a couple of issues, and I dubbed “Wonder Queen” for a time, as per the was amazed at how attractive his Wonder A&E cover of WW #124 (Aug. 1961)! The 1961 Alley Award Woman faces were compared to Ross’. He fan-poll named Wonder Woman the “series most in approached it differently. It wasn’t that Ross need of improvement.” [©2005 DC Comics.] We cartoonists were always dealing with couldn’t do it; he saw the attractiveness in deadline problems. We lived for the euphoric other ways: in gestures and movements, in joy of getting a job done under tough conditions and turning it in, so we bending the arms and fingers gracefully. Guys like Novick and Romita could start the vicious cycle anew. The euphoria of doing our job under stamp an attractive look on a character that is undeniably pretty. It such conditions was spoiled by the bucket of ice water named Kanigher. doesn’t look labored; it doesn’t look like they struggled to do it. You don’t even have to be an artist to see it; you just look at it, and it looks JA: Do you know what triggered Kanigher’s breakdown? right. With Ross, it looked good, but it looked labored. It was great when he did The Punisher, but not when he did Wonder Woman. ESPOSITO: It might have just been the old cliché, that he saw himself in the mirror. He was sort-of a run-around, too, a womanizer. That JA: Did Peter retire, or was he forced off the book? could have come down on him; maybe he had problems at home because of it. Who knows? ESPOSITO: He might have been eased out, probably with a pension. I think they gave him a few hundred dollars a month.

Andru, Kanigher, Lee–––& Up Your Nose!

TNT Trio 1960-61; Trigger Twins 1955-57; The Unexpected 1969-70, 1972; War That Time Forgot 1961-65; War Words 1958; Wonder Girl 1959-65; Wonder Tot 1961; Wonder Woman 1958-68, Wonder Woman Family 1961; Young Love 1967 Fawcett Publications/Fawcett Comics: romance or Westerns c. 1950 (through Rinaldo Epworth) Fox Comics: crime (a) 1959; Outlaw Women (p/i) 1949 Harwell Publications/Hardy Comics/Comic Media: Danger c. 1953-54; Death Valley c. 1954; Weird Terror c. 1953-54 Hillman Periodicals: cars 1952; crime 1951-53; horror 1951, 1953-55, romance 1952; war 1952; Western 1951 I.W./Super Comics: covers 1960s Klevart Enterprises: Up Your Nose (and Out Your Ear) 1972 Lev Gleason/Comic House & precursors: Crime Does Not Pay (p/i) 1950; fillers (p/i) 1950; romance (p/i) – on staff a few months Major Magazines & related: Cracked c. 1987 Marvel/Timely & related: Annie Oakley 1955-56; Ant-Man 1972; Apache Kid 1955; Arrgh! (1970s reprints from Get Lost & Up Your Nose); Astonishing 1955-56; Aunt May and Franklin Richards 1984; The Avengers 1966, 1969, 1973-74, 1976, 1979-88; Battle 1955-56; Battlefront 1954, 1956; Battleground 1955; The Beast 1973; The Brothers Link 1971; Captain America 1975, 1978; Captain Marvel 1976; The Champions 1975, 1977; Chuck Norris 1975, 1977; Combat Kelly 1972; covers 1966-82; Cowboy Action 1955; The Defenders 1975-75, 1979-80, 1982; Dr. Doom 1971; Dr. Strange 1973; Dracula Lives! 1974; Fantastic Four 1975, 1980; fillers (w) 1974; Frankenstein 1974; Frontier Western 1956-57; G.I. Joe 1982, 1985; Gabriel 1974; Ghost Rider 1975, 1980-81; Girl Comics 1951; Guardians of the Galaxy 1969; Gunsmoke Western 1955, 1960; Haunt of Horror 1974; Hulk 1965, 1971-72, 197780; Hulk & Ka-Zar 1981; Hulk, Luke Cage, & Iron Fist 1980-81; Human Fly 1978; Human Torch 1965; Human Torch & Hulk 1974; Human Torch and Iceman 1974; Inhumans 1976; Iron Man 1965, 196971, 1973-74, 1977-78, 1982; Journey into Mystery 1955-56, Journey into Unknown Worlds 1955, 1957; Justice Comics 1955; Ka-Zar 1974, 1976; Kid Colt Outlaw 1960; Luke Cage & Iron Fist 1981, 1986; Luke Cage & Son of Satan 1982; Marvel Tales 1955; Master of Kung Fu 1974-77; Men’s Adventures (a) 1951; miscellaneous 1949 over Ed Winiarski – genre unknown; Moon Knight 1978; Mystery Tales 1955-57; Mystic 1953, 1956; Navy Action 1955-56; Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD 1966, Night Rider 1980; Not Brand Echh 1967; Nova 1979; Omega the Unknown 1977; Pecos Kid 1960s; Planet of the Apes 1974-75; QuickTrigger Western 1957; Rawhide Kid 1960; Rick Davis 1955; Rock Murdock 1955-57; Rom 1982; Sailor Sweeney 1956; Sandman 1990; Secret Wars 1984; The Sectaurs 1986; Sgt. Fury 1972; Skull the Slayer 1976; Son of Satan 1974; Sons of the Tiger 1975; Spider-Man 1966-68, 1970-84, 1987; S-M & Ant-Man 1981; S-M & Beast 1975, 1982; S-M & Black Panther 1974; S-M & Black Widow 1984; S-M & Cannonball 1985; S-M & Captain America 1976, 1981, 1983; S-M & Captain Marvel 1984; S-M & Daredevil 1982, 1984; S-M & Dazzler 1981; S-M & Deathlok 1976; S-M & Devil-slayer 1981; S-M & Doc Samson 1981; S-M & Dr. Doom 1976; S-M & Dr. Strange 1976; S-M & Dominic Fortune 1982; S-M & The Falcon 1982; S-M & Fantastic Four 1983; S-M & FrogMan 1982; S-M & Gargoyle 1982: S-M & Hulk 1977; S-M & Human Torch 1972, 1975, 1982, 1984; S-M & Iron Man 1976, 1981, 1984; S-M & Jack of Hearts 1983; S-M & Killraven 1976; S-M & King Kull 1981; S-M & Kitty Pryde 1983; S-M & Machine Man 1980; S-M & Man-Thing 1982; S-M & Mr. Fantastic 1974, 1983; S-M & Moon Knight 1984; S-M & Moondragon 1976; S-M & Nick Fury 1984; S-M & Nighthawk 1981; S-M & Nomad 1984; S-M & Paladin 1981; S-M & Professor X 1982; SM & Quasar 1982; S-M & Sandman 1984; S-M & Scarlet Witch 1976,

Doc Ock Makes A House Call Just for kicks, we’ll end this in-depth interview and chock-full checklist with an Andru & Esposito-drawn page from The Amazing Spider-Man #156 (May 1976), as scripted by Len Wein. No Spider-Man… not even the SpiderMobile… just adorable Aunt May and her sometime paramour, Dr. Octopus. Ain’t love grand? [©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

1983; S-M & She-Hulk 1981; S-M and Shroud 1980; S-M & Sons of the Tiger 1975; S-M & Starfox 1984; S-M & Thing 1973; S-M & Thor 1982, 1984; S-M & Tigra 1983; S-M & Valkyrie 1982; S-M & The Vision 1972, 1976, 1983; S-M & The Watcher 1983; S-M & Wolverine 1982; S-M & Wonder Man 1983; S-M & X-Men 1976, 1985; S-M, Moon Knight, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, & Daredevil 1981; Spider-Woman 1979-80; Spitfire 1987; Strange Tales of the Unusual 1956; Sub-Mariner 1969-72, 1980; Tales of the Zombie 1974; Thing & Captain Marvel 1978; Thing & Dr. Strange 1974; Thing & Ghost Rider 1975; Thing & Human Torch 1965; Thing & Spider-Man 1976; Thing & Valkyrie 1975; Thing, Avengers, Hulk, Doc Samson, Fantastic Four, Thor, Alpha Flight, & X-Men 1982; Thor 1974; Tower of Shadows 1970; The Transformers 1985; Two-Gun Kid 1966; Two-Gun Western 1956; U.S. 1 1983; Uncanny Tales 1956; Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction 1975; War Comics 1955-56; Western Gunfighters 1956; Western Outlaws 1955-57; Westerns (p) 1949 – no specifics; What If Avengers 1982; What If Captain America 1981, 1983; What If Hulk 1980; What If Sharon Carter 1983; What If Spider-Man 1980; What If Spider-Woman 1979; What If Wolverine 1982; What If Yellowjacket 1982; Wild Western 1955-56; Worlds Unknown 1973; X-Men 1969, 1987 MikeRoss Comics: crime 1954; Get Lost 1954; 3-D Love 1954; 3-D Romance 1954 Skywald Publishing Company: The Bravados 1971; Butch Cassidy 1971; The Butterfly 1971; covers 1971; Hell-Rider 1971; The Wild Bunch 1971 Stanmore/Timor & related: covers 1951052 Star Publications: Western (p) 1954 Toby/Minoan: one story about chess characters (a) c. 1952 Tower Comics: Menthor 1965 Ziff-Davis: Famous Stars 1951; G.I. Joe 1951; romance 1951; sciencefantasy 1951; Western 1951; Wild Boy 1951

“It Wasn’t My Turn To Do Another Showcase” But That Didn’t Stop ROBERT KANIGHER From Dreaming Up The Metal Men! by Lynn Woolley (with documents by RK)

ntroduction: The Fantastic Four, flagship of what would soon be Marvel Comics, was less than half a year old when DC writer/editor Robert Kanigher (1915-2002) conceived “The Metal Men” for Showcase #37 (March-April 1962). Naturally, if anyone had ever dared suggest in his presence that his new series was a response to (let alone a “copy” of) the F.F., that might have led to the first anecdote of a comic book editor throwing somebody else out a window! In 1977, Lynn Wooley, the author of several books on comics, sent a letter to “RK,” as he liked to sign himself, positing several questions about the offbeat series. Lynn’s precise questions do not survive, but Kanigher’s answers do, on DC stationery—and Lynn’s queries can easily be deduced. Thus, we’ve chosen to lead off Lynn’s article, written some years back for an issue of Amazing World of DC Comics but never published till now, but never published till now, with a reproduction of the editor’s actual 2-page note. Oh, and of course, by A/E’s definition, RK was actually the co-creator of The Metal Men, along with artists Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, but why quibble? —Roy.

Robert Kanigher—photo printed in The Comics Journal #86 (Nov. 1983). Thanks to Gary Groth.

Heavy Metal (Top left:) The splash page of Showcase #37 (March-April 1962)— the debut of the “Metal Men” feature, credits and all—as seen in the Australian black-&-white reprint comic Giant Flash Album #10, which also contained most of The Flash #214. Thanks to Eric Schumacher— who’s not even Australian! [©2005 DC Comics.] (Left & above:) This two-page letter from Kanigher to Lynn Woolley, on the stationery of the company then known (and trading on the New York Stock Market) as National Periodical Publications, speaks for itself.

How Robert Kanigher Dreamed Up The Metal Men That brings us to the part of the article reserved for supporting characters. There’s just one problem: in a book with seven lead characters, there’s not much need (or room) for a supporting cast. But finally, in issue #13, a real live (well, not really live) supporting character came along. It happened because Tin couldn’t find anything to do. He sees Mercury busily admiring himself in a mirror, Tina oozing after Doc, Gold giving a chemistry lesson to Lead, and Iron doing strongman exercises. So what would you do in such a predicament? That’s right. You’d go to a toy store and buy a do-it-yourself robot kit, and make a companion for yourself. That’s just what Tin did. He charged the kit to Doc’s account (at a toy store?), borrowed a spare responsometer, and came up with—ta da—another tin robot. The new female metal-person was even more humble than Tin, but soon fit into the team as a regular cast-member. That same issue launched a massive reader campaign to select a name for the new Tin-Lizzie. Over the next several issues, she was called simply “nameless.” (Does anyone remember if she ever got a name?)

Artists and Modules Ross and Mike weren’t the only artists to draw the “Metal Men” series. (Above:) The six mighty metalloids prepare to receive human identities from a “Mr. Conan” in a page penciled by Mike Sekowsky for Metal Men #37 (April-May 1969). Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of Gene Reed. (Well, actually, Mike did ink this story.) (Top right:) In the Sept. 1966 Brave and Bold, Doc Magnus’ elemental everymen teamed up with the Silver Age Atom. Cover art by Ramona Fradon & Charles Paris. [Both pages ©2005 DC Comics.]

The robot-menace theme continued in issue #6, but oh, what a difference. In that epic issue, Magnus was transformed into a robot himself due to an accident in outer space—an accident that turned him against the Metal Men. After being locked up in his lab by Gold, the Magnus-turned-robot-fighter constructed a new gang of robots, representing not metals, but gasses. They were labeled The Gas Gang: Oxygen, Helium, Chloroform, Carbon Monoxide, and Carbon Dioxide. What a fight to the finish before the Metal Men finally won the battle and restored Doc Magnus to humanity! The Gas Gang (from the nickname of the 1930s Cardinals baseball team, “The Gashouse Gang”) proved popular enough for a return engagement issue #10. Other than robot menaces and dependable old Chemo, the theme most prevalent in those early issues was problems within the ranks. Who could forget the cover of issue #4, with the Metal Men in the shape of a gun—each hero forming a different part of the firearm—pointed at Doc Magnus?

Metal Men was a comic that strained one’s “willing suspension of disbelief” almost to the breaking point, but in the midst of all that fancy was quite a bit of fact. For instance, the Metals were always spouting off about unique properties, their melting points, their atomic numbers, and so on. And if that wasn’t enough, most issues contained a page or two of text information on metals, with some issues even sporting a two-page spread done in comics form called “Metals: Fact and Fancy.” As one reader put it in an early letter column: “What a painless way to study chemistry.”

Who Created Sgt. Rock? ROBERT KANIGHER, BOB HANEY, JOE KUBERT, & ROBIN SNYDER All Give Their Own Answers To That Question

gt. Rock of Easy Company is (pun intended) easily the most successful war-comics hero of all time, beating out Marvel’s Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos and Combat Kelly and even the original G.I. Joe from Ziff-Davis. Over his long career, which hasn’t totally ended even yet, Rock has spouted words and bullets devised by several writers (particularly Robert Kanigher and Bob Haney) and artists (most notably Joe Kubert and Russ Heath, but also several others). The series lives on, with no less than three hardcover DC Archives volumes to date—as many as there are of the 1960s Flash, the veritable harbinger of the Silver Age! But who created this crag-faced classic character? In the early 1990s, onetime pro writer and editor Robin Snyder asked that question in the very first issue of his monthly oral-history magazine History of Comics (now renamed The Comics!)… thereby willingly poking his finger into a veritable hornet’s nest. With Robin’s blessing, and with minimal editing, what follows is the initial posing of the query… and the impassioned answers from Those Who Were There. All comments are ©2005 by those who originally made them. The first three entries are all from the same first issue of History of Comics; other comments are identified where they appear. —Roy.

Like A Rock Sgt Rock barks a command in a powerful full-page drawing by Joe Kubert—which was almost certainly scripted by Robert Kanigher. But holding off the German Army was a breeze, compared to trying to get a consensus on “Who Created Rock?” Repro’d from a black-&-white Australian comic, with thanks to Shane Foley. [©2005 DC Comics.]

(from History of Comics, Vol. 1, #1 – Jan. 1990)

Who Created Rock? by Robin Snyder A simple enough question. But what’s the answer? Comics historian Will Murray, in “Pieces of Rock” [Comics Scene, Dec. 1989], says: “Rock… was created by writer Robert Kanigher and artists Ross Andru and Mike Esposito for Our Army at War in 1959.” [What does he mean by “created”? Is he implying all three men originated the idea, each contributing onethird of the whole? Including Esposito, who, one could assume, simply inked Andru’s pencil drawings? Which issue is he referring to?] Mike Gold, in “The Rock of Easy” [Sgt. Rock Special #5, Sept. 1989], says the first story was “The Rock of Easy Company” [Our Army at War #81, April 1959] and that it was not written by Kanigher.

Rockin’ Robin (Left:) Robin Snyder’s monthly “oral history of the past, present, and future of The Comics” has gone by a couple of names since its 1990 debut as History of Comics—but it’s always been worth any real comics fan’s dime. (Well, actually, he has to charge a bit more than that for it—see ad on p. 53—but it’s still a bargain!) The mag’s logo drawing is by the great Creig Flessel, who was interviewed in Alter Ego #45. [Art ©2005 Creig Flessel.] (Above:) “The Rock of Easy Co.!” in Our Army at War #81 (April 1959) was written by Bob Haney—and drawn by a couple of artists whose names you may have run across earlier this issue: Ross Andru & Mike Esposito. The editor, of course, was Bob Kanigher. This became the second story printed in DC’s deluxe hardcover Sgt. Rock Archives, Vol. 1—preceded only by “The Rock,” of which more in a moment. [©2005 DC Comics.]

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A Comic Fandom Archive Special Multi-Part Series...

1966: The Year Of THREE (Or Maybe 2H)New York Comicons! by Bill Schelly

Part 2: The 1966 New York “Benson” Con - Continued

“May I Have Your Autograph?” (Above:) A page of signatures collected at the 1966 Benson con by one comics fan (whose name, alas, escapes us at the moment)—surrounded by examples of work those pros were doing at the time or had done previously. [On this and facing page:] Jim Steranko began drawing for Marvel only at about this time. His first “S.H.I.E.L.D.” art, with pencils & inks over Kirby layouts, would hit the newsstands that fall, in Strange Tales #151 (Dec. 1966). [©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Otto O. Binder, until recently, had been writing for Mort Weisinger’s “Superman” line, but attended the con mostly to talk about his glory days (1941-53) on Fawcett’s titles. This Binder-scribed splash drawn by artists C.C. Beck and Pete Costanza is from Captain Marvel Adventures #144 (May 1953). [©2005 DC Comics.] Len Brown, a young Topps Chewing Gum exec, had scripted the first two “Dynamo” stories for Tower’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, leading artist/editor Wally Wood to name the hero’s alter ego after him. Dynamo had been created as Thunderbolt, but Len’s name for his foe in issue #2 (Jan. 1966) became the hero’s name instead, with the villain redubbed Dynavac. Repro’d from DC’s hardcover T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives, Vol. 1. [©2005 John Carbonaro.] Larry Ivie, along with a bit of work for Tower, had scripted the “Human Torch/Thing” offering in Strange Tales #132 (May ’65). [©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Jack Binder had drawn (and even headed a comics studio) for Fawcett in the early 1940s. This tale from Mary Marvel #18 (Nov. 1947), probably scripted by his brother Otto, was recently reprinted—in full color!—in Mike Bromberg’s Mary Marvel Fanzine #3. All three issues are available at <www.designbymike.com/fanzines>. Check ’em out, okay? (BTW, the next issue of A/E features a 1970s self-interview (with photos) by Jack and Otto. Check that out, too! Roy Thomas had begun writing and editing for Marvel the previous summer; his fifth X-Men issue (#24, Sept. 1966) came out around the time of the con. It’s currently on view in both Essential Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1 and the hardcover Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men Nos. 22-31 (color). Collect ’em all! [©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Gil Kane, co-creator of the Silver Age Green Lantern and Atom, penciled this splash for The Atom #9 (Oct.-Nov. 1963); it’s repro’d from a black-&-white Australian reprint comic, sent by Mark Muller. [©2005 DC Comics.] Sal Trapani drew these studies of actor Patrick McGoohan while doing research for Dell’s 1961 Danger Man comic. Courtesy of Ray A. Cuthbert. [©2005 Estate of Sal Trapani.] Rocke Mastroserio, though he usually did full artwork (see last issue), also inked some of Steve Ditko’s Captain Atom—including #82 (Sept. 1966), on sale around the time of the Benson con and featuring a script by rival 1966 con-host Dave Kaler. For more, see DC’s Action Heroes Archives – Captain Atom, Vol. 1. [©2005 DC Comics.]

1966: The Year Of Three (Or Maybe 2H) New York Comicons

ast issue, we discussed the fact that, after a small initial comics convention in 1964 and David Kaler’s somewhat larger “Academy Con” in 1965, the year 1966 was destined to see no less than three cons in New York City—a “mini-con” sponsored by Calvin Beck’s Castle of Frankenstein magazine early in the year (the “H” of our title), followed by no less than two full-scale comicons in Manhattan, only three weeks apart, organized by John Benson (July) and Dave Kaler (August)... with a perhaps unavoidable touch of acrimony between them. Because we have more information (including photos, albeit relatively few) about Benson’s event, we’re covering it first, with the Beck and Kaler cons to follow over the next few issues. But don’t expect to be inundated by only fannish doings… because all three cons had pro guests on hand, and from the Benson con we have audio tapes of several of the speeches and panels.

In A/E #53, we covered Day One of the latter convention, spotlighting Jack Kirby’s keynote speech (a full transcription of which appeared in The Jack Kirby Collector #43), a discussion between journalist Don Thompson and Comics Code acting administrator

Leonard Darvin about comics censorship, and a Ted White/Archie Goodwin/bhob Stewart panel about the so-called “Forgotten ’50s,” particularly EC Comics—with the latter two events scheduled for the full treatment over the course of our next few issues. That first day ended with a Pro Reception/Party by invitation only, and a film program hosted by old-movie expert Chris Steinbrunner. And now…

Comicon: Day Two “The Fabulous ’40s” Sunday, July 24, began the same way as Day One, with the doors opening at 10:00 a.m., and no formal programming to compete with the dealers—in this case, until 12:15 p.m. (according to the program). All these times must be taken with a grain of salt, because they are coming from the comicon agenda. But, among his other outstanding qualities, John Benson is known for being well-organized, and it’s a safe bet events

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79 of course, took place during the noon hours ... and mostly after five ... over beers. There may be a tendency here to exaggerate that drinking bit. We drank ... but didn’t just about everybody? Ever notice in the old movies of that era? Any time your favorite star, male or female, made an appearance, one hand held a cigarette, the other a highball! On the subject, this needs to be said: in the lifetime that I knew Rod Reed, I never once saw him intoxicated. Because I was always intoxicated first? No. That was Jess Benton’s little joke. Not true.

[FCA EDITORS NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was a top artist for Fawcett Publications. 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” (Captain Marvel Adventures #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. This issue, he takes us back to the time he and writer/editor Rod Reed formed the Fawcett baseball team. —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

I never saw any booze around the Fawcett offices, either. Except ... at the parties ... and there weren’t all that many of those ... one or two, that I recall. Several times during the years of our friendship Rod and I attempted to collaborate ... always on original comic strips ... and always, for whatever reason, without success. One joint effort, though, was a success ... a never-to-be-forgotten one. It came about during one of those after-five beer chats. When the subject got around, as it frequently did, to baseball, the question suddenly popped up, “Why don’t we organize a Fawcett baseball team?!!” No time was wasted listing likely prospects in the comics and art departments. Estimating athletic ability from past bowling bashes and office bragging, we came up with what looked like a formidable squad ... on paper. I think we had held our first victims ... er, opponents ... in mind all day. By the time a game was arranged with the Jack Binder art studio, we were certain we were ... well ... ready for ’em! When we reached our destination one bright Saturday afternoon they were already at the field and obviously feeling “ready for us.” And they were impressive! Big ... tanned ... some of them crunching around in baseball shoes ... with spikes. It looked as though Jack had recruited his artists from the roster of the New York Yankees!

We called them the “Binder Bunch” ... that gang of major league baseball players ... posing as artists ... out in Englewood, New Jersey. Rod Reed has been quoted as having been the first outsider to do a Captain Marvel script after Bill Parker, the super-hero’s originator. Taking “outsider” to mean freelance, as opposed to salaried employee, and possibly more profitable, that’s understandable. In another interview there was a statement by Reed that began: “One day when I was pretty new in the comics department, editor France Herron said ...” Those words shed a bit of light on the affiliation of Rod Reed with Fawcett ... first as independent writer, then as employee with editorial duties. Also suggested is the period ... late ’41 and early ’42, prior to his becoming executive editor of the comics department. That was around the time I got to know him. He and I talked a lot ... about comics ... about music ... and sports ... especially baseball. Turned out we both had laid away boyhood visions of performing in major league stadiums. Such chatter,

“The Binder Bunch” This photo, also printed in Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #3, in conjunction with an interview with Binder shop artist Nat Champlin, shows that studio’s baseball team in 1942. (L. to r., rear:) Bob Boyajian, Dick Ryland, Bill Ward, Wendell Crowley, Kurt Schaffenberger, John Westlake. (L. to r., front:) Bob Butts, Vince Costello, Nat Champlin, Vic Dowd, Ken Bald, Jimmy Potter. The latter, sadly, was killed in action during World War II. Of the photo, Champlin said that he “set the camera on delayed action and jumped back into the picture.” Sure wish we hadn’t lost touch with Ned after that interview!