Issuu

Roy Thomas’ Almighty Comics Fanzine

No.96 August 2010

7.95

‘NUFF SAID?

The MIGHTY CRUSADERS!

In the USA

PLUS:

& MELL MELL LAZARUS LAZARUS &

82658 27763

Edited by ROY THOMAS The greatest ‘zine of the 1960s is back, ALL-NEW, and focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America, featuring the archives of C.C. BECK and recollections by Fawcett artist MARCUS SWAYZE), Michael T. Gilbert’s MR. MONSTER, and more!

2010 EISNER AWARD Nominee Best Comics-Related Periodical

Other issues available, & an ULTIMATE BUNDLE with all issues at HALF-PRICE!

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ALTER EGO #82

ALTER EGO #83

ALTER EGO #84

MLJ ISSUE! Golden Age MLJ index illustrated with vintage images of The Shield, Hangman, Mr. Justice, Black Hood, by IRV NOVICK, JACK COLE, CHARLES BIRO, MORT MESKIN, GIL KANE, & others—behind a marvelous MLJ-heroes cover by BOB McLEOD! Plus interviews with IRV NOVICK and JOE EDWARDS, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

SWORD & SORCERY PART 2! Cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM, in-depth art-filled look at Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian, DC’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Dagar the Invincible, Ironjaw & Wulf, and Arak, Son of Thunder, plus the never-seen Valda the Iron Maiden by TODD McFARLANE! Plus JOE EDWARDS (Part 2), FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

Unseen JIM APARO cover, STEVE SKEATES discusses his early comics work, art & artifacts by ADKINS, APARO, ARAGONÉS, BOYETTE, DITKO, GIORDANO, KANE, KELLER, MORISI, ORLANDO, SEKOWSKY, STONE, THOMAS, WOOD, and the great WARREN SAVIN! Plus writer CHARLES SINCLAIR on his partnership with Batman co-creator BILL FINGER, FCA, and more!

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ALTER EGO #85

ALTER EGO #86

ALTER EGO #87

ALTER EGO #88

ALTER EGO #89

Captain Marvel and Superman’s battles explored (in cosmic space, candy stories, and in court, with art by WALLY WOOD, CURT SWAN, and GIL KANE), an in-depth interview with Golden Age great LILY RENÉE, overview of CENTAUR COMICS (home of BILL EVERETT’s Amazing-Man and others), FCA, MR. MONSTER, new RICH BUCKLER cover, and more!

Spotlighting the Frantic Four-Color MAD WANNABES of 1953-55 that copied HARVEY KURTZMAN’S EC smash (see Captain Marble, Mighty Moose, Drag-ula, Prince Scallion, and more) with art by SIMON & KIRBY, KUBERT & MAURER, ANDRU & ESPOSITO, EVERETT, COLAN, and many others, plus Part 1 of a talk with Golden/ Silver Age artist FRANK BOLLE, and more!

The sensational 1954-1963 saga of Great Britain’s MARVELMAN (decades before he metamorphosed into Miracleman), plus an interview with writer/artist/co-creator MICK ANGLO, and rare Marvelman/ Miracleman work by ALAN DAVIS, ALAN MOORE, a new RICK VEITCH cover, plus FRANK BOLLE, Part 2, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

First-ever in-depth look at National/DC’s founder MAJOR MALCOLM WHEELERNICHOLSON, and early editors WHITNEY ELLSWORTH, VIN SULLIVAN, and MORT WEISINGER, with rare art and artifacts by SIEGEL & SHUSTER, BOB KANE, CREIG FLESSEL, FRED GUARDINEER, GARDNER FOX, SHELDON MOLDOFF, and others, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US (Digital edition) $2.95

HARVEY COMICS’ PRE-CODE HORROR MAGS OF THE 1950s! Interviews with SID JACOBSON, WARREN KREMER, and HOWARD NOSTRAND, plus Harvey artist KEN SELIG talks to JIM AMASH! MR. MONSTER presents the wit and wisdom (and worse) of DR. FREDRIC WERTHAM, plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) with C.C. BECK & MARC SWAYZE, & more! SIMON & KIRBY and NOSTRAND cover!

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ALTER EGO #90

ALTER EGO #91

ALTER EGO #92

ALTER EGO #93

ALTER EGO #94

BIG MARVEL ISSUE! Salutes to legends SINNOTT and AYERS—plus STAN LEE, TUSKA, EVERETT, MARTIN GOODMAN, and others! A look at the “Marvel SuperHeroes” TV animation of 1966! 1940s Timely writer and editor LEON LAZARUS interviewed by JIM AMASH! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, the 1960s fandom creations of STEVE GERBER, and more! JACK KIRBY holiday cover!

FAWCETT FESTIVAL! Big FCA section with Golden Age artists MARC SWAYZE & EMILIO SQUEGLIO, and interviews with the FAWCETT FAMILY! Plus Part II of “The MAD Four-Color Wannabes of the 1950s,” more on DR. LAURETTA BENDER and the teenage creations of STEVE GERBER, artist JACK KATZ spills Golden Age secrets to JIM AMASH, and more! New cover by ORDWAY and SQUEGLIO!

SWORD-AND-SORCERY, PART 3! DC’s Sword of Sorcery by O’NEIL, CHAYKIN, & SIMONSON and Claw by MICHELINIE & CHAN, Hercules by GLANZMAN, Dagar by GLUT & SANTOS, Marvel S&S art by BUSCEMA, KANE, KAYANAN, WRIGHTSON, et al., and JACK KATZ on his classic First Kingdom! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, STEVE GERBER’s fan-creations (part 3), and more! Cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN!

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “EarthTwo—1961 to 1985!” with rare art by INFANTINO, GIL KANE, ANDERSON, DELBO, ANDRU, BUCKLER, APARO, GRANDENETTI, and DILLIN, interview with Golden/Silver Age DC editor GEORGE KASHDAN, plus MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, STEVE GERBER, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), and a new cover by INFANTINO and AMASH!

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “EarthTwo Companion, Part II!” More on the 19631985 series that changed comics forever! The Huntress, Power Girl, Dr. Fate, Freedom Fighters, and more, with art by ADAMS, APARO, AYERS, BUCKLER, GIFFEN, INFANTINO, KANE, NOVICK, SCHAFFENBERGER, SIMONSON, STATON, SWAN, TUSKA, our GEORGE KASHDAN interview Part 2, FCA, and more! STATON & GIORDANO cover!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US (Digital edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • (Digital edition) $2.95

Vol. 3, No. 96 / August 2010 Editor

NOW WITH 16 PAG ES OF COLOR!

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

Editorial Honor Roll Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich

Cover Artist Mike Machlan (after Paul Reinman)

Cover Colorist Tom Ziuko

With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Bob Bailey Mike W. Barr Pat Bastienne Alberto Becattini John Benson Dominic Bongo Jerry K. Boyd Bob Brodsky Frank Brunner Nick Caputo Bill Croskey Michaël Dewally Michael Dunne Mark Evanier J. Fairfax Shane Foley Bob Fujitani Jeff Gelb David George Janet Gilbert Jennifer Hamerlinck Roger Hill Alan Hutchinson Denis Kitchen Mel Keefer Bob Layton Mell Lazarus Jim Ludwig Mike Machlan

Dan Makara Bruce Mason Darrell McNeil Brian K. Morris Lou Mougin Mark Muller Will Murray Rik Offenberger Jake Oster Mrs. Edith Penty John G. Pierce Gene Reed Trina Robbins Ethan Roberts Peggy Rosenberger Steve Rude Buddy Saunders Anthony Snyder Chris Squires Desha Swayze Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Kevin Tomaszewski Michael Vance Chris Ware Brett Weiss Steve Whitaker Gregg Whitmore Eddy Zeno

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Dick Giordano, Jim Mooney, Valerie Barclay, & Bill DuBay

Contents Writer/Editorial: Too Many Super Heroes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Those Mighty, Mighty Crusaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Will Murray chronicles the Rise and Fall—and Rise and Fall and Rise—of Archie’s Silver Age super-hero group.

“Toby Press Was My College” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Artist/writer/editor Mell Lazarus talks to Jim Amash about his 1940s-50s comic book career.

Tributes to Dick Giordano, Bill DuBay, Jim Mooney, Valerie Barclay . . . 55 Comic Crypt: “Super-Man Unmasked!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Michael T. Gilbert & Mr. Monster on Chris Ware’s oddball super-villain.

Comics Fandom Archive: Of Texas Trios, Wars, & Comics Shops. . . . 65 Bill Schelly presents Brett Weiss’ interview with 1960s super-fan Buddy Saunders.

re: [comments & corrections] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America] #155. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Mary Marvel and Marc Swayze—presented and annotated by P.C. Hamerlinck. On Our Cover: Collector Michael Dunne kindly provided us with three tributes by pro artists to Paul Reinman’s cover for The Mighty Crusaders #4 (April 1966)—and we were pleased as perdition to run all three in this issue! The cover spot went to the rendering by Mike Machlan, who among other things was the inker/co-creator of Infinity, Inc. in the 1980s. Our only regret: to leave room for our A/E logo, we had to omit the smallish figure of the hero Fireball from the upper left of the drawing. But you still got plenty of super-heroes for your money—and besides, you can see the missing figure in living black-&-white on p. 20! [Heroes TM & ©2010 Archie Comic Publications, Inc.] Above: And here’s a rare specimen—the vintage (1965-67) Paul Reinman art to a Mighty Crusaders house ad featuring Fly Man, Fly Girl, The Comet, Black Hood, The Shield, Dusty, and The Web. Repro’d from the original art. Thanks to dealer Anthony Snyder, whose ad can be seen on p. 54. [©2010 Archie Comic Publications.] Alter EgoTM is published 8 times a year 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. Eight-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $85 Canada, $107 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. ISSN: 1932-6890 FIRST PRINTING.

writer/editorial

“Too Many Super Heroes”

he above phrase is the title of the most famous/infamous, most archetypal story in the several-year history of Archie Comics’ grandiosely dubbed Mighty Comics Group.

You can read about The Mighty Crusaders #4—and even count the nearly two dozen costumed cut-ups who cascade through its colorsplashed pages (with a couple of the heroes transformed into villains)—on pp. 17-19 of this issue. Of course, as the guy who back in the early ’80s dreamed up DC’s AllStar Squadron, whose 60-plus members dwarfed even the Crusaders’ lineup, I should be the one to talk about “too many super-heroes,” right? But then, I’ve never had any quarrel with the basic concept of a sizable gang of long-underwear characters. It’s all in how you handle them. For my own part: from a sales viewpoint, in my 67-issue series, I probably should’ve focused more than I did on a small core group of heroes—a handful of JSAers plus Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle, Robotman, maybe The Shining Knight, a few of the later “retro” characters. But, for better and/or for worse, I was more interested in creating a visual tapestry than a personality-driven storyline… and in being true to my historybased belief that, during a Second World War in which super-heroes had existed, President Franklin Roosevelt would’ve probably pushed them all to join a single organization responsible directly to him. In the case of the rather briefer 1960s life of The Mighty Crusaders (including their pre-christening antics in the revived Fly Man comic), I suspect writer Jerry Siegel and his superiors were simply trying to develop, almost overnight, an amalgamation of virtually all the superheroes who’d rampaged through the pages of MLJ Comics during the 1940s. The Archie folks probably wanted to catch up fast with Marvel’s two dozen or so key heroes… who of course had been launched one or at most a few at a time over the preceding several years.

Perhaps, apart from any other problems, it was all done a bit too quickly—so that The Mighty Crusaders, surfacing in the turbulent comic book world of the mid-1960s, experienced a four-color equivalent of “the bends,” that dangerous and painful condition suffered by deep-sea divers who come up for air too quickly. Jerry and artist Paul Reinman have taken a lot of lumps from fans over the past nigh half-century. And they take a few more from comics historian Will Murray in the main piece which follows, as reprinted from a 1980s magazine in which he deliberately took a more fannish and less historical approach than is usual for him. So I asked Rik Offenberger, a freelance writer who’s also the public relations coordinator (whatever that means) for Archie Comics to add his own thoughts, which I’ve made a trio of sidebars to Will’s article—and Rik himself brought in a third voice, that of broadcaster, artist, and comics fan Chris Squires, to write about his own enthusiasm for The Fly/Flyman and The Mighty Crusaders. These combined pieces also cover the earlier runs of Adventures of The Fly, The Double Life of Private Strong, Adventures of The Jaguar, and even Archie’s version of The Shadow—the 1959-64 predecessors of the Mighty Comics Group. Together, they—added to Jim Amash’s conversation with Toby Press editor Mell Lazarus (who went on to create two popular, long-running comic strips)—made it impossible for us to include the fourth and final installment of Jim’s extra-long interview with the late DC editor George Kashdan, which we’ll get to (we promise!) in our October issue. Then we’ll be back on track—till the next time! Bestest,

COMING IN OCTOBER

HALCYON HALLOWEEN HOOTENANNY!

THE NON-EC HORROR COMICS OF THE 1950s! • Creepy cover of Simon Garth, Zombie—by WILD BILL EVERETT! • “The Other Guys!” Ominous overview—from Menace to House of Mystery—from Adventures into the Unknown to Tomb of Terror—from Weird Tales to weirder Wertham—with awe-inspiring art by EVERETT • BRIEFER • DITKO • MANEELY • COLAN • MESKIN • MOLDOFF • HEATH • POWELL • COLE • NOSTRAND • SIMON & KIRBY • CAMERON • PALAIS • TUSKA • AVISON • DRAUT • HARRISON • KRIGSTEIN • LAZARUS • FUJITANI, & many another—examined by LAWRENCE WATT-EVANS! • “The Hand of Doom!” An incredible interview with one of horror’s most enduring stars, by GARY BROWN—with art by KIRBY • KANE • BROWN • MOIRERA, et al.! • At last! The phantasmagorical finale of JIM AMASH’s colorful conversations with Golden/Silver Age DC editor/writer GEORGE KASHDAN! • FCA with BECK & SWAYZE—MICHAEL T. GILBERT on “Clowns in the Comics!”—& MORE!! Edited by ROY THOMAS

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Those Mighty, Mighty Crusaders The Rise And Fall— And Rise And Fall And Rise—Of Archie’s 1960s Super-Hero Group by Will Murray

A/E

EDITOR’S INTRO: Will Murray is the author of more than fifty novels, ranging from Doc Savage to Nick Fury, and with artist Steve Ditko created the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. He recently penned a history of Marvel for the Marvel Comics Golden Age Omnibus. He has written widely on the subject of comics for magazines, and in the following article has scribed a distinctly personal look at the Silver Age super-hero comics published by Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

“Too Many Super Heroes!” This article was edited by Will from a piece that That was the highly appropriate name of the book-length story in The Mighty Crusaders #4 (April 1966), originally appeared in the magazine Comic easily the best-known of all the group’s Silver Age tales—so over the past few years collector (& A/E Feature #56-57 (July & July 1987). Will says that, benefactor) Michael Dunne has commissioned several artists to draw their own homages to its multiwhen we discussed reprinting the piece, he was costumed Paul Reinman cover. Mike Machlan’s version appears on the cover of this issue of A/E… that of tempted to rework it more than he did and take out Bob Layton can be seen on p. 17… and here’s a version done in 2007 in black-&-white “wash” by the late great George Tuska, one of the earliest artists of Adventures of The Fly. If this doesn’t put you in the mood the personal approach, but in the end opted against for Mighty Crusaders madness, nothing will! Thanks to Michael D.—and to George, who gave us permission it. Thus, this article remains what it originally was: to use it some time before his recent passing. [Heroes TM & ©2010 Archie Comic Publications, Inc.] an informal, partly historical and partly nostalgic look at Archie’s super-hero output, dealing largely High on my “smattering” list were the unlikely pair of Adventures of with the late 1950s through the 1960s… as an adjunct to our The Fly and Adventures of The Jaguar, products of the Archie Adventure index/study of the 1940s MLJ comics in Alter Ego #82… line, formerly known as MLJ Comics, but for some reason now calling themselves Radio Comics. I bought those two titles for simple reasons: Part I: Radio Comics they were bright, colorful, and most importantly, between 1961 and 1964, they were practically the only super-hero comics not published by DC or When I began collecting comics in the early 1960s, my allowance was a Marvel. mere dollar a week. But comic books were only 12 cents. It was enough to buy all the DCs—my first love—and most of the Marvels. And a They were also relentlessly anonymous. No writer credits were given, smattering of lesser titles from the Charlton, Dell, and ACG lines. and the artist never signed his work—they were just very simple stories of

The Rise And Fall—And Rise And Fall And Rise—Of Archie’s 1960s Super-Hero Group

A Five-Page, Four-Color Phantasmagoria Of Mighty Comics Festivities

All In Color For A Dime—Or 12¢—If You Count Black And White As Colors! (Above:) The published cover of Adventures of The Jaguar #1 (Sept. 1961)—and a pristine black-&-white look at the original art of John Rosenberger’s main splash (with script reportedly by Robert Bernstein). The former was sent by Gregg Whitmore—the latter by Dominic Bongo, courtesy of Heritage Comics Archives. (Left:) The cover of Adventures of The Fly #24 (Feb. 1963) was signed by Rosenberger—but his byline was deleted on the printed cover. Shame on whoever did it! Repro’d from a scan of the original artwork, with thanks to collector and dealer Mike Burkey (www.romitaman.com). [All 3 scans ©2010 Archie Comic Publications, Inc.] NOTE: Adventures of The Fly ran from #1 (Aug. 1959) through #30 (Oct. 1964). Thanks to the Grand Comics Database website.

Those Mighty, Mighty Crusaders

Fly Man And Friends (Counter-clockwise from top left:) Since the cover of the revived and retitled Fly Man #31 had depicted a quartet of heroes, could we have expected that of #32 to do any less? The Reinman drawing has a real early Justice League of America feel. Thanks to Gregg Whitmore for this scan and the next. Siegel & Reinman’s splash page for the bimonthly Fly Man #34 (Nov. 1965) shows an increasingly rare solo outing for The Fly— But as the story gathered steam, not only did his several of his fellow ultra-heroes show up—but they all went to a comics convention, complete with its costume masquerade! This is doubtless one of the earliest con appearances in a pro comic. Score one for Siegel and Reinman! And to Gene Reed, for sending us this scan. [All 3 scans ©2010 Archie Comic Publications, Inc.] NOTE: Fly Man picked up the numbering of Adventures of The Fly with issue #31 (May 1965), and ran through #39 (Sept. 1966)—after which the title was rechristened Mighty Comics from #40 (Nov. 1966) through the final issue, #50 (Oct. 1967). Source: Grand Comics Database.

The Rise And Fall—And Rise And Fall And Rise—Of Archie’s 1960s Super-Hero Group

Adventures of The Fly #2 to Archie Comics to help produce their trade paperback. While Rik and Chris wrote this article together, Rik invited Chris to share a little of his passion with all of you. He writes:

Archie never again published a new story with The Fly. In a move not usually seen in the comics industry, Joe Simon asked Archie Comics to restore the rights for “The Fly” to him. Without a lawsuit or animosity, Archie Comics returned the character (as well as “Lancelot Strong,” the identity of the revived Shield of the late 1950s) and the rights to the first four stories to Simon. (Archie still retains the reprint rights for all published Fly comics except the original four issues, as well as retaining the copyrights to all heroes and villains not featured in the comics produced by Simon.) In 2004, Archie Comics, as “Red Circle Productions,” published a trade paperback of the original Simon & Kirby Fly issues, fully authorized and in cooperation with Joe Simon. Coming full circle, Simon most recently licensed The Fly to French publisher Organic Comix. It produced a “Fly” story featuring Tommy Troy as both The Fly and the original Spiderman. It was the first new “Fly” material in nearly 25 years! To date, Organic Comix has produced two “Fly” features for its quarterly anthology series Strange, Le Journal des Superheroes, with more planned for future issues. Lastly, we would like to share a personal note. As a member of a writing team, each writer tells part of the story. When Roy Thomas approached Rik Offenberger to write this piece on The Fly, Rik immediately involved his colleague at First Comics News, Chris Squires. While Chris professes to love all things related to The Mighty Crusaders, he is more passionate about The Fly. He even loaned a copy of his own

“The Fly is my all-time favorite comic book character. I searched for the comics and was always thrilled when a new issue came out. I still have several issues of Adventures of The Fly that I bought as a child. Adventures of The Fly #27 and #28 were purchased at a small market in Oceanside CA when our family was vacationing there. I found #29 and #30 at liquor stores in Bakersfield (when those establishments used to have massive comic book racks). My original copy of Adventures of The Fly #31 (Fly Man), with the debut of The Mighty Crusaders was picked up at Panorama Market on River Boulevard in Bakersfield. My Mighty Crusaders #1 was bought with pop bottle returns at Thrifty Drug Store in the Hillcrest Shopping Center in East Bakersfield. How many collectors my age (59) know the history of their original books as well as that? It shows how much fondness I have for the comics and how I appreciate all the talents behind them. It wasn’t until years later that I found out The Fly was co-created by Jack Kirby. What a thrill! I remember seeing “The King” at a comic book store in Studio City, California, in the ’80s, and all I could say was “Hi.” I so wanted to tell him how much I enjoyed The Fly.”

Previously Unpublished Art by Frank Brunner

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“Toby Press Was My College” The Comic Book Career Of MELL LAZARUS, Creator Of Miss Peach And Momma Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

ince 1957, Mell Lazarus has tickled our funnybones with his Miss Peach and Momma newspaper comic strips. But few readers know that Mell’s previous job was being the editor at Toby Press, a comic book company which was owned by Al Capp of Li’l Abner fame. Mell oversaw a lot of good comics during the four-plus years he worked there, from the various Li’l Abner spin-offs to John Wayne, The Black Knight, Billy the Kid, and many more. Mell even wrote a satirical novel about his time at Toby, titled The Boss Is Crazy, Too! But, just for us, Mell here takes a more serious look at his time there, for which we thank him. We also appreciate his patience in waiting as long as he has for us to get his interview into print. Thanks go also to Mark Evanier for giving me Mell’s phone number several years ago. —Jim.

“Nobody Had Any Money—Everybody Stayed Home”

MELL LAZARUS: I was born in Brooklyn, New York, during the Great Depression. Literally, socially, there was nothing to do. Nobody had any money—everybody stayed home. When I say “nothing to do,” there was nothing exciting or expensive to occupy our interests, but we had great times. I had a marvelous older sister and parents: intelligent, funny people. I had no toys, so I had to do something . I discovered pencils, and they would take a little extra money, and we had a lot of newspapers in New York at the time. My dad used to buy me the Sunday newspapers every week, which only cost a few pennies each. I read them and copied them, and learned to read before starting school from comics such as The Katzenjammer Kids and Slim Jim. What grabbed me in the first place was the idea that somebody drew these strips. I had no sense of the business of it all, but I knew somebody had to draw them. At the age of five or six, it occurred to me that when you grow up, you have to have something important to do. And drawing newspaper strips was what I wanted to do. JIM AMASH: You were born in ’27, so you were the right age to see comic books when they started coming out. LAZARUS: Yes, but to be honest, they never fascinated me. In terms of comic books, I was more intrigued by the anthology comics— like Famous

Mell Lazarus—From The ’50s To Last Week Mell Lazarus, circa the 1970s—flanked by a half-pager he wrote and drew for a 1950ish issue of Toby Press’ Al Capp’s Li’l Abner comic book, and his Momma newspaper strip for May 11, 2010. Thanks to Mell for the daily, and to Bruce Mason for the photo and “Li’l Yuk-Yuk.” [Momma ©2010 Mell Lazarus; other art ©2010 the respective copyright holders.]

The Comic Book Career Of Mell Lazarus, Creator Of Miss Peach And Momma

Funnies—wherein the syndicates United Features or King Features would publish a comic book dedicated to reprinting their own strips, as opposed to super-hero features, which never grabbed me. I don’t know whether it was because I couldn’t really draw that well, or I just enjoyed the “comic” comic books. JA: Nearly every humor cartoonist I’ve interviewed told me the same thing. And nearly every adventure artist I’ve talked to preferred adventure strips. LAZARUS: I knew I was never going to be flying to Mars or trudging through the jungle. Of course, Tarzan fascinated me, but no, I was a bigfoot cartoonist even before I knew I was.

I Like “Iceberg Ike”—“Little Willie,” Maybe Not So Much!

JA: You graduated from high school in ’43?

Mell Lazarus may have felt he was “overpaid” in getting paid at all for his “Little Willie” gags—but he needn’t apologize for cashing checks for both it and “Iceberg Ike.” Both appeared in Holyoke issues of Blue Beetle, the former in #22 (June 1943). Note that the cartoonist then spelled his first name with just one “l.” [©2010 the respective copyright holders.]

LAZARUS: I spent two years in high school. I would have graduated in ’45, but I quit high school in ’43. There was a rather large war going on… it was in all the papers. [Jim laughs] It was a given that, two years from then, if the war was still on—and we had no indication that it wouldn’t be—I knew I’d be in the military one way or another. So I quit high school. My parents allowed me to, which is astonishing. They were incredible people, both self-educated. They both had a high school education—everything else they learned, they taught themselves. My mother was a great grammarian. Although she was born in Eastern Europe, she came over when she was young, and spoke perfect English. She gave me a real love for language and taught me how to speak it properly. Then along with a couple of very stern English teachers in the New York City system, which was quite good at the time, I became fascinated by words and funny pictures, a great combination.

“I Endeavored To Freelance” JA: What did you do when you left high school? LAZARUS: I freelanced. Actually, I endeavored to freelance. I had a couple of little jobs, like delivering packages and things, but essentially, I wanted to draw the filler pages for comic books. I felt at that time that practically everyone else of age was in the service, and there seemed to be a shortage, because a lot of the stuff that was being done in the comic books was really crappy. So I started drawing things like “Little Willie” and took a couple of pages to Holyoke Press, who published The Blue Beetle. I actually sold a couple of pages of “Little Willie” to them at three bucks apiece. I was overpaid. They were terrible; totally simplistic and very badly drawn. The jokes were simple and silly, but I saw my stuff in print and was hooked. I loved every step of the process. I wanted to see the engraving plates that they made! I thought, “My God, what a career. Draw a picture, it gets turned into metal, and then it’s printed on paper. In color, no less.”

JA: I have you as doing three series for Holyoke: “Little Willie,” “Mister Grouch,” and “Iceberg Ike.” LAZARUS: I don’t remember “Mr. Grouch” or “Iceberg Ike.” Isn’t that odd? JA: Not really. I’ve interviewed a lot of people who don’t remember every feature they did. And of course, we’re talking 60 years ago, so I can understand that. Who hired you at Holyoke? LAZARUS: S. Philip Steinberg. My impression of him was that he was not really in that business, that he was doing a friend a favor. I mean, this is just based on his appearance. He was so different from anyone that I tended to bump into in that business. He was very quiet and very refined; impeccably dressed and very conservative. He just came in and sat there. He was there every time I went up. He was very nice, a real gentleman, a real old school gentleman. He came from Boston, and had a small office in the Graybar Building in New York City. I think he felt sorry for me. JA: Well, he was also going to get something and get it cheap, even if it wasn’t that great, which would help their profitability. LAZARUS: Probably. Yeah, three bucks—I went wild. “I’m getting paid!” It was a real step for me, because I remember saying to my mother, “Now, when I go to the syndicates, I’ll have a leg to stand on.” [laughs] JA: Well, there’s truth to it, because you could always have gotten hired as an apprentice, if nothing else. The features you did for Holyoke: did you letter them, too? LAZARUS: Yes, and they didn’t last very long, I must tell you. I think Blue Beetle was bi-monthly. I was only in a few issues. JA: Did you meet anyone else at Holyoke?

“Toby Press Was My College”

LAZARUS: No. I would bring my stuff in, show it to them, and pick up the check. But it was not an ongoing job. They never invited me to do more, nice as they were. But it’s odd. My father gave me a part-time job, knowing I would need time to be drawing. He was a very small manufacturer in Brooklyn. I was delivering packages and stuff like that. That was my backbone for those two years, but I also did a little artwork for neighborhood printers. All were three- and four-dollar jobs. I discovered the Brooklyn Weekly, which was a newspaper. It was actually published in Brooklyn, and I drew a cartoon, went to a photoengraver, and had my own plate made. It cost about $7, I think. I went over there and asked them if they would run it, and they were delighted to run it, so that was a kick. I was published in a newspaper! But I couldn’t keep that up... couldn’t afford the cost of the metal.

“The Only Time I Saw Joe Shuster…” JA: How did you get to work in an office at DC for a couple of weeks? LAZARUS: I think I just went up. I was knocking on a lot of doors, looking for anything that sounded like a job in comics, and DC offered me a job in the mailroom. And every Monday morning—or both Monday mornings, I should have said—I had to pick up all the empty glasses in the executive offices and wash them. My sense was that they worked all weekend.

JA: Harvey wasn’t given any editorial direction, was he? LAZARUS: Oh, no. No, you don’t direct a guy like that. He didn’t need direction. He was brilliant, funny as hell—very quiet, modest, a little reticent in terms of his personality—but unmistakably gifted. JA: But he only did a few things for you. I guess that must be when he started up with EC. LAZARUS: Yes. He fancied himself, I think, at the time, more of an editor than an artist. He wanted to create a magazine and did so. JA: Why did you leave DC after two weeks? LAZARUS: I just didn’t like doing it any more. I thought I’d be surrounded by artists and writers. But no, that wasn’t the case. I was in the mailroom all the time. The only time I saw Joe Shuster is when he happened to come into the mailroom, and I almost fell through the floor when he introduced himself. The office itself was not exactly a magnet job. It was very ordinary, very businesslike, for me, at least. JA: What did you do after that?

I wanted to hang around where the cartoonists were. I don’t think I met Henry Boltinoff, but I saw his drawings around, and was astonished at how beautiful they were. I actually saw Joe Shuster, and I may even have seen Jerry Siegel, whom I got to know later on when I grew up. JA: What did you think of Siegel? LAZARUS: Well, he was very nice. I wasn’t seeing Jerry at the height of his career, unfortunately. I don’t believe he was working in comics at this point. I know that when I was editing at Toby Press, Jerry was my opposite number at Ziff-Davis. We just touched base on the phone once in a while. “I need a letterer, I need an artist,” that kind of thing. It never occurred to me not to do that. JA: You two were editors at different companies, but you’d call for that. So you had a little cooperative thing there when you needed somebody, right?

LAZARUS: Well, it didn’t happen every week, but once or twice, at least. I needed a story lettered in a hurry, somebody would not be available for me, so I’d call Jerry and he’d recommend somebody. I called Harvey Kurtzman once for the same reason, and Harvey said, “I think I would be making an indiscretion. We use our guy all the time.” JA: He meant Ben Oda. LAZARUS: Ben Oda eventually lettered Miss Peach. [laughs] He would come to my house in Brooklyn, and letter the strip. He was like an itinerant letterer. He would drive all over the metropolitan area. He worked for Stan Drake, then he’d come from Connecticut and go to this guy, he’d go to that guy. I was one of his clients. He’d spend about three hours with me, letter a week’s stuff, and go home. JA: So Harvey didn’t give you the letterer’s name? LAZARUS: No, he held out on me. I never forgave him! [mutual laughter] I knew Harvey because earlier, when I was at Toby Press, I bought some stuff from him… “Little Genius,” I think. That was not Harvey’s title. Elliot Caplin named his character “Little Genius,” because Harvey’s work was brilliant, and he considered Harvey a genius, and so insisted, “That’s the name of the character.”

A Genius By Any Other Name The name of the gag feature by Harvey Kurtzman that Lazarus recalls buying as “Little Genius” was actually titled just plain “Genius”—but what’s in a name? Besides, Mell recalls publisher Elliot Caplin, not Kurtzman, as naming the strip. This page from John Wayne Adventure Comics #12 (Dec. 1951) is reprinted from the black-&-white 1992 Kitchen Sink volume Hey Look! Along with eight other “Genius” pages, that book also reprints three Kurtzman “Pot-Shot Pete” features originally printed in Toby comics. [©2010 Adele Kurtzman.]

In Memoriam

Dick Giordano (1932-2010) “He Was Meant To Be An Artist In This Medium” by Pat Bastienne A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Artist Dick Giordano, who passed away in Florida due to complications of a long-standing bout with leukemia on March 27, was a well-known and beloved figure in the field. He began freelancing for Charlton in 1952, and from 1965-67 served as the company’s editor. Moving to DC Comics, he spent two years there as an editor. In 1971 he and Neal Adams founded a commercial art studio, Continuity Associates, though Dick also continued to draw for Marvel and other comics houses. In 1980 he returned to DC as an editor, and in 1983 was named DC’s executive editor. He left that position in 1993 after the death of his wife Marie, and returned to the world of the freelance artist with his own company, DikArt. Alter Ego #101, in May 2011, will deal in detail with his career through 1970, while a complementary edition of our sister mag Back Issue! will cover his later work. For that reason, we asked Dick’s longtime friend and associate, Pat Bastienne—who worked for him for years as editorial coordinator at DC and later as his assistant at DikArt—to write a more personal recollection of him for this issue of A/E.

ick was editor at Charlton Publications when I first met him. I was working a summer job there while in high school. Dick was always the one taking chances, much to the dismay of the powers that owned the company. He hired unknown artists and writers as well as tried and true ones. At that time, comics were considered a passoff for kids and nothing more. Dick searched for talents, finding them in places far and wide.

Since Dick and his family lived on the same street as my family and I did, he often gave me a ride to the office. It was in those car rides that I grew to know the man. Not just for his talent, but as a stand-up guy, as well. Flash ahead to when I again ran into him years later. Dick had been working at DC as an editor but had only stayed a couple of years, as he longed to be back at the drawing-board. So he and Neal rented a small studio on 48th Street, NYC, which grew into what later became Continuity Graphics, with them at the helm. They eventually took over the entire third floor and turned it into a place where those in the comic book world could come and be welcome. But he continued drawing and inking for DC and others. Around the late ’70s, Dick decided to go off on his own, so he and Neal dissolved their partnership. Now working alone (busy, but away from the ambiance of NYC), Dick labored on quite a few comic books. He called these his “Marathon Years.” After a few years, he got itchy feet again, so when DC publisher Jenette Kahn phoned and offered him a position on staff, he was ready and able. Being an editor and also an artist was quite a day’s work, but he never complained. Loved every minute of it. Loved the people, the artists and the writers, the world of telling a story the comic book way. He was meant to be an artist in this medium. Loved it till the day he passed.

He Knew Art… And He Knew What He Liked Dick loved drawing women, so we’ve peppered this mini-tribute with illos of two of his favorites: Wonder Woman (as part of a self-portrait) and the splash panel of the “Red Sonja” tale in Marvel Feature #1 (Nov. 1975). Thanks to John Lustig for the latter art. [Wonder Woman TM & ©2010 DC Comics; Red Sonja TM & © Red Sonja Properties, LLC; self-portrait ©2010 Estate of Dick Giordano.]

Man And Super-man (On this page:) The Acme Novelty Library #10 features a scene inspired by a famous sequence in Action Comics #1. The cover of Acme #8 shows a godlike Super-Man and his devoted fans. That’s him, too, holding the flashlight from issue #2, and a portrait from the first issue. Since turnabout is fair play, the Chris Ware pose at top center has even been adapted by MTG as Mr. Monster! [Acme Novelty Library art & story ©2010 Chris Ware; Mr. Monster TM & ©2010 Michael T. Gilbert.]

Mr. Monster's Comic Crypt!

What? HIM Again? …Superman’s arch-enemy, Lex Luthor! Even by 1950s DC’s standards, this makes no sense whatsoever. Both characters are supposed to be the same age, but here Superboy’s about nine, and Luthor’s 67 if he’s a day. But hey, it’s only comic books! So Chris Ware, your evil hero is finally “unmasked.” It actually makes sense when you think about it. Two bald, pudgy megalo-maniacs, each with a full-blown god complex.

And In Conclusion... Now, Chris may deny ever seeing this story, which may be the truth, for all I know. But if the good gentleman claims ignorance of the facts as presented, he’s only fooling himself. I implore you, Mr. Ware. Confess! If not for your own peace of mind, then for little Jimmy Corrigan. Lord knows, the poor pitiful wretch deserves a break.

Double Trouble! (Clockwise from left:) Evil Super-Man from Acme #10—a panel from Superboy #59—Super-Man from Acme #7—and Luthor revealed as Amazing Man in the final panel of Superboy #59. [Superboy panels ©2010 DC Comics; Acme panels ©2010 Chris Ware.]

Till next time...

Our thanks (and apologies!) to Chris. Seriously, his Acme Novelty Library series is one of my favorites. Superman fans will particularly want to order issue #10. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, but I think it’s simply super, man!

Monthly! The Original First-Person History!

Write to: Robin Snyder, 3745 Canterbury Lane #81, Bellingham, WA 98225-1186

Comic Fandom Archive

Of Texas Trios, Wars, And Comics Shops An Interview With BUDDY SAUNDERS About His Fifty Years In Fandom Conducted & Transcribed by Brett Weiss Introduction by Bill Schelly, CFA Editor

Lone-Star-Studded Buddy Saunders in a recent photo taken at his Lone Star comic book shop— and (below) his 1968 Powerman cover for the 13th issue of Star-Studded Comics, perhaps the most important fanzine of the period that specialized in original “ama-comics.” [©2010 Buddy Saunders.]

him Jake, and he immediately said, “You should write under Jake Saunders; that has a good ring to it.”

BW: It’s funny that you should mention Harlan Ellison. Over the years, I’ve spoken with any number of comic book and science-fiction fans, retailers, dealers, and pros, and it seems that most everyone has a Harlan Ellison story. Were you ever friends with Ellison, and do you have any other anecdotes to tell about the fiery fantasist?

Fans who were around in the 1960s, however, will remember Buddy as one of the premiere artists in early comic fandom, and as a member of the legendary Texas Trio, publishers of the very popular Star-Studded Comics, perhaps the premier source of amateur comic strips of the day. Others may be familiar with Buddy’s writing, which has been substantial; he co-authored the paperback novel The Texas-Israeli War: 1999, wrote a number of stories for Creepy and other Warren magazines, and in 1976 was nominated for a Nebula Award for his short story “Back to the Stone Age.”

SAUNDERS: More like acquaintances than fast friends. The first time I ever saw Harlan was at the 1969 World Science Fiction Convention in St. Louis. I was a kid standing with the hoi polloi, watching from the back of the room during the awards banquet, expecting everything to be very serious and dignified, only to see Harlan get into a shouting match with members of the audience over how best to spend money raised earlier that day—Harlan wanted the money spent on a writer’s workshop, but his adversaries wanted it for beer. Goggle-eyed, I watch as Harlan dodged spoons and forks being thrown at him. I learned a lot about science-fiction fandom that evening!

oday, Buddy Saunders is best known as the owner of Lone Star Comics, an eight-store chain in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area. He also runs www.mycomicshop.com, an on-line comic book store that boasts the world’s largest selection of back issue comics.

Businessman… fan artist and publisher… successful professional writer. All these aspects of Buddy’s life are explored in Brett Weiss’s interview with the man, which begins anon! BRETT WEISS: In 1974, Del Rey published The Texas-Israeli War: 1999, which was written by “Jake” Saunders and noted science-fiction writer Howard Waldrop. Where did the name “Buddy” come from and how did it catch on? BUDDY SAUNDERS: Buddy is my nickname, given to me by my father. His name was J.D. (just the initials—for Jefferson Davis), but he went by Jake. When I met Harlan Ellison at a Southwestern Con and he learned I was an aspiring writer, he told me “Buddy” was no name for a writer. He asked me what my dad’s name was, I told

I first met Harlan several years later at a science-fiction convention in College Station, Texas, where he was the guest of honor, and next at a Dallas comic con where he was again our guest of honor and featured speaker. Because I was an aspiring writer and a member of the con committee in Dallas, I had a chance to talk with him. Harlan tells great stories and is fascinating to listen to. With the single exception of my longtime friend Howard Waldrop (another very successful writer), Harlan is unmatched in this regard. Although we’re miles apart politically, I like Harlan very much. BW: What is/was your relationship to Howard Waldrop?

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The Mary Marvel Marching Society Continuing Our Look At The TV Career Of Cap’s Shazamic Sister by Darrell “Big D” McNeil FCA EDITOR’S NOTE: This article picks up from the previous issue, wherein animation artist Darrell McNeil discussed his lifelong fascination with Mary Marvel, his work for Hanna-Barbera, and his first goround both at Filmation and for a subcontractor to whom that animation house had farmed out work. Sometime in 1981 he left the latter place of employment and returned to Filmation to work on the Shazam! animated series at the behest of unit head David West….

Madam, I’m Adam …Black Adam, that is, on one of a pair of Mary Marvel scenes Darrell McNeil laid out for the Shazam! animated episode “Black Adam’s Return” … and a (below) BA cel from that episode. [Shazam characters TM & ©2010 DC Comics; art by Filmation - 1981.]

hen I happily made my way back to Filmation in Canoga Park, Dave West did indeed have a package ready for me with storyboards, layout guides, folders, model sheets, paper, etc. He and Wes Herschensohn had already done the bulk of the stock layouts of all the key characters (Billy Batson, Captain Marvel, Freddy Freeman, Captain Marvel Jr., and Uncle Dudley/Uncle Marvel); and Dave, while I was gone, roughed out most of the Mary Marvel/Batson stock positions for me to finish.

Dave also spoke to and worked out a deal with Wes (who didn’t mind taking on some extra work/bucks) for the two of us to pretty much split up the multi-character scenes, giving me the Mary Marvel set-ups to do, while Wes handled the rest (including the Mary Batson ones). On top of that, Dave arranged for me to get the full $25 per scene rate, even when the scene had, say, five characters and the only one I did in the scene was Mary Marvel! Too cool, that! (I had copies of Oksner’s “Mary Marvel” pages/poses taped up to my cubicle in the bullpen space we shared with four other layout people during my in-house year … guess he “remembered.”) This arrangement even extended to Mary Marvel’s guest appearance in an episode of companion series Hero High. (Now, if we could’ve found a live-action counterpart of her like we had of the HH kids … sigh!) And since I had previously done layouts of the animated Isis character in Freedom Force back in ’78, they offered me the opportunity to lay out her guest appearance in HH as well. I was even offered (but turned down) the opportunity to pitch some Shazam! story ideas, through meeting one of its then-fledgling writers, a Paul Dini (hmmm … wonder what became of him?). This was early in the show’s writing process; later that summer, at San Diego’s Comic-Con (let’s see if he remembers this!), I met certifiable Captain Marvel fiend Roy Thomas (who had written for Ruby-Spears animation house around that same time) and pitched to Lou Scheimer the idea of having a real Cap fan

writing the characters. (Not that series writers Dennis O’Flatherty, Fred Ladd, and Dini weren’t … and the scripts were pretty darn close, character-wise … but one more true Marvelite—and I mean Captain Marvel, not Marvel Marvel—wouldn’t have hurt.) Unfortunately, by that time, all 13 scripts for the 13 episodes had been assigned and/or been written … of which twelve were then produced. Twelve? Yep … twelve. And why do I emphasize twelve? Because, back in those days, the average episode number for a series was thirteen. And, indeed, we did thirteen weeks of Hero High episodes, but only twelve of Shazam! Why that? That’s a mystery even to moi. I thought we might have only produced twelve episodes because of a quality issue, precipitated by then NBC toon-head Fred Silverman. Fred had a thing about the quality of the animated series produced under his regime at both NBC and his earlier tenure in the

Alter Ego #96