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Volume 1, Number 110 February 2019 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTISTS Al Milgrom and Mike Machlan (unused cover for Marvel’s West Coast Avengers #38) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Will Alonis Howard Mackie Jim Amash Sam Maronie Ken Avidor Franck Martini Michael Browning Marvel Comics Dewey Cassell Marvel Epic Tom DeFalco Collection Podcast Cecil Disharoon Robert Menzies Dave Drew Allen Milgrom East Coast Comicon Ian Millsted Scott Edelman Doug Moench Steve Englehart Ann Nocenti Chris Evans Luigi Novi Irving Forbush Dennis O’Neil Cliff Galbraith Harold Parker Grand Comics Rose Rummel-Eury Database Jason Sacks Paul Gulacy Mark Sears Heritage Comics Ken Segal Auctions Roger Stern John Holmstrom Dan Tandarich Terry Kavanagh Roy Thomas Robin Kirby Steven Thompson John Kirk John Trumbull Erik Larsen Mark Waid Ed Lute Marv Wolfman Ralph Macchio Xum Yukinori Mike Machlan

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FLASHBACK: Carmine Infantino: The Marvel Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 How the former Flash artist and DC publisher got his groove back at Marvel INTERVIEW: Carmine Infantino Discusses His Marvel Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 An archived Q&A with the legendary artist BACKSTAGE PASS: Mighty Marvel Comicon 1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Insiders and attendees recall Marvel’s first homegrown con; with a teaser for the ’76 con UNKNOWN MARVEL: The Batty British Fans of the 1970s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Marvel UK’s lettercols were home to mirthful misinformation and wild requests GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: The “Lost” West Coast Avengers Stories . . . . . . . . . 24 Steve Englehart’s much-maligned Mantis… and a WCA civil war! FLASHBACK: All That Pizzazz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Marvel’s pre-teen zine of the late ’70s INTERVIEW: Denny O’Neil: The Marvel Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 The legendary Batman writer/editor discusses his Spidey, Daredevil, and Iron Man work FLASHBACK: Marvel Comics Presents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Launching in the late 1980s, this biweekly anthology showcased top and new talent FLASHBACK: Speedball: The Silver Age Superhero from the Copper Age . . . . . . . . . . . 61 So, why did this Masked Marvel get bounced from his solo series? PRO2PRO: Writing Daredevil with Ann Nocenti and Mark Waid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 The fearless fan-favorites compare notes on Ol’ Hornhead BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Reader reactions BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $76 Economy US, $125 International, $32 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Al Milgrom and Mike Machlan. West Coast Avengers and related characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2019 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

When Carmine Infantino (1925-2013) was a kid, his mother told the young boy that she was sorry he was going to be an artist. But he had a clear vision of what he wanted to do with his life. The 1930s were years of economic hardship and people struggled to make a wage, never mind their dreams. Infantino began his art career penciling comic features for what would be DC Comics, supplementing his parents’ household income. Over time, he would make friends and climb the corporate ladder that would lead him to the security of executive positions helming the company. Sadly, this ended abruptly when it seemed he was at the zenith of his work. But after this emotional setback, Infantino’s return to artistry with Marvel Comics was one of the most meaningful periods in his career. The Depression Era-raised Infantino had to recover from an emotionally crippling blow, after his disappointing departure from the company to which he had dedicated most of his career. But those raised in the Great Depression were made of resilient stuff, and it was his time at Marvel Comics that served as a gateway to a renewed success. Coming back to freelance artistry and working on characters like Spider-Woman, Paladin in Daredevil, and his iconic work on Star Wars re-established him as a premiere artist in the Bronze Age. In the end, Infantino was remembered who he was—a hard-working comic-book artist.

by J o

hn Kirk

Infantino was raised during the Great Depression. Work was hard to come by and every extra penny earned was one that was saved for a rainy day. From working-class Italian stock, Carmine’s parents were disappointed when, after finishing high school at New York City’s School of Industrial Arts on 42nd Street, he announced he was going to pursue a career in art. Work was scarce and to lock oneself into a career that offered little stability, despite the talent the young Carmine clearly demonstrated, seemed risky and counter to every one of his parents’ instincts. They had hoped to instill within him the same value of a secure job that would provide for a pension in his latter years. Infantino’s mother told him to get a “city job” and make a living for life. That way, he wouldn’t “have to worry.” Worry was an essential part of the Infantino household. He shined shoes as a boy and brought money home to his parents as an essential part of their family income. This was a discipline that Infantino never lost, and it contributed greatly to his career. Neither of his parents wanted their son to suffer as they had. His mother sewed pants in a factory and Infantino’s talented musician father had little education and needed to work early to support his own family. Later, he would give up his musical career in the Depression to work as a plumber. Yet they were insistent that their son received an education. Perhaps going to the School for Industrial Arts was a compromise to supply him with that education, yet at the same time, expose him to the arts. However, this environment allowed the teenaged Infantino to “make the rounds,” honing his craft under the guidance of some of the greats of the day. He received an offer from cartoonist Al Capp, which would have meant leaving school early. His father objected to that, stating that if the job was there then, it would be there later after he finished school. He visited artists like Morris Weiss, who was generous with advice to Carmine and other artists. He learned from artists like Charlie Flanders, who used to draw The Lone Ranger, and he hung out with Frank Giacoia, who, like Carmine himself, got his first professional 2 • BACK ISSUE • Make Mine Marvel Issue

All covers TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc., except for Star Wars, TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.

THE EARLY YEARS

job from publisher Victor Fox. He had a network that would serve him well, more as an executive than an artist. While clearly indulging his talent, nurturing his artist’s spirit, Carmine found work, even as early in his high school years, but even after he graduated and worked, in the back of his mind was still that family-ingrained mentality of finding and keeping a steady and secured income. All of the money the young Infantino made went to the family, keeping home and hearth together. While he was learning to become a better artist and doing what he clearly loved, his mind was always on stability. This was how Infantino viewed success. In an interview with Jim Amash, in the TwoMorrows book Carmine Infantino: Penciler, Publisher, Provocateur, Infantino admitted that he never felt successful. Growing up in the Great Depression filled him with a fear, one that was shared by Jack Kirby. “He said, ‘Carmine, you’ve got my problem.’ I said, ‘What the hell is that?’ He said, ‘The fear. You never lose that fear of the Depression. As long as you live, you’re going to have that. No matter how successful you get, you will never lose that.’ And he was right. I never felt successful because of that. Never, never at any point.” For a lot of us in the 21st Century, it’s difficult to even conceive of the level of impoverishment that was so rampantly prevalent in the 1930s, and the emotional aftereffects of living in that time: soup lines, overwhelming unemployment, riots in the streets of the major cities of the US, and folks simply looking to earn a daily wage to feed their families. Infantino grew up during this time,

and it is the attitudes of this decade that shaped his perception to work. Moving between the ’40s and the ’50s, Carmine was lucky enough to frequent the studios of the likes of Joe Kubert and Alex Toth. Though he never shared space but would work with them later, the association with these legendary artists gave him pause for self-doubt and uncertainty. He was to have said that while other artists liked their own work, he never did. In another conversation with Jim Amash, he recounted: “I always felt there was something wrong, not quite good enough, always not good enough. Maybe they felt the same way and never said it. One time, Jack Kirby told me that the minute you’re satisfied with what you’re doing, you’re no good anymore. I didn’t want that to happen to me.” A combination of diminished self-worth and a sense of financial insecurity were extremely prevalent during these formative years of Infantino’s career. Not only would these pervade his decision-making but they would also form the foundation of the artistic sensibilities, perhaps overriding his love of art for art’s sake. It’s a good question, but while no one can dispute his talent and artistic sensibilities, at heart, Carmine Infantino was born of that practical working-class stock who knew the value of a dollar and never turned away a bird in the hand. This style of thinking would emerge and influence his future career as he grew older and looked at life through more experienced eyes. As he grew older and more secure in his career, Infantino became a company man. He was constantly

Good Hair Day (left) When launching Spider-Woman’s monthly series (#1, Apr. 1978), Carmine Infantino had inherited the character’s hooded costume… (right) but within that very issue he allowed her to let her hair down. Script by Marv Wolfman, inks by Tony DeZuniga. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

Cover Unplugged While Infantino’s cover art and cover designs energized many of DC’s titles in the late Silver and early Bronze Ages, at Marvel Carmine was mostly used as an interior artist. From the archives of Heritage comes this moody— and unpublished— Infantino cover for Spider-Woman #13 (Apr. 1979), which was, as notated in red above the art, rejected. In the inset is the published cover for the issue, by Dave Cockrum (one of Marvel’s main cover artists of that era) and Bob McLeod. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

4 • BACK ISSUE • Make Mine Marvel Issue

aware of the precariousness of the freelancer’s state of being. Living from paycheck to paycheck, delivering work with the knowledge that one might not get paid for it, forced him to constantly be on the look out for new opportunities. As a result, in the mid-point of his penciling days at DC Comics, he was one of the highest-paid artists in the business, with The Flash and Adam Strange in Mystery in Space being his most celebrated DC assignments. Also, his status as a loyal and successful employee made him a natural rallying focus for attempts to unionize freelance artists. But Infantino would have none of it. He felt that his presence in a union was just a lure to bring others in, but he had a good relationship with DC management. He wasn’t about to jeopardize that relationship at the expense of his working wage. He even took pay cuts during lean years to keep the company afloat. Perhaps it was his working-class ethos, but Carmine was not a political firebrand; he had a family to support and the echoes of his parents’ fears still resonating in his ears. Infantino was a true employee and his future with DC was of paramount importance to the way he viewed success, not as an artist, but as a breadwinner.

CORPORATE LADDER

During the ’60s, as Infantino was making his way up through the DC ranks, it was around this time that he was courted by Marvel to come and work for them as an artist. Carmine had become the cover editor for DC. Stan Lee offered Infantino a hefty salary of $22,000 to join Marvel in the same capacity. It was this offer that prompted DC to offer Carmine a promotion to art director, as they couldn’t offer him the same salary. Infantino saw greater security in the new executive position and stayed with DC, out of this sense of security as well as loyalty. This position not only afforded him more security as a salaried, corporate employee at the company but also gave him a degree of status. During his time, Infantino was overseeing 30 to 40 covers a month. It was a hectic job, keeping schedules together, but it was one that saw him as reliable and necessary. Staying until 10 p.m. in the office at nights, he felt rewarded by his sense of indispensability. It was such a compliment to his abilities, and Infantino never even asked if new positions came with a raise. They also prepared him for his rapid rise to the positions of editorial director and eventually, publisher. When asked

A Long Time Ago… (left) Infantino’s history with DC’s top space hero Adam Strange made him a natural for Marvel’s Star Wars comic, but (right) the series’ detailed weaponry, spaceships, and unusual characters and terrains ultimately exhausted the artist. Inks by Terry Austin, over an Archie Goodwin script. Star Wars TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.

Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

by C

Con Game (top) Mirthful Marie Severin’s preliminaries for two possible takes on the cover for the first Marvel convention booklet, (bottom left) her note to project manager Scott Edelman, and (bottom right) the actual program cover. Courtesy of Scott Edelman. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc., except for Conan TM & © Conan Properties, LLC.

10 • BACK ISSUE • Make Mine Marvel Issue

ecil Disharoon

Look! I got Dr. Doom’s time machine! Hop on! BACK ISSUE’s set it for an event lost to the world at large—memory, existences!—until now: Mighty Marvel Comicon ’75! Our visit contains the promise of a secret guest. Maybe these pre-settings on the time platform suggest that Doom looked for a moment he could again encounter his creators? John Romita, Sr. spins a web of drawing demonstration! Flying in from St. Louis and resembling JJJ for traveling with a photographer, there’s writer and former editor-in-“Don’t Call Me Chief!” Roy Thomas! Heck, the whole blamed Bullpen’s going to be there! Quoth Irving Forbush: “Keep your hands inside the platform… enjoy the show!” We’re going to recollect a big weekend here in New York City: you, me, Stan Lee, and Marvel Comics Group! Call our group “The Recollectors”! Pop-culture writer Sam Maronie can tell you this about the first Marvel Con: “The big thing was that Jack Kirby was coming back to Marvel! This was his big welcome! They had it at the Commodore Hotel!” The cab in front of us opens for a barrel-shaped dude in an overcoat. He pulls down his hat. Thick, orange fingers, with a texture somewhere between stone and dinosaur plate, pry the taxi’s banana-yellow door. The longhaired, bearded cabbie’s mouth visibly loses its cigarette as a gruff voice barks, “Thanks! Commodore Hotel, and try not to menace any pedestrians! It’s bad fer my image!”

ORGANIZING THE CON

Scott’s Free Grab-Bag of Memories (top) Courtesy of Ken Segal, a membership card for the ’75 Marvel Con. (middle) Edelman’s Marvel ID (identity thieves, don’t even try it…). (bottom) Scurryin’ Scott with Joltin’ Joe Sinnott and Dashin’ Don Perlin. Photos courtesy of Scott Edelman.

BACK ISSUE’s saved you a cab seat next to the guy in charge of organizing the first Marvel Con, a Bullpenner through and through, the fella who wrote Marvel’s Bullpen Bulletins throughout the mid-’70s as well as the copy for the Marvel 7-11 Slurpee cups and created Marvel’s Scarecrow, science-fiction writer and the host of the Eating the Fantastic podcast… Scott Edelman! CECIL DISHAROON: I first asked David Anthony Kraft what he remembered about Marvel Con ’75, and he pointed me toward you. SCOTT EDELMAN: There were people who handled more of the details, because [legendary convention organizer] Phil Seuling was the one who knew about how you organize one, in terms of dealing with the hotel, signing the contacts, and so forth. In terms of what went on at the convention itself, and what was in the program book, I was the point person on that. Which, when you think about it, is pretty ridiculous: They would let a 19-year-old kid be in charge of what was going to happen at a convention. DISHAROON: Do you remember the earliest date when you were told this was going to be “your baby”? EDELMAN: The earliest I can prove is September 4, 1974, on which I sent a memo to Stan Lee saying, “This is the text that will be in programs at other conventions and go to advertisers.” So obviously, it had be before that. How long before then, I cannot recall. I only started on staff on June 24, 1974… That’s less than three months later that I’m already working on a flyer for the convention to come. DISHAROON: [laughs] Stan Lee kind of “godfathered” the event a bit with memos that you were kind enough to share with me. EDELMAN: I would basically send memos to him, saying, “This is what we should do, this is the initial program.” Things would go back and forth about that. All the initial memos, back and forth, about what should be in the program, and the thoughts from people around the office about advertising, the deal with the Commodore Hotel: those are all January 13, 1975.

So that is only—what, two and a half months, barely? But we were still coming up with programming. When you think about it, the final memo that I have relating to Marvel Con is dated March 10th, which is the third iteration of what I did, in response to what Stan told me. So basically… what, two weeks before the convention? So the convention’s Friday, March 21st. So here we are, and Stan’s saying, “Here’s what I think about the final program, based on our March 7th meeting.” That’s awfully late in the game! When you think about what you see at San Diego Comic-Con and others these days, it happens way in advance, so people can decide when they’re going to go, what to see at the convention, and so forth. So the first memo about “Here’s what I should think should be in the program” is dated January 21st, exactly two months before the Con came out. January 27th is my first memo, addressed to Len [Wein], Marv [Wolfman[, and Stan and myriad people. What is that—like, seven weeks before?—when we are first batting around ideas about what we should be doing at the convention! That is ridiculous! DISHAROON: What a picture of what Marvel of that era was like. EDELMAN: Yes! It’s part of that thinking, “Everything is going to all come together.” I think about the difference in the way a corporation would be run today, how Marvel would be run today, now that it’s owned by Disney. You’d probably have to have a massive committee to do these things, many meetings. Back then, it was just, Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 11

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by R o b e r t

Menzies

Write On, British Marvelites! Letters pages from The Mighty World of Marvel #215 (Nov. 10, 1976). All images in this article are courtesy of Robert Menzies, unless otherwise noted. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

British fans experienced Marvel differently than readers of the US editions, and, it seems, Marvel experienced a different type of reader in Britain. Due to variations in format, there were inevitable dissimilarities in letters-column content between the two nations. Several themes repeated themselves, like the spotty availability of the US editions in the UK and what Marvel would do when the weekly British Marvels’ voracious printing schedule inevitably caught up with the monthly original editions. [Editor’s note: Marvel UK’s editions were mostly reprints of US material, published weekly and in black and white.] Where US fans debated the lineup of superhero teams, British fans debated the lineup of superhero books—the publishing combination of The Avengers and Conan was a particularly contentious one, and the amalgamation of Planet of the Apes and Dracula Lives! was also an odd fit. Appeals for the creation of British hero were another regular feature. There were also some surprises, like the identity of the biggest Marvel sex symbol and discovering that the British weeklies were being distributed in Australia and New Zealand, albeit with a time lag. Most striking about this period is that while I have little access to Silver Age comic books for comparison, my substantial Bronze Age collection never seemed to have such combative, insulting, and eccentric letters pages. Welcome to the British letters pages of the 1970s, where the adjective “batty” described the fans more accurately than the Bullpen!

MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN

There were frequent comments about the volume of letters received on a weekly basis. Estimates were said to be thousands, although the only documented record I have seen places the figure closer to 1500, which is, of course, still a vast amount. Inevitably, when it was competition time, that meant even more mail. Young fans would ask endearing questions about the size of Hulk’s feet, for example, as I am sure they did in Silver Age monthlies stateside. Older fans would often comment on Conan and recommend novels. Hands down, Planet of the Apes (POTA) received the most correspondence from female fans, which we will come back to later. Sergeant Nicholas Fury had his own letters page in his own comic as well as The Mighty World of Marvel (MWOM), which often included stories of the heroic adventures (and, on occasion, ridiculous misadventures) of grandfathers during the Second World War. In tune with the tired stereotype of the British, or at least the English, the letters pages were often quite eccentric, and it is worth sharing what are possibly the two greatest and/or battiest letters written by fans during the 1970s. The first example comes from Cheshire’s C. Green and was published in The Avengers #133 (Apr. 3, 1976). In the letter he claims a scene reprinted from August 1971’s The Avengers #91 saved his life! Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 19

Steve Englehart took risks—with characters, stories, and editors. By the summer of 1987, Englehart had his own corner of the Marvel Universe. Simultaneously, he wrote the adventures of the West Coast Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the Silver Surfer. Englehart excelled in using Marvel’s vast continuity to his advantage, steeping his stories in the history of the Marvel Universe as well as tying together disparate threads of older stories to create the new Marvel landscape. The Englehart-verse bounced around ideas and characters in these three titles. Stories from one would reference another to create an intricate cross-pollination. No one character would get bounced around as much as Englehart’s own creation, Mantis. After a lengthy absence she appeared in the Silver Surfer’s title, then moved on to The West Coast Avengers, only to have the pages of The Fantastic Four resolve her story. This article will showcase Englehart’s original plans for his WCA run including the unpublished stories for what would have been West Coast Avengers #38–43 and Silver Surfer #23 in 1988 and 1989, as well as some WCA plans that morphed into Fantastic Four stories. These “Greatest Stories Never Told” include the author’s original resolution to the steve englehart Mockingbird/Phantom Rider plot, a romance between Hawkeye and steveenglehart.com. Mantis, confrontations with the Yellow Claw, Graviton, and Ultron XI, as well as the machinations of Kang and the resurrection of Thanos. After 30 years, Englehart’s never-told tales take the spotlight!

LISTEN TO THE MOCKINGBIRD

The West Coast Avengers had received their own ongoing series in 1985, written by Steve Englehart with art by Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott. Milgrom had a dream: “I was hoping [at the time] for over 100 issues on the book. Wanted to break Kirby’s record run on the FF.” Those early days featured team leader, Hawkeye the archer (Clint Barton), and his superspy wife, Mockingbird (Barbara “Bobbi” Morse). The team was rounded out with Tigra, the Feline Fury; Wonder Man, actor/stuntman/superhero; and Iron Man, the Armored Avenger. The “Lost in Space-Time” story arc, starting in issue #17 (Feb. 1987), threw the Avengers into the past. This included one of the Avengers’ most controversial storylines involving Mockingbird being stranded with the Phantom Rider in 1876.

Live in Living Black and White Although it’s repurposed on the cover of this very magazine, this dynamic original artwork— the unpublished version of the cover of West Coast Avengers #38 (Nov. 1988), penciled by Al Milgrom and inked by Mike Machlan— is shared here for you True Believers, courtesy of the always-amiable Mr. Milgrom. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

24 • BACK ISSUE • Make Mine Marvel Issue

by D

a n Ta n d a r i c h

To Be Killed by Mockingbird Al Milgrom’s striking cover (with floating Avenger heads!) for West Coast Avengers #23 (Aug. 1987), spotlighting the pivotal scene where Mockingbird considers whether or not to spare the life of her attacker, the Phantom Rider. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

From Englehart’s website (www.steveenglehart.com): “The Phantom Rider drugged Mockingbird and had his way with her. Unfortunately for him, she was an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. before she became an Avenger, and she didn’t play by Avengers’ rules. One of my all-time favorite issues” (West Coast Avengers #23, Aug. 1987). When Mockingbird finally confronts the Phantom Rider on a mountaintop, she gains the upper hand leaving the Rider dangling from a precipice. Mockingbird responds, “Drop dead!” as the Phantom Rider falls into the chasm below. Englehart portrayed “An Avenger who’s come to avenge!” Mockingbird’s refusal to assist the man who drugged and raped her broke the Avengers’ rule about killing, in Hawkeye’s point of view. Two opposing viewpoints would shatter both the team and the marriage in the months to come. A civil war within the Avengers had begun! DAN TANDARICH: On your website you state that Mockingbird became your favorite of the group followed by Hawkeye. What makes Mockingbird and Hawkeye stand out for you? STEVE ENGLEHART: I thought Mark [Gruenwald] had done a great job with them… the romance between them was fresh and convincing. With him as the leader of the WCA, she was naturally propelled into a large role, and I always enjoyed the two of them together… TANDARICH: West Coast Avengers #23 featured the epic Mockingbird/Phantom Rider confrontation. What still resonates with you about this issue? ENGLEHART: …but Mark had made her a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and in this issue, having fought her way back from being drugged and raped, she confronted her rapist as he hung from a cliff by his fingers. He thought she’d have to save him, but she was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent… so she had no trouble letting him fall to his death. I was in total sympathy with her, and admired her as a character. I thought this was a very powerful issue about a very powerful lady. (You may remember that I talk often third person such as: “This one is not what she was about Mantis writing her own story, and this was just al milgrom when she wore this name, but she invites you to call the same.) But it occurred to me, as the writer, that this her… Mantis” (Silver Surfer #4, Oct. 1987). was not the Avengers’ way, and there was a hell of © Marvel. Mantis’ story originally ended in Giant-Size Avengers #4 (June 1975), a lot to be made out of that. So in the following issues, Mocky and Hawky, whom I liked so much together, broke up over it, and each but Englehart brought her back for his second round at Marvel beginning gathered his or her adherents. Old School vs. New School. in Silver Surfer #3 (Sept. 1987). The empathic Mantis melted the stoic exterior of the Sentinel of the Spaceways and they began a romance the ENGLEHART’S GODDESS likes of which the Surfer had never known. Mantis and the Silver Surfer One splinter in that wedge between Mockingbird and Hawkeye and became embroiled in the cosmic doings of the Elders of the Universe. A massive explosion resulted in Mantis’ “death.” Although she had the West Coast team was Mantis, “the Celestial Madonna, a human who came to be a ‘goddess,’ ” according to Englehart. When Englehart the ability to transfer her essence into other plant bodies, this explosion first took over The Avengers in the 1970s, he wanted to tell more of was too big for her to pull herself back together, and it was assumed his own stories and not just follow in the footsteps of his writing that she had died. Mantis’ presence continued to be felt as the Surfer predecessor, Roy Thomas. The creation of Mantis heralded Englehart’s declared his love for her and vowed to search for her son. Then, surprise, storytelling style, and she was a character designed to upset the balance Mantis received her own backup story in Silver Surfer Annual #1 (1988). in the Avengers. “This woman’s goal in the future of the Avengers was She had no memory of the explosion or of her adventures with the simply to inject sex,” reveals Englehart. He appreciated kung fu and Surfer, but she did remember her teammates in the Avengers. the martial-arts style had a Mantis form, hence the name. When Englehart first started working on the Silver Surfer title, he was From Saigon harlot to girlfriend of the Swordsman and then guest told that the character had to remain on Earth, but then policy shifted of the Avengers, Mantis caused internal dissention throughout Avengers and he was able to soar through the universe once more. His original Mansion. Along the way, destiny proclaimed her the Celestial Madonna, first issue of the earthbound Silver Surfer featuring Mantis was put aside a harbinger of Life and the mother of a child who would bring peace to but later was published in Marvel Fanfare #51 (June 1990). the world. The union of Mantis and the Prime Cotati, a member of a plant-like, peaceful alien race, would bring the world of humans (animals) TANDARICH: What is it about the character of Mantis that makes and plants together to begin a new era of peace throughout the cosmos. her so special to you? Mantis had been trained to be perfect in body and mind and to be ENGLEHART: She took over her own story in her debut, taking me able to communicate with plant life, which she had been calling her places I wasn’t expecting, showing me the vast possibilities I could tap “empathic nature.” She also had the habit of referring to herself in the in my writing. Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 25

Comic-book history has traditionally been marked by short periods of creativity and innovation, followed by long periods of imitation. There are exceptions, of course, but it is a fair generalization. For every Flash, there is a Whizzer. And while some of the imitators have become successful in their own right, usually that has been the exception rather than the rule. In March 1974, Jenette Kahn, who later became president and publisher of DC Comics, launched Dynamite magazine for Scholastic, Inc. Dynamite was aimed at pre-teens, featuring a mixture of popular culture and humor, including recurring features on magic tricks and puzzles, as well as some reprints of Marvel and DC superhero origin stories. Dynamite was available by subscription, at some newsstands, and through monthly order forms for Scholastic’s Arrow Book Club, given out in schools. Dynamite was a hit, reportedly Scholastic’s most successful publication, which prompted the company to launch Wow magazine for elementary age kids and Bananas magazine for teenagers the following year. Contributors to Scholastic magazines included Bob Stine, who went on to write the Goosebumps series of books, and Sam Viviano, who later drew for MAD magazine. Marvel Comics had tried publishing magazines, but according to former Marvel editor and writer Roy Thomas, “[Marvel publisher] Martin Goodman had never really wanted to do a non-Code comic… nor did he really want to get into magazine-format comics; and Stan really did.” [Alter Ego #81, Oct. 2008] When Goodman left in 1972, Stan took over his job and Marvel began publishing magazines, with varying degrees of success. By late 1974, there were 11 regular titles, the most enduring of which were The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, Planet of the Apes, and Savage Sword of Conan. So it is not surprising that Marvel took notice of the success of Dynamite and decided to see if it could make lightning strike twice. What was surprising was the approach Marvel took in launching its own pre-teen magazine, Pizzazz. As reported in The New York Times on July 7, 1977, “The Cadence Publishing division of Cadence Industries, whose major property is Marvel Comics, is launching an ambitious new publication aimed at the 10 to 14 set. Pizzazz is the name of the monthly that will be started with a $250,000 promotion budget, much of that money going into TV advertising. To be introduced initially in the South in September, the magazine is expected to attain a national circulation of 200,000 next year. ‘We’re launching it like a toy company would launch a new product,’ said Nancy Allen, director of advertising and sales promotion. Norman, Craig & Kummel is the ad agency and Manning, Selvage & Lee is doing public relations. The cover price of Pizzazz will be 75 cents and the yearly subscription $7.50.” Pizzazz wasn’t the original title of the magazine. In issue #17 of the Marvel in-house fanzine, FOOM, it was referred to as The Marvel Connection, but by the time the magazine reached the newsstands, the title had changed to Pizzazz. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines pizzazz as “the quality of being exciting or attractive: such as glamour; vitality.” A test issue of Pizzazz was printed a few months prior to the magazine’s public debut. It included several articles and pictures not found in the first issue, as well as a completely different cover featuring an artist’s rendition of John Travolta. (The popularity of Star Wars led the editor to change the cover.) The test issue was only given to the staff and never released to the public. A promotional button bearing the slogan “I’ve got Pizzazz” was also produced.

Pizzazz Cover Gallery Issues #1 (Oct. 1977) through 15 (Jan. 1979) of Pizzazz, featuring your favorite heartthrobs, superstars, and sci-fi heroes of the late ’70s. A standout cover is #5 (Feb. 1978), with its amazing Bob Larkin painting featuring Linda Ronstadt and her marvelous backup band. Pizzazz, Spider-Man, Hulk, and Marvel characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Star Wars TM & © Lucasfilm, Ltd. Other characters © their respective copyright holders.

38 • BACK ISSUE • Make Mine Marvel Issue

by D

ewey Cassell

Tarzan TM & © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

THE PRE-PIZZAZZ PRE-TEEN ZINE Scholastic, Inc.’s Dynamite, founded in 1973 by soonto-be DC Comics publisher Jenette Kahn, was a trailblazing kids’ periodical that paved the path for imitators including Marvel’s Pizzazz. It ran for an astounding 18 years, from issue #1 (Mar. 1974) to issue #165 (Mar. 1992). As did Pizzazz, Dynamite often featured then-popular celebrities and properties, starting with such ’70s icons as M*A*S*H, All in the Family, and Jimmie Walker of Good Times and winding down with such early ’90s favorites as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s Will Smith, Beverly Hills 90201, and Julia Roberts.

Pitching Pizzazz Mirthful Marie Severin provided artwork for this Pizzazz pre-release Marvel house ad with Stan “The Man” Lee name-dropping other popular kids’ mags. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

TM & © Scholastic, Inc.

In some respects, Marvel played to its strengths with Pizzazz. For example, a 30-second commercial television advertisement featured Spider-Man reading a copy of issue #9 of the magazine and reluctantly admitting the magazine was “Fantastic, but not perfect,” because he was not on the cover. (The commercial can be seen at www.retroist.com/2013/06/06/1978-marvel-pizzazzmagazine-commercial/.) By contrast, some print advertising used illustrations by artists not typically found in Marvel comics. Pizzazz leveraged some Marvel staff, but the editor was brought in from outside the company. Bobby Miller was the former editor and publisher of Sesame Street and Electric Company magazines, the latter of which had included a short Spider-Man story in each issue since early 1976. As Pizzazz magazine was introduced in each region of the USA, its popularity grew to a reported circulation of 100,000 by early 1978. However, as noted in American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s (Jason Sacks and Keith Dallas, TwoMorrows, 2013), “Pizzazz became mired in controversy when writer Nat Hentoff reviewed the new novel Gentlehands and declared that it trivialized the Holocaust,” which was not well received by Marvel management. “We need things in the magazine that will grab the kids,” [Marvel Comics Group president James] Galton insisted. “It has to be entertaining. We’re not going to get the kids involved in social issues. The Holocaust just doesn’t fit.” Editor Bobby Miller was fired shortly thereafter, replaced by Jeff Lewis. The irony is that Marvel had won praise just a few years before when they published a story about the dangers of drug use in issues #96–98 of The Amazing Spider-Man, even though it violated the Comics Code Authority. Pizzazz included some recurring features, such as Pizzazz Puzzle Pages, Pizzazz Poop (a gossip column), and reprints of “Hey Look” by Harvey Kurtzman, as well as articles profiling a particular celebrity or movie, including Star Wars, Shaun Cassidy, KISS, Meatloaf, Grease, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. There were also articles about Marvel comic characters, including the Amazing Spider-Man and Incredible Hulk television shows, in addition to a serialized Young Tarzan comic story that only lasted a few issues (see inset). Pizzazz included contributions from some Marvel creators, among them Marie Severin, who brought her unique style of art and humor to bear on features like “Doctor Doom Cracks Up,” “Dr. Strange’s Hypnotism Lesson,” and “Top Secret Intelligence Tests Run on the Hulk,” the latter written by Roger Stern. But many of the contributors to Pizzazz were not from Marvel Comics, including John Holmstrom, who had worked with Bananas and was founding editor of PUNK magazine, and Ken Avidor (nee Weiner). Holmstrom, who drew a comic strip called “Joe” for Bananas, remembers being recruited to work on Pizzazz. Holmstrom recalls, “ ‘Joe’ ran in Bananas magazine from 1975 to 1984. ‘Jovial’ Bob Stine was my editor, the best ever. I think it was Jeff Lewis who approached me, and he

42 • BACK ISSUE • Make Mine Marvel Issue

conducted by

Franck Martini

transcribed by Rose Rummel-Eury

denny o’neil

All covers TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Photo © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

Dennis (Denny) O’Neil can be viewed first and foremost as a DC creator because of his legendary runs on Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow in the ’70s or his later long editorial stint on the Batman titles. But between 1980 and 1986, O’Neil came back to where he started his comics career— at Marvel Comics. During those six years, O’Neil worked both as a writer and an editor at Marvel. His early work includes the Spider-Man titles. He wrote Amazing Spider-Man #207–219, 220, 222, and 223, and edited Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man (PPSM) and Marvel Team-Up. He gave their first major Spidey assignments to Roger Stern and John Romita, Jr. O’Neil introduced two important characters for Spidey in the ’80s, Lance Bannon, Peter Parker’s competitor at the Daily Bugle, and Madame Web, the blind psychic who would be one of the earliest characters to discover Spider-Man’s dual identity. He also brought artist Marie Severin on PPSM for a short while. During a little less than two years, O’Neil chose not to use the classic Spidervillains and had Spidey fight the Frightful Four, along with Namor, Mesmero, Hydro-Man, the Sandman, and Kraven being the only “regular” bad guys appearing in the title. Surprisingly, Aunt May seldom appeared and Mary Jane Watson was nowhere to be seen. The main supporting cast consisted of the Daily Bugle and Daily Globe teams, plus Debra Whitman, a secretary in the biophysics department of Empire State University, whose relationship with Peter Parker never really went anywhere. O’Neil also wrote two memorable ASM Annuals, #14 (1980) and 15 (1981), both with Frank Miller pencils. In 1981, O’Neil also started editing Daredevil and chose to put newcomer artist Frank Miller in charge of the scripts in lieu of previous DD scribe Roger McKenzie, and Miller brought huge success to the book. Miller would leave DD with issue #191 (Feb. 1983). O’Neil dropped Daredevil’s editor duties with #199 and took over the scripts, with a very Irish atmosphere evolving on the book with a villain such as the Gael and new character Glorianna O’Breen. His early issues were drawn by Klaus Janson and had a direct connection with the Miller days. Then artist William Johnson took over for a somehow less memorable time (artistically and story-wise, with the Micah Synn story in 1984’s #202 and 204–206). The end of O’Neil’s Daredevil run was marked both by the emergence of David Mazzucchelli as artist and the downfall of DD’s longtime, on-and-off girlfriend, Heather Glenn, and her subsequent suicide in the dark and powerful story “Fog” (#220, July 1986). Whenever the regular artists would not be available, a name appeared on Spidey and DD fill-in issues: Luke McDonnell. McDonnell would be O’Neil’s main collaborator on his lengthiest Marvel run: Iron Man (#158, 160–208, 1982–1986). This controversial, always challenging and sometimes infuriating story could be called “The Downfall and Rebirth of Tony Stark,” and that would only cover a part of what this story was. Following writer David Michelinie and artist co-plotter Bob Layton’s tenure on Iron Man and inspired by 1979’s “Demon in a Bottle” issues (#127–128, mainly), O’Neil took Stark on a path of self-destruction and alcoholism. The downfall would really start with issue #167 (Feb. 1983) when Tony starts drinking again, and would bounce with his near-death in issue #182 (May 1984) and conclude with his return as Iron Man in issue #200 (Nov. 1985). But the seeds had been planted since issue #160 and the introduction of the main villain of the story Obadiah Stane, who would manipulate Tony Stark into drinking again with attacks on Tony personally, his company, and Iron Man. O’Neil stripped Tony Stark of everything he had: first his dignity, then his Iron Man armor (#170, May 1983), and finally, his company and assets (#173, Aug. 1983)… and subsequently, most of the previously established supporting cast. Tony would be replaced as Iron Man by his best friend and bodyguard James “Rhodey” Rhodes, supported by new characters Edwin and Clytemnestra Morley. The story culminated with the final fight between Stark and Stane, and with the latter choosing suicide rather than defeat. Essays could be written about this long and riveting story. But one of the most fascinating aspects is how the visuals followed the series’ twists and turns: from Bob Sharen changing completely his color palette in the course of five issues from shiny and bright tones to muted and darker ones, Steve Mitchell’s moody inks during the downfall issues, Luke McDonnell’s art taking on a new vibe with Akin and Garvey’s inks starting with issue #190 (Jan. 1985)… and then, the book takes a slightly more positive turn, with brighter colors being back (#196, July 1986), and finally new artist Mark Bright starts on the aforementioned issue #200. As O’Neil himself mentions in the interview following, this transformation would not have been possible without the work of editor Mark Gruenwald. O’Neil would also oversee other books as editor including his six years at Marvel including What If? (in collaboration with Mark Gruenwald,

Spidey Super Stories (top) O’Neil added Madame Web to the Spider- Rogues. Cover to Amazing Spider-Man #210 (Nov. 1980) by John Romita, Jr. and Al Milgrom. (bottom left and right) Denny’s collaborations with Frank Miller included these two beloved Spidey Annuals from 1980 and 1981. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

including issue #24, Dec. 1980, the Gwen Stacy story), John Byrne’s Alpha Flight, Power Man and Iron Fist, and the first Moench/ Sienkiewicz Moon Knight series. What follows is an edited transcription of an April 2018 telephone conversation where Dennis O’Neil kindly shares with BACK ISSUE a few great stories from his Marvel days. – Franck Martini FRANCK MARTINI: How did you move from DC to Marvel? DENNIS O’NEIL: I had been comfortable at DC, and I realized I wasn’t getting any of the interesting jobs and I thought, “I’m a known quantity to these people. They know they can count on me for 70-odd pages of script every week and I won’t miss the deadlines. I wonder if I’m going to be satisfied with that.” I was writing a book on the history of comics for Scholastic Press and was interviewing lots of people… and I mean, I barely knew Jolly Jim Shooter, but he was the editorial head at Marvel and the logical guy to talk to. I interviewed with him and he offered me an editorial job there in the office. I stalled him and said, “Thank you,” and stalled him for about three months. Things were a little tight financially, although I was not in financial trouble, but if I wanted more money, the only way DC made that possible was for me to write more. I could write as much as I wanted. The only problem with that, I thought, was I operating at the top of my capacity, or close to it. I thought the quality might suffer. What I would like to do was three books a month, and do something that wouldn’t add other books to my schedule. Shooter was making that possible. I don’t know if it was formalized or not, because it was a long time ago, but I think that he offered me a writer/editor deal. Those seldom, if ever, work out. Seems like everybody who gets put in charge of a comic-book line says, “We’ll have editors and these same people can be writers.” Inevitably, the editor part of the deal gets slighted. MARTINI: How long did it take for you to accept the offer? O’NEIL: I stalled and stalled and stalled until finally I decided, “Well, I’d better go to work for Marvel, this [at DC] is getting us nowhere.” And so, I called Jim Shooter and said, “I’m happy to come to work for you.” He said, “Oh, you waited so long, we hired somebody.” (That turned out to be Mike Gold.) So, there I was; I’d burned my bridges! I was working on a Shadow graphic novel for DC and thought that would take me couple/three weeks to finish. It was a pretty interesting job. I finished it, and I was a distance runner at the time and I went out for a three-mile run and got back home and there was a message on the machine from Jim saying, “You’re an editor here and you start Monday.” MARTINI: Do you remember when and how you took over Spider-Man? O’NEIL: I had a pretty good reputation in the business. Jim Shooter offered me this job and for two years was the best boss I ever had. For these two years, I was put in charge of the Spider-Man franchise. That meant that I edited the books, except for Amazing Spider-Man, which I wrote. It was not my best work, and suddenly I was fired off Spider-Man without explanation because I wasn’t doing good work. That was a quick hit in the head, because I’d been fired off editorial jobs, but never off a writing job! Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 43

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ROCK ’N’ ROLL COMICS! Flash Gordon star SAM J. JONES interview, KISS in comics, Marvel’s ALICE COOPER, T. Rex’s MARC BOLAN interviews STAN LEE, PAUL McCARTNEY, Charlton’s Partridge Family, David Cassidy, and Bobby Sherman comics, Marvel’s Steeltown Rockers, Monkees comics, & Comic-Con band Seduction of the Innocent. With AMY CHU, JACK KIRBY, BILL MUMY, ALAN WEISS, and others!

MERCS AND ANTIHEROES! Deadpool’s ROB LIEFELD and FABIAN NICIEZA interviewed! Histories of Cable, Taskmaster, Deathstroke the Terminator, the Vigilante, and Wild Dog, plus… Archie meets the Punisher?? Featuring TERRY BEATTY, MAX ALLAN COLLINS, PAUL KUPPERBERG, BATTON LASH, JEPH LOEB, DAVID MICHELINIE, MARV WOLFMAN, KEITH POLLARD, and others! Deadpool vs. Cable cover by LIEFELD!

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RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Millsted

by I a n

Where could the work of Silver Age giants like Steve Ditko be found alongside that of the emerging stars of the late 1980s? Where could you find a 25-part Black Panther story or an epic origin story for Wolverine? What comic could lure Doug Moench back to Master of Kung Fu? Where did Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos meet Count Dracula? It all happened in the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents. In the Golden Age of comic books, anthology titles, with different stories and characters present in each issue, were the bedrock of the industry. Action Comics, Detective Comics, and many others contained multiple ongoing series. When Timely [later Marvel] Comics entered the field with Marvel Mystery Comics, that book’s pages contained the Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Ka-Zar, the Angel, and others between its covers. This was the industry norm for years. It was as publishers reduced the page count of comic books that the trend toward one complete story in one comic book gradually became more typical. By the 1970s, when many titles had just 17 pages of comic story, there was little room for anything other than the lead feature. This is not to say that publishers didn’t try to reverse this trend. Both Marvel and DC tried increasing page counts (and, as a result, prices). There were Giant-Size comics, Dollar Comics, the rebirth of the Annual, and other innovations. Some were more successful than others. By the 1980s, the rise of the direct market and an upward swing in overall sales made a return to the anthology format potentially viable. In 1988, within a few weeks of each other, DC changed Action Comics to the anthology format with Action Comics Weekly #601 (Aug. 1988) [which we chronicled back in BACK ISSUE #98—ed.], while Marvel launched a new title, Marvel Comics Presents #1 (Sept. 1988). At face value, it would seem that the two companies were spurred by competition with each other. However, Marvel’s then-editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco reveals that the inspiration was a more surprising source: “Marvel Comics was doing very well at that time. We were producing and selling more titles each year and our plans were to produce even more in the years ahead. “A lot of people wanted to break into comics, but they weren’t quite ready,” DeFalco continues. “They enjoyed penciling, writing, whatever, but didn’t realize how hard it is to actually produce a professional tom defalco comic book. We needed a training ground. DC had once produced a title called New Talent Showcase— © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. an almost-perfect training ground. Almost-perfect except for one factor: It didn’t sell. “Here’s a sad fact: New talent doesn’t support new talent. People who want to break into comics won’t buy a comic by other people who want to break into comics. If a title doesn’t sell, you can’t keep publishing it. “I also had another problem. In order to keep a trademark, you must actively publish that trademark on a regular basis. That means you need to publish the Ant-Man logo in order to keep your trademark on Ant-Man. I needed a place to publish characters and logos that didn’t have their own books.” These needs led to the creation of an ongoing Marvel anthology title. “I’m sure I discussed the concept with [Marvel editor] Mark Gruenwald— simply because I discussed everything with Mark—and eventually came up with the basic concept for Marvel Comics Presents,” DeFalco says. “We would produce a 32-page comic book without ads, divided into four stories of eight pages each. It would be a flip-book with a cover on both sides, so that we could include more than one logo per book. We would feature top talent or a popular character on the two cover-featured stories and new talent or a character without his/her own title on the two interior stories. Yes, there was a connection between Marvel Comics Presents and a DC title, but it wasn’t Action Comics Weekly. Marvel Comics Presents was our version of New Talent Showcase, but we wanted to keep that connection secret. We wanted it to sell so that we could keep publishing it. We never told the readers that its true purpose was to give new talent a place to polish their skills because new talent won’t support other new talent. We were hoping the top talent and/or popular characters would help Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 49

Torch story had a few pages of rough dialogue, but a few pages had been lost so I had to vamp for those. I used the stuff I could. His pencils were very sparse. There wasn’t a lot there to work with but that suited me just fine. That meant I had room to play around.” Scott Lobdell wrote a great Lockjaw story for #68 that managed to be funny and moving at the same time. The Black Knight story in #73 was an interesting variation on Walter Scott’s novel The Talisman—in eight pages! The Hulk/Selene story in #78, with script by Dwight Zimmerman and art by Brian Stelfreeze, is sexy and funny.

MCP Rarity (below) From Heritage, original art for an unpublished Marvel Comics Presents cover by Mike Mignola. (right) Sam Kieth’s cover to MCP’s 100th issue. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

STILL HUNGRY?

The job of following “Weapon X” fell to Peter David and Sam Kieth, who produced “Blood Hungry,” which ran in 1991 from #85 to 92. Kieth adopted an exaggerated style for drawing Wolverine while keeping Tyger Tiger closer to the versions established previously. The story involved false or unreliable memories, and the creative use of visuals served the story appropriately. There was a thematic link to the “Weapon X” story, while at the same time moving the Wolverine series forward. Tim Truman wrote the next Wolverine story, starting in issue 93 with art by Todd Foxx and Gary Kwapisz. As Marvel Comics Presents raced towards its 100th issue, there were more serials for mutant-related characters. With New Warriors having been a success [see BACK ISSUE #33], founding member Firestar was given a prequel story in Marvel Comics Presents #82 to 87. Marie Javins and Marcus McLaurin wrote the story, with Dwayne Turner penciling and Jose Marzan on inks. This didn’t work for some readers, but the emphasis on family and moral decision-making helped to develop the backstory of a character initially created for a television cartoon. The ending appears a little rushed. The Beast story in issues #85 to 92 was a good example of the development of new talent. It was originally to be drawn by Rob Liefeld, but after some Liefeld work on the first two chapters was taken over by then-newcomer Jae Lee. Scott Lobdell, now promoted from the one-offs, wrote the script. In 1990 the anthology underwent a significant change from #90 onwards when the flip-format originally envisaged by Tom DeFalco finally came to be. This also marked the arrival of Ghost Rider as a second ongoing lead character. This somewhat limited the space to show other characters, but that was partly balanced by the way both Wolverine and Ghost Rider were increasingly being used in team-up stories. For example, the first Ghost Rider serial in issues #90 to 97 co-starred Cable. The 100th issue in 1992 was a single story divided into four sections by writer Howard Mackie and artist Sam Kieth, who also did its funny front and back covers with Ghost Rider watching while Wolverine bore the brunt of a massive stone number “100.” Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Dr. Doom, and Nightmare shared the pages. Still to come in Marvel Comics Presents was a great Man-Thing serial, Sandy Plunkett on Ant-Man, Gil Kane on Two-Gun Kid, and a lot more Wolverine. There were also the ones that got away— work commissioned for Marvel Comics Presents but ended up being published elsewhere. Those will wait for another occasion if BACK ISSUE readers would like the second half of the story. Final word goes to the man who created the concept, Tom DeFalco: “I want to thank all the readers who ever bought an issue of MCP for supporting our new talent program, even if they didn’t know that’s what they were doing!” With thanks to Tom DeFalco, Paul Gulacy, Al Milgrom, Ann Nocenti, Erik Larsen, Doug Moench, and Marv Wolfman. IAN MILLSTED is a teacher and writer based in Bristol, U.K.

60 • BACK ISSUE • Make Mine Marvel Issue

by E

d Lute

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw a plethora of grim and gritty anti-heroes enter the comics world. Superheroes such as Cable, Spawn, and (future killer of the Marvel Universe) Deadpool made a splash on the comics scene, selling millions of copies and becoming the poster children for ultraviolent comics. Every new character had to be grim, gritty, or both. Characters not originally conceived as edgy were getting forbidding makeovers: John Walker took over the mantle of Captain America from Steve Rogers and gave the Sentinel of Liberty a bad name; Aquaman got a harpoon hand, grew a beard, and got an attitude with a capital A; and Green Lantern Hal Jordan became Parallax, killing his loved ones in the process! During this dark time for superheroes, Speedball the Masked Marvel bounced onto the scene and into his own self-titled series. He came with an upbeat personality, more like a throwback to the Silver Age-era Marvel heroes rather than the then-current crop taking over comics shops. So, how did this light-hearted character get created at the same time as the grim-and-gritty anti-heroes? Let’s take a look at Speedball’s introduction, his solo series, and why this Silver Age-esque series ultimately failed in the brutish Copper Age.

AN EVOLUTIONARY INTRODUCTION

Robbie Baldwin/Speedball was created by writer Tom DeFalco and artist Steve Ditko. According to DeFalco, “I came up with the original idea for the character and wrote a bible on him—which included his origin, his powers, personality, family dynamic, backstory, and everything else you needed to know in order to write a story about him. Steve designed the costume and also designed Robbie himself.” At the time DeFalco created Speedball, Marvel Comics’ editorin-chief Jim Shooter was developing the New Universe imprint for Marvel Comics’ 25th anniversary in 1986. DeFalco originally pitched the character to Shooter for inclusion in Marvel’s New Universe imprint because he thought Speedball would be a good fit: “I wrote the bible— although I originally called him Ricochet—and presented him to Jim Shooter for the New Universe. Jim didn’t feel the character fit into his ideas for the New Universe and told me we should eventually do him for the Marvel Universe.” The DeFalco and Ditko creation eventually made his debut two years later in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual

In the Mighty Marvel Tradition A young old-school hero, Speedball, bounces into the Marvel Universe in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22 (1988). Cover by Ron Frenz (the intended Speedball artist) and John Romita, Sr. (inset) This article’s writer, Ed Lute (left), and Tom DeFalco (right), at a 2018 comic-con. Photo courtesy of Ed Lute. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 61

Bouncing Around (top left) Page from the Speedball story in the anthology Marvel Comics Presents #85 (Sept. 1991), written by Scott Lobdell, penciled by Ron Wilson, and inked by Chris Ivy. (bottom) A darker turn for Speedball, his Penance identity. Civil War: Front Line #10 (Dec. 2006) cover art by John Watson. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

66 • BACK ISSUE • Make Mine Marvel Issue

then starred in their own self-titled series, the first volume of which ran for 75 issues (July 1990–Sept. 1996). [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #33 for our coverage of the New Warriors series.] DeFalco enjoyed Speedball’s characterization in the team book: “I thought Robbie was a fun character with interesting powers. I really liked the way Fabian Nicieza wrote him in New Warriors.” During his time with the New Warriors, Speedball continued to be presented in Marvel Comics Presents and Marvel Super-Heroes. Although he made several appearances after the original New Warriors series was cancelled, the Masked Marvel’s next big contribution to the Marvel Universe came during the 2006– 2007 Civil War miniseries. In Civil War #1, Speedball was part of a reformed New Warriors team that caused the Stamford disaster in which 612 people were killed as a result of the Warriors’ battle with the villain Nitro. The New Warriors (Night Thrasher, Microbe, and Namorita) all died during the skirmish, except for Robbie. As a result of the disastrous incident, Robbie began to have survivor’s guilt. Because of this, and the supposed loss of his powers, he gave up his Speedball persona. When he realized that his powers had not burned out but were triggered by pain instead of through an impact, he fashioned an armored suit with 612 spikes (one for each of the Stamford victims) inside that would cause him pain. By causing himself pain, Robbie would form explosive energy blasts instead of energy bubbles. He took on the name of Penance. Robbie first went by the moniker of Penance in Civil War: Front Line #10 (Jan. 2007). As a character who was created as a counterpoint to the grim and gritty superheroes, it is ironic that Speedball would become one of them. During this time, he even joined Norman Osborne’s government-sponsored Thunderbolts. Eventually Robbie returned to his Speedball persona during Marvel’s “Heroic Age” and remained as Speedball ever since. Recently as of this writing, Speedball even made his live-action debut in the pilot episode for a potential New Warriors television series. Calum Worthy portrayed Robbie Baldwin/Speedball in the episode that has yet to be picked up as a series. With Speedball’s new exposure, it may just be time for a new solo series for this 1980s character to bring his 1960s charms to 2019. “I just want to say how much I loved what Steve [Ditko], Fabian [Nicieza], and Mark [Bagley] did with the character and always wished that I could have spent more time with him,” DeFalco declares. The author would like to thank Tom DeFalco, Terry Kavanagh, and Roger Stern for their invaluable assistance with this article. ED LUTE is a lifelong comic-book fan. This is his first (of hopefully many) articles for BACK ISSUE. He lives with his family in southern New Jersey.

by J o h n

Tr u m b u l l

Let the Storytelling Begin (left) Ann Nocenti began her long Daredevil run with vol. 1 #236 (Jan. 1987). Cover by Arthur Adams and Klaus Janson. (right) Mark Waid’s stint without fear began with Daredevil vol. 3 #1 (Sept. 2011). Cover by Paolo Rivera. Nocenti and Waid photos © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

ann nocenti

mark waid

Ever since his debut in 1963, Daredevil has been a mainstay of the Marvel Universe. Tragically blinded in an accident, Matt Murdock’s other five senses are boosted to superhuman levels, enabling him to fight crime as both a lawyer and a superhero. The following is a transcript of the “Writing Daredevil” panel I conducted with former DD writers Ann Nocenti and Mark Waid, from the 2016 East Coast Comicon in Secaucus, New Jersey, on April 17, 2016. It has been copyedited by Nocenti, Waid, and myself for clarity. – John Trumbull JOHN TRUMBULL: My name is John Trumbull. I write for BACK ISSUE magazine, and I want to say welcome to both of our guests, both of whom had very significant runs on the Man without Fear, Matt Murdock. We have with us Ann Nocenti. [applause] She wrote Daredevil from January 1987 to April 1991, a 60-issue run. [DD vol. 1 #238–291] We also have Mark Waid, [applause] who wrote Daredevil from September 2011 to September 2015. [DD vol. 3 #1–36, followed by DD vol. 4 #1–18] ANN NOCENTI: For how many issues? MARK WAID: Well, here’s the thing… NOCENTI: What did I do, 60 issues? TRUMBULL: 60 issues by my count. NOCENTI: Wow. TRUMBULL: And Mark did… you were thinking 57, 58? WAID: 57, 58. But, but, but…!

TRUMBULL: Mark has done more consecutive issues. NOCENTI: Ooooh. TRUMBULL: An uninterrupted run. WAID: [crying in triumph] Ahhh! Denied! NOCENTI: Lose. TRUMBULL: Those damn fill-in issues! NOCENTI: Fail. TRUMBULL: But! A distinction that you share is that you’ve both done more issues of Daredevil than a Mr. Frank Miller. [Waid and Nocenti exchange a fist-bump] So there you go. NOCENTI: I mean, who’s counting, right? TRUMBULL: People like me! [laughter] Comics historians. Now, I think a good place to start would be to ask: How did you two initially get the assignment? Ann, from what I understand, you did a fill-in issue of Daredevil [DD vol. 1 #236, Nov. 1986] and then an issue or so later [DD vol. 1 #238, Jan. 1987], you were the regular writer. NOCENTI: Yeah. It was Ralph Macchio, who’s an absolutely fabulous editor. You know, I think that some of the decisions you make early on in your career are a little bit naive, because you just are new to the game. I think my first assignment [at Marvel] was, “Kill Spider-Woman.” I went, “Okay.” And it wasn’t until years later that I realized that I only got that job ’cause nobody else wanted to kill her. [laughter] And then when you get your first letter from some little girl and Spider-Woman was her favorite character and you killed her, then it really sinks in, and I don’t think I ever killed anyone ever again. Make Mine Marvel Issue • BACK ISSUE • 67

Back Issue #110