Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics by TwoMorrows Publishing

Marie Severin MiRTHful THE

MisTREss Of

COMiCs

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DEwEy CAssEll WiTH AAROn sulTAn

Written by Dewey Cassell with Aaron Sultan Edited and proofread by Rob Smentek Designed by Scott Saavedra Front cover art by Marie Severin and is adapted from a selfportrait created for the Marvel Comics fan club, Marvelmania. All artwork or other trademarked material herein is printed in these pages with the consent of the copyright holder and/or for journalistic, educational purposes with no infringement intended or implied.

Postcard from Marie to Craig Rogers featur and Daredev il ing caricature . Courtesy of C s of herself raig Rogers.

Dedication To “Mirthful” Marie, with thanks for making us all smile.

The name Kull and the names of Robert E. Howard’s other principal characters are trademarked by Paradox Entertainment of Stockholm, Sweden, through its US subsidiary Paradox Entertainment Inc. Captain America, the Cat, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Human Torch, Iron Man,Spider-Man, Sub-Mariner, X-Men and related characters are TM & © 2012 Marvel Characters, Inc.

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 www.twomorrows.com e-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com

First Printing July 2012 Printed in the USA

Art © Marie Severin

ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-042-7 2

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Marvelmania................................................ 143 Interview with Mark Evanier......................144 Friends of Ol’ Marvel (FOOM)..................... 147 Interview with David Anthony Kraft..............................................................148 Fanzines............................................................... 155 Comic Crusader Interview with Marie Severin............................................... 155 Kid Stuff............................................................... 158 Caricatures..........................................................160 For Fun..........................................................160

In Comics.....................................................160 HOME AGAIN....................................................... 163 Sketch Cards................................................. 163 Marvel Silver Age......................................... 163 Marvel Legends............................................ 163 Conventions and Commissions................... 163 Conclusion................................................... 165 INDEX OF CREDITS...............................................166 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................... 174 May not be sold without cover affixed.

Happy together—smiling John and Marie Severin (left), circa 1936, with two unnamed cousins. Courtesy of Marie (and Jon B. Cooke).

1 Home For all of us, the process of defining who we are and the person we will grow up to be starts at home. So, to gain insight into the “origins” of Marie Severin, what better place to start than with her family and friends?

to be a good income to aspire to. So a lot of people were discouraged, but we weren’t. My parents said, “If you like to draw, go ahead and make something of it.” So that was a prelim to my growing up and falling into comics.

Cassell: What did your father do for a living? Severin: He was a designer for Elizabeth Arden, the cosmetics firm. He had gone to Pratt Institute and was really a very good painter, but in the Twenties and Thirties you couldn’t earn a living for a family, I guess, so he went into business, and they recognized him as very talented. So Elizabeth Arden was, and I think still is, a pretty good, respected cosmetic firm. He would design the labels, packaging design, bottle ornamentation. The bottles, I think most of them were made in France, but he would design all kinds of lettering and new products, and so forth. And she gave him his own little studio, and he was her personal artist. Of course, they had a studio, but usually she had him start something off, and then he would ship it off. I believe that’s how it was done at the time. He would do initial design for her approval, and then it would go to a promotional studio to be worked up into a label, where it would be manufactured. My father, that’s how he earned his living, and my mother was always encouraging us because she knew we were all crazy, so she went along with it. Books and stuff were very important in our lives, and that was very nice. So we always had a pretty good background as a source for our imagination growing.

fAMilY SOMETIMES, IT SEEMS THAT a person is predestined to follow a certain path. As if they were born to their vocation, endowed with gifts the rest of us can only envy and try to emulate. People for whom their innate ability, combined with a nurturing environment, leads to greatness. Not that they don’t have to work at it, but rather that the work is made to appear almost effortless. A natural. So it was with Marie Severin. The interview that follows provides insight into the talented family into which Marie was born on August 21, 1929, and the support and encouragement that she received when she displayed an early interest in drawing.

Interview with Marie Dewey Cassell: Can you tell me a little bit about your parents? Where were they from and what did they do? Marie Severin: Well, both were talented people. I think they brought John and I up with great respect for what we wanted to do. My father always had paper in the house for us to draw on. My mother could sew and she used to design her own clothes when she was a young woman. She was from Syracuse, New York. And my father was born in Oslo, Norway, and he came here when he was three years old, and was in World War I. He worked in the trenches and had great respect for the United States, and he was a great guy, and my mother was terrific. But my brother and I really respected our parents a lot. And John was marvelous when he was younger. He always shared stuff with me. I think John was seven years old [when I was born]. Anyway, at that age, he was protective of me, until he started playing baseball and all that stuff. But he was a good brother. [We] always had fun. And always it was accepted in our house if you liked to draw. That was nice. I’ve heard when I was growing up about people who wanted to draw and their parents at the time thought it was foolish. It wasn’t thought

Cassell: Did your dad work In New York City? Severin: Yes, he did, and also in Long Island City, which is in Queens, I believe. They had a factory there, and they gave him a nice studio there to work with. And he would go in to New York when he had to see her or whatever was going on. It was pretty good, although I’m sure he would have been happier doing regular artwork, but it was at least related to what he was good at, and he earned a good living. Cassell: So did your mother work outside the home at all? Severin: No, my mother was a homebody. She never really did that much drawing, but she would love to sit around and talk with us. She was very encouraging, and liked art, songs, and things. And she was very appreciative of our application of talent. Cassell: You said that she liked to sew, so it sounds like she was a creative person, too. 7

2 Horror All comics are not created equal, and horror, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. But Tales From The Crypt was not just another comic book. Nor was EC just another comic book company. And as Marie Severin found out, it was a great place to start a career.

time period, including titles like Tales From the Crypt, Weird Science Fiction, and Frontline Combat. And into that testosterone laden environment came a young lady named Marie Severin.

Interview with Marie

Cassell: How did you get the job at EC? Severin: Well, it all started when Harvey started doing the war books, and he was such a perfectionist, and my brother also loved that uniforms were correct, and insignia, and all that jazz. So he said, “Well, my sister is talented, she could probably do the coloring.” At that time the color was sent, with the art, up to Chemical Color Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and they had separators there that separated all the work that came in from Marvel or DC or whoever, and they did the coloring, and so forth. But, a lot of times [it was] not talented people doing it, and they might put green suits and yellow sidewalks, stuff like that, that was plentiful and was typical of comics. EC wanted it more accurate. Harvey was a stickler for having it realistic and upgrading the look of the books. He wanted them to look more like Prince Valiant in the newspaper. Anyway, that’s how I got started, because they figured I could handle that, and I started on Harvey’s books. So I quit my job and started doing coloring for them.

EC IT IS OFTEN SMALL things that end up having a big impact. So it was with EC. Maxwell Charles Gaines was not new to the comic book business. As a salesman for Eastern Color Printing, he came up with the idea of repackaging newspaper comic strips into a comic book format to sell to companies as a promotional item. Together with Jack Lebowitz, he became publisher of All-American Publications, which began publishing comics with original material in 1938, including in its stable characters like Wonder Woman and the Flash. Then, in 1944, Gaines sold All-American to Harry Donenfeld, who merged it with his own company, National Allied Publications, the precursor to DC Comics. With the proceeds of the sale of All-American, Gaines founded Educational Comics. EC started out much like its competitors, publishing comics with funny animals and titles like Tiny Tot Comics. However, Gaines also published comics that were truly educational, like Picture Stories From the Bible. Tragically, Max Gaines was killed in a boating accident in 1947, leaving the reins of EC to his 25 year old son, Bill. Bill didn’t particularly like the comics EC had been publishing and set out to make his own mark. Bill changed the name to Entertaining Comics, foregoing any pretense of the comics being educational, and he recruited a couple of brilliant creators to pave the way for a new EC, Harvey Kurtzman and Al Feldstein. Serving as editors, writers, and artists, Kurtzman and Feldstein formed the backbone of a remarkably talented stable that included Jack Davis, Jack Kamen, Johnny Craig, Bernard Krigstein, FACING PAGE Color Graham Ingles, Wally Wood, guide to the cover of George Evans, John Severin Haunt of Fear #26 by and others. From that cadre Marie for the Russ came arguably the best Cochran reprints. comics of that or any other Courtesy of Scott Burnley.

Cassell: Were you coloring every book that came out of EC? Severin: At one time… Yeah, I guess I did. I mean, it didn’t take me long. A lot of the stories were only five, seven pages, so when they’d come in, I’d immediately get the simple things. I’d color them up while I was in the office. So it was staggered. In other words, when a book was completed, in its stages, he may have different artists doing different stories. Yeah, I was doing a heck of a lot of the coloring. All the covers at that point, too, and that’s the way they saw that the EC books would stand out on the counters because the coloring was good enough. The art in those days in so many comics, stacked up and all you saw was the top, was the title. But then they started putting them on racks where you could see the picture, and that’s what they wanted to show off, our covers with a little more detail in the coloring. And the good art. Cassell: I know you’ve been credited with a lot of the success of EC because of those really vibrant covers. Severin: Well, it’s the content that’s the thing. I mean, you can color Daffy Duck and it won’t make a difference as long as 23

Parody advertisement from Timely Comics’ humor magazine SNAFU #2 attributed to Marie. 48

3 In-Between The 1950s were a period of transition for Marie. With the demise of the color comics of EC, Marie went looking for greener pastures. In addition to a stint with a greeting card company and some freelance work, what she found along the way were a couple of interesting jobs that enabled her to continue to hone her talents and broaden her skillset, in preparation for the job of a lifetime yet to come.

TiMElY/ATlAs COMiCs

feelings about leaving there. As a matter of fact, I really missed them because it was a lot of fun. I went up to Stan because there wasn’t that much going on at EC, as I said, and he wanted a good colorist, and he knew I knew reproduction on comics. Anyway, I worked for Stan, then, and when the books really got in trouble, the whole bullpen was done away with at Timely, as Marvel was known then, and Stan felt terrible. They had some books going, but it wasn’t enough to have a bullpen staff, letterers in-house, etc. So it was mostly freelancers.

Cassell: Do you know what year you left EC? Severin: I think it was ’53, ’54. Cassell: And how long were you with Timely until they folded? Severin: Oh, I think it was maybe… If it was a year, I’d be surprised. I don’t know.

BEFORE THERE WAS MARVEL Comics, there was Timely. Timely Comics was founded by publisher Martin Goodman in 1939. The first issue of Marvel Comics published later that year launched the seminal characters Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch. Goodman then hired Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, who created Captain America. Goodman also hired his cousin, Stanley Lieber (a.k.a. Stan Lee), who started out as an assistant, but graduated to editor in 1942. For several years, Timely enjoyed success with its super-hero triumvirate. But the end of the war meant the end of the super-hero craze (at least for the time being) and Timely diversified its line of comics, focusing on imitation of its competitors as the sincerest form of flattery (and the quickest way to profitability.) When EC began to decline, John Severin found work at Timely. And Marie was not far behind. In this short interview, Marie talks about her brief tenure freelancing at Timely Comics.

Cassell: And what kind of work did you do at Timely? Severin: Well, I did coloring, I knew production, I could do corrections. I didn’t do the corrections like Maneely and my brother did. They were the staff artists at the time, and they had a bullpen of letterers where they did an awful lot of lettering on staff. But I was there doing pretty much what I did at EC. And there were plenty of comics to color, but then everything started to fold in, and when I came back later, comics were picking up again, and that’s when I started really full-time at Timely/Marvel, and it worked out fine. I stayed there a long, long time. Cassell: Tell me about Joe Maneely. I understand he was quite an interesting man and, unfortunately, died an early death. Severin: Yeah, he had an accident going home on the train. He lived in New Jersey, I believe, and he was walking, I think, between the cars. It was awful. I was at my brother’s house when Maneely’s wife called up John. John and he were friendly, y’know. Maneely was an awfully nice guy. Funny, so talented, and, like my brother, they’d both play in the office. One would draw something and the other one would ink it, and one would draw the arm, one would draw the leg. And they really produced some great stuff, but they were kidding around. And they were so quick, and their techniques, although they were different in drawing, were excellent. The pencils were great. And it would be fun. They made the bullpen very pleasant. But it was

Interview with Marie Cassell: How did you first come to be at Timely? Severin: Well, I came and went from there, because that was when the Comics Code came in the Fifties, and I was working at EC, and EC was put out of business. All they had left was MAD. My brother John went up to Stan Lee and worked there on staff, and I thought, “Gee, maybe that’s a good idea,” because there wasn’t that much for me to do anymore at EC. The coloring was gone. And I was doing quite a bit of production on MAD magazine, but I thought I would be more financially secure with more stuff to do. And there was no hard 49

Cover of Kull the Destroyer #19 by Marie. Courtesy of Mike Collins. 52

4 Heroes Super-heroes had enjoyed tremendous popularity since 1938 and the introduction of Superman in the first issue of Action Comics. Their popularity waned following the end of World War II, and the heroes took a backseat to horror and crime comics. But the Comics Code that brought an end to EC and other publishers in the mid-1950s opened up the door for the return of the super-hero. The publication of Showcase #4 in 1956 is widely regarded as the beginning of the Silver Age of Comics. It featured an updated version of the Golden Age Flash, re-envisioned by DC Comics editor Julie Schwartz, and the super-hero was once again on the rise.

that a super-hero could have problems, just like everyone else. The Thing wasn’t happy about his powers and he often argued with Mr. Fantastic, who was trying to cure him, and the Human Torch, who loved to tease him. Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter Parker, struggled with guilt over causing the death of his uncle, while trying to go to school and hold down a job (with a boss who hated his other identity.) Sure, the Flash was often late to work or to meet Iris, but that irony did not compare with the pathos of the heroes in the burgeoning Marvel Universe. Marvel humanized the super-hero without diminishing their powers. And they did it with snappy dialogue and dynamic artwork that captivated a new generation of readers. Over the years, Marie played a variety of roles at Marvel Comics, from production and coloring to penciling and inking (and even lettering on occasion) to art director and special projects. In this interview, Marie talks about her return to Marvel Comics and many of the people she worked with along the way.

Drawing super-hero comics is a skill, however, that not every artist possesses. Many artists who demonstrated exceptional ability in other genres floundered when trying to draw men in tights. The challenge is to make them look exciting and yet credible while flying around and clobbering fanatical costumed bad guys. This was especially true as older readers, many of them college students, joined the ranks of comic fandom. No small feat, and yet one that Marie Severin mastered with seeming ease. Marie drew a variety of heroes over the years. She is most closely identified with the Incredible Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and Doctor Strange, but she also drew characters like the Cat as well as Kull the Conqueror, with her brother John. Her tenure is regarded as a high water mark for each of them. What they all have in common is that they are characters of Marvel Comics, the company with which Marie would remain for thirty years.

Interview with Marie Cassell: So you eventually left Filmfax and went back to work for Stan? Severin: Yeah, I guess I did. Anyway, I was back with Stan. Cassell: Who was there when you went back the second time? Severin: Well, pretty much the same crew. John and I. When I went back, I think Maneely had died by then, and John was freelancing because he was well-established with his characters, and he was doing fine. He lived in Jersey, so he didn’t have to commute anymore, which was nice. I lived in Brooklyn at the time, in the old homestead. I really was reared from the same area, so there was no change for me.

MARVEl COMiCs

Cassell: Was Don Heck there? Severin: Gee, I don’t think so. I think he was freelance, and these guys would be [working] outside. In the bullpen, you didn’t see them going in and out of Stan’s office, and they usually did not have the occasion to come back and talk to the production people unless one of the artists wanted to see one of the artists that happened to be working there that day. Sometimes they’d come in and they’d give them a table to

WHEN MARIE RETURNED TO the company once known as Timely/Atlas, things were already in full swing. The combined creative genius of writer Stan Lee and artists Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and others, had produced a succession of successful new super-hero comic books, based on a new concept—the notion 53

“Mme. Curie” epilogue drawn by Marie for the 2003 book Dignifying Science by Jim Ottaviani. Courtesy of Jim Ottaviani 96

5 The First Lady of Comics Marie severin did not set out to blaze any trails. She did what came naturally—drawing—and enjoyed the fact that she could make a living at it. For the most part, she has indicated she did not encounter major obstacles along the way, in spite of being a woman in a predominately male industry. She did not necessarily think of herself as a feminist (although she did illustrate the cover of the November 1973 issue of Ms. magazine.) Intentional or otherwise, though, Marie paved the way for other women to enter the field and have the respect once afforded almost exclusively to men. She demonstrated that anyone could have a successful career in comics, if one had the talent and perseverance.

is certainly not the only one. In this section, we hear from several friends and colleagues of Marie, all women, who have also enjoyed great success in the field of comics. Their experiences with Marie are alike in some ways and different in others, but they have one thing in common—a genuine affection for Marie Severin. Here, then, are interviews with Ramona Fradon, Trina Robbins, Flo Steinberg, and Linda Fite, and commentary by Irene Vartanoff, friends all to the first lady of comics.

ONE OF THE FRIENDS Marie met later in life was another well respected female artist, Ramona Fradon. Fradon began her career in 1950 and worked extensively for DC Comics. She is best known for illustrating Aquaman and co-creating the character Metamorpho. She later took over the Brenda Starr newspaper strip from Dale Messick. Fradon talks about Marie, the things they have in common, and the times they have shared.

She has served as an ambassador of sorts and a wonderful role model. She participated in a panel on “the role of women in comics” at the 1974 Comic Art Convention in New York, along with Flo Steinberg, Linda Fite, Jean Thomas, and Irene Vartanoff. She also participated in the Women of Comics Symposium at the 2006 Toronto Comic Con. In addition, her work was featured in the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art exhibition of women comic-book artists in 2006. Marie was also a champion of how women are portrayed in comics. In a July 20, 1974 article in the Long Island Press, Marie told reporter Mark Finston, “In the ‘40s and ‘50s the usual heroine was simple … she got weak at the knees at the handsomeness of the hero, no matter how capable she was in other matters. But men were never simpy at the sight of beautiful women. The only exceptions to that were the sons of villains. Today it’s more realistic. Women get sore at their husbands, and the girl friends of the super-heroes tell them off. Some comic book women now are even bullies!” When asked about the future, Marie exhibited remarkable foresight, “In 10 years women won’t be simpy at all. They’ll run for senator, be heads of firms. You might even begin to have ugly ladies with super powers. You now have ugly men with super powers … some of them are gross!” When you think of women in comics, Marie Severin may be the first one who comes to mind, but thanks to her example, she

Interview with Ramona Fradon Dewey Cassell: When and where did you first meet Marie? Ramona Fradon: Well, it’s funny. When I started drawing comics back in ’62 or something, everybody would ask me, do I know Marie Severin? You know, because I was a woman, and she was the only other woman in the business. And, of course, I hadn’t met her and had no idea who she was. And I didn’t even know that she drew. I thought she was just in the bullpen or something over at Marvel. Over the years people kept asking me that, and I’d never met her. And then finally, when I’d been out of comics for years, I went to a convention, I think it was in Westchester somewhere, and met Marie for the first time. And, you know, I just thought she was wonderful. Cassell: You two do seem to get along very well. Did you hit it off from the first? Fradon: Yes, we did. We amused each other a lot. And, of course, we loved chatting about the guys and the super-heroes and all that. Cassell: Other than drawing, are there other things that you share in common with Marie? 97

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FACING PAGE Marie illustrated this piece in honor of her brother’s tribute dinner at the 1998 San Diego Comic Con. ABOVE Caricatures from correspondence between Marie and her friends Eleanor Hezel and Jean Davenport. Courtesy of Eleanor Hezel and Jean Davenport. 115

Splash page to issue #2 of Not Brand Echh by Marie. Courtesy of Zaddick Longenbach. 128

6 Humor A good sense of humor will serve you well in a variety of circumstances. It can diffuse a tense situation, break the ice with a new group of people, and brighten a dreary day. It is a talent that only a few truly possess (although that doesn’t stop the rest of us from trying.) Marie Severin, though, is not only an exceptional artist, but a gifted humorist as well. And that talent is one she readily shared with friends and fans, as is evident in much of her art. When you ask anyone about Marie Severin—peers, friends or fans—they may tell you they loved her work on the Hulk or they admired her contributions to EC or that her version of Kull is their favorite. But they will almost invariably add, “And she has a great sense of humor.” It is that remarkable gift of humor that leaves the greatest impression on the people whose lives she touches, regardless of their age or gender. Humor comes most naturally to Marie, so it is only natural that when she is drawing for fun, humor is the form it is most likely to take. And she has had a lot of fun over the years. In the early days of Marvel Comics, editor Stan Lee gave each of the creators—writers, artists, letterers, etc.—a nickname (or in some cases, more than one), including himself. It was Stan “The Man” Lee (or occasionally “Smilin’” Stan Lee.) Sometimes they reflected a predominant characteristic of the person (or the exact opposite), but the chief requirement was that they should be alliterative or rhyme. The effect was to encourage reader recognition of, and identification with, the Marvel creators. Bullpen nicknames included “Rascally” Roy Thomas, “Jazzy” John Romita (or John “Ring-A-Ding” Romita), “Joltin’” Joe Sinnott, Jack “King” Kirby, “Happy” Herb Trimpe, and last but not least, “Mirthful” Marie Severin. Given that the Marvel offices were covered with caricatures by Marie, the latter is easily understood. In this section, we examine a variety of ways in which Marie’s humor has manifested itself in her work, beginning with the humor comic books that she helped create and continuing through her work on special projects, including advertising, promotions, fan clubs, and comics targeted at young children. Finally, we’ll take a look at those infamous caricatures that Marie has drawn over the years. So enjoy the sharp wit (and sharp pencil) of the humor of Marie Severin.

During the time period in which Marvel Comics was gaining steam, it was common to find product advertisements on television and in magazines where they referred to the competition as “Brand X,” rather than the actual product name, presumably to avoid any litigation from competitors. And, of course, “Brand X” always proved to be inferior. Marvel decided to apply the same logic to comic books, with a touch of humor thrown in.

nOT bRAnD ECHH

IN ISSUE #95 OF Alter Ego magazine, editor Roy Thomas notes that in 1965, Stan began to refer to the competitors of Marvel as “Brand Echh.” It was used in the context of warning fans not to be lured away by the imitations being offered by the unnamed competitors. Stan was clearly using the “Brand X” approach common in advertising (and perhaps a borrowed word from MAD magazine, which spelled it “Ecch.”) Fan reaction to the use of the term “Brand Echh” was mixed, although Stan was quick to point out that it did not refer to any one competitor, but was rather a generic term for all of them. Then one day in 1967, Stan out went to lunch with Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich. Roy and Gary pitched the idea to Stan of creating a humor comic book along the lines of the original MAD, with parodies of the competition. Stan liked the idea, but suggested poking fun at their own Marvel characters instead. That self-deprecating humor would prove to be the secret of their success (although the competition’s characters did not escape their rapier wit). As for the title, it was originally going to be called Brand Echh, as evident in the August 1967 Bullpen Bulletin page in which Stan announced the new humor comic, as well as the indicia in the first four issues. However, readers referred to it as Not Brand Echh from the beginning and it stuck. Not Brand Echh got off to a great start. Who would have thought that artists like Jack Kirby, reknowned for his larger than life action heroes, would do such a great job drawing humor comics? It was almost as if, while drawing the Fantastic Four battling the Silver Surfer, Jack had seen the humor in it and been champing at the bit to let it out. (It was Kirby who first drew the book’s mascot, Forbush-Man.) Part of what made the Not Brand Echh stories so amusing was that they often 129