5.

95
$
In the USA

Special Issue!
Justice Soci-
ety Of
America!

No. 5
Summer
2000
 ™
Volume 3, No. 5 Justice Society Section
Summer 2000 Background image: The dynamic cover from
All-Star Comics #52 (Apr.-May, 1950), featuring the JSA.
Editor ©2000 DC Comics
Roy Thomas

Associate Editor
Bill Schelly

Design & Layout

Janet Sanderson
Contents
John Morrow
Eric Nolen-Weathington And Justice for All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A few words (like we’ve got room for any more!) about this special issue of A/E.
Consulting Editors
John Morrow Together Again for the First Time –
Jon B. Cooke
The Justice Society of America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
FCA Editor A condensed Cook’s Tour of all the JSAers— with more rare and unpublished artwork
P.C. Hamerlinck than you can shake a Gravity Rod at!

Contributing Editor
Michael T. Gilbert
Shelly Mayer: Origins of The Golden Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
All-Star— Flash Comics— Green Lantern— Wonder Woman— he edited them all,
and lived to tell the tale— in this classic 1975 interview by Anthony Tollin.
Editors Emeritus
Jerry Bails (founder)
Ronn Foss, Biljo White,
Droopy, The Drew Field Mosquito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
More of Flash co-creator Harry Lampert’s award-winning cartoons from the Second World War.
Mike Friedrich

Cover(s) Artist DC vs. The Justice Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Writer/artist Larry Ivie has his say on the birth of the Silver Age...
Carmine Infantino
and what he says may surprise you.
Jerry Ordway
Mart Nodell The “Nuclear” Wars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Cover Color Roy Thomas tells the hidden story behind All-Star Squadron #14 and #16—
plus unpublished Wonder Woman art by the immortal H.G. Peter.
Tom Ziuko

Mailing Crew From Fan to Pro – The Gardner Fox Letters, Part IV. . . . . . . . . 31
Russ Garwood, D. Hambone, Ye Editor had always hoped these letters had been burned, but Gardner Fox saved everything—
Glen Musial, Ed Stelli, Pat Varker and who’s going to say no to Michael T. Gilbert and Mr. Monster?

And Special Thanks to: So – You Want to Collect Fanzines? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Bill Schelly conducts a guided tour of the great fanzines of the 1960s and ’70s—
Manuel Auad Harry and Adele
Mike W. Barr Lampert with lots of great, rare pro art!
Al Bigley Paul Levitz
Bill Black
Randy Bower
Sheldon Moldoff
Rich Morrissey
Special Green Lantern/FCA Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us!
Jerry K. Boyd Will Murray
About our cover: Actually, we don’t have to tell you about the marvelous Infantino-Ordway
Jack Burnley Marty and
Carrie Nodell drawing which graces our cover(s)— ’cause we got owner Marty Greim to do that for us on our flip
Bill Cain
Ethan Roberts section’s editorial page. For once, we can just sit back and enjoy— a perfect 1948 JSA moment!
Al Dellinges
Alvin Schwartz [Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Atom, Black Canary, Hawkman, and Dr. Mid-Nite ©2000
Steve Ditko
Robin Snyder DC Comics; art used by permission of Martin L. Greim, with the blessings of Carmine
Creig Flessel
Marc Svensson Infantino and Jerry Ordway.]
Keif Fromm
Carl Gafford Marc Swayze
Alter EgoTM is published quarterly by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. Phone: (919) 833-8092. Roy Thomas,
Jeff Gelb Joel Thingvall Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: Rt. 3, Box 468, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail:
Martin L. Greim Anthony Tollin [email protected]. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $5.95 ($7.00 Canada, $9.00
Dann Thomas elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: $20 US, $27 Canada, $37 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material
Gary Groth © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM
George Hagenauer Kim Thompson of P.C. Hamerlinck. Alter and Captain Ego ©2000 Roy Thomas & Bill Schelly. Air Wave, Aquaman, Binky, Black Canary, Blackhawk, Blue Beetle,
David Hamilton Hames Ware Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Commander Steel, Cyclone Kids, Dr. fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, Dr. Sivana, Firebrand, Flash, Green Lantern, Guardian,
Marv Wolfman Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Holliday Girls, Hop Harrigan, Hour-Man, Ibis, Johnny Peril, Johnny Quick, Johnny Thunder, Justice Society of America, Lib-
Ron Harris erty Belle, Mary Marvel, Mechanique, Metal Men, Minute Man, Mr. Terrific, Newsboy Legion, Nuclear, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Robotman, Rose
Irwin Hasen Ed Zeno & Thorn, Sandman, Sandy, Scribbly, Solomon Grundy, Spectre, Spy Smasher, Starman, Steve Trevor, Sugar & Spike, Superman, Uncle Marvel, Wild-
cat, Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman, Wotan ©DC Comics. Dan Dare, Dr. Voodoo, Golden Arrow, Lance O’Casey, Master Man, Mr. Hogan, Phantom
Roger Hill Eagle © Fawcett Publications, , Capt. Midnight is a TM of Ovaltine. Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Warlock © Marvel Characters,
Tom Horvitz Inc. The Fly, The Shield, The Wizard © Archie Comics. Chuck chandler, Nightro, Slugger © Lev Gleason. Green Hornet © Harvey Comics. Fight-
Richard Howell ing Yank © Nedor/Better Comics. Fighting American © Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Pillsbury Dough Boy © Pillsbury. John Carter of Mars © Edgar
Rice Burroughs, Inc. Alter Ego hero art © Ron Harris, hero © Roy and Dann Thomas. Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie © Walt Disney Pro-
Chris Irving ductions. Golden Lad © Spark. Droopy © Harry Lampert. Opus © Berke Breathed. Voltar © Estate of Alfredo Alcala. Conan © Conan Properties,
Larry Ivie Inc. Music Master © Eastern Color Printing. Flyin’ Jenny © Bell Syndicate. The Great Guy © Marcus Swayze. Pogo and Albert © Estate of Walt
Steve Korté Kelly. Transisto, Lunar-Man © Estate of George Roussos. Printed in Canada.
FIRST PRINTING
4 Together Again For The First Time...

Art © Shelly Moldoff. Characters TM & ©2000 DC Comics. From the collection of RT.
Together Again For The First Time...

The Justice Society of America!

A brief glimpse at the cast JSAers. Still, we didn’t want to totally neglect any of the eighteen
heroes who, at one time or another in the 1940s, passed through the

and crew of the first & foremost

meeting halls of the Justice Society, whether as full members or not.
And since, as it just happens, we have access to reproductions of
original, often rare or even previously unpublished art of many of
super-group of all time those stalwarts, we thought we’d kill two birds with one stone. E.g.,
our lead-off panorama is a 1990s drawing by 1940s “Hawkman” artist
(and later “Batman” ghost) Shelly Moldoff of most of the Golden

by Roy Thomas Age membership of the JSA— excluding only Johnny Thunder, Black
Canary, Wildcat, perhaps-JSAer Mr. Terrific, and one-page guest star
Red Tornado— with Shelly’s co-creation The Bat-Mite thrown in just
Our emphasis artwise this issue might be on the Green Lantern- for a zane.
Flash-Wonder Woman trio who were the most popular of the regular Now, let’s take a look at our colorful cast, one by one:
 ...The Justice Society of America! 5

“A” IS FOR “ATOM”: This never-published

tier of panels is from a story that was “written
off” by DC circa 1949 when his last solo berth,
Flash Comics, was cancelled. Judging by its use
of blacks, this Joe Gallagher art probably dates
from 1943-44, at latest. [Atom © 2000 DC
Comics; courtesy of Ethan Roberts.]

BATMAN: A fine, moody Batman re-creation

by Bob Kane. [Courtesy of Jerry Boyd; art ©
2000 estate of Bob Kane; Batman © 2000 DC
Comics]

BLACK CANARY: Three Black Canarys for the price

of one! This Carmine Infantino-penciled splash is from
an episode left unpublished when Flash Comics was can-
celled; at one time it had been slated to appear in #101.
But —notice anything unusual? That’s right: there are
two Black Canarys in the drawing! Not only that, but
when DC finally got around to printing this story in
100-Page Super-Spectacular, Vol. 1, #DC-20 (1973),
neither of these figures was in evidence; instead,
Carmine (probably back in the late ’40s) had drawn a
new Canary bracing herself more dramatically in the
stone gargoyle’s mouth to catch the falling Larry Lance.
Inks credited to Frank Giacoia; script most likely by
Robert Kanigher. [© 2000 DC Comics; repro’d from
photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Ethan
Roberts.]

DOCTOR FATE: By All-Star #14, this Gardner Fox-Howard Sherman

hero didn’t display his original magical powers in this panel repro’d
from photocopies of the original art— but he’s still one of the great-
looking super-heroes of all time. [©2000 DC Comics; courtesy of Joel
Thingvall.]
10 Origins of the Golden Age

Origins of the
Golden Age
An interview with Shelly Mayer
Conducted by Anthony Tollin

Shelly Mayer from Amazing World of DC Comics.

Shelly himself sketched the 1975 portrait
which appeared on that issue’s cover.
[Art © 2000 DC Comics]

[A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: The following

interview was conducted for The Amazing
World of DC Comics, Vol. 2, #5 (March-
April 1975), a sort of official house fanzine of
that period which deserves an entire article to
itself, and not merely for the number of
entry-level DC staffers who put it together as
the so-called “Junior Woodchucks,” then
went on to high-profile professional careers.

[Sheldon Mayer (1917-1997) was a true phe-

nomenon, both as writer/artist and as the first
editor of the All-American Comics line, from
1939 through 1948. DC staffer Anthony
Tollin put the pieces together skillfully, drop-
ping his interview-style questions out entirely
so Mayer could speak for himself, with Tony’s
own informational and historical comments
interspersed where needed. Few interviews
with Mayer survive, but this article stands as
probably the best, and we are grateful to Paul
Levitz and DC Comics for making it avail-
able to us. The interview is ©1975, 2000 by
DC Comics, and is reprinted with permis-
sion. All artwork is reproduced via “fair use.”
Now, let’s let Tony introduce his subject...]

There are as many opinions in the comic

book business as there are creative people and
topics to argue about. Few men or concepts
are held sacred, but Sheldon Mayer is. I’ve
never heard anyone speak a word against his
creativity, editorial prowess, or skill at train-
Among the top artists developed by Mayer was a teenage Joe Kubert, who rose to prominence after 1945 as
the artist of “Hawkman.” This beautiful splash page from Flash Comics #72 (June 1946) is repro’d from
ing and polishing raw talent into genius. His
photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Al Dellinges. [© 2000 DC Comics] protégés provide living evidence of his
 An Interview With Shelly Mayer 11

achievements— men like Carmine Infantino, Julie Schwartz, Alex devoting a large share of my time to doing that instead of opaquing
Toth, Bob Kanigher, and Joe Kubert today keep alive a legacy they and was promptly fired.
inherited from Shelly Mayer. His comic creations, including Scribbly,
Sugar and Spike, Binky, and The Three Mouseketeers, give further During the next year I was working during the day and going to
testimony to the genius of the man who was the creative force behind high school at night. I worked in a factory, as an M.C. at a night club,
DC’s All-American line of the 1940s. and at a variety of odd jobs. Meanwhile, I developed about six differ-
ent daily strips and was receiving a great deal of encouragement from
“Sheldon Mayer is a rara avis: one of the few creative men I’ve a guy named John Lardner, the feature editor of the Bell Syndicate.
met in comics,” proclaims Bob Kanigher. “He ran All-American like None of the strips “took,” however.
Charlie Chaplin opening the cabi-
net of Dr. Caligari. He mixed I also got a lot of encouragement from [newspaper cartoonist] Milt
plots like D.W. Griffith and Mack Gross, who was very nice and did everything he possibly could to get
the Knife sharing a Catskill me located somewhere, anywhere, but the Depression was on. In any
Mountains kitchen. He was one of case, I made $90.00 that year as an artist because I had sold six greet-
the early barnstorming pilots who ing cards. It took me half a day to draw ‘em and the rest of the year
fearlessly flew across the unknown to collect the money.
seas of imagination by the reckless In 1933 M.C. Gaines convinced Eastern Color Publishing to pack-
seat of his pants.” age comic strip reprints as advertising premiums. The enthusiasm the
I grew up in East Harlem. It booklets received convinced Gaines to release a 10-cent comic book for
was a rough, tough neighborhood newsstand distribution. The magazine, Famous Funnies, became the
in those days. Kids began to think first regularly published comic book.
about what they were going to do Soon, other publishers followed suit and many more comic books
for a living from the day they hit the newsstands, all featuring reprints of the popular newspaper
were born, because everybody comic strips of the time. Reprint rights to the more popular strips were
wanted to get out of there as soon hard to come by when Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson entered the
as possible. comic book arena with New Fun Comics in February of 1935. Wheel-
You had only three choices: you er-Nicholson was forced to commission all-new material for New Fun
A bust of All-American publisher could do what your father did (soon to be rechristened More Fun) and its companion magazine New
and future EC founder Max C. (usually menial work), or you Comics (soon to become better known as Adventure Comics).
Gaines, done by Mayer. could run errands for the hoods
[Photo originally printed in My first work in comic books was for Wheeler-Nicholson. I wan-
that the area was full of and work dered into their office to show them my portfolio and they hired me
Amazing World of DC Comics #5.]
your way up in the mobs, or you on the spot. They were thrilled with my work and I didn’t know that
could learn a skill on your own that could be turned into honest money. the enormous amount of money they promised me was just big talk.
Nobody considered college because it was unreachable... impossible. They gave me a very involved contract. Of course, I was too young to
My dad had a small butcher shop. I hated raw meat, law-breaking
didn’t appeal to me, but cartooning looked like something I could
learn to do on my own.

There was no such medium as comic books when I was growing

up. The big thing was newspaper strips. Back in those days, the news-
paper cartoonist was a sort of god. The papers had recently discov-
ered that their circulations really depended on strong comic strip
features. The news itself had become secondary. The top syndicated
cartoonists were pulling in better than a thousand a week at a time
when a man could support a family on a weekly salary of $28.00.
Cartooning was a pretty notable ambition for a youngster in those days.

By the time I was fourteen, the family had moved to Washington

Heights. I was hanging around pestering a cartoonist named “Ving”
Fuller who had his home and studio in the neighborhood. He’d been
an assistant to Billy (Barney Google) DeBeck, done animated car-
toons, and was then doing a daily semi-political comic strip for the
New York Mirror. I worked as his assistant for a while until the Mir-
ror cut back and let him go.

(Two other neighborhood kids came to work for him, too: one
was Harry Lampert, a lifelong buddy, who later became the first artist
to draw “The Flash” and is now president and founder of the highly
regarded Lampert Advertising Agency.)

Luckily, I still maintained a contact with the people I’d met on the
paper, and could pick up a few dollars here and there as a gofer (go
fer this... go fer that).

In 1934 I went to work for the Fleischer animation studio as an

The late, great Sheldon Mayer at his desk, in a 1945 publicity shot by Sol
opaquer. I soon discovered that I could get $5.00 for suggesting an
Harrison. [Photo originally printed in Amazing World of DC Comics #5.]
idea for a scenario or $2.50 for a series of gags for a scene. I began
22 DC Vs. The Justice Society Of America

(Above) “Making costumes to play the best

versions of the JSA characters,” Larry says,
“was our second childhood attempt to save
them from unpopular changes.”
(Below) “After DC ended the series with All-
Star #57, we tried to continue it with binders
containing old solo stories [clipped] from
other titles. The binders contained full-sized
prints cut from two extra copies [of each

DC vs. comic]— 5¢ each from back-issue shops—

pasted onto sheets of binder paper (on the
front side only).” The “All-Star #58 cover”
at left utilizes the splash of the Green
Lantern/Solomon Grundy encounter from
Comic Cavalcade #24 (Dec.-Jan. 1947-48); that
issue was to spotlight previously-printed tales
of Hop Harrigan, Aquaman, et al.
The “All-Star cover” at right (which its
artist/writer called “L.I. #8) was done in light-

by Larry Ivie colored pencil, never intended for reproduc-

tion. It evidently included a new, Ivie-drawn
story, “The Justice Society’s Arabian Nights
“It was because we didn’t know our audience,” said Shel- Adventure.” “Our single-copy issues,” Larry
don Mayer, the first editor of All-Star Comics, “that the writ- says, “were drawn on sheets of typing paper
ers and artists of the early ’40s had the greatest freedom to try folded in half, making four pages per sheet.”
everything, and most of it sold!” [New art ©2000 Larry Ivie; JSA, Hop Harrigan,
Aquaman ©2000 DC Comics]
“And the reason,” I
explained, “was that each
issue had such a variety of was early 1959, at my desk in a classroom at
stories, at that time, that the New York City’s School of Visual Arts. I
things of no interest to us had had no awareness that Mayer would be
were purchased with the the guest professional of the day, so it was
same dime that got us what by pure chance that what he spotted on my
was!” desk, which caused him to pull up a chair to
begin a conversation with me, was a drawing
“And we were so intox-
of the very characters he had once edited!
icated with the success of the
whole,” said Mayer, “we I was five years old at the time I began
never paused to learn the making the first independent selections of
secret only your generation issues for my parents to buy and read to
could give us— which was me, with a few additional years in which
which!” the racks offered a variety to choose from that would later be gone.
And, during school recesses, we had hundreds of conversations on
The year this revealing
why we were all buying the issues we were buying.
exchange between different
generations finally took place Mayer was fascinated by the revelations he was learning a decade

Article ©2000 Larry Ivie

 DC Vs. The Justice Society Of America 23

and a half too late. And, as he looked at the other sample pages of the As I, years later, entered the office of Superman editor Mort
old JSA characters, he said, “You’ve got both the art and the knowl- Weisinger, it seemed strange that there was nothing of Superman in
edge that can enable DC to overcome its slump... and make enormous view. I had considered it rather strange, while at the receptionist’s
amounts more than it cubicle, to see the edge of the famous painting of Superman jutting
is now. Don’t wait to out from behind a filing cabinet behind her. Stranger still, the Super-
finish the inking. Take Larry Ivie: “Perhaps, we man editor didn’t have a single Superman story in his office, other
thought, if the costumes
what you’ve got now, than a clipping in his desk from over a decade before— one of the
of our childhood creative
and let them know enthusiasms were pre-
first under his control— which, after a quick dismissal of my samples,
what you’ve just told served, the traditions DC he pulled out to show me what a “good” Superman story was like.
me about what they’ve began destroying, in a Before that, however, he had quickly
been doing wrong!” seeming war against the turned a sign to face the wall.
“I tried to,” I buyers, leaving them But not before I saw that it
said. behind in ‘51, could live read: “Remember, we are
again through carefully- writing for 8-year-
made home movies!” olds!”
OPPORTUNITIES Some of the JSA-related
costumes and artifacts The story he
MISSED #1 - Larry made during the
1940s are depicted in the
showed me was
very familiar. I
1956 photographs on the fol- clearly recalled our
lowing pages. The item classroom conver-
As soon as the at left, of course, is Star-
first issue reviving The sations about it,
man’s Gravity Rod. the day following
Flash appeared, I [Photo ©2000 Larry Ivie.
phoned the editor to its appearance, in
see if he’d be interest- which it was gener-
ed in a revival of The Justice ally agreed to be the
Society. (I felt it should be worst Superman story
done at its peak, with chap- we had ever seen!
ters for each character. I “How ironic,” said
wanted to do Hawkman, Weisinger, “that
and knew others who also just as we were Larry’s 1946-47 models of Green Lantern’s original
could produce better art turning things in a lantern-shaped ring— and a magical railroad
better direction, lantern. [Photos ©2000 Larry Ivie.]
than DC was currently
using.) sales would begin
But he didn’t agree to fall, due to competition from... TELEVISION!”
with my prediction that, None of us had stopped buying comic books during the early
despite its weaknesses, the years of TV. Only the titles going in the
new Flash was going to wrong direction.
take off, and a JSA revival It was in hopes of eventually find-
could do even better. He ing an editor who could understand
said he wasn’t interested in what was needed that I finally began
another revival until they the samples for the Justice Society
saw how well the first one revival I had suggested in ‘56.
did. Why didn’t he realize These included scripts for three
what, to many, was obvious? issues.
So I produced some sample The first explained the origins
pages of both Superman and Bat- of the members, how they got
man, instead, as a foundation for giving together (never originally told), and
those editors the secrets of what could how they were able to suddenly
instantly increase sales of their characters. I knew why the kids return with new vigor (as had been
who had made them so successful had begun to loose interest in predicted and explained in an early
1948, as a sudden tidal wave of bad decision-making seemed to issue of Wonder Woman).
engulf the DC titles. In the next few years, an increasing enthusi-
asm for re-reading the issues for the “good days,” rather than buy- The second script tied up loose
ing the new stuff, showed there was no loss of interest for the ends from the original series.
characters, as they had been. And, as long as the familiar titles kept The third set the foundations for a
appearing, although no longer as popular, there was hope that soon spin-off title, if wanted. It was set
someone would dash into the classroom to shout, “There are good twenty years in the future,
issues of All-Star, and Superman, and Flash Comics on sale again!” during a gathering of two
so we could all rush out, after class, to buy out everything in sight. groups— the original Justice
Instead, there were only groans as word spread that our Society members and their
once-beloved characters were being replaced by cowboys! Even teenage offspring, ready to
those of us who lived in the West thought of all “cowboys,” take over.
except the Lone Ranger, as third-rate next to the old Justice Soci- Planning ahead, quick-
ety. ly, I re-assigned the already
drawn introductory page as
 The “Nuclear” Wars 27

The “Nuclear” Wars

A Close Look at All-Star
Squadron #14 and #16—
and Two Very Odd Golden Age
Wonder Woman Exploits
by Roy Thomas
[INTRODUCTORY NOTE: It was my original intention to begin, with this issue, a
chronological history of All-Star Squadron, the title I conceived and wrote for DC
Comics from 1981-86— or through 1989, if you count its Young All-Stars follow-up
series, which I do. However, for various reasons I won’t go into here, I decided to wait
till next issue to properly initiate that series (which a number of readers have requested,
not that I need much of an excuse to talk about the JSA or its pre-Crisis on Infinite
Earths offshoots). This time, I decided both to jump ahead a year-and-a-half, and back
nearly a third of a century, from All-Star Squadron #1. Bear with me, okay? —R.T.]

L ike so many others, I’ve no idea what happened to all those many, many comic
books I owned as a kid (in my case, during the latter half of the 1940s and into
the 1950s).
Sure, I had to donate some to a paper drive when I was in grade school (parting
with as few as I could get away with, and sneaking home a couple of comics from
others’ piles to assuage my loss).
Also, at a very young age I used to cut up copies of some of my mags so I could make up my own adventures on rainy days (though I generally
managed to find a spare dime to purchase a second copy of destroyed All-Stars).
And, unlike in sad cases related by many others, my mother didn’t burn all my comics while I was away in the military or at college (for one
thing, I commuted the ten miles to college— and
when afterward I moved away from home I took
’em with me).
Yet, somehow, most of those youthful trea-
sures vanished along the way, some perhaps falling
apart from overreading. Still, certain comics
remained in my possession even when the DC
“revivals” began to appear in the late ’50s, and I
still had them when university prof Jerry Bails
started a comic book version of what science-fic-
tion fans called a “fanzine”— with the hyphenated
name “Alter-Ego”— and invited me aboard.
And one of the old comics I still owned,
from the day it came out till only a few years ago,
was Wonder Woman #43 (Sept.-Oct. 1950).
At first glance there doesn’t seem anything
unusual about WW #43. By this point Irwin
Hasen and others drew the covers, but original
artist H.G. Peter was still drawing all the stories in

(Top) Yes, Virginia, there was an Earth-Two Aquaman— at least for this one issue! Near the end of its six-year run, Roy Thomas had penciler
Arvell Jones stick virtually every DC hero who’d appeared in the series onto the cover of All-Star Squadron #59 (July 1986)— plus Mekanique,
a mutation of the “Robot Maria” from Fritz Lang’s 1927 film classic Metropolis. The inker was Tony DeZuniga. (Hey, Arvell and Tony are lucky Roy
didn’t ask them to squeeze on the Quality heroes, to boot!) Repro’d from the original art, from the collection of R.T. [©2000 DC Comics]
(Above) The splash and first (delayed) appearance of Nuclear from Wonder Woman #43. [©2000 DC Comics]
28 The “Nuclear” Wars

those “52-page” issues. Woman-Nuclear clash, which had been described in W.W. #43.
The middle story in it— “Nuclear Returns!”— always intrigued Because it was a cheaper comic to collect in the 1960s and ’70s than
me. For one thing, the villain was a male, in a magazine which had most other comics featuring members of the Justice Society, I amassed
long tended toward female villains, especially when “Charles Moul- copies of the first three dozen issues of Wonder Woman, plus a goodly
ton” (really psychologist William Moulton Marston) was writing it. pile of Sensation Comics. In fact, I still own bound volumes of Comic
(By 1950, however, Marston was three years dead and the writer, I’d Cavalcade #10-29 (the last super-hero issue). Eventually, through the
later learn, was editor Robert Kanigher.) Nuclear was a good-looking medium of microfilm, I was able to peruse every Golden Age adven-
character in his mostly green armor— and well-named, in those early ture of Wonder Woman, as well as most other 1940s super-heroes.
years of the Atomic Age. And, somewhere along the way,
In the story Wonder Woman I made a most startling discovery.
rescues the ocean liner Princess There had never been an earlier
Leatrice (on which Etta Candy and Wonder Woman-Nuclear story!
the Holliday Girls just happen to be
sailing) from being magnetically But— things like that just didn’t
pulled into some cliffs by Nuclear, happen! Writers, artists, and editors
who’s extorting money from in the 1940s simply didn’t make up
“Lemuel Tugboat, owner of the sequels to stories that had never been
Lenard Shipline.” Diana is puzzled, published!
for, as she tells the girls, “I saw So there had to be another
Nuclear fall into a flaming furnace.” Nuclear story lurking around some-
She decides to investigate, place. I learned, in time, that lots of
because Nuclear and a wealthy never-printed DC artwork had been
socialite named Percy Playboy (a destroyed when Flash Comics, All-
name so deliberately corny it American, Green Lantern, and a
deserves to have been coined by number of other comics and features
Marston before his death) had “dis- had been discontinued circa 1949.
appeared at the same time and I But it still didn’t make sense to me
think they are one and the same that a “Wonder Woman” story
man!” And indeed, when Wonder could have been burned in the DC
Woman visits the “Playboy man- incinerator. After all, Wonder
sion,” the flashback at right ensues: (Above) A Nuclear Flashback. (Below) Too dumb to live. Woman was an ongoing title!
[©2000 DC Comics] In late 1980 I left Marvel
Learning more about Percy’s
troubled youth, Wonder Woman Comics and signed a near-exclusive
does an instant psychoanalysis and three-year contract to write for DC.
opines that he has “nursed a secret Since my star was fairly high at that
hatred” of his sister since childhood time, I was given a certain amount
because their father had named Joye, of control over the comics I would
rather than himself, as his heir. write, and one of the happy results
was All-Star Squadron, set on that
Wonder Woman is unable to wonderful parallel world known and
convince Joye that her brother is loved as “Earth-Two,” in the year of
Nuclear, and indeed it soon looks as our Lord 1942, during the early days
if the super-villain has kidnaped of America’s participation in that
Percy. Back on board the Leatrice, little celebration of human progress
Wonder Woman, Joye, and the Hol- known as the Second World War.
liday Girls, joined by Steve Trevor,
soon find the ship sinking after a More about that next ish. This
Nuclear attack— and our heroine time around, let’s skip to the 14th
shoves everyone aboard to safety on issue of All-Star Squadron, which sold
a lifeboat. quite well for the first couple of years.
Meanwhile, standing under- My good friend and screen-
water (!) on the deck of his submarine writing partner Gerry Conway was
(see sequence at right) — well, we’ll then the reigning writer of Justice
let the pictures tell the story: League of America. The two of us
convinced the DC powers-that-were
There’s nothing left for Wonder Woman to do but hoist the liner to let us do a back-and-forth crossover between our two related
up out of the sea with her bare hands, empty out all the water, and mags. The result was the five-part “Crisis on Earth-Prime!” in JLA
rejoin the others. Joye, naturally, fears that her dear brother was on #207-209 and All-Star Squadron #14-15. All that concerns us here is
Nuclear’s sub when it was destroyed. Diana elects not to tell her the final six pages of #14, plus #16.
truth— not that Joye would believe her.
As enthusiasts of All-Star Squadron (bless ‘em) know, I con-
So there you have it. Not one of the great Golden Age stories, or ceived of that mag as equal parts comic book and tapestry, or perhaps
even one of the great “Wonder Woman” stories. For one thing, the mosaic. I wanted to weave together as much as I could of past DC
Amazon has zilch to do with defeating Nuclear; the armored idiot does continuity— not because I had to, but simply because it was there.
himself in by his own carelessness. Perhaps embarrassed by his own Besides, ideas have to come from somewhere; and I was convinced—
sheer ineptitude, Nuclear never appeared in another Golden Age story. correctly, as it turned out— that I’d never run short of fun stories to
Still, for years I nursed a desire to track down that first Wonder tell in Squadron if I took my cues from the multitude of early-’40s
Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt 31
32 Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt

The Gardner Fox

Letters Part IV
From Fan to Pro
by Michael T. Gilbert
Fate’s pretty funny.
A few years back, I discovered a treasure trove of comic book
ephemera that had been donated to the University of Oregon by leg- Gardner Fox was
depicted by Gil Kane
endary comics writer Gardner Fox. Buried in this collection was a
for the third issue of
box of old fan mail. I was surprised to discover that many of the DC’s own “fanzine,”
eager young fans who wrote to Fox over the decades eventually went The Amazing World of
on to become comic book professionals. Marv Wolfman, Alan Weiss, DC Comics (Nov.-Dec.
and Mike Vosburg were among those who wrote Fox to praise him, 1974). [©2000 DC
or to get his professional advice. Comics]
However, the most interesting correspondence— and by far the
most voluminous!— was a series of letters sent to Fox by future
comics writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas. All told, I
uncovered no less than 26 typewritten letters that Thomas sent to Fox
during a period from 1960 to 1965. Many of the letters concerned the
original Alter-Ego, the fanzine which Roy helped Jerry Bails originate
in the early ’60s.
editing chores to cartoonist Ronn Foss. Foss edited issues #5-6, then
I sent copies of the letters to Roy— who had worked with me
passed the baton to Roy, who directed the final four issues of its
earlier on a series of Elric comics for Pacific and First, as well as a
1960s run. Under their guidance, A/E became one of the best-loved
“Spectre” story for Secret Origins— with the vague idea of someday
fanzines of the ’60s— famous as a showcase for future comics talent
reprinting this rare correspondence somewhere. Roy was astonished
and for its informative articles on comic book history.
and delighted to learn that copies of his old letters still existed, and
gave me permission to reprint them if the occasion arose. But where Unfortunately, Fox’s letters back to Roy do not survive, but
to print them? Roy’s letters to Fox discuss his involvement with the creation of
Alter-Ego, and provide a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of early
That’s when Fate stepped in.
comic book fandom. I find it incredibly ironic that these letters
Shortly after Roy and I exchanged letters, TwoMorrows publisher should see print in a revived version of that very fanzine, forty years
John Morrow and editor Jon B. Cooke invited Roy to revive later— with one of the original editors editing his own fan writings
the above-mentioned Alter Ego as a mini-fanzine four decades after the fact!
attached to the then-upcoming Comic Book Artist.
See? I told you Fate was funny.
He, in turn, invited me to contribute a series of arti-
cles on the Fox collection to the reborn fanzine. I Equally important, these letters took place at a very crucial
happily signed on, and suggested that we might junction for Roy personally. The first of them was written
eventually reprint some of his old correspondence while he was still a 19-year-old senior at Southeast Missouri
with Fox. Roy was enthusiastic, but concerned that State College, majoring in English and history. His Fox
printing his old letters in a magazine he edited collection correspondence dates from late 1960, right
might seem slightly egotistical on his part. I before the creation of A/E, and end in 1965, the year he
assured him that these letters were fascinating and began his long tenure at Marvel. In the space of these five
historically important. years, “Roy the Boy” left fandom to become Stan Lee’s invalu-
able right-hand man and a first-rate comics scripter. When Lee
Why important? First and foremost, these letters
cut back his output, Roy took his mentor’s place as the com-
are a valuable record of comics fandom’s earliest days.
pany’s most prolific writer, winning numerous
Jerry Bails, one of fandom’s founding fathers, created
awards in the process. And when in 1972 he
the original (hyphenated) Alter-Ego in 1961. After
became Marvel’s editor-in-chief, Roy’s
editing the first five issues, he gave up the
transformation— from fan to pro—
Roy drew this self-portrait in 1964 for Alter Ego (Vol. was complete.
1) #7, and is embarrassed to admit it probably But it all started here....
resembled him at the time. [©2000 Roy Thomas]
 The Gardner Fox Letters 33

[ASIDE FROM R.T.: With Michael’s permission, I’ve added a few explana-
tory notes between these letters. Gardner’s home address was given to me— a fact
pretty amazing in and of itself— by Julius Schwartz, editor of The Flash, Green
Lantern, and Justice League of America— in response to what I believe were my
very first letters to those comics. I say “letters” because, naive as I was, I wrote
virtually identical missives to each of the three, not bothering to notice they all
had the same editor— let alone the name in the indicia.
[I should add that Michael has mercifully omitted certain paragraphs from
my letters. He painstakingly cut apart and taped back together photocopies of the
originals, from which these are reproduced. I promised him free rein, so the choice
of what to print is his. Myself, I’m embarrassed by my lack of sophistication in
these letters— I was a college student, after all!— but not by my admiration of
Gardner F. Fox. The same can be said for the “rather intelligent friend” I
mentioned in the P.S.— one Gary Friedrich, then about 16, who would later
write for Charlton, Marvel, and Skywald.
[And yes, by that time, I had somehow garbled in my mind the names of
Solomon Grundy and Vandal Savage, recalling the villain in All-Star #33 as
“Gorgon Savage.” Not a bad name, actually: At age fourteen, I’d even used it for
a similar monster in typewritten tales starring a 1955 super-group I concocted of
the briefly revived Ajax/Farrell heroes The Flame, Black Cobra, Wonder Boy,
Samson, and Phantom Lady, which I called The Crusaders of Justice. And of
course I, and others, would soon learn what Hour-Man looked like. But,
onward...]

An art aside from Roy T.: “Those who recall my ‘Liberty Legion’ tales in Marvel Premiere and The Invaders in 1976, and the four-issue 1993 Invaders series,
may be amused to see how far back my love for that name goes. In fact, it was in the early ’50s that my first, 72-page comic,
done on typewriter paper, featured a ‘Liberty Legion’ composed of my own heroes, plus Green Lantern, Spectre, and Atom (rechristened Tornado).”
[Green Lantern ©2000 DC Comics; all others, including Flame Man (!), ©2000 Roy Thomas.]
 So – You Want To Collect Comics Fanzines? 39

So-You Want To Collect

Comics Fanzines?
O
ne of my favorite features in the original volume of Alter Ego was #5’s article “So—You Want to
Collect Comics?” in 1963. In it author Ed Lahmann blithely rattled of a list of “key issues” (Action
#1, Detective #27, etc.) that would make a solid foundation for any comic book collection. (Ed’s
article was reprinted in Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine, the nearly out-of-print 1997
volume from Hamster Press.)
In recent years, with the vigorous resurgence of interest in the early days of comics fandom, fanzines
from that era are increasingly sought after by collectors. As someone who has nearly as much enthusiasm for
comics fanzines as I do for comic books themselves, I’ve long wanted to write a companion piece that
would give the same kind of overview for fanzines that Ed did for comics.
While my Comic Fandom Archive contains audio tapes, original art, correspondence, pho-
tographs, books, videos, and many other artifacts from fandom’s Golden Age in the 1960s, the
anchor of the Archive is the 1800 comics fanzines that I’ve been able to amass. They have been by
far the most important resource I’ve used in researching the books of fandom history that I’ve
published under the aegis of Hamster Press.
Fanzines, magazines published on a limited scale by and for other comics fans (the
term was originally coined by science-fiction fans of the 1930s and ’40s), offer an incredible
array of fascinating material that has been invaluable in documenting not only the
progress of fandom, but even that of the professional comics. A good deal of comics’
history— especially the tenor of the times— is documented only in these long out-of-
print small press publications.
Those who number themselves among the truest of true believers in the
comics medium will want to have a selection of fanzines in their collections.
Fanzines also provided a training ground for upcoming talents to
gain the skills necessary to produce a professional- quality product.
Many of the most prominent writers and artists from comics of the
1970s forward “got their chops” working in amateur publications.
Then, too, some very talented folks produced excellent work
for fanzines which is well worth enjoying in its own right,
even if those folks chose to go into non-comics careers.
What constitutes a well-rounded fanzine collection?
What are the most essential publications of this type, either
due to their quality or the uniqueness of their contents? Over
the past few years I have received enough queries of this sort to tell
me that the following article will be welcome in many quarters. And, if
you are not now interested in this corner of the collecting universe, perhaps
you will be by the time you peruse this piece, and Part Two in Alter Ego V3#6.
So— you want to collect comics fanzines? Or expand your existing
collection into a more or less well-rounded selection?
You’ve got a challenge ahead of you!
But any collector worth his salt knows that
the “thrill of the hunt” is at least half the fun. The
first step— perhaps the most important— is to con-
struct a Want List. You’ll naturally accumulate others
as you go, but it’s vital to have a clear idea of what
you’re seeking: a “collecting goal,” as it were.
We know one thing: About 2200 comics-related
fanzines were published between 1960 and 1971.
That is a fact, documented by John and Tom
McGeehan, indexers extraordinaire. Many more arrived
as the 1970s progressed.

by Bill Schelly Which are the most desirable? Let’s divide them
into categories by format or function, and take them one
by one.
All characters and publications © their respective publishers.
40 So – You Want To Collect Comics Fanzines?

I. GENERAL-INTEREST FANZINES For those who are primarily fans of newspaper comic strips, Don
and Maggie Thompson’s Comic Art is the gen-zine for you.
The fannish term for general-type fanzines is “gen-zines.” The
“general” application refers both to the fact that they contain any Beginning with their Harbinger in late 1960, announcing their
type of content item— editorials, columns, strips, fiction, articles, car- intention to publish a fanzine about comics, Comic Art presented
toons, trade and sales lists, and letters — as well as the fact that they highly intelligent, ground-breaking pieces by Jerry de Fuccio, Dick
are of general interest to the majority of comics fans. Lupoff, Harlan Ellison, Larry Ivie, and Robert Coulson— and that’s
just in #3 (1962)! There were seven issues published between 1961 and
If there is a Holy Grail of fanzine collecting, there’s little doubt 1968. Forget about #1 and #2; they are next to impossible to find.
it would be Alter-Ego #1 (March 1961). Any of #3 through #7 is worth having, especially if you have a science-
Certainly there were comics- fiction bent or are largely interested in the history of comic strips, as
oriented fanzines before it, especially opposed to comic books. In any case, any representa-
in EC fandom of the 1950s, but it was tive fanzine collection needs at
the most influential. Alter-Ego (its least one issue of Comic Art.
name was hyphenated for the first As for Xero, the
four issues) was published by Jerry fanzine that influenced both
G. Bails, with Roy Thomas as titu- Jerry Bails and the Thompsons,
lar “co-editor,” as a direct response this basically s-f fanzine pub-
to the super-hero revivals engi- lished by Dick and Pat Lupoff
neered by editor Julius Schwartz at from 1960-63 is important
National Periodical Publications because it launched the impor-
(now DC Comics). A-E editor tant “All in Color for a Dime”
Jerry Bails’ first issue reached a series of articles. It seems that
total print run of between 200 all the top s-f fan writers con-
and 300 copies, some of them tributed to Xero, including Ted
without Roy’s five-page “Bestest White, Harlan Ellison, Don
League of America” parody Thompson, Richard Kyle, Jim
strip, which printed light due to Harmon, and many others. The
being printed using black ditto most desirable issue is probably
masters rather than the longer- Xero #3, with four comics-related
running purple ones. features, but they are all good.
A-E #1 is extremely hard Again, forget about finding
to find and will command Xero #1; only about ninety copies
top dollar due to its histori- were printed, and they were handed
cal importance. Don’t get out for free at the 1960 World Science-
hung up on finding it — or Fiction Convention. If you can’t find
#2 and #3 (also ditto). In any copies of the mimeographed
actual fact, the photo-offset Xero, don’t despair. The “All in Color
issues, which have the for a Dime” series was partly collected
added dimension of top- into a book of that title, edited by
quality artwork, are more Lupoff and Thompson, currently avail-
fun to read. Jerry still able in an inexpensive reprint from
edited #4, Ronn Foss Krause Publications (along with an all-
took over for #5-6, and new sequel, The Comic Book Book).
Roy Thomas assumed
the editorship with #7 Later came Comic Crusader, in some
in 1964. The best of the ways the successor to Alter Ego in the
offset issues are probably late 1960s and into the mid-1970s. Martin
#7 and #8; but any of #5 through #10 would be L. Greim managed to assemble
good beginnings for your collection. Try to get at least two of some of the top talent in fandom,
Even 1997’s Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary
them. (Incidentally, issues including writer Tom Fagan of
Comics Fanzine from Hamster Press, reprinting
bearing a return address of primo material from “Volume 1,” 1961-1978, Rutland, Vermont, who
“The S.F.C.A.” are authorized is almost out of print. [Alter-Ego #1 ©2000 Jerry penned a number of articles
reprints published by G.B. Bails (art by Roy Thomas); Alter Ego #8 about Airboy and other Golden
Love, essentially identical to ©2000 Roy Thomas (art by Biljo White); Age heroes. Greim also pub-
the originals printed by Foss Blackhawk ©2000 DC Comics] lished a number of original
and Thomas.) illustrations by Jim Steranko,
as well as C.C. Beck, Kurt Schaffenberger, and many others. Issue #6
Of course, much of the (1968) and beyond are the best. Comic Crusader had one of the
material from the first 11- largest circulations for a fan-published zine, yet these dozen or so
issue volume of A/E can be later issues are not so easy to find. Still, you’ll want to add two or
found in the volume Alter three to your collection.
Ego: The Best of the Leg-
endary Comics Fanzine, still Other top gen-zines?
(just barely) available from From about #15 onward, Bill G. Wilson’s The Collector is
Hamster Press. But we’re excellent, especially if you’re a fan of the art of John Fantucchio. #26
talking about collecting the (1972) had a full-color wraparound cover by Steve Ditko.
original fanzines here. All three issues of Bob Schoenfeld’s Gosh Wow! (1967-1969)
Volume 3, No. 5 ™
Green Lantern / FCA Section
Summer 2000 Background image: Art ©2000 Mart Nodell;
Green Lantern ©2000 DC Comics
Editor
Roy Thomas

Associate Editor
Bill Schelly Contents
Design & Layout
Janet Sanderson
John Morrow
A Justice Society for the Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
In a guest writer/editorial, Marty Greim tells the story behind this issue’s Infantino/Ordway cover.
Eric Nolen-Weathington

Consulting Editors New Light on The Green Lantern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Interview with Mart (and Carrie) Nodell about the creation of The Green Lantern—
John Morrow
and the Pillsbury Dough Boy.
Jon B. Cooke

FCA Editor Preserving the Golden Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

P.C. Hamerlinck Jeff Gelb talks with publisher Bill Black about AC Comics, and its marvelous Golden Age reprints.

Contributing Editor
Michael T. Gilbert
Gil Kane on Comics— Past, Present, and Future. . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chris Irving presents a heavily-illustrated 1998 interview with a dynamic artist who
left us far too soon.
Editors Emeritus
Jerry Bails (founder)
Ronn Foss, Biljo White,
“George Roussos Did It All!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
And that’s an understatement, as this interview by Bill Cain will definitely demonstrate!
Mike Friedrich

Cover(s) Artist Alfredo Alcala (1925-2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Carmine Infantino A reminiscence by his friend Manuel Auad of the late great Filipino comics master.
Jerry Ordway
Mart Nodell Re: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Letters from longtime pro writer Alvin Schwartz and lots of other interesting folks.
Cover Color
Tom Ziuko FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) #64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
P.C. Hamerlinck presents another fantastic Fawcett festival.
Mailing Crew
Russ Garwood, D. Hambone,
Glen Musial, Ed Stelli, Pat Varker “We Didn’t Know... It Was the Golden Age!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Artist Marc Swayze tells about drawing Phantom Eagle and Flyin’ Jenny—
And Special Thanks to: without getting off the ground.

Manuel Auad
Mike W. Barr
Harry and Adele
Lampert A Jab in the Butt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Paul Levitz Captain Marvel co-creator C.C. Beck had his own ideas on how to
Al Bigley
Sheldon Moldoff tell a comic book story. (What? You’re surprised to learn this?)
Bill Black
Rich Morrissey
Randy Bower
Jerry K. Boyd Will Murray
Marty and
Fond Memories of Wendell Crowley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Jack Burnley The longtime Fawcett editor is lovingly remembered by friends Hames Ware & John Putnam.
Bill Cain Carrie Nodell
Al Dellinges
Steve Ditko
Ethan Roberts
Alvin Schwartz Special Justice Society Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us!
Creig Flessel Robin Snyder
Marc Svensson About our inside cover: A beautiful re-creation drawing by Mart Nodell. Let those who worship
Keif Fromm
Marc Swayze evil’s might— get the hell out of town!
Carl Gafford
Jeff Gelb Joel Thingvall
Alter EgoTM is published quarterly by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. Phone: (919) 833-8092. Roy Thomas,
Martin L. Greim Anthony Tollin Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: Rt. 3, Box 468, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail:
Gary Groth Dann Thomas [email protected]. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $5.95 ($7.00 Canada, $9.00
Kim Thompson elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: $20 US, $27 Canada, $37 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material
George Hagenauer © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM
David Hamilton Hames Ware of P.C. Hamerlinck. Alter and Captain Ego ©2000 Roy Thomas & Bill Schelly. Air Wave, Aquaman, Binky, Black Canary, Blackhawk, Blue Beetle,
Ron Harris Marv Wolfman Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Commander Steel, Cyclone Kids, Dr. fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, Dr. Sivana, Firebrand, Flash, Green Lantern, Guardian,
Ed Zeno Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Holliday Girls, Hop Harrigan, Hour-Man, Ibis, Johnny Peril, Johnny Quick, Johnny Thunder, Justice Society of America, Lib-
Irwin Hasen erty Belle, Mary Marvel, Mechanique, Metal Men, Minute Man, Mr. Terrific, Newsboy Legion, Nuclear, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Robotman, Rose
Roger Hill & Thorn, Sandman, Sandy, Scribbly, Solomon Grundy, Spectre, Spy Smasher, Starman, Steve Trevor, Sugar & Spike, Superman, Uncle Marvel, Wild-
cat, Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman, Wotan ©DC Comics. Dan Dare, Dr. Voodoo, Golden Arrow, Lance O’Casey, Master Man, Mr. Hogan, Phantom
Tom Horvitz Eagle © Fawcett Publications, , Capt. Midnight is a TM of Ovaltine. Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Warlock © Marvel Characters,
Richard Howell Inc. The Fly, The Shield, The Wizard © Archie Comics. Chuck chandler, Nightro, Slugger © Lev Gleason. Green Hornet © Harvey Comics. Fight-
Chris Irving ing Yank © Nedor/Better Comics. Fighting American © Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Pillsbury Dough Boy © Pillsbury. John Carter of Mars © Edgar
Rice Burroughs, Inc. Alter Ego hero art © Ron Harris, hero © Roy and Dann Thomas. Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie © Walt Disney Pro-
Larry Ivie ductions. Golden Lad © Spark. Droopy © Harry Lampert. Opus © Berke Breathed. Voltar © Estate of Alfredo Alcala. Conan © Conan Properties,
Steve Korté Inc. Music Master © Eastern Color Printing. Flyin’ Jenny © Bell Syndicate. The Great Guy © Marcus Swayze. Pogo and Albert © Estate of Walt
Kelly. Transisto, Lunar-Man © Estate of George Roussos. Printed in Canada.
FIRST PRINTING
2 Guest Editorial

A Justice Society
for the
Ages
A Guest Editorial
by Martin L. Greim
[As a special treat, both for you and for
myself, I asked longtime fan and collector Mar-
tin Greim— who also created the mainstream
hero Thunder Bunny some years back— to
relate the full story behind the original JSA
drawing by Carmine Infantino and Jerry Ord-
way which graces the cover of this issue of Alter
Ego. In it, I also learned that Marty had once
owned two pages of original art from All-Star
Comics #40. Great to know such artwork still
exists— and perhaps one day it will turn up, to
be shared with the readers of Alter Ego. And
now, here’s Marty! —R.T.]

I
Jerry and I go back many years, and I count him as a good friend.
He and I met years ago when I did my last fan venture before going
n the late 1980s, when I was heavily into collecting original art, the
pro: Comic Crusader Storybook. He provided some fantastic work for
only piece that eluded me was a shot of The Justice Society of
that 196-page publication that featured all-new stories of the best of the
America featuring my personal favorite members from a specific time in
fan-created super-heroes.
their All-Star Comics run.
I contacted Jerry and told him about the Infantino/JSA piece I
At that time I did have two original All-Star pages from the issue
wanted to have inked. I am still in his debt for his graciously agreeing
where the JSA fight juvenile delinquency. (Both were OK pages, but
to do it. Especially since each hero had to have a certain look. To this
they were sold in 1993 to a local art dealer.) But they didn’t show Black
end, I provided Jerry with a batch of my Golden Age comics. The
Canary, or Hawkman and/or The Atom in their original costumes.
Flash had to have thick eyebrows (he and Captain Marvel must have
I was fortunate to have as a good friend the late Mark Hanerfeld been distant cousins) and a full lightning bolt on his chest... not the
(the person who served as the model for Abel in DC’s House of Secrets small one a lot of the artists were using. Hawkman had to have the
comic). Mark often acted as an agent for Carmine Infantino. I contacted right headpiece and wings from the right ’48 period. Green Lantern,
Mark and asked him to see what he could do about having Carmine Doctor Mid-Nite, and The Atom had to have the Alex Toth flowing
do a pencil rendering of the Justice Society for me, featuring seven capes I loved so much when he worked on these heroes. Black Canary
members. and Wonder Woman... err... they had to look great!

Mark called back in a couple of days and told me that Carmine had A few weeks went by, and I received my comics and the art back
agreed to do it and had set a price. A price I was more than happy to from Jerry. I was blown away! It had the look I wanted. Every hero
pay. I provided Carmine with a thumbnail sketch of what I wanted, looked the way I wanted.
showing where each hero was to be positioned.
The art became and still is, to this day, one of my favorite pieces in
Within three weeks I had received a beautiful penciled page in the my collection. Although I’ve sold off a great deal of my collection over
mail. Carmine had even put in one of his trademark backgrounds. the years, this Justice Society piece still remains framed and hung in my
What he also did was make the drawing horizontal instead of vertical as home’s office space. It hangs along with other great Golden Age ren-
I had envisioned it. I’m glad he did, because it would have seemed derings: Dick Sprang’s Batman, Wayne Boring’s and Curt Swan’s Super-
cramped on a standard comic book page and I did want the figures to be man pieces, and H.G. Peter’s Wonder Woman (seen in an earlier issue of
good-sized. Alter Ego).

Now I had what was, for me, the ultimate Justice Society picture. Carmine Infantino and Jerry Ordway provided me with a piece of
My next step was to get it inked. Murphy Anderson came to mind, but art that brings me joy whenever I look at it. Now I
I needed someone who would be willing to render each character exactly get to share that joy with the readers of this issue.
as he or she appeared in his/her own feature in the 1948 era. Again my thanks go out to Carmine and Jerry for
this wonderful piece of art!
Jerry Ordway was the best and only choice.
4 New Light On The Green Lantern

New Light on The

Green
Lantern
The Ultimate (well, at least the Penultimate)
Interview with Mart Nodell on the
Emerald Gladiator — and Other Things

[NOTE: This interview has traveled a long and winding

road. It had been scheduled for months by the time I saw
Marty Nodell and his charming wife Carrie at the
MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, and we arranged a date for me to talk
Conducted and Edited by Roy Thomas
to him by phone. Somehow, in the press of other work, I totally forgot
that phone call till the next morning! Marty was understanding about
Transcribed by Jon B. Knutson
it, but was about to leave for another convention— and then a
“comics cruise,” about which more below— and wouldn’t be back for
Profusely Illustrated Mostly by Mart Nodell
another couple of weeks. That pressed our deadline, but everything
worked out in the end.
although Bill Finger became involved in that very first story. Marty
[Mart Nodell, of course, is the man who came up with the concept of has also done other work in comics and in the commercial art field.
The Green Lantern in 1940, and was the feature’s first artist— in This interview was intended to cover his entire career, but in particular
some ways, as this interview underscores, its first writer, as well, to delve, more deeply than previous ones have done, into the little
matter of the creation of “The Green Lantern.” To that end, in
advance of my phone call, I sent him questions about every angle of
(This page) Marty and Carrie Nodell at home, surrounded by some of
Marty’s recent Green Lantern color art commissions— plus a drawing done Green Lantern’s creation I could possibly think of. Some conversation-
especially for Roy and Dann Thomas. [Photo courtesy of Marty and Carrie al dead ends that led nowhere have been eliminated from the inter-
Nodell; art ©2000 Mart Nodell; Green Lantern ©2000 DC Comics] view that follows. —R.T.]
 Mart Nodell Interview 5

ROY THOMAS: First, Marty, let’s hear what you’d been doing with operas, and I thought, “Well, if this is interesting to them, I might
your life before you walked into the All-American offices that fateful come up with some idea.”
day in 1940.
One of the first things I thought of was the Wagnerian Ring
MART NODELL: Well, I went to high school in Chicago, and had a Cycle [of four operas]. I thought it would be something that could be
little schooling at Chicago University, and a little more at the Chicago used, one way or another. So, when I got to the subway station,
Academy of Fine Arts. I decided I was interested in art, and I was which was four or five blocks away...
interested in the theatre. Actually, my interest in the theatre comes
from members of my family, so I wanted to get on the stage. I did RT: Where were you
work for community theatre in Chicago, and some theatre work heading?
where I would do art— in other word, ads— and I’d also do work on NODELL: I was
the staging and whatever else I could do. going home to
I came to New York with letters— letters from the theatre people Brooklyn,
who liked what I did, letters from the art people who thought they and I
liked what I did. When I came to New York, the theatre people tried
thought I should go see the art people, and the art people thought I
should go see the theatre people.

RT: So they were fighting over you, huh? [Laughs]

NODELL: Oh, they were fighting negatively. So I figured I should

probably look in on art, which is what I did. Back in art school I had
done work that would possibly lead me to comics, and I thought I
could do that.

RT: A list of your pre-GL comics work includes “Larry Harrigan,”

“The Sands of Doom,” “Buck Steele,” “The Raven,” all for Ace. And
Jerry Bails’ Who’s Who says that for Fox Comics in 1940 you did a
character called “Doctor Doom.” Do you remember working for Vic-
tor Fox?

NODELL: No, I don’t.

RT: When you went to the All-American offices there on Lafayette

Street in New York, had you seen that name in a comic book, or did
someone else tell you you should try that company?

NODELL: What I did was to check out the old Mom and Pop news-
stands. It seemed to me that if there were these things called comic
working out
books, it might be advantageous for me to see some of them. There
some ideas as I
had been something called “Superman” for almost two years, and
got to the station.
“Batman” was coming along for almost a year, so by 1939 I just
I was writing
looked up the address in the comics. There were a couple of different
down everything I could possibly
addresses, and the one I picked up was Lafayette Street.
think of. I thought, “Gee, I’ve got to do this
RT: That was M.C. Gaines’ outfit, downtown. It was affiliated with real quick, because if I think of something,
Harry Donenfeld’s National/DC, which had offices further uptown. other people will, too. It might have some
Most readers never knew they were two companies, because they had meaning to them, too.”
the same DC cover symbol, and used so many of the same artists and
As I entered the subway, there were a
writers, and overlapped in so many different ways. So one day you
number of people standing around, and
just sort of showed up on AA’s doorstep?
there was a train man in the subway
NODELL: Ah... not quite. I came up with a number of samples, and station, in the trough of the tracks, and he
showed them to Sheldon Mayer. I didn’t know who he was, or any of was waving a red lantern, which meant,
the editors or writers or people involved there at all, so I came into “Hold the train, don’t come in.” When he
their offices, showed him what I had, and he said, “Well, I’ll tell checked the tracks, he waved a green
you— the only thing I can think of is, if you come up with a super- lantern. The green lantern meant, “Come
hero, we’re looking for another super-hero; and if you were to have in.” As the train would come in, he
that, maybe we could talk about something.” He was very vague. would get out of the way, get behind a
pole and stay there, and that was the end
On my way home, ideas were popping into my head. Now, my of his part in “Green Lantern.”
first idea was to come up with something that I’d be familiar with,
something I would know about, things I could put into some sort of But when that green lantern meant
storyline. I was interested in Chinese folklore... something to me, I just wrote it down:
“The Green Lantern.”
RT: How did you get interested in that?

NODELL: Oh, I had been interested in it, off and on, for a number A couple of 1990s sketches by Marty of Green Lantern. The original ones
of years. I was also interested in Greek mythology. Also, I had friends he did for Shelly Mayer in 1940 were probably not dissimilar—but in color.
who liked opera, and this is New York, so they played a lot of various [Art ©2000 Mart Nodell; Green Lantern ©2000 DC Comics]
16 Gil Kane On Comics

Gil Kane
on Comics
Past, Present, and Future

Comics Legend Gil Kane Talks about the

Industry He Loved—and Loathed
Interview Conducted and Transcribed by Chris Irving

(Left) A Kane pencil sketch

for a Green Lantern cover,
courtesy of David Hamilton.
[Art ©2000 estate of Gil Kane;
Green Lantern ©2000 DC
Comics] (Right) Gil’s ground-
breaking interview in Alter
[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: Anyone who considers himself (or Ego, Vol. 1, #10, in 1969, and
herself) a comics fan should know the name of the late, great Gil later in various issues of The
Kane... and anyone who has read the reincarnation of Alter Ego in the Comics Journal (where he even
past two years certainly does. After starting out as a comic book artist debated underground artist
in his mid-teens in the early 1940s, Gil became one of the leading Robert Crumb), were a trend-
setting festival of information
artists of the Silver Age of Comics, having co-created and drawn both
and opinion. [Self-portrait
the Hal Jordan Green Lantern (in 1959) and the Ray Palmer Atom (in ©2000 Estate of Gil Kane.]
1961) for DC. Aside from that landmark work, Gil drew just about
everything else under the sun at one time or another. The following
phone interview was conducted in summer of 1998.]

CHRISTOPHER IRVING: You started working on “The Shield and

Dusty” for MLJ back when you were 16, didn’t you?

GIL KANE: Actually, my first strip was “Inspector Bentley of Scot-

land Yard.” I was working in production at MLJ, so I was doing this practical jokes and learning about the business and meeting some of
stuff in the evening when I’d go home. Finally, I was fired after three the people who were there. For instance, Bob Montana, who created
weeks; then I was rehired by Scott Meredith. He later became one of “Archie,” was there, and Irv Novick was there and was the chief and
the biggest literary agents in the United States, for all of the big peo- best artist. Charlie Biro had just left with Bob Wood to start Crime
ple. His name was Scott Feldman at this time. He was the associate Does Not Pay and Daredevil. Bob Fujitani was there, and ultimately
editor and he lived near me. cut his name down to Bob Fuge; he had been working with Busy
Arnold and Quality Comics. He came over and started doing a strip
Three weeks after I was fired, MLJ came back and rehired me. It called “The Hangman.” I was an early artist on that.
was at that point that I was still doing production work, and I was
doing “The Shield and Dusty” at the same time. CI: That was related to “The Comet” strip, wasn’t it? [NOTE: The
Hangman was created in Pep Comics #17 (July 1941) to avenge the
CI: What was it like at MLJ? original Comet when he was murdered.]

KANE: It was like going to college and being a sophomore. It was all KANE: “The Comet” was earlier. In fact, they had a lot of existing
 Past, Present and Future 17

strips done by a lot of the artists there. There was Sam Cooper and
Lin Streeter; they did a lot of that stuff. In fact, one of their chief “Irv Novick... was the chief
artists was Mort Meskin, who did “The Wizard” and a bunch of and best artist” at MLJ
other strips for them. They had a pretty good crew, and most of even before a very young
them came from Harry Chesler, who had an art agency. Gil worked there. Note
that the early Pep Comics
At first, Chesler packaged the books, and then the three guys covers heralded “Action -
who were running what ultimately would be called Archie— but in Detective - Adventure”—
those days was called MLJ— did. They hired a bunch of these the titles of three popular
artists away and, for a couple of years, they were the central group DC monthlies. From Pep #2
of artists. Little by little, they started to shift, too. As the War start- (Feb. 1940) courtesy of
Marc Svensson. [©2000
ed, a lot of them got drafted; a lot of them went over to Charlie
Archie Comics Group.]
Biro when Biro became bigger and needed more artists. He added
another title called Boy Comics. A lot of the artists started to drift.

By 1942, when I was sixteen, I went up to MLJ and got a job as

a production assistant. I had been trying for about a year to get
work in the field, and this was the first job I was able to get. I
found Joe Kubert already working there as an inker.

CI: So where did you go from there?

KANE: I was there about six months, and had a difference of opinion
with Harry Sahle, the editor, and I was fired. I drifted around the
field until I was recommended by John Beardsley, who was the editor
at the time at Quality Comics, when [Will] Eisner had already gone I was with Bernie for
into the army. I was recommended to Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. about eight months before
They were both going into the army later that year, and they had a I was drafted into the Army.
quota to meet for their contract with DC. They had a studio in the CI: What was it like
city and I went to work copying their stuff, penciling for them, and working for Simon &
then they would do the splash page and get somebody else to ink the Kirby?
stuff. All I was doing at 16 was copying the material, shot for shot. Joe
went into the army first, and I kept working with Jack. When Jack gave KANE: They were nice
up the studio and started working at DC, I would meet him at DC. guys. Since Jack was the
When Jack left, DC gave me one assignment to handle by myself. real workhorse, he was
there every day, penciling,
Of course, I was inadequate to the job, so they fired me and hired a doing the entire range of
guy named Phil Bard, who had done “Minute Man” Boy Commandos and “The Guardian” [i.e., “The Newsboy Legion”]
over at Fawcett. That was it. and “Manhunter.” He penciled all of that stuff, and there were eight
[see page 18] panels to each page. They were big pages, usually 13” x 18”. He
After I was worked on illustration board. Sometimes, he would do six or seven
fired from DC, I of those pages a day; it was a miracle watching him.
wandered around He was talkative. Joe was talkative, but Joe was in and out of the
and was finally office a lot, so I got to know Jack better. Also, they had a letterer,
hired by Bernie Lou Ferguson, who was considered the best of that day. Later on,
Baily for his shop, when Simon & Kirby were in the service, I found him working
and there I met with Bernie Baily as Bernie’s letterer, too. He was a great old guy.
Carmine Infantino, We frisked about a bit, and it was great fun. I didn’t make much
who was my old money, but it was great fun.
classmate. Baily had
already drawn “The CI: That’s all that matters sometimes. When you got back from
Spectre” for a number the War, was it really hard to find work?
of years, and was also
drawing a strip called KANE: Oh, yeah. It was a recession. You couldn’t even get
Dick Jordan. He was clothes. You couldn’t even buy new shirts, new suits, and you
the second or third couldn’t even buy new cars. Everything was on hold because
artist on this newspaper the conversion [to peacetime] hadn’t started. The first people to
strip for a paper called buy were people that had a lot of dough. It took a while for the
PM. I did pencils there, economy to loosen up.
and I occasionally assist-
I was working at DC and did six months’ worth of work. I
ed on Dick Jordan, and
worked for Fox, worked for Famous Funnies, and then I was
worked around the field.
rehired again at DC, and that was for the long run. I was
As a matter of fact, I
hired in ’49, and have worked for them to this day.
shared a studio with Jack
Sparling and Al Plastino I did “Johnny Thunder,” Rex the Wonder Dog,
for a while. Mort Meskin on “The Wizard” in an early issue of Shield-Wizard. Hopalong Cassidy. I must have done well over a thousand
[©2000 Archie Publications; courtesy of Michael T. Gilbert.] or fifteen hundred covers, all told.
18 Gil Kane On Comics

CI: Even today, does it sur- void, and that was to bring pictures to pulp stories. It
prise you when you hear that seemed like a perfect marriage. And the quality of images
your old Green Lantern or that came out of comics was very original and different
Atom stuff is deemed a classic? from the images in newspaper work. It was more flamboy-
ant, and those images and values, even though they were
KANE: As a matter of fact, very resistant to the general public at first, were ultimately
I’ve done practically every- assimilated and pulled into the culture.
thing. I did Prince Valiant for
five weeks. Tarzan I’ve done in Now you see them everywhere: in movies, in toys, in
newspaper strips. I ghosted on everything. It is a total assimilation. Plus the fact that a
Flash Gordon. I’ve done practi- new technology came along. A new technology always
cally everything over at Marvel, means a turn in the culture.
yet the only thing people ever
associate me with is the Green So what happens is that, all of the values having been
Lantern book. assimilated, and all of the media generating facsimiles of
comics material (not totally but in one way or another),
CI: Do you have any plans for that makes comics somewhat irrelevant.
doing any comics in the future?
Also, the economics have changed in the field so that
KANE: I’m working on a Green there are no more ten-cent comic books. Comic books
Lantern/Atom two-parter [for cost $2.50 to $3.00, and that’s just a starting price. As a
Legends of the DC Universe], and result, people don’t buy them in the millions anymore.
I’ve got a Superman The circulation has dropped precipitously.
graphic novel after
that. I did the last one “[Simon and Kirby] had a quota to meet for their contract with DC.” By 1944, Plus the fact that these companies are owned
about a year ago, they met it with ghosted art behind S&K covers like this one. [©2000 DC Comics] by enormous corporations. In the early days,
called Distant Fire. It the owner had a direct hand in the editorial
was my pitch. I plot-
ted the story, and I did the same thing with this one. I’m also negotiat-
ing something else with another publishing firm.

CI: How do you view the marketplace today?

KANE: First of all, when comic books came out they filled an existing

(Left) Comics student Rich Morrissey says Gil penciled both “Newsboy Legion”
and “Sandman” circa 1944 (see his letter in this issue’s “re:” section). So
could The Guardian’s pug nose in Panel 5 of SSC #35 be Gil’s? At any rate, it
certainly isn’t by Simon and Kirby. [©2000 DC Comics] (Above) After Joe and
Jack were drafted, DC fired Gil and replaced him with Kirby-influenced
“Minute Man” artist Phil Bard. Here’s what Bard had been doing for Fawcett
before “Sandman,” repro’d from photocopies of original art, courtesy of Keif
Fromm. [Minute Man ©2000 DC Comics]
30 Alfredo Alcala

Alfredo Alcala
(1925-2000)
A Memory by Manuel Auad

A LFREDO ALCALA was born August 23, 1925,

in Talisay, Occidental Negros, Philippines. Bent
on becoming an illustrator, he dropped out of
school at a tender age. Initially, he painted
signs, and then turned to designing chan-
deliers, table lamps, and garden furni-
ture for a wrought-iron shop. After
work he would spend night to dawn
studying and copying Harold Fos-
ter’s Prince Valiant and Alex Ray-
mond’s Flash Gordon. However, it
was Louis K. Fine, the artist of comic
book heroes “The Black Condor,”
“Uncle Sam,” “The Doll Man,” etc.,
who most
influenced him.
In October 1948 Alcala got his
first professional comic book job with
Bituin [Star] Komiks. A month later
he was working for Ace Publica-
tions, which started with two
comic books: Pilipino Komiks
and Tagalog Klasiks. Later on,
two more titles were added:
Hiwaga Komiks and Espesyal
Komiks. Alcala worked on
these comic books, which
were coming out simultane-
ously, all by himself— pencil-
ing, inking, and lettering.
Because of the workload
demand, there were times when
he went without sleep for days.
Alcala also wrote some of the sto-
ries which he drew. Among the most mem-
orable ones are Ukala, an epic set against the background of the to a war story or a sword-and-sorcery story with such ease that he
American Northwest, and Voltar, a Viking saga. Both were so meticu- never ceased to impress his editors.
lously drawn that he reaped praises from even the severest art critics In 1976 Alcala came to the U.S. and continued to do an enormous
of the day. He also drew a series on the German and Japanese war- amount of work. Aside from comic books, he also did daily and
ships that had become legends during World War II. As Alcala pro- Sunday strips such as Rick O’Shay and Star Wars. In 1977 he was pre-
gressed, he studied American illustrators such as Howard Pyle, N.C. sented with the Inkpot Award at the San Diego Comics Convention.
Wyeth, Dean Cornwell, J.C. Leyendecker, and others. One of his Alcala’s work on The Savage Sword of Conan, both inking the pencils
strongest influences was the great British muralist Frank Brangwyn. of John Buscema and later on his own, will long be remembered. In
In the early 1970s DC Comics’ editor Carmine Infantino, along the 1980s he revived his Voltar character for Warren Publications.
with Joe Orlando, traveled to the Philippines to look at some of the Because of his failing eyesight, Alcala could not
work being done by the Filipino artists they had heard so much continue to draw. And on April 4, 2000, he passed
about. Alcala was one of the first to be hired, on the spot. He worked, away. He was 74 years old. We shall not see the likes
for many years, for most of the U.S. comic book publishers. Of all of him again.
the Filipino artists hired, Alcala did the most work for DC, taking on
any title sent to him. He could draw everything from a horror story Conan ©2000 Conan Properties, Inc.; other art ©2000 Estate of Alfredo Alcala.
 Alfredo Alcala 31

[Manuel Auad, who is

the editor of two acclaimed
books showcasing the art of
Alex Toth, was a longtime
friend of Alcala’s. He will
miss Alfredo—
[And so will I, and so
will many others. I myself
still treasure a lovely paint-
ing Alfredo insisted on
giving me one day, simply
because I admired it; he
wouldn’t take a penny for it.
It appears to depict Don
Quixote on horseback,
facing his infamous wind-
mills— until you look a
second time, and suddenly
realize that Don Q.
isn’t on horseback— he’s a
centaur! Tilting with
windmills— yet full of
fantasy— and a playful
sense of mischief.
[That’s how I’ll always
think of the great Alfredo
Alcala. —Roy Thomas]
32 Re:

ated, but the fact that they were never created in a vacuum. “Super-

re:
man” took off in the midst of two great cataclysms— the back end of
the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II.

Now, a lot of the creators referred to their military experience, but

almost in passing. Yet if “Superman” marked the beginning of the
whole super-hero world and the growth of the comic book industry, it
owed much to those two cataclysms. And the regeneration, in some-
what degraded form, it’s true, of the whole messianic idea that under-
lies the Judaeo-Christian west (the Jews at one pole looking toward the
coming of the messiah, the Christians at the other looking back on
the messiah who had already come and hoping for a second visit)—
so that, given war and depression, a superman of sorts already had the
welcome mat out for him. And no one was more welcoming than a
drafted GI in the midst of a war. In fact, as you may already know,
50% of DC’s circulation went to the armed forces during the war.

I don’t want to belabor the point in this letter of thanks as much as

simply point it out, and suggest that it would be more interesting if
more of comics history, the kinds of stories that became popular, were
explained in terms of the social context that made them successful. It
would serve a better purpose than trying to figure out whether, for
example, Otto Binder wrote the first “Bizarro” story or I wrote it. In
fact, I wrote the first one, but it didn’t appear first because the daily
strips were written far more than ten weeks in advance, and Otto, who
surely wouldn’t have seen my story before it came out (or if he had
would he have copied it) probably got it from Mort Weisinger, who
copied and passed on and stole from everybody, including himself.

Since I seem to recall Mort’s proposing to me a glimmer of an idea

for a story with some kind of Superman double, although coming up
with something as sophisticated as the first Bizarro story was outside
the grasp of his imagination, I suppose he deserves some credit for
suggesting the double. Incidentally, by the time that first Bizarro
story came out, I had already left DC, deciding that there were better
things in life than writing for Weisinger.

But that’s beside the point. The real point I’m trying to suggest
is—how about more material in which the context of a strip gets
examined? And thanks again for the subscription. I’m anticipating
years of pleasant nostalgia.
Our mascot at war! A previously-unpublished 1985 Ron Harris
Alvin Schwartz
conceptual drawing of the super-hero called Alter Ego which he and
Roy & Dann Thomas developed for First Comics. And we aim to give it to you, Mr. S.! Actually, we feel we provide a
[Art © Ron Harris; Alter Ego is a trademark of Roy & Dann Thomas.]
bit more context in Alter Ego than you give us credit for, but doubt-
less not nearly enough. Thanks for your insights on working in comics
Hi—It says on the envelope bringing me the latest issue of Alter in the 1940 and ’50s, and we hope to hear from you again.
Ego— “99 issues still remaining.” A lifetime subscription? Well, first,
thank you very much. Second, I’ll admit to reading through most of
the two issues I’ve received so far. A lot of nostalgic stuff for me. Dear Roy:
Especially the Spring issue. I really first got started in comics through
Shelly Mayer. The way I met him has been, shall we say, immortal- A/E V3#4 was one of the best issues yet. But I’m pretty sure it was
ized in a Superman story I wrote many, many years ago, entitled Flash Comics #4, not #3, in which Shelly Moldoff took over “Hawkman.”
“The Chef of Bohemia,” celebrating that tiny, one-arm, one-counter In #3 Shelly was still doing “Cliff Cornwall.”
little village restaurant known as Alex Borscht Bowl. But I’ve told
Wasn’t “Bentley of Scotland Yard” Gil Kane’s first solo feature?
that story elsewhere.
After his death, I was re-reading the last “Green Lantern” story by
However, as I lost myself somewhat in the detailed recollections of the original team in Green Lantern #75, and suddenly realized that
who wrote and drew what, and how they did it, and whether this John Broome seemed to be paying tribute to his long-standing collab-
account or that account of the origin of any particular strip was accurate orator... who, like Broome, was leaving the book with that issue. In
or not, along with some fine drawings and photographs, it struck me “The Golden Obelisk of Qward,” Green Lantern is accompanied
that in the midst of all the trivia of detail something essential was missing. throughout by an idealistic and courageous young doctor who resem-
bles Gil Kane... and his name is Eli Bently! Eli was, of course, Gil
Let me put it this way: You do such a fine and unsparing job of Kane’s original first name, but the last name was hard to place... until
what comics fanzines usually do that I first began to notice the omis- I was reminded of the MLJ strip, which makes it almost certainly more
sion so common to all of them. Maybe I also noticed because it’s one than a coincidence.
of the things I don’t do. After working on “Superman” and “Batman”
(as well as legions of other comics) for some 17 years, I never lost the Kane seems to have drawn most (though not all) of the “Sandman”
sense of what I call context. Not just how the comics came to be cre- stories from the late Simon and Kirby era that weren’t penciled by
P.C. Hamerlinck’s

no. 64

1940 Whiz Comics house advertisement from Fawcett’s Mechanix Illustrated Magazine. Artwork by C.C. Beck.
[©1940 Fawcett Publications. Captain Marvel, Ibis, Spy Smasher ©2000 DC Comics.]
 40 Fawcett Collectors of America

loved to do... draw comics.

I set up shop in my father’s old home where a sun porch,

with a row of north light windows, seemed to be begging
for conversion into a studio. On an ancient Singer our
mother had left her, my sister whipped up some curtains
for the window, and a neat fitted cover of colorful denim
for a bed that was already there. When it was all done I
was surprised at the place. Kind of like in a movie.

The studio couch, as it was called thereafter, would be

great for an artist who might want to throw his tired self
upon it after working into the late hours. It was common
knowledge among freelancers, the importance to press
on when the creative juices were flowing... to offset those
dreadful spells when nothing worthwhile came forth.
[Art
(c) mds& logo ©2000 Marc Swayze; Captain Marvel ©2000 DC Comics]
The couch was also a convenient place for spreading out artwork,
[FCA EDITOR’S NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was an like several pages at one time... which is what I was doing on this morning
artist for Fawcett Publications, originally working on Captain Marvel and in 1944. They just about covered the surface... six original Flyin’ Jenny
later designing Mary Marvel. Marc’s ongoing professional memoirs have Sunday pages, supplied by the New York syndicate, the story leading up
been a feature of FCA since #54 in 1996. Last issue he told how, in 1944, to where I was to take over. Near
after being discharged from the armed services for a knee injury, he decided an edge were two issues of Wow
to move back to his home in the South. Despite the policy of most comics Comics, each opened to a Phantom
companies back in those pre-FedEx days that writers and artist should live Eagle title page.
in the New York area so they could come in personally to deliver material
and meet with the editors, Marc was given the okay to work long-distance. Two aviation features?!! I leaned
So he left the big city, taking with him the assignment of the monthly back and thought about my long
“Phantom Eagle” feature in Wow Comics— and a new job as artist of career in the air... twenty minutes or
the Sunday page of the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper comic strip, on which he so as a nervous guest in a neighbor’s
had previously been an assistant to originator Russell Keaton. —PCH.] Piper Cub. And already I was receiv-
ing mail from people who assumed

I
I was an expert! I felt like an
t was a good feeling. I was back in my home town where I had intended impostor. Oh, well... I’d get over it.
to be someday... and sort of knew I would. Although many of my old Converting the sun porch into a
friends and schoolmates had not yet returned from the war... and some studio was not the only thing my
never would... it was nice exchanging daily greetings with folks I had sister could do. Before leaving
known a lifetime... and with their children, their parents, their grandparents. New York, I had called her. “Can
Especially you print?” I asked. I figured the
gratifying were term “lettering” was professional
the arrange- talk and would confuse her.
Marc Swayze, Fawcett offices—
ments with “You mean operate a printing Paramount Building, NYC, 1942—
two New York press?” she answered. “What kind?” Staff Artist.
companies... regular
features with “No,” I said. “Have you ever tried to write, like you see in printed
Fawcett Pub- matter? You know... like...”
lications and
The Bell “Like the dialogue in Jiggs... and Blondie...?”
Syndicate. “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” I was getting excited.
I would
be doing “Like in Joe Palooka? And The Gumps? The answer is NO,” she said.
what I
“Look, Daisy, I’m not kidding here! I’m coming home with more work
than I want to handle alone,” I said. “I need someone to do the lettering.”

“I’ll give it a try,” said my sister.

I knew she would. I told her where to find the T-square, lettering
guide, pens, ink, emery paper... the works. “When I get there, you better
be ready!”

She was. Not all that great, at first, but good enough. I thought it
best to wait a while with what was to be constructive criticism, for fear
it might be discouraging. Criticism, I then realized, would be no more
than that the lettering didn’t have the old “comic strip snap”... which
meant it didn’t look like all the others. I decided to leave it alone.
“Two aviation features?!! I felt like an impostor!” A recent sketch.
[Art ©2000 Marc Swayze; Phantom Eagle ©2000 Fawcett Publications; Fly- A few years later that confidence was confirmed when Will Lieberson,
in’ Jenny ©2000 The Bell Syndicate.] executive editor of Fawcett Comics, wrote that at some occasion he had
attended, “my” lettering was cited as the easiest to read. It was a pleasure
 “We Didn’t Know… It Was the Golden Age” 41

to advise him that the credit If there still remains at least one distinction between the male and
belonged to my sister Daisy. female members of our society, it has to be in the use of the word
“cute.” Men just don’t say it. You may hear a “beautiful” now and then,
The two comic books on or even a “gorgeous”... like when talking about a woman or a golf shot...
the couch appeared dejected... but you never hear a “cute.” I don’t know why... it hasn’t acquired, as
almost falling off an edge. I felt far as I know, any weird connotation, as have some of our perfectly
a little sorry for The Phantom good words that went astray. And I don’t know how we manage to
Eagle. He had first seen the avoid the word... there don’t appear to be any satisfactory substitutes.
light of day in Wow Comics in
the mid-forties, about the same But in attempting to describe in my mind those delightful little
as Mary Marvel and Commando Keaton backgrounds, the word kept cropping up. Those tiny hangars,
Yank. Thereafter he had the runways, the windsocks flying high... heck, it was all just plain cute.
continually played second There! I’ve said it!
fiddle to both characters in
that magazine, unheralded and And those people... often anonymous extras you never saw before
unpromoted. Now, here he and never expected to see again... who, with a turn of the head or a wave
was, being crowded off my of the hand, assured you of their life and breath. He knew when to stop,
couch by Flyin’ Jenny. did Keaton... when to abandon detail and begin to suggest. As those
characters receded into the distance they lost their noses, their eyes
What was wrong? Why became mere slits or dots, but they never lost their identity. It wasn’t
was the feature so obviously simply that the artist knew how much to give and take in allowing for
low man on the Wow totem the reduction from original art to print size, but how to instill warmth
pole? Thumbing through the into those figures... into those miniature environments.
issue before me, I had to
“My sister, Daisy Swayze, was the best conclude that the
comic strip letterer in the business in the story, though it
’40s, in my opinion... some of the borrowed heavily
editors thought so too.” from a classic, was
up to par in inter-
est. The story layout was excellent, with ample closeups of
the hero and his companion, Jerry. The art was well done in
a clean-line-and-solid-blacks style of storytelling. In my
opinion the original concept for The Phantom Eagle was
absolutely tops... a vulnerable kid, about the age of our
imaginary reader, who could fly in his plane to the ends of
the earth... and beyond... and confront foes real or mythical.
Mickey Malone, boy aviation mechanic, The Phantom Eagle,
was good comic book material with limitless story possibilities.

So what was wrong? I had thought that once the feature

had been analyzed, its weaknesses would stand out clearly
and work to overcome them could begin, with glorious and
dramatic results. Now, there appeared to be no weaknesses.

A question came to mind: If I had originated the feature,

what might have been done differently? The first thought
was of The Phoenix Squadron, six young flyers, each repre-
senting an Axis-conquered country, who flew and fought in
support of The Phantom Eagle and his causes. The idea of a
gang of pals did not make comic book sense. Okay for movies,
but not comics. When the movie director needed the gang on
camera, all he had to do was crook a finger. In a comic strip
it meant some poor guy at the drawing board had to position
every individual within the panel, pencil and ink each ade-
quately to emphasize distinct features, duplicate the various
uniforms and insignia... all this within a tight panel, on a
tight 6- to 9-panel page... and very likely on a tight schedule.

Here’s another thing: Extra pals not only weakened a feature

from the narrative standpoint, they seemed to suggest a less
forceful hero. I liked to imagine that, whatever was neces-
sary to save the day, The Phantom Eagle, young lightweight
though he might be, could pull it off. And, let’s face it, no
matter how dire a hero’s predicament, who’s to worry, with
the ever-present possibility of the calvary riding up in the
nick of time?

Turning to the Flyin’ Jenny Sunday pages, my eyes went

The first page of the first Swayze “Phantom Eagle”— from Wow Comics #30 (Oct. 1944).
directly to the backgrounds... just as they had when I joined “The idea of a gang of pals did not make comic book sense.” [©2000 Fawcett Publications.]
Russell Keaton on the strip years earlier.
 A Jab In the Butt 45

A Jab in the Butt

The Best Way to Get Reaction from Comic Readers

by C.C. Beck
[EDITORS NOTE: The following opinion article is
taken from FCA’s C.C. Beck essay archives. It is Opus the penguin looks over
previously unpublished, and was written in the mid- C.C. Beck’s shoulder as he
1980s. There will be Beck material in each issue of writes this article. [Art ©2000
the estate of C.C. Beck; Opus
FCA, all previously unpublished. —PCH]
©2000 Berke Breathed.]

In a recent Bloom County panel, Opus the

penguin was shown being jabbed in the butt with a
sharpened pencil. Actually, he wasn’t shown being jabbed in
the butt, but having been jabbed in the butt. The picture showed
him leaping into the air with a surprised and pained look on his
face.
Berke Breathed, Bloom County’s creator, knows that the
moment after an action is more important than the action itself,
which is better imagined than seen.
If this panel had been drawn by most comic book artists,
we might have been a picture, probably a closeup, of Opus’ butt
with the sharpened pencil penetrating it and producing an out-
landish sound effect and spurts of blood, flying feathers, and
other special effects. The panel would probably have been put
into a circular frame or a triangular shape, or it might have
been expanded to a double-page spread and repeated on the
cover and in the opening title panel. Comic book art, almost since its He knows that to hold the reader’s attention the picture must show only
beginning, has put far too much emphasis on violent action of all kinds the high spots of a story, not bury it in a mass of complicated and over-
and not enough on the reaction of the characters in the stories. This is done detail.
one of the reasons why comic book characters are denounced as “card- Good art, whether cartoon or realistic, appeals to the viewer’s imag-
board characters” and why the art is not considered to have much value. ination and causes him or her to feel the joy or the pain, the triumph or
Comic book artists, unlike good cartoonists, don’t leave anything to the defeat, of the characters in the picture. Paintings of landscapes and
the imagination. They put everything into their panels— every eyelash, “still life” pictures of objects contain no movement or action, and no living,
every tooth, every hair, every shadow, every wrinkle, every bit of action moving creatures. They appeal to art lovers, not to people who want
whether important or unimportant. As a result, their pictures don’t show pictures to appeal to their emotions. When too much landscape and too
any action at all, for it has all been stopped and frozen in time. The panels many objects are put into story illustrations, they cease to arouse emo-
in a comic book story are as cold and dead as so many dead fish lying tion and become simply “art,” much like the material seen in art galleries
side by side in a frozen food locker. and museums.
All successful artists— and Berke Breathed is The attempt to make story illustration into art gallery art is misguided;
one of the most successful artists working today— buyers of comic books and of newspapers containing comic strips are not
know that the less you show in a picture, the more a looking for art, but for stories and action. When the art in a story over-
viewer will imagine he sees in it. As a cartoonist, he powers the story itself, as it does in far too many comic books, the
knows that things that don’t exist in panels become simply a series of still-life pictures without
the real world, such as penguins appeal, and are quite boring and dull. “Action-packed”
that talk and wear neckties, pictures are not exciting; imagination-packed pictures
make great comic strip char- are. A good illustrator knows that his imagination is not
acters, but that realistically what the reader is interested in, but the reader’s. He
drawn characters (human or wants to have his own imagination stimulated, not
animal) with complete sets deadened by a mass of detail and artwork which,
of teeth, eyelids, eyelashes, most of the time, he can’t even understand.
and bulging muscles and Everyone needs a good jab in the butt now and
with every hair and wrinkle then. Breathed showed Opus’ reaction
brought out in detail, don’t. to one; I hope that I have succeeded in
jabbing a few butts with the sharpened
C.C. Beck’s mid-’80s sketch for a re-creation of the cover of Marvel Family #6, courtesy of the pencil with which I wrote this article.
collection of Bruce Pritchard. [Art ©2000 estate of C.C. Beck; Marvel Family ©2000 DC Comics]
46 Fawcett Collectors of America

Fond Memories of
Wendell Crowley
A Look Back at Fawcett’s Most Beloved Editor
by Hames Ware Cartoon of Wendell Crowley by C.C. Beck, done in the 1970s
for Legion Outpost fanzine. [©2000 estate of C.C. Beck]

I
As if this wonderful new correspondence wasn’t enough, it
t may be difficult, in turned out that Wendell, after Fawcett had folded, had taken over the
current times of fan family lumber business, and consequently would take trips to states
conventions and other oppor- with large timber resources— and Arkansas was one of those states!
tunities for fans and pros to Thus I got to meet and visit with Wendell on several occasions as he
commingle, to re-create what passed through our state (nearly always dropping by to visit Fawcett
a thrill it was for a kid of the friend Marc Swayze in nearby Louisiana at the same time).
1940s and ’50s to actually get It’s hard to describe what a wonderful thrill it was to have the
to meet one of the comic editor of my favorite comic books sitting with a pile of those same
book professionals whose comics he’d edited years before, and pointing out artist after artist on
name was as recognizable to story after story— right there— in person.
him as, say, the President’s
Thanks to Wendell, not only was I able to finally learn to recog-
was to his parents.
nize the styles of up-to-then-unknown artists like Clem Weisbecker
Wendell Crowley was and Harry Fisk, but more importantly,
just such a name to me, because Wendell added names
of all the comic books I grew and information galore
up reading and studying the for the fledgling Who’s
art in, the Fawcett titles were Who Jerry and I were
predominant in my collection. trying to make the
They were my favorites, even excellent reference it
though they frustrated my has become.
desire to know the artists’
names, since by the time I
was reading them no art credits
were given.
But one name that stood out on most of the
mastheads was that of editor Wendell Crowley.
Thus, by the time I was a young adult and
working with Jerry Bails as co-editor of The Who’s
Who of American Comic Books, I was delighted to
learn from Jerry DeFuccio, associate editor at Mad
and a longtime fan of comics as well as a pro himself,
that Wendell Crowley would be glad to hear from me
if I wrote him.
Write I did, and thus began a wonderful personal
correspondence with one of the finest individuals a per-
son could ever have hoped to know— Wendell Crowley.
My early letters to him were filled with “Who drew
this Spy Smasher?”— “Who drew Bob Swift?”— “Who’s
the Captain Marvel Jr. artist who wound up at DC?”—
Titles edited by Wendell Crowley—
and on and on and on.
who clearly didn’t mind seeing his
And Wendell, kindly and patiently, answered every heroes in ludicrous situations:
single question, referring me to other Fawcett compatriots Captain Marvel Adventures #142
when it was one he felt they could best answer. Wendell (March 1953, cover by C.C. Beck) and
was held in esteem by every one of them. The Marvel Family #88 (Kurt Schaf-
fenberger). [©2000 DC Comics]