$5.95In the USA

No.38July2004

INFANTINO • ANDERSONHASEN • ELLISON • GIELLA • KUBERT

TOTH • EVANIER • MURRAYSCHELLY • GILBERT • AMASH

& MORE!

Art ©2004 Carmine Infantino.Flash TM & ©2004 DC Comics.

JULIUSSCHWARTZAGE OF COMICS!

WELCOME TO THE

Co-Starring

11994--2004

Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues:$8 ($10 Canada, $11.00 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $120 Canada, $132 elsewhere. All characters are © theirrespective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM ofRoy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in Canada.

FIRST PRINTING.

This issue is dedicated to the memory ofJulie Schwartz,

Carrie Nodell, & Lillian Drake

ContentsWriter/Editorial: Julie, Julie, Julie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Schwartz and All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Mark Evanier’s overview of the life & times of Julius Schwartz.

Three Easy Pieces Starring Julius Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9A trio of interviews by Will Murray with the self-confessed architect of the Silver Age.

“How Captain Whiz Became The Flash!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Carmine Infantino on Julie—and the secret origins of the Silver Age speedster.

“We Called Him ‘Sabertooth’!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Golden/Silver Age inker Joe Giella talks about his friendship with Julie.

“I Never Felt Like I Was Working for a Boss When I Worked for Julie!” . . 40Murphy Anderson on the “Spectre-acular” Schwartz.

Julie: Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us!About Our Cover: There was never a moment’s doubt about which super-hero, if any, wouldappear on our cover. Julie Schwartz edited the legendary JSA and other DC heroes in the late1940s, and many another comic in the 1950s through his retirement in the mid-1980s, includingSuperman and Batman—but ’twas the 1956 debut of The Flash in Showcase #4 that, howeverunguessed-at at the time, raised the curtain on the Silver Age of Comics. We didn’t dare dreamthat that Flash’s first and greatest artist, Carmine Infantino, who rarely draws these days,would agree to pencil a brand new cover especially for this issue; but, thanks to some friendlypersuasion by Jim Amash, he did—using his sometime signature “Cinfa”—and he came throughlike the champ he’s always been. See both Carmine’s penciled version and the full Amash-inkedversion of this fabulous illo—including how you can take a crack at owning it—on p. 34! [Art©2004 Carmine Infantino; The Flash TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

Above: Julie and artist Murphy Anderson hold up a copy of Justice League of America #1, withthe cover they created for it. This was actually the fourth “JLA” story, of course—but its publi-cation demonstrated that the super-group had won its wings, and it’s been around ever since!Photo from the Julius Schwartz Collection.

Vol. 3, No. 38 / July 2004Editor Roy Thomas

Associate EditorsBill SchellyJim Amash

Design & LayoutChristopher Day

Consulting EditorJohn Morrow

FCA EditorP.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt EditorMichael T. Gilbert

Editors EmeritusJerry Bails (founder)Ronn Foss, Biljo White,Mike Friedrich

Production AssistantEric Nolen-Weathington

Cover ArtistsCarmine Infantino & Jim AmashIrwin Hasen

Cover ColoristsJ. David SpurlockIrwin Hasen

And Special Thanks to:Neal AdamsMurphy AndersonPedro AngostoJeff BaileyBob BaileyBrian H. BailieMike W. BarrMichael BaulderstoneBill BlackJackson BostwickJerry K. BoydAlan BrennertMike BurkeyNick CardyBob CherryShaun ClancyJohn CochranDave CockrumRay A. CuthbertTeresa R. DavidsonAl DellingesJoe DesrisIrwin DonenfeldShel DorfHarlan & Susan EllisonDon EnsignMark EvanierShane FoleyRamona FradonMike FriedrichCarl GaffordJosé García-LópezJeff GelbFrank GiellaJoe GiellaJanet GilbertDick GiordanoMike GoldBob GreenbergerWalt GroganBeth GwinnJennifer T. Hamerlinck

Ron HarrisIrwin HasenMark & Stephanie HeikeTom HorvitzDave HuntJoe KubertStan LeePaul LevitzGlenn MacKayElliot S. MagginKeith MallowDan MakaraDave ManakSam MaronieBrian K. MorrisMark MullerWill MurrayMart NodellDenny O’NeilCarlos PachecoJoe PetrilakJohn G. PierceLarry RippeeEthan RobertsBob RozakisAlex SaviukDavid SiegelLouis Small, Jr.Marc SparksJ. David SpurlockRichard SteinbergMarc SvenssonMarc SwayzeJoel ThingvallDann ThomasAlex TothMichael UslanMarv WolfmanDonald WoolfolkEddy ZenoMichael ZenoTom Ziuko

JULIEPartOne

™

Schwartz and AllGreat Moments with Julius Schwartz (1915-2004)

by Mark Evanier

Julie’s Top Ten! The Living Legend himself at a comics convention—in a photo from the Julius Schwartz Collection—framed by ten of the most important comicbook milestones in his long and, yes, legendary career. [Clockwise & in chronological order from top right center:] All-Star Comics #42 (Aug.-Sept. 1948),

representing his becoming a full editor, upon Shelly Mayer’s retirement—Strange Adventures #1 (Aug.-Sept. 1950), the comic that returned Julie to his first andgreatest love, science-fiction—Mystery in Space #1 (April-May 1951)—Showcase #4 (Sept.-Oct. 1956)—Showcase #22 (Sept.-Oct. 1959)—The Brave and the Bold #28

(Feb.-March 1960)—The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961)—Justice League of America #21 (Aug. 1963)—Detective Comics #327 (May 1964)—Superman #233 (Jan. 1970). If you don’t already know why these mags were important to Julius Schwartz—and to comics—then stick around! [Covers ©2004 DC Comics.]

4

[A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Thefollowing essay—really, a series ofshort essays, primarily by Markbut with an added remembranceat the end by Elliot Maggin—appeared on Mark’s websitewww.newsfromme.com onFebruary 9, 2004, only hours afterJulie Schwartz’s passing. Mark is,of course, a TV and comic bookwriter, most noted in comics inrecent years for his hilariousdialogue that accompanies SergioAragonés’ Groo the Wanderer.The order of some material belowbeen somewhat rearranged fromits original appearance on thewebsite, but is still ©2004 MarkEvanier. The main thing is—Marktells you just about everything youreally need to know about JulieSchwartz, prior to reading the restof the issue. —Roy.]

He was one of the founding fathers of science-fiction fandom andlater of comic book fandom. For a time, he was an agent for science-fiction authors. Among other accomplishments, he sold the first storiesby a kid named Ray Bradbury.

But you could only go so far in that field, so when he heard about anopening as an editor of comic books, he grabbed it, figuring it might begood for a few years of increased income. On his way to the jobinterview, he later claimed, he read the first comic books he’d ever read.He apparently gleaned enough of the form, because for the rest of his islife, Julius Schwartz was not only an employee of DC Comics but, somesaid, the best comic book editor there ever was. His background as ascience-fiction fan and agent served him when he helmed comics likeStrange Adventures and Mystery in Space, but he reallydistinguished himself as an editor of super-hero comics.

Whatever the “Silver Age of Comics” was, it more or lesscommenced with Showcase #4, which revived The Flash in anew form and figure. Super-hero comics had been in declinebefore Schwartz edited that book, supervising and steeringthe reinvention of an entire genre. It led to more revivals:Green Lantern, Hawkman, Atom, and (best of all) theJustice League of America. And then, at another companyacross town, came The Fantastic Four and all the Marvelheroes—all reborn because Julie had paved the route.

Later, when sales on Batman were sinking, DC turned toSchwartz to institute a “new look” and bolster the character,which he did. And when Superman was in need of an editorwho knew what he was doing, Julie came to the rescue.How many people in this world could say honestly thatthey saved both Superman and Batman?

But the main beneficiaries of Schwartz being on thisEarth (as distinguished from the others he presided over)were not comic book characters. They fell into two groups.

First, you had your writers and artists who lovedworking with the man. They found him encouraging, stimu-lating, and devoutly intent on producing the best comicbooks humanly possible at the moment. And yes, theysometimes found him maddening to deal with. But despiteall the years I’ve been around comics and Julie Schwartz,I’ve only known of one writer who did not love the man

and their association, and it was the kind of writer you’d beproud to not have like you. Given Julie’s years and position,that is a truly amazing accomplishment: to do so much hiringand firing and rewriting and critiquing… and to be almostcompletely undespised.

And the other group that profited from the existence ofSchwartz was the readers… those of us who got to buy andread and savor all those fine comics. We loved Schwartz and heloved us, possibly because he had been one of us. He and hisboyhood friend Mort Weisinger had published one of the first,if not the first, science-fiction fanzine. Julie loved fanzines. Heloved conventions. The last few years, nothing depressed himmore than the fear that some physical ailment would keep himfrom the annual San Diego gathering. (Quick Story: Last year,Julie was reticent to come out because he was having troublewalking and didn’t want to be rolled about in a wheelchair. Iasked him why not, and he said, “Because old men are inwheelchairs.” I told him, “Julie, you’re 88 years old. You are anold man.” He still balked, so I said, “Tell you what. Come out,sit in the wheelchair, and I’ll arrange for a woman with largebreasts to push you around in it.” He said, “In that case,okay.”)

Perhaps the greatest thing about Julie was that there was so muchoverlap in the above two groups. He gave many readers the opportunityto become writers and even artists. And he stood on no ceremony:anyone who met him at the conventions can attest to how friendly andaccessible he was. He got annoyed with you if you didn’t ask himquestions. It’s going to be sad going to conventions without him.

Julie died this morning at Winthrop Hospital in New York—around2:30 A.M. It was not a surprise, and it was one of those deaths that, andeveryone reading this will understand what I mean, provides a certainamount of relief. He had been in terrible shape the last few weeks. Hishearing was almost gone, and I had to shout to be heard in our lastphone conversation. He had been proud and fiercely independent in his

(Above:) Julie in atuxedo. Why is Julieuncharacteristically

wearing a tuxedo? In thisinstance, the generally

information-laden key tothe Julius Schwartz

Collection says merely:“[no info].” (Right:) TheCarmine Infantino/Joe

Giella cover of The Flash#120 (May 1961), repro’dfrom a photocopy of theoriginal, as it appearedin a 1990s art catalog.

Surely there must’ve been many photos takenof Julie and Mark Evanier together on those

dozens of San Diego Comic-Con panels… but,oddly, the only photo of Mark in the JuliusSchwartz Collection was this one from theChicago Con, 1987—minus Julie! (Left to

right:) Roy & Dann Thomas, Mark, and PatBastienne, longtime DC editorial coordinator.

Schwartz and All 5

[NOTE: In the combined piecesthat follow, certain parts of theconversation which substantiallyrepeat information related inJulie’s book Man of Two Worldsor in his interviews in Alter Ego#7 & #26 have been omitted,with bridging italicizedsummaries, primarily for reasonsof space. In other places, to keepthe flow, that duplicatorymaterial has been kept. “Afoolish consistency is thehobgoblin of little minds.” —Roy.]

INTRODUCTION by Will MurrayLast summer, I heard that Julie Schwartz had been in a car accident

and was recovering at home. We hadn’t spoken since running into eachother at the All Time Classic Comics Convention back in the summer of2000, at White Plains, New York. I realized it had been too long.

Since I also had a number of articles in progress for which Julie’sknowledge and invaluable memory might be of assistance, I decided touse that as an excuse to call and hopefully cheer him up a little. I foundJulie intellectually unchanged by his setback. His first question to mewas “Who died?”

Once I reassured him that I wasn’t bearing bad news, we caught up.While he did complain of difficulty walking and other limitations, hesounded exactly like the Julie Schwartz of old. I was relieved.

I first met Julie back in the early ’80s when the late Mark Hanerfeldtook me up to the DC offices and introduced us. Despite a vastdifference in our ages, we connected because of our mutual interest inthe old pulps and their writers. Not long afterward, he and MurphyAnderson began making regular appearances at PulpCon, and we grewfriendly.

Julie seemed determined to recuperate, and if possible to get back tothe DC offices for his weekly appearance as Editor Emeritus. His chiefconcern was his mental clarity. He rattled off a short list of unusualnames for me, explaining that this was a memory device he’d developedas a self-diagnostic tool. Some of the names were those of familiar comicbook or literary talents. One was an obscure jazz singer. Unless I’mmistaken, Harlan Ellison was another. I was surprised to learn thatwriter Ron Goulart—whom Julie barely knew—was another.

“As long as I can recite those six names,” he told me, “I know I’mokay.”

And so we caught up. With Julie’s indulgence, I rolled tape and begangathering information for future articles, not yet understanding that Iwas recording the first of several final reminiscences of this legendaryfigure.

My first question dealt with pioneer DC Comics editor WhitEllsworth...

Three Easy PiecesStarring Julius Schwartz

A Trio of Interviews with the Self-Confessed Architect of the Silver AgeConducted by Will MurrayTranscribed by Briank Morris

9

We’re about to spend a long time with these two guys—so let’s see what theylook like! Julie’s at left, of course, seen in the DC offices in March 1989—

interviewer, author, and psychic Will Murray at right—flanking the cover ofStrange Adventures #71 (Nov. 1961), which blended the genres of comic book and

science-fiction so dear to both men. Art by Carmine Infantino (pencils) andMurphy Anderson (inks), repro’d from an Infantino-autographed photocopy of

the original art—courtesy of Mike Burkey. Photos from the Julius SchwartzCollection and Will Murray, respectively. [Cover ©2004 DC Comics.]

INTERVIEW # 1Conducted on July 23, 2003

JULIUS SCHWARTZ: I don’t know what to tell you about WhitneyEllsworth. Do you want me to tell you he was a big boozer and a—?

WILL MURRAY: I already know that. No, I don’t want to be toonegative. [Julie laughs] Murray Boltinoff said, “I loved the guy. Hecould have been president of the company if he didn’t drink somuch.”

SCHWARTZ: Well, one good thing about him is that, when the warwas over, a very attractive girl named Jean Ordwein went looking for ajob and wound up at DC Comics. I sort-of took a fancy to her, but Iwas too shy in those days. I guess I still am kind-of shy. But finally, Iasked if she’d like to go have a drink, and while we were having drinksdown at the bar, Whit Ellsworth showed up and says, “Oh listen, I havetwo tickets to a Broadway show. I can’t attend tonight. Would you liketo attend?” I think it was Pal Joey—I’m not sure. So this girl Jean and Iwent on this Broadway show, and two years later, we were married.

I didn’t want to discuss my family in my book [Man of TwoWorlds]. But I’m a Jewish boy and she was an Irish Catholic, so I don’thave to tell you any more.

WM: Well, what was Whit like to work with?

SCHWARTZ: Let me see how I can word this. Later on, when IrwinDonenfeld became the executive editor, or whatever, because he was soyoung, he held editorial conferences. Once a month, we’d get togetherto discuss what we should be doing. He was the first one to do it. WhitEllsworth never had an editorial conference. In those days, DC wasdivided into two groups. One was Bob Kanigher and me; the other wasMort Weisinger, Murray Boltinoff, Bennie Breslauer, and Jack Schiff; andwe never got together. Whit Ellsworth would have his own rapport withus.

The only thing he ever did for me, outside of giving me those ticketsto a Broadway show, was that when Strange Adventures went oververy big, he wanted me to put out a companion science-fiction comic. Isaid, “Whit, impossible. There are no titles left.” In those days, therewere about 30 or 40 science-fiction pulp magazines. “Oh,” he says,“that’s no problem. I have a great title for you: Mystery in Space.” Isaid, “That means I’ll have to do stories about space.” “Oh, no, no, no,”he says. “Space, to the average reader, means time travel, science-fiction,

and so on.” I said, “Well, why ‘Mystery’?” He says, “We have a Houseof Mystery that’s doing very well. I think it’s a key word. When you seethe name ‘Mystery’ on a title, it’s a seller.” And that’s how Mystery inSpace was born.

He also asked me to put out some western comics. He said, “I wantyou to do a series about a character called Foley, and I have the title. It’scalled ‘Foley of the Fighting 5th’.” He knew someone named Foley.[NOTE: See p. 9 on our flip side. —Roy.] I’m trying to think what elsehe contributed editorially.

WM: Supposedly, he and Jack Schiff came up with Showcase as aconcept.

SCHWARTZ: That is absolutely incorrect. As far as I can recall, IrwinDonenfeld came up with Showcase. I can remember distinctly havingeditorial meetings where Showcase was talked about. You know thetheory behind Showcase? We put out an issue, wait four months, and seehow it does.

WM: It was based on a TV show that had a similar title and similarconcept.

SCHWARTZ: Once, when Marvel was doing so well [in the mid-1960s],Irwin had an editorial meeting and each editor was given as assignment,to read another DC editor’s comic. In other words, I was to read MortWeisinger’s comic, Murray Boltinoff was to read Kanigher’s, and so on,

Pictures of Whitney Ellsworth at DC Comics are rare, but he was apparentlymore willing to be photographed when he became a TV producer. This pic ofEllsworth (right) and George Reeves was taken on the set of The Adventures

of Superman during its final (1957) season, and is one of two photos ofEllsworth that appear in Jan Alan Henderson’s 1999 book Speeding Bullet: TheLife and Bizarre Death of George Reeves; the other one was seen last issue.

Thanks to David Siegel.

The covers of both Strange Adventures #1 (1950) and Mystery in Space #1 (1951)were already seen on p. 4—so here’s a full-page house ad for S.A. #1 whichappeared in comics with Aug.-Sept. 1950 cover dates. The actual cover wasbasically a touched-up still from the movie Destination Moon, which wasadapted therein—but in this ad, someone has traced the still into a line

drawing. As editor, Julie must’ve been thrilled to be presiding over a comicdevoted to science-fiction, his first and greatest love. [©2004 DC Comics.]

10 A Trio of Interviews with the Self-Confessed Architect of the Silver Age

and criticize it. And of course,[chuckles] we really couldn’t. Butwhere the mistake was made—weshould not have been criticizingour magazines. We should havebeen trying to figure out whatwas making Marvel so hot.

WM: Right. What’s the point ofchipping away at your ownfellow editors? There’s already acertain level of competition.

SCHWARTZ: When the firstthree Showcases failed, and itcame time to do the fourth one,someone—it may have been me,but someone—suggested, “Howabout putting out ‘The Flash’again?” And everyone sort-ofobjected: “What’s the point ofputting out ‘The Flash’ when itdied in 1949?” And someonepointed out, “Now wait a second.This is 1955; it’s six years later.”Back in those days, the averageage of the comic reader was 8 to12. “And since five or more yearshave passed, none of today’sreaders are familiar with TheFlash.” So it was agreed. ThenIrwin said, “Well, who’s going todo it?” And for some reason, I gotappointed, or I volunteered, oreveryone pointed to me, I don’tknow. And the deadline was veryclose. I shared an office withRobert Kanigher. We sat downand immediately plotted “TheFlash.”

I contributed, no matter whatKanigher may have said in hisinterviews; I distinctly rememberhow Flash would gain his super-speed. Jay Garrick got it byinhaling heavy water, right? But Iwanted something more logical,more scientific. So I suggested abolt of lightning hit the chemicalsthat splashed over Barry Allen. Since a bolt of lightning is 186,000 milesper second, that’s a reasonable way to do that. When time came to get anartist, I liked Carmine Infantino’s work, and he said he would do a quickjob. In come his pencils, and I didn’t have an inker handy. It sohappened Joe Kubert was in the office and I said, “Joe, how would youlike to ink this Carmine Infantino ‘Flash’ story?” He said, “Sure, I havenothing to do and no assignment.” It was one of the few instances wherehe inked somebody else’s work, except for maybe when he was 14 yearsold, but he had already made a name for himself. So that’s the luckybreak.

And of course, you know that when Flash went over, I did GreenLantern, and the only thing I used was the title. I even made it a pointthat he would wear the Power Ring on the right hand, contrasted to theoriginal Golden Age Green Lantern who had it on the left finger.

Then, of course, when that succeeded, it came time for the JusticeLeague. I suggested putting out the Justice—well, I don’t know what I

called it, but I said, “Let’s put outa team of super-stars.” But Ididn’t want to call it “JusticeSociety,” because in my eyes, a“society” is a social club andeveryone knew what a “league”was. It’s a more commercialname, and that’s how “JusticeLeague” was born.

When the reports came in—Irwin Donenfeld used to getreports of how the magazine wasdoing. He wouldn’t give us thefinal figures, but he would say“up six,” “down three,” and soon. So all the Brave and Bold“Justice Leagues” had “up,”“very good,” “excellent.” Whenthe final one came in, he didn’tgive me a number. You knowwhat he gave me?

WM: What?

SCHWARTZ: An exclamationpoint! [Will laughs] That was it. Ihad to get to work, to put out themagazine I’d assumed.

WM: Whose idea was it to turnThe Brave and the Bold from ahistorical book?

SCHWARTZ: That I don’t recall.My guess is that the magazinewasn’t doing well, in contrast toShowcase doing well. And ofcourse, “Justice League”appeared in The Brave andBold, what, #28, was it?

WM: Yeah, something like that.So your opinion of Whit isessentially positive?

SCHWARTZ: Whit never had aneditorial meeting. [pause] Thelast time I saw him, when he wasdoing the Superman show out inCalifornia and eventually retired.

He was a very big smoker, tremendously big. On one occasion, my wifeand I drove across the country to L.A., and were being taken around byRay Bradbury. On the way west, we stopped at [sf and comics writer]Edmond Hamilton’s house in Newcastle, Pennsylvania. TheHamiltons—Leigh Brackett and Ed—and my wife and I were very close.We intended to spend a few days with the Hamiltons. But when we gotto their place, Leigh wasn’t there. She’d flown out to California to workon a new John Wayne movie—I think Rio Lobo, but I’m not sure.

So I said, “Ed, do me a favor. Where’s she staying?” He said, “She’sstaying in a big apartment house—the Lawrence Welk ApartmentHouse.” I said, “Will you please call Leigh and tell her to rent the roomfor a few weeks, so that when we got out there, we’d have someplace tostay?” So when we did get out there, Leigh put us up. We had dinner,and on one occasion she said, “I’m going to cook you your favoritedinner. What is it?” I said, “Leg of lamb, over brown potatoes.”

But the point I’m getting at: I called Whit Ellsworth and he says,

Here’s a curiosity, sent to Roy Thomas quite a few years ago. Someone (he doesn’t recall who) had an artist—undoubtedly a pro—draw a fantasy

Justice League of America cover the way the assemblage might’ve looked if each of the heroes had been drawn by the artist then doing his/her regular solo

series—much the way Jack Burnley had depicted the Justice Society back in All-Star Comics #11-13 in 1941-42. There’s a Bob Kane/Shelly Moldoff Batman—

a Joe Certa-ish J’onn J’onzz, an Infantino Flash, a Gil Kane Atom, a Lee Elias GreenArrow, a Nick Cardy Aquaman, a Ross Andru Wonder Woman, a Curt Swan/Al Plastino Superman—and, overhead, a Gil Kane Green Lantern. All in all, a great job! It would’ve been intriguing to see an entire issue of JLA done

that way sometime. It was even done on official DC cover stock. [Heroes TM & ©2004 DC Comics; art ©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

Three Easy Pieces Starring Julius Schwartz 11

[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: Carmine Infantino was probably JulieSchwartz’s favorite artist. Carmine’s covers were striking and oftenoriginal—e.g., Showcase #4, which introduced the Silver Age Flash.Their working relationship lasted almost thirty years—with Julie asCarmine’s boss for the first twenty of those years, and with Carmineas Julie’s boss for the final ten. A few days after Julie died, I calledCarmine to discuss those times and his own take on the work they didtogether. Of course, we can’t thank Carmine enough not only fortalking to us so soon after Julie’s passing, but also for drawing aknock-out cover which I had the honor of inking. After growing upseeing Carmine’s great covers on the newsstands, it was a special thrillto work with him. Thanks for everything, Carmine! I appreciate it—and Julie would have loved your cover. —Jim.]

CARMINE INFANTINO: With a couple of exceptions, Julie got alongwith darn near everyone! He was an easy man to be with. You know, JoeGiella was one of his closest friends. Julie made friends everywhere hewent, so it’s not surprising to see the outpouring of affection for himsince the news of his passing broke.

By the way, I had a special arrangement with Julie. I’d bring in a fewcover ideas, he’d pick one and then have someone write a story aroundit. I created characters and story ideas this way. I don’t know if heworked with anyone else this way, but that’s how we did it. Take TheFlash, for instance. I’d create a villain, like The Trickster, and bring in a

cover rough. If Julie liked it, then he’d have either Gardner Fox or JohnBroome write the story.

JA: I believe you started working with Julie in 1947. He was workingunder Shelly Mayer at the time. What do you remember from thosedays?

INFANTINO: Julie only dealt with writers back then. Shelly handledall the artists, so I didn’t have any dealings with Julie until Shelly left DC[in 1948]. Shelly was bringing along people like me, Alex Toth, and JoeKubert. He was good about directing young talent.

When Shelly was leaving the company, he told us that we’d beworking directly with Julie. Shelly took me in to meet with Julie. Julielooked at my stuff and didn’t like it. He said, “Oh, okay.” Well, I didn’tsay very much after that.

JA: What didn’t he like about your work?

INFANTINO: I don’t know.

“How Captain Whiz BecameThe Flash!”

The Legendary CARMINE INFANTINO on JULIE SCHWARTZ—and the Secret Origin of the Silver Age Speedster

Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash

30

(Above:) Carmine Infantino and Julie Schwartz at the party held to celebratethe publication of Arlen Schumer’s book The Silver Age of Comic Book Art—

Julie’s last public appearance. Note that hardcovers of the pair’s collaborationson Flash and Batman are also on display—as are the ever-present copies of

Julie’s memoir. That guy never quit! (Right:) A pencil sketch by Carmine, inkedby Vampirella artist Louis Small, Jr., for A/E benefactor Jerry K. Boyd during

the 2003 San Diego Comic-Con. Photo courtesy of Joe Petrilak. [Art ©2004Carmine Infantino; Flash TM & © DC Comics.]

JA: But you were doing “TheFlash,” even back in the late ’40s!

INFANTINO: Yes, but I was doingthat for Shelly. Julie was only editingcopy for Shelly. Julie could be coldand distant when he wanted to be.He’d look at the work and say, “Uh-huh. Okay. Thank you.” He justwasn’t excited about my work. Butlittle by little, things changed. Wegot to be friendly and he startedliking my work.

Ten or twelve years after I’d beenworking for Julie, I said to him,”Youknow, I come in with my work andturn it in to you, get my check and ascript, and go home. Do you like mystuff?”

Julie said, “You’re getting paid,aren’t you?” That was the end ofthat. I never asked him if he likedmy work again. [mutual laughter]But he wasn’t being derogatory; hewas just being Julie!

JA: Well, Julie was “New Yorktough.”

INFANTINO: You know what itwas? He felt if you were a profes-sional, then you should act like one.And he’d treat you like one. If heaccepted your work, then heconsidered you to be a professionaland that your work was okay. Therewas no “ifs, ands or buts” about it.

My work was getting better and better. I went back to school at nightand was developing and changing my style. Julie could see thathappening, and it got to the point that, any time he had a new project,he’d ask for me. So he evidently liked what I was doing.

JA: In the early days, I take it all your meetings with Julie wereshort.

INFANTINO: Very short. I’d bring the work in, he’d sit and carefullylook at it. Sometimes he’d ask me to make minor changes, which I did.After that, he’d give me a new script and off I went.

JA: How often would he request changes?

INFANTINO: Very seldom—even in the beginning. It was neveranything major; maybe a finger or a hand or a nose. Nothing reallyworth mentioning.

JA: Once he started liking your stuff better...

INFANTINO: I had less and less changes to make then. But hewouldn’t say he liked the work better.

JA: But you had to know he did.

INFANTINO: Well, it got to the point that he asked me to startthinking up cover ideas on my own. I’d bring two or three ideas in at atime, and Julie would pick one. Apparently, this way of working wassuccessful, because sales were getting better and better on my books, sowe continued to work that way.

JA: Can you pinpoint when you startedworking this way with Julie?

INFANTINO: It was about the time westarted “The Flash.” I had created a featurenamed “Captain Whiz and the Colors ofEvil,” though it never was published. I hadtried to sell the idea to Joe Simon, and eventhough he liked it, he wasn’t interested inpublishing it at that point. I was also devel-oping ideas for newspaper strips.

Bob Kanigher used to visit me quiteoften. Kanigher saw those characters andsaid, “Maybe someday we can work thosecharacters in.” When he wrote the first“Flash” story, he said, “You know thosecharacters in ‘Captain Whiz’? Do you thinkwe can use them for ‘The Flash’?” That’show “Captain Whiz” became “The Flash.”

JA: How similar was the Captain Whizcostume to The Flash’s?

INFANTINO: It was exactly the same! Ididn’t save the drawings, though I wish Ihad. Joe Simon once wrote me a note,saying, “I wish we’d have gone ahead withthose characters.”

JA: Well, he missed his chance. [laughs]Personally, I think the Flash costume isone of the greatest super-hero designsever: sleek and timeless. [Carmine thanksme for the compliment] Did you haveany input into scripts or do any editing ofyour own once you started drawing thestories?

INFANTINO: No, I never did that.

JA: Not even on an artistic level? For instance, if you had a page thatcalled for five panels, would you ever stretch it to six?

INFANTINO: No. I always adhered pretty closely to what I was askedto do.

JA: There was never a time when you said to Julie, ”This plot pointdoesn’t make sense”?

INFANTINO: No, no. I never saw a need to do that. Julie alwaysedited very tightly. At times there was more rewriting on the scriptsthan what originally had been written. The only person Julie didn’trewrite was John Broome. John was absolutely brilliant; I loved hiswork. He was a genius. Julie worked very hard on Gardner Fox’s scripts.

JA: I’ve seen a couple of examples, and it always surprised me howmuch Julie rewrote Fox’s scripts, because Gardner Fox is famous forbeing such a good comics writer.

INFANTINO: I can’t explain how they worked together, because Iwasn’t with them when they plotted stories. When I came into Julie’soffice, they’d be sitting there working on scripts. They’d go to lunch,and when they came back, Julie and I would go over what I had broughtin. Gardner would wait until I finished with Julie, and once I left, they’dgo back to writing.

I created the costumes of all the Flash villains. I had costume designsin my files, and when I submitted my cover roughs to Julie, thosecharacters were there for him and his writers to create stories around. I

Carmine-penciled splash from Comic Cavalcade #28 (Aug.-Sept 1948), the penultimate super-hero issue of that giant 15¢

title—around the time Shelly Mayer was getting ready to turn the editorial reins over to Julie. Writer & inker uncertain.

[©2004 DC Comics.]

“How Captain Whiz Became The Flash!” 31

[INTERVIEWER’S INTRO: Joe Giella is a long-time artist who gothis start in the 1940s working for Timely Comics, eventually makinghis way over to DC and editor Julie Schwartz. Joe inked primarily forJulie, delineating Carmine Infantino’s Flash, Gil Kane’s GreenLantern, and a multitude of other material. He was also a long-timefriend of Julie’s. Joe was the type of guy who always delivered goodwork—and on time, too! I’d write more about Joe, but I don’t haveto, because in the very near future, Alter Ego will present an in-depthinterview with Joe about his career. In the meantime, Joe and I willtalk a little about his boss and friend: Julie Schwartz. —Jim.]

JIM AMASH: What was it like working for Julie?

JOE GIELLA: Julie was a no-nonsense editor. He was very strict withdeadlines. When he told you that he needed a job by a certain date, thatwas it! You’d better get that job in. That one of the reasons I got alongwith him, because the only time I was ever late was when my dad passedaway. I worked with Julie for 35 to 40 years and we got along very well.

I remember how I started with Julie. My friend, Frank Giacoia intro-duced me to Julie, and he warned me that Julie was a tough editor!Despite that fact, Frank still thought Julie and I would get along well.Julie was cordial during out first meeting, and he provided me withwork immediately. He liked what I did, and always put me on the topfeatures. And the check was there every week. [laughs] That tipped thescales for me.

JA: Since Julie was all business in the office, I assume it took a littletime for him to warm up to you, socially.

GIELLA: Yeah, it took a while, but I had to work at it. As long as I gotmy work in on time, and didn’t antagonize him, everything seemed towork out just fine. When his wife Jean wasn’t well, I’d always ask howshe was doing. Julie thanked me for asking; he knew I cared. We got tolike each other. There were a few people who didn’t get along with him,but I wasn’t one of them.

JA: Well, I figure most of their dislike would have been because Juliewas tough and wouldn’t let them get away with something, ratherthan Julie just being a jerk.

GIELLA: Right. Julie wasn’t a jerk. If he was tough, he had a legitimate

reason for it. He wasn’t petty and he wasn’t arbitrary. He was a profes-sional and expected you to act as one.

JA: Carmine Infantino told me that Julie wasn’t the type to hand outmany compliments.

GIELLA: He did a few times, but we had a nickname for Julie. Wecalled him “Sabertooth”! [mutual laughter] I can’t remember whether itwas me or Frank Giacoia who gave Julie that nickname. I can tell thesestories because I was very close to him; there’s no malice intended. WhenJulie liked your work, he’d flash his two front teeth: they’d come outlike a sabertooth tiger’s, and he’d give you a little smile. He didn’t comeout and say, “Awwww, this is a great job!” Carmine was right; he wasn’tlike that. He would nod and say, “Good, good. Now, what about thenext job? I heard you were going to be doing something else. Is that

“We Called Him‘Sabertooth’!”

Golden/Silver Age Artist JOE GIELLA Talksabout His Friend JULIUS SCHWARTZ

Interview Conducted & Transcribed b.y Jim AmashIn photo (l. to r.), Joe Giella, Julie Schwartz, & Carmine Infantino celebrate The

Flash’s 60th anniversary at the All Time Classic New York Comic Book Convention,held in June 2000, courtesy of Joe Petrilak. This con was aptly named, featuringas it did perhaps the greatest gathering of Golden/Silver Age comics super-stars

in recent memory—as can be seen on various pages of this issue.

(Right:) A rare instance of Joe Giella penciling as well as inking a Batman illo—but, of course, Joe drew the Batman strip some time back, and has been

drawing the Mary Worth newspaper comic strip for years. Sketch courtesy ofShaun Clancy. [Art ©2004 Joe Giella; Batman TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

36

going to interfere with my schedule?”

JA: Julie was the type of guy to helpyou out if you needed it, too.

GIELLA: True. There were a few guyswho didn’t feel that way, but Julie wasalways in my corner when I needed him.There was one time when I needed somemoney, and I asked Julie if he would setup a meeting between Irwin Donenfeld[DC’s editorial director at the time] andme. I didn’t want to go over Julie’s head.Julie understood my situation, set themeeting up, and I was able to get a smallloan. Now, whether he did that foranyone else, I can’t say.

JA: Of course, it’s all in how you ask,too.

GIELLA: Exactly! I didn’t want to looklike I was begging, so I just came out andtalked to him. Julie respected straightfor-wardness, although he wasn’t happywhen Mort Weisinger wanted me topencil and ink the Batman newspaperstrip. That was because Julie knew he’dbe losing my services. Julie said, “Whydo you want to do that? I give youenough work.” I told him I just wantedto try something else for a little while,and with the strip, I was penciling andinking, whereas with Julie, I only inked.You know, in that era, newspaper syndi-cation was considered to be the pinnaclethat all the artists strived for. I was no exception.

JA: Did you pencil much for Julie?

GIELLA: Most of my penciling for Julie was in the form of doingcorrections on the art I inked. I did pencil some stuff for the licensingdepartment.

JA: Did you ever ask Julie for penciling work?

GIELLA: Not really, because he loaded me up with inking work. Whatspare time I did have was spent working with Dan Barry on FlashGordon. There was no time for anything else.

JA: What do you think there was about your work that Julie reallyliked—besides your ability to make his deadlines?

GIELLA: Julie liked the fact that I took a job and was dedicated todoing my best at all times. In fact, he’d get rid of you if you weren’t likethat. Julie used to ask me things like, “What are you going to do withthat panel, Joe? I don’t like it. I think it’s a little bit weak.” I’d say,“Don’t worry about Julie. I’ll fix it.” He’d say, “Yeah, but tell me howyou’re going to fix it.”

I’d say “First of all, I’m going to pick a light source. I’m going tohave the light coming from one direction and then put a little darknesshere to pick it up, visually. Then I’m going to solidify that shape, andlighten up this other shape, and use a light touch on the backgrounds sothey’ll look further away. I’m going to keep the foregroundprominent...” And that’s when he’d flash his saberteeth, because he knewI knew what I was talking about. He knew he could trust me.

Julie also liked the fact that when he asked me to make a change, Icould give him what he wanted. At times, he would ask me to make

changes on Carmine’s work. I explainedthis to Carmine, and he understood itwasn’t me—it was Julie. I wouldn’t behappy having anyone change my work,if the situation were reversed. I wasalways a team player, so I’d do it.Carmine was such a good artist; hecould design a page or cover better thanjust about anybody.

JA: How often would Julie ask you tomake changes?

GIELLA: It depended on who thepenciler was. He knew which pencilersneeded a slight fix here and there, andwhich ones didn’t. With Irv Novick,Julie just handed me the pages becausehe knew how I’d ink them. I never hadto make changes on his stuff. The samewith Bob Brown and Dick Dillin. Therewas one penciler’s work that Julie hadme making a lot of changes on. It wasn’tthat the guy was bad, but I had to pickup the drawing a little bit.

JA: Was there ever a time that youexpressed a preference for doingfeatures other than those you did?

GIELLA: No, I never did. I was happyto do all the features that Julie gave me:The Flash, Batman, Superman, GreenLantern, Hopalong Cassidy, WonderWoman, etc. I was always in Julie’s topbooks. If I was unhappy, I would have

said something, but that was never the case because Julie kept me busy. Iwas more concerned with how good the penciling was—that was thekey. If you get a job that’s not good, then you really have to knock yourbrains out to do a decent ink job. Inking isn’t easy—you know that.

JA: I sure do. Now, you started working for Julie in 1950. How longdid you work for Julie before you became social friends?

GIELLA: I’d say about two years. Julie knew right away that he coulddepend on me. He used to say, “I can set my clock by when Joe bringsin a job.” That made him happy. Now, my friend Frank Giacoia was theopposite. Julie used to get unhappy with him, and they would argueabout Frank’s lateness. I asked Frank why he had trouble delivering thework. He would say something like, “Well, I really didn’t want to dothat job. I wanted to do something else.”

JA: What did Julie like to do for relaxation?

GIELLA: Play cards. He had a wonderful relationship with his wifeJean. He really adored her. A few months before Julie passed away, wewent to the fair and Julie had his wife’s photo with him. She passed awayover twenty years ago, but he always carried her picture with him. Itwas very touching.

Julie used to hang out with Bernie and Bernice Sachs, who livednearby. And when Bernie passed away, Julie kept in contact withBernice. Our relationship was a little different: we’d go to conventionstogether and I’d drive him around.

JA: What were Julie and Jean like together?

GIELLA: They were adored each other. Julie thought about her all thetime. Julie used to annoy Bob Kanigher, with whom Julie shared anoffice. At a certain time, every day, Julie would dial Jean up. He never

Along with Batman, one of Joe’s other most high-profileassignments was as the longtime inker of The Flash. Splash ofFlash #141 (Dec. 1963) penciled by Carmine Infantino; script

probably by John Broome. [©2004 DC Comics.]

“We Called Him Sabertooth!” 37

[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: Murphy Anderson wasnot only a long time freelancer for Julie Schwartz,but a good friend, as well. Murphy’s slick, organicink style helped set the DC look for many years,and his occasional pencil-and-ink jobs were wellreceived and fondly remembered today. Now that Ithink about it, Murphy worked with Julie for aslong a period of time as anyone. Not only that, butthey were at a lot of the same comic book conven-tions—mine included. For those unlucky souls whonever got to meet Julie, Murphy’s warm, personalremembrances will bring the great man back tolife for a few pages. —Jim.]

MURPHY ANDERSON: Julie was a great editor, agood man, and a special person. He set standards forothers to follow. Beyond that, he was everythingyou could ask for from a friend.

JIM AMASH: What was he like to deal with

professionally? Like,what would he say if youtold him you were goingto be three days late on ajob?

ANDERSON: He’dusually try to work withyou on that. I was late afew times... just abouteveryone was at somepoint. Other than rantingand raving—which waspart of his “schtick”—hewas really very goodabout it. What can I tellyou? If he could workwith Gil Kane, and me,and several others whocouldn’t estimate time thatwell, then you know hehad patience and loyalty.But if it got out of hand,then he’d have to do

something about it. I neversaw him actually dockanyone or take work awayfrom someone—nothing likethat.

JA: Everyone knows thatJulie commissioned coversand then built stories aroundthem. When you drewcovers, did you bring in onerough or several?

ANDERSON: He’d ask forseveral. When I lived down inGreensboro, North Carolina,I’d come up to the officeseveral times a year to docovers for him. I wasn’t doingstories at this point because Iwas working full-time for myfather’s cab company. I’d jotdown ideas on the train to NewYork and make several roughs.Ideas would occur to me, andsometimes I took rejected ideas

“I Never Felt Like I WasWorking For A Boss When

I Worked For Julie!”Artistic Great MURPHY ANDERSON on Working with the “Spectre-acular” Schwartz

Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash

40

(Left to right:) Murphy Anderson, Curt Swan, and Julie Schwartztogether in Artists’ Alley in a Chicago Comicon in the mid-1990s—flanked by the (signed) cover and splash of Superman #411, the

“Happy 70th Birthday, Julius Schwartz!” issue in 1985. Ironically, thatwould prove to be the last time the pair of artists, often referred toaffectionately by readers as “Swanderson,” would work together onthe Man of Steel. Thanks to Bob Bailey for the art scans, and to A/Etranscriber Brian K. Morris for the photo. [Pages ©2004 DC Comics.]

and tried to make them work.

I’d jot down crazy ideas. For instance, my wife Helen and I had twoparakeets (this was before we had children), so I got the idea of usingthose birds on a cover. Julie liked the idea, so we did a StrangeAdventures cover with parakeets. And working around my dad’sgarage... well, he had an antenna. His cab company was the first one tohave radios, which required installing an antenna on top of the building.I got to thinking about that antenna and got an idea about a monstercoming out of it. I talked to Julie about it and we did a cover with thattheme.

The “Pit and the Pendulum” cover for the first Adam StrangeShowcase [issue #17] was my idea. We couldn’t work this one out,though I had the idea for this kind of cover a couple of times before.Julie hadn’t given me details about Adam Strange yet, so I had no ideawhat his plans were for the character. I worked up a cover with the guyswinging on the pendulum and Julie wanted me to dress him up in afuturistic costume. The costume was more or less a Buck Rogerscostume with a little Flash Gordon thrown in.

We played with the idea, and Julie wasn’t happy with what I wascoming up with. He didn’t think it looked quite right. It was lateafternoon and I had a train to catch, so Julie said we’d have to put theidea aside. I said, “Maybe I could come up with the right idea? I think Iknow what you’re looking for. I’ll do the cover and send it to you. Ifyou don’t like it, then don’t use it.” Well, he didn’t use my cover, but hedid use the costume.

JA: Whatever happened to that cover?

ANDERSON: I have no idea. I never saw it again. I wrote a cover letterwith that package and made a carbon copy of it, but I’ve somehow

misplaced it. In the meantime, Julie had Gil draw another cover for thefirst “Adam Strange,” but I don’t remember how different it was frommine. Gil’s was a little more “Kirby-ish” than mine, and maybe that’swhat Julie was looking for. Gil changed the costume a little bit, but notby much. I don’t think I gave Adam Strange sleeves, and Gil drew himso it looked like he was wearing a t-shirt. That didn’t last.

The rocket belt was my idea, though I made it more like a BuckRogers’ belt. Who changed it to a rocket pack, I don’t know. That’ssomething I’d have argued about, because it looked like Adam Strangewould burn his fanny off every time he turned it on. But when DaveStevens created The Rocketeer, it didn’t seem to bother him too much. Ithought the Buck Rogers thing would have been better.

JA: Did you socialize with Julie when you worked for him?

ANDERSON: We socialized. Julie and his wife Jean were my guestsand my mother and father’s guests. When I was going back to NorthCarolina on one trip—I was driving a Buick convertible—Julie and Jeanwent along. That was kind-of interesting. My mother was a Baptist, andwe got to her house on a Friday. She had made a big chicken dinner, andof course, back then, Catholics didn’t eat meat on Fridays. She didn’tthink in those terms, so she made a big feast. I remember Jean was putoff just a bit by that.

That was the trip where—just for Julie’s benefit—I stopped the carwhen we got to the North Carolina border, got out, and kissed theground. [mutual laughter] Julie never forgot that! He often told thatstory.

When I decided to leave the taxi business, Helen and I bought ahouse and moved to New Jersey. I was freelancing for Julie and workingat home. One day, I told Julie I needed to take a week off and he asked

why. I told him I had topaint the house. He said,“Paint the house? You canhire somebody to do that.”I said, “No Julie, it doesn’tquite work that way. I’llsave money if I do it.”Julie said, “But you’d beworking.” I said, “Yeah,but I’ll save money. Youdon’t know how muchpainters charge.” Hecouldn’t understand thelogic of that. And he lovedto tell that one on me, too.

JA: Yeah, Julie told methat one. He also told thisstory: he was annoyed atBob Kane’s refusal toadmit he had ghostsdrawing his “Batman”stories. One day, Kanecame in with a story andJulie said he didn’t likethe way Kane had drawnBatman’s arm in onepanel, so he asked Kaneto redraw it. Kane wentinto the bullpen, andreturned a few minuteslater. Julie said, “Thislooks worse than it didbefore,” knowing thatKane hadn’t originally

While drawing “Captain Comet” and other science-fiction features for Julie in the early ’50s, Anderson kept his hand in at othercompanies. “The Guardians of the Clockwork Universe!” by “Edgar Ray Merritt” (probably still writer John Broome) and Murphy,from Strange Adventures #22 (July 1952), is clearly a forerunner of the Guardians of the Universe in the 1960s-70s Green Lantern—

while the page at right appeared in Standard’s Fantastic Worlds, which ran for three issues in 1952-53, and resembles his workon the Buck Rogers newspaper comic strip. Thanks to Bob Bailey for a scan of the latter—even if we’re not sure just what issue it

came from! [“Captain Comet” splash ©2004 DC Comics; Fantastic Worlds page ©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

“I Never Felt Like I Was Working For A Boss When I Worked For Julie!” 41

$5.95In the USA

No.38July2004

Art ©2004 Irwin Hasen.Justice Society TM & ©2004 DC Comics.

AND

PRESENT

11994--2004

Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues:$8 ($10 Canada, $11.00 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $120 Canada, $132 elsewhere. All characters are © theirrespective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM ofRoy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in Canada.

FIRST PRINTING.

™Vol. 3, No. 38 / July 2004Editor Roy Thomas

Associate EditorsBill SchellyJim Amash

Design & LayoutChristopher Day

Consulting EditorJohn Morrow

FCA EditorP.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt EditorMichael T. Gilbert

Editors EmeritusJerry Bails (founder)Ronn Foss, Biljo White,Mike Friedrich

Production AssistantEric Nolen-Weathington

Cover ArtistsIrwin HasenCarmine Infantino & Jim Amash

Cover ColoristsIrwin HasenJ. David Spurlock

And Special Thanks to:

JULIEPart Two

This issue is dedicated to the memory ofJulie Schwartz,

Carrie Nodell, & Lillian Drake

Neal AdamsMurphy AndersonPedro AngostoJeff BaileyBob BaileyBrian H. BailieMike W. BarrMichael BaulderstoneBill BlackJackson BostwickJerry K. BoydAlan BrennertMike BurkeyNick CardyBob CherryShaun ClancyJohn CochranDave CockrumRay A. CuthbertTeresa R. DavidsonAl DellingesJoe DesrisIrwin DonenfeldShel DorfHarlan & Susan EllisonDon EnsignMark EvanierShane FoleyRamona FradonMike FriedrichCarl GaffordJosé García-LópezJeff GelbFrank GiellaJoe GiellaJanet GilbertDick GiordanoMike GoldBob GreenbergerWalt GroganBeth GwinnJennifer T. Hamerlinck

Ron HarrisIrwin HasenMark & Stephanie HeikeTom HorvitzDave HuntJoe KubertStan LeePaul LevitzGlenn MacKayElliot S. MagginKeith MallowDan MakaraDave ManakSam MaronieBrian K. MorrisMark MullerWill MurrayMart NodellDenny O’NeilCarlos PachecoJoe PetrilakJohn G. PierceLarry RippeeEthan RobertsBob RozakisAlex SaviukDavid SiegelLouis Small, Jr.Marc SparksJ. David SpurlockRichard SteinbergMarc SvenssonMarc SwayzeJoel ThingvallDann ThomasAlex TothMichael UslanMarv WolfmanDonald WoolfolkEddy ZenoMichael ZenoTom Ziuko

ContentsA Testimonial for Julius Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Harlan Ellison’s verbal and photographic tribute to an old friend.

Julius Schwartz Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4What the Great Editor did, and when he did it.

A Tale of Two All-Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Dan Makara and Irwin Hasen on Julie as man and editor.

“I Dated Julie’s Wife before He Did!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Joe Kubert tells tales about drawing for J.S.

“My Dust-up with Julie”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Alex Toth on “burying the hatchet” with his one-time editor.

Tribute to a Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14A legion of comics lovers—both pros and fans—remember Julius Schwartz

Comic Crypt: Strange Schwartz Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Michael T. Gilbert and Mr. Monster examine some of Julie’s 1960s correspondence.

Close Encounters of the Schwartz Kind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Bill Schelly on his four meetings with Julie.

Carrie Nodell & Lillian Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41A few words about two gracious ladies.

FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) #97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43P.C. Hamerlinck and friends on Julie Schwartz and Shazam!

Julie: Part One. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us!About Our Cover: Beginning in 1941, Irwin Hasen produced some memorable work on “GreenLantern” and All-Star Comics for both DC/AA editor Shelly Mayer and his successor JuliusSchwartz. In recent years, Irwin had accompanied Julie, who had become his good friend, tonumerous comicons. Editor Roy Thomas asked Irwin if he would re-create his very first All-Starcover (#33, drawn in 1946), only with Julie standing in for the monstrous Solomon Grundy—and we think the result is nothing less than terrific! “All-Schwartz Comics” logo by Al Dellinges.Special Notice: This fabulous one-of-a-kind “re-creation with a difference” is for sale byIrwin for $700. Please contact A/E’s editor via fax at (803) 826-6501, by mail at the SouthCarolina address in the indicia below, or via e-mail at: roydann@ntinet.com. First-come, first-served! [Art ©2004 Irwin Hasen; Justice Society of America TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

Above: Julie at the Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC, in June 2001, pursuing one of his favoritepastimes—hawking his memoir Man of Two Worlds, which he wrote with Brian Thomsen. Ifyou haven’t yet picked up a copy—do so! Julie is watching! Photo by Bob Bailey.

©1997 The Kilimanjaro Corporation

[A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Harlan Ellison will be well known to manyreaders of A/E as one of the premier science-fiction writers of the 20thcentury—not that he’s retired in the 21st! His moving remembrance ofJulie Schwartz, titled “Softly; A Legend Passes” was read at the March2004 memorial service held for Julie in New York City, and will befeatured in the transcription of that event two issues from now. Harlanalso located the following piece about the fabled DC editor (and hislongtime good friend) that he wrote in 1997—though he’s not certainof the precise occasion—and he and his wife Susan sent it along to us,along with several of the photos which appear on this page and thenext, and which are used with their permission. —Roy.]

Schwartz? You want a testimonial for Schwartz? Is that what you’reasking for? A testimonial, right? Something that reinforces this “livinglegend” business, am I right, am I getting this right? Something thatexalts, something that lauds, some wonderful words that extol, thateulogize, praise, flatter, enhance, and ennoble. Have I got it correctly,what it is you want? Well, just let me tell you….

Schwartz: When they excavated the buried ruins of the ancientSumerian city of Uruk in 1912, there on that lower Mesopotamian plainwhere, 3500 years before the birth of Christ, were written the earliestwords of mankind, the great Gilgamesh legend… there, there in the greatLimestone Temple were unearthed the shards of an alabaster cult vase,pictographically engraved with the heroic story of Schwartz the Slayer.We’re talking Schwartz here! Tribute, testimonial? I’ll give you testi-monial!

Schwartz: In 1976, when they discovered the terracotta army ofChina’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, there in Shanxi province, east-central China, the most startling aspect of the unearthing of thosethousands of sculpted warriors was that eleven out of thirteen statuesbore the unmistakable countenance of He Who Must Kvetch, the greatSchwartz! We’re talking the Schwartzmeister, can you hear me? Word!

Schwartz: When they finally found the crumpled and shatteredcorpse of the Titanic, at a terrible depth below the North Atlantic, andthey circumnavigated it for the first time with the mini-sub, theyfound—amazingly, astoundingly—the golden figure of Schwartz theGreat Navigator still standing at the ceremonial helm, where it had beenplaced by the owners of the White Star line prior to the great oceanqueen’s maiden voyage. Unsullied by anemone or acid wash, there stoodthe heroic Schwartz simulacrum, untarnished by time, noble even at thedeepest dark of the cruel downbelow.

You ask me about Schwartz? You want mere words to encompass thegrandeur, the heroism, the incomparable singularity of wonder we areblessed to have with us? The immortal Schwartz, you want I should sumhim up in one measly testimonial? Phah! Better to ask how bright shinethe stars, how mournful cries the wind, how deep is the ocean, how highthe sky!

He is… Schwartz! Let the name ring down the halls ofForever. I say again… SHUH-WARTZ! Ask no more of me.

A Testimonialfor JuliusSchwartz

by Harlan Ellison Julie Schwartz and Harlan Ellison in the latter’s Art Deco dining room, with sf author Alfred Bester’s Grandmaster Award, presented by

the Science Fiction Writers of America.

Harlan and Julie at DragonCon, Atlanta, 1998. Photo by Beth Gwinn from theJulius Schwartz Collection.

Julie, Susan, and Ray Bradbury at the Pacific Dining Car restaurant, circa 1990.

2

A Tale of TwoAll-Stars

Conversations with Julius Schwartz and Irwin Hasenby Dan Makara (with Irwin Hasen)

DAN MAKARAOne day I got a call from my pal Irwin Hasen:

“Come on into the city on Saturday. Julie Schwartz will be here. Liketo meet him?”

Of course, I went with bells on. I’d grown up reading the books Juliehad edited in the ’60s… The Flash, Batman, Strange Adventures. Infact, it was one of Julie’s Justice League issues, which reprinted thecover to All-Star Comics #33, that introduced me to the Comic BookArt of Irwin Hasen. I had enjoyed Irwin’s work on Dondi since I was alittle kid, but had no idea that Irwin had worked for DC and had donethe best of the All-Star covers.

It’s always an interesting experience to visit Irwin in New York. Afriend for going on seven years now, Irwin lives in a great old brown-stone not far from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His apartment is atreasure trove for the eyes. Walking in, you are greeted by a doubleportrait that Irwin is working on of Mayor Bloomberg with Dondi.Bloomberg, a neighbor, frequents the same deli as Irwin. Photographsand artwork cover the walls, along with Inkpot Awards for his syndi-cated work. There are pictures of Irwin with Rube Goldberg... Irwinwith various women... Irwin with Carl Sandburg... Irwin with variouswomen....

In one corner there’s a large upright piano and a set of bongos. Hisdrawing board is in another corner, by an immense window. Nearbyhangs his masterpiece, which he calls “The Autumn Leaves.” The lowerright corner of that picture sports a self-portrait dreamily gazing towardheaven. Floating all about as if they were blown by a gentle breeze arefull-figure portraits of all the women Irwin has known… nude. On thefloor is a life-size stuffed Russian wolfhound with a martini. Behind thecouch is a life-size stuffed tiger, its head poised above a pile of chickenbones.

Seated upon the couch was Julius Schwartz.

“How do you know who I am?” he asked.

“Well, I actually recognized you from a Strange Adventures story,” Ireplied.

“Have you read my book?”

“Ummm, I’m afraid I didn’t know you’d written one.”

He reached into a valise… pulled out a paperback with his picture onthe cover. “Here ya go… it’s fourteen dollars.”

Fumbling for my wallet: “All I’ve got is a ten.”

“Ya don’t buy the book, I can’t talk to ya.”

“I promise I’ll buy the book, but I already know all about you.You’re the guy that rescued comic books!”

That comment broke the ice. We spoke about Strange Adventuresand science-fiction. Julius was a huge fan of Amazing Stories andrecounted the genius of sf pulp editor Hugo Gernsback.

When Julie excused himself and stepped into the other room for amoment, Irwin leaned forward and whispered, “Ask him about RayBradbury.”

(Left to right:) Dan Makara talks with Carmine Infantino, Irwin Hasen, andJulie Schwartz at his studio—juxtaposed with a Hasen re-creation of an early-1940s cover that never was: Wildcat Comics #1. Dan prevailed upon Irwin to

draw and color this great piece. Nice, huh? Oh, and you can see other photosof Irwin, Julie, and Carmine elsewhere in this issue. [Art ©2004 Irwin Hasen;

Wildcat TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

5

[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: Whatelse is there to say about Joe Kubert?He’s been working in the comicbook field since 1942…is mostclosely associated at DC with boththe Golden and Silver AgeHawkmen and the war titles… andhe keeps getting better. —Roy.]

ROY THOMAS: When Julie startedwork for DC/AA in December 1944—heeven knew the exact date—you’d only recentlystarted working there yourself. Apparentlyyour first work for AA [All-American] editorShelly Mayer was the “Dr. Fate” chapter inAll-Star #21, which was cover-dated Summer1944. That would’ve come out in the spring, so it must’ve beenprepared at least during the winter—around the time Julie came towork for Mayer, too.

JOE KUBERT: It must have been. Of course, I was already workingfor a couple of other companies. I was just a teenager at the time, stillgoing to high school. I’ve always been amazed that Shelly, as the editor-in-chief of All-American, had enough faith in me to let me pencil that“Dr. Fate,” and before long, “Hawkman.” At that time I met Julie inpassing, but I don’t really recall when or how. You know, the only timeartists would meet the editors would be when we came up to the officeto turn in work.

RT: The day he was hired, Julie admitted to Shelly that he didn’tknow anything about artwork—he was strictly a literary type,having been a science-fiction reader and agent. Shelly told him thatwas okay, because he [Shelly] would do be the one dealing with theartists. So Julie was essentially a story editor from 1944 until Shellyquit editing in 1948 to go back to writing and drawing. Is that whenyou began to work more closely with Julie?

KUBERT: Yes. Before that, we might have said hello, but that wasabout it. Being a kid, I didn’t socialize with the older guys, like theeditor.

RT: Julie, after all, was an old man in his late twenties when youcame to work at AA/DC!

KUBERT: Yeah, and he always kidded me because I dated his wifebefore he did. I just went out with her once, and I guess that wasenough for her. She was older than I was, so she went to an older guy![laughs] You know, Kanigher was an editor there, too, in the mid-’40s,at the same time as Julie.

“I Dated Julie’sWife Before

He Did!”JOE KUBERT Tells Tales about Drawing

for Julie SchwartzInterview Conducted & Transcribed by Roy Thomas

(Top left:) Joe Kubert being his usual gracious self with a fan at 2000 comicconin White Plains, NY—juxtaposed with two decades of Hawkman. Photo courtesyof Joe Petrilka. (Above:) A Golden Age page from Flash Comics #72 (June 1946),

repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Joel Thingvall. Juliewas Shelly Mayer’s story editor for AA/DC by this time, but rarely interfacedwith artists. (Left center:) A Silver Age Hawkman head done by Joe for his

cartooning school. [Page ©2004 DC Comics; sketch ©2004 Joe Kubert; Hawkman TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

8

[Art

©20

04 A

lex

Toth

.]

“My Dust-Up With Julie”Classic Artist ALEX TOTH on “Burying the Hatchet” on an

Old Disagreement with J. Schwartz[EDITOR’S NOTE: For years, different versions of why and how Alex Toth quit drawing for DCcirca 1952, because of a dispute with editor Julius Schwartz. In his memoir Man of Two Worlds,Julie recounted his own version, without casting any aspersions on an artist he admired, andrecounted how they made up at a comic-con years later. We invited Alex to air his own tale, after solong, but he preferred, understandably, to accentuate the positive. We applaud him for it. —Roy.]

13

Whatever happened between Alex and Julie—and the artist has alwaysmaintained a discreet silence on the subject—‘twas no “April Fool” joke.

These panels from the “Green Lantern” story in Comic Cavalcade #27 (June-July 1948) were drawn by Alex not long before Julie became full editor on Shelly Mayer’s return to full-time cartooning. Oh, and

you’ll find a photo of Alex Toth on p.7. [©2004 DC Comics.]

[A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Many of those who were Julie’s contem-poraries, collaborators, and colleagues are gone now, havingpreceded him into the “Beyond,” to use part of the title of his lastscience-fiction comic: Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, Gardner Fox, JohnBroome, Frank Giacoia, Robert Kanigher, et al. But, over his 40-plus years as a day-by-day editor, and in special projects since his1984 retirement, Julius Schwartz left behind memories in the mindsof everyone who came into contact with him. We didn’t go seeking

after everyone who might have written his own “Julie story”—this is,after all, a magazine, not an entire encyclopedia. But we put out thecall, and these folks responded here. Others have had their sayelsewhere, or prefer to contemplate Julie’s passing in silence. But hereis what a few noteworthy people had to say—in alphabetical order.Most of them need no introduction to readers of Alter Ego—but I’veadded a few words before each commentary, just the same. —Roy.]

JERRY G. BAILS[Jerry Bails is the founder of Alter Ego (in 1961)and of various other traditions of comics fandom.This tribute, written while the news of Julie’spassing was still fresh, originally appeared onJerry’s website, and was also quoted liberally inThe Comics Journal.]

I owe Julie Schwartz more than I can say. I wrotehim my first fan letter in 1946 (re All-Star Comics

#27), which I always felt influenced his decision to run thefamous “Plight of a Nation” story in Justice League of Americaabout juvenile delinquency.

I peppered Julie with letters throughout the 1950s for therevivals of costumed characters, especially the Justice Society. Ivisited him and Gardner Fox in early 1961, and he was anexceedingly generous host.

Long before he began giving original art for letters-to-the-editor, he was sending me the art for whole stories, scripts, silverproofs, and color proofs. He gave me advance news for the veryfirst issue of On the Drawing Board (later known as TheComic Reader).

He honored me by including a composite character namedJerry Thomas in a JLA story, “The Cavern of Deadly Spheres.”While Roy and I had sent in lots of story and character ideas, wehad nothing to do with the “Cavern” plot. Julie and Gardnerdreamed that one up in one of their frequent plot conferences.

Julie was the friendliest pro I ever met. Whenever he’d spotme at a convention, he’d hustle over to greet me as if I were thehonoree. He always made me feel special. I think he did that

Tributes to a TitanComics Lovers—Pro and Fan—Remember Julius Schwartz

(Above &!center:) Jerry Bails at the 1997 Fandom Reunion Luncheon in Chicago—plusthe covers of two DC comics edited by Julius Schwartz: All-Star Comics #49 (Oct.-Nov.1949) and Justice League of America #21 (Aug. 1963). Until recently, Jerry owned theoriginal art to both covers. Art by Arthur Peddy & Bernard Sachs, and officially byMike Sekowsky & Murphy Anderson, respectively—though Jerry’s always sworn he

believes Murphy drew the latter one alone! [Covers ©2004 DC Comics.]

14

(Left:) A 1984 caricature of J.S. by cartoonist and DC staffer Dave Manak.

(Right:) Gil Kane’s coverfor an issue of From

Beyond, as repro’d fromthe original art in TheAmazing World of DCComics #3 (Nov. 1974),

the “Special JuliusSchwartz Issue.” Was Gil’sstriking cover ever used

on an actual comic?[Art ©2004 Dave Manak.]

quite naturally for manyyoung people he broughtinto the world of comics.

I was always amazedat how well he could getalong with mosteveryone. He never had abad word to say aboutanyone—even his lifelongfriend Mort Weisinger.He shared office spacewith Bob Kanigher, whohad an annoying habit ofdenigrating Julie’s talentsas an editor, while failingto note how many timesJulie’s reliablemanagement skills savedthe day for both of them.

Julie kept careful records, and I never heard a tale of any freelancer whowasn’t treated fairly and promptly at Julie’s hands. I’ve heard a greatmany stories from his protégés praising him for the experience he gladlyshared with newcomers.

Julie was not a writer, per se, but an idea man. He loved plot twists,and paid scant attention to characterization. I saw examples of the scriptshe sent me wherein he would rob one character (say, Wonder Woman) ofa monologue and assign the same words to, say, Batman. This wasespecially true during the Batman TV craze. The characters were alwaysinterchangeable to Julie. It was the plot that counted, and he was asexcited about plots as any fanboy.

The episode in which he gave Wonder Woman’s speech to Batmanprompted me to suggest to Julie that he should use this body-changingpower as a gimmick inone of his JLA stories—which he promptly did. IfI remember correctly,J’onn J’onzz wound up inWonder Woman’s body.In a slightly later periodat DC, that would haveprompted some remarkand possible embar-rassment on J’onn’s part,but there was none of thatat DC at that time.

Marvel’s soap-operainterplay of characterswas not a part of Julie’sworld. He grew up withscience-fiction. He wasfrom a different era, whenboys were boys anddreamed of outer space,while girls focused onhuman relationships. Juliewas content with treatingromance as somethingseparated by a Zeta beam.

Julie was quite proudwhen he was awarded theopportunity to take overBatman and do a make-over. Again, his natural

tendency was to rely on plot twists, and he immediately turned Batmanback into a detective in the pulp tradition. Unfortunately, the earlysuccess of the Batman TV show put something of a crimp in thatapproach, as the comics attempted to ape the campish TV show. It wassomething of a relief for all when the craze ended and the Neal Adamsversion of a gritty and grim night-stalker took hold.

Julie’s final step up at DC was to assume the editorship of Supermanhimself. Julie made a faltering attempt to alter the basic storyline andreduce Superman’s powers, but this was at a stage before it wasacceptable to all concerned to tamper in any fundamental way withmajor icons. That came later, but I suspect that Julie’s early efforts pavedthe way. He was good at listening to readers, and loved ideas. He knewthat fresh ideas were needed, and he was willing to try them.

One of his crowning ideas was to rock the DC Universe for decades.He introduced multiple Earths and made them a regular summermultiple-issue fantasy. After a lot of dares and badgering from me—Itold him he couldn’t do it—he finally reintroduced the Justice Society,and their once-a-year crossovers in Justice League spanned the entireyouth of many Silver Age readers. The fascination with Golden Agecharacters—some of whom Julie himself had never known originally—spawned a world that is still spinning in orbit by writers and artists tooyoung to have experienced the Golden Age themselves.

If truth be told, the Golden Age was made Golden during the SilverAge by a gentleman of great affectionfor all fans—the master of manydimensions, the one and only JulieSchwartz—my friend. There willalways be a special place in my heartfor this All-Star.

MIKE W. BARR[Mike Barr has written comicssince 1973, mostly for DC, as wellas a Star Trek novel. He was the

guy behind DC’s original Outsidersand its first limited series, Camelot 3000. He sayshe’s told that the following anecdote was related byJulie in his memoir, but thought A/E’s readers mightenjoy hearing it from his point of view.]

Julie got a little full of himself in later years, but hecould still take a joke. For instance, once of hisfavorite bits was, while giving a tour of the DC officesto visiting friends, to relate stories of his early career asa science-fiction agent, culminating with the payoffthat he had discovered one of the most famousscience-fiction writers of all time—Ray Bradbury, ofcourse. But because Julie was too >ahem< modest toannounce the name of his discovery himself, he wouldlead up to the revelation, then turn to whatever stafferwas nearby, and have that unsuspecting soul tell thevisitors. I saw him do this several times.

One legend contemplates another: JS before a poster utilizing the Infantino/Anderson

“Flash of Two Worlds” cover from The Flash#123. From the Julius Schwartz Collection.

[Flash TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

(Above:) Two luminaries who scripted stories for Julie Schwartz, two decades apart: Mike Barr (on left) with

the late great John Broome at the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con. Both men wrote “Elongated Man” tales, too—withJohn being Ralph Dibny’s co-creator in The Flash #112

(April-May 1960). The multi-autographed CarmineInfantino/Joe Giella-drawn page at left, from the Broome-

scripted, Julie-edited Elongated Man appearance in Flash #138 (Aug. 1963), is repro’d from photocopies

of the original art, courtesy of Frank Giella. Photo byMaureen McTeague. [Flash page ©2004 DC Comics.]

Tributes to a Titan 15

So one day in theearly to middle ’80s, itwas my turn. I wasdoing some photo-copying in the DCoffices at 666 FifthAvenue (I believe)while Julie broughtsome friends through,giving them the nickeltour while simultane-ously telling them ofhis brilliant career. Hefinished with—“and Ialso discovered one ofthe most famousscience-fiction writersin the world. Mike,tell them who Idiscovered.”

Without missing abeat, I replied: “JulesVerne.”

His friends werealready howling, butJulie had the lastlaugh. He nodded andbegan: “That’s right,Jules Ver—” Then hestopped, realizingwhat I had said, whileexecuting the mostperfect double-takeever you’ve seen.“No!” he said, hisborough of origin betraying itself in his accentas he shouted over his friends’ laughter, “notJooles Voin!”

But he was laughing, too.

ALAN BRENNERT[Alan Brenner is a television writer who hasscripted a few, and memorable, comic bookstories in his day.]

Somewhere deep in the stacks of Lucien’slibrary in The Dreaming, in that section reserved for Stories That WereNever Written, subsection Comic Books Only a Glimmer in Someone’sEye, is a 22-page “Superman” story I never wrote for Julius Schwartz.

Like many a Silver Age comics fan, I was weaned on Julie Schwartz’scomic books. Whether it was Flash, Green Lantern, or Mystery inSpace—whether the writer was John Broome or Gardner Fox—aSchwartz-edited story balanced the most baroque plots on a fulcrum ofscientific plausibility, in the process often enlightening us with somebasic scientific truism. (I daresay I was not the only eight-year-old whobelieved it was really important to know that a piece of straw, propelledby hurricane-force winds, could penetrate a block of wood.)

My absolute favorite Schwartz book was Justice League of America,to which my Aunt Eleanor had given me a subscription (copies wereactually mailed out folded in half lengthwise, if such things can beimagined today). It was this book (and The Flash) which wouldintroduce me to the concept of parallel worlds, specifically “Earth-Two,”

the world on which the Golden Age heroes of the JusticeSociety of America lived... and aged. Yes, unlike theircounterparts in the JLA, the JSAers grew older, gotmarried, had children... in short, had “real” lives thatstood in sharp contrast to the carefully maintained stasisof Superman or Batman’s continuities. From JLA #21:“There are a few gray hairs showing—and their faces arelined with the passage of time—but their mighty powersare only slightly dimmed...”

Anyone who has ever read one of my comic bookstories can attest to the impact that line had on me as ahatchling writer. As a matter of fact, that line pretty much

is every comic book story I’ve ever written!

The first letter of comment I had published in a DC comic was alsoin JLA: issue #75. (The one with Black Canary’s fishnet stockingsprominently displayed on the cover. Yeah, you remember it.) At the timeit was the biggest thrill of my young life. I went on to publish quite afew LoCs in Julie’s books, and on one occasion he even took me to taskfor completely missing the point of a Flash story which I had, well,completely missed the point of. (Not every teenager has his youthfulobtuseness so immortalized in print.)

It wasn’t until the early 1980s that I finally met Julie in person, at oneof Mark Evanier’s post-San Diego Comi-Con parties. I’d begun writingthe occasional comic book story, and Julie invited me to write one forhim. And there was a “Superman” story I’d always wanted to see.…

In “The Sweetheart Superman Forgot” (Superman #165), our heroloses both his memory and his super-powers to red kryptonite, andwinds up working as a ranch hand as “Jim White.” There he falls in love

Alan Brennert, with two pages from perhaps the most memorable of his too-rare comics stories, “The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne,” from The Brave and the Bold #197 (April 1983)—as Batman gets by with a little help from his friends.

Repro’d from photocopies of the original Joe Staton/George Freeman art, courtesy of Brian H. Bailie. Oh, and Alan says he was promoting the TV show Moloka’i when the photo was taken—hence the Hawaiian shirt! [Comic art ©2004 DC Comics.]

16 Comics Lovers––Pro and Fan––Remember Julius Schwartz

31

Strange Schwartz Stories!by Michael T. Gilbert

Do I have a Julie Schwartz story for you?

Boy! Do I have a Julie Schwartz story for you!!

Well…er… no, actually.

Never met the guy, unfortunately, nor did I ever workwith him. And while I greatly enjoyed seeing Julie performon various comic panels, it’s just not the same as actuallyknowing him. So, no, I don’t have a Julie Schwartz story foryou.

Sorry.

But fortunately, you don’t need one from me. This specialtribute issue includes lots of Julie’s friends and colleagues,with better stories than any I could tell.

More importantly, the only Julie Schwartz stories thatreally matter are the ones in Julie’s comics. Those stories liveon, indelibly etched in the brains of generations of youngcomic book fans. Others may have written those tales, butJulie was the orchestra leader who shaped them. And whatstories they were!

Who could forget reading “Flash of Two Worlds!” for thefirst time and discovering that there was an “Earth-Two,”populated by DC heroes from the 1940s? I still remember thethrill of seeing the Silver Age Flash, (the only Flash I knew!)stumble into another dimension to meet another Flash froman earlier era.

“Another Flash? Whoa!”

This 9-year-old was blown away by The Flash #123 (Sept.1961). A whole world of super-heroes I’d never evendreamed of, with cool names and costumes, heroes that hadlived and faded away before I was even born! Julie broughtclassic sci-fi concepts like “parallel universes” to a new gener-ation of comic fans. Thanks, Julie!

True, the stories didn’t always make a lot of sense—not toan adult, anyway. But they were always fun and memorable.And the covers were equally impressive. I’ll never forget oneearly-’60s gem where the Scarlet Speedster gets blasted with afat-ray. In one single 3-figure image, our hero gains 1000points of ugly flab in a… a… well, a flash! How could any kid possiblysee Carmine Infantino’s striking cover without glancing inside? Withouta doubt, Julie’s comics had some of the best covers in the business. If,after the fact, he had to contrive a goofy story to go with it, well, so beit! In this instance, Julie assigned scripter John Broome to flesh out thatcover.

Literally.

“The Day Flash Weighed 1000 Pounds” (The Flash #115, Sept.1960) was a marvelously silly story. First, Gorilla Grodd blasts Flashwith a fat-ray in order to sideline the world’s fastest man. Poor Flashbecomes so huge he can barely waddle, much less run. One humiliatingscene even shows our hero enduring taunts as a carnival side-show freak.(“Haw! Man! It sure is funny… dressing him up like The Flash!”).Not the most politically-correct crowd. In those pre-Atkins days, itlooked like Flash was fated to remain flabby forever.

But then the story gets even sillier! Flash foils Grodd’s diabolical plotby squeezing into a potato-dehydrating room (!) and sweating off thepounds, surrounded by mountains of steaming spuds (!!). Hours later,The Flash emerges thin and trim, ready to mete swift justice to GorillaGrodd! Funny, I’ve been in lots of steam rooms, but never lostanywhere near 800 pounds. Maybe Flash’s success had something to dowith the potatoes?

Like I said, the stories were often silly. But the images remain, imagesthat editor Schwartz helped bring to life through spirited plottingsessions with his writers, and cover conferences with his artists.

Julie performed the same magic with all his books, whether sci-fititles like Mystery in Space or super-hero titles like Green Lantern orJustice League of America. And let’s not forget “Strange SportsStories,” Julie’s experimental sports/sci-fi/fantasy series. What comics-

A Gil Kane/Murphy Anderson page from Green Lantern #74 (Jan. 1970), “Lost in Space”—just before the O’Neil/Adams GL/GA team-up began. As Jerry Bails said when ID’ing

this art, “You don’t get better inking than this!” The page is repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, thanks to collector/dealer Tom Horvitz, who always has lots

of goodies for sale. He can be reached by phone in Tarzana, CA, at (818) 757-0747. Or try his website at <www.trhgallery.com>. [©2004 DC Comics.]

32 Michael T. Gilbert

The Ultimate FanDespite all those years as an editor of pro comics, it’s my opinion that

Julius Schwartz’s greatest contributions were as a fan. He was a fanbefore he was a pro, and he was a fan while he was a pro, and heremained a fan when, in retirement from DC, he attended hundreds ofconventions in the latter part of the twentieth and beginning of thetwenty-first centuries.

In his professional capacity as editor of a revived Flash, he spurredthe Silver Age of Comics, but Schwartz was never completelycomfortable taking credit for the idea. Julie told me he wasn’t sure whosuggested bringing back The Flash, in that pivotal DC editorial meetingin 1955 or ’56. But there’s no question that he edited Showcase #4 andmost of the new incarnations of the All-American heroes of the JusticeSociety of America, presenting them in high style to a new generation ofreaders.

To me, however, Julie’s role in the formation of comics fandom in1961 was something entirely his own. It arose from his empathy for

those whose interest in comics was no less fervent than his own enthu-siasm for science-fiction as a young man. And, as we know, his earlysupport of Jerry Bails inspired the Detroit-based professor to launchsomething more ambitious than the originally-conceived JLA newsletter:Alter-Ego, a fanzine with a fancy Freudian name and a mission tocelebrate nothing less than “comic heroes of the past, present andfuture.”

In those early, formative days of comicdom, Julie was as helpful as hecould possibly be to Jerry Bails, Roy Thomas, and others who evincedsincere interest in the DC comics he edited. His decision to publish full

addresses in the letter columns inthe mags he edited greatly facili-tated communication between fans.He sent out original art and scripts,provided scoops for The ComicReader, and welcomed a parade ofwell-wishers who turned up at theoffices of DC in New York City.Even when he didn’t—in thosedays—appreciate the comicsmedium as an art form that mightone day tell stories of interest toolder readers, he never ridiculedthose fans. He later said that doingthe letter columns was his favoritepart of his job.

Title 37Comic Fandom Archive

Close Encounters of theSchwartz Kind

by Bill Schelly

Bill Schelly (left) and Julie Schwartz at the San Diego Comic-Con, summer of 2003—their final face-to-face “encounter.”

(Above—left to right:) A 1938 photo of Julie; sf writer and future comics scribeOtto Binder; and Raymond A. Palmer. The diminutive Palmer, editor at varioustimes of Amazing Stories and other sf pulps, gave Julie his consent to let his

name be used for the alter ego of the Silver Age Atom.

(Left:) A great action page from The Atom’s third tryout issue—Showcase #35(Nov.-Dec. 1961)—by the team supreme of Gil Kane (pencils), Murphy Anderson

(inks), Gardner Fox (script), and of course Julie Schwartz (editor). Repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Mike W. Barr and Tom Horvitz.

[Atom page ©2004 DC Comics.]

Close Encounter # 1I suspect that a lot of the people who will write tributes to Julius

Schwartz, in Alter Ego and elsewhere, count themselves as “friends ofSchwartz.” I can’t claim that distinction. I didn’t know him that well.When I called him on the phone and he greeted me with a cheery “Hi,kiddo!” he made me feel like a pal, but there were many who knew himmuch, much better. Nevertheless, Julius Schwartz made a serious impacton my creative life.

Our first encounter, which was nightmarish and is recounted inpainful detail in my book Sense of Wonder: A Life in Comic Fandom,was when I traveled to New York City in 1973 to try to break into procomics. It was Julie and Vince Colletta who, upon examining myportfolio for the DC Junior Bullpen, told me I wasn’t ready to become aDC trainee. How different my life might have been had they seen strongpotential in my artwork. I might have moved East, roomed with CarlGafford or Tony Isabella, and ended up with some sort of comic bookcareer. (Instead, I returned to my home in Idaho with my tail betweenmy legs, and ended up moving to Seattle to find work.)

For years I harbored a low-level grudge against Julie for his part inmy DC rejection (though it was Vince more than Julie who was judgingthe artists), because I felt I had been given short shrift. It was only whenthe comic book industry crashed in 1994 that I began to feel that Vinceand Julie had done me a left-handed favor. Instead of being an out-of-work professional artist, I was a gainfully employed financial analystwith a comic book hobby that never stopped being fun.

Close Encounter # 2My second significant encounter with Julius Schwartz came in 1997

when Roy Thomas and I were compiling our trade paperback Alter Ego:The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine. At the San Diego comiconthat summer, Julie agreed to sit for a brief interview that would be editedinto an introduction for that tome.And so, after a convivial lunch withJulie, Roy, Dann, Gil Kane, andMike Catron, I cornered Julie in thefoyer of the restaurant long enoughto tape that interview. There couldhave been no better, and no moreappropriate, introduction to theAlter Ego book than the one thatresulted from that chat with Julie.

Close Encounter #3My third encounter came out of

my second, for when the Alter Egotome was published and making itsappearance at the 1998 San DiegoComic-Con, having been nominatedfor a Will Eisner award for “BestComic Book-Related Book,” Julieagreed to help promote it. Chris Foss(of Heroes and Dragons comics shopin Columbia, SC) and I set up a book signing forJulie, Roy, and me, knowing that many wouldcome just for a chance to get Julie or Roy’sautograph on it. But when the day arrived, Juliesaid, “I don’t think I can make it.”

The problem wasn’t that he didn’t want to dothe signing. The problem was that it had been setup on the side opposite the cavernous San Diego

Convention Center from his perch in Artists’ Alley, and he wasn’tfeeling steady enough on his feet to make the hike. (His arthritis hadflared up.) When I offered to find a wheel chair, he at first declined.

“I don’t want anyone to see me in a wheel chair,” he said.

“How about if I get the chair and have it ready just outside theconvention center doors?” I pointed in the direction of those doors,which weren’t far away. “I can wheel you down to the other end, andwhisk you to the autograph booth before anyone realizes it’s you. ThenI’ll bring you back using the same method.”

He thought about that for a moment. Then he smiled. “Okay, Bill. Ifyou’re willing to go to all that trouble, sure.”

And that’s exactly what we did.

Julie, with the aid of a young friend whose name escapes me, made itto the spot outside the convention doors where I was waiting with thechair, hopped aboard, and off we went. After we re-entered the crowdedhall at the other end, was Julie a shrinking violent as we wended our waythrough the throngs of fans? Just the opposite!

“Out of the way!” he barked. “Coming through!” The sea of fansparted, and we moved with remarkable alacrity to the appointed spot.As Julie slid into his seat behind the autograph table, he said, “Now hidethat chair so no one sees it. But keep it handy.”

That’s how Julie, not feeling his best, was able to make it to that booksigning, which will probably always be one of the most memorablemoments in my life as a publisher. The sign said, “Comics Legend: JuliusSchwartz, Bill Schelly, and Comics Legend: Roy Thomas.” Sharing thespotlight with two comics legends is a fate devoutly to be wished. Thefact that Julie was willing to be inconvenienced to be of some help inpromoting our book always brings a smile to my face.

When the signing was over, and Julie climbed back into the wheelchair, I said, “Back to Artists’ Alley?” It was around 3:30 pm.

“No, I have to meet some people for dinner. Let’s go outside and finda shuttle to my hotel.”

I left Julie, now risen to full height, about to climb up the stairs to thebus.

He turned and gave a little wave. “Thanks, kiddo!” he said, smiling.

Close Encounter #4[with special thanks to P.C. Hamerlinck]

This encounter began with my need for information about OttoOscar Binder (1911-1974), who, among many other things, wrote overhalf of all comics stories featuring Captain Marvel and the rest of The

Marvel Family. Beginning in April 1942 withCaptain Marvel Adventures#9, and continuing to the deathknell of Fawcett’s comics line in1953, OOB worked with aparade of fine editors to craft

Bill’s billing—squeezed betweentwo comics “legends,” on the

placard if not at the table. (Left to right:) Julie, Bill, and Roy

autograph copies of Roy & Bill’sbook Alter Ego: The Best of theLegendary [there’s that word

again!] Comics Fanzine at the 1998San Diego Comic-Con.

38 Bill Schelly

[FCA EDITORS NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was atop artist for Fawcett Comics. The very first Mary Marvel charactersketches came from Marc’s drawing table, and he illustrated herearliest adventures, including the classic origin story “Captain MarvelIntroduces Mary Marvel” (CMA #18, Dec. ’42); but he was primarilyhired by Fawcett Publications to illustrate Captain Marvel stories andcovers for Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. He alsowrote many Captain Marvel scripts, and continued to do so while inthe military. After leaving the service in 1944, Marc made anarrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories for them on afreelance basis out of his Louisiana home. There he created both artand story for The Phantom Eagle in Wow Comics, in addition todrawing the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip for the Bell Syndicate(created by his friend and mentor Russell Keaton). After the cancel-lation of Wow, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s top-sellingline of romance comics. After thecompany ceased publishingcomics, Marc moved over toCharlton Publications, where heended his comics career in themid-’50s. Marc’s ongoing profes-sional memoirs have been FCA’smost popular feature since hisfirst column appeared in FCA#54, 1996. Last issue, Marcreflected upon the talent—withnames like Keaton, Raboy, andBeck—that surrounded himduring the Golden Age ofComics. This time, Marc speaksof his admiration for the determi-nation and hard work of Raboy,Beck… and singer Bing Crosby.

—P.C. Hamerlinck.]

It’s surprising, the number ofcases where people, already established inhigh places of achievement, have heldsincere regard for ... HARD WORK.“Hard work,” the expression, is usedhere in the sense of effort—physical ormental—toward a fixed goal. Thereseems to have existed among thoseindividuals a refusal to just sit back andwait for things to happen.

For example, movie queen JoanCrawford was once heard in a TVinterview telling of her struggle for attention asa young actress. “Before going to bed each nightI would apply various skin treatments to my

face…” and so on. She was referring to her determinationto “be somebody” in the entertainment world.

That was it... special effort... motivated by a spirit ofdetermination. I saw it close at hand in the ’40s during astint as accompanist for Bing Crosby during the SecondWorld War. There was a performance where the singerwas accepting random requests from the large audience.Among the tunes was the theme from one of the “Road”movies Bing had made with Bob Hope. The melodyfeatured an unusual tag toward the end, and as we nearedit, Bing, not certain I was familiar with it, turned to meand, singing all the while, added: “Watch it right here!”

There was obviously no intention to exclude theaudience. The light chuckle that spread through the

auditorium indicated they understood... and were amused. It was Bing’sway. You could have occupied the most remote seat in the house and stillfelt that you were right up on stage with him.

And stashed away in his mind were the words and music, withappropriate keys and tempos, of just about any song you’d want to hear.It was a custom begun perhaps even before his days as member of avocal trio with the Paul Whitman Orchestra... a resolve to stay abreast ofthe popular song field.

It is a nice memory ... having known and worked with Bing Crosby.Behind that outward manner of careless indifference, he was all business.Given a unique baritone voice to begin with, and a natural feel formelodic rhythm, he provided a will to succeed. The story of his career isa distinct example of that special effort... that spirit of determination... soevident in the lives of show business stars.

It was seen in otherprofessions as well...Golden Age comics, forinstance. Mac Raboy...that flawless art style... itdidn’t “just happen.”He made it happen! Hebolstered his boyhood

talent for drawingand the trainingreceived in a

WPA artclass byturning his

attention to adefinite style

and technique toemulate... andfollowed that withintensive study and

practice. Mac Raboyknew the meaning of effort... determination...of hard work!

And there was C.C. Beck, proponent ofsimplified comic book pictorial storytelling.

(c) mds[Art & logo ©2004 Marc Swayze; Captain Marvel © & TM 2004 DC Comics]

By

Marc Swayze, on guitar, accompanies Bing Crosby duringthe WWII years (this photo has previously appeared both in

Alter Ego/FCA and in P.C. Hamerlinck’s book FawcettCompanion)—and two Mary Marvel drawings from the

Swayze sketchbook. [Art ©2004 Marc Swayze; Mary MarvelTM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

44 Marc Swayze

A Man Named “Julie”A Half Dozen Fawcett Collectors Remember the Late DC Comics Editor

Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck[NOTE: The name of the individual writers below, each of whomhas contributed before to FCA, appears before his reminis-cence.]

JOHN COCHRANJulie Schwartz died Feb. 8th of this year, and the accolades

continue to rain down.

Surely Schwartz is justly credited withreviving The Flash in concert withCarmine Infantino, as well as GreenLantern and The Atom. However, when itcomes to Fawcett’s Captain Marvel, itlooks like he dropped the ball and didn’teven want the World’s Mightiest Mortalpassed to him.

DC revived the character in the 1970sunder Schwartz’s watch. In severaltelephone interviews with me before hedied, he said he “would have liked to makechanges [with the character], but I was toldto keep it the old way.” The legendary DCeditor also said it was a little hard to recallthe particulars 30 years later. He did saythat he had never been particularly takenwith Captain Marvel, although he alsoacknowledged that he never saw muchmerit in DC’s suit with Fawcett.

“I never regarded him [CaptainMarvel] as a copy of Superman,” he said,adding that the whole Captain Marvelmythos was “so far afield” fromSuperman that he just “couldn’t see” thebasis for the charge DC leveled againstFawcett.

During our conversations, Schwartzmentioned that he had a file of corre-spondence with C.C. Beck, some ofwhich I gather was rather testy. Schwartzoffered to share it with me on behalf ofAlter Ego and FCA, providing DC gaveits permission. However, DC said, inessence, no way, Jose.

“I don’t want him to turn around inhis grave,” Schwartz said of Beck inrecounting their stormy relationship. “Iwasn’t going to let Beck control it [DC’sShazam! book]. He started to rewritesome of the stories. It was verydifficult…. ”

Schwartz said Shazam! had failed

because there “weren’t enough readers,” but surely his battles with Beckand his admitted lack of affection for the character didn’t help matters.

When a magazine fails, Schwartz noted, it’s because a readerwho picks it up doesn’t like it. But the question of why acharacter that was so enormously successful in the ’40s—andbriefly eclipsed even Superman—didn’t catch on in the ’70s,went unanswered.

WALT GROGANI met Julie Schwartz twice. Both

encounters were brief, but I’ll never forgetthem.

During the early 1980s, I worked at theChicago office of Capital CityDistribution (back when DiamondComics Distributors had some compe-tition). One of the highlights of workingfor Capital was the annual after-hoursparty at the Chicago Comicon (prior to itsbeing acquired by Wizard). At one ofthese gatherings, my self-appointed jobwas making sure Julie never went withouta beverage in his hand. He would get myattention with a royal wave of his handwhen it was time for a refill.

My second “adventure” with Julie wasalso at the Chicago Comicon, during aDC Comics panel. I was sitting near thefront of the audience near an end of the

row, and I saw Julie looking for a seat. Icouldn’t believe nobody was invitingJulie to sit down. I shouted over to himto sit with me and he graciouslyaccepted. What a thrill! In later years, Iwould see Julie walking around theconvention, but he always had anentourage and I felt a little awkwardbusting in. But I always had to chuckleto myself when I saw him, because he, aman who loved the ladies, inevitablysought out a cute “B” movie queen orbooth babe for a hug and a peck on thecheek.

My first introduction to Julie was ananonymous one, and I imagine it wassimilar to those of other fans that grewup in the 1960s. I was an avid andsatisfied reader of the Schwartz-editedJustice League of America. Every herolooked like he over-dosed on Beef-a-Roni, and even Wonder Woman wasmore full-bodied than in her regularbook! I loved “big” Mike Sekowsky’s

(Above:) John Cochran—and a C.C. Beck panel from Shazam!#1 (Feb. 1973). Script by Dennis O’Neil. [Art ©2004 DC Comics.]

“Mr. Julius Mod Togs for Man and Beast.” Though editor Juliemade a cameo appearance in the Beck-drawn Shazam! #7, the

two pros never really got along. [©2004 DC Comics.]

46

art. Gardner Fox’s stories werefull of fun and adventure, and myfavorite JLA stories were, ofcourse, the annual JLA/JSA team-ups. Julie was masterful in kick-starting the Silver Age byreinventing the Golden Age for anew generation of readers, and Icame in on that cusp. It wasJulie’s connection to the past,evident in those annual team-ups,which sparked my interest inlearning more about the heroes ofthe Golden Age.

I remember begging my dad tobuy me the paperback edition ofDick Lupoff and Don Thompson’s All inColor for a Dime, a collection of essaysreminiscing about the heroes of the GoldenAge. I was particularly captivated withLupoff’s essay titled “The Big Red Cheese,”and a certain Alter Ego editor’s essay “CaptainBilly’s Whiz Gang!” Dick’s and Roy Thomas’essays were instrumental in igniting my interestin The Marvel Family. There was justsomething about their descriptions of CaptainMarvel and the rest of the Fawcett heroes thatsang to me.

So, in late 1972, when I picked up an issueof DC’s anthology comic Wanted!, it was thehouse ad therein that gave me my money’sworth for my two dimes. The ad read,“Coming in December… DC’s Christmas Giftto You! … Watch Out Superman! Here comesthe ‘Original Captain Marvel!’” The art on thead was by Cap’s co-creator, C.C. Beck. I wasexcited!

Say what you will about the Schwartz-edited Shazam! comic. I was grateful that DCand Julie had broken Beck out of retirementand Captain Marvel was back on the racks.And although I wasn’t fond of some of theearly Shazam! stories, it came a glorious fullcircle for me when the entire Marvel Familyand other Fawcett heroes were able to join theJustice League and Justice Society in the pagesof JLA. Superman and Cap had finally,officially met!

So thank you, Julie Schwartz. Thank you forthe Silver Age Flash and Green Lantern, theJustice League of America, and The Atom.Thank you for the re-energized Batman andSuperman and all the other heroes you resusci-tated. But most of all, thank you for being one ofthe guiding hands that brought Captain Marvelout of obscurity and back to life.

DON ENSIGNI read comic books before I discovered the

DC Schwartz-edited line. However, it was hiscomics that spurred me into becoming adedicated comic book reader and collector.

January 1962: The first Schwartz-edited comicI encountered was Flash #127 (March 1962). Iwas distinctly unimpressed with it. It was aGorilla Grodd story with strong evolutionaryovertones. Even as a young teenager, my buddingcreationist instincts were beginning to blossom.About the same time, I bought Justice League ofAmerica #10. I found myself entranced with thissuper-hero group, and especially one charactercalled Green Lantern.

February 20, 1962: Two important thingshappened that day. John Glenn became the firstAmerican to orbit the Earth … and I purchasedmy first issue of Green Lantern (#12, April

1962). While I thought ‘Green Lantern’ was anodd name for a super-hero, I found hisspecialty intriguing: a super-weapon called apower ring. I quickly became a Green Lanternfan.

March 1962: I purchased my first issue ofMystery in Space (#75, May 1962). Thisissue—with its beautiful novel-length “AdamStrange” story—won the Alley Award for bestcomic book story of the year. During this timeI was definitely getting hooked on comics, andthe Schwartz-edited variety played a huge part.

May 1965: I wrote a letter of commentregarding Green Lantern #37, which wasprinted in the pivotal #40 (Oct. 1965—the

“hand of God” issue). Iwrote, “Since GreenLantern’s original powerring was obliterated in thesecond story, the mageMyrwhydden (GL #27)who was held captive insidethe ring was consequentlyannihilated in the blast.Another aspect of this

incident will reveal itself inthe inability of GL to peer into the past ofthe original ring-wielder, Abin Sur. Thiswas a high price to pay for even such agreat story.” In his editor’s comment, thewily Schwartz countered with, “When theGuardians presented Green Lantern withthat power ring replacement, it was aperfect duplicate of the original—even to

Don Ensign (seen in self-portrait) mentions just aboutevery comic Julie Schwartz ever edited except

Shazam!—so here’s the cover of one of Captain Marvel’sfirst-ever team-ups with his once-nemesis Superman,

on the cover of issue #15 (Dec. 1974). Cover art by Bob Oksner &!Tex Blaisdell. Old copies of Shazam!

are a great source of 1940s/early-’50s Fawcett MarvelFamily stories, most of which have never been

reprinted anywhere else. [Ensign art ©2004 Don Ensign; Shazam! art ©2004 DC Comics.]

(Above:) Walt Grogan—and the ad that excited him back in1972. Photo by Jeanne Lewis Grogan. [Art ©2004 DC Comics.]

A Man Named “Julie” 47