No.43December

2004

PLUS:PLUS:PLUS:

GEORGE TUSKAJOE SINNOTT

FRANK BRUNNERDAVE ROSS

GENE COLANJACK BENDERNICK CARDYMICHAEL T.

GILBERTKELLY EVERAERT& ALEX TOTH!

BONUS:

FRAZETTA,BIRO,

CANIFF,RAYMOND,

KELLY,& OThersProclaim:

“We Like Ike!”

JIM AMASHTalks withGolden Age

Timely / marvelArtist

MORRIS WEISS& THE LONERANGER’STOM GILL!

SEASON’SGREETINGS

From

GEORGE TUSKAJOE SINNOTT

FRANK BRUNNERDAVE ROSS

GENE COLANJACK BENDERNICK CARDYMICHAEL T.

GILBERTKELLY EVERAERT& ALEX TOTH!

BONUS:

FRAZETTA,BIRO,

CANIFF,RAYMOND,

KELLY,& OThersProclaim:

“We Like Ike!”

PLUS:

JIM AMASHTalks withGolden Age

Timely / marvelArtist

MORRIS WEISS& THE LONERANGER’STOM GILL!

$5.95In the USA

11994--2004

X-Men TM & ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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.

™

HAPPYHOLIDAYSSide

ContentsWriter/Editorial: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Another Four-Color Christmas in Black-&-White! . . . . . . . . . . . 3More Yuletide and Happy New Year cards sent by comics pros.

“I Did What I Set Out in Life to Do!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Jim Amash talks with Golden Age (and comic strip) artist Morris Weiss.

To Be Continued! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23After 6H decades in comics, artist Tom Gill tells Jim Amash he’s still going strong.

Comic Crypt: “I Like Ike!”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Michael T. Gilbert showcases 1954 cartoons of President Dwight Eisenhower.

FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) No. 102 . . . . . . . . . . . 41P.C. Hamerlinck presents Marc Swayze and the Fawcett-into-Charlton Index.

...And All in Color for a Peso Dept. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us!About Our Cover & Above: Some time back, but a bit too late for last year’s helping of artisticholiday cheer in A/E #31, collector R. Dewey Cassell forwarded a copy of George & Dorothy Tuska’s“X-mas” card spotlighting The X-Men. While we were saving it up for this year’s edition, Dewey hasvirtually completed writing an entire book about George’s career, which is coming very soon fromTwoMorrows—but he and the Tuskas were still content that their card become a cover for thismagazine. And, just so you could see it in black-&-white as well as in color, we’ve also reproduced itabove. Thanks, guys! [Art ©2004 George Tuska; X-Men ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Vol. 3, No. 43 / December 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 ArtistsGeorge TuskaDave Stevens

Cover ColoristsTom Ziuko Phil Noto

And Special Thanks to:Heidi AmashMichael AmbroseGer ApeldoornBob BaileyJerry BeckJack & Carol BenderJerry K. BoydFrank & Kisara

BrunnerStan BurnsNick CardyR. Dewey CassellBob CherryGene & Adrienne

ColanKelly EveraertMichael FraleyStephan FriedtJanet GilbertTom GillJennifer HamerlinckBill HenleyDave HerringSteve HerringBob HughesAl JaffeeJeff JatrasRichard Kyle

Stan LeePablo MarcosPat MasonTom MooreBrian K. MorrisFrank MotlerFred PattenDon Rosick Dave RossJoe & Betty SinnottDave StevensTom StewartMarc SwayzeDann ThomasMike ThomasAlex TothGeorge & Dorothy

TuskaMichael UslanJim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.Dr. Michael J.

VassalloMort WalkerHames WareMorris & Blanche

WeissTom Wimbish

11994--2004

Another Four-Color Christmas

In Black-&-White!

More Yuletide Cards Sent By Comics Pros[INTRO-HO-HO-HO! In last year’s Christmas issue, A/E #31, weprinted some of the holiday season’s cards we and others had receivedfrom comic book artists—headed by a gorgeous Fred Ray Supermanpostcard from circa 1940 that had never been repro’d since. We onlyhad room for a slightly truncated section this year, but since folksseemed to enjoy it last time, here we go again…! —Roy.]

Frankly (and we should be frank, since the above card comes from Roy & Dann’s friendsFrank & Kisara Brunner), we’re not sure if this great drawing is of Howard the Duck—the

Marvel character Frank drew to a fare-thee-well back in the 1970s—or of some other far-outfowl. But it arrived as part of a Season’s Greetings card in December 2003, so here ’tis!

Check out Frank’s website at <http://www.frankbrunner.net>. Frank does some fabulousart commissions these days, and can be reached by sending a self-addressed, stamped

envelope to him at 312 Kildare Court, Myrtle Beach, SC 29588. [©2004 Frank Brunner.]

To start off, following George Tuska’s x-cellent X-Men, what could be better than this Spider-Man card from a few years back from Joltin’ Joe &!Betty Sinnott? After half a century in the field, the semi-retired

Joe is still in demand—and if you’re lucky enough to see the Spider-ManSunday strip, you can dig his inking every week! [Art ©2004 Joe Sinnott;

Spider-Man TM & ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Working with artist DaveRoss on Avengers West

Coast back in the ’90s wasa joy—and so is this 1998

holiday card featuring hishero Thrax. Oh, and the

hero’s balloon here is thesecond part of a commentbegun on the front of thecard: “La Niña?!!” Learn

more about Thrax at<www.daveross.com>.

[©2004 Dave Ross.]

[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: What are the odds that you’ll ever talkto a man who knew personalities as diverse as George Bridgman,Charles Dana Gibson, James Montgomery Flagg, Mickey Finn’sLank Leonard, Joe Palooka’s Ham Fisher, Alex Raymond, CharlieBiro, and Stan Lee, among many others? Don’t bother guessing,because the odds are virtually impossible—unless you happen to knowMorris Weiss. We were aware Morris had an amazing career innewspaper strips, and that he’d done comic book work, but what wedidn’t know was how to boil it all down to an A/E interview thatfocused on comic books, as is our usual wont. Well, we didn’tbother—so you get to read about all these gents in a wide-ranging,fun, and informative interview with a gifted cartoonist and a realgentleman. Morris did terrific work in both the newspapers and incomic books, even if he doesn’t think much of his comic book worktoday. But we get the last word in this introduction, so Morris willhave to take our compliments—and like ’em! —Jim.]

“I Was Torn Between My Love Of Illustration And Of Cartooning”

JIM AMASH: There’s nothing like starting with the easy questions.When and where were you born? And what got you interested incartooning?

MORRIS WEISS: I was born in Philadelphia, August 11, 1915. I had anability to draw and my brother had an ability to draw. I copied hisdrawings. I seemed to be able to draw better than most kids in school. Iwanted to be an illustrator for magazines, but even in public school, I’ddraw cartoons here and there. The first cartoon I had published was injunior high school, and when I was in high school, I drew cartoons forthat paper, too. I followed the comics in the newspapers and the illustra-tions in the magazines. I was torn between my love of illustration and ofcartooning.

JA: What made you decide on cartooning?

WEISS: That was because it was easier to get started as a cartoonist...toget a job as a cartoonist’s assistant. Illustration was a long way awaybecause I’d have had to do a lot of studying in art schools. I went to theArt Students League when I was 25, and in 1936 I started with LankLeonard on the Mickey Finn newspaper strip, a month after he’dlaunched it. I’d go to his home in Port Chester, New York, and live andwork with him for half the week. The other half, I’d live at home in theBronx. In 1940, I decided to go to the Art Students League to get someinstruction in figure drawing. I studied under George Bridgman, whowas the teacher for most of the illustrators of that time.

Bridgman was a short Englishman, who had a habit of pulling on hissuspenders. He was bald-headed and was a genius. He’d put a piece ofchalk at the end of a 3-foot stick and go to work on the charcoal paperwith us. He could go from “A to Z” with the human anatomy; he knewevery muscle, every vein in the body, backwards and forwards, by name.I never knew anyone who had the amount of knowledge about the

human figure that he did. He’d look at your drawing and the first thinghe would ask for was your chamois, which was a little cloth. You’d givehim your chamois and he’d wipe out your drawing. In half a minute,he’d redraw your work and show you how it should be done. He drewthat quickly.

JA: Was Bridgman all business, or would he lighten up occasionally?

WEISS: Once in a while, he’d tell you a joke. He was all business, buthe had a sense of humor. He was a very congenial man—there wasnothing mean about him. He was a little on the cocky side. He wasn’t atough critic of his students. When your work was really good, he’d justtouch it up a little bit here and there, and compliment you. Once a week,he’d put his initials on someone’s drawing, which meant that student’sdrawing would go into a special showcase for the best drawings of theweek.

“I Did What I Set OutIn Life To Do”

A Talk With Comic Book And Comic Strip Artist MORRIS WEISSConducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash

A recent photo of Morris Weiss (he’s the one on the right) and Stan Lee, whenSmiling Stan visited the Boca Raton Cartoon Museum—and the splash of oneof the handful of “serious” comics stories Morris drew for Timely/Marvel inthe old days: “The Murder Mirror,” from Marvel Tales #104 (Dec. 1951). Withthanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo for the art scan. All photos in this article

were sent by Morris. [Comic page ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

7

At that time, while I was in Bridgman’s class, there were two studentsthat did terrific work. Their names were Bob Lubbers and Stan Drake.They were very nice guys, and before long they were drawing up samplecomic book pages to show to the publishers. They showed them to mefor my approval because they knew I was a professional. I couldn’tbelieve how poor these pages were, considering how magnificent theirclass drawings were. I couldn’t tell them how poor these pages were, butit didn’t take them long to get the hang of comics, and they soon gotjobs.

JA: Did Bridgman treat you differently because you were already aprofessional?

WEISS: No. he had no idea about my age or career. He didn’t givespecial treatment to anyone, whether they were young kids or people intheir 40s.

“If Morris Weiss Is Listening In…”JA: Backing up a bit, tell me how you started working for LankLeonard.

WEISS: When I was 18 and 19 years old, I visited all the cartoonists andillustrators who would see me. I asked them for original drawings, ifthey could spare one. Once, when I was in high school, the art class hadoriginal illustrations up on the wall, including one by JamesMontgomery Flagg. That’s when the bug really bit me. I met cartoonistEd Wheelan, who was doing the Minute Movies strip, and in one of hisstrips he wrote, “If Morris Weiss is listening in, get in touch with EdWheelan.” I did, and I started lettering the strip for Ed. But I couldn’tmatch his lettering style, so he let me go after a week. That’s how Ilearned that cartoonists had assistants, so I practiced my lettering,figuring I could break into the business that way.

Then I called up Harold H. Knerr, who did the Katzenjammer Kids,and asked for a chance. Up until then, Knerr had never used an assistant.I did a sample for him and became his first assistant. I lettered, filled inthe black areas, drew in the stripes on the kids’ pants, and cleaned up thepages. I got $5 a Sunday page; Knerr wasn’t doing the dailies. That waspretty good money in the Depression.

At the same time, I got a job with Pedro Llanuza, who took over theJoe Jinks strip from Vic Forsythe. I met Llanuza when I was making therounds, and he asked me to be his assistant. He paid me $7 a week forworking on the dailies.

JA: I’ve seen Ed Wheelan’s work in early DC Comics. I’d like to hearabout him.

WEISS: Ed Wheelan was a great admirer of cartoonist Tad Dorgan. Edwas a good cartoonist, but he couldn’t draw straight stuff very well.

However, he could capture the flavor of the story he wanted to tell. Hisbest work was when Nick Afonsky assisted him. After awhile, Afonskyleft him to draw the Little Annie Rooney Sunday page. Wheelan’s worksuffered when that happened, and with the newer, younger cartoonistscoming into the business, Wheelan’s work looked old-fashioned anddated. He started losing papers and his strip died, which is why heturned to comic books. He was a very fine man, considerate and ethical,with a deep love of cartooning.

I knew Ed Wheelan was having hard times, so I referred him to FrankTemerson, who was publishing comic books. [NOTE: Temerson was apartner in the Comics Magazine Company, known at various times asTem Publishing, Holyoke Publishing, and Continental Publishing. —Jim.] He was a publisher who only respected success, so I told him EdWheelan was a retired cartoonist who was very well-off, but that if hecould hire him, it’d be a big plus for his company. I gave him Ed’s phonenumber.

A little later, Ed called me up to thank me and said that Temerson wasstarting up a new feature about a circus. That went on for a while, andthen one day Ed called me up, saying, “I couldn’t carry on the charadeanymore. I told him that I didn’t have anything, and was down and outwhen he called me.” I said, “That was a big mistake, Ed. You shouldn’thave done it.” A little while later, they got into a squabble, and Ed waslet go. I felt very bad about that. Ed’s last years were not very fruitful forhim, but that was the case for quite a few cartoonists.

Art Helfant had the same problem; he wound up doing comic bookpages, too. I liked Art very much; he was a good friend. If I’m notmistaken, he may have been one of the cartoonists who brought me intothe National Cartoonists Society. He was an older man, but then, theywere all older than I was. [laughs] When I think about it, I joined theNational Cartoonists Society when I was 31, but all the successfulcartoonists were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.

JA: How long did you work for Harold Knerr?

WEISS: For about 2H years, which would have been in ’34 and ’35, andinto 1936. I didn’t work at Knerr’s home. I would go to his house, pick

As reported in this interview, two people very helpful and influential in Morris Weiss’ young life were Ed Wheelan(artist/writer/creator of Minute Movies—seen in photo at left from the early 20th century) and Harold H. Knerr (successor artist

to Rudolph Dirks on The Katzenjammer Kids). Above is Wheelan’s second newspaper installment of Minute Movies, from Feb. 28,1927, which served as a sort of “trailer” for the first comic strip “movie” to come—and below is a sketch Knerr drew on the

King Features stationery on which he pennned a 1938 letter to Morris. Letter supplied by MW. [Minute Movies ©2004 therespective copyright holders; The Captain from Katzenjammer Kids TM & ©2004 King Features Syndicate.]

8 A Talk With Morris Weiss

up the page, andwork on it at home.When I worked forLank Leonard, I wasstill able to giveKnerr that one dayof work, though Istopped doing thatafter a short while. Irecommended LeonJason to letter forhim, so Knerr

wouldn’t be outan assistant.Leon laterbecame a book

publisher and ran acomic book studio.Leon called me upand said, “I hateyou, Morris. Nomatter how good ajob I do on letteringKnerr’s pages, hesays, ‘It’s very good,but it’s not likeMorris.’” [mutuallaughter] I knowthat was a self-serving thing to say,but I said it becauseI think it’s funny.

Knerr told meone day that heusually brought twoSunday pages in at atime to his editorJoe Connolly at

King Features. Connolly would praise Knerr’s work and say, “Evenyour lettering has your characteristics. Nobody else could do yourlettering.”

JA: [laughs] When you started with Lank Leonard, what exactly wereyou doing on Mickey Finn?

WEISS: I started off inking everything but the hands and the faces. Myline was primitive and very thin, and I was being careful. But as I keptgoing, I became more relaxed in my line work and it got much better,which made me very comfortable with my work. I also did the lettering.The only time I did any drawing was when there was a pretty girl in thestory, because Lank had been a sports cartoonist and he couldn’t drawpretty girls. He could draw cartoon girls, but not a pretty girl.

One day, Lank went out to play golf. He left and I stayed to finish upmy work. I couldn’t clean up the pages because Lank inked the faces andhands, so this meant I’d have to sit and wait for another three hoursuntil he got back. I was so sure of my inking by that time that I didn’twait for him, and inked all the faces and hands.

A couple of hours later, Lank returned, went upstairs, took a shower,and came in the studio wearing a bathrobe. He sat down, asked for thestrips, and saw what I had done. “You bastard! You inked all the heads!”Then he looked at the pages, and from that day on, he never inkedanother line on the strip. I just wasn’t going to wait for a couple ofhours when I knew I could finish the job.

There’s another story I should tell you. One day I was leaving Lank’s,got on the train at Port Chester, on my way to the Bronx. I was lookingfor a place to sit and saw a guy I recognized from pictures in thenewspaper. He was William L. Shirer, the famous war correspondent forCBS News. I sat next to him and we started talking. While we weretalking, I got an idea and said, “Mr. Shirer, how would you like to writea strip about a war correspondent and have me draw it? With your nameon top, it’d be a sure seller.”

He said, “Well, right now I’m going to be working on a big bookabout the Germans and the Nazi empire, but maybe a couple of friendsof mine would be interested. Why don’t you talk to Eric Severeid orElmer W. Peterson and see if they’d be interested?”

When I got home, I called Eric Severeid, but he wasn’t interested.Then I called up Elmer W. Peterson, who was a war correspondent forCBS. He invited me over to his suite at the Waldorf, and we had a fewcocktails. He liked the idea very much, and later sent me a script forcouple of weeks of dailies. I drew them, brought them in to theMcNaught Syndicate, and they liked the strip, which was titled DeedyDrake. It was all set to go, but then World War II started, and the syndi-cates quit taking on new strips. They needed all the room they could getto cover the war.

Though he doesn’t relate it in his interview with JimAmash, this 1935 Christmas card Morris Weiss drewled to his “big break.” His mother had paid to havethe struggling young cartoonist’s drawing printed,

and Morris sent it to the various artists he hadmet—including Lank Leonard, a sports cartoonistwho had just started a daily strip called MickeyFinn in April of 1936. And the rest is history. R.C.Harvey related the story in an article on Morris

some time back. [©2004 Morris Weiss.]

Morris Weiss (at far left) and Lank Leonard in the latter’s backyard in Port Chester, NY, in 1937, a year afterthe latter had launched Mickey Finn, which, like Bringing Up Father, starred what would now be called

Irish-Americans—plus panels from a late Mickey Finn strip which was probably drawn largely by Weiss. Thestrip’s real star was Uncle Phil, seen drinking coffee and lighting a cigar; the title character is the youngguy on the right in both panels. [Mickey Finn art ©2004 McNaught Syndicate or successors in interest.]

“I Did What I Set Out In Life To Do” 9

“James Montgomery Flagg Was My Idol”JA: Before we go on talking about your career, Ihave to ask you about the portrait JamesMontgomery Flagg did of you.

WEISS: Okay. First of all, James Montgomery Flaggwas my idol. I just worshiped his work. I first saw itwhen I was about 14, in Good Housekeeping. I wasamazed at how he drew... all those great lines! I got tomeet a few illustrators, but not Flagg, though I knew helived in the same apartment building Ham Fisher lived in,during the early days of Joe Palooka. But you couldn’t getto see him unless you had an appointment.

After high school, I worked in the coat room of arestaurant on Broadway during the supper hour. It waswinter and a customer handed me his overcoat, which wasunusually heavy. I looked to see what made it so heavy andinside a pocket was a big .45. When I handed his coat back,I said, “You’re a detective.” He said, “I’m a privatedetective.” I asked if he could get me an unlisted phonenumber and he said, “Sure.” I wrote James MontgomeryFlagg’s name down on a piece of paper and handed it tohim.

A week later, he returned to the restaurant and handed me Flagg’sphone number. I immediately ran into a phone booth and called Flagg. Itold him how much I loved his work and that I had to have one of hisoriginals. I had to! He said he just didn’t give them away. I said I had tohave one and he can’t turn me down. He told me to come aroundtomorrow morning, and when I did, he gave me a pen-and-ink illus-tration, which I gave you a copy of. It is a beauty, about 20 by 30 andhas been on my wall everywhere I’ve ever lived.

A few months after that, Pach Brothers, who were high-class photog-raphers, were having a showing of penciled portraits by Flagg. All thecelebrities he had drawn loaned the originals to the exhibit. It wasunbelievable! There were 100 to 150 of them: actors, athletes, evenPresidents, dating back to Theodore Roosevelt. I called Flagg up to tellhim how great they were and said, “Someday, I’d like to haveenough money to pay you for a pencil portrait.”

Flagg said, “You won’t have to. Call me in a week or twoand whenever I have time, I’ll do one of you.” So I calledhim up and he said, “Where are you?” I said, “Tell me whento come and I’ll fly over!” [laughs] That’s the story of how I

got the pencil portrait. It took him about a half hour to draw it, andwhile he was doing so, told me great stories. He treated me as if I were afamous guy myself and I was just an 18-year-old kid.

Over the years, I’d call him up every now and then and meet him on57th Street and walk him back to his hotel. And one day, I saved his life.We met on 57th Street and were walking back to his hotel. He waslooking at me while we were crossing Broadway and had one foot offthe curb, when a car zoomed right by. I grabbed him with both handsand pulled him back on the sidewalk. I literally saved his life! He said,“You’ve just paid me back for the portrait.”

JA: That’s quite a story. I’ve heard that he was a bitter man, later inhis life.

WEISS: He was. The last time I saw him was at Ham Fisher’sapartment. My wife Blanche and I went up. He was a verybitter man. His world had passed him by. I remember he was aprima donna, and he was so damn famous. To lose it all wassomething he couldn’t handle. He lived alone, and was practi-cally blind. The great comfort to him was Everett RaymondKinstler. He spent time with Flagg.

He wasn’t bitter when I first met him. He was riding high,in his final days of glory. It was right after that when every-thing changed. The artists who painted like Harvey Dunn,Benton Clarke... that whole school was thrown out of workand the new school came around. Alex Ross, Coby Whitmore,

and others became the new wave.

“There’s Charles Dana Gibson, And Then There Are The Rest Of Us”

JA: I know this isn’t about comics, but I don’t care. I see you also metone of my favorites, Charles Dana Gibson. I have to hear about that.

WEISS: Okay. Again, I knew where Gibson lived. I didn’t have hisphone number, so I knocked on his door and a German housemananswered. I asked to meet Mr. Gibson and he asked if I had anappointment. I said I didn’t and was told I couldn’t see Mr. Gibsonwithout an appointment. I was told to call him up for an appointment,

By far the most famous art ever executed by JamesMontgomery Flagg, of course, was his ubiquitous “UncleSam Wants You!” poster, which saw duty in both WorldWars. But he drew many another illustration, including

the above one from Collier’s magazine for Aug. 13, 1932—and, as it happened, a 1934 portrait of young Morris

Weiss! Flagg gifted Morris with both pieces. Thanks to Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., for the photo. [Art ©2004

Estate of James Montgomery Flagg.]

At the turn of the 20th century, Charles Dana Gibson (creator of the idealized“Gibson Girl”) was one of the most celebrated illustrators in America. This

cartoon is from the original Life humor magazine in 1921. Thanks to Jim V. forthe photo. [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

10 A Talk With Morris Weiss

[INTERVIEWER’SNOTE: The multi-faceted career of TomGill is just beginning,according to Tom, andI believe him. Startingon the lowest rungs ofthe mailroom at TheNew York DailyNews, Tom worked his way up to newspaper strips. He alsoworked for a lot of comic book companies, such as Timely, Ziff-Davis, Toby Press, and, most notably, Western Publishing. For 22years, Tom visually kept The Lone Ranger and Tonto in thesaddle, always pointing their guns in the right direction. For mostart fans, Tom’s Lone Ranger, done in both comic books and thenewspaper strip, is the definitive version of the character. Tomalso made his mark in the teaching profession, mentoringthousands of art students, many of whom went on to successfulcareers. It’s impossible to overestimate his influence on people’s lives,which is perhaps his greatest legacy. Return with us now to thosethrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thunderinghoofbeats of the great horse Silver. Tom Gill rides again! (Withapologies to Fran Striker.) —Jim.]

“Art Is Within You”TOM GILL: I’m here in my studio and ready to go, unless I start havingsenior moments. [laughter]

JIM AMASH: Well, Tom, I hope you can remember being born.[more laughter] Or at least be able to tell me when and where.

GILL: Here’s my first senior moment! No, I know the answer to thatone, even if I can’t actually remember it. I was born June 3, 1913, inWinnipeg, Canada. My folks were on a business trip from New YorkCity when I came along, unexpectedly—early. As soon as my motherwas able, they came back to New York. I’m a U.S. citizen and neverlived in Canada, though I’ve visited. I’ve even been to Winnipeg, wherethey made me an honorary citizen. I have a plaque on my wall to proveit.

I was a self-taught artist. Having taught 2,600 people directly and noteven counting others that I’ve taught at the School of Visual Arts andfive other colleges, what I have discovered is that people like you and mehave hand-eye coordination. It’s what you do with that talent that deter-mines your future. My talent started to surface when I was about tenyears old. One time, I went to Prospect Park and drew in the snow.

There were people looking atme and asking what I wasdoing, but I couldn’t reallyexplain it to them. You knowhow it is: art is within youand it comes out of you. Iknow you’ve experienced thesame thing.

When I was in my teens, itcame out very strong, but I didn’t know what to do with it. My cousinwas very gifted, and she got me into pastels. I did pastel portraits of myfriends, starting when I was fifteen. But I didn’t know what to do next. Itried several things, but during the Depression, President Rooseveltinstituted the 40-hour week. That meant that The New York DailyNews had an opening in their mailroom, and I got that job mostlythrough family connections. Since the paper used artists in their newsreporting, I went there to apply, but was told that the mailroom was theonly opening they had, so I took it. I knew nothing about what an artisthad to do. I was ill-prepared to start an art career, which must have beenobvious. This was around 1933.

Being in that mailroom put me in a wonderful position. I wanted toget out of that job and be an artist, and I was already at the company.The only training I had was going to Pratt Institute for a few Saturdayswhen I was a teenager. I got married in 1935, and was now out of themailroom and into the business department. But I didn’t want to be inthat department: I wanted to be a cartoonist. I used to hang out on theninth floor with the paper’s cartoonists. I knew Ed Sullivan (who was avery nice guy), Paul Gallico, and all the other writers, too.

Then, one of the guys in the art department quit. He said the hellwith it and went to Mexico to paint. That created an opening in thepicture department, which was next to the art department. I became aclerk and then a copy boy, and finally, in 1940, I joined the artdepartment. By the way, I was rather old to be a copy boy, but youknow who Bill Gallo, the cartoonist, is? Well, 60 years ago, he was mycopy boy.

Once I was on staff, I became a retoucher and did all the menial littlejobs that no one else wanted to do. Every year the paper ran a

“To Be Continued!”After 6H Decades In The Comics Field, Artist TOM GILL Is Still Going Strong

Conducted by Jim Amash Transcribed by Jim Amash & Tom Wimbish

23

Tom Gill at a 2003 San Franciscocartoonists’ seminar—flanked bya drawing of The Lone Ranger ina classic pose, and his cover forThe Owl #1 (April 1967). Thanksto Tom for all photos used with

this interview; the Owl coverwas provided by both StephanFriedt and Bob Cherry. [Lone

Ranger TM & ©2004 Lone RangerTelevision, Inc.; Owl cover©2004 K.K. Publications or

successors in interest.]

“Countdown to Christmas,” and each day a cartoonist would draw apicture to illustrate the remaining days before the 25th. I got a chance todo a couple of those, which was how my work started getting published.The Daily News let us sign our work, bless their souls, because that wasmore than The New York Times did.

The Chicago Tribune was a sister paper and a sister syndicate, and Igot meet and spend time with some of those cartoonists. Carl Ed[pronounced with a long “e”], who did Harold Teen, taught me sometricks. Leo O’Mealia taught me and Bill Gallo some tricks. Leo was avery nice man and he’d go out of his way to help you if he knew youwanted to be a cartoonist.

At this stage, I was trying very hard to learn how to draw. There wasa feature called Timeless Topics. And there was M.C. Gaines, who didBible comics. I tried to get a job with Gaines, but wasn’t good enough.One day, I brought in a black-&-white illustration and showed itaround. I was told to show it to Al Polumbo, who was a retoucher. Hepointed out everything wrong in that drawing. I went home and workedall night to incorporate everything he had told me. I took the drawing into Al the next day. He looked at it, patted me on the back, and said,“Keep trying, Tommy.” [laughter] And you know what? I did the samething the next day. This is how I learned.

The Timeless Topics stuff I did was for a Catholic group. They had solittle money and so little experience that they accepted the Bible stuff Idid for them.

JA: Tell me about the Pearl Harbor map that you did for The DailyNews.

GILL: It was Sunday, December 7, 1941. Newspapers were usually deadon Sundays, but since I was still new, I was working that day. We had allthese maps made because the war was raging in Europe, and wereprinting these maps to show what was happening and where it washappening. We were listening to the Army-Navy game on the radio, andall the admirals and generals were at this game or listening to it. Westarted hearing things in the background like, “Major so-and-so, pleasereport to” wherever he was told to report. Then they’d page a captain oran admiral.

We started wondering why these guys were being paged on theloudspeakers at the game. Somebody called up to find out what wasgoing on. He was told, “Don’t you know? Pearl Harbor’s beenbombed!” The whole place went crazy and people ran over to mebecause I was the only guy who might know something about PearlHarbor. Their first question was, “Where is Pearl Harbor?” I said Ididn’t know because the man in charge of the maps wasn’t in that day.But I pulled down a map and got it ready for the paper in time to makethe print deadline. It ran on page one and my name was on that map asthe artist.

JA: Were you in the service?

GILL: No, I didn’t have to go because I was married and had a child.My number didn’t come up in the draft until much later. I worked forThe Daily News all throughout the war. During the war, I got better atdrawing and did comics for Curtis Publishing. They even asked me to bean editor. I said, “If I take that job, I’d have to leave the paper, andpossibly move away from doing the art.”

“Pre-War Days”JA: I believe you helped Louis Silberkleit [one of the founders ofMLJ, which later became Archie Comic Publications] get started incomics in 1939. I’d like to hear about that.

GILL: One day, he called me up at The Daily News. I had never heardof him, but he’d seen my credits in The Daily News. He wanted to seeme, so I went to see him. He said he wanted to get into comics andwanted me to do a character similar to Rin-Tin-Tin. I told him I wasn’t avery good artist, but he insisted I do it. I did a ten-page story, which Iwrote, drew, and lettered for six bucks a page. When I brought it in tohim, he wrote me a check for sixty bucks. I don’t think he was crazyabout the work.

By the time I got back to work, Silberkleit called. He said, “I justshowed your work to Harry Chesler, and he said it wasn’t any good.” Isaid, “Lou, I told you I wasn’t any good. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’llgive you $30 back if you’ll give me the pages.” He agreed. We made theexchange and I never saw him again. There were no problems, and I’vesupplied several artists over the years to Archie Comics.

JA: I work for them.

GILL: Then you know Stan Goldberg, who’s a great guy. By the way, Ieven showed my work to Dr. William Marston, who created WonderWoman. His artist, Harry G. Peter, was a nice man, too. But my workwasn’t up to their level, so I didn’t get to do “Wonder Woman.”

Doctor Marston confirmed my view of women. I always thoughtwomen were far superior to what they get credit for. I think the handthat rocks the candle rules the world. Marston certainly believed in thatand practiced what he preached. He believed women were far superiorto men.

JA: You did “K-51” for Fox Publications.

GILL: Yes. Al Harvey was Fox’s editor, but he didn’t think I was goodenough for them. This was during the pre-war days, and my wife wasabout to have a baby. Al knew that and gave me a story even though hedidn’t think my work was good. While I was drawing the story, AlHarvey quit because he was very unhappy with Fox. I guess he gave methe story because he knew I needed the money and didn’t care what Foxthought about my work. After Al quit, I got a telegram from Fox—whom I never met—to come in and tell them what I was doing. Theyaccepted the story and I got paid.

JA: I have you listed as working for Fiction House in 1940.

This photo taken in the mid-70s or earlier at St. Alban’s Naval Hospital on LongIsland, NY, depicts (left to right): Jerry Robinson (early “Batman” artist and

newspaper cartoonist of Life with Robinson, et al., interviewed in A/E #39)—BobDunn (artist of They’ll Do It Every Time and Little Iodine)—Otto Soglow

(creator/artist of the wordless syndicated strip The Little King)—John Pierotti(artist of strips Pier-Oddities, Nutcracker U., et al.)—Milton Caniff (writer/artist ofTerry and the Pirates, and, later, Steve Canyon)—and Tom Gill (nice coat, Tom!).All of these artists except Soglow and Caniff worked in comic books at one time—

and of course Little King and Terry were reprinted in early comic mags.

24 Tom Gill Is Still Going Strong

GILL: I have no memory of that and don’t think that’s accurate.

JA: I also have you working for Centaur in 1938.

GILL: I didn’t work for them.

“I Didn’t Always Know Where My Work Was Going To Appear”

JA: From 1944 until ’46, I have you listed as working for CurtisPublications on Blue Bolt.

GILL: I remember doing Blue Bolt, but I don’t remember much elseabout them. This was freelance work, and I didn’t take it as seriously as Idid my newspaper work. The New York Daily News was moreimportant to me, so any work I did for companies like Curtis or Parents’Magazine just doesn’t stick in my mind today. I do remember thatWednesday was the day to see the editor at Curtis.

JA: Jerry Bails has you listed as working for Funnies, Inc., a shop thatsupplied work to various comics companies. Could you have workeddirectly for them and not for, say, Parents’ Magazine?

GILL: It’s possible. I didn’t always know where my work was going toappear, and I wasn’t worried about it.

By this time, I had moved out of Brooklyn to Long Island. I got ahouse in Baldwin on Long Island and used an extra room upstairs formy studio. My next door neighbor had a son who liked to draw andasked if I’d look at his stuff. The son was Jimmy Christensen, who was15 and had a paper route. I could tell that he could draw a little bit andhe used to come over and watch me.

After a little bit, he started doing little things around my studio. Oneday, I told him to give up the paper route and I’d pay him whatever hewas making on that job. Well, this kid was a whiz! He worked hard andhis slogan was, “Plenty of time for sleeping in the grave.” [laughter]That was just the kind of a kid that I needed!

His parents moved away and one day, I got a note from him saying,“Please get me out of here.” I told him that if he could typewrite andletter in one week, he could come. He did and moved in with my wifeand me. Then he was drafted into the Navy, and his job was to get oursoldiers back from Europe. When the Korean War started, they tookhim again.

JA: Why did you leave The Daily News?

GILL: Because I syndicated a strip, Flower Potts, to the Herald-Tribune. I did that from 1946 to 1949. It was about a cab driver and thestrip was also known as Ricky Stevens. But people weren’t interested inreading about cab drivers, and the stripwasn’t carried in many papers.

JA: From 1949 to 1953, you did romancecomics for Harvey Publications.

GILL: Yes. Al Harvey saw that I haddiscontinued my strip, so he called me upand invited me to lunch. He asked me todraw romance comics. Well, this was a bigimprovement from the last time we talked,which was at Victor Fox’s company. He hada woman editor, whose name I can’tremember, and she gave me assignments todo.

I wrote and drew those stories. I’d givethe editor a story synopsis and then write

and draw the story at home. To be honest, I really wrote the same storyover and over again. It was always about two girls in love with the sameguy or vice versa. I always gave the girl who didn’t get the guy a hardname, like Rita. The girl who got the guy had a soft name, like Alice.The format was always the same.

“Wanted: Somebody To Teach Straight Dope About Cartooning”

JA: How did you get started teaching at the Cartoonists andIllustrators School?

GILL: One day, while I was working on Flower Potts in my studio, mywife saw an ad in The New York Times that said, “Wanted: Somebodyto teach straight dope about cartooning.” I wrote a letter to the boxnumber and Silas Rhodes replied. Rhodes started the school with BurneHogarth. Silas set up a time for me to talk to his class, so I did. Some ofthe guys in the class were older than me; they were all G.I.s who’dreturned from the war. In fact, the one woman in the class had been asergeant. They were on the G.I. Bill.

Silas told me he knew I’d done a good job. “The students keepcoming down to tell me how great you were and that they didn’t wantme to let you go.” I told him I really enjoyed teaching the class, butdidn’t have the time to do it on a regular basis. Silas said, “Well, gethelp!” Right away, I thought about Jimmy Christensen, so I relented andstarted teaching there.

Actually, it wasn’t that easy. I had to be certified to teach theseclasses, so I took classes at a place in New York with a couple of otherinstructors. I had to do this every three years for 15 years. Eventually,we were no longer classified as a trade school, but were recognized onsome different level: as an institute of higher learning. Once on this level,we didn’t have to do these things anymore.

JA: So you started getting additional help on your comic book work.You didn’t have a shop, per se: you had assistants, correct?

GILL: Correct. I worked at home and my assistants came to work there.By this time, I lived in Rockville Center, and my studio was a long frontporch with a fireplace. I had two drawing tables there: one for me andone for Jimmy. The other guys preferred to work at home and bring thepages in. I broke down almost every page.

Keats Petree and Bernie Case were my main assistants, along withJimmy. Keats left me to do the Nick Halliday strip for the ChicagoSun-Times. I didn’t break down pages for them. Ted Galindo was prettygood, too; he was a local guy. A quiet man who worked for othercompanies. He later became a framer in an art store.

The Lone Ranger isn’t the only Western newspaper strip Tom worked on. Here’s a Hopalong Cassidydaily from circa 1954. [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

“To Be Continued!” 25

I Like Ike!by Michael T. Gilbert

Recently, while scouring eBay for odd comic-related items, Istumbled across a 1956 oddity, President Eisenhower’s Cartoon Book. Ialmost skipped by it, having only a limited interest in political cartoons.But then I spotted the contributor list. Ninety-five different cartoonistswere represented—including over a dozen outstanding comic bookartists. I won’t name the comic book guys here, for reasons I’ll explain ina moment. But trust me, we’re talking big-name talent.

First, let’s take a behind-the-scenes peek at the history of PresidentEisenhower’s Cartoon Book, courtesy of George Humphrey, Ike’sSecretary of the Treasury, who penned the book’s three-page intro-duction. As Mr. Humphrey tells it…

“In June 1954, President Eisenhower met with members of theNational Cartoonists Society in Washington. The Society,composed of men and women who are considered to be amongthe foremost exponents of the cartoonist’s art in the nation,wished to confer honorary membership upon one of the fewPresidents since Thomas Jefferson who has evidenced andexercised any talents as an artist.”

Until now, I hadn’t heard of Ike’s particular talent, whichapparently refers to paintings he did as a hobby. Long storyshort: The National Cartoonists Society invited the President tojoin their ranks. And so, one fine morning in 1954, a roomful ofunruly ink-slingers met over breakfast to celebrate their newestmember. For his part, Ike provided a most unique dessert.

Himself.

For the first time in history, a sitting President offered topose for a gathering of newspaper, comic book, and magazineartists—encouraging them to use his distinctive features forportraits, caricatures, gag cartoons, or illustrations. I’ll let Mr.Humphrey describe the scene.

“The occasion took the form of a breakfast. While thecourses were being served and exchanges of talk weregoing on, artists had free hands with drawing paper orboard, pencil or pen. When Mr. Eisenhower hadconcluded his formal remarks … he asked to see thedrawings made of him. He smiled broadly as one afteranother was held up, and laughed outright at some ofthe gags. ‘Don’t cheat on me! I want them,’ heexclaimed.”

Later, the Society collected all 95 original drawings, boundthem into a large leather-bound volume, and presented it tothe President. Talk about a must-have collectible!

Apparently publisher Frederick Fell felt the same way.After reading about the meeting, Fell asked permission toprint the cartoons in a book that would be used to promotethe sales of Savings Bonds. Who could resist a patriotic pitchlike that?

The National Cartoonists Society presented thisvolume, collecting all 95 original drawings, to

President Eisenhower in 1954. [©2004 therespective copyright holders.]

A

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Art ©2004

[Captain Marvel TM!&!©2004 DC!Comics.]

[FCA EDITORS NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was atop artist for Fawcett Publications. The very first Mary Marvelcharacter sketches came from Marc’s drawing table, and he illustratedher earliest adventures, including the classic origin story, “CaptainMarvel Introduces Mary Marvel (CMA No. 18, Dec. ’42); but he wasprimarily hired by Fawcett 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, he 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 Bell Syndicate (createdby his friend and mentor Russell Keaton). After the cancellation ofWow, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s top-selling line ofromance comics. After the company ceased publishing comics, Marcmoved over to Charlton Publications, where he ended his comicscareer in the mid-’50s. Marc’s ongoing professional memoirs havebeen FCA’s most popular feature since his first column appeared inFCA #54, 1996. Last issue, Marc told of his attempts at getting asyndicated strip sold, and included samples of a strip that never quitewas: Marty Guy, Private Detective – The Great Guy. This time, hewrites of another one of his—and perhaps his finest—syndicated stripattempts that almost was: Jango. —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

There had been dogs in comic stripsbefore, but I remembered them as funny,cartoony dogs. I wanted a hero dog ... likein those silent movies, those Jack Londonadventure stories. And I really thought Icould create a strip featuring a dog thatwould hold the interest of the newspaperreader.

So it wasn’t anything special that a dogwas included in my very first attempt toprepare a “try” at the newspaper syndi-cates. The main character was Judi, ayoung girl living alone in the jungle. Lestthe strip contain a continuous flow ofbubbly “thought balloons,” she needed acompanion to whom she could expressher thoughts aloud. I gave her “Jango.”

A year or so later the dog idea wasattempted again ... same dog, same name.This time both art and writing may haveborne the influence of the Captain Marvelwork which occupied my daytime hours.The syndicate try was interrupted whenour country entered World War II.

But the dog just wouldn’t go away!

After about a decade ...and a war ... he was onmy drawing board again... in another stab at theworld of newspapercomics.

I thought I knewdogs pretty well. Wehad always had a dogaround the housewhen I was growingup. From the beginningmy choice among the

breeds was the German shepherd. Irealized that the canine ability to reasonvaried from dog to dog, and the thought ofthat discouraged any urge to exaggerateJango’s intellect.

After getting hooked on the idea of adog in a comic strip, I spent a lot of sparetime hours drawing dogs. Plus, studyingphotographic reproductions of theGerman shepherd, particularly as illus-trated in reference books. I learned that, while the breed was easilyidentifiable as such, within the boundaries of the breed there existed avariety of distinguishing qualities ... size, for example ... and coat colors.And temperament ... like people!

I wanted a dignified Jango. Tall, poised ... with a coat of pale gray andwhite trim.

This later Jango was to benefit from better writing than its prede-cessor. The experience from comic book stories for Whiz Comics,Captain Marvel Adventures, and Wow Comics ... and a variety ofstrips prepared for syndicate presentation ... paid off ... in confidence. Atthe typewriter I felt I knew what I was doing.

I was particularly concerned with the timing ... the pacing of the storyas it moved along. I was convinced that ifyou could hold the reader’s interest forseveral issues of his daily paper, whileyour story advanced only a fewmoments, you were a writer. I worked onthat.

It was my opinion that a new day waswith us ... a more leisurely day ... a daywhere, in the comic strips, humaninterest was replacing violent action. Itried to keep that in mind as I preparedthe 3 weeks of daily strips.

I carried the original art to New YorkCity, where it was shown to the majorsyndicates. At their request, photostaticcopies of the drawings were left withseveral for further study. Later I wasgiven the impression that the feature wasstill under consideration when mycontract with the Bell Syndicate for TheGreat Pierre was announced.

[On the next four pages, printed in full for the first time anywhere, are the18 daily strips which Marc wrote anddrew of Jango. The work is ©2004Marc Swayze.]

(c) mds

By

[Art & logo ©2004 Marc Swayze; Captain Marvel © & TM 2004 DC Comics]

“I wanted a dignifiedJango… poised….” Drawn in

the late 1940s by Swayze.[©2004 Marc Swayze.]

42 We Didn’t Know...

Marc and an early “Jango”: “We always had a dog around thehouse….” Photo courtesy of Marc Swayze.

...It Was The Golden Age! 43

[EDITOR’S NOTE: In A/E #39, 40, & 42, we serialized Frank’s in-depth study ofCharlton/CDC (Capital Distribution Co.), which during the 1950s purchasedmuch of the inventory and copyrights of Fawcett, Toby, Mainline/Prize, andseveral other comics publishing companies which had left the field. Here, as theconclusion of the piece, is his exhaustive list of Charlton’s “acquisition titles,” theirsources at other companies, and additional relevant information about the contentsof these comics, followed by Frank’s notes on the compiling of this list. —PCH.]

Charlton (CDC): Acquisition Titles, 1953-9Former Last

Title Issue From/ To Dates Publisher/ Date Remarks

Atomic Mouse #6-22 1954 1957 Fawcett various Hoppy cameos, various issues. See Funny Animals & note 8.

Badge of Justice #22(1) Jan-55 Jan-55 Fawcett ? Fawcett Crime Smasher, plus 1 other story. See also Crime andJustice.

Battlefield Action #84 Dec-83 Dec-83 Mainline 1954/5 Kirby Foxhole reprints.

Billy the Kid #9-121 Nov-57 Dec-76 Toby c.Jun-55 From Masked Raider #8. Last Toby issue #29. 68-pp. giant #11.

Billy the Kid #122-153 Sep-77 Mar-83 Charlton Dec-76 Series continues.

Billy the Kid #109 1977 1977 Charlton c.1974 Modern Promotions reprint.

Black Jack #20-30 Nov-57 Nov-59 Charlton n/a Featuring Rocky Lane’s horse. #22 68-pp. giant (Mar-58).

Blue Beetle #18-21 Feb-55 Aug-55 Fox Aug-50 Last Fox issue #60. 1st CDC Blue Beetle series, Fox reprints &some new art. Rocket Kelly #19, Joan Mason #20-21. See alsoCharlton Bullseye & Space Adventures.

This C.C. Beck cover from Captain Marvel Adventures #144 (March 1953) may well represent the way the powers-that-were at Fawcett Publications felt as their exit fromthe comic book industry drew nearer. They’d be out of the field before the year’s end—yet “The Stolen Shazam Powers” was and remains one of Alter Ego editor

Roy Thomas’ all-time favorite “Captain Marvel” tales. Sadly, it’s never been reprinted. [Captain Marvel & Sivana TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

…And Then ThereWere None!Charlton and the Remnants of the

Fawcett Comics Empire—The Indexby Frank “Derby” Motler

47

After returning in acouple of 1954 issues ofSpace Adventures, TheBlue Beetle got his own

magazine again,starting the numbering

with “#18,” whichcontained a mixture ofFox reprints and newart. Artist uncertain.

[Blue Beetle TM &©2004 DC Comics.]

“Hoppy,” a.k.a. Capt. Marvel Bunny, had starred in Fawcett’s Funny Animals, even before this Chad Grothkopf splashled off Hoppy the Marvel Bunny #1 (Dec. 1945) during a Fawcett post-World War II expansion that also included a

monthly Marvel Family comic. At Charlton he would appear in reprints as Hoppy (or Happy) the Magic Bunny, minusthe lightning bolt on his chest and with a different magic word. [Marvel Bunny TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

Blue Beetle V2#1-5 Jun-64 Mar’Apr-65 Charlton Aug-55 2nd series, all new stories.

Blue Beetle V3#50-54 Jly-65 Feb’Mar-66 Charlton Mar-Apr-65 3rd series, all new stories.

Blue Beetle #1-5 Jun-67 Nov-68 Charlton Feb-Mar-66 4th series, new Ditko art. 1st app. The Question in #1.

Blue Beetle #1,3 1977 1977 Charlton Nov-68 Modern Promotions reprints.

Blue Bird Comics (most) #1-17 c.1959 c.1962 Charlton 1958-62 Reprints Charlton Li’l Genius. See note 9.

Blue Bird Comics #1-4,10 c.1959 c.1962 Charlton 1958-62 Reprints Charlton Wild Bill Hickok. See note 9.

Blue Bird Comics #4,5,6,8-10 c.1959 c.1962 Charlton 1958-62 Reprints Charlton Masked Raider. See note 9.

Blue Bird Comics #7,10 c.1960 c.1961 Charlton 1959-60 Reprints Charlton Six-Gun Heroes. See note 9.

Bo #1-3 Jun-55 Oct-55 Comic Media Aug-54 Noodnik reprint in each.

Brenda Starr #13-15 Jun-55 Oct-55 Superior Dec-49 Last Superior issue #12.

Bullseye #6-7 Jun-55 Aug-55 Mainline Feb-Mar-54 Kirby covers/art. Becomes Code of the Pony Express. See alsoGunfighters.

Captain Gallant #2-4 Jan-56 Sep-56 Toby 1955 No indicia on 1st issue, two versions exist. TV adaptation.

Charlie Chan #6-9 Jun-55 Mar-56 Prize Feb-Mar-49 Last Prize issue, #5. Inventory stories #6-7, Kirby cover #6, newCDC art #8-9. Becomes Zaza the Mystic.

Charlton Bullseye #1 Jun-81 Jun-81 Charlton Nov-68 Last Blue Beetle at Charlton. The Question app.

Cody of the Pony Express #8-10 Oct-55 Jun-56 Charlton Aug-55 Comic Media & Mainline stories + new art. Bullseye app.#8.

Cowboy Love #28-31 Dec-54 Aug-55 Fawcett 1951 From Romantic Story. Last Fawcett issue V2#11.

Cowboy Western #48, 50 Spr-54 -54 Fawcett Jun-53 Golden Arrow stories, last app. Whiz #153, Jun-53. See note 4

Cowboy Western #50-58 1954 Jan-56 Avon 1956 Jesse James, Tom Mix & Wild Bill Hickok stories. See notes 4 & 5.

Cowboy Western #59-67 1955 Mar-58 Avon May-Jun-56 Wild Bill Hickok & Jingles stories in each,. #67 68-page giant.

Crime and Justice #23-26 Mar-55 May-55 Fawcett various #23 Fawcett Crime Smasher #23. Fox, Fawcett, Ziff-Davis stories.Little Al, Ziff-Davis in #24, 26. See also Badge of Justice.

Danger #12-14 Jun-55 Oct-55 Comic Media Aug-54 Last Comic Media issue #11.

Danger and Adventure #22(1) Feb-55 Feb-55 Fawcett 1953 Ibis The Invincible & Nyoka reprinted stories?

Danger and Adventure #23 Apr-55 Apr-55 Fawcett 1953 Lance O’Casey & Nyoka reprinted stories?

Danger and Adventure #24-27 Jun-55 Feb-56 Fawcett n/a Johnny Adventure & Mike Danger stories, unused Fawcettinventory stories with new covers.

Death Valley #7-9 Jun-55 Oct-55 Comic Media Aug-54 Last Comic Media issue #6.

Don Winslow #70-73 Nov-55 Sep-55 Fawcett Sep-51 Last Fawcett issue Don Winslow #69; see also TV Teens.Fightin’ Army #16(1)-17 Jan-56 Apr-56 various various Ziff-Davis? inventory #16, 2x Comic Media stories #17, Don Heck

art.

Fightin’ Marines #14-132 May-55 Nov-76 St. John Mar-53 Last St. John issue #12. #14-17 reprint St. John’s #2, 5, 3 & ? Baker artin each. Giant editions #25 (100 pp., Mar-58), #26 (68 pp., Aug-58).

Former LastTitle Issue From/ To Dates Publisher/ Date Remarks

48 Charlton And The Remnants Of The Fawcett Comics Empire––The Index

The only human Fawcett super-hero to make an appearance in a Charlton comic—assumingyou count magicians—was Ibis the Invincible, the resuscitated Egyptian who’d been a

regular feature in Whiz Comics. This (probably) inventory story popped up in CDC’s Dangerand Adventure #22 (Feb. 1955, actually the first issue). Nyoka also appeared in that ish,

whose Ibis cover (with art picked up from the splash) was seen in Part II, in A/E #40. Thanksto Charlton Spotlight publisher Michael Ambrose. [Ibis & Taia TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

$5.95In the USA

No.43December

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PRESENTING AGOLDEN AGEOF MEXICAN

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DAVE STEVENS,FRED PATTEN,

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MEXICOMEXICODURING THE U.S. SILVER AGE

STARRING

THE GREAT SUPER-HEROES OF 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.

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...AND ALL INCOLOR FOR A PESODept.

Contents¡Supermen South! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Fred Patten’s guided tour of Mexico’s heroic comics during the U.S. Silver Age.

re: [comments, correspondence, & corrections]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Happy Holidays Side! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us!About Our Cover: Two or three years back, in an issue of Comic Book Artist, editor Jon B. Cookeprinted a fairly small image of the Mexican masked-wrestler hero Santo, penciled and inked by theinimitable Dave Stevens. We realized at once that a full-size, color version of it would make a greatcover for this issue’s extended coverage of Mexican comic book heroes of the 1960s. So thanks to Davefor allowing us to print it! [©2004 Dave Stevens; Santo TM & ©2004 the respective trademark &copyright holders.]

Above: Ever since A/E editor Roy Thomas picked up a handful of issues of Criollo el CaballoInvencible in Mexico in 1964, that comic’s real star in its heyday—Supercharro—has been his runawayfavorite of all the super-heroes from south of the Rio Grande. So not much chance he’d pass up anopportunity to display one more great cover drawing of the rider of the Invincible Horse by artist Sixto Valencia Burgos! This one is from Criollo #108 (October 1964). [©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

Vol. 3, No. 43 / December 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 ArtistsDave StevensGeorge Tuska

Cover ColoristsPhil NotoTom Ziuko

And Special Thanks to:Heidi AmashMichael AmbroseGer ApeldoornBob BaileyJerry BeckJack & Carol BenderJerry K. BoydFrank & Kisara

BrunnerStan BurnsNick CardyR. Dewey CassellBob CherryGene & Adrienne

ColanKelly EveraertMichael FraleyStephan FriedtJanet GilbertTom GillJennifer HamerlinckBill HenleyDave HerringSteve HerringBob HughesAl JaffeeJeff JatrasRichard Kyle

Stan LeePablo MarcosPat MasonTom MooreBrian K. MorrisFrank MotlerFred PattenDon Rosick Dave RossJoe & Betty SinnottDave StevensTom StewartMarc SwayzeDann ThomasMike ThomasAlex TothGeorge & Dorothy

TuskaMichael UslanJim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.Dr. Michael J.

VassalloMort WalkerHames WareMorris & Blanche

WeissTom Wimbish

11994--2004

2

Mexican Hero ComicsDuring The U.S. Silver Age

by Fred Patten[with special thanks to

Brian K. Morris for a typingassist—including all those

accent marks!]

Special thanks to veteran comicsartist Pablo Marcos for this

powerful Avengers #1-style imageof some of the very greatest of the

original Mexican heroes—Santo,Neutrón, Relámpago, El Piloto

Fantasma, and Supercharro ridingCriollo the Invincible Horse—all set

to take on Uncle Sam in thecomics wars! Logo by Al

Dellinges, adapted from BiljoWhite’s 1965 original. [Art ©2004Pablo Marcos; heroes TM & ©2004

the respective trademark &copyright holders.]

SOUTH!

[A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Insummer of 1964, soon afteragreeing to assume the publishingand editorial duties of what inretrospect is called “Volume 1” ofAlter Ego, I went on a month-long drive through Mexico with aladyfriend in my ’58 Chevy.While meandering betweenNuevo Laredo, Monterey,Mexico City, Puebla, San Blas,Guaymas, and theMexico/Arizona border, I addedto my small collection of Mexicancomic books begun the previoussummer when I’d spent threeweeks in Puerto Rico. I cameback this time fired up with thenotion of writing an article onsuch intriguing South of theBorder super-heroes as Santo,Neutrón, Relámpago, and partic-ularly Supercharro. While there,I’d even managed to sit throughthe entire movie Santo ContraLos Zombies, despite knowing virtually no Spanish (or maybethat feat was possible because I knew no Spanish). However, Iquickly realized I had neither the collection nor the knowledgeto do justice to the subject.

[As I soon learned, however, California science-fiction/comics fanFred Patten did. He and I had gotten in contact by mail through theLupoffs’ fanzine Xero—or maybe through A/E or the Thompsons’Comic Art. Fred volunteered to write such a piece—and he soonsubmitted a long, informative, and downright entertaining study ofboth Mexico’s original heroes—including several I hadn’t encoun-tered—and its reprints and adaptations of US titles. The latter-mentioned section of Fred’s article appeared in early 1965 in A/E [Vol.1] #8, and half of the remainder in the following issue, published nearthe end of that year. Alas, because by then I was happily ensconced asStan Lee’s assistant editor (call me “Houseroy”) in New York City,future issues of A/E were put on hold. Eventually, the final third ofFred’s article saw print in CAPA-Alpha in 1970; but the circulation ofthat first “apa-zine” devoted to comic books was only a few dozenpeople, as opposed to the thousand or so then-subscribers of A/E.

[The part of Fred’s article dealing with Mexican reprints of UScomics was itself reprinted in 1997 in Bill Schelly’s and my out-of-print Hamster Press volume Alter Ego: The Best of the LegendaryComics Fanzine, mostly with the same art that had appeared in A/E[V1]#8. But, ever since TwoMorrows and I revived A/E as a fullmagazine in 1999, I’ve planned to reprint the larger portion dealingwith original heroes, and Fred has been remarkably patient—noteven complaining when I first featured coverage of French comicsheroes (in #30) and of the Golden Age of Canadian comic books (in#36). Still, D-Day has finally come. What’s more, I decided to runFred’s entire article, on reprints and original heroes alike, pretty muchas Fred scribed it in 1964-65, plus the handful of notes he added in1970 to the portion printed in CAPA-alpha—and, in the 11th hour,we shoehorned in a short essay he wrote in 1974 about the Mexican“Conan” comic, such as it was, which had debuted a few monthsafter he wrote the original study.

[This mid-September, I received a huge box of Mexican comicbooks from Fred in the mail. It contained everything really needed toillustrate the article—far beyond the handful of Mexican comics I stillretain from my own summer sojourn now just over forty years in the

past. Fred and I, too, are anincomprehensible nigh-fourdecades older than when hewrote the piece and Ipublished much of it—and yet,for reasons probably neither ofus could entirely explain, westill hold onto these specimensof another culture’s super-heroes of yore. Nearly all the

art that accompanies this article,therefore, was provided by Fred. Me, Icouldn’t even find the Mexican masked-wrestler photo magazines I bought offL.A. newsstands in 1976—and I stillcan’t speak or read Spanish—though thathasn’t stopped me from tossing in a fewpersonal observations and updatingswhen writing the captions to accompanythe art, as I generally do.

[I enjoyed re-reading “¡SupermenSouth!” just as much this time as when Ifirst read it at the turn of 1965—andFred and I both hope you’ll feel it wasworth waiting for. For best results, putyourself in the proper mindset: the year is1965 (most of the time, anyway), andFred has buttonholed you to tell you

about this very interesting phenomenon he learned about not so verylong ago…! —Roy.]

Super-Heroes of the World Unite!The comic book super-hero is usually considered a uniquely

American phenomenon; nor does one often see much to change thisimpression. The super-heroes we read about are all 100% American,from the Fantastic Four, et al., in New York to Green Lantern in “CoastCity” by the blue Pacific.

Is someone threatening to blow up the Eiffel Tower in Paris? TheFlash will take care of it. Are the Commies getting especially active inVietnam? Everybody from Captain America to Magicman seems to beon hand to push them back again. If there’s trouble anywhere in theworld, our comics proclaim, one of our super-heroes will buzz rightover to set things aright.

This picture of a complete US comics monopoly is enhanced if youread the letter columns. I’m sure you’ve all seen the letter from someboy in a South Pacific nation, who has just found an isolated two-year-old copy of The Comic on his newsstand and wants to know if anybodyin America will send him more issues so he won’t continue to beculturally deprived. Or the one from the American serviceman stationedabroad who’s just come across The Comic in the Base PX, and, boy,does it remind him of the good old days of comicdom!

The implications are clear: the whole world would be in a mess if itweren’t for the American super-heroes, and obviously no other nation iscapable of producing such Men of Might. (Though some of these foreignplaces manage to come up with a colorful super-villain every now andthen.) Furthermore, the US seems to be the only country that publishesthese comics; any copies to be found in foreign lands are either exportedAmerican issues, or, at best, sloppy reproductions of US comics in thequaint local tongue.

’Tain’t so! Granted, there are a lot of exported US comics andreprints of same. But other countries also have their own super-heroes,

(Left:) Fred Patten as helooked in the early 1960s—well, actually, he mostlywore his Flash outfit to

science-fiction conventions.Thanks to Bill Schelly.(Right:) Fred in a 1997

photo, taken by friend StanBurns. Hey, Fred—do youstill have that great hat?

¡Supermen South! 3

who combat mad villains and natural and extraterrestrialdisasters in their own right. Comic fandom has spentseveral years now discussing the American comic book in great detail;it’s time we broadened the field to take in the comics output of othernations.

The acme of desirability would be a sort of comic book Baedeker, inwhich any comic fan could look up in an instant the information as towhat comic books and which super-heroes are available in any givencountry. To commence such a project, let’s look into the comic booksituation just across the Rio Grande.

The Mexican super-hero and science-fiction comics can generally bedivided into three broad fields: straight reprints of US comics; originalcomics based on American titles; and entirely original comics with theirown heroes and villains. Part I, following, will discuss the first two ofthese fields lightly; and Part II will go into the original Mexicancostume-hero comics in much greater detail. Onward, then!

Part INorteamericano Reprints–

Plus a Couple of Anomalies

…And All in Color for a PesoThe reprinting of US comic books in Mexico is largely in the hands

of two publishing companies, both located in Mexico City. These are“Organización Editorial Novaro, S.A. de C.V.” and “Editora dePeriodicos, S.C.L., ‘La Prensa.’” Of these, Novaro has by far the largestpercentage of US reprints, consisting of all Mexican publication ofNational Periodical (DC), Gold Key, and Dell titles: super-hero, Disney,and otherwise. La Prensa has just the Marvel titles, of which they reprintonly four.

La Prensa’s main line is in original comics based on US titles (notalways with permission to use the US characters) and completelyoriginal Mexican comics drawn in the “American” (norteamericano)

style. Indeed, LaPrensa’s comicsseem to be producedfor sale in theUnited States asmuch as for Mexicansale. The cover pricereads: “$1.00 [i.e.,one peso, or 8H¢cents in ourcurrency] en la Rep.Mexicana; 0.10dolares en elextranjero.” A noteinside confirms thatthe price “in foreignlands” is in US money.

Incidentally, thepeso price-tag (andyes, that “$1.00”startled me the firsttime I saw it, too) isunanimous on allregular Mexicancomics, though thenewsstands here in LosAngeles charge 15¢apiece for them. All inall, Novaro and La

Prensa take up about equal amounts of space on stands with their titles,though La Prensa doesn’t have nearly so many in the adventure-heroline.

The bulk of Novaro’s super-hero comics lies in its reprints of the DCissues. These are usually reprinted six months to a year or more aftertheir original appearance in this country, and they pretty well cover theentire DC output. The biggest difference lies in the number of titlesappearing, because Novaro generally combines two or more US titlesinto only one Mexican title, leaning heavily toward “presentations” inthe Brave and Bold and Showcase manner.

Most of the DC comics edited by Mort Weisinger are reprinted underthe single title of Supermán, which appears weekly. For instance:Supermán #466 (Sept. 23, 1964) is a reprint of Jimmy Olsen #71 (Sept.1963); Supermán #467 (Sept. 30, 1964) is our Superman #170 (July1964); Supermán #468 (Oct. 7, 1964) is Lois Lane #46 (Jan. 1964);Supermán #469 (Oct. 14, 1964) is Adventure Comics #316 (Jan. 1964);and Supermán #470 (Oct. 21, 1964) is Superboy #109 (Dec. 1963). The80-Page Giant “annuals” appear as “Numeros Extraordinarios” and arenot numbered, though they are dated.

Batman, also a weekly (issue #254 is dated Jan. 21, 1965), reprints inthe same way Batman, Detective Comics, and World’s Finest Comics (aholdover from when Jack Schiff edited the US version). In addition,Batman also “presents” Flash (The Flash), Linterna Verde (GreenLantern), and Campeones de la Justicia (Champions of Justice = JusticeLeague of America). Thus, under these two weekly titles are reprintedtwelve of the DC Comics.

Other DC reprints are lumped together in lesser amounts. HistoriasFantásticas is published on the first and 15th of every month andconsists of reprints of Tales of the Unexpected, Rip Hunter, SeaDevils, and The Brave and the Bold (the issues featuring super-heroes,anyway). Marvila, a monthly, is Wonder Woman, who “presents”Showcase (the “Tommy Tomorrow” issues) and Metal Men. RelatosFabulosos, also monthly, runs Aquaman, The Atom, and House ofSecrets. Titanes Planetarios, a semi-monthly, is for some reason

When Fred wrote in 1964-65 of The Flash saving the Eiffel Tower andCaptain America showing up in Vietnam, he was referring to storieslike these from Showcase #13 (April 1958) and Tales of Suspense #61(Jan. 1965). The former was written by Robert Kanigher and drawnby Carmine Infantino (pencils) & Joe Giella (inks), while the latter—

well, read the credits! [Flash panels ©2004 DC Comics; Capt.America splash ©2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

4 Mexican Hero Comics During The U.S. Silver Age

¡Supermen South!

Under the omnibus title Supermán, Novaro reprinted tales of“Superman,” “Legion of Super-Heroes,” “Superboy,” “Lois Lane,”and “Jimmy Olsen.” Inside, all the DC stories list 1963 copyrights,but the Mexican comics have late-1964 print dates. In fact, most

Novaro reprints depicted in this section seem to be dated a year andmore after their US publication. There were ads in these issues for

other DC reprints, educational comics, Daniel el Travieso (Dennis theMenace), Lorenzo y Pepita (Dagwood and Blondie), and others.

[©2004 DC Comics.]

Fred has some key Batman – El Hombre Murciélago issues,featuring Batman vs. Catman—Green Lantern—The Flash (no

“El Flash” in Spanish, for some reason) in his second meetingwith his 1940s prototype—and Part II of the first Justice

League-Justice Society get-together. These are 1963 DC storiesreprinted by Novaro in 1964. [©2004 DC Comics.]