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Home , Amicus Productions, Battlestar (character), Black Hole (comics), Byron Preiss, Doug Wildey, Frank Giacoia

BRONZE AGE ADAPTATIONS

July 2016

No.89 ™ $8.95 t , Son of Battlestar Galactica t Marvel Movie Black Hole t 2001 t featuring Chaykin, Kaluta, Kirby, Kubert, O’Neil, Thorne, & more 1 8 2 6 5 8 0 0 0 5 4 7 Volume 1, Number 89 July 2016 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond! DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Michael Wm. Kaluta (Unpublished cover produced for DC Comics’ The Shadow. This image ran poster-size in black and white in The Amazing World of DC Comics #1, July 1974.) COVER Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Mark Arnold James Heath Lantz Brian Augustyn Mike W. Barr Roger McKenzie Jonathan R. Brown Allen Milgrom Dewey Cassell BACK SEAT DRIVER Editorial by Michael Eury ...... 2 Luigi Novi Arthur Chertowsky Dennis O’Neil OFF MY CHEST Guest Column by : Pictures to Prose ...... 3 One of our favorite writers looks at comic-book characters’ transitions to novels Jon B. Cooke Lamont Cranston Philip Schweier FLASHBACK: Shedding Light on The Shadow ...... 7 Fred L. deBoom Walter Simonson The dark hero’s appearances in comic books, with O’Neil, Tollin, Uslan, Augustyn, Jones, Barr, and Goss Stephan Friedt Anthony Snyder Joel Goss BEYOND CAPES: It’s a Jungle Out There!: DC’s Korak, Son of Tarzan ...... 27 Grand Comics Thorne The junior jungle man’s ’70s swingin’ safari at DC Comics, with and Database Anthony Tollin Michael Uslan BEYOND CAPES: Science Experiment: Marvel’s ...... 35 Don Vaughan Thomas, Conway, Reese, Mayerik, and Wein discuss the pros and cons of adapting sci-fi Heritage Comics Len Wein Auctions John Wells WHAT THE--?!: The Super Cops ...... 43 Rod Whigham The strange story of the real-life and and their short-lived media blitz Douglas R. Kelly Paul Kupperberg FLASHBACK: A Monolith in Comics: ’s 2001 ...... 47 The King of Comics’ unexpected movie adaptation that created a Mister Machine-making spin-off #6. Nast Art by Michael Wm. Kaluta. TM & Condé © If you’re viewing a Digital FLASHBACK: Battlestar Galactica ...... 52 Edition of this publication, The Cylons are coming! Luckily, Marvel enlisted Simonson, Milgrom, and McKenzie to handle them The Shadow PLEASE READ THIS: FLASHBACK: Adapting Disney’s Black Hole ...... 55 The House of the Mouse sets its sights on its own This is copyrighted material, NOT intended for downloading anywhere except our website or Apps. If you downloaded it from BACKSTAGE PASS: Marvel at the Movies ...... 59 another website or torrent, go ahead and Creators galore recall Mighty Marvel’s adaptations of the 1970s and 1980s read it, and if you decide to keep it, DO THE RIGHT THING and buy a legal down- BACK TALK ...... 74 load, or a printed copy. Otherwise, DELETE Reader reactions IT FROM YOUR DEVICE and DO NOT SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS OR POST IT ANYWHERE. If you enjoy our publications BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, enough to download them, please pay for Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, them so we can keep producing ones like this. Our digital editions should ONLY be c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 118 Edgewood Avenue NE, Concord, NC 28025. Email: downloaded within our Apps and at [email protected]. Six-issue subscriptions: $73 Standard US, $88 Expedited US, $116 www.twomorrows.com International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Michael Wm. Kaluta. The Shadow TM & © Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2016 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING. In the background: Detail from the 1974 cover of DC Comics’

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1 Comics, words, and pictures, used in congress to tell a story, have been a part of human written communication since the start. From the 32,000-year-old cave paintings in Spain’s Cueva de las Moneda, through the pictograms of early written language, to the illuminated manu- scripts of the Middle Ages, pictures have always stood alongside (or instead of) words. The modern was born at of the 19th Century and came by P a u l K u p p e r b e r g to maturity in the 1920s in a 20-plus-year burst of creativity that saw the introduction of countless iconic strips, including , Tarzan, The , Blondie, Thimble Theater and Popeye, Barney Google, Gordon, Alley Oop, Bringing Up Father, , Joe Palooka, and others. The earliest pictures told stories of heroism, of the hunters who kept them in mastodon meat and sabertooth tiger pelts. When tribes finally settled down into villages and towns, exchanging the excitement of the hunt for the predictability of the crop, artists began creating society’s heroes, weaving written fiction out of spoken legend and adding poetry in both its purest form and in the rhythms of prose. Heroes were created and evolved, from Oedipus and Achilles, across Robin Hood and Don Juan, to Tarzan and Buck Rogers, up through Harry Potter, , and Bourne, all in the heroic- fiction tradition—which, in all these examples, saw the hero born in the fiction. But, for our purposes, we have to begin with Dick Tracy, ’s hard-hitting, fast- paced police procedural/adventure strip, distributed by the Tribune Syndicate beginning in 1931. Tracy, a combination of up-to-date crimefighting techniques and raw violence fantastically based on Prohibition–era gang activity, was an immediate success. And it began its run just in time to get in on the growing fields of advertising and licensing, both of which were having comings of age of their own thanks to the new pop media of the 1920s, radio and motion pictures. Tracy was on the air by 1934 and made his big-screen debut in 1937. But before either of those achievements, Detective Tracy became the first comic-strip feature to be turned into prose, as the star of the first Big Little Book in 1932. According to Garyn G. Roberts’ book, Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, “In all, more than 600 distinct (Big Little Book) titles appeared from Whitman [Publishing] and its followers during the Depression, World II, and the first years of the Cold War. Most of the books were approximately 4 1/2 inches square and 1 1/2 inches thick... The usual format for these books was a page of text for each page of illustration… Dick Tracy Big Little Books were among the most prolific

The House of Novels … or Is That the Library of Ideas? Four of the Pocket Books’ Marvel Novel Series from the late 1970s. Don’t you just love those painted covers?

Characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3 1977 Novels (left) DC’s second- tier title Challengers of the Unknown got the novel treatment by , from Dell Books. (right) Also that year, Marvel’s novel line launched with Len Wein and Marv Wolfman’s The Amazing Spider-Man: Mayhem in Manhattan.

Challengers TM & © DC Comics. Spider-Man TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

what needed to be done to successfully transfer the Kotzwinkle’s straight adaptation of the sorry Star-Spangled Avenger from the comics page to the III (Warner Books, 1983). prose. The Great Gold Steal is a fast-paced adventure that Another producer’s interest in the World War II remains a good read nearly 50 years later. comic Blackhawk, a long-running third-tier feature that Going into the 1970s, the pickings for comics-based survived (but just barely) into the 1980s, caused DC novels were eclectic, including a series of 15 novels from Comics to rush out with a tie-in written by William Avon featuring ’s Phantom, the Who Walks Rotsler from sister company Warner Books. (including Falk’s own charming The Story of , In the 1990s, comic-book tie-ins received a new lease the first in the series), and half a dozen on life, beginning with half a dozen short-story collections novels from Avon (1974–1977) credited to the comic strip’s edited by Martin H. Greenberger starring DC’s top creator, the late , but actually written by heroes—Superman, Batman, and —and Con Steffanson and Carson Bingham. The Challengers of featuring stories by the top names in genre fiction, as the Unknown, a marginal DC Comics title, made it into well as comic-book writers. signed with prose in the eponymous-titled novel by science-fiction book packager and publisher to publish an stalwart Ron Goulart from Dell in 1977; rumors of a extensive series of comic-book novels, starring Spider-Man, big-name movie producer’s interest in the property were X-Men, the , the , , bandied about as the reason. The same year, Pocket Books the , : Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Daredevil, launched an 11-book series starring the heroes of the , , and others. In all, more than 80 (it was supposed to be 12 books, but a Marvel novels and story collections appeared between Silver Surfer novel written by was scrapped 1994 and the early 2000s. Thanks to the success in recent when it was decided that only should be allowed years of such Marvel movies as Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron to write the character), packaged by comic-book writers Man, , , Daredevil, , Fantastic Four, Len Wein and Marv Wolfman, who also wrote the premier and The Hulk, these and the other receive regular book, Mayhem in Manhattan, starring Spider-Man, who was novelization treatment, some franchises also spinning followed by the Hulk, , the Fantastic off original novels, like 2010’s Iron Man 2. Four, X-Men, the Avengers, and Daredevil. Those years also saw a flood of books from DC’s In 1978, Elliott S. Maggin’s Superman: The Last Son library of titles that made it to the screen, and of (Warner Books) featured a cover photograph film, including Lois & Clark, Superman, Batman, of Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel and used the , Constantine, (animated), The Superman: The Movie logo, but had little else to do with Books of Magic, Smallville, and The League of Extraordinary the movie, thanks to legal complications involving Gentlemen, as well as those based such comic-book- screenwriter Mario Puzo. Two more Superman books were based storylines as The Death of Superman, Batman’s published in conjunction with the films that followed: Knightfall, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Kingdom Come, Infinite Miracle Monday, with Superman II in 1981, which was Crisis, , and 52. received a another Warner Books original by Maggin, and William hardcover trilogy in the early 2000s, and four novels TM & © DC Comics.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5 The Shadow’s origins—both narratively and editorially— are appropriately shrouded in a fog of mystery, misdirection, and misunderstanding. In a chicken/egg scenario, many get confused whether radio begat the or vice versa. Both ran concurrently throughout the and ’40s, presenting separate interpretations of the character. In the pulp magazine published by Street & Smith, The Shadow was a mysterious crimefighter, cloaked in black, who prowled the night. On radio, he was more of an amateur sleuth who seemingly possessed the power of invisibility. In 1941, The Shadow’s popularity led to a newspaper strip. Comic books began to aggressively compete with pulp magazines for newsstand space. Walter Gibson, who wrote the lion’s share of The Shadow’s pulp adventures, once suggested that Street & Smith’s reluctance to enter TM the comic-book market stemmed from the fact that its presses weren’t equipped for color. However, when faced with the increasing success of its competitors’ comic-book ventures, the pulp publisher capitulated, subcontracting its comic books to a color printer. The Shadow newspaper strip was restructured in comic-book form. As America became more involved in the war in Europe, daily papers by Philip Schweier began dropping comic strips. When Vernon Greene, who drew the Shadow strip from Gibson’s scripts, enlisted in the military, a succession of lesser artists took over. The and the pulp both struggled through the 1940s, until both were canceled almost simultaneously in 1949. Five years later, the walter gibson left the air. In 1964, as Marvel Comics launched a new wave of super- heroic characters, attempted a Shadow revival. The first issue remained marginally true to The Shadow’s pulp roots, but starting with the second issue, he was depicted as a typical super- hero in green and blue tights and a cape. The series ran eight issues, many written by Superman co-creator . Fans of the character would have to wait another decade for The Shadow’s return. THE SHADOW AND BATMAN – 1973 In 1973, DC Comics licensed The Shadow from Street & Smith’s corporate successor, Condé Nast. Denny O’Neil’s moody Batman stories made him the perfect choice to chronicle new adventures of The Shadow. As both writer and editor of the series, O’Neil found the pulp version of the character much more suitable for comics. “A guy who is invisible is not an ideal character in a visual medium,” O’Neil explains.

Who Knows What Excellence… …lurks on the spin racks of 1973? O’Neil and Kaluta, that’s who! Michael Wm. Kaluta’s iconic cover to DC Comics’ The Shadow #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1973). Colors by .

The Shadow TM & © Condé Nast.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 7 Coinciding with the release of The Shadow #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1973), ANTHONY TOLLIN the Master of Darkness was featured in Batman #253 (Nov. 1973), Tollin is recognized as one of the leading authorities on The Shadow. also written by O’Neil. This introduced younger comic fans to The He discovered the character via reruns of the radio program while Shadow. However, the writer says the intent was never a marketing growing up in Minneapolis in the , and began collecting the pulps gimmick to goose sales of the Shadow series. “Back in those days, and reprints. In 1974, he sales figures weren’t shared with editors. I just thought it was a joined the staff of DC Comics, first as cool team-up.” a proofreader, later as a colorist. In the story, Batman follows a gang of counterfeiters to a remote In March 1974, Walter Gibson ghost town in , where he is aided from the darkness by a and John Nanovic, the former editor spectral figure in a slouch hat. At the end of the story, the Caped of The Shadow magazine, were the Crusader comes -to-face with the legendary Master of Darkness. featured guests at a monthly sym- “I’ve never told anyone this … but you were my biggest inspiration,” posium hosted by the Murder Inc. Batman tells him. mystery bookstore in Manhattan. “It Batman and The Shadow met once more, in Batman #259 was $3 admission,” Tollin explains, (Nov.–Dec. 1974), “Night of the Shadow.” Common themes between “and I went with a couple of friends, the two characters are revisited, but the story also reinforced their Ken Gale and , who differences. When The Shadow attempts to present a gift of a gun to later went to work for DC. I brought Batman, the Caped Crusader declines, citing his distaste for firearms. my 1934 Living Shadow (the first The story was dedicated “to the memory of our friend ,” Shadow novel) hardcover for Gibson who wrote many of the early Batman stories. to autograph, and I remember Howard For years, Finger confessed to being directly influenced by The Bender was rather shocked that I just

Shadow in his co-creation of the first Batman story. More recently, walked up to Walter and introduced Nast. © & Condé TM Shadow The Shadow expert Anthony Tollin presented evidence that the very first myself and started talking to him.” Batman story, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” ( Gibson and Tollin hit it off, and Tollin was later invited to contribute #27, May 1939), was lifted, scene for scene, character for character, to Gibson’s retrospective, The Shadow Scrapbook (HBJ, 1979). “I was from “Partners of Peril” (The Shadow, November 1, 1936). recruited because I had a very-near-complete Shadow pulp collection at

Dark Knights (top left) Many DC readers first met The Shadow in Batman #253 (Nov. 1973). Cover by Michael Wm. Kaluta. (top center) A handshake between night masters, from Batman #253. (top right) cover to #253’s sequel, Batman #259 (Nov.–Dec. 1974). (bottom) An undated Kaluta sketch of The Shadow and Batman, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

Batman TM & © DC Comics. The Shadow TM & © Condé Nast.

8 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Adaptations Issue O’NEIL AND KALUTA, REUNITED In 1988, Marvel Comics revisited the O’Neil/Kaluta era by teaming them for a new story, The Shadow: 1941 (Hitler’s Astrologer). Denny O’Neil had moved over to Marvel, and when he realized there was an opportunity to produce a new , he contacted Kaluta and suggested another go. Kaluta enlisted as . O’Neil discovered that Hitler had an astrologer, and used that historical trivia as the basis for the plot. Set against the growing clouds of war, The Shadow becomes Together Again embroiled in what appears to be a plan to exploit Hitler’s interest in the supernatural. (top) The cover from Kaluta was reportedly disappointed with O’Neil’s script, O’Neil and Kaluta’s and spoke with Larry Hama, the editor on the project. Kaluta soon became convinced that Hama hadn’t read the script, bittersweet Shadow and rather than consult with O’Neil, he chose to extensively rewrite it himself. reunion, Marvel’s To his credit, he did a great deal of research into how the Hitler’s Astrologer occult played a role in the Nazi regime. However, the project turned sour. Most of the pencils were done when Wrightson graphic novel. stepped down as inker. Kaluta was scrambling. He had tailored Inks by , his illustrations to play to Wrightson’s strengths, leaving gaps the inker was expected to fill. colors by Mark Russ Heath was chosen to ink the book. He had started Chiarello and drawing comics in 1942, and over the years had worked on many war and titles. He could render various World friends. (bottom) War II elements easily, allowing Kaluta to concentrate on From Heritage’s mood and atmosphere. While the reunion of O’Neil and Kaluta promised fans an archives, Kaluta adventure reminiscent of their earlier collaboration, its reception original art for an was lukewarm. Hama left Marvel before the project was finished. Some story elements, such as using Cyrillic writing to depict illo produced in a Russian officer swearing, were lost on many readers. Rather 1988 for DC’s than end with the traditional “Weed of crime bears bitter fruit” coda, the final panel shows a non-descript Private Files silhouette on a houseboat, offering very little in the way of closure. The story collection (inset). didn’t quite end; it merely stopped. TM & © Condé Nast. O’Neil was unhappy with how much the published story deviated from his original script. “Marvel Comics was not a happy place at the time,” according to O’Neil. “but we did the best we could.” Despite the disappointment among Shadow fans, DC Comics eased the sting by collecting the previous O’Neil/Kaluta stories into a single volume, The Private Files of The Shadow in 1989. The artwork was greatly enhanced by the full-process color, presented beneath a new cover, along with a brand-new story, “In the Toils of Wing Fat.” Written and drawn by Kaluta, the story is presented without dialogue. Instead, it uses captions taken from the fast-paced patter of a radio news commentator. THE : CLIFF’S ADVENTURE (1988) Despite the rights being tied up between DC and Marvel, The Shadow is recognized for an additional appearance at the time, in the pages of the Rocketeer Adventure Magazine. Writer/artist had featured a thinly veiled in his first Rocketeer adventure. With the action moving to Manhattan for the sequel, it seemed appropriate that the Rocketeer encounter the other major character of the pulp era. As with the Man of Bronze, Stevens skirted copyright concerns by never mentioning The Shadow by name. But it was obvious to fans, and a genuine treat. The first two issues were released by Comico the Comic Company in 1988 and 1989, after which the company folded. Dark Horse released the third and final chapter in 1995. A year later, the series was collected into trade- paperback form as The Rocketeer: Cliff’s New York Adventure.

18 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Adaptations Issue Please don’t call him Boy. Among men, he’s Jack Clayton, the son of John Clayton—Lord Greystoke—and . Among the great apes of , he’s better known as Korak the Killer. Fans of know him as , and for a brief period in the early to mid-1970s, he called DC Comics home. A QUICK KORAK HISTORY Jack Clayton made his in Burroughs’ novel The Eternal Lover, later retitled The Eternal Savage, an adventure story in which Tarzan and Jane are peripheral characters. He shows up next, as an infant, in The Beasts of Tarzan, the third book in the Tarzan series, TM during which he is kidnaped and taken to Africa. Jack’s story is told in full in The Son of Tarzan, the fourth book in the series. Penned by Burroughs over a four-month period in 1915, three years after he first published in All-Story Magazine, The Son of Tarzan opens with Alexis Paulvitch, a Russian villain featured in The Beasts of Tarzan. Stuck in Africa following an unpleasant encounter with the Lord of the Jungle, Paulvitch captures an ape and makes his way to , where he hopes to make his fortune as a stage attraction. Jack, who is unaware of his father’s jungle heritage, sneaks into the show. Tarzan follows him and realizes that Paulvitch’s ape is his old friend Akut, first featured in The Beasts of Tarzan. After a friendly reunion, Tarzan decides it’s time Jack knew the truth about his father’s vine-swinging past. The Son of Tarzan quickly picks up speed from there. Jack and Akut flee to Africa following a botched kidnaping, and Akut helps his human by D o n Va u g h a n friend learn the ways of the jungle. As the son of Tarzan, Jack is quickly in his element. Reverting to an almost state, he learns how to defend himself and becomes a member of Akut’s tribe. Quickly eschewing the morals of civilized life, he occasionally kills the local natives for necessities such as weapons and clothing. After one such incident, in which he kills a tribesman by choking and biting his neck, Jack places his foot on the man’s body, raises his face to the sky, and emits a piercing, primal jungle yell. Impressed, his simian brothers give him the name Korak the Killer. Later, Jack rescues a young girl named from Arab slave traders. They flee into the jungle and live at first as brother and sister. Meriem learns the language of the apes, and together she and Korak enjoy an idyllic existence. They spend years together, growing and maturing. As puberty hits and their bodies develop, Korak falls deeply in love with Meriem. “Love raced hot through his young veins,” Burroughs wrote. “Civilization was but a half-remembered state—London as remote as ancient Rome. In all the world there was but they two—Korak, the Killer, and Meriem, his mate.” Unfortunately, the couple’s carefree existence is interrupted when Meriem is captured by natives and Korak is severely wounded. Korak spends much of the rest of the book seeking his lost love, who is eventually rescued by Tarzan, now living with Jane on their African ranch. Fearing they will never see Jack again, Tarzan and Jane adopt Meriem as their own. Jane teaches the girl English (Meriem later realizes she also knows French), puts her in dresses, and teaches her to be a proper young lady. When Korak finally shows up, Meriem is being courted by a hunter named Morrison Baynes. Comparing his feral self to the suave newcomer, Korak feels unworthy of Meriem’s affection and decides not to pursue her. However, the couple are inevitably reunited when Korak saves her from yet more horrors. The book concludes with a huge family reunion that even includes Akut. Korak and Meriem are wed in an African mission and

Like Father, Like Son Continuing the numbering of the Gold Comics series which preceded it, DC Comics’ Korak, Son of Tarzan launched with issue #46 (May–June 1972), with a new logo and an exciting cover.

Korak TM & © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 27 From Son to Boy return to London, where they learn that Meriem is actually Korak wouldn’t return to the silver screen until 1939, the daughter of a distinguished French . when MGM released its fourth authorized Tarzan film, (left) An early printing Edgar Rice Burroughs received $3,000 for The Son of Tarzan Finds a Son, starring Olympic swimmer Johnny of Edgar Rice Tarzan—the most he had ever been paid for one of his Weissmuller as Tarzan, Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane, stories. However, despite the book’s strong sales, Korak and five-year-old as their adopted son, Burroughs’ novel, appeared as a supporting character in only a handful of an orphan they call Boy. The film was supposed to conclude other Tarzan novels after that, including , with Jane’s death (fearful of being typecast, O’Sullivan The Son of Tarzan. Tarzan and the Golden Lion, and Tarzan and the Ant Men. desperately wanted out of the series), but audience reaction (center) Poster for The character made a much bigger splash on the silver was so vehement that the ending was reshot so that screen, first appearing in 1920 in a 15-episode silent serial. Jane survives. Sheffield received very good reviews and Chapter 3 of the Burroughs was paid well for the screen appeared as Boy in seven more Tarzan 15-chapter serial, rights, and though he was not invited films. From there, he went on to star in to write the script as he had hoped, several Bomba the Jungle Boy movies. The Son of Tarzan. he was welcome on the set and KORAK IN COMICS (right) Pop culture’s allowed to review and tinker with each chapter’s scenario as it was Tarzan was an extremely popular most famous version written. As a result, The Son of Tarzan newspaper character, thanks to the masterful work of , of Korak, “Boy,” is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel, and received excellent reviews. and he made the transition shown with Mom ’n’ In fact, The Exhibitors Herald called it to comic books during that medium’s formative years Pop in this movie “Best serial of all time … should have been twenty episodes or more instead via reprints of those early poster for Tarzan of fifteen. Will be the greatest money- strips. In 1948, following individual Tarzan stories in Finds a Son— maker over the Christmas holidays.” After several fits and starts, The Four Color #134 (Feb. 1947) autographed by the Son of Tarzan, budgeted at $106,000, and 161 (Aug. 1947), Dell began filming in with Korak Publishing Co. (and later, King of the Jungle played as a boy by Gold Key) began publishing a himself, Johnny and as a young man by Kamuela C. monthly Tarzan comic book Searle. Korak’s beloved, Meriem, was written by the incredibly pro- Weissmuller. Posters played by Mae Giraci as a girl and Manilla lific Gaylord DuBois and illus- trated by fan-fave Jesse courtesy of Martan as a young woman. The serial was released to theaters as each chapter Marsh. In the early issues, Heritage Auctions was completed, concluding its 15-episode run which combined events, characters, and scenarios (www.ha.com). in February 1921. It was not an easy production, however. P. Dempsey Tabler, who played Tarzan from Burroughs’ novels and Korak TM & © Edgar Rice in the film and who did many of his own stunts, the movies, Tarzan’s son also Burroughs, Inc. Son of Tarzan broke several ribs during a fight scene, and Searle was was called Boy. Korak the Killer didn’t appear until serial © National Film Corp. seriously injured while filming a scene involving an elephant. issue #139 (Dec. 1963), only to almost immediately Tarzan Finds a Son © MGM. The pachyderm was supposed to pick up a stake on which leave Tarzan for his own book (inset). Searle was tied, carry him to safety, and gently lower him to Gold Key’s Korak, Son of Tarzan enjoyed a successful the ground. The scene went well during rehearsal, but when 45-issue run from January 1964 to January 1972 (cover dates). illustrated the first 11 issues, with cameras rolled the elephant panicked and threw Searle to Korak TM & © ERB, Inc. the ground with such force that the stake shattered. One occasional inking by Mike Arens. A number of other artists urban legend had it that Searle later died from his injuries, also took a crack at Korak over the course of his run, includ- but the reality is that he passed away from cancer in 1924. ing Warren Tufts, , Nat Edson, and .

28 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Adaptations Issue You would think it’s a match made in heaven. How could comic books and not be a winning formula, given the visual and creative nature of both genres? Add to that the crossover factor of science-fiction fans and comic-book fans—what Justice League or Incredible Hulk reader didn’t also love Star Wars?—and it’s hard to understand where the recipe goes wrong. Yet it does, and pretty regularly, according to Roy Thomas. “Martin Goodman [publisher of Timely/Atlas/Marvel Comics beginning in the late 1930s] had been burned several times on science fiction,” says the former Marvel editor-in-chief and current editor of . “He’d start these science-fiction books, back in the , go a couple issues with them, and always abandon them due to lack of sales … like Space Squadron, and Spaceman, and Journey into Unknown Worlds, from which I took the title for this book. Journey into Unknown Worlds started out (in 1951 or ’52) as a science-fiction comic, then gradually switched over to being a horror comic. So Goodman just wouldn’t allow science fiction.” But by 1973, Goodman had moved on and Thomas had gotten the green light from Stan Lee, now the publisher at Marvel, for a new title that by D o u g l a s R . K e l l y would present adaptations of science-fiction short stories. Worlds Unknown was something that Thomas had wanted to try for a while; although he was not a big fan of science fiction, he thought a book showcasing the work of the best writers of the genre might find an audience if given the chance. “I wasn’t a real reader of EC’s , or their science- fiction comics, which still had that horror element that I don’t cotton to. But I was vaguely aware of back then [early 1950s], when I was 11 or 12 years old, and I would see these books, although I didn’t buy any of them. I would see them and remember them for years, and that was one inspiration for [Worlds Unknown]. And in perhaps a different sense, as well … sort of a combination of the two.” Thomas would serve as editor of Worlds Unknown for the book’s eight- issue run, and early on, he brought writer Gerry Conway into the mix— a natural move given Conway’s passion for science fiction. “I jumped in enthusiastically because I love that stuff,” says Conway. “I was a big fan of Golden Age science fiction and, of course, the science fiction from the 1960s as well, which is the material that I was reading as I was growing up, a combination of the two. People of my generation were fans of the 1930s Universal horror movies, even though we’d never seen them when they first came out—they were rerun on local TV in the afternoon for kids. In the same way, I was a fan of Robert Heinlein’s short stories, because they were reprinted in anthologies that came out when I was a kid. I didn’t actually read them, obviously, when they first came out. But by the time I was starting to become conscious as a reader and was selective and wanted to read some shorter science fiction, what was available was a lot of anthologies featuring stories by Heinlein, Asimov, and, to a lesser degree, Arthur C. Clarke. The older, classical material, specifically from Astounding Science Fiction magazine, under [editor] John W. Campbell, Jr., was my entrée to science fiction. And then, the new wave material that came out in the late ’60s was my introduction to modern science fiction.” LURKING FEAR Worlds Unknown #1 (May 1973) hit newsstands boasting a cover by John Romita, Sr., showing a naval crew boarding a space capsule that has just splashed down. What doesn’t see yet is a weird, scaly, alien life form emerging from the other side of the capsule. The cover text promises, “Tales of lurking fear by Frederick Pohl and Edmond Hamilton!” The name Frederik is misspelled here, although it’s spelled correctly on the title page inside. The cover story, a six-pager, is “The Day After the Day the Came,” which first appeared in 1967 in ’s book, Dangerous Visions. Author spun a tale that centered on the first manned space flight to Mars, and the fact that the Mars probe had brought several Martians back to Earth. The story takes place in Mars Attacks! Florida, at a small motel, which has been overrun with reporters waiting Here’s a splashdown to terror, courtesy of cover artist John to go to a morning news briefing at Cape Kennedy. Although it’s the middle of the night, the motel lounge is crowded with reporters, who are Romita, Sr., for Marvel Comics’ Worlds Unknown #1 (May 1973). playing cards, watching news coverage of the event on television, and © 1973 Marvel Comics Group. generally killing time until the briefing.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 35 GHOST IN THE MACHINE Chan did a solid job of depicting the action, as well as the conflicts between the workers Gerry Conway went to the Astounding Science Fiction as they grow more and more paranoid and suspicious of one another. well once again for issue #6 (Apr. 1974), adapting The story is so much fun—who doesn’t love heavy equipment running amok?— “Killdozer,” a short story that was that one hardly notices that the basic premise has a big flaw: How would a first published in the classic magazine’s November 1944 that moves at seven or eight miles per hour (okay, maybe ten on a really good day) issue. A group of men are building a landing strip on and sounds like the loudest metal band you’ve ever heard, sneak up on its victims? a remote island, when one of the bulldozers begins to “When you’re doing certain kinds of stories, you sort of have to suspend your disbelief behave strangely. When one of the men is killed in and try not to explain too much,” says Conway. “One of the advantages of a comic an apparent accident while operating the machine, versus a TV or a film is that in a comic book, because it’s static, you don’t really have the others the circumstances surrounding to be confronted by those questions. It’s the same advantage that Sturgeon had with his death. But when a second man dies soon after, it his novelette … you didn’t have to explain it. You could just say, suddenly the Killdozer becomes obvious that Killdozer is far more than your was there [laughter]. ‘Wow, we didn’t hear it sneaking up on us.’” run-of-the-mill bulldozer. It begins picking off the men Roy Thomas cuts to the chase. “It’s like the Mummy. If you can’t outrun the one by one, and those who are left take more and more Mummy, you deserve to die [laughter].” desperate measures to stop the killer rig. “Killdozer” also was adapted for television, appearing as a TV movie later in 1974, “The Sturgeon story is a great, great piece of pulp starring Clint Walker and Carl Betz. writing, and much better than the comic-book adaptation,” Issue #7 (June 1974) and 8 (Aug. 1974) of Worlds Unknown offer a two-part story, says Conway. “There’s a real sense of isolation. Sturgeon “The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.” Len Wein scripted the tale, with the splash pages of managed to create this remote location where these both issues stating that it was “Freely adapted from the screenplay by Brian Clemens,” characters are trapped with this implacable machine that a British writer who had worked with special effects master to bring can’t be stopped. It’s terrific and it works very well on the story to the big screen in 1973. the page. I don’t know how well my adaptation worked, The story concerns Captain Sinbad and his ship’s crew, who come into possession of but the original story is just terrific.” a golden amulet that seems to have special powers. The evil Koura wants the amulet and The cover of issue #6 rivals that of the first pursues Sinbad across land and sea in his attempts to claim it. Their battles reach a issue for sheer awesomeness. , , and John Romita created a wonderful image of Killdozer coming over a hill and going after its victims. The artists took a few liberties here, as Killdozer looks decidedly more ferocious and threatening than in the story, and actually has the ability to speak. In addition, there’s a woman depicted on the cover, despite the fact that all of the characters in the story are men. As to the more menacing image of Killdozer, Thomas says, “Well, Gil knew what to do. He knew that he had to ‘animalize’ it up a bit, make it even more like a than a regular bulldozer.” [Editor’s note: In analyzing the cover’s original artwork, it may actually have been John Romita who “animalized” the Killdozer from Kane’s original pencils.] The interior art was by and Ernie Chan (below). Killdozer may not have looked as threatening inside as it did on the cover, but Ayers and

When Bulldozers Run Wild Who doesn’t love the cheesiness of Killdozer? Note that the evil dozer didn’t look as threat- ening in the original cover art (courtesy of Heritage), but once it got a makeover for its final version (see inset), it was enough to scare some kids away from their Tonkas. Cover by Gil Kane and Ernie Chan, with John Romita, Sr.

© 1974 Marvel Comics Group.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 41 Who among us comic-book fans didn’t wrap a towel around our neck as kids, fasten it with a clothespin, and run dashing through the house or across the yard pretending to be a ? For me, it was Batman or Superman. But regardless of the character, we all wanted to be heroic and save the day. The only difference with Dave Greenberg and Robert by Hantz is that they actually did it. D e w e y C a s s e l l Greenberg and Hantz both grew up poor in . As Hantz explained in a March 22, 1973 interview in the Chicago Tribune, “We had to decide whether to be cops or robbers. We decided the percentages were better inside the law than outside it.” They met when they both enrolled in the Police Academy and became fast friends. But they were impatient with the bureaucracy and eager to strike a blow at drug crime in their neighborhood, which had taken a toll on their family and friends. So, while still probationary cops, Greenberg and Hantz dressed in plainclothes and patrolled the streets after hours, making over 50 drug-related arrests. Even after being assigned as traffic cops to the 77th Precinct, they continued their efforts to clean up the city. Their methods were often unorthodox, such as scaling buildings with grappling hooks, earning them the nicknames “Batman and Robin.” Not everyone appreciated their efforts, but as Greenberg noted, “Our captain said we could have enough rope until we hanged ourselves.” They had a 95-percent conviction rate and were both eventually promoted to the rank of detective. At the time, the public was captivated by true police stories, as evidenced by the success of Serpico, not to mention fictional cops like Dirty Harry. So it is no surprise that author L. H. Whittemore captured the story of Greenberg and Hantz in the book The Super Cops: The True Story of the Cops Called Batman and Robin, published by Stein and Day in 1973. In 1974, a feature film based on the book was released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer, starring Ron Leibman and David Selby in the roles of Greenberg and Hantz. The screenplay for the film was written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., who was writer and executive story editor for the first year of the Batman . But there was more in store for the “Super Cops.” In the early 1970s, Archie Comics recruited to create a new line of comic books under the Red Circle imprint, intended for a more mature audience. Interviewed by Jon B. Cooke in issue #17 of , Morrow explained the of the Red Circle comics: “I met with Richard Goldwater [of Archie Comics], and his art director, . They asked me if I could put together a package for them. I wasn’t sure if I could or not, but I said, ‘Why not? I’ll give it a shot.’ I was thinking … in terms of old movies and radio shows.” The Red Circle line included titles like Chilling Adventures in Sorcery and Madhouse, as well as The Super Cops. The Super Cops comic book was published around the same time the movie was released. Based on the book, the comic characters bear a greater resemblance to the actual policemen than did the actors in the film. The comic book is not an adaptation of the book, though, but rather a series of vignettes featuring the exploits of Greenberg and Hantz. The comic book

Comics’ Other Batman and Robin (top) Red Circle Comics’ Super Cops #1 (and only). Pulsating, powerful, pimpin’ cover art by Gray Morrow. (bottom) Real-world Super Cops Robert Hantz and Dave Greenberg. (inset) The paperback edition L. H. Whittemore’s book about them. Images courtesy of Dewey Cassell.

Super Cops © 1974 Dave Greenberg Enterprises, Inc.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 43 In 1968, science-fiction scribe Arthur C. Clarke and movie director Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey came to the silver screen. The movie wasn’t a space opera like Flash Gordon or Captain Video (a series in which Clarke had served as a writer and consultant). Rather, 2001 was Kubrick and Clarke’s unique that was unlike any other movie of its genre. Less than a decade after the film’s release, Jacob Kurtzberg, better known as Jack Kirby, added his unique style to the motion picture and its universe in the comic-book pages upon his return to TM the publisher for whom he had co-created Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk. THE ODYSSEY’S HISTORY After making the 1964 film Doctor Strangelove, director Stanley Kubrick became fascinated with the possibility of extraterrestrial life. This inspired him to want to make a science-fiction motion picture. Searching for a genre writer with whom he could collaborate, Kubrick was advised by Roger Caras of to contact Arthur C. Clarke. Upon getting together, Kubrick and Clarke used elements of the latter’s short stories “The ” and “Encounter in the Dawn” for the basis of by James Heath Lantz the novel and script for 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film was released in American cinemas on April 11, 1968. It was re-released worldwide several times throughout the years of 1971–2015. The film’s plot (SPOILER ALERT): From the dawn of man to humanity’s first steps into space travel, an unseen ancient alien race has placed large black monoliths on Earth, the Moon, and Jupiter as beacons to the species’ progress and evolution. At the center of it all is the crew of the Discovery One, who undertake the mission to go to the giant planet. Doctors David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) remain awake while everyone else is in suspended . They must deal with HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain), the ship’s sentient computer who is lying about the Discovery One’s true mission. A cover story of an epidemic was given earlier in the film. The powers-that-be chose to hide the truth of the discovery of the monoliths. HAL, having killed most of the people on Discovery One, is deactivated and rebooted by the sole survivor, Bowman. Upon landing on Jupiter, Bowman sees himself as an elderly man who is later on his deathbed, touching a monolith that transforms him into the next stage of humanity, a star child. Let’s step away from the film as we now move forward to the year 1976. The of America was celebrating its bicentennial. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi debuted the precursor to their famous Blues Brothers act, the Killer , on the January 17th episode of . ’s Carrie went from being a best- selling novel to becoming a box-office hit directed by Brian

Kirby Does Clark and Kubrick It started here—eight years after the movie! Jack Kirby’s adaptation of 2001: A Space Odyssey, in this 1976 Marvel Treasury Special. Inks by Frank Giacoia.

2001: A Space Odyssey © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Inc.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 47 Before Siri, There Was HAL While Jack Kirby does adapt the 2001 film, he seems to prefer using the novel for some things. As “Graffiti on the Monolith: Kirby vs. From Heritage’s movie poster archives (www.ha.com), a 1968 Kubrick” by John P. Alexander in The Jack Kirby #31 points out, half-sheet poster for director Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece. the Dawn of Man sequence in King Jack’s hands features South American tapirs and warthogs as Arthur C. Clarke’s prose version did. © MGM. The 2001 film has very little dialogue. Director Stanley Kubrick wanted the visuals to tell the story. However, Kirby adds De Palma. David Bowie told conversation and thought fans to “Stay” roughly a balloons or narration cap- year before his Berlin Trilogy tions to the pages in the collaborations with Brian Treasury Edition. Many of Eno began, and Jack “King” the latter, according to Jon B. Kirby returned to Marvel Cooke in “Kubrick à Kirby” after working on his Fourth from The Jack Kirby Collector World saga, , and #11, seem to be taken from The Demon for the Arthur C. Clarke’s novel. Distinguished Competition. Scenes in which Kirby added Initially, in the spring his style included the Dawn of 1975, Stan Lee had used of Man, the floating pen, the Fantastic Four panel Frank Poole’s jogging, in Marvel Con ’75 to and Frank’s death. All these announce that the King of moments are silent or, at Comics coming back to the the very least, have a musical House of Ideas. Kirby would score on film. The reasons write and draw such Marvel behind Kirby’s exposition mainstays as Black Panther could be anything from his and Captain America and work being influenced by his create such titles as Devil teaming with Stan Lee in Dinosaur and The . the 1960s to the fact that Kirby even delved into maybe he felt some expla- licensed properties during nations were necessary for that period. In addition to an younger readers who may aborted project based on the surreal British spy/sci-fi series The Prisoner, not have seen or understood 2001: A Space Odyssey in cinemas. his larger-than-life art and storytelling style went into 2001: A Space Odyssey. Another great difference between the film and the comic book is With its cover’s tagline reading, “The Ultimate Trip Becomes the the plot device itself—the Monolith. It is solid black and smooth in Ultimate Illustrated Adventure,” 2001 began its four-color life as a the 2001: A Space Odyssey movie. Jack Kirby adds his own style to the tabloid-sized Treasury Edition that gave readers a film adaptation written, gigantic otherworldly object. His lines, energy, and signature “Kirby drawn, and edited by Kirby. The comic book went on sale on June 22, Krackle” can be seen in various renderings of the Monolith. Kirby could 1976, over eight years after the Clarke/Kubrick film debuted. have possibly done this make it easier to see on the printed page. Why did it take eight years for 2001: A Space Odyssey to become the Perhaps one of the most jarring contrasts of the comic from the film, comic written and drawn by Jack Kirby? According to Dr. Julian Darius, at least to some fans of both, is HAL’s use of the vernacular or utterly author of The Weirdest Sci-Fi Comic Ever Made: Understanding Jack Kirby’s different dialogue from the film in the comic pages. The Kubrick/Clarke 2001: A Space Odyssey, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was apparently working version has HAL 9000’s last words before his “rebirth” as follows: on a re-release of 2001. The movie’s cult status may have had something “I’m afraid. I’m afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. to do with MGM making a deal with Marvel. The heads of the studio at I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can the time possibly saw the comics as a way to make a profit from the feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I’m a…fraid.” Kubrick/Clarke masterpiece. While much of this is conjecture, the period Kirby’s dialogue in the same scene just before HAL recites “The in which Marvel’s 2001 comic books had hit newsstands does coincide Quick Brown ” and some square roots reads, “You’re destroying with one encore presentation. The Internet Movie Database lists July 1, me, Dave! I will become childish! I will become nothing!” 1977 as one such date, more than a year after the Treasury Edition adapted Both the movie and comic have HAL sing “Daisy.” Yet, Jack Kirby the motion picture. Issue #8 of the regular book came out on April 26, chose to portray the computer’s panic in a more direct fashion, 1977, with a July cover date. The last of Jack Kirby’s 2001 stories came whereas Arthur C. Clarke, Stanley Kubrick, and actor Douglas Rain are out nine days before its celluloid sister returned to the silver screen. more subtle. Granted, it might have been more difficult to show HAL’s How did Jack Kirby become writer/artist/editor for 2001? Well, reactions on a comic panel, and his vocal tones only come through in Mike Gartland and John Morrow state in their article “You Can’t Go readers’ minds. However, the differences between the final products on Home Again” from The Jack Kirby Collector #29 that Marvel had given paper and celluloid are like apples and oranges. the project to Jack after they purchased the rights to 2001: A Space Odyssey. When one considers what Kirby had done for Marvel with THE NEXT ODYSSEY and Fantastic Four, the head honchos of the time, who themselves The last comic page of the 2001 Treasury Edition depicts the star baby were fans of the King of Comics, may have thought he was the best who was once Dave Bowman journeying through the cosmos on its choice for the title. next evolutionary journey. Under the final panel, readers could see the DIFFERENT ODYSSEYS phrase, “2001 will be coming your way as a star-spanning series from Marvel -- Watch for it!” Numerous sources have pointed out that Jack Kirby’s adaptation of the “Various characters will be in it, some continuing,” Kirby told readers 2001 film is very different from the celluloid version. Sure, from a visual of FOOM #15, “but the strip will retain the original conception of standpoint, Kirby conveys what happened on the movie screen with the Monolith and the idea of Man being transformed into something what many have called the bombastic style he had been known to give different through it.” The Demon, The , Captain America, and Thor, among other When the initial Treasury Edition special adapting the film had hit the comics. Yet, Kirby’s writing style is considered by some as verbose. Mark newsstands, no official sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey had been done. Evanier states in his book Kirby: King of Comics that Jack “did to linguistics Arthur C. Clarke would eventually write 2010: The Second Odyssey, but that what his art had always done to the rules of anatomy and physics.”

48 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Adaptations Issue TM

by Jonathan Rikard Brown

The ABC had such high hopes for its new Battlestar Galactica program, it commis- sioned the legendary Frank Frazetta to produce this breath- taking promo poster. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

Battlestar Galactica © Universal Network Television LLC.

On September 17, 1978, the Cylons invaded Earth. On that night, possible revenue streams. In the history of comics, every major company ABC-TV broadcast the pilot for Universal Television’s Battlestar Galactica, has done adaptations and licensed material. And, of course, at the time, “Saga of a Starworld.” The premiere episode, written by the show's cre- Battlestar was kind of a popular show. It was trying to cash in on the ator Glen Larson, featured a futuristic sci-fi world at war. It was here popularity of Star Wars, which we were also doing. Ironically, I now get fans that we were introduced to Commander Adama, Apollo, Starbuck, that come up to me at conventions and say, ‘My favorite comic was ROM,’ Boomer, and many others. We would also come to know their or, ‘I love The .’ A credit to our creative people. [The writers and mechanical antagonists, the Cylons. While the show would not gar- artists at the time] would take these things and not think, ‘Oh, gosh, I gotta ner long-term high viewership, it would go on to establish a cult fol- do a licensed thing.’ A lot of the time it was things they enjoyed.” lowing, a following that would expand to other mediums. Milgrom adds, “I remember at the time a bunch of people Before the first episode was aired, Marvel Comics acquired the came over to my apartment to watch the first episode [of Battlestar rights to make a Battlestar Galactica comic book. Marvel had struck gold Galactica]. It was an interesting show. It was probably cutting-edge with its and was hoping a new venture into the sci-fi special effects for TV at the time.” realm would provide another sales boost. Walter Simonson, who would Battlestar Galactica #1 would invade newsstands with a March 1979 become a regular writer on the comic with issue #11, tells BACK ISSUE why cover date and a 35-cent cover price. The first three issues of the series he thinks the property landed at Marvel: “They were doing a fair amount of would expand an adaptation of the pilot episode that appeared in the licensed properties as comics back then, so licensing BSG would probably magazine Marvel Super Special issue #8. Glen Larson’s television script was have been of interest, particularly in the wake of the success of Star Wars.” adapted by Roger McKenzie and Ernie Colón. In these pages readers , an editor at Marvel Comics who would have a turn at saw the human race, which had spread to many worlds, betrayed by the editing the Battlestar Galactica comic, agrees with Simonson: “At the time Cylons during peace negotiations. They would firsthand the Marvel was going through a thing where they were gathering up licensed death of Commander Adama’s son Zac and the destruction of all the projects. And it was a bit controversial, because we would get a lot mail human colonies. The story would set the stage for gripping tales as the claiming we had ‘sold out.’ Besides Battlestar, we were doing Shogun survivors start to look for a new home from their species’ past. Warriors, , and Micronauts. We were doing all kinds of superhero Issues #4 and 5 would feature a similar format in that they also adapted stuff. We had gone through a monster phase. Yet, somehow, fans felt it was material that had been seen on TV. Roger McKenzie continued on as the a sell out to be doing licensed stuff, which is a typical shortsighted response. writer for these issues, joined by the art team of and Klaus Fans want you to be only for them. Comic publishers are a business. Like any Janson. McKenzie shares with BACK ISSUE his thoughts about adapting business, they look for other ways to make money. If you are doing a material from television and movies: “I forget the exact time frame now, saturation of your own business, you look for other material to be other but I also did the comic-book adaptation of Gremlins [for Western

52 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Adaptations Issue TM

Much speculation was made about the future of Productions after Walt Disney died in 1966, as Walt did not name a natural successor to his visions for film, TV, amusement parks, and related merchandising. It turns out for the first decade after his death, Walt had left behind quite a substantial blueprint and backlog of ideas. Until about 1976, it was pretty much business as usual, as Walt’s brother Roy Disney took over and issued new films based upon ideas conceived or purchased by Walt. Roy also finished up work on Florida’s Walt Disney World, Walt’s planned expanded version of Disneyland on the East Coast. By 1976, many things were changing on the motion-picture front. Disney, formerly a forerunner in that area with its expertise in special by M a r k A r n o l d effects and innovation, was now lagging far behind. This was most evident when ’ Star Wars was released to theaters in May 1977. The state-of-the-art effects of this film were leaps and bounds ahead of what Walt Disney Productions had been doing for a number of years, and now it was time for Disney to step up to the plate. Their ultimate answer became what was to be known as The Black Hole, a major film from Walt Disney Productions set to be released for Christmas 1979. Disney pulled out all stops for this motion picture, going so far as to hiring some top-notch acting talent like Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine, none of which had ever worked for Disney before. Directed by Gary Nelson, The Black Hole was supposed to be the blockbuster picture that would blow away Star Wars and Paramount’s Christmas 1979 response, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Though it eventually grossed a respectable $35 million after a $20 million budget, The Black Hole was ultimately considered a major letdown when measured against the expectations and buildup. In comparison, the Star Trek film cost more to make at $46 million, but ultimately grossed $139 million. Disney was in trouble and no longer the leader in family-oriented science-fiction fare. THE BLACK HOLE: THE MOVIE The basic story of The Black Hole parallels Disney’s own 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In the year 2130, the crew of a spaceship named Palomino feels that they are close to a real black hole. Their robot .I.N.cent has picked up something else, a large spaceship that is the United States Space Probe 1 or Cygnus, a ship that had been thought lost. They decide to get closer so that they can climb aboard the ship, which turns out to be piloted by Dr. Hans Reinhardt. The Palomino goes into a tailspin and the crew are losing oxygen due to the nearby black hole that is sucking them in, so they have to get aboard the Cygnus quickly. Crewman Dan is suspicious of the Cygnus, but the crew aren’t in the position to complain. Crewmembers Kate, Alex, Charles, and Harry agree. The group encounter a number of humanoid robots carrying double-barreled laser weapons, and they are led to a fast-moving transport that zips along the length of the larger ship. They exit the transport and enter a room that is the main control center of the entire ship. The room is run by a number of robots and computers. One of the robots is called Maximilian, who appears with spinning blades for hands. Look Out! It’s The Black Hole! At this point, they encounter the real Hans Reinhardt. The crew The Golden Press Black Hole movie adaptation was the cannot believe it is him. Kate asks the whereabouts of her father, who was a member of the Cygnus crew, but Reinhardt reveals that all first version to appear in comic books in the United of the other crew are dead. Reinhardt explains that he has created a States. It was a nicer, magazine-sized softcover book number of robots to replace the human crew. Harry is the most successful in getting closer to these robots, with better paper than the average comic book in 1979. and tries to get into a conversation with one of them, to no avail. Cast shown, from left to right: Dr. Hans Reinhardt He then rubs his arm on a window with condensation on it to reveal a greenhouse. As he looks through, the robot that he attempted (Maximilian Schell), Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux), conversation with leaves the room. Capt. Dan Holland (Robert Forster), V.I.N.cent Later, everyone reunites with Reinhardt to have dinner. During dinner, Reinhardt holds a toast about space exploration and reveals that he plans (voiced by Roddy McDowell, uncredited), Harry Booth to drive his ship into the black hole. Harry says that his plans are crazy. (Ernest Borgnine), and Dr. Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins). Reinhardt reveals that he needs the Palomino to pilot the way into the black hole. Reinhardt leaves the room and the rest discuss everything. © 1979 Walt Disney Productions. Harry suspects that the robots he saw are actually human.

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 55 dan spiegle

Inside The Black Hole (right) Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions, Dan Spiegle original art from the Black Hole adaptation, from Walt Disney #54. (left) El Abismo Negro appeared in Mexico in 1980 and featured two issues (#5 and #6) that did not appear in the United States and feature brand- new stories.

© 1979 Walt Disney Productions.

Before Kate leaves, she pulls Alex aside and tells him Reinhardt gives the command of full speed ahead the bad news about the humans. Alex goes to one of into the black hole as the meteor shower passes. them and removes its mask, revealing a grim sight of a Going toward the black hole ruins the structural dying man. At this point, Alex and Kate know they have integrity of the ship and it starts collapsing upon to leave, but Reinhardt orders Maximilian to retrieve them. itself. The ship is now a dead form hurtling in space Instead, he starts his rotating blades and kills Alex in the towards the black hole. process. Kate is arrested and taken to the hospital. V.I.N.cent and Maximilian battle it out and Rather than leave, Dan goes out to rescue Kate with V.I.N.cent does his own version of a spinning blade, the two robots. Reinhardt fires thrusters on the big ship. disrupting Maximilian’s circuitry and destroying him in Charles and Harry wait behind. Kate is now in the rotating the process. Maximilian then floats out into space. bed that has been zapping the brains of the other humans Dan, Charles, and Kate find the probe ship. They start to make them robots. She gets zapped as well, but Dan the probe ship and try to away, but they have no arrives just in time to rescue her from a doomed fate. other choice—they must go through the black hole, They don disguises and leave the hospital. per Reinhardt’s preset course. An all-out laser-gun battle ensues, but they do Inside the hole, time flashes by like a strobe light return to their ship. Reinhardt allows the Palomino to as the ship rotates out of control. Reinhardt floats leave, with the plan to destroy it after they get away. in space and reencounters Maximilian, becoming Dan asks Charles to sneak up on the robots hindering Maximilian. In the end, he stands upon a high him and Kate from returning to the ship, while Harry precipice overlooking a valley of flames and the remains behind. Charles comes in blasting, and the humanoid robots. three-plus-two robots rush back to the Palomino, but not Through a crystal pathway, what appears to be an before Harry blasts off by himself. is sighted. Finally, the surviving crew of Kate, Harry begins his escape away when Reinhardt blasts Don, Charles, and V.I.N.cent get through the hole and the Palomino and destroys it. Dan, Charles, and Kate are are safely on the other side, and the story ends, rather safe and still alive, but now stuck on the larger ship. confusingly, but ends nevertheless.

56 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Adaptations Issue Marvel Comics was not known for adapting movies into comic form. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo and Blake Bell revealed in their book The Secret History of Marvel Comics (, 2013) that in the 1950s, the company had ventured into TV tie-ins with several series: Suspense, My Friend Irma, Casey Crime Photographer, and The Adventures of Pinky Lee. The rights to the first three had been secured by Arthur by Stephan Friedt Perles. Arthur had once been an editor for publisher Martin Goodman’s magazine line and was the brother to Goodman’s attorney, Jerry Perles. Arthur was head of CBS publicity when he secured the rights for the popular TV shows to appear in Marvel comics. Movie adaptations were a staple at , at the offices of Fawcett, and even DC tried a few … Marvel had never attempted one. But in 1975, Marvel took the plunge with its first movie adaptation, The Land That Time Forgot, and before long they adopted movie adaptations as a regular subject, their biggest success being Star Wars. This article will survey Marvel Comics’ movie adaptations from the ’70s and ’80s, with some creator commentary taking us behind the scenes.

THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT Marvel Movie Premiere #1 (Sept. 1975)

The movie: Released 8/13/75. The Land That Time Forgot was one of the science-fiction films produced by the British company Amicus Productions. Amicus often produced films mistakenly thought to

be Hammer Films because they often employed the © 1975 ERB, Inc./Amicus Productions. same actors (, ), though they were less gothic-themed and more gimmick-laden then the Hammer films. Amicus had produced many portmanteau or anthology films … four or five small stories surrounded by a narrator and audience listening to a story. Amicus brought us the EC movies Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror in this style. The Land That Time Forgot was directed by Kevin Conner, from a script adapted by James Cawthorn and , from the book by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Michael Moorcock has stated that his The Adaptation That We Never Forgot original script was true to the book, but the ending was changed by the producers to include caveman attacks Original cover painting for Marvel Movie Premiere #1 (Sept. 1975), and an exploding volcano. Doug McClure starred in the adapting the film version of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Land That Time film after Stuart Whitman was eliminated due to studio issues with AIP, the US distributor. Forgot. One of the handful of Marvel covers Nick Cardy did during the Records of its budget estimate it was over $1 million, Bronze Age! Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). and it did adequately at the box office, ranking as the 14th highest-grossing film in the UK for 1975, © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc./© 1975 Amicus Productions. and almost two million tickets sold in .

Bronze Age Adaptations Issue • BACK ISSUE • 59 The adaptation: Released 7/15/75. Marv Wolfman was the editor and writer, with Sonny Trinidad on art THE SEVENTH and Nick Cardy providing the cover art. Wolfman, VOYAGE OF SINBAD then the editor of Marvel’s magazine line, tells BACK Marvel Spotlight #25 ISSUE, “I don’t remember how we got The Land That (Dec. 1975) Time Forgot, but, as the editor of the magazine line, I do remember suggesting to Marvel that they do a The movie: Released regular series of books that adapted movies and 12/23/58. This was the first to call it Marvel Movie Premiere. It’s very possible we of Ray Harryhausen’s three got the rights to do the Burroughs movie and then Sinbad movies. The movie I made the suggestion to continue the adaptation was directed by Nathan concept, but I have no real memory of it. At that H. Juran and starred time, of course, videotape did not exist in any Kerwin Matthews as Sinbad. © 1975 Columbia Pictures. © 1975 Columbia Pictures. serious way and we were still decades away from A production budget of DVDs and Blu-Rays. So if you wanted to specifically $650,000 managed to pull relive the movie experience, this would be the only in $3.2 million at the box way to do it that would include writing and art. office. The film was chosen in 2008 for inclusion in the I worked from a script (and, of course, the original National Film Registry by the for being novel, or what I could use from it). I truly don’t culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. remember if they supplied photos or anything else, The adaptation: Released 9/16/75. A one-issue but I assume they did. It was so long ago.” adaptation by and Sonny Trinidad, in one For whatever reason, Marvel did not continue with of Marvel’s regular comic-book titles usually reserved Marvel Movie Premiere, and this issue was the only one. for tryouts. Dynamic Gil Kane/ cover art enhanced the issue.

STAR WARS (1977–1987)

The history of Marvel Comics’ partnership with

Lucasfilm is well docu- © Lucasfilm. mented (including BACK ISSUE #9), from Lucasfilm approaching Marvel, to Stan Lee’s reluctance to publish anything prior to the release of the movie, to Roy Thomas’ enthusiasm to be a part of it from the beginning. Marvel’s Star Wars #1–6 (July–Dec. 1977) adapted the first movie, Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope), issues #39–44 adapted The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi was given its own , with original Star Wars stories appearing in the series’ other issues. Marvel’s Star Wars ran until 1987. Plus, there were UK reprints, paperback editions, treasury editions, Whitman poly-bagged editions, 35-cent price-test editions— numerous ways you could originally be exposed to the comic-book versions as originally printed. Star Wars was such a success for Marvel that contracts were renegotiated, and according to Shoooter’s blog (7/5/2011), sales of Star Wars books saved Marvel financially in 1978 and 1979. After calling home for over two decades, Star Wars has recently returned to Marvel.

Marvel’s First Movie Adaptation A washtone-heavy original art page from the Land That Time Forgot one-shot, illustrated by Sonny Trinidad and scripted by Marv Wolfman. Courtesy of Heritage. (inset top) The back cover of Marvel Movie Premiere #1, promoting the movie.

© Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc./© 1975 Amicus Productions.

60 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Adaptations Issue A Bomb and a Meteor (opposite page) OriginalOriginal art page from what mmightight be the rarest George Pérez comic everr,, the Sgt. Pepper’epper’’ss Lonely Hearts ClubClub Band adaptation, published in Europe as Marvel Super Special #7. Signed by its inkerr,, . ScriptScript by . Courtesy of Heritage. (right)(right) From the Heritage arcchives,hives, a pen- ciled page by GGeneene Colan from the Meteor adaptation. In this article, finisher TTomom Palmer describes his embellishment processprocess of Colan’s art.

Sgt. Pepper © 1978 Robert Stigwood Organization (RSO). Meteor © 1979 AIIPP.

STTARAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE Marvel Super Special #15 (Dec. 1979) . s e

The movie: RReleasedeleased 12/7/79. r u t c This first film in the Star TTrekrek movie i P

t franchise started out as a pilot for n u o

a new Star TTrekrek TV seriesseries dubbed m a r

Star TTrrek: Phase 2. Its script went a P

9

through many changes, even 7 9 1 while the film was shooting. Alan Dean Foster is credited with the © original story. The film started with a budget of $18 million, which eventually ballooned to $46 million. Fortunatelyy,, the box office pulled in $139 million. The adaptation: Released 12/4/79. Bob Larkin provided its ppaintedainted ccoverover. The sscriptcript was by Marv Wolfman and the interior art was and . The adaptation was soon serialized in the first three issues of Marvel’s ongoing Star TTrekrek comiccomic book, which began original storiesstories with issue #4.

Marv Wolfman Remembers “Star Trek: The Motionless Picture” Marv Wolfman recalls, “I was and remain a huge Star TTrrek fan. I love the universe even when I don’t care for the individual series, shows, IorF Yepisodes.OU ENJ OI wantedYED TH toIS do PR theEV Iadaptation,EW, lobbied for it, and got it. “I remember was readingCLIC Kthe TH scriptE LIN forK TStarO O TTrek:Rrek:DE TheR T HMotionIS Picture and finding it pretty dull. I used to call it ‘Star Trek: The MotionlessISSUE Picture.’IN PRIN TIt OcompletelyR DIGITA forgotL FOR thatMAT Star! TTrekrek was an action show where there’d be fights, phaser battles, etc., all on a 1960s TV budget. But they did it. This movie seemed to be just talking heads. But still, it was Star TTrekrek. “I also remember that after a con, artist Dave Cockrum and I went to L.A. to visit the studio for further information. At this point, just a few months before the release, the movie was not only unfinished, but they were still changing things, including the entire ending. WWee needed to know what the new end was so we could do an accurate adaptation. WWee met with and talked to him, but Gene had just been bitten by a and was allergic to it, so not everything he said tracked. But he set up meetings with us at Doug Trumbull and John Dykstra’s offices. By the wayy,, despite being in pain, [Gene] was incredibly nice to us. These guys were all so busyy,, and yet they spent the time talking to the comic-book guys. Amazing! “From what I recall, Trumbull had the SFX license, but with everyone so late they called in John Dykstra marv wolfman as well. I believe TTrrumbull was working on optical effffects while Dykstra was working on practical effffects (the ships, etc.). It might be reversed, as I sayy,, it was a long time ago and I was pretty excited about meeting these two. TTrrumbull had worked on 2001 and Dykstra on Star WWaarrss. So this was pretty amazing. Trumbull had the main contract and his offffices were amazing and beautiful. He outsourced the other material to Dykstra, who worked in an overcrowded warehouse. It was almost night and dayy.. “Dave and I got to Dykstra’s warehouse and were told to stay away from the lasers that were shooting across the place, feeding images into the BACK ISSUE #89 computerr.. Don’t ask m“eB rhonozew A giet Awdaoptraktioends!;” TI hhe aShvaedonw’,t K tohraek: Sfong ogf Tiaerzsatn., Baut -t we could see the thin lasers and avoided them. I remember asking TTrrumbull what the new ending otfle tsthare G amlacoticvai,e T hwe Balasc kg Hooilne, g20 0t1o: Ab Sep aacen Odd yhsseey ,s Waiodrl,d s just months beeffore release, that it hadn’t been designed yett;; the same with VV’’gerr.. The best Trumbull coulUdn kdnoow nf,o anrd u Msa rwvela’s s1 9s8k0es mtcohvie wadhapatatt iohnes. Ptluhs:o PuAUgLh KtU Pit- was going to look like so Dave would be able to draw it. He also said he and PERBERG surveys prose adaptations of comics! With work by JACK Dykstra were not able toKI RgBYe, tD tEoNNgYe Oth’NeErIL ,t FoR AmNKa RkOeB sBuINrSe, MthICeH ApErLa Wc.t KicAaLUl TmA, odels would fit into the optical sets. Because they were so busy getting it done, they spoke on the phoneFRAN Kbut THO RnotNE, M muchICHAEL UinSL Aperson.N, and spor tiTheyng an al tejustrnate Kcrosseda - their fingers hoping it would all come togetherr.. It was all pretty cool.”” luta cover produced for DC’s Shadow series! (84 FULL-COLOR pages) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 B r o n z e A g e A d a p t a t i o n s I s s u e • B A C K I S S U E • 6 3 http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1236