COMICS I LOVE A reminiscence in print by Guy Lillian III for The Southern Fandom Press Alliance and fandom at large October 2020 GHLIII Press Publication #1290 Above – the first comic book I remember seeing Indeed, my love affair with comics goes back a long ways, to the days of 52-pages-for-a-dime (or 68 for 15 cents), and the split-chinned Superman of Wayne Boring. The stories seemed dark and intense – but compelling and thrilling, the perfect complement to the George Reeves TV show, and the perfect soil for my boyhood imagination. A spiffy example: “Superman Under the Green Sun”. “Dark and intense” wasn’t a problem when it came to other comics I read from the get-go. The brilliant work of Carl Barks in Disney comics – Dell or Gold Key – provided nifty adventure, great artwork, terrific stories, and of course, wak-worthy humor. Barks’ great masterwork was Uncle Scrooge, of course, but Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories and the Christmas specials – all prime. “The Gilded Man” was just one of the great stories Barks brought to us. Alan Hutchinson told me that if he had to name a favorite Barks, it would be “Land Beneath the Ground.” For me, it’s “Back to the Klondike,” because I, too, have a depthless crush on Glittering Goldie. I still love Barks. Three epochal issues of my favorite superhero book. To the right, the issue I found in a stack of old magazines at my grandmother’s house—which snared me like a fishhook. Below, the classic that taught a generation of comics readers that their fathers had been boys once, too: “Flash of Two Worlds.” Never mind the idiotic cover on Flash #133 – inside was my first published LOC, which led to my first job, my meeting with Alfred Bester, my friendship with Julius Schwartz, my membership in fandom … and my being here! I never asked Julie who came up with the idea of a DC heroes team- up, but it’s hard to imagine, now, the excitement that the first Justice League of America appearance engendered. I remember being a bit disappointed in the story, but I guess the idea caught on … For my taste, the premiere artistic lineup in comics was Carmine Infantino, pencils, and Murphy Anderson, inks – even though each preferred to handle the complete job themselves. I consider this page their masterpiece, Sure, these goombahs wear fancy cosplay and tote super-gimmicks, but just look at those expressions: they are still hoods. My favorite comics page, ever. Superheroes are all well and good, but science fiction was always Julius Schwartz’ first love, and his SF comics were a special labor of love. Mystery in Space combined the two genres with the adventures of Adam Strange, and Strange Adventures featured three back-up features in addition to stand-alone stories – the Atomic Knights, Star Hawkins and my favorite, Space Museum. Who can forget the great art of Sid Greene, Mike Sekowsky, and of course Infantino and Anderson? Doofuses in my high school thought it hilarious that I published a letter of comment in SA no. 156, a bit challenging for their reading level. DC’s war comics were unique –they started out crippled by cliched stories of simian Nazis and bucktoothed Japanese – but got better. All hail the immortal Joe Kubert and Robert Kanigher and their first great creation, Sgt. Rock, and later … their second great creation, Hans von Hammer, Enemy Ace. … and their third, the Unknown Soldier, a masked super-soldier whose behind-the-lines efforts were carried on by Bob Haney. The stories grew deeper and more humane as time went on – not easy for war titles! Even parents and teachers who bought into Fredric Wertham’s wacky Seduction of the Innocent could have no objection to Classics Illustrated. Not that I didn’t seize on the SF published by Classics Illustrated, thrilling versions drawn by masters like Norman Nodel, their go-to guy for The Invisible Man, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Faust. Other artists involved: Jack Kirby, George Woodbridge, Roy Krenkel, Joe Orlando. The avowed purpose of the series was to move kids to read the original works – and in many cases, I did. So where was Marvel in all this time? I bought Fantastic Four #1 off the stands – and gave it away. Stan Lee’s celestial ego, and his boasts, turned me off. But as I entered my teens, and heard more from comics fandom, I discovered The X-Men, and because I so identified with Scott Summers’ crush on redheaded Jean, and because I caught on to the brilliance of Jack Kirby’s art, as well as that of Gene Colan and Steve Ditko, the scope of my comics (or “comicular,” a word I made up) appreciation all but doubled. In more than one way, the world changed – as Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams teamed up under Julie Schwartz’ editorship to take comics into the real, “relevant” world. Green Lantern/Green Arrow was a revolutionary moment in comics history, begun with “No Evil Shall Escape My Sight” and summited with a masterpiece on drug addiction. Just in time for me to go off to college, and discover … THE UNDERGROUNDS, taking on the real world in all its squalor and glory. Slow Death dealt with the environmental crime we still endure. Marked by Richard Corben’s “How Howie Made It in the Real World,” as Zap was critiqued for the obscenity of Robert Crumb and S. Clay Wilson, the undergrounds were also satiric, funny, and compassionate – as we learned from Lee Marrs’ Pudge and Gilbert Sheldon’s supreme Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. It was the best of times, it was the suckiest of times … and I miss those times. All artwork in this publication is © by the respective publishers of each book. No claim of ownership is made. And a mere six years later, I went to work for DC. It was my first job, and possibly my favorite, even though I was paid practically nothing and given the most menial of tasks – usually. Joe Orlando asked me to rewrite the dialog for several stories he had on hand, and I reveled in it. My favorite such jobs were House of Mystery rewrites of scripts by Mary Skrenes and early Len Wein, a Phantom Stranger story made this cover – my one and only time. I worked the names of SFPAns, NYAPAns and their zines in wherever I could, and only wish the story had been half as cool as this cover illo. The great innovation of my year at DC was Amazing World of DC Comics, a semipro fannish zine by the junior staff. I claimed the lead articles in the first three issues (and ran the zines through SFPA). This issue, sporting my interview with Superman writers Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin, had a cover by the great Kurt Schaffenberger (see him by Supes’ shoulder?) and screwy four-color work (see Green Lantern’s blue mask?) that nearly got us all fired. But maybe it was worth it – Stan Lee told me himself that Amazing World outclassed anything Marvel had tried like it! Out of the swamp came two of the best and most creative books of the mid-seventies – and probably my favorite Marvel of all. Even Joe Orlando, editor of the book below, said he liked Man-Thing, and everyone at DC enjoyed the company of its author, Steve Gerber. Especially glorious: the introducktion of Howard the Duck and the special editions yclept Giant-Sized Man-Thing. Harlan Ellison wrote a letter of comment to DC in which he listed some of the extraordinary achievements he had witnessed, in sports, in the arts, in many fields of endeavor. He ended by thanking its creators for Swamp Thing. For too few years “Swampy” was the gem in DC’s crown, written by Len Wein, drawn by Berni Wrightson, ably followed by writers Dave Michelinie, Nancy Collins, and of course, Alan Moore, and artists led by Nestor Redondo. Among the many glorious moments in my year at DC was the moment when Jack Kirby came to our office to discuss his Fourth World with Carmine and the other poohbahs, and I got to say hello. The New Gods, The Forever People, Mr. Miracle, and let’s not forget Jimmy Olsen, Kamandi and all the other work Jack brought to DC. He revitalized the company and super-jazzed my love of comics. Avengers #4 wasn’t part of the Fourth World, of course, but it did win an Alley Award, and it was the first comic for which I paid more than cover price: a whole dollar. “Captain America Joins the Avengers!” and hasn’t left’em yet! From the grimly realistic to the aesthetic fantastic, comics took off in the ‘80s. For 12 stunning issues writer Doug Murray brought The ‘Nam to life, better than any film – even Platoon. I’d loved Joe Kubert’s Sgt. Rock; here were Rock’s sons, in a different kind of comic about a different type of war. The book sank like a stone after those first 12 issues, but beforehand, what a ride. The birth of Vertigo Comics as a branch of DC brought Neil Gaiman and the Endless to the page – with an artistry that had never been equalled. My favorite, the terrifying “Dream of a Thousand Cats.” From the 11 o’clock position, the family: Destiny, Dream (Sandman, our hero), Destruction, Desire, Delirium, Despair, and … well, be seein’ you! “What’s that lady doing, daddy?” “Uhh … she’s blowing an invisible trumpet, sonny!” “Oh.