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Home , Air Wave, Alter ego, Bob Kane, Charles Biro, George Papp, Jack Schiff

Roy Thomas' Prototype Comics “A PROPHECY IN FOUR COLORS?” THE SCINTILLATING UNSEEN CREATIONS OF GOLDEN AGE ARTISTS $9.95 HAL SHERMAN, In the USA LEE HARRIS, No. 162 & FRANK FOSTER! January 2020

WILL MURRAY ON THE POSSIBLE PULSE-POUNDING PREDECESSORS OF SOME OF COMICS’ GREATEST! SUPER-HEROES

1 82658 00375 3 Figure at left © Estate of Frank Foster; central figure of Hal Sherman; figure at right © Estate Harris Levey. Vol. 3, No. 162 / January 2020 Editor Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash Design & Layout Christopher Day Consulting Editor John Morrow FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck Don’t STEAL our J.T. Go (Assoc. Editor) Digital Editions! Comic Crypt Editor C’mon citizen, Michael T. Gilbert DO THE RIGHT THING! A Mom Editorial Honor Roll & Pop publisher like us needs Jerry G. Bails (founder) every sale just to survive! DON’T Ronn Foss, Biljo White DOWNLOAD OR READ ILLEGAL COPIES ONLINE! Buy affordable, legal downloads only at Proofreaders www.twomorrows.com Rob Smentek or through our Apple and Google Apps! William J. Dowlding

Cover Artist & DON’T SHARE THEM WITH FRIENDS OR POST THEM ONLINE. Help us keep Shane Foley producing great publications like this one! Cover Colorist Glenn Whitmore Contents With Special Thanks to: Writer/Editorial: A Prophecy In Four Colors? ...... 2 Paul Allen Tom Horvitz Heidi Amash Carla Jordan Super-Hero Skullduggery -1941? ...... 3 David Armstrong Joyce Kaffel unlocks the mystery of the lost , , & Tarantula! Richard Arndt Jim Kealy The Golden Bat ...... 35 Bob Bailey Paul King Dan Hagen tells us all about ’s “Dark Samurai” of 1931. John Benson Jonathan Levey Brett Canavan Art Lortie “Welcome Home, Roy Thomas!” ...... 39 John Cimino Doug Martin A photo-strewn remembrance of a comics celebration in Jackson, —Feb. 2019. Pierre Comtois Peter Meskin Chet Cox Philip Meskin Mr . Monster’s Comic Crypt! The Other , Part 2 . . . 51 Cash-Book Journal Brian K. Morris Michael T. Gilbert continues to compare and contrast Smilin’ Stan & Charles Biro. () Will Murray Plus Peter Normanton re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] ...... 58 (website) The The Sven Elven family FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #221 ...... 65 family Barry Pearl P.C. Hamerlinck and Michael D. Frahley early DC & Fawcett artist Sven Elven. Frank Foster, Jr. & John Pierce On Our Cover: It was a real dilemma—what to feature on the cover of an issue that dealt with never- the Foster family Sandy Plunkett published possible prototypes of “Batman,” “Wonder Woman,” Tarantula, and other classic super- Michael D. Fraley Larry Rippee heroes. Spotlighting the DC characters themselves didn’t seem right, so Roy T. suggested to Aussie artist Wayne Gassmann Charlie Roberts Shane Foley that he utilize the predecessors, using as a template the several-hero cover of 1950’s All- Jim Gaylord Al Rodriguez Star Comics #50, by the team of Arthur Peddy & Bernard Sachs. Shane improved on that notion Janet Gilbert by basing the figures of the non-DC, unpublished 'Batman' and 'Wonder Woman' on the work of Bob Don Glut Randy Sargent Kane (from the cover of #27, 1939) and H.G. Peter (from the cover of Sensation Grand Comics Janet Myers Database Schuette Comics #1, 1942). The result, we think, is nothing short of terrific! [Art © Shane Foley.] (website) David Siegel Above: Maybe Hal Sherman never got to draw a “Wonder Woman” of his own concoction, but he was Shane Foley Southeast Missourian the first artist of the feature “The Star-Spangled Kid” in DC’sStar Spangled Comics! Seen here are Dan Hagen (newspaper) transformational panels from the two-for-one origin of the Star-Spangled Kid & Stripsey team. SSC #18 George Hagenauer Dan Tandarich (March 1943); possibly scripted by , co-creator of . [TM & © DC Comics.] Tom Hamilton Dann Thomas Heritage Auctions Nicky Wheeler- (website) Nicholson Kent Wilson Alter EgoTM is published 6 times a year 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: [email protected]. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. This issue is dedicated to the memory of Six-issue subscriptions: $67 US, $101 Elsewhere, $27 Digital Only. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM Hal Sherman, Frank Foster, of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in China. ISSN: 1932-6890. & Sven Elven FIRST PRINTING. 3 Super-Hero Skullduggery – 1941? Or, The Mystery Of the Lost BATMAN & WONDER WOMAN! by Will Murray

Seeing Double? Or Not! ’s Batman & H.G. Peter’s Wonder Woman—juxtaposed with Frank Foster’s “Batman” & Hal Sherman’s “Wonder Woman.” Read the article for the rest of the story! [Batman & Wonder Woman TM & © DC Comics; Foster art © Estate of Frank Foster; Sherman art © Estate of Hal Sherman.] The Kane Caped Crusader is from a circa-1980 painting by that artist, belonging to David Siegel and photographed years ago by Dr. Jerry G. Bails… while Peter’s Amazon princess is from a Junior Justice Society of America ad that ran in 1947 issues of All-Star Comics, although that illo had appeared several years earlier in ads for the Wonder Woman newspaper . All Frank Foster art accompanying this article is courtesy of the Foster family, via Will Murray; while all the Hal Sherman “WW” art accompanying it was provided by the late artist to Will for Comic Book Marketplace magazine #78 (May 2000) and appeared therein. 4 The Mystery Of The Lost Batman & Wonder Woman

Preface: editorial director —only to find himself handed art chores on Jerry Siegel’s brand new “Star-Spangled Kid” feature One Awesome Overview— instead of being offered work drawing the super-heroine concept Sprinkled With Star-Spangled Kid he had submitted. The Kid was first seen by readers in a house ad & in #40 (Sept. 1941); the origin of Wonder Woman came along a month or so later, in All-Star Comics #8. This, too, I wrote up s a comics historian, I enjoy unearthing lost lore and for Comic Book Marketplace (#78, May 2000)—an interview reworked A making new discoveries. Not all of them are pleasant. Some somewhat and added to for this issue of Alter Ego. are puzzling, and a few were downright weird. Still, there was little or no direct Periodically, I stumble upon dark, cobwebbed corners of the evidence of anything sinister going on Golden Age of Comics that no light has touched in generations. in this case, either, and I did not suspect Especially in regards to DC Comics and its affiliate, All-American a pattern. Comics. Among the most remarkable were a series of seemingly unrelated interviews I did for the late lamented magazine Comic Then, a few years later, David Book Marketplace, which uncovered something bizarre. arranged for me to interview artist Paul Norris on the creation of “Aquaman,” It all started back in 1998, when I read a Globe article whereupon the ’s original about Frank Foster, an obscure artist whose surviving son claimed artist told me something he had not that his father had created an unpublished super-hero called previously revealed––an anecdote even “Batman” years before the Bob Kane and version had David did not know. appeared in 1939’s Detective Comics #27. Whitney Ellsworth “Well,” Norris related, “a couple had been a National/DC Interested, I interviewed Frank Foster, Jr., heard his story of weeks before he called me in on editor early on, had left, ‘Aquaman,’ Whit [Ellsworth] asked a concerning his father, and examined the yellowing pieces of art and returned to take the that survived of an Art Deco version of a hero called Batman—as number of artists to come up with some top editorial spot when recorded in the following section of this article, which is a slightly ideas for new features. And I submitted moved on to edited version of my piece that appeared in Comic Book Marketplace one. They used the title, but they didn’t co-found Columbia Comics. #66 (Jan. 1999). Though intriguing, the story ultimately proved to be use the feature at all.” something of a dead end, since nothing concrete connected Foster with DC Comics. “What was the title?” I asked innocently. So imagine my surprise when comics maven David Siegel “‘The .’ But I had the idea of having him in tights. He read my original article in CBM and informed me that he knew of a wasn’t a cowboy like they did later. He was a super-character, in potentially similar instance! long underwear.” David quickly put me in touch with Golden Age artist Hal I was staggered. Here was another artist telling the same story! Sherman, the original 1940s illustrator of the DC feature “The Instead of accepting his Vigilante, Ellsworth handed Norris Star-Spangled Kid,” and I soon heard his tale of creating a character a humorous sketch of a character called Aquaman who lived he called “Wonder Woman” in 1941 and offering it to DC Comics underwater––while smoking a cigar!––and asked Norris to rework it into a super-hero. A completely different version of another character calling himself swiftly appeared in Action Comics #42, scripted by new DC editor and drawn by . Both features—“Aquaman” and “The Vigilante”—debuted the same month! Here, perhaps, was the smoking gun, or something very much like it. Testimony that Ellsworth was soliciting fresh characters, but not acting on them in concert with the original artist. The coincidence of so many such switcheroos seemed compelling. So when Alter Ego ran the story of “” creator Lee Harris (Harris Levey) in issue #125, accompanied by a never- before-published of a completely different version of “Tarantula” than the one that had debuted in #1 (Oct. 1941), I thought to myself, “That sure looks like another possible example of a bait-and-switch editorial ploy.” Coming Up To Bat! It’s especially damning inasmuch as Mort Weisinger is DC “Batman” co-creator/artist Bob Kane (on left) & fan David Siegel credited with creating “Tarantula” and “Air Wave,” as well as with on right, with a copy of a 1980s French “Futuropolis” reprinting of the scripting the first “Aquaman” and “Vigilante” stories! (It must be Batman comic strip. Dave, whose main claim to fame, perhaps, is helping said: some sources claim it was DC editor who to get many Golden Age artists to attend the San Diego Comic-Con scripted the first “Air Wave” tale.) between 1987 and 2005 (see A/E #142), was also instrumental in bringing the Hal Sherman “Wonder Woman” story to Will Murray’s attention—and, The four above-mentioned features debuted only months a bit later, a similar occurrence related to “Aquaman” co-creating artist apart, with “Air Wave” showing up last, in the Feb. 1942 Detective Paul Norris. Read on! Thanks to Charlie Roberts for the photo, via Tom Comics. Harris’ Tarantula page was dated April 24, 1941. Hal Horvitz. Super-Hero Skullduggery—1941? 9

concept drawings to what his family has always believed is the one, true, original Batman. The ancient piece of Strathmore board is yellowed, its edges chipped by time. Across the front are three India ink shots of a character caparisoned in a strikingly stylized super-hero costume: in action, decking a lightly penciled figure with a roundhouse right cross; standing in a nonchalant pose with one arm resting on a casually lifted leg; and climbing in through a window in classic super-hero style. And below that, a three-quarters-view head shot of the unmasked mystery-man with a strangely batlike Frank Foster left ear and a sharp jawline that smacks of both the as a young man in the early Golden Age Batman and Dick Tracy! 1940s, and (at left) one of his 1932 drawings of his hero Foster flips the board to the other side to reveal a “Batman.” [Art © Estate of pencil sketch of an exotic-featured woman. The words Frank Foster.] “1932 Village” are visible and below that, two startling names in bold script: Batman Night-wing Asked about the significance of these names, Foster digs out a deposition his father gave in 1975 and indicates the explanation Frank Foster, Senior, offered at that time: “Oh, I guess that was a night wing, or something like that.... That’s just some sort of alternate thought I had at the moment, and then I checked off Batman because I thought that was a better Part I name.” Frank Foster & The “Batman” Of 1932— Foster, Jr., Or, All This & Night-Wing, Too! seemed oblivious to the electrifying One of the most famous “Batman” stories, “The First Batman” significance of (Detective Comics #235, Sept. 1956), related the tale of ’s the second name. astonishing discovery that his father had once worn a bat-costume was the similar to his own to a masquerade ball. It was an electrifying name a grown-up moment in the life of the Caped Crusader—the revelation that he would take was not the first Batman. in 1984 for his adult crime-fighting alter Frank Foster, Jr., knows how Bruce Wayne must have felt. ego during his stint with The New Teen His own father, he believes, created the original Batman—ten years before Bob Kane’s version debuted in Detective Comics #27. Interviewed in the cool comfort of his Cape Cod basement home office, surrounded by his father’s nautical watercolors, Foster, a retired commercial photographer, recalls first hearing about the prototypal Batman when he was four years old in 1940. “I remember my parents telling me about it before I ever saw comic. My father said he drew the Batman and showed me the drawings. He said he showed it to people in , and they stole his ideas and he never got a penny.” It’s an amazing, even stunning claim, that contradicts the admittedly murky lore surrounding the Going Bats! origin of the Caped Crusader, who debuted in early 1939. (Above right:) ’s cover for Detective Comics #235 (Sept. 1956), the story in which Bruce Wayne learns that his father had once worn “A father does not tell his four-year-old child that he’s been a “Batman” costume—to a masquerade party! Thanks to the Grand Comics cheated!” Foster says firmly. “It was a curious thing for me when I Database. [TM & © DC Comics.]. was a kid. Not of any great significance, particularly. When I was (Above left:) The names “Batman” and “Night-wing” are written in of comicbook age, I’d say, ‘My father invented Batman.’ The kids Foster’s handwriting, and dated “1932 Village,” on the back of the sheet. would say, ‘Oh, sure.’ The drawings were always around.” “Nightwing,” of course, is the name Dick (Robin) took when he became an adult crime-fighter. [© Estate of Frank Foster.] From a long architectural file drawer, he pulls out the original 22 The Mystery Of The Lost Batman & Wonder Woman

I Wander As I Wonder… (Left:) Another of Hal Sherman’s circa-2000 post-hypnotic Wonder Woman sketches. [Art © Estate of Hal Sherman.] (Right:) The splash page of the “Wonder Woman” story in Sensation Comics #1 (Jan. 1942), almost certainly originally intended to appear in Sensation #2 before the Amazon’s origin was truncated and squeezed into All-Star Comics #8. Script by Marston; art by H.G. Peter. [TM & © DC Comics.] taken more credit for developing Batman. He just mumbled.” dress. It was done in short briefs, and sexy. Sherman recalled that only once did Ellsworth have a problem “I do remember one page,” he added. “On one of the samples, with the work he produced for DC. where I had a large, magnetized gadget on a strange aircraft, lifting a huge building into the air. It’s my belief Whit Ellsworth’s files “The wife used to take the stuff in and turn it over to with my samples had the answer.” Ellsworth,” he revealed. “He looked at it and wasn’t happy with that particular week’s drawings. He asked Ann if she did it. I had a As for the origin of the magic name “Wonder Woman,” terrible sinus attack and it reflected in what I was doing.” Sherman explained, “Here we are on our honeymoon and I’m working for three months on the transition from gag cartoons Sherman’s growing circle of friends continued to widen: to comicbook style of art––and my bride is out working to keep “I dropped in to see and Mort Meskin at their everything from falling apart. Thinking of a title, the word ‘wonder’ 52st Street studio, when the two geniuses were turning out kept swirling around inside my head—how wonderful can a comicbook art like they just invented it. They seemed a bit groggy, woman be? Wonder... Wonder... Woman. I had a title for two of the and rightfully so. They were working around the , beating samples: ‘Wonder Woman!’” deadlines on the material they were sweating over. I picked up one of their finished pages and didn’t believe what I was looking at. I Avoiding any contact with “Wonder Woman” comics, Sherman checked the copy. The copy did not bear out what I saw. You don’t concentrated on his bread and butter, The Star-Spangled Kid, who doubt genius when he is in the act of creation. But two elbows on by year’s end joined The Vigilante, Green , and others in the one arm? I howled. Jerry and Mort wanted to know what was so “Seven Soldiers of Victory” feature in Leading Comics. The busy funny. I showed them. They howled. I made a phone call and left. artist penciled the “Star-Spangled Kid” chapters in early issues. As I closed the door, the two geniuses were still howling.” It was a fascinating time, filled with fascinating people. Sherman especially liked Meskin. “Murray Boltinoff, , and Mort Weisinger were “At 480 Lexington Avenue, where we all worked the editors I came into contact with at DC. I also met Al Bester, together, I looked at a page Mort just completed. He signed it who may have done some ‘Star-Spangled Kid’ scripts. But Whit “M-M-M-Mort”... displaying his wonderful sense of humor. Mort Ellsworth was my major contact. Working with Whit Ellsworth was stuttered.” pleasant, but I got nowhere in my efforts to get back my ‘Wonder Woman’ art. He brushed me off every time. Like many of his contemporaries, he was less enamored of Batman co-creator Bob Kane. “I remember a heated phone conversation he had with Bill Finger. He was tearing Bill apart. He turned to me and said, ‘How’d “I ran into him one day somewhere in midtown. I was with I do?’ I didn’t like it at all. Later, I asked Bill how come he had not some young lady. And along came Bob Kane. I introduced him to Super-Hero Skullduggery—1941? 23

The Several Soldiers Of Victory (Above left:) The splash page of the first “Seven Soldiers of Victory” group story, in Leading Comics #1 (Winter 1941-42), with art by & script attributed to Mort Weisinger. The Seven Soldiers never did get a real group logo, though—and on the cover, only six heroes had been shown (no Stripesy) with a topline reading “Five Favorite Features!” Go figure! (Above right:) While Weisinger apparently wrote the rest of the 56-page story, Jerry Siegel scripted the 9-page “Star-Spangled Kid” chapter, which was illustrated by Hal Sherman and featured the Kid’s recurring foe The Needle. Repro’d from Ye Editor’s personal copy. [TM & © DC Comics.] the girl, and the first thing you know we’re hearing the life story of Bob Kane! In bull sessions, I usually walked away because I couldn’t take what he was saying. He said, ‘Who the hell is ?’ And on Jerry Robinson’s desk at that particular moment is a big airport layout taken from Milton Caniff! Can you imagine? Howard Sherman He’s swiping the stuff and he says, ‘Who the hell is Milton Caniff?’” was the artist of the “” strip that ran for One person Sherman didn’t recall was Wonder Woman’s several years in More Fun publisher, M.C. Gaines. Comics, as originally written by Gardner . Seen “I never worked with Gaines,” he said flatly. “I never met here is part of the splash him.” page from issue #58 (Aug. 1940). Hal says that, so Sherman thinks he did come into contact with All-American far as he knows, he never editor , however: “If he is the person I think he is, met Howard Sherman—nor he and I, both loaded, beat the hell out of a huge cardboard cutout have we ever, alas, seen of Superman during a Christmas dinner. Somebody from the inner a photo of him. Repro’d from the hardcover Golden office spiked my drink.” Age Doctor Fate Archives And he had a strong recollection of DC owner Harry (2007), a 400-page tome Donenfeld. that reprinted every single Golden Age “Doc Fate” solo “He was flirting with death one time when he gave Jack story. [TM & © DC Comics.] 35 The Golden Bat Japan’s “Dark Samurai” Returns! by Dan Hagen

e was a caped, flying champion from a lost, distant H civilization, who fought monsters and criminals in defense of humanity. The Golden Bat In Japan. Dan Hagen reveals how, in the early 1930s, Japanese creators In 1931. developed a super-hero in the medium of , which, he writes, “is described as a form of participatory storytelling that As comics historian Zack Davisson observes, “Five years before combines hand-made art with a performance by a live narrator ’s ‘ Who Walks,’ The , stalked the daily strips (“kami” means “paper,” and “shibai” means “play” or “drama”—so they were sort of oversized, itinerant comicbooks!” ). of everywhere, and seven years before Superman burst from the pages of Action Comics, 6,760 miles away in the island Above is one of artist Takeo Nagamatsu’s original watercolor-on- poster-board of The Golden Bat, a.k.a. gon Batto, country of Japan kids were already thrilling to the adventures of Ō who was scripted by Ichiro Suzuki. Read on! The illustrations super-powered heroes all their own.” accompanying this piece appeared in Eric P. Nash’s book Manga Even before the first modern comicbooks appeared, Japan Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theatre, published by Abrams Comicarts, NY (2019), and were scanned from various had evolved a form of sequential fantasy art that put it “deep in a kamishibai collections in Japan. Nash’s book is a must-have— Golden Age of strange visitors from another planet flying through because it features many, many other wonders besides these few! the sky in brilliant costumes, righting wrongs and battling mad [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.] scientist inventors,” Davisson notes. Street performers painted and presented what were youngsters who’d been summoned to the show by the clacking of essentially oversized, itinerant comicbook adventures in Japanese wooden sticks. communities, selling candy, roasted potatoes, and chestnuts to the These “paper theatre” performances provided inexpensive, colorful children’s entertainment during the Depression, as well as much-needed employment opportunities for the benshi (script narrators who sat next to the screen in the newly outmoded silent movies). “Storytellers would travel from town to town with their butai (miniature stage) on the back of a bike,” observes Liesl Bradner in the Times. “The setup was reminiscent of a Punch and Judy show, but instead of puppets the narrator would slide a series of poster boards with watercolor illustrations in and out of the Fleischer Brothers, Look Out! box. He would (Above:) The Golden Bat is shown in his own “fortress of solitude” in the act out the mountains of Japan, telepathically tuning in to a woman’s plea for help. script, which (Right:) The hero vs. a giant robot, by Nagamatsu—doubtless illustrating was written on a story by Suzuki. These scenes somewhat resemble some of those in cards placed on the early-1940s theatrical Superman cartoons by the Fleischer Brothers’ the back of a animation outfit—but this is a decade earlier! And of course they’re a board. Each show precursor to all those Japanese robots like Astro Boy, Gigantor, and 8th consisted of three Man. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.] stories of about 39 “Welcome Home, ROY THOMAS!” A Remembrance Of The “February Annual” Event In Jackson, Missouri, 2019 by Carla Jordan Director, Cape Girardeau County History Center of the Cape Girardeau County Historical Society

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: Loath as I A/E was (and if you doubt that, I can’t really blame you, I suppose) to showcase yet another article centered around myself so soon… the bald fact is that, nearly a year ago, my Missouri hometown surprisingly named me guest of honor at a local arts celebration. Even though flying from South Carolina to Memphis, then facing a several-hour drive north in the dead of winter, were hardly tops on my wish list, my wife Dann and I agreed that I could hardly refuse. And then, the person central to it all—the above-bylined Mrs. Carla Jordan—and her volunteer crew did such a spectacular job with the event that I felt I should document the whole magilla in Alter Ego… mostly from her POV. To the extent I’m “Roy Thomas Day” involved as editor and caption-writer, just consider this article an in Jackson, Missouri… Saturday, early Valentine to a town that had, at the very least, a powerful hand Feb. 23, 2019. (Above:) The in molding any creative virtues I may have brought to the comics or official February Annual poster, to other fields…. created by local graphic designer Megan Lopez, utilizing an art print drawn by pro Prelude comics artist Joe St. Pierre that spotlights Roy and many of Jackson, Missouri, is a small, peaceful town not far from the Marvel characters he had the Mississippi River. Though its current population is just a hand in creating; concept 14,000, it has a bustling town square that is listed on the by John Cimino. (The art print National Register of Historic Places. The historic district is itself, produced by special known as Uptown Jackson, because its grouping of blocks arrangement with Marvel is set on the highest point in the town, on two sides of a Entertainment, is sold only at classic stone courthouse and its grounds, on which sits an comics conventions at which old-fashioned bandstand right out of a Roy appears, with part of the painting. proceeds going to the comics’ own charity, Hero Initiative.) [Art Jackson also happens to be the hometown of comicbook TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] writer Roy Thomas, although it boasted only about one-fourth (Left:) A photo taken that as many people when he was a child. (He memorized its 1950 afternoon outside the Cape census figure of 3694 as he drove past the city-limits sign Girardeau County History Center countless times as a teenager in the late ’50s.) on High Street, with Jackson’s town square, county courthouse, and bandstand prominent in the background. One summer in the late 1950s, Roy had the job of Each late winter for the past half-decade, the Uptown announcing the musical numbers performed in the latter by the town’s municipal Jackson Revitalization Organization (UJRO) has hosted band. Photo & poster courtesy of Carla Jordan. a celebration of arts and culture known as the “February Annual,” organized around one guest of honor. Since no 40 A Remembrance Of The “February Annual” Event In Jackson, Missouri, 2019

previous Annual had honored anyone who had actually lived in Jackson (or in Cape Girardeau County, of which Jackson is the county seat), it was decided that it was time to remedy that situation. Thus, UJRO and the Cape Girardeau County History Center pulled out all the stops with their “Celebration of Roy Thomas” on February 23, 2019. (The nearby city of “You’re My Supermen!” Cape Girardeau now has In September of 2018, Roy (on left) a population of around greets Michael Archer, who as a graduate 40,000; Roy graduated intern at the State University in nearby in 1961 from Southeast Cape Girardeau had put together a Missouri State College— comicbook exhibit for the History Center; now University—in what it’s seen behind them. The Center held a Jacksonians often refer to reception for the pair five months prior to the February event. Photo by Carla simply as “Cape.”) Jordan. The most prominent artwork in Carla Jordan & Tara Thomas When I was the display is a blow-up of the Wayne Carla (on left) and Roy’s youngest sister designated the liaison Boring-penciled cover of Superman #29 Tara—she’s an accountant in Des Moines, (July-Aug. 1944), seen more fully at right, for the UJRO Design courtesy of the online Grand Comics Iowa—smile for the camera at the History Committee with Roy Center on 2-23-19. And yes, the damsels Database. [TM & © DC Comics.] introduced in both Conan the Barbarian #1 and Dann Thomas, I had no idea what I was (Oct. 1970) and #52 (July 1975) were named commenced unofficially on the evening of Friday, the 22nd, with a undertaking. But the for Tara. dinner and a gathering of some of Roy’s family and acquaintances, journey, which included including classmates and friends from Jackson’s St. Paul Lutheran numerous e-mails of School (where he attended grades 1-8), Jackson High School, planning, schooling myself in the world of comics, and then hosting and Southeast Missouri State University. It was held at the St. the Thomases, was absolutely delightful. I have been a historic Paul Lutheran Fellowship Hall, and was hosted by C.L. Jordan preservationist for 30 years, and have owned my own preservation Preservation, on the grounds of the church Roy attended while business for nearly 20. During this time, I have preserved structures living in Jackson. on historic Route 66, directed two regional museums, consulted with numerous historical sites regarding development, and Unfortunately, he, Dann, and his manager and friend John designed hundreds of exhibitions. In addition, since my 1960s Cimino arrived in town an hour late, due to flight delays getting childhood, I have been a “closet” Batman fan, but this project to Memphis plus considerable rain during their three-hour drive opened up a whole new world that fascinates me. It became a north. But they made it, and the attendees had voted to hold dinner project of my heart, and I admit that I now enjoy reading Alter Ego until they pulled in. from cover to cover, and my children have given me a list of how to properly watch the Marvel movies. Dress Rehearsals Roy paid a visit to Jackson roughly once a year until about a decade ago, when his late mother, Leona Thomas, moved to an assisted-living facility in Des Moines, Iowa, where his sister Tara resides. As it happened, his most recent trip here had occurred in September 2018, to attend the 60-year of the Jackson High School class of ’58, and we took that opportunity to get together to plan the details of the February 2019 celebration. That September meeting also included a one-night reception for Roy and “SEMO” graduate intern Michael Archer. Michael had interned at the Cape Girardeau County History Center, which is a part of CGC Historical Society. His internship project had included the creation of an exhibit titled “When Comics and History Collide.” Roy, Dann, & John Cimino Michael had corresponded by e-mail with Roy seeking advice for the display, and that exchange had established the relationships that arrive at their Jackson motel digs weary but unbowed (well, maybe a little bit bowed) on the evening of 2-22-19, after a day of air flights, led to the February celebration. driving north from Memphis in the rain, then attending the dinner in the The February Annual: Celebration of Roy Thomas event Thomases’ honor. 51

{Above:) Daredevil meets Crimebuster and Squeeks, C.B.’s pet monkey. This was for a “Win A Live Monkey” contest from Daredevil #9, April 1942. Biro owned one! (Right:) Biro from a 1950 film “Famous .” [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.\] 52 Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Charles Biro—The Other Stan Lee! (Part 2) by Michael T. Gilbert

ast issue we explored some notable similarities between L Marvel writer/editor Stan Lee in the ’60s, and Gleason Publications writer/artist/editor Charles Biro in the ’40s. But wait! There’s more! Reality Check! Perhaps Stan’s greatest contribution to Marvel was injecting a dose of reality into the tired super-hero formula. Under Lee and Ditko, Spider-Man became a refreshingly real-world take on super-heroes. Take for instance Amazing Spider-Man #12, in which our hero, weakened by the flu, was easily beaten by Dr. Octopus. Ock triumphantly unmasked his foe, only to react with dismay when Spider-Man is revealed to be a kid named Peter Parker. At staid DC, the writer would have figured some contrived gimmick for Superman or Batman to fool the villain. But Lee (along with co-plotter Ditko) took a startling different route. In this story Parker didn’t figure some clever way out. Instead, Who Was That Masked Man? Doc Ock, surprised at how easily he defeated “Spider-Man,” reacts Stan Lee had Spidey revealed as Peter Parker in this scene from in shocked disbelief as he stares at the of the helpless teenager. Amazing Spider-Man #12 (May 1964). Art by . [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“I should have known!!” he bellows. “It isn’t Spider-Man! It’s that weakling brat, Peter Parker!” Of course! In the real world, the logical conclusion would be to assume that the kid under , beaten so easily, was just some dumb teenager playing Spider-Man (while the real Spidey was clearly missing in action). Lee’s solution to the problem was brilliant in its simplicity. But, back in the ’40s, Charles Biro had beaten Stan to the punch. Daredevil #42 (May 1947) had a reporter stumbling onto Daredevil removing his costume, revealing himself as Bart Hill. Rather than threaten the reporter, Bart decided to do what no other ’40s comicbook hero would have done in the situation: bribe him! “Look,” says Bart, “perhaps you and I could work out a little something.” No goody two-shoes, this hero! Unfortunately for Bart, the reporter, a guy named Killroy, declines even after being offered a car, an apartment, hot stock market tips, and a horse (!). “Tut, tut! Mustn’t bribe!” chastises Killroy. “Remember that won’t look so good in my story!” A Daredevil By Any Other Name… Just Daredevil’s luck, finding an honest newshound. Bart Hill, having revealed his Daredevil identity to the world, is shoved in front of a truck It was a very unexpected twist, but then, Biro was by a crook. But while Bart may not have been wearing his costume any more, he still known for them. had exceptional reflexes. From Daredevil #44 (Sept. 1947). Art by . [© the respective copyright holders.] In the same story Charlie added another

67 EL CARIM! The Miraculous Life Of SVEN ELVEN by Michael D. Fraley Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

he statuesque brunette in the crimson hat stood in the Tdoorway of El Carim’s office. Jane Grey’s father had been kidnapped, and she had come to this place out of desperation. “Oh El Carim, you’re the only one who can help me!” she pleaded to the magician. After a few pleasantries, the master of mystery wrote the name of Jane’s father on a slip of paper and fed it into a strange device he called a “spectrograph.” Removing the monocle from his eye, he held it in front of a slot on one end of the mechanism, and magically, like a scene from a movie, her father’s fate was played out on the “screen” of the lens. Sven Elven & El Carim (Above:) Sven, his wife Martha, and their newborn daughter That’s the story Sven Elven illustrated for Master Comics #1 Sigrid at their farm in the Catskills in 1938. One would never back in 1940; and, in my journey to solve the mystery of just exactly know it from her proud smile, but Martha had given birth who Sven Elven was, I could have used a magic spectrograph more with broken ribs due to an accident on the farm. than once along the way. Fortunately, I had access to wonderful (Below left:) The master of magic, “El Carim”—from Master resources nonetheless—the memories of his daughter and Comics #9 (Dec. 1940). Script by Carl Formes (a former opera grandchildren, access to his various documents and tools, and the singer); art by Sven Elven. [TM & © the respective trademark work of Elven’s widow and son-in-law, both of whom have passed & copyright holders.] on. I am deeply grateful for all of that. The love and respect that the family has repeatedly expressed for their grandfather is what has impressed me the most about this entire journey. I can only hope that all of us would be so fortunate. * * * Before illustrating the adventures of “El Carim” for Fawcett, Elven produced a tremendous amount of work for National (the future DC Comics) in the 1930s, appearing in landmark issues such as Detective Comics #1, Action Comics #1, and Detective Comics #27. If you’ve seen any of his work at all, it’s thanks to the fact that he was part of a larger show. He was responsible for well over a hundred stories for National alone—writing, drawing, and inking up to 22 pages’ worth of comics per month, spread across four publications. This doesn’t even take into account his later work for Fawcett and Centaur. Then, after just five short years, he was gone without a trace. An anecdote or two survived about him, but no one really seemed to know just who Sven Elven was, other than that he most likely was of Swedish origin. Even his name has come into doubt. Was it a slick that played on the lucky numbers seven and eleven in craps or blackjack? Compounding the problem is the fact that he wasn’t a super-hero artist like , a super-hero- creating machine like , a storyteller who pushed the limits of the medium like , or an artist who became a studio boss like Jack Binder. Elven illustrated the classics with a confident pen line, helping to lay the foundation for the revolution, but he never seemed interested in joining the revolution himself. He proved to be as mysterious as the characters he drew. The other artists he shared the pages of those early comics with, like Creig Flessel, Leo O’Mealia, 68 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

A Nation Of Immigrants (Left:) As detailed in Michael D. Fraley’s article, the family of young Sven Elven made its way to the New World on board the RMS Empress of Ireland, seen here. There was room on board for some 765 immigrants and poorer registration and the 1920 U.S. Census show him living in the passengers. The Empress tragically sank to the bottom of the St. Lawrence Old Irving Park neighborhood of with his parents and River near Quebec years later, after running into a Norwegian coal ship. siblings, but working at a metal forging plant near East Chicago, (Right:) Sven’s family, the Frykholms, circa 1910, just after they arrived in Indiana—a train commute of about two hours each way. As a young the . From left: Martha, Wendela, Judith, Philip, Sven, Albin, man, Sven was quite handsome, with dark hair and piercing blue and possibly William, one of twins. In front would be the other twin, Fred. eyes. Standing 6’2”, he was probably the shortest of the Frykholm brothers, with two others towering over him at 6’5”. Homer Fleming, and Tom Hickey, remained in either comicbooks or comic strips for decades. Sven Elven chose not to do that. Even Turning Towards Art Merna Gamble, who drew a lovely adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities for National, has more personal history available than Elven has The 1920 U.S. Census marks the first time we find Sven had. It’s time to draw back the curtain. identifying his profession as “artist.” When he could, he took classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and it is intriguing to wonder if he rubbed shoulders with a Origins few other famous students who were there between Born as Herbert Swen the late 1910s and the 1920s. Harold R. (Hal) Foster, Frederik Frykholm in Stockholm, who would later draw and Prince Valiant, Sweden, on July 17, 1897, Sven would have ridden into Chicago on his bicycle in and his family emigrated to 1919, just as Russell Patterson, the delineator of Jazz America in 1909, fleeing the Age beauties, was leaving his studies at the SAIC. poverty of their homeland. In 1921, Vernon Grant, creator of Snap, Crackle, and Pop for Kellogg’s cereals, became a student as well. After taking a ship to During art lectures by Dudley Crafts Wilson, he England, their Transatlantic may have heard Orson Welles’ ocean liner, the Empress of mother Beatrice providing Ireland, sailed from Liverpool background music on the to Canada, from which the piano. The Art Institute of family quickly made their way Chicago would remain a fond towards the suburbs of Chicago. There, they would find a large number of other Swedish immigrants. According to historian Ulf Beijbom, there were nearly 150,000 Swedes in Chicago alone by the turn of the century. Berwyn, the Swedish hub, was not far away. Sven’s father found A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man employment as a bricklayer, (Above:) On June 5, 1921, Sven Elven married Martha Hofmann while his older brother Philip in Chicago, Illinois. Sven’s brother Phil and Martha’s sister Edith worked laying cement. Sven are standing behind the couple, while Martha’s youngest sister is would work with dogged positioned between them. (Also seen is a blow-up of Sven himself from determination to learn English that same wedding picture.). so that he could make his way (Right:) Although Elven produced a few oil paintings in his later years, in his new country, keeping a most of the later paintings are watercolors. This preliminary color self- massive, unabridged Webster’s portrait sketch in oils probably belongs to his student work from the early 1920s, when he attended classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. dictionary within easy reach A finished painting based on this sketch was eventually made, but its as he would read books or whereabouts are unknown. newspapers. Sven’s 1918 draft El Carim! The Miraculous Life Of Sven Elven IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, 69 CLICK THE LINK TO ORDER THIS ISSUE IN PRINT OR DIGITAL FORMAT! focal point for him as the years passed, appearing in some of his had done his first real successful art which had been paid for, and personal art. It would also be a point of contention for him, as more he was still working very hard to master English. Well, he decided modern and abstract art made its way onto the museum walls. to celebrate the occasion of his success and went to a very upscale restaurant and ordered a steak. He told the waiter he wanted a Sven’s student works that survive from this period are ‘very rare steak,’ thinking that ‘very rare’ would be the finest steak paintings in oils, including color sketches that have a spontaneous, in the house. He was a little surprised that what was served was a impressionistic look about them, similar to the legendary Swedish practically raw steak! He’d laugh as he would tell us, but he would portrait Anders Zorn. On close inspection, he also seems also tell us how important it was to have a good command of the to have even used the “Zorn palette” for a while, teasing a full language!” Granddaughter Janet adds that Sven would go on to spectrum of colors out of just black, white, red, and yellow ochre. speak English very well. He spent some 45 years of his life in and According to the family, Sven illustrated some 38 books; around the Windy City. I’ve been able to identify seven of them. Tearsheets from those books were clipped and saved by his wife, documenting his long Working Methods & Influences career, but not always with a note as to where the piece might The magazine cover artALTER for Tatler EGO & #162American Sketch (which have appeared. It’s possible that he may have done some of WILL MURRAY presents an amazing array of possible prototypes the work under a different name, experimenting as some other was also an earlyof Batmanvenue (by for artist Alberto FRANK FOSTER Vargas)—in 1932!)—Wonder that currently adorns the walls of granddaughterWoman (by Star-Spangled Ruth’s Kid homeartist HAL is SHERMAN drawn)—Tarantula in a very linear family members did with names that would allow them to blend (by Air Wave artist LEE HARRIS), and others! Plus a rare Hal more easily into English-speaking America. Philip, for example, Art Deco style similarSherman interview—to RussellMICHAEL Patterson T. GILBERT andwith more other on artist artists of the late 1920s and earlyPETE MORISI 1930s.—FCA In— additionBILL SCHELLY to—JOHN Patterson, BROOME—and Elven was shortened the family name to “Holmes,” which is a name that Sven more! Cover homage by SHANE FOLEY! is also said to have used early on. At any rate, an illustration career also clearly influenced(100-page by adventure FULL-COLOR illustrators magazine) $9.95 such as Pyle, would begin to open up for the tall, young immigrant with calluses Wyeth, and Coll, as most of his(Digital generation Edition) $5.95 were. This combination on his hands. In later years, he would tell a tale from around that of influences sometimeshttp://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_55&products_id=1426 gave his later comic work the unique time. appearance of N.C. Wyeth inked with a stylized art deco line. Like Wyeth, Elven was someone familiar with hard work and a love of Grandson John says, “Grandpa would tell us a story of how he adventure and the outdoors. He enjoyed the world of fine art, too, and he admired Degas, whom years later in a letter to the Chicago Tribune (11/22/1952) he would term “the superb master,” both for the life he brought to his paintings as well as his ability to convincingly depict animal anatomy. A sense of liveliness and accuracy were important to

Ars Gratia Artist (Above:) During his time in Sweden in 1924, Sven supported himself by making “plein air” paintings of Stockholm. This is a palette knife painting of a street in Sweden that returned home with him. (Right:) In the early 1930s, he created Art Deco-oriented covers for Tatler & American Sketch magazine, a showcase for the cream of New York’s upper class. Shown is the March 1931 issue. To look at Elven’s covers, or the magazine in , one would never know that the Roaring ’20s had come to a grinding halt and that America had been plunged into the . The Tatler was clinging desperately to a world that was swiftly fading. [© the respective copyright holders.]