ROY THOMAS Chapter Four

Captain Marvel Jr. TM & © DC Comics DC © & TM Jr. Marvel Captain Introduction by ROY THOMAS Chapter Four Little Boy Blue Ed Herron had come to Fawcett with a successful track record of writing Explosive is the best way to describe this iconic, colorful cover (on opposite page) by and creating comic book characters that had gone on to greater popularity, Mac Raboy, whose renditions of a teen-age super-hero with a realistic physique was noth- including work on the earliest stories of Timely’s colorful Captain America— ing less than perfect. Captain Marvel Jr. #4, (Feb. 19, 1943). Inset bottom is Raboy’s first and his kid sidekick Bucky. It was during the fall of 1941 that Herron came cover for Fawcett and the first of the CMJr origin trilogy, Master Comics #21 (Dec. 1941). Below up with the idea of a new addition to the Fawcett family. With Captain is a vignette derived from Raboy’s cover art for Captain Marvel Jr. #26 (Jan. 1, 1945). Marvel sales increasing dramatically since his debut in February 1940, Fawcett management figured a teenage version of the “Big Red Cheese” would only increase their profits. Herron liked Raboy’s art very much, and wanted a more illustrative style for the new addition, as opposed to the C. C. Beck or Pete Costanza simplified approach on Captain Marvel. The new boy-hero was ably dubbed Captain Marvel Jr., and it was Mac Raboy who was given the job of visualizing him for the very first time. Jr.’s basic attire was blue, with a red cape. His boots, sash, and trim, were the same as Captain Marvel’s: gold! A brilliant costume of color if ever there was—and with Raboy’s superb draftsmanship, coupled with stories written by Otto Binder, Joe Millard, Manly Wade Wellman, and Bill Woolfolk, a sure-fire success on the newsstands was in order. LITTLE BOY BLUE 27 Chapter Five Helping Hands Even though he was the slowest artist working for Fawcett in those days, the company obviously thought a lot of his work. They especially loved his covers, which were always well-designed and attractive. In 1941 and ’42, Mac produced some classic cover images for other Fawcett titles besides Master, including America’s Greatest Comics, Bulletman, Captain Midnight, Spy Smasher, and Xmas Comics. With the increased workload it became obvious to the Fawcett editors that Mac would never be able to keep up with the growing amount of work. The decision was made to hire someone who could give Mac some help on backgrounds. That help came almost immediately from a young man by the name of Rubin Zubofsky, who at age nineteen came knocking at Fawcett’s door in January of 1942. Zubofsky was interviewed by editor Herron Above house ad from Fawcett touting the and co-editor John Beardsley, who, massive semi-regular annual Xmas Comics, which consisted of 324 pages and sold for during the course of the interview, 50¢! The first issue’s cover (seen here, from 1941) was illustrated by Mac Raboy. requested him to produce a drawing in their presence. After completing Inset right is a Mighty Midget Comic edition— this one, Bulletman (#11)—which are 5" x 4" it, he was hired at a salary of $35 a miniature reprint comics sold in sets of four by publisher Samuel E. Lowe & Co., in 1942. week as an assistant to Mac Raboy. This meant providing pencils and Next page is Mac Raboy’s work on the cover of America’s Greatest Comics #1 (Fall 1941), inks on backgrounds for Raboy’s a 100-page quarterly, demonstrating Raboy’s special talent for drawing the human figure. covers or stories. 34 Chapter Five Associate Interview Bob Rogers/Rubin Zubofsky, Man in the Background AUTHOR’S NOTE Bob Rogers was born Rubin L. Zubofsky ROGER HILL: I can’t tell you just how in Brooklyn, New York, on January 15, 1923. Raised in that borough, he attended the High surprised and happy I was to find out School of Music & Art, from where he gradu- that you are, or were, the original ated in 1941. That summer, quite by chance, he was introduced to artist Myron Strauss Rubin Zubofsky. I was looking for you (1917–99) by a girlfriend he was dating. Rubin, two years ago, at the beginning of my who was anxious to get into an art business of any kind, began working with Strauss on a research on this whole Raboy project, feature called “Liberty Scouts” for the Comic and couldn’t find any Zubofsky listed Corporation of America, also known as Centaur Publications. His first collaborative efforts with anywhere! After what I had read in Strauss, penciling and inking backgrounds, Steranko’s History of the Comics about showed up in Liberty Scouts #3, dated Aug. 1941. Strauss was renting studio space at a you, and from a letter by [Fawcett photostat firm and, right after Pearl Harbor, editor] Wendell Crowley [published in received his Army draft notice from Uncle Sam. Rubin—going by the nick name of “Ruby”— Alter Ego Vol. 1, #8], I knew you were finished his last job with Strauss, assisting one of the key figures in the scheme on Stars and Stripes Comics #5 (Nov. 1941). Strauss left for military duty on Jan. 1, 1942, of things. and, a month or so before leaving, introduced Ruby to Lou Fine, a good friend of Strauss, BOB ROGERS: Rubin Zubofsky… who was also in need of a background man. Fine was already familiar with Ruby’s work nicknamed Ruby! That is my real for Strauss and hired him right away, without name. During the war, my parents anglicized it. At some point, my mother wrote reviewing his samples. and told me they had changed the name to Rogers, and I thought, “Gee whiz, I’d At that time, Fine’s studio was located in a high-rise residential building in Manhattan, like to go along with the family.” But I decided not to do it until after I got out of called Tudor City, where Ruby began assist- the service or I’d screw up my records. So I waited until after the war. ing on features such as “Uncle Sam,” “The Ray,” “Hercules,” and “Black Condor.” Within RH: You were using the nickname “Ruby” at Fawcett, right? You know, it was months, the young assistant had moved on to Fawcett Publications, where he was hired to originally believed that Mac Raboy had changed his name from Rabinowitz to specifically work with Mac Raboy on back- Raboy. grounds. From then on, it was a mad dash to keep up with deadlines turning out Cap- tain Marvel Jr. stories and covers, with Mac ROGERS: I guess a lot of erroneous data gets thrown around out there. It’s directing the action. This frantic pace continued funny how little bits and pieces have come back into my recollection that I had until Ruby was also drafted in the Army, in late 1942. After his discharge from military service forgotten about. I only recently remembered that I had shortened my name to in Sept. 1945, he anglicized his last name to “Zubof” for Fawcett! [laughs] I even went out and got myself a separate Social Rogers, following family wishes, and changed his first name to Bob. He and his brother Hank Security card, which said “Rubin Zubof,” which was legal then. opened a photography store for a short period of time. By November of that year, Bob was RH: We’ve been discussing by email the “mystery artist” who helped you get back at Fawcett doing background work, only started in the comic book business as his apprentice; but so far we haven’t been now for Bud Thompson who had taken over the majority of art chores on Captain Marvel Jr. able to come up with a name, right? You seem to think it was someone called following Raboy’s departure. Myron. And your son-in-law Dan and I suggested to you that it might have been Continued on next page 40 Associate Interview ROGERS: That’s amazing. He wouldn’t give me $5 for my raise. RH: So you talked to Arnold and he turned you down? ROGERS: No, I don’t remember how it came about. Whether Lou spoke up for me or someone approached him for me, I didn’t actually do it myself, so Lou said, “Well, I don’t blame you, you’re well worth it.” He told me that what I should do is see if I could pick up some extra work. So I got together a few examples of what I had done. I wish I still had them. You know, the books where I had done “The Ray” and “The Spirit,” and all the others. I took these samples around, and one of the places I went to was Fawcett. A fellow there by the name of [comics editor/writer] Ed Herron interviewed me, and he looked at the work I showed him, and he said, “Wait here.” Display signage—featuring C. C. Beck art— promoting the R. W. Kerr plastic figurines of He went inside and another fellow came out and said, “How’d you like to work Fawcett “Marvel Family” super-hero charac- for Fawcett?” He said, “How much are you earning?” And I was real sharp and ters, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel, and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny. said, “$20 a week.” Then he offered what was almost double that. $35 a week! I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! I mean, I was looking for a $5 raise.

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