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Home , American Pop, Bill Mumy, Bob Haney, Captain Action, Captain Nice, Computo (character)

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The Other Nice–Terrific War...... 143 The Return of the Original Yellow Tornado...... 144 The MAD Adventures of Captain Klutz ...... 145 INTRODUCTION: Goin’ to a Go-Go 4 AN INTERVIEW WITH DICK DeBARTOLO...... 147 Fatman, the Human Flying Saucer...... 148 CHAPTER 1: Campfire 6 Not Brand Echh...... 151 ...... 7 Fruitman...... 156 and the Giant Cyclops...... 9 Sinistro, Boy Fiend...... 158 Magicman and Nemesis...... 12 Fearless Frank...... 159 The Teen ...... 14 Captain Costello and Captain Splendid...... 160 , the Element Man...... 17 AN INTERVIEW WITH ...... 21 CHAPTER 4: Camp Runamuck 162 for Hero...... 23 Bondmania...... 163 Harvey Thrillers...... 25 ’s Fantastic Voyages ...... 174 ...... 31 AN INTERVIEW WITH ...... 178 Dell’s Monster Super-Heroes...... 36 Batmania...... 182 Palisades Park...... 41 Jan and Dean Meet ...... 190 AN INTERVIEW WITH VINCE GARGIULO...... 43 AN INTERVIEW WITH DEAN TORRENCE...... 192 Batman All Star Dairy Products...... 45 ’s A Bird… It’s A Plane… It’s Superman...... 198 Batman Mini-Comics...... 47 AN INTERVIEW WITH BOB HOLIDAY...... 200 Super-Hero Paperbacks...... 50 , TV’s Most Famous Swinger...... 205 Blackhawk, Junk- Heroes ...... 60 The ...... 206 Aquamania...... 63 , Sixties Super-Cop...... 209 B’Wana ...... 67 TV Pilot...... 212 Saturday Morning Super-Heroes...... 214 CHAPTER 2: Camptown Revivals 68 Hanna-Barbera Heroes...... 225 I.W. Super Comics...... 69 ’s DC Super-Hero Cartoons...... 237 ...... 71 Marvel Super-Hero Cartoons...... 239 Captain Marvel ...... 73 America’s Best TV Comics...... 242 ...... 77 The Spirit...... 79 CHAPTER 5: Band Camp 244 ...... 81 Beatlemania...... 245 ...... 83 AN INTERVIEW WITH ...... 249 The ...... 87 Swing with Scooter...... 251 Super-Hip...... 253 CHAPTER 3: Campus Clowns 90 Surf’s Up!...... 255 Jerry Lewis, One-Man ...... 91 Monkeemania and Comic Books...... 257 Herbie the Fat Fury...... 98 AN INTERVIEW WITH JOSE DELBO...... 263 Super Goof...... 100 ...... 265 Pureheart the Powerful & Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E...... 101 The Archies ...... 268 The ...... 104 Go-Go...... 110 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...... 270 The Mighty Heroes ...... 115 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 270 AN INTERVIEW WITH ...... 118 ABOUT THE AUTHOR...... 271 Super Luck...... 125 Miracles, Inc...... 126 Super Presidents ...... 128 AN INTERVIEW WITH TONY TALLARICO...... 136 The Nice–Terrific War...... 138 Chapter 1 CAMPFIRE

Uh-oh ... Now I know how toothpaste feels! YEEOW!

HAW! I’ll squeeze the elemental juice out of you, fella! DC Comics. ( Detail and dialogue from The Brave and the Bold #68. TM & THE SUPER-HERO EXPLOSION

Split personality! ECLIPSO Gordon vs. Hero and Villain Eclipso on the Toth-drawn in One Man House of Secrets #67 cover. TM & © DC Comics. Let’s get this out of the way from the get-go: Eclipso scared the heck out of me when I was a kid. In 1966, I had just started buying comics at age eight when the “Hero and Villain in One Man!” was winding down his original three-year blip of fame. As I scoured the racks searching for Batman funnybooks, I’d avert my eyes when stumbling across those issues of House of Secrets starring Eclipso. As drawn by , Eclipso was horrifying, with his pointy demon ears, blue half-moon , and swollen-lipped evil snarl. But I scared easily back then. Bette Davis gave me nightmares (those were her What Ever Happened to

Baby Jane? years, when her makeup was gruesomely LEFT: Original applied like Herman Munster’s). Jack Sparling Who was Eclipso? Created by writer art, with and artist , this high-concept character— monsters “Hero and Villain in One Man!”—debuted in issue galore, from #61 (July–Aug. 1963) of House of Secrets, one of DC HOS #80. Courtesy of Heritage. Comics’ anthologies. His premiere only gar- TM & © DC Comics. nered a headshot inset at the bottom of the comic’s cover, with HOS’ Mark Merlin considered a better draw for the spotlight. But over time Eclipso would… yes, eclipse the other stars of the book (Merlin and, later, Prince Ra-Man) to become House of Secrets’ dominant cover feature. Issue #61’s inaugural tale, “Eclipso, the Genius Who Fought Himself,” introduces -energy scien- tist Dr. Bruce Gordon, the feature’s hero who would also become its villain. While studying an eclipse of the sun on an island sinisterly named Diablo, Gordon is scratched by an uncanny black diamond wielded by a loco jungle named Mophir. From that moment on, Gordon becomes a modern-day Jekyll

7 LEFT: Eclipso, Bat-villain, SUPERMAN AND THE as seen in a frame tray GIANT CYCLOPS puzzle, color- ing book (back A Whacked-Out cover shown), and a card Wax Exhibit from a Batman card game, all Part of growing up is the crushing discovery that from 1966. TM & © DC Comics. sometimes, advertisements stretch the truth. Other times, they flat-out lie. You’d think that Sixties comic books, which paraded their wholesomeness by plastering the Mom- pleasing Comics Code Authority seal of approval on their covers, would be immune to such swindles. But amid their four-color pages existed the most shameless examples of advertising’s sliding scale of honesty, from the X-Ray Specs that provided no voyeuristic peek through fabric whatsoever to the Sea Monkeys that could not, in fact, be trained as pets. Those charlatans! How dare they deceive children?? The mightiest of super-heroes, Superman him- self, exposed his vulnerability to false advertising in 1964 when he loaned his very name and image to one of the Sixties’ greatest let-downs: the “Superman and the Giant Cyclops” attraction at the World’s Fair. The bar of anticipation was hoisted to strato- spheric highs by the fair itself, an astonishing Space Age wonderland that was 1964’s second biggest American invasion (after the Beatles). Engulfing 650 The DC Comics house ad of 1964, promising a wax museum thrill. Superman TM & © DC Comics.

at the time but later hated when collectors realized the diamond made it tough to bag and board the is- sue without damaging the comic in front of it.) And since then Eclipso, like comic books themselves, has gotten darker and meaner. But for those of us who lived during the Camp Age, we’ll always think of Eclipso as the moon-faced menace who’d duck when you’d turn on your front porch light.

9 Nemesis (detail from the cover of MAGICMAN Adventures into the AND NEMESIS Unknown #154) and Magicman The Siegfried and Roy (detail from the cover of of the Camp Age Forbidden Worlds #126). Art by Kurt Schaffen- berger. TM & © Roger Broughton.

The Sixties’ race to overpopulate comic-book racks with super-heroes created more wrong turns than a drunken taxi driver. Among them: the Siegfried and Roy of the Camp Age, Magicman and Nemesis. They were the product of American Comics Group (ACG), known for its long-running supernatural anthologies Adventures into the Unknown, which be- gan in 1948, and Forbidden Worlds, which began in 1951 and gave birth to the cult favorite Herbie. In the mid-Sixties, their editor, Richard A. Hughes, acquiesced to reader and market demands and created the super-heroes Magicman, who took over Forbidden Worlds with issue #125 (Jan.–Feb. 1965), Magicman’s daddy, Cagliostro. and Nemesis, the cover-featured star of Adventures into the Unknown beginning with issue #154 (Feb. 1965). Conceptually, both characters were a better fit for their anthologies than, say, Martian or Dial H for Hero were for DC’s . Magicman and Nemesis were rooted in the occult, both had creepy origins… …and both had the most embarrassing cos- tumes this side of Captain Nice. As comics historian Chic Stone’s Don Thompson wrote in his essay “OK, Axis, Here Nemesis, on We Come” in the 1970 book All in Color for a Dime, the cover of Magicman and Nemesis were “a couple of limpwristed Adventures super-heroes” who were “costumed as if for ballet.” into the Magicman’s bare arms, peek-a-boo chest, and pixie Unknown #167. boots so undermined his masculinity that they made TM & © Roger Broughton. his turban look like a beauty shop towel wrap. And the barelegged Nemesis was emasculated by striped briefs and a hood that looked better suited for a Forties screen diva. Soft costume colors (lime for Magicman, powder blue for Nemesis) didn’t help their virility, either. They were nicely drawn, however, particularly on their covers, most of which were done by German immigrant , a goat herder- turned-comic artist who dazzled Golden Age readers with his work on ’ Captain Marvel

12 when he and Sapphire THE OTHER WOMAN IN went out, and maybe he was at a costume METAMORPHO’S LIFE ball in that one story. He and Sapphire really An Interview with got around. Ramona Fradon Did you also choose his body’s colors? No. Ramona Fradon entered the hero series and he thought my comic-book industry in the drawing would be just right for Metamorpho is not Fifties, at a time when few the character he had in mind. only colorful, he’s tex- women worked in the business, My first inclination was to say tured. What elements drawing the feature in no, but when he described the are the four quadrants for an un- goofy plotline I was intrigued and of his body supposed Ramona broken run of ten years. After a agreed to design the characters to represent? Fradon. hiatus she returned to co-create and do the first four episodes to Well, they are supposed to Metamorpho with Bob Haney, get the series launched. represent the four elements, designing the Element Man’s earth, , air, and water, but I unique (and bizarre) appearance What was it about the charac- have to admit they look more like and his memorable supporting ter that you found as an incen- wood, metal, maybe water, and cast. In the years since, Ramona tive to return to comics? some horrible form of acne on An undated has dazzled readers as one of the I love to exaggerate, and Bob’s his upper left side. recreation few to do to characters were wonderfully of B&B #57’s Jack Cole’s Pliable Pretzel, exaggerated popular stereotypes Where on Earth did you get the cover, auto- Plastic Man, and earned a new that I thought I could have fun inspiration for Simon Stagg’s graphed by generation of fans as the artist of with. It’s no secret that I don’t hairstyle? artist Ramona DC Comics’ title. enjoy drawing super-heroes, and I guess I was thinking of a mix- Fradon. This extremely versatile illustrator, it’s because they are so straight ture of old pictures of Southern Courtesy of Heritage. a 2006 Will Eisner and so serious and so lacking in TM & © DC Comics. Hall of Fame inductee, has also identity except for their individual drawn comic strips (following powers and the costumes they creator Dale Messick on Brenda wear. In Metamorpho, there was Starr for an impressive fifteen- a humorously dysfunctional set year stint) and children’s books. of characters that interacted in But to Camp Agers, Ramona ridiculous and improbable ways. Fradon is the Metamorpho artist. In designing Metamorpho, did Interview conducted in you go through variations for September 2015. his appearance, or did you have a clear of what he should After a long run on Aquaman, look like from the get-go? you’d dropped out of comics I muddled around with capes and for a few years before launching masks and other conventional Metamorpho in 1964. What were super-hero costumes, but Meta- you doing during that? morpho wasn’t conventional and I spent my time raising my little none of them suited him. I finally girl and working intermittently on decided that, since his body was a couple of children’s books. I always changing into different actually revised and finished one forms, clothing would get in his recently and it’s selling on Ama- way, so I put him in shorts with zon. It’s called The Dinosaur That the necessary insignia and left it Got Tired of Being Extinct. at that.

How did But he did briefly wear a recruit you back to DC to do costume in his third appearance Metamorpho? (Metamorpho #1)… George called me one day and If I remember correctly, for awhile said he had an idea for a super- he dressed up as a normal person

21 scribe (a handful of the best Batman PALISADES PARK stories—ever), and bestselling nov- elist (his books including Moloka'i), Superman’s Favorite grew up near the park. “When I was a kid, circa 1960, I used to get my Amusement Park comic books at Pitkoff’s candy store on Palisades Avenue in Cliffside Park, New Jersey,” Brennert shared The ink was barely dry on copies of with me in January 2016. “About a #1 back in 1938 before Superman’s corporate mile down the street was Palisades bosses discovered that the hero’s “S” also stood for Amusement Park, in whose giant “$.” While you never find super-salesmanship listed saltwater pool I waded as a toddler among Superman’s super-powers, the and in which my Aunt Eleanor once Marvel has long doubled as the Madison Avenue laid down God knows how many Marvel, over the years hawking everything from quarters at a concession stand in bubblebath to peanut butter. order that I might win a giant stuffed Outside of lending his name to his publishing dog I immediately named Ruff, after home of National Periodical Publications (“Super- Dennis the Menace’s dog. man” top-lined DC Comics’ cover bullet for many “When I started reading DC Comics, of course I Alan years), no promotional campaign involving the Man saw the half-page ads in which Superman shilled for Brennert’s tale of was more visible during the Sixties than the park (even holding a not-to-scale replica of it aloft of diver Toni Supie’s Palisades Amusement Park ads appear- with one hand, my favorite of the ads). Having Super- Stopka, 2013’s ing in DC titles. “Be my guest,” invited Superman in man ‘ballying’ for my neighborhood amusement park Palisades Park. © Alan Brennert. a compelling late-Sixties ad that caught my young was both thrilling, and yet unsurprising, to me. After eye. This wonderland was located in Cliffside Park, all, Palisades was a great park—why shouldn’t Super- New Jersey, “½ mile south of the George Washing- man be endorsing it? It wasn’t until years later, when ton Bridge,” the ad explained. For those of us living I started to understand how advertising worked, that in far-flung Anytown, U.S.A., we could only dream of I began to wonder why a regional amusement park accepting Superman’s kind offer. should be advertising in national publications (no pun Alan Brennert didn’t have to dream. The Emmy- intended). And still later I would hear from comics winning TV writer/producer (L.A. Law), comic-book readers/writers like , who once told me Superman invites DC Comics readers to visit Palisades Park. TM & © DC Comics.

41 night success of TV’s Batman, which first A HERO-A-GO-GO aired in January 1966. TOUR OF PALISADES The first mention I found of AMUSEMENT PARK Slide in news articles was from March 1966.

An Interview with What Batman-isms were featured on the Vince Gargiulo Batman Slide? At the very top of Vince Gargiulo grew up in Cliffside actor dressed as Superman ever the tower was a large Park, New Jersey, just fifteen appear at the park? cutout of the comic- blocks away from Palisades I don’t believe anyone ever book Batman. Below Amusement Park. Today he is the appeared at Palisades as a that was a sign that Executive Director of the Palisades Superman costumed character. read “Batman Slide,” with a ver- Vince Amusement Park Historical George Reeves did, however, sion of the Batman logo in the Gargiulo. make a personal appearance. I background. I do not believe they do not have an exact date as to ever included ’s image any- when this occurred. where on the attraction. LEFT: A re- vised edition Were there marketing studies Was the Batman Slide still in of Gargiulo’s conducted to show how many operation when the park closed Palisades attendees were drawn to the in 1971? Amusement park from outside of the New Yes, the Batman Slide was in op- Park: A Cen- York metro area by the ads eration right up until September tury of Fond published in comic books? 12, 1971. It was sold to Adventurers Memories, plus None that I am aware of. But Inn in Queens, . a DVD of its based on published newspaper PBS special articles throughout the lifetime of There was also a and other the park, I was able to calculate amusement there around the park-related that 33% of the visitors to same time. What was it? collectibles, Palisades were from New York. can be purchased Society and webmaster for its The Batman Slide was built in at www. website, PalisadesPark.com. The the mid-Sixties. Do you know PalisadesPark. park’s most renowned historian, exactly when? I’m assuming it com. Gargiulo has written two books was in response to the over- and produced one documentary on the subject: Palisades Amuse- The Batman ment Park: A Century of Fond Slide and Memories (Rutgers University Batcave barrel Press, 1995), which was followed attractions. The Corbett in 1998 by his PBS documentary Collection/www. based on the book, narrated PalisadesPark.com. by Ken Burns; and Postcard Batman and Robin History Series: Palisades Amuse- TM & © DC Comics. ment Park (Arcadia Publishing, 2005). Vince has kindly shared with Hero-A-Go-Go photographs of Palisades Park’s comic-related attractions.

Interview conducted in January 2016.

Since Superman was Palisades Park’s pitchman in DC Comics throughout the Sixties, did an

43 UNSUCCESSFUL COMEBACKS

Torchy, and Lady, and also-rans like Super- SUPER COMICS Brat, Apache, Kat Karson, and Man O’Mars. I.W. avoided cover dates, a gimmick to keep its books on Israel Waldman’s display longer. Most kids who stumbled across these titles had no clue that they were reading reprints. Unauthorized Comic I.W.’s production costs were minimal, with an occa- sional new cover being the only fresh material com- Book “Revivals” missioned. And thus, Israel Waldman became the Big Lots of comic books, offering remaindered product to consumers. The Fifties were a bad time for the comic-book busi- As the Camp Age emerged in the mid-Sixties, ness. The boom of World War II and the Forties had Waldman renamed his funnybook line Super Comics, faded, the new innovation of television was siphon- ramping up his super-hero output by reissuing more ing readers, and the entire industry found itself under golden oldies. Here’s where a trio of once-famous siege “thanks” to a fussy psychologist who blamed super-heroes got another moment in the spotlight the comic books for juvenile delinquency. Golden once Waldman repackaged issues of their magazines Age startups like Avon, , and from : Plastic Man, the Spirit, and closed shop, leaving behind a ton of inventory. Doll Man. Then came the Silver Age, where (the Super Comics’ Plastic Man—tagged “The - , ) and upstarts (Martian Man- ible Man with the Power of Steel!”—ran for three is- hunter) trickled into print in the late Fifties. Soon, the sues, starting with #11 (1963), under an uncredited business was booming again, opening a door for one cover possibly drawn by Jack Abel and Sol Brodsky. of comics’ most inglorious opportunists. It reprinted the contents of Quality’s Plastic Man #13 Publisher Israel Waldman gobbled up artwork (Mar. 1949): two Plas stories by the character’s from those shuttered comics houses and started creator, Jack Cole (“Gazelle Van Gander” and “Say publishing random issues of series reprinting mate- It Ain’t So, Plas!”), plus a Woozy Winks tale. Super’s rial from of Comics. Beginning in next Plas issue was numbered #16 (1964), with a 1958, his immodestly named I.W. Enterprises cranked cover by . It reprinted Quality’s Plastic out a barrage of irregularly released comic books in Man #21 (Jan. 1950), another issue with two Plas every imaginable genre, dusting off former stars like tales (“Kra Vashnu” and “Where is Amorpho?”) and a Sheena (Queen of the Jungle), Ka’a’nga (Jungle King), Woozy short. Lastly, Super published Plastic Man #18 Three of Super Comics’ unauthorized reprints: Plastic Man #11, Spirit #11, and Doll Man #17. Plastic Man and Doll Man TM & © DC Comics. The Spirit TM & © Will Eisner Studios Inc.

69 Three—Pureheart, Superteen, and Captain Hero (actually Jughead Jones)—who joined forces to res- cue a brainwashed Veronica from the clutches of the dastardly duo of Evilheart and Mad Doctor Doom (a villain transplanted from the pages of Little Archie). The super-heroes then branched out, with Evilheart appearing in Reggie and Me, Superteen in Betty and Me, and Pureheart the Powerful and Captain Hero getting their own books. (Not to be outdone, Little Archie—the adventures of Archie as a child—fea- tured Little Pureheart stories, and even Little Evilheart made an appearance!) Their super-powers were of the garden variety, mostly super-strength (except for Evilheart, who was powerless), but occasionally TOP & a cockamamie super-power would emerge if it would BOTTOM: guarantee a laugh, like Pureheart’s Intercranial TV. Jughead’s Superteen’s transformations were attributed to Captain Hero Betty’s twirling of her blonde ponytail, while Jughead costume went would become Captain Hero after reciting this oath from yellow to his trademark headwear: (LEFT) to blue during his brief Teeny weeny magic beanie super-stint. TM & © Archie Publi- Pointing towards the sky, cations, Inc. Give me muscle, power, vigor, Form a SUPER GUY!

Meanwhile, the Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. took over Life with Archie with issue #51. V.E.R.O.N.I.C.A. and R.E.G.G.I.E. were reformed into P.O.P. agents, and once TV’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’s spin-off The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. debuted, Betty was billed as the Girl from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. ’s spy

spoofs got zanier with each issue: The craze LEFT: Even inspired the villain the Whistler, whose music forced Reggie Mantle the P.O.P. agents to dance in LWA #52, and LWA #59 got into the spotlighted Archie’s jalopy, souped up into the super-“hero” P.O.P.mobile. act! TM & © Archie Publi- Between these two hero-vs.-villain genres, there cations, Inc. seemed to be no end of threats to the previously Norman Rockwellian suburban landscape of River- dale. Super-villains were in high supply, some of them leaping the fence between the Pureheart and R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. stories. Man, Birdman, the Bowman, the Collector (who trapped go-go girls under glass), the Computo (no relation to the Legion of Super-Heroes villain), the Demon Dropout (a.k.a. the Mad Chemist), the Devilish Disguiser, Dr. Demon, Dr. Detest, Dr. Nose, the Drummer, the Enforcer, Fang Finkster, Flamethrower, the devil Hotfoot, the mind-controlling sexpot , the Mad Clown, the Mad Music Master, the Mailman, Mr.

103 Detail from fully subversive 1987 Saturday Spotlight morning cartoon The New Comics’ The Adventures of . Mighty Heroes In this interview, Bakshi #1 (1987). Art takes us behind the scenes of the by Jim Engel. creation of The Mighty Heroes, Mighty Heroes TM & © CBS. his projects at Paramount, and his early days of working with .

Interview conducted in January 2016 and transcribed by Steven Thompson.

Let’s start with how you got started at . How old were you then? That’s a good question. I was eighteen and I’d just graduated high school at the School of Visual Arts. I think it’s now called the School of Visual Arts but in those days it was the Vocational Professional Arts School, where professionals from the industry taught the various classes. So I graduated and, because I won an award in cartooning, Terrytoons A CALL GOES OUT FOR… offered me a job at graduation. There was no thought of going THE MIGHTY BAKSHI! to college. In those days, if you had options, you’d rather work. An Interview with Ralph Bakshi So I accepted the job. Little did I know I’d be at a desk polish- ing cels, [laughs] for the camera. I might have thought twice about In the Seventies, Ralph Bakshi di- That led to his becoming that it, but there I was, suddenly self- rected the revolutionary ’ director and the Creative determined. My mother could not films , , Director for Terrytoons, and a get me to clean a glass, and then Wizards, and The Lord of the whirlwind few years of Camp I end up polishing stuff all day. Rings (the 1978 version). But then Age projects. In 1967, again, he was always one to test Bakshi replaced fabled animator [laughs] Some of the early shows boundaries. as the head of you were working on was stuff I Born in Palestine, as an Paramount Cartoon Studios’ (Fa- cut my teeth on as a kid watching infant Bakshi was moved by mous Studios) New York-based RIGHT: Bashi’s his family to the U.S. to flee the animation house, with an aggres- high school threat of war. He grew up in the sive mandate to develop cartoons portrait. rough-and-tumble Brownsville for television. That short-lived Courtesy of RalphBakshi.com. section of , New York, venture was followed by Ralph’s where he learned to think on often-tumultuous professional re- his feet. After graduating from lationship with Steve Krantz, dur- an arts-vocational high school ing which time Bakshi took over in 1956, Bakshi, a comic-book the TV toons Robin Hood fan, began his animation career and Spider-Man. This led to Fritz as a cel polisher at Terrytoons. the Cat, which Krantz produced. He rapidly learned his craft and In the decades following, Bakshi rose up the ranks until the fate- directed several other animated ful day in 1966 that he made an films including , impromptu pitch to CBS’ Fred Fire and , and , and Silverman for The Mighty Heroes. was responsible for the delight-

118 side of Kurt Schaffenberger’s . Old versus SUPER PRESIDENTS Young. Status Quo versus Here We Go. And if you believe the political analysts, the Gray Suit versus JFK and LBJ in the Dark Suit, as Nixon’s drab, five o’-shad- owed appearance in a televised debate (in black and Comic Books white) made many viewers tune him out in favor of the stark, striking, vibrant Kennedy. Still, MAD Magazine hedged its bets with its sixtieth issue The original by releasing a flip cover, one side SuperLBJ duplicitously congratulating Nixon, versus his the other, JFK! (MAD, and Americans greatest of voting age, ignored the candidacy enemies! of , who ran on Detail from the Hanna-Barbera ticket, at least the cover of according to the Huckleberry Hound the comic for President issue of ’ insert A.P.E. series, #1141. Howev- Comics, from er, those same voters disregarded 1965’s Biggest MAD #56’s “New Man” campaign Greatest for Alfred E. Neuman for President, Cracked #1. highlighted by a cover Art by John crammed with likenesses of political Severin. figures.) Scan courtesy of John Wells. © 1965 While celebrities and comic Cracked Magazine. books were frequent bedfellows, U.S. presidents were infrequently seen. Presidents in comic-book stories were traditionally generic statesmen (except for flashbacks to historically significant past presi- dents like Washington and Lincoln, who tended to pop up frequently), or their faces were purposely obstruct- Before Nixon and Watergate, people looked up to ed or in shadows (done so to preserve “the dignity of the U.S. President. It’s true! Every kid believed that the office”). Then came the first rock-star president of he (not she—back then, only First Ladies, secretar- the TV age. John Fitzgerald Kennedy had barely low- ies, and mistresses were allowed in the White House) ered his swearing-in hand after his January 20, 1961 could grow up to be our commander-in-. They inauguration before he became one of the most in- also believed they could grow up to be an astronaut demand real-world guest-stars of comic books of the or a cowboy. early Sixties. So we shouldn’t be surprised that the Swinging The new U.S. president made a quickie comic- Sixties gave us an astronaut president and a cowboy book appearance in a one-shot aptly titled John F. president—the handsome Man from Camelot who Kennedy, New U.S. President. Published on news- promised us the moon and the feisty Man from print with a newsprint cover, this issue flew under the who ran Jim Crow out of town on a rail. radar of, well, everyone reading comic books, since it was produced by the U.S. Information Agency as a giveaway to interna- tional dignitaries to JFK’S NEW FRONTIER OF introduce them to our new commander-in- COMIC BOOKS chief. Charlton Com- The Camp Era was in its embryonic stages during the ics, the little Derby, presidential election of 1960 when Republican Rich- Connecticut, comics ard M. Nixon, a familiar face who’d been eyeing the house that rapidly Oval Office from down the hall as vice president to and rabidly exploit- Dwight D. Eisenhower, campaigned against Demo- ed any new trend, crat John F. Kennedy, a fresh face who’d impressed was the first to rush folks with both his promise of a New Frontier and his a JFK comic-book

gorgeous wife who wore the best pillbox hats this publication onto the © U.S. Information Agency.

128 Stephen Strimpell as humble gas-station attendant THE NICE–TERRIFIC Stanley Beamish who is the only mortal who can swallow a “power pill” and become energized. WAR Recruited for a secret government agency, he dons a silver lamé suit and matching aviator goggles to Guest Essay By battle America’s enemies as Mr. Terrific. Police chemist Carter Nash, played by William Daniels, invented the potion that transformed him into Captain Nice. His hyper-colorful homemade costume was the gaudiest thing this side of the Golden Age Note: This essay was originally conceived as an Green Lantern. He, too, wore goggles when flying. article for Jon B. Cooke’s magazine ACE: All Comics At first, the development of both shows seemed Evaluated, for which its opening artwork by USA to be innocent examples of synchronicity. Today illustrator Keith Carter was commissioned. Stephen Strimpell had been a New York actor ACE was cancelled before “The Nice–Terrific War” when he decided to take a two-month break in Los could be published. Jon then planned to include this Angeles to get away from the oppressive humidity. “I feature in his Comic Book Artist magazine. Once told my agent, ‘No calls. Just let me rest.’ But I was I discovered its existence, I inquired to Jon about barely off the plane, still in my traveling suit, when a publishing it here in Hero-A-Go-Go instead. My CBS casting director tracked me to my hotel room sincere thanks to Jon Cooke, Will Murray, and Keith and asked if I was interested in doing a TV series. He Carter for agreeing to its publication in my book. had seen me off-Broadway in The Exhaustion of Our – Michael Eury Son’s Love, where I had gotten some impressive no- tices, and he was delighted I was right on the scene. Before the week was out I was signed to star in Mr. Fifty years ago, two obscure superheroes went to Terrific.” Strimpell had played a rough-edged garage war—with one another. These colorful characters mechanic in the play. He was also cast in a new Dick did not slug it out in the real world, but on an van Dyke movie, A Garden of Cucumbers. When the electronic battlefield still in its youth. pilot sold, it created a problem. “I found I’d have to History has chosen not to formally record report for work on both projects the same day. this tragi-comic epic, but some skirmishes did Obviously, I couldn’t be at both the Goldwyn and make the newspapers. One reporter dubbed it Universal Studios simultaneously. For awhile it looked “The Nice–Terrific War.” Out of these accounts like there would have to be a court fight for priority. it is possible to recount the sorry tale of the But finally they settled it amicably by telescoping my year when Mr. Terrific and Captain Nice 5 and a half weeks of work in the van Dyke picture battled one another to mutual extinction. into 1 and a half days.” It began on network television, in Janu- While Buck Henry was developing Captain Nice, ary of 1967—the traditional start of the so- he remembered an actor who would be perfect for called “Second Season.” That was the month that part. Trouble was, he couldn’t remember the when the Big Three dumped their Fall losers and man’s name or where he had seen him! Walking past brought in fresh troops for ratings reinforcements. a theater showing A Thousand Clowns, Henry spot- A year before, ABC’s Batman had debuted, ted the actor’s face on a display still. Fate—or some- shaking up the mid-season ratings sweepstakes. thing approximately like it—rudely yanked William That network followed up with The Green Hornet Daniels off Broadway. in the Fall. Naturally, NBC and CBS wanted to get At the time, Daniels observed that Henry pat- into the act. terned Carter Nash after Daniel’s stuffy social worker THIS PAGE & Buck Henry of fame was tasked with character in A Thousand Clowns. OPPOSITE: concocting the NBC entry, Captain Nice. Over at Both shows premiered Monday night, January 9, TV heroes CBS, they were allied with Universal Studios to 1967. CBS’s Mr. Terrific debuted at 8:00 with the epi- Captain Nice produce Mr. Terrific. Jack Arnold, the director behind sode entitled “Matchless.” NBC decided to air Cap- and Mr. Terrific The Creature from the and The Incred- tain Nice a half hour later, at 8:30, in “The Man Who put up their ible Shrinking Man, was the mind behind the alternate Flies Like a Pigeon.” Bad blood immediately resulted. dukes in this alter ego. “That back-to-back scheduling is something,” illustration by Mr. Terrific was hardly original. A minor DC remarked Daniels. “In the hierarchy of the networks it Keith Carter. super-hero by that very name operated back in may make sense, but it’s beyond me. But I can’t Captain Nice © NBC. Mr. Terrific © Universal the Golden Age of Comics. As for the concept, it concern myself with that. I just work all the time.” Television. appeared to have been borrowed from the popular Whether archly or smugly, he added, “I’ll be honest Art © Keith Carter. Saturday morning cartoon show, Underdog, starring and say I feel better about it after I saw the premieres Wally Cox. of the two shows.” Boom. The differences between the two super- Critics were not kind. One lumped both shows schnooks were superficial. Mr. Terrific starred together and called them “disheartening.” Strimpell

138 lot. The upper deck was on one WILL ROBINSON, TV’S stage, the lower on another… we had swing sets that con- OTHER BOY WONDER nected and disconnected… no ceilings… big lights, cameras, An Interview with Bill Mumy and cranes and cables and crew always everywhere. I LOVED the look of the show. But I never got The Sixties offered no short- space family blasted off in the caught up in the feeling that it age of boy and teen heroes to Jupiter 2 he had already logged was anything other than just cool look up to, from the globetrotting years of screen time as an ac- sets and props and acting. , to the high-flying tor. In the half-century-plus since , to Robin and Jimmy ’s September 5, Although you had been acting Olsen, the best buds of Batman 1965 debut, Mumy has scored for several years and were quite and Superman. But really, was successes in virtually every imag- experienced, Lost in Space was inable spectrum of the entertain- your first hit… ment business—in addition to Well, I’d been in a ton of “hits” his galaxy of work in front of the before LIS. Three Twilight Zones, camera, he’s an accomplished three Hitchcocks [Alfred Hitch- musician, songwriter, voice actor, cock Presents], two Loretta narrator, author, producer—even Young Shows, the hit Westerns a comic-book scribe (including of the day, several major studio his co-creations The Man, feature films, Disney films, etc. Dreamwalker, and Trypto the Acid We were all proud of the success Dog). Whether you know him as Lost in Space achieved and we The Twilight Zone’s Anthony Fre- all paid attention to the ratings mont, the kid in the Dick Tracy every week, but I don’t think we Water-Power Jet Gun commer- ever felt like we were a big hit at cial, young Darrin Stevens, Baby- the time. Successful, yes. But, we lon 5’s Lennier, or the narrator of certainly were no . A&E’s Biography, for those who grew up during the Camp Age, Let me rephrase that—Lost in Bill Mumy will forever be TV’s Space was the first show you other Boy Wonder, Will Robinson. started on from day one, and there was a lot of LIS merchan- Interview conducted in dising, with your likeness on February and March 2016. trading cards and toys and such. How did you, as a kid, Before I ask questions of Bill process that fame? Mumy, the adult creative artist, The merchandise was very cool, can we channel Billy Mumy, the and I used to go up to Irwin Al- child actor, for a moment? Tell len’s office often and he’d allow me how you, as a kid, felt the me to take “one” of the current day you first saw the elaborate LIS merchandise stuff he had lay- Jupiter 2 set for Lost in Space. ing around. I dug it, but it never Bill Mumy as there a kid hero more happening I hate to disappoint people when felt like much of a big deal to me Will Robinson, than Will Robinson? Sure, he may they expect me to have react- at the time. I enjoyed being part by and cour- have been lost in space, but Will ed like I was really feeling like I of the Model kit… None tesy of artist played guitar, had a groovy ward- was seeing a legit spaceship, or of my real friends ever treated me Mike Hoffman. robe and two hot sisters, feared a real robot, etc., when I was a special or acted like they were Lost in Space® TM & © Legend Pictures, no giant Cyclops, and palled kid. But the truth is, I’d been on impressed by what I was doing LLC. around with not one but two side- sets and locations and around when I wasn’t tossing a Frisbee kicks (a robot and a crabby but lots of props and in all kinds of around with them. Basically, I left lovable man-child). Plus, Will was wardrobe for half my life by the my work at work and then be- the smartest guy in the room. time we started Lost in Space. I came a normal kid. I didn’t think While Bill (then Billy) Mumy was a seasoned pro by then. The about processing fame. may have been just a hair older LIS sets were truly impressive… than many of the children watch- but remember, they were spread Is it true that you were the first ing him each week on Lost in out over two separate sound- choice to play Eddie Munster? Space, by the time he and his stages on the 20th Century Fox Yes.

178 (shared with ), a push puppet and was reimagined as , Attorney at Law Tricky Trapeze from Kohner, a Transogram board on the ’s . game, and a Halloween costume, among other items. BOY

First Appearance: Space , CBS, 9/10/66 Number of episodes: 18 Secret Identity: Todd (last name unknown) Super-powers: none ’ Gallery: Vampire Men, Rock Pygmies, Treemen, Ant Warriors, Worm Men, Bird Riders, Sun People Synopsis: Officially titled Dino Boy in the Lost Valley, this series was reminiscent of the works of master of adventure Edgar Rice Burroughs, albeit with contem- porary overtones. Designed by , Dino Boy’s primitive landscape provided a dramatic departure from its host series, (Space Ghost starred in two episodes per half hour as opposed to Birdman Dino Boy’s one). title cel. Dino Boy is Todd, whose life is spared once Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Hanna-Bar- BIRDMAN he parachutes from a doomed aircraft. Lost in a bera Productions. dangerous world he never made (an uncharted : Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, South American village which has inexplicably NBC, 9/9/67 remained mired in the Stone Age), he is rescued and Number of episodes: 40 befriended by a hulking caveman named Ugh, and Secret Identity: Ray Randall embarks upon a series of Lost Valley adventures Super-powers: flight, energy blasts, formation of riding atop Ugh’s brontosaurus, Bronty. The young energy voice actor playing Dino Boy was Johnny Carson, Catchphrase: “Bir-r-r-r-r-rdman!” who soon became known as John David Carson to Rogues’ Gallery: F.E.A.R., Number One, Dr. Millen- avoid confusion with the famous Tonight Show host. nium, Vulturo, Morto, X the Eliminator, Nitron the Human Bomb Synopsis: While was fluttering about on Saturday mornings in CBS’ The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Hanna-Barbera introduced its own Winged Wonder, designed by Alex Toth and voiced by Keith Andes. Birdman, the super-hero incarnation of the Egyptian sun god Ra, is solar-powered, his energy waning during prolonged exposures to darkness. He is dispatched on missions for Inter-Nation Security by -7, his bossman who sports an eyepatch. Headquartered in the Bird Lair, deep inside an

inactive volcano, Birdman is accompanied into TM & © Hanna-Barbera Productions. action by his golden-eagle companion Avenger and occasionally, a kid named Birdboy. This super-hero was actually Hanna-Barbera’s second Birdman. One of the super-criminals to fight FRANKENSTEIN, JR. Frankenstein, Jr. was the Birdman, a dumpy, cos- tumed crook who commanded robotic birds. First Appearance: Frankenstein, Jr. and the Merchandising of Birdman was limited, although Impossibles, CBS, 9/10/66 the hero did appear as a 1967 Ben Cooper Halloween Number of episodes: 18 costume and in Gold Comics’ Hanna-Barbera Secret Identity: n/a Super TV Heroes (according to the Grand Comics Super-powers: flight via astro boots, super- Database, the Birdman/Galaxy Trio team-up in strength, various powers from mechanical body parts issue #2 of H-B Super TV Heroes was scripted by (battering ram from head, power beams from fingers, Superman co-creator ). The character electrical energy from fists, elongating arms, etc.)

228 age of the Arabian Nights, where they are frequently Gold Key imperiled by wicked wizards, terrifying beasts, and Comics’ Space disgusting bandits. The teens fly from adventure to Ghost #1 (Mar. adventure on Kaboobie, the winged camel given to 1967). Front them by . cover by Dan Shazzan’s thunderous voice was provided by Spiegle, back Barney Phillips, a TV and film actor known for roles in cover by Alex Dragnet, , Twelve O’Clock Toth. TM & © Hanna-Bar- High, and one of the most popular Twilight Zone bera Productions. episodes, “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” Jerry Dexter, who was also voicing at the time for Filmation’s Aquaman series, played Chuck, while animation great voiced Nancy and voiced Kaboobie. In Ted Sennett’s The Art of Hanna-Barbera, CBS’ , fundamental in the development of Shazzan, lauded the look of the show (the handiwork of Alex Toth) but cited its star’s omnipotence as its biggest weakness. Nonetheless, Shazzan was licensed for several products including a jigsaw puzzle, a Big Little Book, a coloring book, and comic- book appearances in Gold Key’s Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes. Hanna-Barbera twice repurposed Chuck and Nancy’s ring-transformation gimmick: with Wonder Twins Zan and Jayna touching fists in Super Friends, incanting “Wonder Twins powers, activate,” and with young Benjy Grimm merging two ring halves in Fred and Barney Meet the Thing, speaking the phrase “Thing ring, do your thing!” to become the Thing of fame, of sorts.

SPACE GHOST

First Appearance: Space Ghost, CBS, 9/10/66 Number of episodes: 42 Secret Identity: unknown (at least originally) Super-powers: invisibility and flight from Inviso- Power button on belt; Power Bands that fire numer- ous types of blasts, including but not limited to the Force Ray, Destructo Ray, Vibro Ray, Stun Ray, Pile Driver Ray, Heat Ray, and Freeze Ray; traverses gal- axy in his Phantom Cruiser , operating from his base on the Ghost Planet Catchphrase: “Spa-a-a-a-a-a-ce Ghost!” Rogues’ Gallery: the Heat Thing, , , Moltar, Metallus, Spider Woman (Black Widow), Crea- ture King, Lokar, Lurker and One-Eye, Sandman, the Schemer Synopsis: Some might call Space Ghost “Batman in space” (those two heroes finally met in a 2011 epi- sode of the Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold, by the way). Created during CBS-TV Space Ghost was the perfect example of an exec Fred Silverman’s push for new, realistic super- animated series firing on all cylinders. Let’s start hero programming, Space Ghost, like Batman, has with Alex Toth’s character designs. Space Ghost’s since been reimagined for subsequent , sleek costume is a curious balance of intimidating but it’s his original two-year run on Saturday morning and comforting imagery, from an ebon cowl that re- that continues to haunt fans to this day. sembles an executioner’s hood to an ethereal white

235 always exist in their own lives, as revealed in FFaamillyy THEE RAIN, THE PPAARK, )HUK!;;OOL *V^ZPSSSSZ :[VYY``, a 2013 documentary by Louise Palanker. The Cowsills may have seemed all AND COOMIC BOOKS smiles when leading us down “The Path of Love” or [V¸0UKPHU3HRL¹ VY ^OPSL ÅHZOPUN  The Cowsiillss in Comics their pearly whites in ads for the American Dairy Association, but behind the scenes, theheir manager “Play ‘The Happy Song,’ Mick!” my toddler broth- father, Bud Cowsill, was an er John would plead to me back in ’68. He was too PUÅL_PISL[HZRTHZ[LY·WVW T\ZPJ»Z `V\UN[V SVHK [OL  VU[V T` WVY[HISL YLJVYK WSH`LY  JV\U[LYWHY[[V [OL PYVUÄZ[LK  but wise enough to know which of those black vinyl Superman editor of the Sixties, platters would bring a smile to his cherubic face. The —who badgered his song that made John, and me, so happy was “The children, eventually ripping apart the Rain, the Park, and Other Things,” the breakthrough family and the band. YYeet none of that hit by the siInFgi nYgO faUmi lyE fNroJmO NYeEwpDo rtT, HRhIoSd eP IRs-EVIEW,w CasL eIvCeKr e vTidHenEt tLo IuNs Kkids warbling, land, the Cowsills. If you BowEnLeOd aW ra dTioO b aOckR inD thEeR THIS¸ 0BSVO]LO[OKL Å! V^LY NPYS¹ HSVUN ^P[O [OL late Sixties, you no doubt remember this cheery little Cowsills. tune about a young man’s rainy day encounter with In 1968, as their popularity was HÅV^LY NPYS PUHH WEHYRR¸)O\[ -0 RAUL^-ZGOLOOHK-TGHKO L TL escalating, the Cowsills, having happy, happy, Whaelcpopmye …to t”h)e. CSAoMmP AeG Ep, wehoepln sepie cs laikleld itth e“irT whears scored TToop 40 hits and television Flower Girl” ocorld “aIn dL tohevire w tohmen Fwlaormw, georo dG giuryls.” b eIa tc baadll giut yos wnieth of appearances, tackled a new a pun and a punch, and Batman shook a mean cape. HERO- the best memA-oGOri-eGsO ocefle bmrayte sc thei lCdamhpo coradze, oaf nthde Sswtinilgl,in gto Si xtthiesis, TLKP\T!JVTPJ IVVRZ  day, one of mwhye na jluls-tt aimbouet efvaevryonreit—et hse otenengs sof. Riverdale, an ant 3L[»Z ÅHZO IHJR [V [OL JVTPJZ YHJRZ VM 1\S` The Cowsills and a squirrel, even the President of the —was While I liak seupder -thhereo oBr ea saetclrets a gaent.d B AloCKv eISSdU E thmeag aMzinoe nankd ees,   !;OL *HWLK *Y\ZHKLY ^HZ )H[YVWPUN H^H`  make the I adored the fCormoewr DsCil lCso m(oicsr iegditnora MllIyC HsAiEbLl iEnUgRY st aBkeisl ly,o Bu tohrbou, gh from the POW!s and ZOWIE!s of TV as visionary scene in TToowweer that coolest cultural phenomenon with this collection of nos - and Barry Cotawlgics eilsls,a ylas atnedr h jisotoinriees dof cblayss ibc 1r9o6t0hs echra rJacotehrsn lik, e artist ’ second Batman tale, a shadowy Comics’ Teen- mother BarbCaArPaT,A IsNi sACteTIrO SN,u HsERaBnIE, TaHnE dFA Tb FrUoRtYh, CeArP TPAaINu Nl)I.C E, team-up with the freakish Creeper, saw print in ;;OOL In, from 1968. , SCOOTER, ACG’s NEMESIS, Dell’s SUPER- © the respective Their harmonFRieANsK wENeSTrEeIN a AsN Dti DgRhAtC aULsA ,tthhe “ BSPeLIaT!c” hCA BPToAyIN s’, )YH]]LLHUK [OL )VSK  ( T`Z[LYPV\Z Z[HUKVɉZO  but there waMs AsRoVEmL, eantdh ointhger ss! Fpeeatcuriinagl iantbervoieuwts twhiteh iBrI LmL MuUsMicY android named the Vision shimmered into the pages copyright holder (Lost in Space), BOB HOLIDAY (It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … that set themIt ’sa Spupaermt afnr)o, RmAL PthH eBA oKSthHIe(Trh ce rMoigohntyi nHegro ecsl, aSpnidse r- of ;;OOL(]]LLUNLYYZZ  +* *VTPJZ PU[YVK\JLK H UVU VM[OL :P_[PLZM! a[nO), LDE*ANV T^OZRPRSESZN»C ET(J\anZ aPnJd  HDSe^anHH` M`eZet  TBatHmKanL),  `V\  traditional anti-hero, Bat Lash. The crazy, RAMONA FRADON (Metamorpho), DICK D eBARTOLO happy. Even (tChapetairin bKlluutze),r T OsoNYn TgAsLL,A lRikICeO “(TChea Gprteati Sno cSietay dC omic carefree Camp Age was pulling a disappearing act— and His ShipB ooofk )F, VoINoClEs ”G AaRnGIdU L“O N(Peawlisasdpesa Pparke hri sBtolraian),k JeOtE, ”SI NNOTT (The BeSa\tlJesR cPoSm`ic [bOooLk)*, JOVS^E ZDEPSLSBZO ÅL^ PU [V IYPUN \Z H VUL^HH``  (The Monkees comic book), and many more! VɈLYLKH NSPTTLY VM OVWL MVY [OL \UMVY[\UH[L ZV\SZ  ticket to happy. whose stories t(h2e7y2 -tpoalgde. FAUnLdL- CthOeL OupRl iTfRtiAnDg E“ PWAePE CaRBAnC K ) $36.95 • (Digital Edition) $12.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-073-1 During that month, released the Fly” could buoy the most cantankerous curmudgeon 64-page Giant /HY]]LL`7VW *VTPJZ WYYLLZLU[Z;;OOL http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=95_96&products_id=1273 out of his doldrums. I credit the Cowsills’ music for Cowwssills #1 (cover-dated Oct. 1968). Released under helping nurture my posiositivity during my childhood. its “Harvey TTeeen” imprint and marketed toward a In recent years, I’ve discovered that the slightly older crowd than most of Harvey’s kiddie fare, happiness engendered by the Cowsills’ music didn’t /HY]]LL`7VW *VTPJZ #1 capitalized on the budding

Detail from “Making It Happen,” from HHaarvveey PPooopp CCoomiiccs prreesenttss TThhe Cowwssiillllllss #1. Art by Ernie Colón. © 1968 Cowsills- Stogel, Inc.

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