Roy Thomas ’Merry Mar vel Comics Fan zine No. 50 July 2005 $ In5th.e9U5SA Sub-Mariner, Thing, Thor, & Vision TM & ©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Conan TM & ©2005 Conan Properties, Inc.; Red Sonja TM & ©2005 Red Sonja Properties, Inc.; Caricature ©2005 Estate of Alfredo Alcala Vol. 3, No. 50 / July 2005 ™ Editor Roy Thomas Roy Thomas Associate Editors Shamelessly Celebrates Bill Schelly 50 Issues of A/E , Vol. 3— Jim Amash & 40 Years Since Design & Layout Christopher Day Modeling With Millie #44! Consulting Editor John Morrow FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert Editors Emeritus Jerry Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White, Contents Mike Friedrich Production Assistant Writer/Editorial: Make Mine Marvel! . 2 Eric Nolen-Weathington “Roy The Boy” In The Marvel Age Of Comics . 4 Cover Artists Jim Amash interviews Roy Thomas about being Stan Lee’s “left-hand man” Alfredo Alcala, John Buscema, in the 1960s & early ’70s. & Jack Kirby Jerry Ordway DC Comics 196 5––And The Rest Of Roy’s Cover Colorist Color-Splashed Career . Flip Us! Alfredo Alcala (portrait), Tom Ziuko About Our Cover: A kaleidoscopically collaborative combination of And Special Thanks to: three great comic artists Roy worked with and admired in the 1960s and Alfredo Alcala, Jr. Allen Logan ’70s: Alfredo Alcala , John Buscema , and Jack Kirby . The painted Christian Voltan Linda Long caricature by Alfredo was given to him as a birthday gift in 1981 and Alcala Don Mangus showed Rascally Roy as Conan, the Marvel-licensed hero on which the Estelita Alcala Sam Maronie Heidi Amash Mike Mikulovsky two had labored together until 1980, when R.T. ankled Marvel for DC Heather Antonelli Al Milgrom for what turned out to be a six-year semi-exclusive stay. The three Bob Bailey Fred Mommsen Marvel super-heroes drawn by Big John are from 1990s re-creations of Jeff Bailey Brian K. Morris his 1960s art—while the Conan/Red Sonja illo was a commission Mark Beazley Frank Motler drawing. Jack penciled the Thing figure, complete with A/E -boosting John Benson Owen O’Leary Dominic Bongo Denny O’Neil sign, back in 1962, especially for A/E —and it was inked for V1#4 by Bob Brodsky Dave Newton A/E ’s founding editor/publisher Jerry G. Bails . Thanks to Alfredo’s Rich Buckler Jerry Ordway widow Mrs. Estelita Alcala and to his sons Christian Voltan Alcala and Mike Burkey Tom Palmer Alfredo Alcala, Jr., for permission to use the caricature—to Owen William Cain George Pérez R. Dewey Cassell Don Perlin O’Leary for copies of John’s re-creations (sent at the time of our tribute Ernie Chan Mike Phoenix to John in A/E #15-16)—and to the Jack Kirby Estate (and JGB) for Lynda Fox Cohen John G. Pierce their blessings re bashful Ben Grimm. [Art ©2005 Estates of Alfredo Teresa R. Davidson Nick Pope Alcala, John Buscema, & Jack Kirby, respectively; Sub-Mariner, Thor, Michael Dewally Greg Preston Shel Dorf Richard Pryor Vision, & Thing TM & ©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Conan TM & ©2005 Michael Dunne Ethan Roberts Conan Properties, Inc.; Red Sonja TM & ©2005 Red Sonja Properties, Inc.] Jennie-Lynn Falk Peter Sanderson Shane Foley Eric Schumacher Above: The indefatigable and talented Shane Foley decided—“on a Jeff Fox Carole Seuling whim,” he says—to draw, “maybe for a border or something,” these Carl Gafford Gwen Seuling horizontal and vertical groupings of a few of the many heroes Roy has Janet Gilbert Marie Severin handled over the past four decades… and Ye Ed liked the concept so Dick Giordano Rick Shurgin Glen David Gold David Siegel much that it became our contents page art. Most of these guys Roy Stan Goldberg Keif Simon merely scripted a fair number of stories about—others he co-created, Bob Greenberger Joe & Betty Sinnott whether for Marvel, DC, or (in one case) Dennis Mallonee’s Heroic Curt Griff Paul Smith Publishing. Shane even worked in Superman fighting H.G. Wells’ Ian Hamerlinck Zack Smith Jennifer Hamerlinck Britt Stanton Martians, as delineated on p. 19 on our flip side. Thanks, mate! You did David G. Hamilton Flo Steinberg yourself proud yet again! [Art ©2005 Shane Foley; characters TM & ©2005 Daniel Herman Marc Swayze their respective trademark & copyright holders.] Richard Howell Dann Thomas Karen Hughes Maggie Thompson Stan Lee Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. TM Larry Lieber Tom Wimbish Alter Ego is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Alan Light Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Michele Wolfman Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: [email protected]. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $8 ($10 Canada, $11.00 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $120 Canada, $132 elsewhere. All characters are © their This issue is dedicated by Roy to 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 of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in Canada. his mother –– –MRS. LEONA THOMAS FIRST PRINTING. CCOOMMIINNGG IINN AAUUGGUUSSTT #51 LEW SAYER SCHWAR TZ & THE MARK OF (BOB) KANE Plus: THE GOLDEN & SILVER AGES OF AUSTRALIA! • Full-color Batman vintage-1950s cover by LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ! • LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ —BOB KANE ’s “ghost” from 1946-1953—interviewed by JON B. COOKE about his life and work! Plus Batman art by JERRY ROBINSON, DICK SPRANG, SHELDON MOLDOFF, WIN MORTIMER, JIM MOONEY , & others! • “The Life and Death of the Australian Comics Industry – 1940-1962!” Dr. Mensana —Captain Atom (no lie!) —Molo the Mighty—Sir Falcon—The Panther—The Shadow (no, not that one—or that one, either!) —Air Hawk— plus the astonishing “Down Under” career of The Phantom —examined by MICHAEL BAULDERSTONE! With a giant kangaroo’s pouch full of super-hero art rarely seen in the Northern Hemisphere! • DAVE BERG talks to JIM AMASH about Timely/Marvel, Fawcett, & Quality— with art from Uncle Sam, Combat Kelly, etc.— ALEX TOTH on comic art— MICHAEL T. GILBERT on the legacy of WILL EISNER—BILL SCHELLY interviews 1960s fan GLEN JOHNSON —FCA with MARC SWAYZE, OTTO BINDER, & C.C. BECK —& MORE!! [Art ©2005 DC Comics] Edited by ROY THOMAS SUBSCRIBE NOW! Twelve Issues in the US: $60 Standard, $96 First Class (Canada: $120, Elsewhere: $132 Surface, $180 Airmail). 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Raleigh, NC 27605 Include card number and Submit text in one of these forms: Phone: (919)833-8092 expiration date. 1) E-mail (ASCII text attachments preferred) to: [email protected] Fax: (919)833-8023 2) An ASCII or “plain text” file, supplied on floppy disk. E-mail: [email protected] 3) Typed, xeroxed, or laser printed pages. wrAitrteiclre /Tietled Tiotpolinerial 3 Make Mine Marvel! Roy Celebrates 40 Years Since Modeling With Mille 44 –– –And 50 Issues of A/E , Vol. 3! # ike I was saying in my editorial on the flip side—you may find it a something had to get short shrift this ish, it would be the middle and LLwee bit tricky to decide which side of this issue you read first! later years—and even they are covered, at least in passing, in the Checklist on the other side. That’s partly because my first staff job in New York in late June of 1965, almost exactly forty years ago, was for “Superman” line Even though, in the 11th hour, publisher John Morrow and I agreed editor Mort Weisinger at National/DC, which might seem to make that to bite the bullet and add eight more pages this month (bringing the point (plus my two Charlton stories written that spring) the logical place count to 108 for this doubly special issue), several things had to be jetti - to start.