Ink Stains 178: Hola 4

Hola 4: 1979
Editor/publisher: Carol Strickland

Hello again, everyone. Well, due to some MORE problems on the comic attack site (primarily, the host company), I am posting this installment here, hoping they get their problems worked out soon. This time out, it is another wonderfully "fannish" fanzine, Hola 4! This very enjoyable zine was put out by one Carol Strickland, who went on to make a career as a traditional painter, among other things. You can find here website here. You can also find a short column by Carol here about Hola in particular. The title points out that is at least one Wonder Woman article each issue, but many other topics are covered, as you will see.

Above you see the front cover and back cover by, respectively, Bob Wright and Richard Bruning. Both were everywhere around this time (I particularly remember Bruning being on a few TBG covers, for example). This, the last issue, had several fandom regulars such as Ed Quinby, Mike Chen, and Dave Taylor, along with a few that were new to me, such as Robert Blair and Dave Stuckey. Future pro, Bob McLeod had a pin up (seen below), which he can't even remember doing (as he told me on Facebook). Another future pro, Kim DeMulder, was kind enough to answer a few questions me via email that we will get to in a bit. Some dork by the name of Ken Meyer Jr also had several spot illustrations sprinkled throughout...maybe I will be charitable and insert a few here and there.

(inks by Dave Taylor)

So, to get the party started, "Strick" has Agora (a fanzine review column), and Jon Liggett give us The Turkey Trots (a faux awards column). The first full length column is by Nancy Northcott, Forsaking All Others, examining married couple characters at DC, illustrated by Quinby and Chen.

I decided to group the spot illustrations by artist, for the most part, which is why you see a few pieces by Ed Quinby above, including the piece used in the "Forsaking..." article.  Ed went on to work for such publishers as Big Bang later on.
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Next up is Not-So-Super Women in Groups, covering some of the more obscure characters in the Legion of Superheroes (along with opinions on the female character's boyfriend issues) by Margaret  O'Connell.  One thing I noticed about the few zines run by woman back then is that they always seemed a bit more mature than your average fan fest most likely put together by a 14 year old boy in his family's basement (not that there is anything wrong with that of course, it gave us fantastic zines like The Collector and Fantastic Fanzine, among many others). This article is accompanied by illustrations by several artists, but the one that struck me the most is Strickland herself. Her characters look more realistic in stance, pose, and predictably, anatomy (that is, the lack of certain parts accentuated beyond belief). Check some out below!

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I was able to talk to Carol through Facebook Messenger to get some great info! When I asked her how and when she got interested in comics, she said, "I got interested in comics because the two I first saw (an Action with Supergirl!) (an Adventure with Light Lass!) had honest-to-goodness action females. The medium combined reading and art -- what a concept!" As for fandom itself, she stated "For a few years I was on the edges of fandom as I got deeper into the medium (and grew up). By then I'd written into DC a few times. Then came that fateful day when Superboy #182 published a letter by one Mike Flynn (not the criminal national security advisor) (or at least so he claims) who talked about getting a Legion [of Super-Heroes] fan club together. Thus it was done, and soon after the club developed into the Legion Outpost, a fanzine, and then into an apa, Interlac. I was a member of all of 'em. I contributed to The Heroine Addict as well as its fiction counterpart, The Adventuress, and even got a mention in the immortal Glx Sptzl Glahh, which was devoted to the works of Sheldon Mayer."

Another thing I am always interested in is how artists got started drawing. Carol said "I can't remember ever NOT drawing. Except when I procrastinate. Which is all too often, sigh. Trying to get my painting biz up and running now that I'm retired, and I might sneak in some WW subjects. Which reminds me while we're talking about comic illustrators: what ever happened to that Ken Meyer Jr. fella who used to do stuff for Hola!?"

She continues with her fandom exploits, saying "Harry Broertjes made me fanzine reviewer at the Outpost even though I told him I had no idea how to do the job. What I ended up doing was reading a bunch of AWFUL zines. But I enjoyed Glx and the Heroine Addict. If I'd been a Batman fan I would have enjoyed Batmania. For some reason I didn't read any Star Trek zines."

Following that article is Legion Lightweight by Robert Rusk, covering LSH character, Light Lass (everyone was "boy," "lad," "girl," or "lass" in the Legion, it seems), and Edge of Ending by Chris Polk, pointing out that the thirtieth century in which the LSH took place was no paradise. Strickland appears again, with The New Invisible Kid. She covers a character by the name of Tyroc (a black character in the LSH), and showing the maturity I talked about earlier, points out several things that hint (at least) at racism in this one page article.

I also asked Carol about her life after fandom. She followed with "This "professional life" bit you mention confuses me. I grew up. I got jobs. Those jobs didn't pay enough to let me buy much fannish stuff. After a while the comics got so bad that I resented paying my hard-earned money for them. Now that I'm retired for two years I think I'm finally up enough on my feet to pay attention to a painting and writing business. Today I published book #6 in the Three Worlds superhero saga. I've had a LOT of fun writing that. I always looked at the Legion and Superman and his ilk in the comics and told myself, "No, that's not how they would operate." So my Legion is this HUGE organization filled with assistants, PR folks, lots more heroes than DC's Legion has because space is gigantic, you know. The cape types have troubles because they have powers, and so they can't act quite as human as they'd like to be. (Despite Niven, I've never figured out how Superman and Lois... you know. My characters had a difficult time coming up with an acceptable approach, but they managed.) Like I said: fun stuff."

​She continues, "Right now I've been retired for a hair over two years. I have (as of today!) ten books published, one of which is a Wonder Woman nonfiction "everything you need/want to know about her" book that I hope to get on audio by the end of the year, hopefully with an update. As soon as book #10 gets out to all the publishers it should, I can go back to passing my afternoons in the new studio that sits in the yard, painting away while I listen to audiobooks. I'm also now a certified tarot reader and am missing a class even as I type that is supposed to tell me how I can run a teaching/speaking business off that and CONQUER THE WORLD. Well. I'll lay out a spread for someone if they asks, and soon I might even charge them for that. Gotta finance my world travels somehow!"

The X-men appear in two articles next, the first being The Princess and the Professor by Kat Nickell and An Outline of X-men History, by Robert Sodaro. Mike Chen appears as an illustrator, along with most of the other members of the cast, including myself. So, let's check out a page of Mike's work below. Mike went on to a very successful career in comics, working for DC, Marvel, Comico and more, as well as teaching at the Joe Kubert School.

One of the artists supplying spot illustrations for the X-men articles is Kim DeMulder. Like Chen, Kim had an illustrious career in comics (as well as also teaching at the incredible Kubert school), which he talks about in this installment of Ink Stains.

As usual, I ask when the subject got into comics in the first place. Kim stated that, "I started collecting comics (mostly Marvels) in the mid sixties. I loved Lee and Kirby's Thor! I was also a bit of a car enthusiast (a sign of the times) so I also bought auto racing comics and CARtoons and Hot Rod Cartoons."

Though he didn't have a ton of involvement in fandom, he "read several like Witzend, and of course The Comics Buyers Guide (which is where I found out about the Joe Kubert School)."

At the time of publication of Hola 4 in 1979, Kim told me, "I was just finishing my time as a student at the Kubert School and having major concerns about finding work as an artist. I probably submitted that drawing in hopes of getting the well sought after "exposure".  Of course there was no internet in those days!" He formed bonds at the Kubert school and elaborates with, "I still count several of my classmates as current, long time friends. I also had the chance to work with quite a few of them, professionally!"

As for professional work, Kim said, "My first interview was with Paul Levitz at DC comics. I was showing inking samples and he liked what he saw and passed my portfolio on to Joe Orlando, who was the one to OK me to get some work. Shortly after that I started getting ink work from Marvel when my career really started taking off. Since then I have inked literally many thousands of pages for both Marvel and DC and others. Probably my favorite title would be Swamp Thing. I inked that one for about five years! With Swamp Thing I felt the most freedom to do the illustrative, textural inking that I really enjoy."

Nowadays, Kim has not stopped with the prodigious output! He said that "I now consider myself semi-retired, but I keep active with my artwork, doing private commissions and art that I want to do for myself. Not just line art but plenty of full color painted work. I have self published a book of my own art and a book of the art of Rowena. I lived with Rowena (the well-known fantasy painter) for nearly 20 years before she passed away three years ago, and it was a profound experience for me! I do a few conventions a year, including the Garden State Comic Fest In Morristown, NJ each June. I have also been teaching at the Kubert School since 1989. I post most of my artwork these days on my Facebook page."

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Carol did form some bonds during fandom, saying "I would say that my core "friends" group on Facebook is from the Interlac roster. A while back people were talking about another reunion, but that (to my knowledge) fell through. Aww..."

A trio of Wonder Woman centric articles is next, including A Comic Fan-atic Quiz by Beverly Thon follows, A Wonder Woman Chronology by Al Schroeder III, and The Amazing Invisible Plane by 'Ron. One of several illustrations seen in these articles is by Bob Hardin, producing a very retro Wonder Woman, seen at left. A Black Canary article by Kathleen Glancy is next, then Al Shroeder III appears again with The Elementary Yet All-Encompassing Explanation for Everything and Everyone...Almost (whew). The letters page follows and that about wraps up the issue!
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Oh, wait...I mentioned another artist that appeared in the zine and he will be super pissed if I left him out...check out a few very vintage pieces below.

OK, now I have shamelessly plugged myself, all my credibility is gone and I will go in the corner and not come out for 20 years...be there for the next Ink Stains! Thanks to Kim DeMulder and Carol Strickland for participating! 

Oops, almost forgot the pdf! 
hola4.pdf

Ken Meyer Jr.
[email protected]