 Ink Stains 196: Ozone 1, 1981 Editor/Publisher: Doug Hazlewood Hi everyone, welcome back to another installment of Ink Stains, where we look through the fanzines of the past. This time out, we will be gazing at the decisive and (very) clean work of one Doug Hazlewood. I remember very well Doug's super clean (and, early on, somewhat thick) line work. In fact, I am pretty sure he inked at least one of my sloppy selections. Doug was nice enough to answer a slew of questions, and pretty expansively as well! This fanzine is not so much a regular fanzine as it is a compilation of Doug's spot illustrations. In fact, I can remember seeing a few of these images in the zines in which they were first published.  One image above was penciled by Jessie Flores. I usually ask those that have the time to participate what first got them into comics (and the age they were at the time), when asked that, Doug gave a long, juicy reply. I remember a decent-sized 'wall of comics' at a drugstore we frequented. We lived there for four years (I guess from the age of 5 to 8). That is the only store I remember seeing them sold/displayed like that. I assume they were all 'within reach.' It was near the soda fountain/lunch counter. We all liked comic books back then (I have an older brother and sister). I would buy issues often based on the cover and really liked the JLA because it had all of the main DC heroes. The Flash was my favorite. I really don't remember seeing Marvel Comics or buying any until a trip to my great aunt and uncle's place near Waco.  Of course, every interview with an artist must press for early influences! I am no different, and on that topic, Doug said, "Kirby for sure, once I found Marvels. He was the first one whose name I knew whose work I loved. I was more of a DC reader early on for sure. Neal Adams was a revelation! My mother loved to read and I would go with her to the library and check out any cartoon related books. I liked Steve Ditko and loved Wally Wood. I got to understand more how an inker affected the finished product. I was a big Flash fan and thought the art was usually elegant. But, later I could see how much Giella, Anderson and Greene polished things up. They had some Infantino pencils in one of the annuals. And inking him later on Power Factor was daunting. Loved Steranko when he hit. And Tom Palmer was way more than just a great inker." When I asked about his early art training backgound, he mentioned that "my mother enrolled me in a local painter's art class and I didn't really like doing still life drawings. Maybe I only went that one time. I took art in junior high, but our teacher was on the older side and could not keep discipline. That made me NOT take art in high school. I wish I had. Some relative on my mother's side worked for Disney. Never met him."  Doug told me that he got into fanzines by "getting a letter printed in a Marvel comic, and then I was contacted by someone involved with The Marvel Tribune, a Canadian fanzine. Based on the comic I assume I was 13 or maybe 14. That was my discovery of fanzines." Doug then went to to expound on his favorite fanzines of that time, both as a reader and contributor. Fantastic Fanzine. Only had maybe three illoes in there, but it was pretty slick and interesting. Tom Mason's Radion used my work a lot and I appreciated that. Graphic Visions, *Pfsszt, Afta, The Fan's-Zine, Woweekazowie, Sarcophagus, and I am sure I'm forgetting some. Always remember the first pic I inked over Carl Taylor in an issue of Unreal. Many of us involved in fandom back then formed lifelong friendships, and Doug was no different. He mentions that "I appreciated folks like Tom Mason putting up with my overly long typed letters. I am thankful for Tom. Carl Taylor and Larry Houston became friends. So proud of Larry! And just seeing my fellow fan artists who went on to be pros. Most before I did. Sam de la Rosa was always more busy drawing and working than to write back anything very long. But, I understood that. He had that drive. I am more laid back/wimpy... " On the subject of his own zine, Ozone, Doug says that "For something with so little writing it took longer to put together than I remembered. If I had my way I would have shot all the halftones, but I was no expert at that. It was a little showcase/outlet for me."  Below, Doug goes over some of his early professional work, what he did, and how it progressed. I inked stories and some covers for Americomics. My friend Mark Heike worked there. That was while I was still working full-time at a print shop. Hamster Vice & Power Factor (one issue inking Infantino!!! and the next inking Tom Lyle) were what I came back from my first SDCC with. [Funny coincidence, Lyle was one of my professors at SCAD when I went back to college! -Ken] And Kurt Busiek had called while I was gone about Liberty Project. [I progressed to] inking for smaller companies and inking some covers for Eternity and Sal Q. At First Comics I finally started to get raises on my page rate and my editor was very positive and inspiring. Inking actual comics showed me I could really do it for a living. And seeing them in print made me realize I didn't have to obsess over little background details (on newsprint books). It was not fun doing pages at $25 a page! But, each gig was a step forward and I started submitting more samples to DC and Marvel. I learned techniques and tips even from folks doing backgrounds for me when I was in a bind. Being self-taught limits you unless you are 'a natural.' Animal Man was my first DC book and it was a memorable one! I feel blessed to have had the good fortune to have been on a Superman title when we 'killed' him.  These days, Doug says that, "I mainly try to sell lots of my "stuff" that I have collected. Time zooms by too fast now. Haven't felt much like inking commissions or doing recreations lately. If I could "draw-to-order" I am sure it would be different. I am not as much of an overall natural artist. I doodle it! " I think we can all disagree, at least a bit, with Doug on that last assertion! That wraps up this installment. Thanks very much to Doug Hazlewood for his time, it made the column so much more interesting than it would have been without him! Say hi to him on Facebook if you see him. Don't forget about the pdf, where you can see many more illustrations by Doug. This installment is a bit early, obviously...I have two events in a row, with only one day between them, and they extend into January, so I needed to get this sucker done now! Oh, I forgot...here is the TBG pdf, which is issue 9, with a Stephen Fabian cover! And our buddy, Manny Maris, has a classified ad! 
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 Ink Stains 195: Nebulous 1, 1971 Publisher/editor: Jim Stewart Hey, folks, thanks for stopping by to check out the most recent installment of my column covering the fanzines of the 70s and 80s, Ink Stains! This time out, we cover Nebulous 1 (I doubt there was a 2), a zine I had never heard of, despite containing several of the "usual gang of idiots" of the fanzine world at that time. Let's jump in! A common feature of the fanzines of the time was an interview with a professional, many times procured at whatever comic con the editor could attend. As stated in the preface to the interview with cover artist Sal Buscema (with Dan Adkins), the interview was helped along by Gary Groth (Fantastic Fanzine, of course), Jim mentioned he met Sal at a convention young Groth had organized, and after a few stops and starts, he succeeded in getting his interview. Not a bad interview at all, and Sal comes off as very accommodating and personable. Gary also helped Jim produce this actual fanzine, industrious youngster that he was!  Following the interview, fandom stalwart, Bill Cantey, contributes Who's Afraid of the Big Red Cheese? A typically gorgeous illo of Captain Marvel (seen above) accompanies the beginning of the article. Most of us who were not around at the height of the character's popularity would be incredibly surprised to know it routinely sold as much as two million copies a month, doubling even his doppelganger, Superman! There are several more illustrations of Captain Marvel sprinkled throughout the zine, several of which you see below.  art by Don Newton  The art immediately above is by Mike Roberts. Roberts appeared in many fanzines at the time. Slick, powerfully posed characters were Mike's forte...although the size of the heads are definitely not "heroically" proportioned, as you can see above. His love of Steranko is evident as well. Good going, Mike!  art by Steve Hickman The Andromeda Saga, by editor Stewart follows (a short Star Trek homage of sorts), with art, apparently by Roberts, though it is not evident how much of it is actually all Mike. Below you can see the stylish first page.  Cantey appears again with The Torch in His Own Mag? Adorning the article is a few illos by Roberts (one seen above, and another below).  That about finishes this somewhat slim, if nicely illustrated, fanzine. You can see the rest in the pdf, including art by Carter Scholz, Dave Cockrum (reprinted from Fantastic Fanzine), Bob Tetzloff, and Buscema. The last thing you see on the back cover is a typical heroic headshot by John G. Fantucchio and inked by Dan the Man Adkins.  Agggggg! I forgot to include TBG 7! OK, I fixed it...see the cover below and get the pdf here!  cover by Martin L. Greim Thanks again, and tune in again around the first of December for the next installment.
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