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Face Front, kiddos! It’s a Jim Steranko special and Fantastic Fanzine 11!  Dave Cockrum Fantastic Fanzine 11, 1970 Editor and Publisher: Gary Groth Those of you that have read this column from the start know that one of my favorite fanzines of all time is Gary Groth’s Fantastic Fanzine. From the very first issue I saw (probably issue 10, though I later got the previous double issue of 8*9) I was amazed at the amount of talent Gary was able to corral into each issue. It read like a virtual who’s who of the fanzine world, and always included many illustrations by current pros as well (with many of the fans going on to become pros later). This issue 11 is no exception. It is jam-packed with exciting artwork, so much so that I could only include a fraction here. This is definitely an issue you want to download!  How a high school kid managed to score so many amazing pieces of art points to Groth’s future success as a publisher and muckraker. Issue 11 boasts a beautiful Steranko cover of the Black Condor, several pencil drawings by the seminal artist, as well as a lengthy interview, a mainstay of most issues of Fantastic Fanzine. Now, I will issue a slight warning...I was lucky enough to have a reader send me the pdf of this issue, as I lost it long ago, so there are a few blurry spots and dark areas at the edges, but I did try to clean it up the best I could. The only spot that is sadly affected to a large degree is the gorgeous T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents centerfold by Dave Cockrum. Other than that, the whole issue came through in pretty good shape.  As I said, the Steranko interview is lengthy, and Groth covers a lot of ground. Conducted in Steranko’s home and prefaced by a charming tale of nervous anticipation by the interviewer, it is a delightfully exhausting affair. I could stand to be exhausted like this more often! One craft related tidbit I found interesting is that Steranko inks everything with a brush...everything, and that includes machinery. Groth and Steranko go on to cover topics such as the Comics Code, Steranko’s favorite artists, his interactions with Marvel, and his own barbarian creation, Talon (several pencil drawings seen below). There are several more illustrations of this character, all the more reason to download the pdf! The interview is accompanied by illustrations by several artists in the FF stable (John Cornell, Robert Kline, and Doug Rice) of Steranko related characters.  Jim Steranko Another illustration I just have to show is the humorous and incredibly detailed full page piece by Robert Kline. Not only does it reference Steranko’s suave demeanor and plethora of talents, but it visually makes reference to the hapless cassette recorder with which Groth used to conduct the interview. Kline never disappoints, and his work is scattered throughout the zine.  Robert Kline Below you see a combination of a few illustrations that accompany the interview. Jeff Rinehart at top (with an illustration closer in style to Neal Adams, mentioned in the interview as one of Steranko’s favorites, rather than Steranko himself...may even be a swipe), Dave Russell at left (doing a very good Steranko!), Steranko himself in the center, and John Cornell at right.  Since the original installment posted loooong ago (and even since this update), I was lucky enough to track down Dave Russell, whose illustration you see above, for an interview. I have been waiting for the next update in sequence where Dave played a part, but am tired of waiting! Plus, I want all of you to see his wonderful transformation into the cool and accomplished guy he is today! Below, you will see the interview, where Dave turned my basic questions into something really fun and informative to read. He also supplied much more recent art, so I am really happy I am finally able to incorporate this into the Ink Stains universe and even moreso, happy that you get to see it all!  An early fanzine submission from Dave done in 1967. Here you can see his obvious Kirby influence! Ken: What were the circumstances around you starting to read comics in the first place? According to my parents, I displayed a keen interest in fantasy stories in early childhood. I recall my mother reading to me some of the Oz books, which fired my imagination. Eventually I developed into a voracious reader, especially tales of adventure, fantasy, science fiction, and mythology, particularly the Norse cycle. Like many kids of my era, my first introduction to comics was via the newspaper strips, and then the Disney kid publications. Ken: Also, what prompted you to start submitting to zines? In 1967 I read about the fanzines phenomena via a reader's comment in a Marvel letters page. Intrigued, I began making inquiries and submitting artwork, which finally led to my first publication. Ken: You were in a TON of zines...did you send stuff out regularly, and how did you find out about them? Beginning in 1967, I submitted illustrations to every comics fanzine I could find, especially those with a focus on Marvel. Embarrassed by the relative crudeness of my drawings in those early days, I took great pains to boost my skills over the next year or so, sketching from nature, models, studying anatomy books--and, of course, studying the terrific work being produced by Marvel and DC artists at the time. Positive fan response to my artwork provided a great morale boost, and further encouraged me to hone my craft. By age 17 I was determined to someday try my luck at Marvel. Ken: Did you have any favorite zines as a reader and then, as a contributor (favorite editors, etc)? I was fortunate to enjoy the early support of publisher Greg Kishel, who regularly included my work in the excellent Marvel Mirror. Thereafter I was approached by many other fanzines for submissions, opening a wealth of connections to similarly minded comics fans and creatives. Once I felt I'd had enough respectable work published, I began contacting many of the artists I admired such as Bob Kline, Dave Cockrum, Jeff Jones and others for tips on how to improve my drawing. Most of these good folk were willing to correspond and advise; really, it was a great experience. Ken: Did you have any in person contact with any of your fan friends? In 1970 my old friend Scott Blume and I made an eventful cross-country trip. Two of our most important stops were to the Minnesota home of Greg Kishel, and then to the Detroit Comic Con, the first I'd ever attended. Once at the Con I met many artists, editors, and a few key professionals-- the latter of great importance, inasmuch as I wanted to canvas these insiders regarding the possibility of working for Marvel. Unfortunately, after a private conversation with Jim Steranko, I learned that this goal was unachievable due to the industry's restrictive racial policies at that time. Ken: Your primary influence was obviously Steranko...what turned you on to him and who were a few of your other influences? Jack Kirby was, in fact, my key influence-although I certainly admired Steranko's innovative storytelling methods and incredible graphic skills. The first Kirby comic I recall making a huge impact upon me was The Incredible Hulk #1. Something about Kirby's drawing and compositional style set off a creative bomb in my mind, and which continues to this day. Thereafter I bought just about every one of his Marvel superhero books, and, as my artistic inclinations developed, my understanding and appreciation for his brilliance only grew. There is no doubt in my mind that Jack Kirby was one of the most incredible artists that America has ever produced. Ken: Were you able to use your fanzine experience in any way to move into professional comics? Not really, for reasons I have outlined above. Ken: What has been your primary career since your fanzine days? I studied at Pasadena City College for two years majoring in art and history. During this time, I met Jack Kirby at a San Diego convention, and began an enduring friendship. This period was followed by three years at Art Center College of Design, majoring in illustration. It was at Art Center that I finally met Bob Kline, who many years later would be instrumental in helping me secure my first Hollywood job.   From a proposed daily Shaft strip that did not materialize, due to shady superiors and circumstances. Post-college, I relocated to Seattle for seven years, working there as a book, magazine and advertising illustrator, muralist and filmmaker. Always a huge science fiction fan, I attended a local writer's workshop in 1977 helmed by Ben Nova, Frank Herbert and Jack Vance, the latter an author whose work I deeply admired. Vance and I struck up a friendship which, like that of Kirby, had a profound impact on my creative development and future career. In 1981 I returned to Los Angeles, at which time Bob Kline arranged an interview at Filmation Studios, resulting in a storyboard position on the Blackstar animated series. However, although enjoying working with the studio's enthusiastic creative team, I was resolutely focused on breaking into live action films. An opportunity to do so surfaced in 1982, when Lucasfilm approached Jack Vance about acquiring rights to one of his fantasy novels. After describing the challenges I'd had in trying to break into the film industry, Jack suggested that I be present during his next business call to Lucasfilm, at the conclusion of which he'd pass the phone to me to make my pitch. This I did, and ended up speaking with Joe Johnston, the company's VFX supervisor. Likely out of respect for Jack, Joe agreed to an interview; however, both he and Lucas responded favourably to my work, and I was subsequently hired as a VFX storyboard artist on Return of The Jedi. It proved to be a wonderful experience, albeit with a very steep learning curve. It was this project that actually began my film career, proving the experience and credentials to move forward.  Some of Dave's Return of the Jedi work. Did you hear me? RETURN OF THE JEDI!  ...and more. However, back in Hollywood, a new problem surfaced. Although I'd obtained a great first credit, Lucasfilm did not operate under the industry's union rules, and so I could not legally work on union films, which then represented the majority of productions. Another problem (which I'd faced many other times in my career) was a 'color line' which routinely barred most non-White talents from union membership with disturbing efficiency. To get a union card, a man had to work 30 days on a union film; however, to work on a union film, you had to have a union card. A neat Catch-22, even aside from the racial impediment. However, keen to continue working in features, I was legally able to work on non-union, often independent features, and thus gradually began to increase my skill base and industry connections. I was also hired illegally on union films, with the promise of obtaining the needed days. However, on each such production the producers would fire me just before the 30th day, thus avoiding the penalty that would be imposed by the union. This situation continued for about two years until I was recommended for a new Spielberg's film called The Color Purple. My interview with the director and producer Kathleen Kennedy went well, and I was hired. Aghast that I'd had so much trouble in securing union membership, these two people ensured that I worked far beyond the stipulated one-month period on the film, thus breaking me into the union--and paying a not-inconsiderable penalty for doing so. However, Steven and Kathy had also made history by installing the first Black union illustrator.  An image from Dave's work on The Color Purple. Since those halcyon early days, I've worked on over 140 film, television, and animation productions, almost exclusively as a concept and/or storyboard artist. My current project is a Civil War era drama of considerable scope. I thoroughly enjoy my chosen artform, which continues to offer new creative possibilities with each script and technological advance. My style of drawing and design remains rooted in Kirby's dynamic and visionary methods, which have served me well throughout the years. Jack continued to be a terrific mentor and supporter throughout our long friendship; I miss him to this day.  Russell  Concept work from 2015  Very recent work from Dave.  Dave with the King and Queen!  Dave today! Groth follows the interview with four different takes on the artist and his work by writers who contributed regularly to FF and other fanzines. Gordon Matthews, Bill Cantey, Richard Howe, and Dwight Decker all give their impressions of the artist as a man, and the artist’s work. There is also a Steranko checklist following the four articles.  Kline Bill Cantey also contributes a bit of fiction called Running Mate, featuring a Ka-Zar like character and illustrated by several beautiful works of pen and ink, such as the Robert Kline piece above. Also seen are Dave Cockrum’s entry into the ‘good girl’ art hall of fame below, and a J. Baldwin/Kline spot illustration of Ka-Zar. I need to correct a minor error here, as the Angel piece seen above actually is seen during the Running Mate story. Boy, between the illustration above and the following Cockrum piece, I think we have good girl art covered this installment!  Cockrum Following this story is an article dealing with Captain America, and hypothesizes how the character survived (and why the shape of his shield changed) from the golden age of comics into the silver age. It features illustrations by Al Grinage and Jeff Rinehart. After that, we are treated to the fan letters page and another great (and funny) illo by future pro Dave Cockrum (seen below).  Other articles fill out the zine, including a progress report on a campaign to revise the aforementioned Comics Code, as well as another update on the effort of fans to get comics into the hands of troops stationed overseas called Project Repay. All in all, yet another incredible issue of Fantastic Fanzine, showing Groth’s precocious skills as an editor/writer, and sheer joy as he reveled in the world of comic books and its creators. Groth and his stable of artists and writers produced the ideal representation of fandom in the 70s, which is why I have featured this fanzine several times. I hope you have enjoyed another glimpse into the world of fandom in general and Fantastic Fanzine in particular. It is possible I may find the time to scan and upload an incredible catalog of fanzines and related materials offered by fan favorite John G. Fantucchio. If you don’t see it when this article posts, check back frequently, as I may have to get to it a bit later. But, it is worth the wait, as John has a large and well preserved collection of material from that time...I wish I could afford to buy it all! See an illustration by John from this issue of Fantastic Fanzine below.  Big huge thanks this time goes out to Tony Robertson, who sent me the pdf of this issue. Please reward him by visiting his Steranko site here ! And, now, in this new version of the installment, a big bombastic blast of thanks goes out to Dave Russell!
Ken Meyer Jr [email protected]
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Gene Day worked in professional comics for a spell, including a great run on Marvel’s Master of Kung- Fu. But, before his big break came, he contributed to many fanzines, including today’s installment, Epitaph!  Mitch Sonoda Epitaph 1: 1975 Publisher and Editor: Larry Nibert There were a multitude of fanzines assembled and participated in by artists trying to make it to “the big time.” Larry Nibert, an artist and writer, was one of these hopefuls and his vessel was called Epitaph. Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case, it could be true that I purchased this particular fanzine because of the slick cover by Mitch Sonoda. Sonoda had been in a few other fanzines in my possession (one that comes to mind was called simply, Fanzine ’77). He was a very polished inker with a style reminiscent of Neal Adams, as seen in the figure below left. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sonoda cleverly used an Adams figure to build this character with, as it is a very Adams like stance.  Sonoda, Larry Nibert/Sonoda Sonoda was especially good at science fiction, and his strip in this issue, Doomsdawn, falls squarely in that genre. The only disappointment is that we only get a small indication of the cool spaceships Sonoda could seemingly pump out at will. There is liberal use of zip-a-tone throughout his story, and an EC inspired twist ending. Sonoda also inks a Larry Nibert full-page illustration (see above right) that looks as if it was a prequel to the following story by Nibert, if you didn’t look more closely. You can see a small snippet from Nibert’s story, Survivors, below. This story is sort of a combination of SF and Sword and Sorcery, with yet another twist at the end. It appears the Epitaph boys loved their EC comics!  Nibert After Survivors, we are treated to another cautionary tale aptly titled Epitaph, showing a protagonist and the girl of his dreams, who is not all she appears to be. This story is uncredited, but I think the artist is Bill Morse, who contributes a one-page visual exercise of sorts earlier in the zine. Nibert illustrates a poem by James Pack called The Forever Cave. Pack edited several other fanzines, the names of which escape me at this time.  Gene Day The star of the show here, though, is writer/artist Gene Day. Day cut his teeth on many a fanzine and small magazine before going on to do a host of professional comics. Perhaps his most well known was a run on Marvel’s Master of Kung-Fu, where he first started as an inker to Mike Zeck, but then took over all art duties soon after Zeck succumbed to the dreaded deadline doom. Day’s run on MOKF has been highly lauded over the years, and rightly so. The artist was a master of shadows, as you can see from his strip, A Time of Tigers, above and below.  Day was closely linked to Cerebus creator, Dave Sim, early on. Both were Canadian, and one tended to assist the other whenever possible. Sim lettered several of Day’s early strips. Sim remarks fondly on his late friend by saying: Gene really showed me that success in a creative field is a matter of hard work and productivity and persistence. I had done a handful of strips and illustrations at that point mostly for various fanzines but I wasn’t very productive. I would do a strip or an illustration and send it off to a potential market and then wait to find out if they were going to use it before doing anything else. Or I’d wait for someone to write to me and ask me to draw something. Gene was producing artwork every day and putting it out in the mail and when it came back he’d send it out to someone else. He would draw work for money and then do work on spec if the paying markets dried up. He kept trying at places where he had been rejected. He did strips, cartoons, caricatures, covers, spot illos, anything that he might get paid for. He gave drawing lessons and produced his own fanzines.  Day Day self published his work, one of which is advertised in this fanzine as Dark Fantasy, with the appropriately named company, House of Shadows. Day is held in such high regard in his home country that there is a self publishing award and grant in his name (that you can read about here). Gene had two brothers, Dan and David, who also illustrated comics and fanzines, of which a few I have in my possession and will profile some time soon. You can find out more about Dan Day here. David regularly posts on Facebook currently. You can also see his Swamp Thing work here, his Sherlock Holmes work here, and a list of comic work here.   From the Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Blog: “Gene Day began his career with Canadian underground and independent comics, for which he published the short-lived title Out of the Depths in 1974, and collaborated with Dave Sim on Oktoberfest Comics #1 (Now and Then Publications, 1976). Day also penciled for Skywald Publication’s horror-comics magazines Psycho and Nightmare, starting in late 1974, as well as the science fiction-oriented Orb. “For Mike Friedrich’s early independent-comics company Star Reach, in 1977 and 1978, Day variously wrote/drew stories for the namesake anthology title Star Reach and its sister magazines Imagine and Quack, the latter a funny animal comic. Other work includes Cheating Time!, written by Mark Burbey, in Dr. Wirtham’s Comix & Stories #4 (1979). “In 1979, Day wrote and drew an early graphic novel, Future Day (Flying Buttress Press), a hardcover collection of seven stories that he called a “graphic album.” Dave Sim was letterer. Day also did illustrations for the fantasy role-playing games Arena of Khazan: A Tunnels & Trolls Solitaire Dungeon (1979) and Call of Cthulhu (1981). “Day began his seven-year association with Master of Kung Fu by inking penciler Mike Zeck starting with issue #76 (May 1976). He began doing finished art over Zeck’s breakdowns starting with issue ##94 (Nov. 1980), and became series penciler from #102-120 (July 1981 – Jan. 1983), after having split the work with Zeck on the double-sized #100. Day inked Carmine Infantino on Marvel’s 1977-1986 Star Wars sequel series, occasionally doing finished art over breakdowns, and pencilling the well-received issue #69 (March 1983), which took place at Boba Fett’s ancestral homeworld of Mandalore. Day also had significant stints inking The Mighty Thor, and Marvel Two-in-One featuring the Thing. “Day died of a coronary in his sleep [in 1982].” A frequent collaborator and writer, David Olbrich has a wonderful blog post on Gene Day here, with a few replies from various Marvel and other company contributors. Another bio can be seen here. And lastly, you can see a listing of Gene’s professional comic credits here. You can see from these various listings how industrious Gene Day was. I am sure he would have produced a massive amount of work by now, if he were still alive. There were few in the fanzine world that had as good a command of the depiction of shadows and light as did Gene Day. He has been and will continue to be missed.
Lastly, of course, please download the pdf! Ken Meyer Jr. [email protected] Jan Strnad has written for Warren, DC, Dark Horse, the television industry, and published several books. But he cut his teeth on his very own fanzine, Anomaly!  Kenneth Smith Anomaly 3: 1971 Editor and Publisher: Jan Strnad Writer Jan Strnad is probably best known as one of the main, if not THE main collaborator of artist Richard Corben. Jan was the second person (after Voice of Comicdom, by Rudi Franke) to publish Corben’s work, and worked with Corben many times in his career. They collaborated in fanzines, underground comics, and later, mainstream comics. You can see Corben’s cover for this issue of Anomaly below. The partnership remains a substantial part of the writer’s career, but Strnad has done much, much more.  Richard Corben Anomaly was one of the best fanzines of the time. Packed with great artists such as Corben, Robert Kline, Reed Crandall, Stephen Hickman, Roy Krenkel, as well as writers such as Harlan Ellison and Strnad himself, it inhabited the upper echelon of the fanzine world in the 1970s. For this column, we will examine the final fanzine version, issue 3. Jan Strnad discovered fandom in junior high school through G. B. Love’s Rocket’s Blast Comic Collector (RBCC), with his friend Don Bain, a fellow comic book fan. Strnad would later go on to write for many other fanzines, including RBCC, The Monster Times, George, and Infinity. Strnad adds “I’m sure there are more, but as Hec Ramsey said, a lot of stuff’s gone under the thing since then.”  Smith Strnad knew his calling from the very beginning: “I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was 14 or so. I was thrilled to receive a portable Smith Corona typewriter around that age. I typed up a published science fiction short story (sorry, I don’t remember which one!) just to see what stories looked like in manuscript format. Unfortunately I typed it single-spaced so I only got an approximation, but it helped to cement in my head that stories were words on paper, typed by a mortal human, and thus something I could aspire to create.” Anomaly came about a few years later while Strnad was in college, “pursuing my degree in English Lit. I had no professional credits at all, but I would soon get them through the pages of Creepy and Eerie magazines, published by Jim Warren. Warren paid $45 for an eight-page story at that time, which happened to equal the rent on my ghetto apartment in Wichita.” The first issue of the fanzine was published when Strnad was only 18. "Don and I visited Jerry Weist, a fellow Wichitan who was publishing Squa Tront, and I was inspired to do my own fanzine. Jerry handed me an envelope of sketches by a fan named Robert Kline. He liked the work but it didn’t fit with Squa Tront, so I wrote to Bob and he became a contributor and friend. Later he helped me get a job at Disney when I moved to Los Angeles. My first editor, Jymn Magon, was an Anomaly subscriber, as it turned out. "  Corben Richard Corben (see above) would enter Strnad’s world very early as well. The writer recalls his first “almost encounter” with Corben:  Corben "Don Bain and I were at the World S-F Convention in St. Louis in 1969 (I think that’s where and when). We had a table where we hawked Anomaly. I was away from the table when Richard came by and subscribed. I discovered his subscription when I got back home and my jaw dropped. I’d seen his work in Rudi Franke’s Voice of Comicdom and couldn’t believe that I’d missed meeting him because I was in the bathroom or somewhere. I approached him about contributing to Anomaly and he kindly accepted my invitation. Don and I later met him in Kansas City and I visited a number of times over the course of our collaborations. " In addition to his writing skills and his good taste in artists, I was also impressed at the actual design of issue three. The editorial pages are spacious and tastefully typeset. When asked if Strnad considered himself talented or experienced in this area, he demurred: Not really, but I had an interest in printing, publishing and graphic design. I worked for about a week for a printer, learned some prepress, how to basically run an offset press, and hung around City Blue Print (Anomaly‘s printer), enough to make a pest of myself.  The color piece Strnad references is an animation cell style color painting from Robert Kline, who is featured in an interview, accompanied by many spot illustrations, a couple of full-page drawings, and the aforementioned color piece. The interview itself benefits greatly from Strnad’s skills as a writer. It is not a simple question and answer piece, as you would see in several other fanzines (though Gary Groth’s Fantastic Fanzine gets a warm plug). Quotes are interspersed intelligently and many subjects are covered, including a visit by the editor and a friend to Disneyland while Kline was finishing classes at Art Center, on his way to working for Disney as an animator. Various assignments at Art Center are discussed, informing Kline’s work and our understanding of him and his experiences. Other topics are covered as well, such as Kline’s admiration for Frank Frazetta, and stop-motion pioneer Ray Harryhausen.  Robert Kline Following Kline’s interview is a Roy Krenkel portfolio, consisting of six beautiful full-page illustrations (some pencil, some fully inked). Though Krenkel had the misfortune of working in the paperback market in the same era of his friend Frank Frazetta, his work truly deserves attention. The work is intelligent, detailed, and incredibly imaginative, as seen below. Roy was also one of, if not the most generous (to fandom) professional artist...his sketches were everywhere!  Roy Krenkel Herb Arnold (below) follows with a portfolio of his own. I always saw Arnold as a poor man’s Corben, probably due to the fact that they seemed to appear in many of the same places, doing similarly toned work. Though very few can hold a candle to Corben, seen separately, Arnold’s work is worthy. The illustrations are moody and atmospheric, especially when the work stays in the realm of horror, the artist’s genre of choice. A feature in the first few pages of the fanzine, The Castle of the King, written by Strnad, showcases Arnold’s use of deep blacks, varied pen work, and selective use of duo-shade and zip-a-tone (relics in today’s digital world, but effective nonetheless). Unfortunately, the first feature also shows figures that are at times stiff, with a few specific elements (such as hands) that don’t quite work. Strnad states that, “I met Herb through Richard Corben. He was, at that time, another Kansas Citian, and he was a big Lovecraft fan.”  Kenneth Smith (who also did the logo you see at the top of the page, along with several spot illos and other logos) contributes a story called The Bog, which is much lighter and less obsessively detailed than his usual work. I say that with much love and respect for his obsessively detailed work, by the way! At some point, I hope to at least show some snippets of his incredibly beautiful fanzine, Phantasmagoria (there is a full page ad for the zine which shows what amazing work Smith could produce).  Smith’s good humor shows brightly in this whimsical short story, both in the writing and the design of the main characters. At a few points (as seen above) we do see flashes of the incredible control Smith had over his brush. Heck, his lettering was even top notch! The next and last story (below) is probably what this fanzine is best known for, Strnad and Corben’s alien abduction/war parable, titled Encounter of War. Corben’s deft handling of action is evident even in this early work, as is his command of realistic shadow play.  Strnad’s writing career has prospered since his fanzine days. Jan breaks it down, category by category:  THE MAN! In comics, the highlights of my so-called career are definitely working with Gil Kane on Sword of the Atom for DC and working with Dennis Fujitake on Dalgoda for Fantagraphics. Dalgoda also contained my first collaboration with Kevin Nowlan, Grimwood’s Daughter, which has been collected into a graphic novel by IDW. I worked with Kevin again on The Secret Origin of Man-Bat and, in volume one of Batman Black & White, Monsters in the Closet, which also carried the Corben-illustrated story Monster Maker. Incidentally, those two “monster” stories were conceived as a unit where Kevin would illustrate the comic book art in Corben’s story and vice versa, and one story would lead into the other and back again. Kevin didn’t want to sully his pages with someone else’s art, though, so that idea fell through. If you cut those pages out of the book and tape them together in a Moebius strip, you’ll still get the effect. The Corben collaborations included various underground comix and my favorites, Mutant World and The Last Voyage of Sindbad (aka New Tales of the Arabian Nights when serialized in Heavy Metal magazine). We parodied Den in Denz for Penthouse Comics, which I thought was a better story than it needed to be. In animation, I wrote a couple of Talespin episodes for Disney before going on staff, where my first job was the Darkwing Duck pilot episode, which came real close to being a direct-to-DVD film. I went on to write for Goof Troop, Aladdin, Hercules, 101 Dalmatians and other Disney shows before being fired. Then I freelanced for various studios and wrote some Spider-Man (Kraven the Hunter), Fantastic Four, Iron Man and X-Men cartoons, and smaller studio stuff including Ace Ventura, Pet Detective; Skeleton Warriors; Harold and the Purple Crayon (which I loved as a very young child) and others. My favorite animation gig was writing and editing Project: GeeKeR for Sony/Columbia/CBS which TV Guide called the best new cartoon show of the season. Unfortunately it ran opposite Spider-Man and got creamed in the ratings. Encounter at War in Anomaly 3 also ran in Marvel’s Epic Illustrated. My first and only movie job was on Judge Dredd, for which I wrote a treatment. Absolutely none of what I wrote was used in the film and I didn’t get a “credit,” thank goodness. Mutant World was optioned for an animated film by Phil Tippett and Jon Davison, but it went nowhere, and my horror novel, Risen, has been optioned five times, several times by Ralph Singleton (who made three Stephen King movies), but again, no film has resulted. In live action TV I wrote one episode of Young Hercules but was fired by Rob Tappert before he even read the script, a casualty of a mass firing of writers. I don’t think much of Rob, but his wife (Lucy Lawless) is very sweet. I’m making a student film with real high school students, called Things Change, just for fun, but it’s like pushing a rope. We lost a whole day of shooting for which we had our full cast of characters, extras, crew, etc. all lined up when our lead actress got grounded. “Making films is hard,” as Barbie might say. Another place you can get information about Jan and his work on his Amazon page, for one. Please download parts one and two of the pdf, so you can see all the wonderful work in this gorgeous fanzine! My thanks go out to Jan himself, who availed much of his time via email for all my questions!
Ken Meyer Jr. [email protected]  me/Brent Anderson  What the hell is that Creeper doing? Hello everyone. I wanted to give everyone kind enough to follow this column a heads up. This week’s installment will be delayed another 7 days due to some events I have to handle here at home. I have a couple of great ‘zines I’m going to choose from, including issues of Anomaly (Strnad, Corben, Kline), Reality (Kaluta and more), and others. For now, just for the heck of it, I will show a few pieces of mine from fanzines you haven’t seen yet (for the most part), as well as a few wacky Christmas cards (I do one each year). So, tune in again next week and we will get back on schedule with another great fanzine! EDIT: When reposting this on 1/12/2026, I added a few things. Above you see the very first thing I ever had published, aided and inked by my bud, Brent Anderson (appeared in a Baycon program book). Below you see a playmat (basically, a big mousepad) where I used a hand colored copy of the image at top, combined with a more recent portrait of Lee.   me, me/Mike Christian Above left you see a cover for a fun little sf fanzine that David Heath Jr pointed me too, while on the right is a trading card piece done for a set in the 90s featuring my character, Feral (sort of a combo of Wolverine and the Creeper).  This crazy thing was a submission for whatever company produced an incredibly funny comic called The Trouble With Girls, written by Gerard Jones.  Yes, that is Hillary Clinton. The gentleman to the right (Glen Williams), who had me do several other political shirts later on) asked me to do some art for shirts to help with her campaign for Prez a while back...that’s my art on the shirt. I am sure she is thinking, “What the hell is this sh@t?” It was fun, as were the following projects, since caricature is not something I do on a regular basis. It is fun, but challenging...you can see the other designs in my Facebook pages. In the comic photo folders there you can see many more Feral images and pages.  This is one of several graphics I did to try to promote the Caliber series I worked on for awhile called Kilroy is Here. They didn’t help.  Above and below you can see several pieces done for the San Diego Comicon program book over the years.   Above you see a selection of pages done as a sample to try to get work at DC (it didn't work). They were fun, as I was caught up in the enjoyment of those Justice League issues by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire. Such fun stories, facial expressions and characters!  One of my silly past Xmas cards.  In the 90s, I hooked up with that nut, Don Chin. In addition to the Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters limited series, I did these silly ass covers for the lunatic!  Above, another tryout! This is Clive Barker's Weaveworld, done while in I was in the throes of one of my idols, Dave McKean. Lastly, below, you can see a plethora of portraits painted by the poopyhead that is me! These were done for the wonderful current (2026) comic magazine, Comic Book Creator. Check that sucker out! Ken Meyer Jr [email protected]  Richard Corben burst onto the fanzine scene in an earlier issue of this fanzine, Voice of Comicdom. His style and skill, virtually unmatched, made him an instant smash.  Voice of Comicdom 17: 1971 Publisher/Editor: Rudi Franke  I remember when I first saw Richard Corben’s work in fanzines such as Infinity, and later, his own Fantagor (closer to an underground comic actually), his work screamed for attention just like the demon to the right and hit me like a ton of bricks (sort of related to how some might describe the figures of his female characters). The images were lusty, alive, cinematic, full of action, and rendered with incredible skill. He could paint rings around his contemporaries almost from the beginning. I remember wondering, how does he make everything so realistic, so three dimensional and so otherworldly? Because of this sense of wonder, I searched for his work wherever possible, whether it would appear in fanzines or, forbidden to a youngster like myself, the sometimes x- rated world of underground comics. From Fershid Bharucha’s Richard Corben: Flights into Fantasy, Corben’s beginnings “as the artist remembers it.” The American Midwest. The early forties. In a farmhouse in rural Anderson, Missouri, Rich is born and lives with his parents...’til the farmhouse burns down. So they pack up what’s left and move to Sunflower, Kansas, where a new town has sprung up around the Sunflower Ordnance Works. The time is World War II and everyone in town is making gunpowder and bombs for Uncle Sam. Rich goes through grade school in Sunflower. It is a very small town: one grocery store and a theater that only opens occasionally. But the grocery store has comics and Rich reads Superman. He really loves Superman. Then the family moves to Kansas City, where Rich goes to high school and later to art college [Kansas City Art Institute]. Somewhere along the way he meets Dona and they fall in love and get married and have a beautiful baby. And Rich draws and Dona collects owls and their daughter goes to school in nearby Indian Creek. And they all live happily ever after in a condominium on the Missouri side of Kansas City. While reveling in the domestic bliss of his family, Corben served a few months in the Army Reserves, and then worked for a period of nine years in the animation department of Calvin Communications. While there, he continued to hone his skills in many areas of art, including painting, sequential work, and making short animated films of his own. As for his fanzine work, in 1969, Richard’s work appeared in several, including Weirdom and an early issue of Voice of Comicdom.  I confess I do not have any issues of VOC before issue 17 (issue 16 featured part one of the story you see here). The fanzine was closer to a newspaper until late in its run, when it started focusing on specific artists. In fact, Richard’s first published strip, Monsters Rule, appeared in an early issue of VOC. At the same time Corben was publishing fanzine work, he made his way into the new underground comix scene with work in Last Gasp and several others. Very soon after, Warren publications came calling and his work started appearing in those magazines as well. Regarding VOC, again from Bharucha’s book: Fanzine publisher Rudi Franke ran “Monsters Rule”, the first Corben strip to see print, in the June 1968 issue. It ran as a serial, ending in the May 1969 issue. Rudi knew he was on to a good thing, and in the same issue he published an eight-page Corben story, rendered on scratch-board (“The Lure of the Tower“). The next two issues had full-color wraparound Corben covers and the two parts of the now-famous Rowlf, with a script by Harvey Sea (R.V.C., get it?). Then Rudi disappeared with some ten pages of Richard’s unpublished artwork. But that’s fandom!  Rowlf was reprinted in two places I have heard of, Last Gasp and a Warren magazine, but both are hard to find, so I hope you enjoy the download, including the color covers! Corben succeeded in so many ways with his work in general and this story in particular (in fact, Moebius considers it Corben’s best). His forms are round, full of volume, and it is evident when weight is being applied (or when faces are being squashed!). It’s common knowledge that his storytelling abilities are excellent, which he infuses with a cinematic touch. I know I would be interested in seeing a film directed by Corben! In Bharucha’s book, Neal Adams says of Corben’s storytelling ability, “He tells stories the way a filmmaker makes a film, with proper sequencing and animation. He keeps his camera at the right level, he zooms and pans; he is a consummate film person.” Note all the various changing points of view below (as well as the still experimental background sharing of panels 3 and 4).  Corben is also very well known for his expert handling of lighting and shadows, often sculpting versions of his characters beforehand to see how those figures would react to light (see Ink Stains 11). I can remember being almost as enthralled with those sculptures as with the finished art! Those sculptures were sort of a glimpse behind the wizard’s curtain. It was a behind the scenes tutorial of sorts and inspirational seeing these amazing creatures in three dimensions. Another critical element in the action packed world of comic book storytelling is the fight scene. A well staged fight scene can make all the difference in keeping the reader involved in the action and the characters. Corben is and has always been highly concerned with realistic fight scenes. He shoots them from a variety of viewpoints, injects an understanding of martial arts into the actual stances and moves, and does not hesitate to show the effects of, for example, a foot hitting a face. Just look below.  Check out the emotion showing through Rowlf’s shepherd face! Not an easy thing to accomplish. More examples below.   Another aspect of Corben’s black and white art that always enhanced the story was his use of toning tools of the day. Whether it is crosshatching, zip-a-tone, duo-shade, or wash painting, you could tell he was always thinking of ways and tools to make the visuals sing. Check out the almost Parrish-like clouds in the vista at left. Jan Strnad, Corben’s frequent collaborator, probably puts it most eloquently as to what makes a Corben story so singular when he is quoted in Bharucha’s book as saying:  "...it is his skillful manipulation of face and figure that makes his characters so much fun to direct. They can act – displaying their emotions openly and convincingly – and they interact so completely with their environment as to blur the line of distinction between illustration and reality. Once they appear on the illustrated page they begin to demand respect as living individuals, and their destinies are no longer wholly in the hands of the writer but are determined in great part by the characters themselves. Once begun, writing a Corben series becomes an adventure of discovery with the writer in the back of the canoe, steering for all he’s worth, while the raging waters carry him where they will. " Please check out Corben’s own site here. You can see a web printing of the first installment of this story here. And of course, download the pdf right now, Jethro! See a few images below of Corben from The Bharucha book (printed in 1981). See the actual book, plus doofus, above.  Gil Kane. Alex Toth. Don Maitz. Rick Buckler. Joe Sinnott. Jim Starlin. Berni Wrightson. John Byrne...LOTS of John Byrne. All in one “little” zine. And that zine is...CPL 11!  CPL 11: 1974 Publisher: Robert Layton  Don Maitz As you know, if you read Ink Stains 5, which showcased issue 12 of this great zine (of which I wish like crazy I had more...can anyone help?), it is jam packed with incredible art from some of the best fans (and pros) of the time, along with some very good writers as well. This issue, number 11, is just as exceptional. As you can see, issue 11 starts out with a high contrast bang, courtesy of the justifiably lauded artist Alex Toth. He was always able to do so much with so little...which, as most artists will tell you, is not anywhere near as easy as you might think it is. CPL was put together on a quarterly basis by Bob Layton, with help from fellow soon-to-be pros Roger Stern and other artists and writers known collectively as The CPL Gang (and also as The Indianapolis Mafia). The artist that played the biggest part in this issue, as in issue 12, is John Byrne. But...we will get to Byrne’s many contributions later in the article. The first interior illustration is a full page Don Maitz illustration of Ka-zar. Don has gone on to be one of the premier fantasy artists of today, and he was gracious enough to answer a few questions via email about his involvement in fandom. Don got interested in fandom through a friend’s fanzine called Formula X: “It was produced by a high school friend. It was really bad, but at least it only had a print run of about ten copies. He had to give me a copy...actually several copies, as there was no way I was going to pay money for it. I do not think he could get his mother to buy a copy.” And the first fanzine Don was actually published in? “I do remember working in my very first fanzine. That high school friend I mentioned talked me into working on the second issue of Formula X ! We made it using a ditto copy machine in the high school print shop (using blue, green, and red ink). I illustrated the title comic story featuring his character, Formula X. I wrote and illustrated a short comic story in it as well. It was really amateurish, awful as well. The only saving grace was we knew the great DC comic book artist, Jim Aparo, who graciously did a cover ink drawing for us to use. He lived near us and we were allowed to sit with him in his basement while he worked on Aquaman, Batman and other comic book titles. We must have printed all of 20 copies of Formula X ! My friend’s mother still did not buy a copy, my mother avoided it as well. I must have been sixteen at the time.” Despite the disdain of any nearby mother, Don almost entered the comic book field while in art school. “Jim Aparo took my friend and I to Rockefeller Plaza, NYC into the DC Comics offices and introduced us around. I met Dick Giordano (then Vice president at DC) at his home and did two pages of “ghost inking” for Jim Aparo, as well as some pencils for ads appearing in Marvel Comics. I went into NYC with my comic portfolio and they put me to work that same day inking over poor xerox copies of Black Canary pages as sort of an apprentice, pay your dues introduction to working in comics. I do not know if they expected me to travel to NYC from the middle of CT every day to do spec work till someone gave me a paying job. Anyway, I decided to stay in art school as I began to be very attracted to oil painting.” See his gorgeous work here.  Clyde Caldwell As to what Maitz has done recently, he told me, “A couple of years ago I did concept art for Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius, and Ant Bully. I have some work coming out in a coffee table book titled Knowing Darkness, featuring artists who have illustrated stories by Stephen King. I have all new art in the 2010 Pirates! calendar and my work has been featured in an award winning documentary film titled Mythic Journeys. This film won best documentary at Dances with Film in LA and at a film festival in Rome last weekend (and you can see a trailer here). The film also features animated puppets designed by Brian and Wendy Froud, interviews by visionaries such as Deepak Chopra, and the voices of Mark Hamill, Lance Henriksen, and Tim Curry.” By the way, to the left you see work by a contemporary of Maitz, Clyde Caldwell, who we will examine next. Clyde Caldwell got into fandom via a different route and subject matter...Edgar Rice Burroughs. Clyde told me, “I had always read comics from early childhood. I started reading SF & Fantasy literature when I was in the 7th grade and was instantly hooked. When I was in graduate school working on my MFA, discovered The Buyer’s Guide for Comic Fandom. There were ads for fanzines in TBG. I was a huge fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs so I ordered some of the ERB fanzines to see what they were about.” In fact, Clyde’s first published work was in a Burroughs zine called ERBdom. “I was in grad school...probably around 22 or 23 years old. I did a John Carter of Mars drawing in pen & ink and it was used for a back cover. The funny thing about it was that I did the piece in black & white. ”Caz” Cazedessus, Jr., who was the editor of the zine, sent the piece out to be colored without my knowledge. The colorist was [Marvel inker] Sam Grainger, who used to work with my father in Charlotte, NC (at Radiator Specialty Co.) When I was a kid, I used to do superhero drawings and send them to work with my dad to show to Sam. Sam was nice enough to critique them. At that time Sam was doing freelance work for Marvel Comics, in addition to working as a commercial artist at Radiator Speciality Co. I thought it a huge coincidence that he was called on to color my first ever fanzine piece. As it turned out, Sam was a huge ERB fan too.” I remember loving Sam Grainger’s inks over John Buscema on The Avengers, along with many other titles. You can see Caldwell’s beautifully accomplished work here.  John Byrne Roger Stern appears as editor of CPL for the first time with this issue, and delivers a column detailing the dovetailing of the fanzine and Charlton Bullseye, a short lived Charlton house magazine (and a very well produced one, if memory serves). Roger notes that John Byrne’s character, Rog-2000, is “the back up tenant in E-Man,” and the character also has a 6-page strip featuring not only the title robot character, but the CPL creators as well! Duffy Vohland, Byrne, Layton, Stern, and others put in appearances in this action packed humor strip, written by Stern and illustrated by Byrne and Layton. Check out this interview with Stern done in 2006.  John Byrne Don’t think the Byrne fun stops there, though. John’s smooth, easy to identify illustrations grace pretty much every other page of this fanzine. He gives us renditions of Howard the Duck, The Thing, Galactus, The Silver Surfer, The Flash, J. Johah Jameson, assorted robots, and also inks Rich Buckler on several full- page illustrations, a few of which you see below Joe Sinnott’s version of Galactus.  Joe Sinnott  Rich Buckler/John Byrne I can recall really loving Buckler’s work circa Deathlok and the like. The centerfold of that character above illustrates how smooth and sinuous his work could be. And of course, he could ape Kirby like few others, as witnessed by the Thing illo above. He has a few other illustrations not shown here that you can check out by getting the pdf.  John Byrne  The articles also are done by writers who would later become pros (or who were already working in the industry). Aside from the previously mentioned self referential article, Steve Gerber writes Further Muck Meditations, this installment focusing (he calls it “bitching”) on the effect of big companies on the creative process, as well as the element of “relevance” in comics (something that was all the rage back then, what with the classic O’Neil and Adams’s Green Lantern/Green Arrow issues, etc). John Byrne examines Galactus (see illo above) in his Northern Lights column (accompanied also by the full page Joe Sinnott illustration and a Byrne Silver Surfer spot illo), while Roger Stern, in his Sterno’s Hot Ones column, pokes fun at an issue of The Flash in which the title character streaks...luckily at Flash speed! Stern also gives us a page detailing the creation of John Byrne’s robot character, Rog-2000 (preceding the Rog- 2000 strip). An article by Paty (Greer, I think, is her last name, though she never used it) on the subject of The Vision and whether he has blood or not is followed by C.C. Beck’s instructions on creating characters called Don’t Show and Tell Everything. A letter column rounds out the text features in this issue.  As you can plainly see, CPL had one of the best stables of any fanzine in existence at that time (at any time, really), what with burgeoning pros like Byrne and existing artists like Gil Kane, whose work you see above. But hey, I have not shown it all! In addition to what you have seen, there are several more illustrations by Byrne, as well as work by Berni Wrightson, Jim Starlin/Pete Iro, Dan Adkins, and Bob Hall. So please, download the pdf so you can see all of the great work in this small, but potent fanzine!
CPL was one of my favorite fanzines from the 70s, and that is from only seeing two issues. If anyone out there has any other issues they would be willing to loan me or scan for me, I would be eternally grateful. For now though...download and leave comments! Thanks this issue goes out to Don Maitz and Clyde Caldwell for their time. Ken Meyer Jr. [email protected] No, this is not about the kiddie vampire movie. It’s a fanzine from 1976 with art by Dennis Fujitake, Gary Kato, Robert Kline, Clyde Caldwell and much more! Again...no vampires!  Robert Kline Always Comes Twilight 1: 1976 Editor: Dave Dapkewicz Publisher: Fantagraphics  Jim Pinkoski I will warn you, I don’t have a lot to add to the fantastic imagery this time out. Because of various issues, I was not able to contact anyone specifically about this fanzine, though I do have some previous input from artists Fujitake and Kato. And though there is a wealth of text (articles and stories), illustrations and sequential stories, this is the Fujitake and Kato show first and foremost, in my opinion. Initially though, let’s take a gander at some of the other creators involved in Always Comes Twilight. Several of the names will be familiar to readers of this column, one of which did the moody monochromatic cover you see above. That is the work of the precociously talented Robert Kline who, after doing a ton of fanzine work, disappeared into the wormhole of the animation industry. Kline also illustrates an interesting and provocative science fiction story by author Jan Strnad (a frequent partner of illustrator Richard Corben). The story, called Retardate Plus, involves “the computer,” an idiot savant named David Bruner, and God...and when the former two are merged to become as powerful as the latter. Interesting stuff! Another returning champion, if only for one illustration, is the late and great Don Newton. I just had to show it, though (see below), since it is such a nicely rendered Minotaur. Another artist that you have seen exhibited here in the Ink Stains mansion is Jim Pinkoski, who contributes a story on the subject of man’s first interaction with his soul. Jim’s wonderfully detailed work can be seen at left.  Don Newton Other contributors you may remember include Ron Wilber, whose detailed pen work and style might remind some of the great underground cartoonist, Robert Crumb. In addition to an illustration for Jim Wilson’s story, Controlled Experiment (in which he shares illustration duties with John McLaughlin, who appears to have referenced the old Leonard Nimoy Spock character), Wilber also assists in illustrating Hanna, by David Anthony Kraft and D. Jon Zimmerman (see below left). Below right you see early work by Clyde Caldwell, who is currently one of the best fantasy illustrators around (see his amazing work here). This illustration is part of an Edgar Rice Burroughs portfolio, which includes other artists such as Ronn Sutton and Gary Kato (more on Gary later).  Ron Wilbur, Clyde Caldwell John Adkins Richardson (now Professor Emeritus of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville), a frequent fanzine contributor, writes and draws Race Hardun in a format reminiscent of the more illustrative Sunday morning comics, such as Prince Valiant (both in the detailed style and the square panel layouts). A strange character and a strange strip, as it seems to combine the previously mentioned Hal Foster level of detail with some experimental imagery, a sample of which you see below.  John Adkins Richardson Another sequential story, courtesy of the loose knit fan organization Interfan, combines the talents of writer (and Interfan leader) Steve Clement with artists Karl Kesel and Mike Machlan, along with Jerry Ordway on lettering. That’s right. Lettering! Set in 16th century France, it comes complete with dusted wigs, a swashbuckling one eyed female vigilante, her dwarf companion and one very evil king of France. However, as I said before, this fanzine seems to show the deep talent available in Hawaii in the persons of Steve Leialoha, Gary Kato, and in the prime of his fanzine years, Dennis Fujitake. Check out the amazing batch of illustrations below and dare to disagree! Fujitake is at bat first, with some of his best fanzine work!   Now that you have seen the lithe and limber figure work of Fujitake (who only appears to have the tiniest shred of his old Steve Ditko influence electing instead to dive wholeheartedly into dramatic Jeffrey Jones territory here), contrast the work of his friend and fellow Hawaiian native, Gary Kato. Gary’s work is slightly more compact, a little more tightly wound perhaps. But Gary had a great eye for design and composition, even way back then.  I decided, in this update to also show this nice Ronn Sutton piece. Ronn is doing some really cool work on a Carson of Venus strip presently, ironically enough (since this is an ERB portfolio).  There are several other very nice illustrations by Gary Kato that you can see, along with a lot of other great stuff in the pdf. Gary Kato lists his influences as Steve Ditko, Frank Frazetta, Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert and Wally Wood. Kato went on to work on projects such as Martin Greim’s Thunderbunny, Ron Fortier’s Peter Pan: Return to Neverland, The Original Streetfighter, Boston Bombers, Days of the Dragon and later, Mr. Jigsaw (where his love of Ditko shows proudly). You can see and order Mr. Jigsaw here.
Thanks this installment go out to Gary Kato and, if he gets back to me in time, Gary Groth! Ken Meyer Jr. [email protected] Sometimes the best art comes in small – or in this case, thin – publications. Graphic Illusions boasted some pretty big name artists in its only issue.  Stephen Fabian Graphic Illusions, Summer 1971 Editor and Publisher: Rob Gustaveson Graphic Illusions was a one-shot, the combination of the sixth issue of Guts (the magazine with intestinal fortitude!) by Rob and Jeff Gluckson and the fourth issue of Robert Gustaveson’s Eon. This combination was done to fulfill subscription holders, but the contents hold together well enough that you would never know. Though primarily a showcase for the art of George Barr (working over several artists’ unfinished pieces), a Steve Ditko Mr. A story, and an EC article, there was still room for a few other illustrations within the fanzine. The only article was actually reprinted from another fanzine, Johnny Chambers’s Ymir. Titled Inside EC by Jerry Kolden, it was written with information provided by EC insider Kolden, and actually has a few small revelations (to me, at least). The major theme of the article is that it was not William C. Gaines that should have received the lion’s share of the credit for EC’s success (or more correctly, the high level of the content of the legendary if short-lived comic line), but the artists and writers themselves. A small group of creators, including Wally Wood, Ross Andru, Roy Krenkel, and Dick Ayers, offered to help a struggling Gaines and his slowly deteriorating line of kiddie comics and biblical adaptations for a less than standard fee, but with one caveat...they would have complete and utter control of the content. That is why EC was so ground-breaking and so good, in Kolden’s opinion. From that small start (and many title changes, as you will see from the article), great titles like Weird Fantasy and Tales from the Crypt emerged. There are several EC related illustrations gracing the article, including ones by artists such as Krenkel, Williamson, Wood, and as seen below, incredible draftsman George Evans.  George Evans As for the hows and whys of Editor Robert Gustaveson’s place in fandom, he stated via email that “... it was the sunday funnies that drew me into reading comics. One of the first comics I bought was an Action comic with Brainiac on the cover. Then I acquired all of them: DC at first, including Superman, Detective, Batman, Lois Lane (Superman’s Girl Friend), Jimmy Olsen (Superman’s Pal), Showcase, Brave and Bold and literally every title during the 1960′s. They never did put out a Perry White Comic. More below. Soon I was collecting every single Marvel, including Spider-man, Fantastic Four, Journey Into Mystery (Thor), Dr. Strange/Shield (Strange Tales), X-men, Hulk, Ant-Man (Tales to Astonish), Iron Man, etc. This lead me to Pre-Marvel Atlas comics with fantasy stories by Williamson, Ditko, Kirby and many others. And then into Charlton and finally into EC comics and I owned 80 % of those.  Tim Kirk/George Barr Tim Kirk, one of the artists the editor mentioned, is a well known fantasy artist today. At the time of this fanzine’s publication in 1971, Kirk was on the cusp of his professional career, as he told me via email. “My first professionally published piece was the cover art for a DAW book: Under the Green Star by Lin Carter, in 1972.” Kirk had been involved in fandom for a few years. “I can’t recall exactly which fanzine published my first drawings, but a likely candidate would be the Tolkien Journal, volume 3, #1 in 1967 – my entry into fan art was through Tolkien fandom. I was in junior college at the time.” Kirk goes on to detail more of his fan favorites with, “there were several fanzines that I felt a particular bond with, either because of subject matter or personality, and that I tended to submit to on a regular basis; Amra, Mythlore and Mythprint, Dick Geis’ Science Fiction Review/The Alien Critic, Charlie Brown’s Locus, Mike and Susan Glicksohn’s Energumen...there were many more, of course. It was the golden age of print fanzines, if there ever was one, and I shared the spotlight with several wonderful artists – Alicia Austin, George Barr, Mike Gilbert, Bill Rotsler, Steve Fabian...quite an impressive pantheon. Being a fan artist brought me into contact with a lot of truly amazing talents: L. Sprague de Camp, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch...I’ve been on convention panels with Vaughn Bode’ and Alan Lee, and a costume ball judge at Comic-Con. I’ve been very, very fortunate.” Since those self publishing days long ago, Kirk has gone on to do a host of high profile works. He states that, “after I graduated from college in 1973 with a master’s degree in illustration, I entered corporate America (Hallmark Cards, Current, Inc. and, for 22 years, Walt Disney Imagineering); as a result (mainly from sheer lack of time) my fan art activity dwindled to a trickle. Since 2002 I (with my brother and sister-in-law, who also worked at Disney) have been partners in Kirk Design Inc. (kirkdesigninc.com), doing basically the same sort of work we did at Imagineering: conceptual theme park and museum design. We’ve had several interesting projects, including the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, the Mini-Time Machine (a museum of miniatures) in Tucson, and the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington. I still do some book and magazine illustration and private commissions...last year I produced a couple of new paintings for a museum dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien scheduled to open soon in Europe.” As for his collaboration with Barr on the piece above, he succinctly states that, “All I can say is that George went FAR beyond the sketch I did!” In the several pages of explanations that Barr himself offers on the portfolio that is the meat of the fanzine (prompted by editor Gustaveson and springing from an evening of sketching with Wendy Fletcher, later Wendy Pini), he talks about the Kirk piece. “He merely outlined the character but indicated nothing at all of tone or shadow. The combination of Tim’s grotesque little cartoon character and my almost sculptural rendering of it made it look like nothing quite so much as an imitation Hannes Bok.” Barr himself has gone on to do many works of comic art though the years, but this folio shows a wide variety of subject matter and tone. It appears that pencil was used to finish the various pieces, several of which you see below. You will see Barr again later when I cover another issue of The Collector.  Alicia Austin/Barr. Wendy Fletcher/Barr Robert Gustaveson also wrote a few words (actually, more than a few, as you will see...the man has enthusiasm!) on the subject of George Barr and this wonderful set of images. The largely unaltered text runs below. Addendum: a diary 1965–1971 (Early fannish experiences) I always felt the George Barr Folio Collaboration was, somehow, incomplete. I wanted there to be an introduction page and also for there to be fancy type font sharing George’s magnanimous words. Subconsciously I probably blamed my co-conspirators – I mean co-publishers Rob and Jeff Gluckson for not laying out the folio as I wanted or for just typing Barr’s wonderful description on two pieces of typewriter paper. I always felt I was destined to do graphic design for a living (so you see why I like computers and the internet). People confuse me with Rob a lot. He was always known to me as Pagan Rob or Mythra. But now I see him as a conservative school teacher & “distance learning” innovator. Jeff is an actor and pianist. I am somewhere between artist and writer and comic book salesman and philosopher and web page designer. Rob Gluckson once lived in a tree house in a forest for a few years – I always admired that. To say nothing of him hitchhiking around the country. Rob and Jeff are my closest friends to this day. Though we do not see each other often. Together we published Graphic Illusions in 1971. None of us made a dime on the project (that I know of – I know I did not). If we had we would have shared it with the contributors (as far as I am concerned). I asked them recently what the print run was and got different answers. We all agree that the two print runs were under 2400 copies! I say the overrun folio was 200 copies! I wonder to this day why we were all inspired to publish our zines and connect with others who also did. We connected back then with a lot of other comic and fanzine editors. I published the George Barr Folio in 1971 as the central eight pages in my fanzine Graphic illusions. Indeed, all I had to do was ask George Barr or Tim Kirk for a sketch back then and they’d comply. Free. I went to the 1968 (or was it 1969, I’ve never been good with time) World SF Con in Saint Louis. I had a really great time at the masquerade (really creative costumes) and formal banquet (with white table cloths), photographing pros and meeting people. But when I walked into the art show and I was literally floored. I was shocked by the quality of art and I have still not recovered . I spent innumerable hours gawking at works by people I had never heard of until then and many who I had heard of as well. I witnessed originals by Richard Corben (who I met) and if I recall correctly (its been 30 some years) also Kenneth Smith and (I think) Frazetta.   Later I wandered into a near empty room and ran across Vaughn Bode’ and Jeff Jones. And soon I helped them set up the art show room. For my reward Bode’ gave me a free sketch for the help or just ’cause I asked and he was pretty nice (which later one of my friends swiped – I know who you are – give it back) and Jeff Jones did a sketch for me for $20.00! Which I cherished. Later Barr inked it and it joined the other 7 plates in this Barr Folio Collaboration. Giving it to George Barr as a thank you for rendering the folio was both a joy and a sadness. All this seems like only yesterday and I think I was molded & enormously influenced by early SF and comic cons. Times back then were traumatic on the world stage. Today they are potentially so again. But I think the future is still bright. That before us lay another Golden Age for inhabitants in the USA and Earth if we all use our creative intelligence rightly...in service to God and humanity (and all of nature). Selfishness could still destroy the world (as Bob Dylan sings) in the next 50 years. Or if we work together, fearlessly, united in commonality and brotherhood we can be the forerunners of a new race. All are brothers as Ghandi and the Saints of all religions pointed out - and lived. Where no one is left out. Where giving is natural. Did you know where more people meditate crime actually falls? We of the fannish circle have probably all come full circle in our lives. I hope you enjoy this incredible folio. I believe it inspired the Fantasy Showcase Tarot Deck and other collaborations too that came after. George Barr struck me as kind and gentle. I used to drive him and sometimes David Gerold to LASFS or LASFS sponsored poker parties when I was young. I drove people at high speeds in my 1956 midnight blue Cadillac (with power windows). Several times my girlfriend Sharon was with me. I’m sure Cerebus was based on the wit of Bruce Pelz. George was enormously generous with his art. And I never guessed how he really made a living. I hope you can all check out his book Upon The Winds Of Yesterday. His full color ball point pen work (which looks like painting) is a marvel to this very day.  Rob Gluckson can attest I had a lot of friends since I was the first one with wheels. Jim Shull may or may not have been impressed with my driving. But the person with the wheel and the brakes thinks he’s got everything under control. The others in the car don’t usually feel that way (everyone is really a control freak). We used to drive pretty fast near Olympic Park and up in the hills of Monte Mar Drive in L.A. Actor/muscian Bill Mumy lived a few doors down from Robert Gluckson. Gluckson was the inspiration for me to go to Saint Louis Comic Con (first time on a plane). Once there he did his own thing – and rarely did I see him ’til it was time to return. I and Keith Tucker and Mike Bennett (they also became animator’s) lived in the San Fernando Valley. We’d have car chases for fun – luckily no one was every hurt. We all belonged to SMASH – a comic book club. We were artists, publishers and writers. My life consisted of that plus going to Cherokee, Argosy, Bond St. Bookstore and Collector’s bookstore (and a few others) weekly to acquire comics or books with great art. I guess I was always into art. Joe Pearson later entered the fray and became a damn good artist too. He witnessed some interesting experiences at a couple of SF cons (friends of mine having too much fun). Articles unto themselves. Gluckson opened the doorway for me to meet Ken Rudolph – filmmaker, Mike Royer – comic artist, Jim Warren from Warren Publications. At this amazing World SF con I met and photographed Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Norman Spinrad, Robert Block, Harry Harrison, George Clayton Johnson (I think), and others. Wendi Fletcher is Wendy Pini who created Elfquest. I use to look though her drawings in the good old days. Tim Kirk became a member of the staff of Imagineering at Disney. Published a books called Kirk Works (smart dude got all us fanzine editors to print his work for free). My comic collecting friend (from my youth) Jim Shull also became an animator. I enjoyed the layout of his early fanzines (they were very cleanly designed). I do not recall meeting Jim Nielson but it is possible I did so at LASFS (Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society) where later, next door, from 1986 – 1996 I owned a small but mighty comic book store (parking issues they could never get over...ug). I have always marveled at Alicia Austin’s early work. Her line drawings were so sensuous and alive. They were crafted with detail unsurpassed. Yesterday’s Lily is my favorite art book by the great Jeff Jones. Only The Studio comes close to satisfying my fantasy art addiction. Cathy Hill was always a joy to run into at LASFS or a SF con – she’d offer her musical art at these SF cons. Some of her work will strike a chord of beauty few can sound. I love her smile and kind nature. I’m trying to give you the flavor of those early conventions and experiences. This is a first draft history I can build upon it in the future. We live in a dynamically changing Universe. So inspired by these people was I that I enrolled in Burne Hogarth’s art classes at Otis Parsons. I threw hundreds of autograph parties for comic and SF artists and authors from Jack Kirby to Stan Lee and Dave Stevens to Doug Wildey. Harlan Ellison took me to dinner once and I think he gave me tickets to the Director’s Guild to see Bladerunner there – nice place! In fact he was in the 13th row from the front to the right of me. But to return to the George Barr Folio Collaboration. Bjo Trimble used to let a bunch of us come over to her house to do creative stuff or costume events. She helped keep Star Trek on the air – that is, her letter writing campaign helped keep Star Trek around. Now back to the zine at hand. Let us not forget that Steve Ditko contributed (in the literal sense) a Mr. A story for this fanzine. See the back cover below.  There is so much more from the prolific Gustaveson. You can see much of it on his website here. He says nowadays he is “just enjoying life and seeing my kids and grandkids. Making webpages and videos is my new hobby. I hope to get a real job someday.”
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Robert Gustaveson for his help with this installment...heck, probably half the word count is his! Also, thanks to Tim Kirk and Alicia Austin for saying yes to my requests for personal involvement. I was asked to not have the whole fanzine downloadable, unfortunately. But if I mentioned something you want to see, let me know and I am sure I can get it for you. For now, you can see some George Barr art in the archives here (but nowhere near as much as you should see!). You can check out Wendy Pini’s official Elfquest site as well. Alicia Austin’s enchanting work can be seen here. There is an active Facebook group dedicated to Jeffrey Jones. Stephen Fabian is here, with tons of old stuff, as well as incredibly beautiful color paintings! Also, see a nice Tim Kirk wiki page here, and the archive of his site here. Ken Meyer Jr [email protected] Most fanzines were quick flash in the pans. Martin L. Greim’s Comic Crusader stuck around for a whopping 17 issues, and was the first to publish many great fan artists who later became pros.  Comic Crusader 10: 1970 Publisher and Editor: Martin L. Greim Like Fantastic Fanzine, the entry of two weeks ago, Comic Crusader not only published professional work (garnered primarily at conventions), but also showcased most of the best fan artists of that time (AND a Robert Kline interview!). This issue is a convention special, so not only are we treated to some great art and informative articles, but tons of photos of the comic luminaries of 1970!  Frank Frazetta, Tom Sutton, Nic Cuti, and Ernie Colon  Above you see only one of close to 50 photos of some of the best artists and writers in comics in not only the 70s, but of all time. The conventions of that time were less structured, more informal and arguably more fun than the more dealer’s room oriented conventions of today. You would consider yourself darn lucky to have a conversation with your favorite pro at all nowadays, and that only after waiting in line for hours. From what I hear (I was still a bit too young and did not live near enough to any of the cons back then to be able to write this from experience), many pros just gave away sketches and talked to fans at length. Ah, the good old days. Though he did go on to create a character modeled after a big fave of his, Captain Marvel (the C.C. Marvel, that is) called Thunder Bunny, Greim told me his ‘zine was published purely for the fun of it. In the 17 issue run, he gathered a very impressive group of artists each issue to share their love of the comic book medium with the reading audience. Greim contributed his art to most issues, which was very clean, if sometimes a bit derivative (something Greim himself admits), as the Gil Kane inspired cover of issue 10 shows. I also threw in (when reposting this vintage Ink Stains) a painting of mine (above) of Marty and his creation, hope you don't mind!  early Dennis Fujitake One of the many fan artists that Greim published on a regular basis is Dennis Fujitake (as well as Fujitake’s fellow Hawaii resident and buddy, Gary Kato, who went on to work on Greim’s Thunder Bunny character). Fujitake and Kato both did early work which showed a strong influence from Steve Ditko, while later work of Fujitake (seen in the last installment of Ink Stains) seemed more akin to Jeff Jones. The illustration to the right falls between those camps, as Fujitake’s work was starting to get more loose, more fluid and grew away from the Ditko style. Comic Crusader was in fact the first place Fujitake was published. Fujitake answered my email question of how he got started in fandom with, “this must be one of those trick questions where you test how atrophied that grey muscle I call a brain has gotten. I was about 17 or 18 and I was reading the back of a Marvel comic where Stan Lee mentioned something called a ‘fanzine’ published by a fellow named Martin Greim. Included was a mailing address and the pricey demand of $1 for 4 issues of Comic Crusader, a year’s subscription. This was my introduction to the world of fanzines. Here was a place where an aspiring comic artist could find someone willing to publish their work. A big bonus was the freebie issue in which the art ran.” Fujitake and Kato both affirm that Greim was their favorite ‘zine editor. Fujitake says that “I found him always kind, generous and supportive. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he had a friendly relationship with Steve Ditko. Later on I started doing a lot of editorial work with Gary Groth on his Fantastic Fanzine as well as The Comics Journal.” In fact, check out a youthful Groth below, along with a host of other convention attendees.  The group above is a composite of photos from the New York Comic Convention of 1970. The photo immediately above is from the Warren awards panel, with typed (yes, typed) notes as to who is who. Billy Graham, for those youngsters out there, assisted in creating one of the first black superhero characters, Luke Cage (from which fan and actor Nicolas Cage took his last name). The Warren awards article is written by Greim and the man who brought him to fandom, Bob Cosgrove. Cosgrove also contributes several other articles in this issue (and one illustration), one co-written by Gary Groth on the subject of Comic Art and Education, focusing on the Intermountain Indian Boarding School, which used comics as a teaching aid.  Richard Corben, duh! Another convention related article delves into a panel devoted to the topic of sword and sorcery in comics, the members of which included Berni Wrightson, Gil Kane, Jeff Jones, and writers Lin Carter and Denny O’Neil (moderated by Roy Thomas). The article was accompanied by the Fujitake illustration near the top of the column, as well as the head-splitting work of Richard Corben, seen at right. Bob Cosgrove (whose fanzine Champion was the catalyst in Greim’s involvement in fandom) also writes a full page review of Jim Steranko’s incredible History of the Comics (from which the illustration below is taken, also reprinted in Comic Crusader). I can remember gazing in awe at the wraparound cover of volume one several times over, marveling at how Steranko was able to incorporate so many characters in such an inventive manner and in such an elegant but powerful style. I probably drew and redrew this illustration dozens of times in my youth.  In an instance of pure coincidence, the interview in this issue of Comic Crusader is with none other than Robert Kline, the main subject of the last installment’s Fantastic Fanzine 11. This interview is a little shorter and is accompanied by more superhero illustrations than normally seen by this artist (and, to be honest, I think he is slightly better at fantasy work, as evidenced by the wonderful illustration below). The interview was prompted by reader requests and comes from a conversation at one of the conventions Greim attended.  Robert Kline Near the top of this installment, you will see large photos of Submariner creator Bill Everett and Kubert School founder (who else?), Joe Kubert. These, along with a few spot illustrations, are part of an article on a “Convention Lunch” featuring the two creators interviewed by none other than Gil Kane and Neal Adams, respectively. Other convention subjects are covered in other articles, with but a few of the many photos that grace the pages of Comic Crusader 10 below.  Editor Greim told me via email that he published another fanzine that sounds to me like a goldmine. “The last fan thing I did was Comic Crusader Storybook...a 195 page publication that had the best of fan super heroes in all new stories by the original artists (coming in a later installment of this blog). It also had a lot of pro art and a Mr. A story, with no dialog that was one of the best things he [Ditko] ever did. It also had the first Thunder Bunny story that eventually caused me to do it as a pro.” Greim no longer draws and says he does not miss his days publishing, but I can only assume my readers feel the same as I do in that I am damn glad he decided to publish in the first place! Other artists in this particular issue include Mike Royer, John Buscema/Joe Sinnott, Paul Neary, Bill Black, Al Bradford, Gary Kato, John G. Fantucchio, Dan Adkins, Ronn Sutton, Jim Jones, Ron Foss and Don Newton. I believe I have one other issue of this great ‘zine, but hope to find more at some point in the near future. Please download the pdf, as I could only put a fraction of the material included. Thanks this installment go to Martin Greim and Dennis Fujitake. While updating this installment (1/11/2026), I decided to include these incredible jam pieces that Marty commissioned over the years below...feast yer eyeballs!      Gary Groth is known as a lightning rod in the comics community, and was the editor and guiding light of The Comics Journal for many years...but he had to start somewhere, and Fantastic Fanzine is that somewhere!  Robert Kline Fantastic Fanzine 12, 1970 Editor and Publisher: Gary Groth Our childhoods are filled with items and events that hold personal importance to us...sometimes an importance deserved, sometimes not so much. Fanzines fall into the former category as far as I am concerned. I think the reasons are several and interconnected. There is a fondness and a nostalgia from a time that seems in retrospect to be more alive, more full, more adventurous perhaps. That is definitely a part of it, but it’s not the only reason. When I discovered fandom, I found a community of people with similar interests, many of them able to illustrate those interests with incredible verve, skill, and imagination. All of these elements come together when I look at a fanzine like Fantastic Fanzine 12. I hope you will be interested in all the elements that make this fanzine such a great representative of the enthusiasm, the imagination, the skills, and the fun that fueled fandom at this time.  Kline again!  Don Newton If you read the installment of Ink Stains that focused on Fantastic Fanzine 10, you know Gary Groth was the editor and started his fanzine at the amazingly tender age of 13. By the time of issue 12, I assume Groth was in his early years of college. Issue 12 has a host of great artists and writers, but the focus is on frequent contributor and this issue’s cover artist Robert Kline, including a lengthy interview conducted by Groth. Kline has long been a favorite of mine and someone who I feel would have contributed greatly to professional comics if he had elected to work there instead of the animation industry, where I believe he still makes his living. When Kline burst on the scene, he seemed already at a skill level beyond most of his contemporaries. Amazingly enough, in 1970, when this interview was conducted, Kline was still only 23 years old. You don’t see many artists of this age with this level of skill. By this time, Kline had already contributed to many of the better zines of the time, including Comicology, I’ll Be Damned, The Collector, RBCC, and others. Also at this time, Kline was in the Air Force (in an effort to escape the draft, he said) and married. I’ve tried to track Kline down for this installment, but have had no luck so far. It’s really too bad, I know I am very curious as to the type of work he is doing nowadays. (years after this column posted, I was fortunate to visit Kline at his home for an interview seen in a more current Ink Stains) Since Kline is the focus of this issue, he contributes several gorgeous black and white illustrations, as well as the color cover. There are several drawings of dinosaurs (as well as several imaginary big lizards), one of his favorite subjects. We are also treated to images of knights, gnomes, barbarians, and magicians. Kline has a great command of the brush, pen, and even unconventional tools such as Q-tips and toothpicks! His placement of blacks is intelligent, as well as is his command of negative space. Suffice to say, Robert Kline is an artist’s artist.  Dave Cockrum Of course, Groth populated his books with many other wonderful artists as usual. In addition to his stable of artists such as Doug Rice, Carter Scholz, Doug Hazlewood, Dave Russell, Jay Mike, John Cornell, Dennis Fujitake, and others, there are many images by what I consider the ’super artists’ of the fanzine scene at this time. This includes artists like Dave Cockrum, Don Newton, and John G. Fantucchio. While on the subject of Fantucchio, I was lucky enough to get more information about the monochromatic but still flashy centerfold from the man himself, via email. In addition to reveling in the technique inherent in any piece by this artist, I was sure the photographic profile was Batman actor Adam West. John states that “...it originally was painted in black and white tempera. The spacey background is from a clipping from either a newspaper or an old magazine. The young man’s profile on the left is also a photograph from a newspaper or a magazine – I don’t remember which – no idea who he was, but it was supposed to represent Adam West (not the Batman one). [I think this has to be THE Adam West myself...who I peed next to at a San Diego Con! - Ken] It was cut out with my stainless steel scissors and pasted onto the background. The bracelets that are sitting on the space pedestal are painted – again in black and white tempera. The word KATANG was originally drawn on white two-ply drawing paper and cut out with an X-acto knife and pasted over the young man’s forehead. This was all executed back in 1969 or 70, long before computer graphics and electronic airbrushing. We’ve come a long way – but it’s really more fun getting your fingers dirty!” Fantucchio was probably the most supreme stylist in fandom at that time. His characters’ pointy feet, curled limbs, even his own detailed scratchy signature, were a big part of the community at that time. He continues to produce art and teach, and actually sells his work and vintage zines as well. If you are interested in contacting John, email me and I will pass along his information. You can see a great big image of his cover for the following issue of this fanzine (in a later installment covering issue 13).  An additional interview subject is uberfan and writer Dwight Decker, whose work populated many fanzines in the 70s. Decker actually contributes an article on Captain America immediately following his interview, as well as a review of Steranko’s huge The History of Comics. Other articles include Tony Isabella’s column, The Windmills of My Mind, as well as subjects such as The Second Golden Age (Dave Transue), and two satirical fiction pieces revolving around artist Robert Kline (one by Jim Wilson, the other by a Ladislov Prosnalkl, surely a pseudonym). Also included is a short story by David Anthony Kraft called The Sword of Eternal Strength, Bernie Bubnis’s Fanzine Fandom Revisited, (an article “about fandom by a pro”), a letter column, and a few other articles.  Dennis Fujitake Other content includes a one-page strip by Alan Hanley that references the Steranko interview in issue 11 . Funnily enough, Hanley’s work in this particular strip sort of looks like a combination of Archie and Robert Crumb (who would have still been very fresh and new in 1970)...the last pose of the main character is even amazingly similar to an iconic Mr. Natural pose. Ah well, maybe it’s just me. Jim Pinkowski contributes a two-page strip that ruminates on the theory of aliens populating earth in his idiosyncratic style. There is also the first part of A Brief Interview with...Syd Shores, which includes a finished drawing of a wild west character (seen below).  Carter Scholz, Dave Russell, Syd Shores Please avail yourself of the pdf of the whole zine, so you can get the full effect and see all of the material. You can see sites devoted to late great artists Dave Cockrum here and Don Newton Facebook tribute page here. You can see Don's old site in the archives here as well. If there is ANY zine that deserves your proper, pulsating, pdf attention, it is this one...tons of art!
Two clarifications given to me after this column posted below. From Gary: “At the time of FF 12 I was 15 —my son’s current age— which surprised me. As for other random comments...well, this certainly is an embarrassment. My interview with poor Bob Kline is obviously a raw transcript. You can tell because my questions were so terrible. Poor Bob. At 23 he’s knowledgeable and smart. I was clueless. It’s a miracle that he put up with me. What a nice guy. (And he put up with me a lot. I’d go over to his apartment whenever I could and just ‘hang out.’) Tony Isabella was certainly full of spunk back then, wasn’t he? I wonder what happened. [see his facebook posts, Gary. -Ken] The drawings on pages 34 and 35 (Magneto) were by Carter Scholz, who is now a brilliant novelist. Project repay was some good-hearted by wrong-headed scheme to “pay back” the soldiers fighting in Vietnam with subscriptions to Marvel Comics. The letter from Don Luskin on page 50 is dead-on. It was probably over my head; notice I didn’t even bother to answer it. If he was 15, he was a hell of a lot smarter than me.” ...and from John: “I would like to clarify a few statements that I made in my previous email to you. The photograph of the youth on the left hand side is absolutely not Adam West, the actor who portrayed Batman on TV in the 60’s. [I still don't believe him - Ken] I got into my time machine, which is my 1970 Volvo that can be seen on page 25 of Fantastic Fanzine #13 next to my wife Mary. This car still exists, so what I did was press a button on the dashboard – and out came the original artwork for the collage. I consider this a center spread, not a center fold; then I pressed another button – and out came the comic Captain Marvel #17, which at that time was only 15 cents. This issue was the inspiration for the artwork. There’s a profile on page 7 of the comic of a youth named Rick Jones, who will become Captain Marvel. Now notice on page 14 of the same comic – this is where we see Rick Jones become Captain Marvel and the word ‘KTANG.’" "All this was beautifully drawn by Gil Kane. I purposely left off the exclamation point. I gave this my interpretation – pointy boots and all. It’s really not much bigger than the reproduction, and the painted portion was done in black and white tempera. This artwork has been stored away in the caverns of time for 40 years. KATANG, Baby! I hope you have this 15 cent conic – it’s beautifully drawn by Kane and Adkins.” I would like to thank those that helped out, including John G. Fantucchio and Gary Groth. Again I say if anyone has any requests, please pass them along, and even more important, if anyone has any fanzines in their collection they would not mind loaning to me (or scanning for me), remember that as well. I have a good sized collection, but there are so many other great zines I do not have. Ken Meyer Jr [email protected] |
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