back issue #7

T H E U L T I M A T E C O M I C S E X P E R I E N C E !

December 2004

No.7$5.95

December 2004

No.7$5.95

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Celebrating the

Best Comics of the

'70s, '80s, and Today!Celebrating the

Best Comics of the

'70s, '80s, and Today!

PRO2PRO

superteamspencil

art

evanier &meugniot’s

dnagents

SUPERMAN, BATMAN, AQUAMAN, SPECTRE,AND PHANTOM STRANGER TM & © 2004 DC COMICS.FANTASTIC FOUR AND CLOAK AND DAGGER TM & © 2004 MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. DNAGENTS TM & © 2004 MARK EVANIER AND WILL MEUGNIOT

ROUNDTA

BLE

21creatorsdiscuss

thef f

FLASHBACK

the Brave

& the Bold

jim aparo

ROUGH

STUFF

It’s our

super TEAMsissue!

Volume 1, Number 7December 2004

Celebrating the BestComics of the '70s, '80s,and Today!

EDITORMichael “Brave and Bold” Eury

PUBLISHERJohn “Two-in-One” Morrow

DESIGNERRobert “World’s Finest” Clark

PROOFREADERSJohn Morrow and Eric Nolen-Weathington—in one issue together!

SCANNING AND IMAGE MANIPULATIONRich “Super Friend” Fowlks

COVER ARTISTSCurt Swan and Murphy Anderson

COVER COLORISTMurphy Anderson III

BATMAN CREATED BY BOB KANE

SUPERMAN CREATED BY JERRY SIEGELAND JOE SHUSTER

SPECIAL THANKS

The Ultimate Comics Experience!

Jason AdamsNeal AdamsMurphy AndersonJim AparoTerry AustinMike W. BarrSpencer BeckJerry BoydTom BrevoortJune BrigmanRich BucklerMike BurkeyCary BurkettKurt BusiekJohn ByrneNick CardyChris ClaremontDave CockrumGerry ConwayDon CornTom DeFalcoMike DunneKieron DwyerSteve EnglehartRic EstradaJohn EuryMark EvanierRamona FradonMarguerite Haney

FrenchKerry GammillDick GiordanoGrand Comic-Book

DatabaseDavid HamiltonWallace HarringtonJack C. HarrisRuss HeathHeritage ComicsCarmine Infantino

Dan JohnsonRandy KerrKarl KeselChris KhalafScott KressJoe KubertStan LeeRick LeonardiPaul LevitzWillie LumpkinAndy MangelsWill MeugniotMoebiusCookie MorrisBrian K. MorrisDennis O’NeilJerry OrdwayGeorge PérezAdam PhilipsJohn Romita, Sr.Alex RossSteve RudeRose Rummel-EuryPaul RyanJim ShooterBill SienkiewiczWalter

SimonsonJoe SinnottJ.E. SmithJay StephensRoger SternRoy ThomasAlex TothGeorge TuskaMark WaidLen WeinMarv Wolfman

S u p e r T e a m s I s s u e • B A C K I S S U E • 1

EDITORIAL ............................................................................................................................................................ 2A salute to B&B and Teen Titans writer Bob Haney

FLASHBACK: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD ............................................................................. 3The history of DC’s much-more-than-just-a-team-up title

FLASHBACK BONUS: THE BRAVE, THE BOLD, AND THE BOB ........................ 21Bob Haney, through the eyes of Mike W. Barr

PRO2PRO MINUS 1: JIM APARO INTERVIEW................................................................... 23The Bat-artist supreme looks back on his Brave and Bold days

THE ULTIMATE TEAM-UP GUIDE................................................................................................. 28A checklist of B&B, Marvel Team-Up, and other team-up titles

ROUGH STUFF: SUPER TEAMS ...................................................................................................... 32Pencil art by Brigman, Byrne, Cockrum, Gammill, Heck, Infantino, Leonardi,Newton, Robbins, Ross, Swan, and Toth

THE GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: TEEN TITANSSWINGIN’ ELSEWORLDS (AND THE SUPER-SONS)................................................... 44Jay Stephens talks Titans and Bob Haney, daddio! With unpublished art

PRO2PRO ROUNDTABLE: FANTASTIC FOUR .................................................................... 47The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine, as seen by 21 top creators

PRO2PRO INTERVIEW: MARK EVANIER AND WILL MEUGNIOT ................... 62The writer and artist recall DNAgents, with tons of juicy Meugniot artwork

OFF MY CHEST: DENNIS O’NEIL.................................................................................................. 74A guest editorial on the perils of writing super teams

BACKSTAGE PASS: METROPOLIS LIVES! ............................................................................. 76BACK ISSUE’s guided tour of the “home” of Superman

GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD STOCKING STUFFER........................................ 80Marvel’s Santa Claus, plus Christmas comics of the ’70s and ’80s

DVD BACK ISSUES, PART TWO..................................................................................................... 81Our checklist of comics-to-film-to-DVD titles continues

BACK TALK ....................................................................................................................................................... 88Reader feedback on issue #5

BACK ISSUE™ is published bimonthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury,Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. BACK ISSUE Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor, 5060A Foothills Dr., LakeOswego, OR 97034. Email: [email protected]. Six-issue subscriptions: $30 Standard US, $48 First Class US, $60 Canada, $66Surface International, $90 Airmail International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT tothe editorial office. Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Spectre, Phantom Stranger, Brave and the Bold, and Teen Titans TM & © 2004DC Comics. Fantastic Four TM & © 2004 Marvel Characters, Inc. DNAgents TM & © 2004 Mark Evanier and Will Meugniot.All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2004Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

All for one, andone for all!

It’s our

super TEAMsissue!

The Brave and the Bold wasDC Comics’ most influential seriesof the Silver and Bronze Ages.

There. I said it.

You can stop laughing now.

It’s easy to dismiss The Brave and the

Bold as “that Batman team-up” comic

—that was its role for almost two-thirds

of its 200-issue run (1955–1983).

Granted, the words “brave and bold”

have become synonymous with the

team-up concept: DC has twice

by Michae l Eury

Titans,Tryouts,and Team-UpsTitans,Tryouts,and Team-Ups

“When all else has fadedand been forgotten in thevast cave of time-one thingalone survives-brave mendoing bold deeds! Thisalone endures!”

Opening caption by writer Bob Haney“Hell is for Heroes”The Brave and the Bold Special(DC Special Series) v. 2 #8 (1978)


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revived the title, as miniseries, to unite some of its

heroes, with a proposed relaunch as a monthly series

written by Kevin Smith hanging in limbo as of this

writing; writer Dwayne McDuffie’s “The Brave and

the Bold” Justice League Cartoon Network two-parter

involved a Flash/Green Lantern pairing at its story

core; and The Brave and the Bold, a 2002 Star Trek

novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido, was a generations-

spanning epic involving characters from three

different eras.

But The Brave and the Bold was much more than

the DC Comics equivalent of a buddy movie. The

title was the source of several phenomenally impor-

tant comic-book milestones that make my audacious

opening claim not so far-fetched after all:

! It was the launch pad for the perennially

popular Justice League of America, the concept

whose success spawned golf-course bragging

rights from DC’s publisher to Marvel’s publisher,

and inspired the latter to mandate his editor to

create a super-team comic, that series being

Fantastic Four;

! It was the original home of the Teen Titans,

a team that has endured through myriad

incarnations, the most recent of which being an

extremely successful, widely merchandized TV

cartoon;

! It was the title where Neal Adams, the extraordi-

nary illustrator who almost single-handedly ele-

vated comics art to a new level, first began to

visually transform Batman from a wisecracking

Caped Crusader to a fearsome creature of the night;

! It was where Green Arrow first stepped out of

the long-standing stigma of his “Batman with a

bow” second-string status by appearing in his

bearded, more dynamic look (which he still

sports today); and

! It was the first series where Jim Aparo, who

would ultimately emerge as one of the great Bat-

artists, got to try his hand at drawing the Dark

Knight.

The Brave and the Bold also unveiled the lauded

Silver Age revival of Hawkman and the introduction

of oddball hero Metamorpho, the Element Man; and

ended its impressive run of nearly three decades with

the inaugural appearance of Batman and the Outsiders,

a group that would spin off to star in one of DC’s

bestselling titles of the 1980s. And along the way, The

Brave and the Bold hosted meetings of everyone from

the Flash and the Doom Patrol to Aquaman and the

Atom to Batman and . . . just about everybody.

In its capacity as comics’ premier team-up title,

The Brave and the Bold further proved its mettle by:

! becoming DC’s first “entry level” series, afford-

ing lesser-known characters a larger audience by

riding piggyback on a more visible main star,

mostly fan-favorite Batman; and

! offering exposure to “homeless” heroes not cur-

rently seen in their own features (for a time, it was

the only place you could encounter Aquaman, the

Teen Titans, and the Metal Men).

B&B 101The Brave and the Bold—affectionately known to its

readers as B&B—got its start in 1955 as a “high

adventure” title, appropriating its name from

Horatio Alger, Jr.’s novel, Brave and Bold or the

Fortunes of Robert Rushton (interestingly, a 1956 war

movie titled The Bold and the Brave earned an Oscar

nomination for actor Mickey Rooney). Edited by DC

stalwart Robert Kanigher, B&B was home to short

stories starring a trio of swashbucklers: the Viking

4 • B A C K I S S U E • S u p e r T e a m s I s s u e

1955

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1959B&Bpremieresas adventureseries.

Tryout formatbegins withSuicide Squadin #25.

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Firstappearanceof JLAin #28.

1960

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From B&B #1(1955)

(above right)

A beautiful Russ

Heath-drawn

splash page. Courtesy

of Heritage Comics.

HawkmanReturns

(below right)

From B&B #34

(1961). Art by

Joe Kubert. Courtesy

of Heritage Comics.

© 2004 DC Comics.

Prince (illustrated by Joe Kubert), the Silent Knight

(drawn by Irv Novick), and the Golden Gladiator

(with art by Russ Heath), the latter of which soon

vacated the series to be replaced by Robin Hood.

Editor Kanigher was the series’ chief scribe, although

he was abetted at times by authors France Herron, Bill

Finger, and the writer who would eventually become

closely associated with B&B, Bob Haney (more—much

more—on him later). Some of these brilliantly illus-

trated tales have occasionally resurfaced in various

DC reprints, most notably DC Special #12 (May–June

1971), headlined by Kubert’s Viking Prince.

By the end of the 1950s, the successful reintro-

ductions of the Flash and Green Lantern in DC’s

Showcase prompted a change in B&B’s format:

Beginning with issue #25 (Aug.–Sept. 1959), The

Brave and the Bold parroted Showcase as a tryout series,

with DC ambitiously looking for the next big

thing(s). First out the gate was the Suicide Squad,

another brainchild of Kanigher’s, a war/spy series

that floundered through a trio of appearances. The

Squad was followed in issue #28 by a concept that

would prove to be one of DC’s greatest triumphs: the

Justice League of America (JLA), edited by Julius

Schwartz. Three issues of B&B was all the JLA needed

to promptly graduate into its own title, with another

Kanigher creation, “Cave Carson – Adventures Inside

Earth,” following for three forgettable issues.

Schwartz returned with B&B #34’s Hawkman rebirth,

written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Joe Kubert.

After a successful three-issue run, Hawkman was seen

again in issues #42–44 before taking wing in his own

series. But the Justice League and Hawkman aside,

B&B was not proving to be a hitmaker like Showcase:

The Suicide Squad came back, then disappeared, as did

Cave Carson. Schwartz eagerly infused athletic com-

petition with his passion

for science fiction and

concocted the utterly

bizarre anthology Strange

Spor ts Stor ies , which

included everything from

phantom pugilists to a

gorilla baseball team, but

despite a five-issue spot-

light in issues #45–49,

this series struck out

with readers.

Maybe DC didn ’t

need two tryout titles,

the thinking presumably

went . And so , com-

mencing in 1963 with

issue #50, The Brave and

the Bold changed its

format yet again.

“TWO GREAT HEROES-TEAMED INA BOOK-LENGTHBLOCK-BUSTER. . .”Green Arrow and the

Manhunter from Mars

joined forces in B&B #50,

their logos (actually, fac-

similes thereof) appearing

side-by-side on the cover,

marking the first-ever

super-hero team-up comic

book.


1964First appearanceof Teen Titans in #54.

First appearance ofMetamorpho in #57.

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1963B&B #50launchesteam-upformat.

1961First appearanceof Silver AgeHawkmanin #34.

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Aparo’s All StarsA recent commissioned

illo by Jim Aparo.

Courtesy of Spencer Beck

(www.theartistschoice.com).

© 2004 DC Comics.

Undetected CoverAn unused Aparo

cover intended for

Detective Comics

#481 (1978). Courtesy

of Mike Burkey

(www.romitaman.com).

© 2004 DC Comics.

Pop quiz for the B&B junkie: Who appeared mostfrequently with Batman in The Brave and theBold? No, not Green Arrow, but artist Jim Aparo,whose versatility with drawing a host of heroicco-stars dazzled readers for almost 100 issues. Myoriginal goal with this “Pro2Pro” was to moderatean interview between B&B’s team supreme,Aparo and writer Bob Haney, but Mr. Haney’srecent illness (see editorial) unfortunately madethat impossible. But a solo chat with the amiableMr. Aparo is far from settling for second best, soread on as one of Batman’s premier illustratorsshares his recollections on his unparalleled tenureas the tsar of team-ups.

–Michael Eury

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MICHAEL EURY: You came to DC Comics at the invita-

tion of Dick Giordano, who was your editor at Charlton

Comics before he was hired by DC.

JIM APARO: Dick was a really good friend of mine. He

still is. He hired me at Charlton. We’re about the same age,

we had the same amount of children—two daughters

and a son; we were duplicate copies, you know?

EURY: Your first issue of The Brave and the Bold was #98,

teaming Batman with a character whose book you were

drawing at the time: the Phantom Stranger. But you didn’t

draw the next issue of B&B. Was the Phantom Stranger

team-up originally a one-time event, or did editor Murray

Boltinoff have you in mind to permanently take over

the strip?

APARO: I believe it was just for that one issue. But I liked

drawing Batman and Murray was satisfied with the work

I did, and brought me back permanently [beginning with

issue #100].

EURY: What approach did you bring to Batman that was

different from that of Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Irv Novick,

and the other Bat-artists of the day?

APARO: Not much. Neal, of course, was one of the big

stars of Batman. I know we all looked at him on how to

draw Batman. Yeah, Neal was quite a help. Not personally,

but his style of art. Now he’s in advertising, I think.

EURY: That’s true.

APARO: I was in advertising before I got into comics. I

worked in an outfit in West Hartfort, Connecticut. I was

one of the artists on the advertising staff.

EURY: What types of accounts did you work on?

APARO: Oh, local stuff, either stores or factory-type things.

EURY: Fashion illustration?

APARO: No, it had nothing to do with that. I’d make

S u p e r T e a m s I s s u e • B A C K I S S U E • 2 3

Batman’sBravest andBoldest Ally:

Batman’sBravest andBoldest Ally:

2 4 • B A C K I S S U E • S u p e r T e a m s I s s u e

posters, ads for sales presentations, drawing things

like toasters.

EURY: That probably helped you as an artist, in regard to

adding the smaller touches of realism. If you needed a

toaster in the background of a scene, you knew how to

draw one, right? (laughs)

APARO: (laughs) Yeah, that’s right.

EURY: In The Brave and the Bold, did the editors of the

guest-star characters have any approval rights over

your team-ups?

APARO: Not really. Murray was the guy.

EURY: I find that surprising, because today, using another

editor’s characters involves layers of approvals. So no

other editors ever reviewed, or even disapproved of, your

interpretations of their characters? You were never asked

to redraw, say, Wonder Woman or Green Lantern?

APARO: Yeah, that happened occasionally, Michael, but

I didn’t mind, you know? Although most of the times, I

was on the money. They must have enjoyed what I was

doing. But I really had no interference.

EURY: You definitely proved your versatility, drawing all of

those DC characters.

APARO: Murray let me do what I had to do. He believed

that I could handle it. But when changes needed to be

made, he would just call me on the phone and tell me,

“Now, Jim, I want you to do

this thing. I’ll send you some

pages back and correct them,”

or whatever, and I’d send them

back in.

EURY: Was Murray Boltinoff a

hands-on editor?

APARO: Murray was a good

man. He was in New York and I

was Connecticut (laughs) and

that helps, because normally,

when you’re working together,

it’s kind of hard. You know, he

was always constantly changing

this what-not or that what-not,

“You didn’t do this the way I

wanted you to do it.” The com-

petition was always there

between our artists and Murray.

And that’s true of Julie

Schwartz, too, but it worked

out okay. Carmine [Infantino], he was in charge of DC at

the moment. I got along with him, too.

They were great guys. They really were, once you

got to know them. I got along with Murray, although a

lot of people complained about him. I got along with a

lot of people at DC. But the reason was because I was

not there all the time (laughs), I wasn’t down there in

New York. I was in my own studio in Connecticut.

EURY: How often did you actually go into the city?

APARO: Oh, not that much. In case they really needed

me to come down, for whatever reason, I would make

the trip. And then every once in a while, I would come

down on my own to see everybody, to see what they

were doing. But they left me alone.

You’re left alone, you’re doing your thing, you sent

it down there. I could send stuff down, pages at a time,

because I would make copies of my pages here so I

would know what I drew and then I would send the

originals down by mail. They would deal with it; do the

color, do the lettering, whatever they had to do.

When you’re down there, you can be doing some-

thing else and somebody will ask you, “Well, what

about this?”, “What about that?” You blow a whole

day, just answering.

EURY: What was it like working with B&B writer

Bob Haney?

APARO: Bob was a good writer. I enjoyed him very

much. I only met him once or twice, but we got along

well. We talked a lot on the phone when I needed help.

“What did you mean by this?” and “What did you

mean by that?” We never had any problems.

EURY: Were Haney’s B&B scripts detailed, with specific

panel directions, or did he give you leeway to interpret

the stories?

APARO: In Bob’s scripts, he would say, “Batman is

going to be doing this, but you can do it at any angle you

want.” Some other writers would say, “No, I want you to

draw him straight on.” Haney would give you the idea of

what’s supposed to be in the panel, and it would be up

to you as the artist to put it down the way you think it

should be and what angle it’s going to be at, looking up,

looking down, sideways, upside-down, whatever. Most

writers that I worked with gave me leeway.

EURY: I’m sure when you were encouraged to put more

of your own storytelling there, it made you put more of

yourself into the stories as well.

The Team-Up TsarThe only time Aparo

drew the New Gods

was in this 1977

DC house ad.

© 2004 DC Comics.

From B&B to JLAJim Aparo was one of

the superstar artists

who contributed

to Justice League of

America #200 (1982).

© 2004 DC Comics.

Tricks of the TradeAparo’s 1980s how-to manual

from Eclipse Comics’ Tips From

Top Cartoonists.

© 2004 Jim Aparo.


APARO: Right, yeah.

EURY: Many of Haney’s scripts

called for Batman doing some

pretty peculiar things: riding

a camel in the deser t [ in

B&B #112’s Mister Miracle

team-up] and leading an

army of gorilla soldiers [in

B&B #120’s Kamandi team-

up]. Do you recall ever reading

a Haney script and thinking,

“Now this is kind of out-

landish for Batman”?

APARO: No, because I was

going along with it. But,

Michael, it was an education

for me. I would go to my local

library—I knew the librarian

there—and she used to give

me books for reference, so I

would know what these things looked like because I

never went overseas and, say, to the Middle East, you

know? It was for me, really, an education.

EURY: I’ll bet it was. You usually think of writers being

the ones spending time at the library. . . .

APARO: Yeah, I guess Haney was a library man. His

scripts definitely depended on that reference. But I had

to consult books with photos in them—what the build-

ings looked like, and the towers, and this and that, and

how the people looked.

EURY: What type of art reference did you receive from

DC for drawing Batman’s co-stars? Were there company

model sheets for the characters?

APARO: Most of the artists got comic books that came

in the mail.

EURY: Comp copies.

APARO: Yeah. They used to send me the books anyway,

so I’d hang onto them. What was the book where a

whole bunch of them were together?

EURY: You’re probably thinking of Justice League.

APARO: Right. There were two versions of the Justice

League, weren’t there?

EURY: Well, there’s the Justice Society.

APARO: Right. So that’s how I got the reference for the

characters.

EURY: Exclusively from the comics.

jimaparo

Beginnings:“Miss Bikini Luv” strip in Go-Go #5 (1967)Milestones:The Phantom / Aquaman / The Phantom Stranger /The Brave and the Bold / Batman in DetectiveComics / The Spectre in Adventure Comics /Batman and the Outsiders / Batman

Works in Progress:Retirement, and commissioned illustrationsvia the Artist’s Choice.

Cyberspace:www.theartistschoice.com

Car

icat

ure

byJim

Apar

o.C

hara

cter

s©

2004

DC

Com

ics.


MARVEL TEAM-UP ANNUAL#1 (1976): Spider-Man and the X-Men#2 (1979): Spider-Man and the Hulk#3 (1980): The Hulk, Power Man, and

Iron Fist (with Machine Man)#4 (1981): Spider-Man, Moon Knight,

Iron Fist, Power Man, and Daredevil#5 (1982): Spider-Man, the Thing,

Scarlet Witch, Dr. Strange, and Quasar#6 (1983): Spider-Man, Cloak and Dagger,

and the New Mutants#7 (1984): Spider-Man and Alpha Flight

GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN1974–1975#1 Spider-Man and Dracula#2: Spider-Man and Master of Kung Fu#3: Spider-Man and Doc Savage#4: Spider-Man and the Punisher#5: Spider-Man and the Man-Thing

#6: Spider-Man and Human Torch (reprint)

MARVEL FEATUREMarvel Comics ! 1973#11: the Thing and the Incredible Hulk

#12: the Thing and Iron Man

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONEMarvel Comics ! 1974–1983All issues star the Thing, with theseguest stars:

#1: Man-Thing

#2: the Sub-Mariner

#3: Daredevil

#4: Captain America

#5: Guardians of the Galaxy

#6: Doctor Strange

#7: the Valkyrie

#8: Ghost Rider

#9: Thor

#10: the Black Widow

#11: the Golem

#12: Iron Man

#13: Power Man

#14: the Son of Satan

#15: Morbius

#16: Ka-Zar

#17: Spider-Man

#18: the Scarecrow

#19: Tigra

#20: the Liberty Legion

#21: Doc Savage

#22: Thor

#23: Thor

#24: Black Goliath

#25: Iron Fist

#26: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

#27: Deathlok

#28: Sub-Mariner

#29: Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu

#30: Spider-Woman

#31: the Mystery Menace (Alicia Masters)

#32: the Invisible Girl

#33: Modred the Mystic

#34: Nighthawk

#35: Skull the Slayer

#36: Mr. Fantastic

#37: Matt Murdock, Attorney-at-Law

#38: Daredevil

#39: the Vision

#40: the Black Panther

#41: Brother Voodoo

#42: Captain America

#43: the Man-Thing

#44: Hercules

#45: Captain Marvel

#46: the Incredible Hulk

#47: the Yancy Street Gang

#48: the Jack of Hearts

#49: Dr. Strange

#50: battles the Thing

#51: the Beast, Ms. Marvel, Nick Fury,and Wonder Man

#52: Moon Knight

#53: Quasar

#54: Deathlok

#55: Giant-Man

#56: Thundra

#57: Wundarr

#58: the Aquarian

#59: the Human Torch

#60: the Impossible Man

#61: Starhawk

#62: Moondragon

#63: Warlock

#64: Stingray

#65: Triton

#66: the Scarlet Witch

#67: Hyperion

#68: the Angel

#69: the Guardians of the Galaxy

#70: ? (Yancy Street Gang)

#71: Mr. Fantastic

#72: the Inhumans

#73: Quasar

#74: the Puppet Master

#75: the Avengers

#76: Iceman

#77: the Man-Thing

#78: Wonder Man

#79: Blue Diamond

#80: the Ghost Rider

#81: the Sub-Mariner

#82: Captain America

#83: Sasquatch

#84: Alpha Flight

#85: Spider-Woman

#86: Sandman

#87: Ant-Man

#88: She-Hulk

#89: the Human Torch

#90: Spider-Man

#91: Mystery Guest(the Sphinx)

#92: Jocasta

#93: Machine Man

#94: Power Man and Iron Fist

#95: the Living Mummy

#96: Multiple Guest Stars

#97: Iron Man

#98: Franklin Richards

#99: Rom Spaceknight

#100 Ben Grimm

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL#1 (1976): Thing and the Liberty Legion

#2 (1977): Thing and Spider-Man, withthe Avengers and Captain Marvel

#3 (1978): Thing and the Man Called Nova

#4 (1979): Thing and Black Bolt

#5 (1980): Thing andthe Hulk

#6 (1981): Thingand introducing . . .the American Eagle

#7 (1982): Thing andthe Avengers, Hulk,Doc Samson,Fantastic Four,Thor, Alpha Flight,and the X-Men

WESTERN TEAM-UPMarvel Comics ! 1973#1: Rawhide Kid and Dakota Kid

SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UPMarvel Comics ! 1975–1980#1–13: Dr. Doom and Sub-Mariner

#14: Dr. Doom and Magneto

#15: Dr. Doom and the Red Skull

#16–17: Red Skull and Hate-Monger

GIANT-SIZE SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP1975#1–2: Dr. Doom and Sub-Mariner©

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SUPER-TEAM FAMILYDC Comics ! 1975–1978#2: the Creeper and Wildcat

#3: the Flash and Hawkman

#11: the Flash and Supergirl plus the Atom

#12: Green Lantern and Hawkman plusthe Atom

#13: Aquaman and Captain Comet plusthe Atom

#14: Wonder Woman and the Atom

#15: the Flash and the New Gods

DC/MARVEL CROSSOVERSCo-published by DC Comicsand Marvel Comics ! 1976–1982Superman vs. the Amazing Spider Man (1976)

Marvel Treasury Edition #28 (1981):Superman and Spider-Man

DC Special Series #27 (1981):Batman vs. the Incredible Hulk

Marvel and DC Present #1 (1982): theUncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans

ALL-NEW COLLECTORS EDITIONDC Comics ! 1978#C-54: Superman vs. Wonder Woman

#C-56: Superman vs. Muhammad Ali

#C-58: Superman vs. Shazam!

DC COMICS PRESENTSDC Comics ! 1978–1986All issues star Superman, with theseguest stars:

#1: the Flash

#2: the Flash

#3: Adam Strange

#4: the Metal Men

#5: Aquaman

#6: Green Lantern

#7: the Red Tornado

#8: Swamp Thing

#9: Wonder Woman

#10: Sgt. Rock

#11: Hawkman

#12: Mister Miracle

#13: the Legion ofSuper-Heroes

#14: Superboy

#15: the Atom

#16: Black Lightning

#17: Firestorm

#18: Zatanna

#19: Batgirl

#20: Green Arrow

#21: the Elongated Man

#22: Captain Comet

#23: Doctor Fate

#24: Deadman

#25: the Phantom Stranger

#26: Green Lantern

#27: Manhunter from Mars

#28: Supergirl

#29: the Spectre

#30: Black Canary

#31: Robin the Teen Wonder

#32: Wonder Woman

#33: Shazam!

#34: the Shazam! Family

#35: Man-Bat

#36: Starman

#37: Hawkgirl

#38: the Flash

#39: Plastic Man

#40: Metamorpho the Element Man

#41: the Joker

#42: the Unknown Soldier

#43: the Legion of Super-Heroes

#44: Dial “H” for Hero

#45: Firestorm

#46: the Global Guardians

#47: the Masters of the Universe(yes, He-Man)

#48: Aquaman

#49: Shazam!

#50: Clark Kent

#51: the Atom

#52: the Doom Patrol

#53: the House of Mystery

#54: Green Arrow

#55: Air Wave

#56: Power Girl

#57: the Atomic Knights

#58: Robin the Teen Wonder andthe Elongated Man

#59: the Legion of Substitute Heroes

#60: the Guardians of the Universe

#61: OMAC, One Man Army Corps

#62: the Freedom Fighters

#63: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld

#64: Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth

#65: Madame Xanadu

#66: the Demon

#67: Santa Claus

#68: Vixen

#69: Blackhawk

#70: the Metal Men

#71: Bizarro

#72: the Phantom Stranger and the Joker

#73: the Flash

#74: Hawkman

#75: Arion, Lord of Atlantis

#76: Wonder Woman

#77: the Forgotten Heroes (Animal-Man,Dolphin, and Congorilla)

#78: the Forgotten Villains

#79: Clark Kent

#80: the Legion of Super-Heroes

#81: Ambush Bug

#82: Adam Strange

#83: Batman and the Outsiders

#84: the Challengers of the Unknown

#85: Swamp Thing

#86: Supergirl

#87: Superboy

#88: the Creeper

#89: the Omega Men

#90: Firestorm and Captain Atom

#91: Captain Comet

#92: the Vigilante

#93: the Elastic Four (Jimmy Olsen asElastic Lad, Plastic Man, the ElongatedMan, and a stretchable menace)

#94: Harbinger, Lady Quark, and Pariah

#95: Hawkman

#96: Blue Devil

#97: the Phantom Zone Criminals

DC COMICS PRESENTS ANNUAL#1 (1982): Superman and the Golden Age

Superman

#2 (1983): Superman introducesSuperwoman

#3 (1984): Superman and Shazam!

#4 (1985): Superman and Superwoman

ACTION COMICSDC Comics ! 1987–1988The original super-hero comic becamea team-up title after the Man of SteelSuperman revamp.

All issues star Superman, with theseguest stars:#584: the Teen Titans

#585: the Phantom Stranger

#586: the New Gods

#587: the Demon

#588: Hawkman

#589: the Green Lantern Corps

#590: the Metal Men

#591: vs. Superboy

#592: Big Barda

#593: Mr. Miracle

#594: vs. Booster Gold

#595: ????????? (Martian Manhunter)

#596: the Spectre

#597: Lois Lane and Lana Lang

#598: Checkmate

#599: the Metal Men

#600: Superman and Wonder Woman

Action Comics Annual#1 (1987): Superman and Batman

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Super Teams

in Pencil

Curt Swan penciled

this commissioned

illustration back in

1984, and when

BACK ISSUE editor

Michael Eury found

a copy of it in your

humble Hambone’s

files, he immediately

got on the horn and

asked Mr. Murphy

Anderson to ink it

as this issue’s cover!

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by David “Hambone” Hamilton

Super Teams

in PencilSuper Teams

in Pencil

From Superman

Annual #9 (1983),

the World’s Finest

team by Alexander

(Alex) Toth! Of course,

Mr. Toth’s sizeable

credits include

Super Friends, “Green

Lantern,” “Johnny

Thunder,” House of

Mystery, and hundreds

more classics. See our

“back issues” section

for Comic Book Artist

#11 (Jan. 2001),

featuring a

Toth spotlight.

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FANTA

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Difficult as it is to

comprehend—now—

Mr. John Byrne went

through the tryout

system at Marvel

Comics. Here is one

of his Fantastic Four

samples (which have

floated around the

industry for decades,

which I’m sure John

is sorry to know).

Tryout or not,

Byrne’s talents as a

storyteller and pencil

artist are completely

evident here!


Hey, man, like, remember the ’60s? Some of you don’t, because you weren’t born yet. And some of

you don’t, because you lost too many brain cells back then.

And some of you (like me) who grew up in the ’60s remember—and even revere—writer Bob Haney, who

spoke our language (or at least tried to) with his wild, sometimes hokey, but always charming Teen Titans

scripts. A lot of kids wanted to be Batman, but I thought Robin was the coolest (his briefs and booties aside),

largely due to Haney’s characterization of the Boy Wonder in the Titans. Haney’s Robin was smart, athletic,

and a natural born leader—and he still had time to dig the sound of the Flips, to his mentor’s dismay (to

which Robin remarked, “Batman—you are definitely un-round. . . ” in Showcase #59). Many comics profes-

sionals also grew up on Haney’s stories, so it came as no surprise in 2002 that DC Comics planned a nostal-

gic Teen Titans flashback tale in its “Elseworlds” non-continuity imprint.

Then-DC editor Dan Raspler spearheaded the project, and recruited Bob Haney himself to type (yes, type—

the esteemed Mr. Haney never joined the computer age) the script—who else could best recapture the feel of

those ’60s classics? While the script was not available for review, it was reportedly set in the early 1960s and

involved both President John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War. Original Teen Titans artist Nick Cardy

returned to draw the cover, with interior art by Jay Stephens and Mike Allred. Everyone was committed to

making this one-shot a visual blast from the past. In 2003, Teen Titans Swingin’ Elseworlds Special was solicited,

then. . .

. . . it disappeared.

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Whither Goest They?To limbo, baby, that’s where!

The pencils to page one (far

right) of Teen Titans Swingin’

Elseworlds Special, courtesy

of artist Jay Stephens, and

the finished version (above)

with inks by Mike Allred.

© 2004 DC Comics.

Teen TitansSwingin’ Elsewor

lds:

Haney-a-Go-Go(Nowhere)

by Michae l Eury

Teen TitansSwingin’ Elsewor

lds:

Haney-a-Go-Go(Nowhere)


Faster than Kid Flash, mention of the book seemed

to vanish. Also, editor Raspler was let go from DC (he

wasn’t alone, incidentally) as part of an editorial

restructuring. Wha’ hoppen??

Conspiracy theorists, take a powder: The shelving of

the Titans Elseworlds seems more an editorial decision

than a boardroom machination. While no official rea-

son was ever stated by DC for the book’s removal from

its schedule, the Swingin’ solicitation came at a time

when both DC’s Teen Titans revival and the Cartoon

Network’s Teen Titans series—neither of which bear

any resemblance to Haney’s incarnation—were becom-

ing runaway successes. Titans Elseworlds’ retro look

stood in sharp contrast to the Titans the market was

embracing. Granted, some BACK ISSUE readers prefer

the swingin’ version of the teen super-team, but other

than its commendable reprint line, which includes

Archive Editions of both the Silver Age and the New

Teen Titans, DC Comics is in the business of moving

its characters forward.

But since many BI readers are curious about might

have beens, I contacted cartoonist/animator Jay

Stephens (whose TV cartoon Tutenstein recently won an

Emmy— congrats, Jay!) via email to ask him a few

questions about Swingin’ and Bob Haney. Jay, who lives

in Canada, was also kind enough to send the penciled

pages you see here, as a glimpse at the Teen Titans you

didn’t see.

MICHAEL EURY: How’d you land the Swingin’ Titans

assignment?

JAY STEPHENS: My old chum, Doc Allred, got wind of

the gig, and knew I’d like a shot at the pencils.

EURY: How familiar were you with the 1960s’ version of

the TTs?

STEPHENS: Very. I’m in love with the checkerboard era of

DC Comics [in case you came in late, mid-1960s DC covers

had a “go-go checks” pattern running across their top

borders] . . . I’d like to marry it one day. You know, if my

wife ever divorces me. Which is entirely possible.

EURY: And with writer Bob Haney?

STEPHENS: Bob’s one of my all-time favorite comics writers.

He co-created the Doom Patrol, you know . . . best super-

hero team, ever. The Titans ain’t so bad, either. Also . . .

Fat Batman [Bat-Hulk, in The Brave and the Bold #68].

EURY: Bob Haney was known (loved by some, disliked by

others) for his often crazy ideas, pseudo-hip dialogue, and

disregard for continuity. I’m guessing those elements played

right to your sensibilities. . .

STEPHENS: Oh, God, yeah. So many people take this

stuff so deadly seriously. Not me, and not Bob. You can

still love super-hero comic books and have capital-“F” fun

with the genre. Kids dressing up in primary-colored cos-

tumes to fight injustice is an inherently stupid idea, after

all. I happen to like that kind of stupid. . .

EURY: What do you have to say to Haney’s detractors?

STEPHENS: Keep reading the Ultimate comics and pre-

tending you’re “mature.” We think it’s cute!

EURY: How did Haney’s typewritten script compare to

scripts and plots by contemporary writers?

STEPHENS: Ha-ha-ha-ha! Haney’s scripting hasn’t changed

one little bit in all these years . . . it was like opening a

time capsule. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy many a good,

modern comic script (and I’ve worked with some of the

best), but Haney is from another planet entirely!

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DC

Com

ics.


The Fantastic Four is where the modern super-hero genre truly began. Created in 1961 by StanLee and Jack Kirby, Fantastic Four was the first series in the“Marvel Age of Comics,” giving rise to all therest. Lee and Kirby endowed the FF with multidimensional personalities, with flaws as well as virtues. In their102 issues together, Lee and Kirby created the Marvel Universe, demonstrating an imaginative reachunsurpassed in the medium. Yet their epic fantasy was rooted in a world recognizably our own, in whichtheir characters could experience tragedy as well as triumph. Moreover, with Fantastic Four, Lee andKirby turned what was considered trivial juvenile fiction into a vehicle for personal expression. FantasticFour set mainstream comics on the road toward the greater artistic sophistication they have achievedin the four decades since it began.

Fantastic Four also revolutionized the super-hero team book. Though created in response to DC’s JusticeLeague of America, the FF was no coalition of unrelated characters from different series. The four leads—Mister Fantastic, Reed Richards, their genius leader; his wife Susan, the Invisible Woman; her youngerbrother Johnny Storm, the Human Torch; and their best friend Ben Grimm, the monstrous Thing—wereeach at once distinctive individual personalities and necessary components of a conceptual unit. One cansee them as a family, as human embodiments of the four mythic “elements” (water, air, fire, and earth),or of different aspects of a single mind, sometimes at odds with each other, but ultimately united.

For this roundtable discussion we have submitted 12 questions about this landmark series to its co-creator, Stan Lee, and 20 other comics professionals. Most of them have written, drawn, or editedFantastic Four over its long history; all have been influenced by it. Most people responded to the ques-tionnaire via email; Gerry Conway and Alex Ross instead asked to be interviewed by phone.

With a new motion picture adaptation now in production, Fantastic Four is on the brink of reachingbeyond comics to a vast new audience. In this roundtable, comics creators from over the entire span ofFantastic Four history tell us what this landmark series has meant to them.–Peter Sanderson

roun

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The Fantastic Four:The World’s Greatest Comic MagazineThe Fantastic Four:The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine

John Romita Sr.’s

Fantastic Four,

for an unspecified

project. Courtesy

of Heritage Comics.

© 2004 Marvel Characters, Inc.


SANDERSON: Who is the most essential member of theFantastic Four, and why?STAN LEE (FF co-creator/longtime writer): To me, they wereall equally important. But I always felt the Thing was the mostcolorful and the most appealing.

JOHN BYRNE (FF writer/artist, 1981–86): “Essential” is atricky word, but I would probably have to say the Thing.Without him, it’s not really the FF.

TOM BREVOORT (2000s FF editor): I don’t know that anyone member is essential—what was essential was the familydynamic between the four characters; that’s one of theelements that separated the series from everything elsearound it. But taking that into account, theThing was probably the greatest innovationas a personality among the original four.MARK EVANIER (colleague of FF co-creatorJack Kirby): I don’t know that there is a“most essential” member. One of thethings I always liked about the comic wasthat all four of them were important andthat they worked together . . . or didn’twork together. A good team comic isn’t justabout a group of heroes. It’s about a groupof heroes and how they function together.But since that probably doesn’t answeryour question, I’ll pick the guy with theorange rocks for skin, just because he’s usu-ally been the most interesting because he’sthe one who’s most ambivalent about theirodd lot in life.

CHRIS CLAREMONT (1990s FF writer): Thebrat in me wants to say Valeria (because Icreated her). The traditionalist wants to sayReed, because he’s the Big Brain. I’d saySue, but everyone would assume I’m play-ing to my own cliché. Johnny would haveto wait for everyone to stop laughing(sorry, kiddo). Which brings me to Ben.Who, to me, embodies the heart and soulof both the team and the concept, repre-senting the great dangers inherent inReed’s ambitions—because of them all,he’s the only one who can’t possibly hidewhat he’s become—but at the same time, triumphs that elementof the human spirit which enables us to overcome adversity.And he’s just plain fun to write.

GERRY CONWAY (1970s FF writer): There are two answersto that question: There’s the member who’s essential to theFantastic Four and the member who’s essential to the book.For the Fantastic Four, it’s Reed Richards. He’s the organiz-ing principle of the group, keeping it on track. For the book,commercially and creatively, it’s the Thing. He’s the mostinteresting and compelling character.

ROY THOMAS (1970s FF writer): To the group itself, I believeReed is the most essential, as the father figure. For me toenjoy the book, though, the most essential character is andalways has been the Thing, one of the most unique charactersin the history of comics.

LEN WEIN (1970s FF writer): Well, for sheer commercialvalue, I’d have to go with Ben Grimm. He’s probably themost popular. But I’ve always felt that Reed Richards was themost important member of the group, in that he carries thegreatest emotional burden, feeling responsible for Ben’scondition, concern for his growing family, etc. Also, whenyou get right down to it, Reed probably also generates thegreatest number of different storylines.

ALEX ROSS (Marvels and Earth X artist): I think of theThing, who has the personality and the charm, and that’swhat sells. Otherwise, it’s the Human Torch, who was acarryover to the Silver Age. [The original Human Torch

debuted in 1939 and inspired Lee andKirby’s creation of the Fantastic Four’sHuman Torch.] He had the legs to supporthimself in a solo series and he did [in StrangeTales]. His helping hand made the bookwhat it is. But my choice for the most essen-tial member is the Reed Richardscharacter. He’s the straight man in comics,who would be considered by some to beboring. But on his back is the greatestburden. By his steadfast calm and whatwould be considered his boring personality,he’s the bulwark that they rest upon. I havea great fondness for characters like that. Isee Reed Richards as the metaphor for thecreative mind. Reed having a super-poweralmost sullies his worth. Jim Krueger [Ross’collaborator on Earth X and its sequels] andI have a particular love for this character—maybe because I’ve become a more boring,straitlaced guy!

RICH BUCKLER (1970s FF artist):Reed Richards,I would think, since putting together thegroup was his idea, and he provides theleadership.

MARK WAID (2000s FF writer): Reed. Withouthim, it’s entirely likely that the other threewould have squandered their heroic poten-tial living out unrealized, mundane lives.MARV WOLFMAN (1970s FF writer): ReedRichards. Simply because he’s the crux of the

group, the one who holds it together and the “father” figurein the family. Since the FF is a family, there needs to be onehead, and Reed’s it.

PAUL RYAN (1990s FF artist): I would say it is a toss-upbetween Reed and Sue. Reed is the planner/inventor. If aparticular menace is beyond his malleable powers to stop heinvents a device to defeat the villain. Sue is the tie that bindsthem all together. Without her I think they would go theirseparate way.

KURT BUSIEK (Marvels writer): My first impulse was toanswer “Reed,” but thinking it over, I’ll say “Sue.” Ben andJohnny are flashy and fun, and Reed’s the one who givesthem a direction, but he’d be doing the same things even onhis own. It’s Sue that binds them together as a family, thatmakes them a team. Without her, I think they’d drift apart.

(Center) Stan “the

Man” Lee, in a 1969

illustration by Don

Heck. Courtesy of

Heritage Comics.

Romita stretches

his penciling chops

in this sketch of Mr.

Fantastic. Courtesy

of Frank Giella

(www.frankgiella.com).



JERRY ORDWAY (1980s FF artist): While my favorite is BenGrimm, the most essential is Sue, who really held thingstogether. She exerted an influence over Reed, her mate,Johnny, her brother, and Ben, who usually acted the gentle-man when Sue was around. It wasn’t a perfect family, but itworked.

STEVE ENGLEHART (1970s FF writer): I’d say Ben, butthey’re all essential. Didn’t keep me from shaking them up,because essential isn’t a license to be boring, but if all ofthem are operating on all cylinders, each one has somethingvital to contribute.

STEVE RUDE (Kirby admirer/FF special projects artist):I don’t know how the team would function were one to beomitted, because as a team, all four personnel are critical todoing their job. For example, without Reed, they would beleaderless, without the Thing, they would lack their heavy-hitter, without Sue, there would be too [much] testosterone. . . etc.

WALTER SIMONSON (FF writer/artist, 1989–91): In a sense, I don’tthink this is really answerable.Characters have dropped out andbeen substituted for but in theend, the FF is the original fourmembers. The FF do seem to bea family group and if you changemembers, you may still have fourcharacters and they still may be“fantastic” and they may even bygreat pals, but it ain’t the samefamily.

ROGER STERN (1980s FF writer):I’m not sure that there is onesingle “essential member.” Hasn’tevery one of them quit and/orbeen thought dead at leastonce? I think they’re all prettyessential, myself. You can haveother heroes fill-in for one of them for a while, but the FF isReed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny. Other combinations may makefor an interesting change of pace, but nothing beats theoriginal.

KARL KESEL (2000s FF inker/co-writer): None of the FF ismore essential than the others. That’s why no matter whoelse rotates through the group, it always comes back toReed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben. As I’m sure others havepointed out, as representative of the Four Elements (fire, air,water, and earth), the FF are interdependent, even on a con-ceptual level.

TOM DeFALCO (1990s FF writer): They are all essential.Reed is the team’s mind, Sue is the heart, Ben gives themfortitude, and Johnny is [the] fun side.

SANDERSON: Who was your favorite substitute memberof the Fantastic Four, and why? (Substitutes haveincluded Luke Cage, Crystal, Dr. Doom, Ghost Rider,HERBIE the Robot, Hulk, Medusa, She-Hulk, Spider-Man,and Wolverine.)

LEE: Crystal was my favorite. If memory serves, I think Iintroduced her as love interest for Johnny Storm.

BREVOORT: Probably Crystal, since her inclusion A) was doneby Stan and Jack, and so it had a legitimacy that the laterones lacked, and B) maintained the family flavor of the seriesin a way that the other characters really didn’t. Crystal wasa member of the household; everybody else was merely aguest star.

ORDWAY: I think Crystal was my favorite. I loved the issueswhere Johnny and Wyatt Wingfoot first encountered theInhumans. Later, when she subbed for Sue, she fit in perfectly.

EVANIER: Never cared for any of the substitute members,but if I have to name one, I’ll say Crystal. Few of the othersever seemed to really relate to the other three; they justseemed stuck into the stories for marquee value.

BUSIEK: Crystal, because she’s the only one that fitscleanly into the “family” dynam-ic—she’s Johnny’s girl, and that’sa family tie. Plus, “she makesDorrie Evans look like a boy!”Second choice: Medusa, for herimperious attitude.

CONWAY: They are by definitionsecond best. They’re not the firstteam. I liked working with Medusa,because she was another femalein the group. Thundra was goodto a degree. The big problem I hadwriting the Fantastic Four was thelack of strong female figures. SueStorm wasn’t a strong female fig-ure [back then], and I like strongfemale figures! [laughs]

STERN: Probably She-Hulk, thoughI’ll always have a soft spot forCrystal. She was Johnny’s firstreally major romantic interest,after all.

ROSS: She-Hulk, mostly based upon sex appeal. She fitquite nicely the way Byrne wrote her in. She had the mostnatural fit, rather than Crystal or Medusa or PowerMan. With Crystal, you couldn’t get a real stronggrasp on what her gimmick is. You need someonewith a more distinct power. Crystal is not an attrac-tive female super-hero on her own. Ifanything happened with the Thing, it feels likeShe-Hulk can fit into the ensemble.

BYRNE: She-Hulk—because she occupied the sameposition as the Thing, with many of the same abilities,but came at the job from a totally different angle.

KESEL: She-Hulk, probably. John Byrne did some wonderful,unexpected things with her as a member. I got a real sensethat she connected with the family and fit in, a real sense ofbelonging. Now she doesn’t write, doesn’t call. . .

RYAN: She-Hulk. She has power to spare and curves thatcan stop traffic. She also has a great attitude about life. Justask Wyatt [Wingfoot].

Bowen Designs’ Thing

mini-bust, sculpted

by Randy Bowen

(www.bowendesigns.com).


The ever-lovin’ Thing in

a 2003 sketch by joltin’

Joe Sinnott. Courtesy of

Tony Thomas.


(far left and above)

The Torch, by John

Romita, Sr. Courtesy

of Frank Giella.



DeFALCO: I really loved what John Byrnedid with the She-Hulk—especially the storywhere she’s photographed sunbathingatop Four Freedoms Plaza—and I alsoenjoyed putting the Scott Lang Ant-Maninto the book because he was so totallyout of his depth.

CLAREMONT: I’d have to go with She-Hulk,because she made a great counterpartto Ben. But I ’ve always thought theImpossible Man should have been given adecent shot.

ENGLEHART: Ms. Marvel, of course.[Sharon Ventura, the second Ms. Marvel,not Carol Danvers; she became She-Thing.]The “She-Thing” touched something veryprimal about the group that had been lostfor 25 years.

BUCKLER: Luke Cage.

THOMAS: I enjoyed writing Luke Cage/Power Man as a member . . . Medusa, too.No part icular reason I can think of ,

though. Maybe I ju s t l i ked look ing a t d raw ingsof Medusa.

SIMONSON: After the answer I gave above [to #1], it mayseem odd that I’m the guy who wrote the “new” FantasticFour story with Spidey, Wolverine, the Hulk, and Ghost Rider.But I did the story for the same reason I do all my stories; Ithought it would be fun. And I hoped it would be some-thing a bit different. After comics have run for years, it’stough sometimes to find new situations for everybody; the“new” FF (a lineup that got a little help from Kurt Busiek,who was working at Marvel back then) seemed like an ideathat was fun. It obviously wasn’t meant to be anythingpermanent. But it was a gas to press other characters intoservice into roles of the original FF. The Hulk = the Thing.Ghost Rider = the Torch. Spidey = Reed. Wolverine = Sue???So maybe it wasn’t an exact fit. But it seemed entertainingon its own merits, offering some new story possibilities fora few issues.

WOLFMAN: Sorry, I think the FF works only when the mainfour are there and not when there are substitutes.

WEIN: I actually don’t have a favorite. To me, the FantasticFour is Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben. Anybody else is justsalad dressing.

SANDERSON: What is your favorite FF story (not written ordrawn by yourself, with the exception of Stan Lee) and why?LEE: I have two favorites. 1) The so-called Galactus Trilogy[FF #48–50] and 2) damn it, I forget the name, but it’s theone where someone else, a bad guy, becomes the Thing butends up as a hero sacrificing himself for the others [“ThisMan, This Monster” in FF #51].

CONWAY: It’s the greatest comic-book story of all time:“This Man, This Monster.” It sums up the entire theme ofthe Fantastic Four and of super-hero comic books. It’s theperfect super-hero story: [about] the struggle betweenpower and responsibility, friendship and duty, sacrifice,

alienation. There are so many themes in that one story. Theability to triumph over your own worst impulses. The hero[of that story] is the villain, which is wonderful! That’s anothertremendous theme: When you receive a gift of power, itchanges you, for better or for worse. You’re not doomed to bea bad person. It’s a very empowering story. [SANDERSON:I point out that the “villain” dies.] We all die. That’s the end-ing of every story. So the question is, how do you die, whodo you die as?

BYRNE: “This Man, This Monster” is probably the best writ-ten and drawn, though I have a soft spot for the one in FF#5 because it was the first one I read.

SIMONSON: “This Man, This Monster”—the quintessentialFF story. Great character interaction and a core story aboutbetrayal, heroics, and death. All in 22 pages. You can’t doany better.

BUCKLER: “This Man, This Monster.” Because it exploredthe Thing’s character and gave some depth to the BenGrimm side of him.

WAID: “This Man, This Monster,” which was not only theperfect FF story showcasing all the key elements of the seriesbut also a genuinely powerful story in and of itself.

KESEL: “This Man, This Monster.” Total surprise, huh? Betno one else said that. But, y’know, it’s probably the bestcomic story ever produced. Clichés are clichés for a reason.

STERN: Probably issue #51—“This Man, This Monster.” It’shard to pin things down, though. By the time I started readingthe FF, long, wide-ranging stories had become the norm: theInhumans Saga [FF #44–48], the Galactus Trilogy, the BlackPanther story [#52–53], the Doom/Silver Surfer story[#56–60]. Makes it difficult to pick just one issue, or evenjust one story arc.

ORDWAY: I liked “This Man, This Monster,” where the fakeBen saves Reed from the Negative Zone. It’s really hard tonarrow them down, as the Galactus trilogy is way up there,as well as the one where Doom stole the Surfer’s powers[#56–60].

WOLFMAN: The Galactus trilogy that introduces Galactusand the Silver Surfer, followed by “This Man, This Monster.”WEIN: I guess it’s the same story everybody mentions, “ThisMan, This Monster,” followed closely by the first Galactusstory. The former because it captures the amazing humanityof the series, the latter because it epitomizes the book’smind-blowing cosmic scale.

ENGLEHART: FF #49 (of course). It happens to have beenthe first one I ever read, in addition to being everyone’sconsensus favorite. Story and art, both at their very peak; Iran around showing it to people saying, “Don’t tell mecomics can’t be great!”

CLAREMONT: FF #49 and 50, because they got me hookedon Stan and Jack, on Marvel, on U.S. comics when I wasprimed to walk away.

BREVOORT: I think I’d have to go with Doom stealing thepowers of the Silver Surfer [FF #56–60], because it was aheck of a topper to the Galactus Trilogy, and because itcame smack dab in the middle of the greatest period in thehistory of the strip. I read it years after the fact, when it was

Neal Adams’

take on the

Silver Surfer.

Courtesy of

David Hamilton.



©20

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Engineeredfor ActionA pin-up by

Will Meugniot

from the DNAgents

series bible. All

artwork in this

feature is courtesy

of Will Meugniot.

© 2004 Mark Evanierand Will Meugniot.

You can’t keep the good guysdown for long. Sure, every team of

super-heroes has its darkest hour,

those moments when it looks like all

is lost. If you’re lucky (and a member

of the Teen Titans or the X-Men),

those bleak periods might only last

a few issues. For other super-teams,

the dark times can last much longer.

You want to talk long stretches

of nothing but shadows in a room

painted black? Try over a decade. That

was the long stretch visited upon one

of the most original super-teams of

the 1980s, the DNAgents. This team

of genetically engineered super-heroes—

Surge, Rainbow, Amber, Tank, and

Sham—was last seen in the late

1980s in their series published by

Eclipse Comics. For too many years,

DNAgents appeared to be nothing

more than a pleasant memory, lost

forever except in back-issue boxes.

But the longer the wait for the

return of heroes, the sweeter it seems

when they finally come back to us. The DNAgents are proving just that with the release of their first

reprint collection from About Comics. This volume collects, for the first time ever, the first six issues of

the original DNAgents series in trade-paperback form. To mark this occasion, BACK ISSUE sat down

with the team’s creators, writer Mark Evanier and artist Will Meugniot, for this special “Pro2Pro” in

which we uncover the secrets that went into building one of the best super-teams ever.

—Dan Johnson

inte

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Dan

John

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June

18,2

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How to Build aBetter Super-Team:Mark Evanier and WillMeugniot on DNAgents

How to Build aBetter Super-Team:Mark Evanier and WillMeugniot on DNAgents

DAN JOHNSON: Let’s start off with something fairly easy.What was the story behind the creation of the DNAgents?

MARK EVANIER: Will, you want to start?

WILL MEUGNIOT: Sure. Actually, it came about from acouple of things. Both Mark and I had been following thethen independent comics movement with a lot of interest.I was working at Marvel Productions [animation] at the time,and Dave Stevens would come by the bullpen with hisRocketeer pages and the guys and I were all just blownaway. I was already toying with the idea of doing somethingin the area, when I ran into Stan [Lee] on the way to theoffice. We were in the middle of working on the [early1980s NBC] Hulk cartoons, and the network had just decid-ed that the Hulk’s clothes had to magically appear on himevery time he transformed back to Banner. I got startedthinking, (laughing) “You know, it might be fun just to doa comic where you didn’t have to do that kind of stuff.” SoI called Mark, and Mark was ready to go on something.

EVANIER: Yeah, we went to lunch down in Little Tokyo thatday and talked over ideas, what we wanted to do andthemes that interested us both. Somehow, in a flash ofinspiration—or maybe it was Teriyaki sauce—we got stuckwith this idea.

JOHNSON: Mark, if I’m not mistaken, DNAgents was thefirst time you had ventured into the super-hero genre, right?

EVANIER: Not quite, but it was fairly close. I did a fewsuper-hero things before then, but I had stuck closer tofunny-animal comics and I did the Tarzans for a couple ofyears. I like all kinds of material, and I’d been eager to do asuper-hero story for some length of time. I thought it wouldbe interesting to try and build some new characters, asopposed to playing with someone else’s.

MEUGNIOT: I gotta say that was one of my interests too.When I had done stuff for Marvel before, like the Tigra seriesand Howard the Duck, I was never happy about not havingany editorial control over what happened. Vince Collettainked my second job, and Sonny Trinidad inked my third.So I thought it would be nice to have control over who wasinking my stuff and to work with a writer I really liked.

JOHNSON: When DNAgents came out, the independentmarket was really just starting to take off. Mark, I had readthe stories about Blackhawk at DC—

EVANIER: (faking bewilderment) Wait, DC published Blackhawk?

JOHNSON: That’s what I’ve heard.

MEUGNIOT: I never even heard of that book, man!

JOHNSON: Well, I’ve heard rumors to that effect. I hope oneday DC will realize that they published it and put it out ina trade paperback, because that was a terrific series.

EVANIER: I think there’s more of a chance of O.J. finding thereal killers.

MEUGNIOT: It’s funny, sometimes the things that we’vedone that we love are the ones that are least likely toget recognition.


Beginnings:Cartoon-comics scripts for Disney and Gold Key,and an apprenticeship under Jack Kirby (circa1969–70)

Milestones:Comics: DNAgents / Groo / Crossfire / Tarzan /Blackhawk / Crossfire / Welcome Back, Kotter /Fanboy / POV column / The Mighty MagnorAnimation and Live-Action TV: Welcome Back,Kotter / Garfield and Friends / Plastic Man /Thundarr the Barbarian / The Trollkins / ABCWeekend Special / Rickety Rocket / Superman:The Animated Series / Richie Rich / Dungeons &Dragons / That’s Incredible!

Works inProgress:POV Online /DNAgents andCrossfire TPBs(About Comics) /Superheroes inMy Pants

Cyberspace:

Beginnings:First fanzine art: The Gila in Tony Rutherford’s

ditto zine, Bombshell (1967)

First published art: Tigra the Were-Woman in

Marvel Chillers #3 (1976)

Milestones:Comics: Marvel Chillers (Tigra) / DNAgents / Vanity /

Exotic Fantasy / FemForce covers / Mary America

Animation: Super Friends / Flash Gordon / The Thing /

Lone Ranger / Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends /

G.I Joe / Pryde of the X-Men / Jem / Bionic Six /

Captain Planet / Conan the Adventurer /

Silver Surfer / Spider-Man Unlimited

Works in Progress:

G.I. Joe / Valor vs. Venom (direct-to-video feature) /

Monkie Mondei

(Komikwerks #4)

Cyberspace:

Car

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Arag

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. Cha

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©Re

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Com

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www.newsfromme.com

www.storyboardpro.com

EVANIER: Yeah, you can’t be too results-oriented in thisbusiness. Sometimes, your favorite projects are not the mostlucrative or the most noticed. You just have to do enoughdifferent things so that it all averages out.

JOHNSON: Gotcha. Anyway, I was going to ask, whatwould you say were the immediate advantages of taking

DNAgents out through the direct-salesmarket, besides the artistic control thatWill mentioned?

EVANIER: We actually had an auction,courtesy of Mike Friedrich, who at thattime was agenting comics properties. Infact, I believe we were the first thing heever offered around. Mike wanted to usethe DNAgents to start his agency, andhe asked if he could even submit it topublishers that we wouldn’t want to gowith, just so he could help establish thecommerce of his business. He passed itaround, and there was a lot of interesteverywhere, but the most serious offercame from Eclipse. That was the one weliked the best and that’s why it woundup there. They made the best offer, bothin terms of money and format, and alsocreative control.

MEUGNIOT: We were both really excited

about having the better printing that Eclipse had than anyoneelse. I think the only downside was the higher cover price.

JOHNSON: You do bring up the good point that you twowere the first creators to be represented by an agent in theindustry. Tell us about that.

EVANIER: I had known Mike for many years, and I was usedto being represented by an agent for my television work.I thought at that point the comic business needed tomature. There was a time in the industry when they notonly wouldn’t talk to agents, they wouldn’t let you show acontract to a lawyer before you had to sign it. I just feltthere was a maturation process emerging in the comic-book business at that time and I was eager to do my partand support it.

MEUGNIOT: I felt the same. There were a lot of things aboutDNAgents that [were ground-breaking]. It was actually the firstcomic that was sold via a television-style pitch. Mark and I dida bible with illustrations, just like you would if you were sellinga television show.

JOHNSON: Both you gentlemen have pretty impressivecareers in the television industry. What was the pitch like forthe book?

EVANIER: We devised these characters together and wewrote up descriptions of them. I had been doing bibles forSaturday-morning cartoon shows. At some point I think Iheld the record for the most pilots that actually went on tobecome series. So we did a 15- to 20-page bible describing


The Hulk and HisAmazing Friends

Former TV Hulk

animator Meugniot’s

take on Marvel’s non-

team, the Defenders.


First Issue SpecialWill Meugniot’s

pencils to the cover

of DNAgents #1.

© 2004 Mark Evanierand Will Meugniot.


Green Arrowand Green LanternA commissioned sketch by

Denny O’Neil’s frequent

teammate, Neal Adams.

Courtesy of Mike Dunne.

GL/GA © 2004 DC Comics.Art © 2004 Neal Adams.

I think Joe Reader’s logic must go something like this: I like super-doers in

costumes, and if there’s more than one of them in the magazine I’m buying, I’m getting

a good deal.

What our imaginary Joe is contemplating are super-hero comic books that feature

more than one good guy. They’ve been popular for a long time—more than 65 years—

and maybe they sometimes are a good deal. And, sometimes, maybe they’re not.

For writers they can be a problem.

A little Creative Writing 101, if you don’t mind:

Conflict is basic to almost all fiction—certainly all fiction that involves a struggle

between good and evil, and that includes each one of the thousands of super-hero

comics I’ve read, written, and edited over the decades. For conflict to be interesting, it

has to exist between antagonists who are approximately equal, in physical and mental

capabilities if not in moral maturity. Put the toughest girl scout on the block in the box-

ing ring with Mike Tyson and your pay-per-view profits will not be large. Now if you,

the writer, are dealing with a demi-goddish powerhouse like Superman, the Silver

Surfer, or Captain Marvel, to name just three, you’ve got to exercise some ingenuity to

give your hero an opponent he can’t logically obliterate in a few nanoseconds. Put a

bunch of costumed demigods in the same story and have someone wish you the good

luck you’ll need.

I once begged off writing Justice League of America when I realized I was making the

book Alien Invasion of the Month comics.

Having just two heroes can be as bad as having a herd of them if their powers aregues

ted

itor

ial

byde

nny

o’ne

il

Editor’s note:

Among the many, many,

many accomplishments

of comics writer, editor,

and teacher Dennis O’Neil

is his ability to combine

diverse characters—from

the super-knights of the

round table the Justice

League of America to the

politically polarized pair

of Green Lantern and

Green Arrow—into one

adventure. But writing

super teams isn’t as easy

as Denny makes it look,

and he’d like to get that

off his chest. —Michael

JoeReader’sLogic

JoeReader’sLogic


Metropolis truly exists. But there are no shining metal

and crystalline skyscrapers filled with alien technology to be

found. This is Metropolis, population 6,482 and founded in

1838, the official, honest-to-Earth Prime home of the Man of

Steel, Superman.

The real-life Metropolis, the only city with this name listed

in the U.S. Postal Zip Code Directory, rests amidst rolling farm-

lands in the southeast corner of Illinois. When the late Robert

Westerfield moved here, he became the prime mover behind

the city’s “adoption” of the Last Son of Krypton. Illinois House

Resolution #572, dated June 9, 1972, declared Metropolis,

Illinois, as Superman’s “official” home. With DC Comics’

permission, the “Superman Association” got to work.

A museum opened and investors lined up to fund “The Amazing World of

Superman,” an ambitious 1,000-acre theme park conceptualized by Neal Adams

(see DC Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-31, Oct-Nov., 1974), and a tabloid-sized magazine

promoting the park was produced. However, the dream was not yet to be. Delays in

completing the nearby interstate and petroleum shortages at the time scuttled the

city’s plans. In 1974, every asset of the museum was auctioned off and the Superman

Association shelved its plans.

But in 1979, when Superman: The Movie convinced the world that a man could fly,

phone calls poured into Metropolis, and the idea of putting on an annual festival

You’re EnteringSuperman Country

Superman watches over

travelers half a mile

west of Interstate 24’s

exit 37. Unless otherwise

noted, all photographs

accompanying this

article were taken

by and are © 2004

Brian K. Morris.

Guarding Market Street

is Metropolis’ most

impressive and famous

landmark, in all

its 15' glory.

Metropolis Lives!A Guided Tour of Superman’s City, June 2004

by B r ian K. Morr i s


took on full four-color life. The result: The “Superman

Celebration” is held each year during the second

weekend in June. Open to the public at large, the

event is free.

THE CITY OF SUPER-PEOPLEIf the billboard near the last exit in Illinois doesn’t tell

you who this town belongs to, the image painted on

the water tower might. Or perhaps it would be the

signs that advertise souvenirs at the gas station, the

drugstore, the greeting-card shop, the quick oil change

garage, or ones along Route 45 that proudly say,

“Super Statue Ahead” They lead travelers to Superman

Square, where a 15-foot-tall bronze statue depicts the

town’s favorite son. Erected in June 1993 at a cost of

$100,000 to commemorate the [DC Comics event the]

death of Superman, this statue replaces a seven-footer

from 1986. Each brick in the foundation represents

donations from local fans, businesses, families,

schools, and celebrities.

During Superman Celebration 2004, a huge tent on

the statue’s left side houses magicians, musicians,

models, and more. Chamber of Commerce representa-

tives sell T-shirts, distribute schedules for the week-

end’s festivities, and cheerfully greet the estimated

20,000 visitors from all over the globe.

Along the next few blocks, vendors line the street,

selling curly fries, ice cream, funnel cakes, and just

about anything that can be deep-fried or can fit into a

pita. Icy cold drinks are gratefully consumed to counter

the usual June heat and humidity. Families shop for

toys, comics, and craft items before moving toward

the carnival rides and other attractions. The festive

atmosphere is distinctly “small town” with its easy

pace and simple fare.

What would a Superman Celebration be without its

Superman? Wearing the familiar red, blue, and yellow

uniform, Scott Cranford, the city’s Superman since

2000, strides the streets of Metropolis as if he’d just

stepped from the pages of Action Comics. He greets

children and adults alike with a warm smile and a firm

handshake, giving everyone the feeling that they’ve

actually met their favorite hero. A professional actor

and stand-in, Cranford has made appearances in

movies like Batman Returns, Independence Day, Predator

II, and Die Hard II. He also operates his own website,

www.heroicworld.com, where he displays his photos,

artwork, and writing. In 2001, Cranford got married in

full uniform at one of Metropolis’ city parks. His best

man was dressed as Robin, the Boy Wonder, and the

ceremony was attended by “Jor-El,” “Zatanna,”

“Supergirl,” and dozens of well-wishers.

THE CLASH OF CAPEAND COWLEver since 1993, the Celebration plays host to

celebrities from movies, television, and comics. In

some years, the stars come from outside the world

of Superman, such as recent attendees Adam West,

Yvonne Craig, and Julie Newmar from TV’s Batman;

or the 2004 guests, TV’s Hulk Lou Ferrigno and original

Captain Marvel (in Shazam!) Jackson Bostwick. Over

the years, both TV Superboys from the 1990s, John

Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher, have

greeted fans, as have live-action Men of Steel Kirk Alyn

(from the Superman movie serials), Bob Holliday (from

the stage musical It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman),

and Lois & Clark star Dean Cain. Superstars from

the comics pages have included Jeph Loeb, Mike

Carlin, Kerry Gammill, Steve Rude, and Alex Ross,

the latter of whom met his wife at the event. Super-

cinema stars Lois Lanes Margot Kidder and Phyllis

Coates; Jimmy Olsens Tommy Bond, Jack Larson, and

Marc McClure; and Valerie Perrine, Lane Smith, Jeff

East, Jack Halloran, and Sarah Douglas have also

appeared as guests.

But if there’s royalty here, it’s Noel Neil, the official

“First Lady of Metropolis” and the Lois Lane that

many baby boomers grew up with while watching

George Reeves repel bullets and duck from the empty

Scott

“Superman”

Cranford greets

two pint-sized

festival-goers

Jackson Bostwick,

television’s first

Captain Marvel, poses

with Brian K. Morris.

Photo by and ©

2004 Cookie Morris.

Noel Neill poses with

one of her adoring fans.

guns when hurled at him on TV’s The Adventures

of Superman.

Lines begin to form an hour before the stars’ scheduled

appearances. Each celebrity is given space inside one

of the three downtown Metropolis banks, all within

walking distance of each other. For later risers, a large

tent houses a late-morning public Q and A. When that

session ends, admirers queue up outside the Chamber

of Commerce, clutching their prized “autographables”

and waiting patiently in the warm sun for a few seconds

with all the celebrities.

FOR THE MAN WHO HASEVERYTHINGWhen five-year old Jim Hambrick was in the hospital

and needed cheering up, his mother gathered her limited

funds to buy a Superman lunchbox, the gift that

changed the course of Jim’s life. He began accumu-

lating a collection of Superman memorabilia that

eventually numbered in the thousands, the largest in

the world.

Hambrick created a traveling display of Super-

souvenirs that toured the U.S. Starting in 1985, he

took eight years (one year alone spent packing) and

five 55-foot tractor trailers, and moved his display to

Superman’s official home, establishing the Superman

Museum in 1993, putting a fraction of his personal

collection on public view for a mere three-dollar

charge. As Hambrick told The Paducah Sun in 2001,

“The statue brings in a lot of people. And 95 percent

of the people who come to see the statue who [leave]

their cars come into the museum.” Several thousand

people pass through the gates of the museum during

the Celebration, with around 200 daily during the rest

of the year. When he isn’t helping to organize the

Celebration or draw attention to the event, Hambrick

also sells Superman-related items in a museum-based

gift shop, on eBay, and at his website,

www.supermansuperstore.com.

Inside the Superman Museum, visitors can see

memorabilia from the Superman Family’s numerous

media appearances. Entire sections are devoted to photos

and props from Smallville, Superboy, Supergirl, and Lois

& Clark, as well as cels from Super Friends and other

animated shows. Mannequins display clothing once

worn by George Reeves, Kirk Alyn, Gerard

Christopher, Terri Hatcher, and Dean Cain, and even

the “flying harnesses” used by Superman Christopher

Reeve and Supergirl Helen Slater in their respective

films.

Toys, games, videos, homemade curios from around

the globe, and several decades’ worth of comic-book

original artwork line the walkways of the museum.

The past and the present exist simultaneously in the

museum’s winding corridors.

And as you exit, you know that Jim Hambrick is still

searching for new treasures. And why not? He’s

already got a place to put them.

“I have a 30,000 square foot space outside of town,”

Hambrick told Roadside America. “As soon as the Inter-

state goes four-lane there, we’ll see about moving.”

WHAT CAN ONE MAN DO?Before put in charge of marketing for the Superman

Museum, Atlanta-based David Olsen’s involvement

with the Man of Steel seemed almost predestined. His

mother’s maiden name was “White,” like a certain

great metropolitan newspaper editor; he shares a sur-

name with the world’s most famous cub reporter; and

his wife is the granddaughter of the late DC artist Dick

Dillin (Blackhawk, Justice League of America, and various

Superman titles).

Eight years ago, Olsen discovered the Superman

Celebration via a friend. Upon learning that the

auction held at the event drew only 30 people, he

approached Hambrick about taking it over. In 2004,

more than 230 items were offered for bid and

the room filled to capacity. “We’re at 200 people-

plus every year now,” Olsen explains, “and the only

reason we can’t get more is because the facility won’t

hold enough.”

The offerings come from professional dealers, atten-

dees, and celebrities alike. Any given auction might

contain old games, toys, coloring books, artwork done

Cinema’s

four Supermen—

Kirk Alyn, George

Reeves, Christopher

Reeve, and Dean

Cain—adorn

this mural.


One of the few

remaining complete

uniforms worn by

Christopher Reeve

stands on display in the

Superman Museum.

back issue #7

Documents

s i s s u e b

i c s e x p e r i e

t e c o

t h e u

editormichael brave

marvel team

bold daysthe ultimate

bob kanesuperman