Jack Jackson's American History Part 3: Comics Journal Resource Guide

UPDATE: The first volume of JACK JACKSON'S AMERICAN HISTORY has been tentatively rescheduled for April 2012. However, it is not listed in the distributors catalogue (linked to on the Fantagraphics home page) for titles previewed for April-August.

Following is a listing of Jack Jackson's interviews, panel appearances, and a few reviews in THE COMICS JOURNAL late-lamented print edition (links provided to the issues still in print from the publisher, some material may be accessed through the tcj.com archive possibly):

THE COMICS JOURNAL #61 (Winter 1981) "Tejano Cartoonist: An Interview with Jack Jackson" pages 100-102 104-111. Conducted 8-28-1981 by Bill Sherman. This is an in-depth exploration of Jaxon's earliest underground comics efforts through his transition to historical narratives. Here's the quote that may have given birth to Fantagraphics Books:

"[BILL] SHERMAN: Has the response [to the COMANCHE MOON graphic novel] been good enough at least to gaurantee a similar paperback package for the Sequin
books?
JACKSON: Not so far. I don't think sales have been enough to justify my
interest in pursuing it, frankly. I've been working on finishing the story-like
I did all that additional material for the Quanah Parker book-but I doubt if it
will be published. I'm just doing it for myself. Until that other market, that
straight market outside of regular underground readers, is tapped it probably
won't ever be published under one cover. In Germany they're interested in the
Seguin books, based on COMANCHE MOON's success over there. The book sells well
in Europe-they do it up in a real glossy package, too-but even good sales over
there is small compared to the normal underground market. They think in the
thousands instead of the tens-of-thousands." (pages 108-109)

THE COMICS JOURNAL #70 (January 1982) "Fantagraphics Schedules Five New Books: Coming in 1982: Two X-Men Books, Kane's SAVAGE, and LOS TEJANOS" pages 14-15. Press release written by Dwight R. Decker. Quote pertaining to Jackson's LOS TEJANOS:

"JACKSON'S HISTORICAL VOLUME: No firm release date has been set for Jack
(Jaxon) Jackson's LOS TEJANOS volume, but late Spring is considered
likely.
LOS TEJANOS will publish all of Jaxon's Texan history trilogy between two
covers. Parts I and II have already appeared separately as underground comics
from Last Gasp Comics, but Part III has never appeared before and will consist
of 32 pages of new material. The book will also include historical information
about the main character, Juan Seguin.
Gary Groth called LOS [TEJANOS] 'one of the most serious and ambitious
efforts ever attempted in the alternative press. When we heard that Jaxon was
finishing the trilogy, we contacted him immediately about publishing the entire
work in a single volume.
LOS TEJANOS will be over 120 pages long and is priced tentatively at
$7.95." (page 15)

THE COMICS JOURNAL #75 (September 1982) "Gil Kane" pages 52-54 57-58 60-61. Speech given 6-11-1982 at the 1982 Dallas Fantasy Fair; "Jack Jackson" pages 75-76 78-80 82-84. Convention panel conducted by Gary Groth 6-10-1982 at the same 1982 Dallas Fantasy Fair.

"[This Gil Kane speech turned into a debate as Jack Jackson asked questions
from the audience, and promptly received a beatdown from the veteran]
"JACKSON: That was the thrust of my initial question to you. I don't think
I quite got that across. Do you see a person as they get more mature with their
style tending to simplify or going on down the technical proficiency
route?
"KANE: I seem to feel that what you're looking for is a justification for
your own approach. But my feeling is that I don't think it really matters. I
think it's amazing how some people...I'll give you an idea. My favorite artist
at this point is an artist, Giraud, who signs his work Moebius. I tend to think
he is the finest artist working today.
"JACKSON: Very simple stuff.
"KANE: Well, yes and no. When he's simple he's simple, and when he's not
simple, he's not simple. The point is that whatever he does, works.[...]

[And, this goes on for half a page. This is one of my favorite Jack Jackson appearances in The Journal, plus the Gary Groth interview-later in the issue-is hilarious as Mr. Groth is flabbergasted by Jack Jackson's saying he thinks he should give up historical graphic novels and go do JONAH HEX comics!] (page 58)

THE COMICS JOURNAL #100 (July 1985) "Jack Jackson" pages 111-114. Interview conducted by Gary Groth. This interview is illustrated with some real rarites: a photo of Jack and Tina Jackson at a book signing for LONG SHADOWS; an illustration from LOS MESTENOS; a panel from the then-unpublished "Why Do Texans Hate Yankees So Much?" (which looks suspiciously like a panel from LOST CAUSE); an unsourced fantasy illustration; and, a SingingTrees Dairy Goats t-shirt illustration. There's also an interesting discussion of missed opportunities where Mr. Groth and Jack Jackson discuss his short-lived Marvel Comics career illustrating for SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN (short as in never-happened).

THE COMICS JOURNAL #144 product page at fantagraphics.com list a Jack Jackson review of Jean Giraud's "Blueberry" graphic albums.

THE COMICS JOURNAL #210 (February 1999) "The Top 100 (English-Language) Comics of the Century" "no. 95, LOS TEJANOS, 1982, Jack Jackson" page 38. 1/2 page entry written by Gary Groth.

THE COMICS JOURNAL #213 (June 1999) "Beyond the Grid: Critique Revisited, Interview With Jack Jackson" pages 83-88. Interview conducted by Gary Groth.

"Lost Cause, Jack Jackson" pages 89-90. Review by Ron Evry (his Contributor Notes entry in this issue reads: "Ron Evry is a freelance writer and comics historian. In addition to writing on comics, sports, and computers for a wide range of magazines, he is the web page editor for the National Cartoonists' Society[...]"). The interview and review are in response to a September 18, 1998 Austin CHRONICLE review of LOST CAUSE by Michael Ventura and accompanying essay on John Wesley Hardin by Jesse Sublett, calling the book, it's main character, and Jackson racist. Jackson was given no chance to respond to this charge in the pages of The Austin CHRONICLE, so editor Gary Groth stepped up and not only let Jackson speak his mind, but commissioned a more fair and balanced review of the book.

THE COMICS JOURNAL #264 (November 2004) "Underground Comix Publishers" pages 113-115. Interview conducted May 18, 1972 by Patrick Rosenkranz.

"Photo" page 113. 1972 photo of Jack Jackson taken by Patrick Rosenkranz.

[This is a quite detailed oral history of the origins and day to day workings of Rip Off Press as witnessed by Jackson.]

THE COMICS JOURNAL #278

(October 2006) "Jack Jackson's Long Rough Ride Comes To An End" pages 20-26. Obituary/biography by Patrick Rosenkranz. There's a fascinating section describing how difficult it was for Jack Jackson to actually physically produce his life's work:

"Drawing became slow and difficult as his hands became more crippled over
time. According to Jackson's son, 'He couldn't even hold his pen like most
people do. He had to hold it a different way, just out of his hand. It's amazing
how he did all that work. How he did what he did.'
"The artist explained, 'What happens is these muscles in your hands waste
away and your fingers get hooked and drawn and all of that. In bad cases you
won't even be able to juxtapose your thumb because the muscles atrophy so bad. I
had muscle transplants out there. They take muscles out of your lower arms and
sew them into your hands, in place of the ones that have gone away. It works
pretty well. It's one of those ordeals that you don't like to go through, but it
worked out OK.'
"[Michael] Priest said, 'To watch him draw was so astounding, because he
had to curl his four fingers around the pen staff and stab it inside this space
because he couldn't close his hands like we can close our hands. The most
astounding part was that he would do all lettering by hand and he didn't make
mistakes and there weren't any typos and the spacing was good and consistent.
But to watch Jackson cut Zipatone with an X-acto knife was just about the most
astounding thing. When talking about Jackson's drawing style, it's very
important to note that he used old-fashioned quill pens that you had to dip in
the ink just like everybody throughout the ages. He even turned me onto the nibs
he used that gave his lines that delicious tapering quality. It was also one of
the secrets of his lettering style.'" (page 24)

"Photo" page 20. photo of Jack, Tina, and Sam Jackson courtesy of Tina Jackson.

"A Tribute To Jaxon" pages 27-38. Interviews with Robert Crumb, Kim Deitch, Spain Rodriguez, S. Clay Wilson, Gilbert Shelton, Frank Stack, Bill Griffith, Leonard Rifas, and Victor Moscoso conducted by Gary Groth.

"Rip Off Press: The Golden Era" pages 29-32. 1988 comics story by Jack Jackson.

"Recurden Jack Jackson" pages 39-40. Memoir by Gary Groth.

"Nits Make Lice" pages 41-48. 1975 comics historical story by Jack Jackson.

Top 10 Issues of The Comics Journal: #71 Part Three

COLUMNS:
"Suspended Animation: The Man of Spinach" (pages 97-100) by Jim Korkis [Seriously. Does it get any better than Mr. Korkis writing on the history of animation? As can be expected from Mr. Korkis, his column on the history of POPEYE cartoons begins with short histories of both the Fleischer Studios and the comic strip POPEYE. He then proceeds with a step-by-step evolution of the Fleischer POPEYE cartoons (from the pilot cartoon in the BETTY BOOP series) followed by the Famous Studios version, the ultra-streamlined television incarnation by Gene Deitch, a rare ABC Saturday morning feature-length one shot movie starring Popeye, and a 1978 Hanna-Barbera effort. Searching YouTube we can put together a visual version of Mr. Korkis' essay:


via


via


via


via


via

"Suspended Animation: Animation 1981 The New Age of Animation" (pages 100-101) by Jim Korkis [Not content with the minutiae-rich POPEYE animated history Mr. Korkis also follows the theme of the issue with a short overview of all-things-animation in 1981. Ralph Bakshi's AMERICAN POP; Disney's THE FOX AND THE HOUND; HEAVY METAL movie; and Warner Brothers THE LOONEY, LOONEY BUGS BUNNY MOVIE are the feature movies he discusses. While Leonard Maltin's OF MICE AND MAGIC; Jeff Lenburg's THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMATED CARTOONS; Roger Maxwell's ART AND ANIMATION; Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald's WARNER BROTHERS CARTOONS; and, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's DISNEY ANIMATION: THE ILLUSION OF LIFE are the books he lists from the previous year. Saturday Morning television cartoons from 1981 singled out are: SPIDERMAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS; THE KID SUPER POWER HOUR (Captain Marvel); THE SMURFS; Jack Kirby's GOLDIE GOLD; HEATHCLIFF/MARMADUKE; and, the (then) new Disney television show WALT DISNEY ON CBS. Mr. Korkis also recalls the deaths the previous year of Michael Maltese, Steve Bosustow, Lotte Reininger, and Hans Conreid. He concludes with a look ahead to the animation front in 1982.]

"The Lake Isle: Sturgeon: Love as Knowledge" (pages 104-105) by Carter Scholz photo [This a short, yet detailed, review of Theodore Sturgeon's writing in general, and in particular his two short stories "Brownshoes" and "Slow Sculpture." Carter Scholz was a prolific science fiction writer and critic at this time, a bilbiography of his writings can be found here.]

"Panel Progressions: The EC Progressives, Part Two: Bernard Krigstein" (pages 107-112) by Greg Potter [This long-running column was inaugurated in The Journal 47 (July 1979) with a column analyzing Will Eisner (accompanying the second half of a Will Eisner interview that issue). Subsequent installments ran in in issues 53(Neal Adams); 59(Jack Kirby); 63(Alex Raymond and Hal Foster); 67(Harvey Kurtzman, reprinted in THE COMICS JOURNAL LIBRARY Volume 7 without a copyright notice); this issue; and, a last gasp version that ran only once (that I'm aware of) in The Journal 94 (BAT LASH, supposed to be "analyses of the great comic series of the 1960s and 1970s" page 110), these were "from a work in progress by Gregory Potter." (The Journal 47, page 56) Mr. Potter also had an off and on career as a comic book writer as detailed at GCD.
This issue's installment focuses on Bernie Krigstein and his work on "Master Race." After a brief (and not necessarily accurate) capsule history of Mr. Krigstein's career up until his EC days, Mr. Potter does a fine turn describing the "single panel theory" of sequential art, it's strengths and weaknesses, and how it differs from the prevailing attitude of Will Eisner's "cinematic" storytelling (for a more modern example of the former, I believe Jaime Hernandez's storytelling is similar). Following this introduction of Mr. Krigstein's techniques he examines in detail, panel by panel "Master Race" (IMPACT 1, 1955. writer: Al Feldstein) which is also conveniently reproduced in it's entirety along with this essay. Coming at the story from structural, storytelling, fine art, and historical viewpoints Mr. Potter brings added insight into what is, arguably, one of the more revolutionary achievements in mainstream comics.]

THE COMICS JOURNAL (c)2010 Fantagraphics Books Inc.
"Popeye" (c)2010 King Features Syndicate, just saying is all.

Top 10 Issues of The Comics Journal: #71 Part Two

THE COMICS LIBRARY: GRAPHIC STORY REVIEWS (COMICS IN 1981):

[This issue is an early version of the long-running "best-of-the-previous-year" editions that had it's first installment in, if I recall correctly, The Journal 44, and last in The Journal 296 (covering the best of 2008). In this particular instance editors, writers, reviewers, and columnists alike take a look at "Comics in 1981." Back in those days it seems there was Frank Miller's original run on DAREDEVIL representing the best of the Mainstream Super-Heroes, ELFQUEST/CEREBUS/Anthology magazines representing the "groundlevel" or independent companies, and RAW MAGAZINE representing the contemporary underground scene. Did I mention the writers got to choose the "best and worst" of 1981? This could get ugly, people!]

"The View From the Curb" (pages 31-33) by Jan Strnad [Jan Strnad chats about Marvel Comics, er, being too chatty, or having "too many words." He picks out Chris Claremont's 1981 AVENGERS ANNUAL and Roger Stern's Doctor Strange story "A Time For Love, A Time for Hate" as the most over-written of the Marvels he read. Bill Mantlo gets honorable mention for most annoying speech pattern for his "Bug" character in 'tik' MICRONAUTS. He has high praise for David Michelinie's IRON MAN, the Pini's ELFQUEST, and the aforementioned Chris Claremont's "Kitty's Fairy Tale" in X-MEN.]

"The Age of the Alternatives" (pages 33 35-36) by R. Fiore [Mr. Fiore singles out the above mentioned DAREDEVIL/CEREBUS/RAW trio for his take on Comics in 1981. Although, he does mention the long-forgotten PHANTOM ZONE mini-series by the late Steve Gerber and Gene Colan (both of whom are remembered more as the creative team behind HOWARD THE DUCK in the 70s) as a good turn on the Superman franchise. Mr. Fiore also takes the unique stand of comparing RAW MAGAZINE to it's two contemporary underground anthology competitors: WEIRDO and RIP OFF COMICS. The latter two don't fare too well in the comparison, Mr. Fiore perceptively adds, "The traditional underground (odd phrase) has a bad case of tired blood." Bravely, he also tackles the comic strips of the day, succinctly damning most of the field: "Three out of every four new strips about born losers. When Schulz started the trend it was a change of pace, but now with ZIGGY DRABBLE KUDZU ad infinitum ad nauseum, it's becoming a chorus of national demoralization. The fourth will be 'sophisticated' (read smug, enervated and hopelessly middlebrow). All four will be authored by someone who can't draw[...]" (excerpts (c)1982 Robert Fiore)

"PUBLISHER: KIM THOMPSON [PHOTO] BY AMERICAN VIRUS" (source) image (c)2010 Jonas Seaman

"Waiting for the Fruit Salad" (pages 36-37 39-40) by Kim Thompson [Mr. Thompson wades into the three major anthology magazines of the day: HEAVY METAL is singled out as best of the group despite it's reliance on METAL HURLANT translations and mediocre to indecipherable American contributions; EPIC ILLUSTRATED is called out for not being consistent or "very good"; while ECLIPSE MAGAZINE recycled mainstream writers and artists to bad effect. Mr. Thompson has something to say on nearly everything else: Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Steve Leialoha, Walt Simonson, Gil Kane, Michael Golden, KA-ZAR, Alan Brennert, Jim Aparo, Gene Colan, DENNIS THE MENACE (comic book), MARVEL TALES, "Mister Wilcox, Mister Conrad" by Munoz and Sampayo and Art Spiegelman's "Maus" both from RAW, FREAK BROTHERS, WEIRDO, Kitchen Sink Press, Howard Cruse, Reed Waller's "Omaha," PHOEBE AND THE PIGEON PEOPLE, NARD 'N' PAT, CEREBUS, THE COMPLET WEIRD FANTASY, THE COMPLETE SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES, ELFQUEST, REID FLEMING WORLD'S TOUGHEST MILKMAN, VALERIAN, LUCKY LUKE, GARFIELD, BLONDIE'S AMERICA. Mr. Thompson also suprises with this short note: "The Hernandez Brothers' LOVE AND ROCKETS, a witty and gorgeously drawn collection of stories and vignettes." This is the only other contemporary mention of the original self-published LOVE AND ROCKETS I've come across, besides the formal review by Gary Groth in The Journal 67.]

GARY GROTH (middle) at 1982 San Diego Comic Con. PHOTO BY ALAN LIGHT (source)

"Recycling the Old, Searching for the New" (pages 40-41 43-47 49-51) by Gary Groth [Mr. Groth examines Frank Miller's DAREDEVIL and Art Spiegelman and Francois Mouly's RAW MAGAZINE in depth in his take on Comics in 1981. He fires a salvo across the bow of the 1981 comics industry with this paragraph: "What the comics published in '81 make clear, I think, is the codification of two distinct points of departure for creating comics. Broadly speaking, every artist working in comics gravitatates toward one approach or the other. On one side is the traditional mass-market Marvel-DC-superhero format, and the other stems from the underground movement begun in the early '60s. The difference between these two approaches is fundamental and so vast that one ultimately represents paralysis, the other greater possibilities of expression." (excerpt (c)1982 Gary Groth)]

"Another Year for the Road" (pages 51-53) by Gene Phillips [Mr. Phillips comments on HEAVY METAL in 1981 in general, and Druillet's "Salammbo" serial in particular. EPIC ILLUSTRATED is again deflated as "the largest disappointment." General overviews of Marvel and DC's best and worst are followed by positive remembrances of CEREBUS 31 and "Gilbert Shelton, ELFQUEST, several concepts in RAW," as well as ECLIPSE MAGAZINE and early Pacific titles.]

"From Elfland to Smallville" (pages 53-56) by Dwight R. Decker [Mr. Decker comments on Frank Miller's DAREDEVIL, Roger Stern's SPIDER-MAN, Roy Thomas's work at DC, Cary Bates and Kurt Schaffenberger's SUPERBOY, ELFQUEST, THE FIRST KINGDOM, CEREBUS THE AARDVARK, and concludes with a short note on French Comics.]

R.C. HARVEY (right) at the 1982 San Diego Comic Con. PHOTO BY ALAN LIGHT (source)

"Newstand Comics 1981: The State of the Art" (pages 56-57 60-63) by R.C. Harvey; illustration: R.C. Harvey [Mr. Harvey dissects the storytelling strengths and weaknesses of Roy Thomas and Frank Miller. The latter is different than his essay on Frank Miller's DAREDEVIL in THE ART OF THE COMIC BOOK (University Press of Mississippi, 1996)]

"DE-ELFING COMICS" BY JOHN CLIFTON
(pages 64-67 69-74 76-77) [Mr. Clifton delivers a brutal, but ultimately perceptive essay on the overuse of fantasy elements (elves in particular) in then contemporary comics. ELFQUEST, WEIRDWORLD, and THE WIZARD KING are the targets on which he sets his critical sights.

Perceptive in that this essay belies the growing pains of comics and comics' critics as the comics market expanded in new directions. Mr. Clifton gives us the brilliant (and probably still true) theory that just because a comic is different in format or subject matter does not automatically anoint it as a superior effort than mainstream superhero comics. Mr. Clifton puts forth a unique theory which he lays out in this sentence: "Perhaps the three books examined would be more successful if they did not fall in one degree or another for the Elevator Fallacy, which stipulates that a heightened regard for a medium must be followed by its packaged or costly presentation in supposedly heightened formats." (page 74)


Fan favorite ELFQUEST is mercilessly deconstructed, whether it be storytelling weaknesses or illogic and false-ringing issues within the narrative. Early painted-comic experiment WEIRDWORLD (or "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" three-part magazine series and in EPIC ILLUSTRATED) is deplored for lazy, muddy coloring and inconsistent writing. Wallace Wood's THE WIZARD KING gets off fairly easily only being scolded for it's "worthless and insulting use of myth." (page 74)

Mr. Clifton's masterstroke may be the hubris he shows in the last two paragraphs of his essay, by comparing ELFQUEST and RAW: "But I don't wish to imply a relationship between such polar opposites of fandom fetish as ELFQUEST and the 'experimental' RAW MAGAZINE. Rather let me say it directly--RAW and ELFQUEST are identical! They are extremes that meet, in the intuition as in the fact, and together work to assure everyone concerned that yes, without question, without fail, comics history is moving onward, for our learning and intellect have signed the contract to keep it so. ELFQUEST is a thoroughly safe comic that gaurantees art in the comics today, this moment, through the right creatures and the right quota of sending. RAW is a thoroughly safe magazine that gaurantees us art, theoretically independent from anyone ever liking it, by giving us comics criticism and self-journalism in the form of panels, and by replacing mere imaginative activity with sure-stuff, cute-to-astute inventions of aesthetic-analytical speculation. Both provide a literalist, Time to Feel Important consumerist high for those obsessed with 'accomplishment' rather than inspiration, imprisoned wakefulness as over dreaming abandon, 'the state of comics' as against appreciating a comic and with conserving intelligently cultured laboratory specimens for the academical banter of fandom clerics, rather than making strips anyone will ever love, creatively experience, or play with again. RAW is medicine for bumptious sods and slithering psycho-wunks, so stapled with 'elevated values,' so adult, so much Velanna, we must give it dentures; gerontologists, not art, will have use for it. ELFQUEST can't even manage to be clearly bad; it sequentially teddy-bears us, teaches us supernatural inconsistency and societal garble, and celebrates 'the way' of happy determinism.


"It makes one almost want to start reading the X-MEN again--even mainstream hack was never like this. The real dispute on the direction of comics is not over whether it should be a child's medium or an adult medium, but over whether it is already an 'elevated art' or not. The adultists believe it is not, despise its centrally child-oriented locus, and cry into the night for its elevation, mostly through aesthetic speculation and adaptations; they suffer from a defective confidence in the medium as it is. Those who know that the comics medium already is elevated believe so precisely because the form has avoided eclipsing itself into academicist privatism, going thud in the dungeon on programmic, deadening research into 'itself'--remaining instead undirected, public, and child-centered for its very life; these are the progressives, for they are right. The difference is, as ever, in believing that the art is all around us and is external to us, versus believing that we have to work or borrow to 'achieve' it: perception and historical example versus invention and logical possibilities. RAW (actually well cooked and harmless) or comics? Elves (despite their fans) or comics? The dreamers for either have their work cut out for them." (page 77, excerpts (c)1982 John Clifton)

This unjustly forgotten piece also, in my opinon, has some weak points that get back to my point on the past growing pains of comics critics as well as the comics they wrote about. As when Mr. Clifton details the inconsistencies in both Wendy Pini and Art Spiegelman's storytelling and linework. This comparison seems to me (in hindsight, mind you) incongruous as both folks were coming at comics from two very different schools of thought (see Mr. Groth quoted above who deftly explains the difference).

Mr. Clifton also contributed two more essays to The Journal (as well as some letters in "Blood & Thunder"):
"The 7 Deadly Comics Cliches" illustrations: Joe Sinardi [in THE COMICS JOURNAL 53 (Winter 1980), yeah something else besides the infamous Ellison interview was in that issue!]
"Bite Now, Suckers" illustrations: [in THE COMICS JOURNAL 90 (May/June 1984), a supremely bizarre dialogue between the comic characters The Watcher, Cerebus the Aardvark, Vladek Spiegelman, and real-life character John Clifton. (source)]


Dean Mullaney and MIKE FRIEDRICH (respectively) at the 1982 San Diego Comic Con. PHOTO BY ALAN LIGHT (source)


INTERVIEWS:

"Reaching for the Stars With Mike Friedrich" (pages 79-81 83-87 89-92) interviewed by Kim Thompson ("[...]during the Summer of 1981[...]"). Transcribed and edited by Kim Thompson. Copy-edited by Mike Friedrich. photos: uncredited. [I'm not sure if it's possible to be someone as important as Mike Friedrich is to the history of comics to also be little-known outside of the industry today, but to me that's how it seems. Therefore this interview cames as a revelation to me as it details his journey from comics fandom, through writing for Marvel and DC, starting up his own comics company (Star*Reach) and its foreshadowing of independent comics/direct market of the early 80s, and finally his work as Manager of Direct Sales for Marvel Comics during the golden years of the Jim Shooter-era. There is also a wealth of firsthand details of the birth and infancy of the direct sales market and the rise of the specialty comics stores.]

[For a complete bibliography and history of STAR*REACH the comic, and a 2005 interview with Mike Friedrich conducted by Richard Arndt (who also interviews STAR*REACH contributors: Lee Marrs, Steve Leialoha, Trina Robbins, and Mike Vosburg) look at Mr. Arndt's site here.]

[For something more recent, here is a link to Mike Friedrich interviewing Bill Everett's daughter, Wendy Everett for COMIC BOOK ARTIST 2 (TwoMorrows Publishing).]


Roy Thomas at the 2003 Torino Comics festival. PHOTO BY GIANFRANCO GORIA (source) image (c)2003 Gianfranco Goria

"Roy Thomas" (pages 94-96) moderated by Adam Malin at the Los Angeles Creation Convention (November 1981). Transcribed and edited by Gary Groth. illustrations: Kevin Nowlan [Wonder Woman, Arak/Captain Carrot!] [For a three-page convention transcript Roy Thomas talks about quite a few things, including his career history from fandom days through leaving Marvel for DC that year; writing CONAN for Marvel; writing ALL-STAR SQUADRON for DC; working with Gerry Conway (future LAW & ORDER franchise writer/producer) on the screenplay for Ralph Bakshi's FIRE AND ICE animated film; and, the general state of contemporary comics.]

THE COMICS JOURNAL (c)2010 Fantagraphics Books, Inc. All excerpted text is (c) the respective authors, only used under Fair Use.

[1982 San Diego Comic Con photos and many more comics and celebrity related photos can be found on Alan Light's Flickr home page.]
[More photos of Fantagraphics Books staff and cartoonists can be found on the American Virus Flickr home page.]
[More pictures of comic book personalities in foreign countries can be found on Gianfranco Goria's Flickr home page.]

Top 10 Issues of The Comics Journal: #71 part one

This is the third installment of our ongoing celebration of the magazine version of THE COMICS JOURNAL that ran from 37 to 300, and is due to return for it's now annual (or so) incarnation. This is one of my all-time favorite issues mostly for the classic Peter Poplaski cover, but also for the fact that this is during the run where they first turned the magazine over to someone other than the original triumvirate (Gary Groth, Mike Catron, and Kim Thompson). Dwight Decker was a writer for The Journal beginning way back in the tabloid-version days, a fanzine publisher and writer long before that even, and had been promoted to Co-Assistant Editor and C0-Newswatch Editor (with Kim Thompson) in issue 68. I don't have a copy of The Journal 69, but by the next issue (#70) Mr. Decker had been promoted to Managing Editor where he served for a few issues. The Journal 74 and 75 saw Mr. Decker's job re-invented as Assistant Editor and Co-Newswatch Editor (again, with Kim Thompson). While I don't have copies of issues 76 and 77, The Journal 78 finds a Robert J. Sodaro listed as Assistant Editor. Though brief, Mr. Decker's tenure saw some farsighted editorials and a good mix of mainstream, classic comic strips, and the emerging alternative comics scene (including the birth of Fantagraphics Books in a press release written by Mr. Decker in The Journal 70). Even all these years later Mr. Decker is still active in comics fandom, see his letter in Rob Imes's DITKOMANIA 69 (October 2008).

THE COMICS JOURNAL 71 (March 1982) buy here

Fantagraphics, Inc., Stamford, CT
GARY GROTH Executive Editor/Art Director

DWIGHT R. DECKER Managing Editor

PEPPY WHITE Assistant Art Director

KIM THOMPSON Newswatch Editor/Production Assistant

DALE LUCIANO Associate Editor

J. MICHAEL CATRON Circulation Director/Advertising

GRETCHEN MEYER Mascot

COVER:
Peter Poplaski created this fondly remembered (by me, at least) "battle of the century" between the Segar-era Popeye and the equally Segar-esque no-neck big belly Hulk of Marvel Comics fame! Mr. Poplaski is probably best remembered as the long-time art director for so many Kitchen Sink Press comix and books and a contributor to the majority of that company's publications from the 70s through the 90s. Check here for a good sales listing of many of the varied projects he's done for Kitchen Sink over the years, and detailed bibliographies at GCD under Pete and Peter, and a rare interview with the artist by Bob Andelman.

"The French Zorro starring Peter Poplaski" via Arktown Productions

NEWSWATCH:

*"DC Hires Two More Editors" (page 6) by Kim Thompson [Marv Wolfman and Ernie Colon were to co-edit GREEN LANTERN, THE NIGHT FORCE, WONDER WOMAN, and WORLD'S FINEST with four more titles to be named later. Those titles were ARION, BLACKHAWK, THE FLASH. NEW TALENT SHOWCASE, and the MEDUSA CHAIN graphic novel, with Mr. Colon working on and off with Mr. Wolfman from October 1982-April 1985. source]

*"Promotions and Hirings at DC Comics" (page 7) by Dwight Decker [Paul Levitz promoted to Vice President of Operations, Michael Flynn as Promotion Manager, and Declan Mulcahy as Manager/Administration.]

*"DC's Schedule: New Books and Cancellations" (page 7) by Dwight Decker and Kim Thompson [NIGHT FORCE, LEGION OF SUPERHEROES ANNUAL 1, AMETHYST, SGT. ROCK ANNUAL 6, DC COMICS PRESENTS ANNUAL 1, WORLD'S FINEST 283, SUPERMAN FAMILY 222, PANDORA PANN (unpublished), WARLORD ANNUAL 1, BATMAN ANNUAL 8 (the Von Eeden classic), BLACKHAWK, and UNKNOWN SOLDIER 268.]

*"Marvel's Titan Series Nearing Completion" (page 9) by Kim Thompson ["After several months in limbo, the Marvel Titan series announced last Summer is finally making some headway, and the first issue is expected to go on sale this Summer.

"Science in Comics: As conceived by Michael Hollingshead, a freelance
scientific writer whose work has appeared in Omni, the Titan Science Series is
intended as a series of comic books explaining scientific fact in comic book
format.
[...]
"Origin Issue: The first issue of the series, which is planned to be
published in the regular 32-page format, is being prepared for this summer.
Written by Jim Shooter and Steve Bissette, it will be the ultimate origin story
in comics: the birth of life and man on Earth.
"Bissette will also be drawing the second issue. After that, Shooter said,
the list of creators would read 'like a Who's Who of Marvel.'" page 9 (c) 1982
Kim Thompson]

*"Marvel Miscellania: Merchandising and More" (page 9) by Dwight Decker and Kim Thompson ["Marvel Comics announced in early 1982 that it had been named licensing agent for merchandise associated with Hasbro's GI JOE doll, the ARCHIE COMICS characters [!], and the characters featured on the children's TV show THE GREAT SPACE COASTER." (page 9); Carol Kalish named Assistant Direct Sales Manager for Marvel; and, Mark Gruenwald promoted to Editor.]

*"Eclipse to Publish Three Swamp Thing Tie-Ins" (page 10) by Dwight Decker [Eclipse Enterprises publishing news: THE MAKING OF THE SWAMP THING MOVIE MAGAZINE, SWAMP THING PORTFOLIO, SWAMP THING SCREENPLAY BOOK, SABRE, SCORPIO ROSE, DESTROYER DUCK.] [1982 Swamp Thing movie trailer]

*"New Media Publications Relocates to Florida" (page 10-11) by Kim Thompson

*"Undergrounds: GEN stops, OMAHA goes" (page 11) by Kim Thompson [GEN OF HIROSHIMA and I SAW IT; BIZARRE SEX 9(Omaha the Cat Dancer) and DOPE COMIX banned in U.K. and Australia, respectively; BIZARRE SEX 10 upcoming; and, THE LOWBROW ART OF ROBERT WILLIAMS published by Rip Off Press.]

*"Archie Comics Cuts Back, Revamps Line" (page 13) by Dwight Decker [also information on Bob Bolling drawing SABRINA at that time]

*OBITUARY: Harry 'A' Chesler (c.1898-December 28, 1981) (page 13) by Dwight Decker and Kim Thompson

*"Pinis Prepare ELFQUEST Companion Magazine" (page 14) by Dwight Decker [YEARNINGS 1 co-edited by Richard Pini and Jane Fancher]

*"New Magazine to Feature Comics Section" (page 14-15) by Kim Thompson [THE AMERICAN BYSTANDER with contributions from David Boswell, Mary K. Brown, Charles Burns, Josh and Drew Friedman, Bill Griffith, Jeff Jones, Patrick MacDonald, Mimi Pond, and Bob Schwartz. Obscure mentions of this short-lived effort from NATIONAL LAMPOON founding editor Brian McConnachie here here and here.]

*"Cartoonists Sought for Payment of Royalties" (page 15) by Dwight Decker

*"Strip News: Two Veteran Cartoonists Dead" (page 15) by Dwight Decker and Kim Thompson

OBITUARY: Wally Bishop (1905-January 15, 1982) creator of "Muggs and Skeeter" comic strip

OBITUARY: Harry Hanan (1916-January 19, 1982) creator of "Louie" pantomine comic strip *"News From Hither and Yon" (page 16) by Dwight Decker and Kim Thompson (no credits on this one) [Pacific Comics: ROG 2000; Look Mom Comics: PSYCHO COMICS 2; Western Publishing (Whitman): ASTRAL FRONTIERS (unpublished until Robin Snyder's REVOLVER series) and BUCK ROGERS by Nicola Cuti/Al McWilliams; John C. Productions (JCP): JCP FEATURE 1, BASICALLY STRANGE 1, HALL OF FAME CLASSICS 1, THUNDER AGENTS 1, SPACE GIANTS 1; Russ Cochran: VAULT OF HORROR Complete EC Library set; Capital Comics: NEXUS; Sal Quartaccio: Portfolio news; Warren: ROOK cancelled; FantaCo: GATES OF EDEN 2; Dargaud: LUCKY LUKE, WALTER MELON, VALERIAN, VAGABOND IN LIMBO, ASTERIX IN BELGIUM. Phil Yeh's THE MAGIC GUMBALL MACHINE and superhero title JUSTICE MACHINE 3 are pictured but not mentioned in the article.]

BLOOD & THUNDER:

*Ingrid Neilson: illustration page 19 GCD

*Gilbert Hernandez: illustration page 20 Fantagraphics Who's Who

*Scott Pellegrini: illustration page 21 GCD

*Jaime Hernandez: illustration page 22 Fantagraphics Who's Who [dated 1981 this is a pre-Fantagraphics LOVE AND ROCKETS 1 appearance of Maggie. Curiously, this drawing brings to mind Jaime's later clear-line style, rather than the scratchy early L&R stories. Yes, only at this blog would we droolingly overanalyze a thirty year old spot illustration!]

*Dennis Fujitake: illustration page 24 Who's Who

*Mario Macari: illustration page 25 [The Spirit one two three]

*Mitch O'Connell: illustration page 26 [dated "79"] [Ginger Fox GCD]

*Brian Pearce: illustration page 27 Who's Who [this isn't art related, but here's an argument between Mr. Pearce and Todd Klein over lettering the letter "I." Please step away from the fonts.]

*ALAN BRENNERT (page 19-20) imdb GCD [this is one of my favorite "Blood & Thunder" letters, there is much information on writing for TV and comics both of which Mr. Brennert does/did quite well. A very gentlemanly exchange between Mr. Brennert and Mr. O'Neil all in all.]

*DENNY O'NEIL replies to Mr. Brennert (page 20)

*J.J. PIERCE (pages 21-22)

*CARTER SCHOLZ replies to Mr. Pierce (page 22)

*STEVE STILES (pages 22 24)

*MATT DENN (page 24) [Reading his biography at the link, it seems a real possiblity that the Lt. Governor of Delaware was a big AMAZING SPIDER-MAN fan at the age of 16 and wrote a rather stirring argument against the stereotypical portrayal of an overweight character in issue 226 of that comic. I don't make this stuff up, folks!]

*BHOB STEWART (pages 24-25) [Mr. Stewart letter replying to Jan Strnad, and on the Nostalgia Press EC Library Vol. II that was never published.]

*PAUL R. WILSON (page 25)

*THE EDITORS reply to Mr. Wilson (page 25)

*DR. PHILLIP S. KOTT (pages 25-26)

*KIM THOMPSON replies to Dr. Kott (page 26) [Mr. Thompson is put in the unenviable task of defending his not including Jack Kirby as a "comics great" alongside Harvey Kurtzman, Will Eisner, and Carl Barks, and does quite well in the end.]

*DWIGHT R. DECKER (pages 26-27 29)

*GEORGE EVANS (pages 29-30) [Jim Keefe has a lot of online material on this famous cartoonist here. This letter is a first hand account of George Evans's working relationship with Harvey Kurtzman at EC Comics, I guess it's hilarious reading if you are neither one as they certainly grated sensibilities as far as collaborating on those EC war stories, it seems.] GCD Who's Who

THE COMICS JOURNAL (c)2010 Fantagraphics Books, Inc. This list is unauthorized, but undertaken with respect to the past staff of this great magazine .

Top 10 All-Time Issues of The Comics Journal

I've been seeing a deluge of "Best of 2009" or "Best of the Decade" comics and graphic novel lists, many with the Hernandez Brothers various projects singled out. It got me thinking about going in a different direction and honoring THE COMICS JOURNAL and it's recently-completed 300-issue run, a magazine that was very important in introducing me to the Hernandez Brothers and LOVE AND ROCKETS, some 23-24 years ago. Here are ten issues I've picked out of my collection that are either personal favorites, defining moments in the magazine's history, or just plain revelatory in their own right, all in my own humble opinion:

THE COMICS JOURNAL 38 (February 1977)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 59 (October 1980)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 71 (March 1982)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 115 (April 1987)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 138 (October 1990)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 210 (February 1999)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 227 (September 2000)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 238 (October 2001)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 250 (February 2003)
THE COMICS JOURNAL 298 (May 2009)

Over the next several weeks I'll be writing at length on each issue I picked and why they stand out to me. Please send your comments on what your favorite issue of THE COMICS JOURNAL is, and maybe I'll write up that issue as well! (P.S. The above list is skewed to the issues I have in hand, completely missing the Tom Spurgeon years, and my "golden age" of TCJ being approximately issues 112-150. Please hate accordingly.)