If you’re into comics history, you’re likely reading some magazines, books or both from TwoMorrows Publishing, the publishers of “The Jack Kirby Collector” and the “Modern Masters” line of books. I’ve read nearly every one of the “Modern Masters” line to date, spotlighting artists including John Byrne, Michael Golden and more. Check out TwoMorrows’ plans for San Diego Comic-Con after the break.
comic book history
Archived Posts from this Category
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor
WORD BALLOONS
In every “Batman” comic book, in the credits to the 1960s TV show, even in the credits to this weekend’s “The Dark Knight” are the words “Batman created by Bob Kane.” While Kane is the only one officially credited with the character, writer Bill Finger is considered by most to have had a large input in bringing Batman to life.
Writer Alan J. Porter contributed the essay “The Dubious Origins of Batman” to the nonfiction book “Batman Unauthorized,” featuring essays about the Dark Knight. Porter is at work on a biography of Kane and Finger.
Batman didn’t come in a flash of inspiration, Porter said, but was developed when an editor asked Kane to come up with “another Superman.” The success of the Man of Steel in the 1930s had publishers eager to exploit this new idea.
“Bill Finger was a friend of cartoonist Bob Kane’s and often helped Bob by writing stories for the various comic strips he produced,” Porter said. “When Bob presented his first sketch of what would become Batman to his editor, the editor mentioned it needed a story to go with the visual. Bob naturally turned to his writer friend Bill Finger for help.”
Finger suggested changes to Bob Kane’s original design, adding the cowl mask and the cape resembling bat wings. Finger named the characters of Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon in the original Batman story. Finger created more of the elements of the Batman legend as Batman continued, including naming
But Finger never received credit. Part of that had to do with the system in place — in newspaper strips at the time, comic strips were often produced by a studio, but appeared with only the original creator’s name. The nascent art of comic books didn’t have procedures in place for recognizing creative talent.
“Simply put, Bob Kane’s editor asked him to come up with a character and a story to go with it, and that’s what Bob Kane did,” Porter said. “The editor was seemingly unaware that Bob had help. The comic book company came up with a contract for Bob to continue producing Batman stories, and that’s what Bob continued to do – using an increasing roster of ghost writers and artists.”
Meanwhile, Finger today receives more credit than he ever did in life. (Finger died in 1974.) Comic-Con International, the largest comic book and popular arts event in the
And while Finger’s name never appeared on his Batman stories while he was alive, he now receives writing credit when his stories are reprinted by DC Comics.
This is an expanded version of the article from today’s The Oklahoman:
Comic-Con International, the largest comic book and popular arts event in the United States, has announced that Archie Goodwin will receive the 2008 Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. The choice was made unanimously by a committee chaired by writer and historian Mark Evanier.
Goodwin attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, and considered himself a Tulsan, though he was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Goodwin was an influential comic-book writer and editor. He was briefly Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief in 1976. As an editor at DC Comics, he shepherded James Robinson’s acclaimed “Starman” and the award-winning “Batman: The Long Halloween.” As a writer, he created the Paul Kirk “Manhunter” character with artist Walter Simonson. He was named best writer (dramatic division) in the industry in 1973 and 1974 by the Academy of Comic Book Arts. Goodwin died in 1998.
Tulsa writer R.A. Jones, who also attended Will Rogers High School, shared some thoughts about Goodwin with The Oklahoman:
”I was delighted to hear about the award Archie will be receiving. One of the great things about working in comics today is that the creators receive at least a portion of the credit they are due for their work — something that, as I’m sure you well know, was not the case in poor Bill Finger’s day,” he said.
”I first discovered Archie’s writing in the 1960s, first in such magazines as Creepy and Eerie, where he helped keep alive the tradition of the venerable EC style of storytelling, and later in the pages of such Marvel comics as Iron Man. Professionally, I never knew Archie to deliver anything less than stellar scripting. Personally, he was always friendly and a true gentleman, a pleasure to sit and have a chat with.”
The Bill Finger Award was instituted in 2005 under the supervision of comic book legend Jerry Robinson. The awards committee is charged each year with selecting two recipients, one living and one deceased.
“With all the writers who seem worthy of this award, you’d think it would be an impossible decision,” Evanier said in a release. “But this year, two names just jumped off the list of candidates. Much like the late Bill Finger, Larry Lieber and Archie Goodwin did important, groundbreaking work in our field that has not received the recognition it deserves. We’re hoping to rectify that a little with these awards.”
Archie Goodwin began in comics in the late 1950s, writing mystery comics for Harvey and assisting Leonard Starr on the newspaper strip “On Stage.” Later, he was the writer/editor of “Creepy” and “Eerie,” and is credited with creating the backstory for Vampirella.
In addition to Evanier, the selection committee consists of Charles Kochman (executive editor at Harry N. Abrams), comics and animation writer Paul Dini, writer Tony Isabella, and writer/editor Marv Wolfman.
The Bill Finger Award will be presented during the 2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony at this summer’s Comic-Con International on Friday, July 25.
For more information on the Finger Award, visit www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_finger.shtml.
– Matt Price
Here’s the full content of the Q&A I did with Gary Friedrich, the creator of “Ghost Rider.” Friedrich is appearing at this weekend’s SoonerCon at the Biltmore Hotel in Oklahoma City. For more information, visit www.soonercon.com.
Matt Price: You’re possibly best-known for creating “Ghost Rider.” What were your influences in creating the character? How did the character come about?
Gary Friedrich: The first flash of an idea for Ghost Rider came when I was still a kid and saw Marlon Brando in “The Wild One.” I loved the movie and began to think about a superhero on a motorcycle.
As time went by, I was also influenced by the cycle gang movies of the fifties and sixties with Fonda, Hopper, Nicholson, etc. I could see America had a passion for guys on cycles and thought a superhero on a cycle would be popular. Evel Knievel and his exploits were also an inspiration.
The ideas began to come together in the late sixties during a period when I was away from Marvel and worked for another company for a time. But as I began to lean toward a supernatural connection, I realized the Comics Code Authority probably wouldn’t accept anything like that. So although I had the concept pretty much together by 1970, I had to wait until the Code eased its standards for horror-type comics in 1971 to attempt to get the character published.
In ‘71 I took the completed idea (characters, origin story, costume design, etc.) to Stan Lee at Marvel Comics, and he agreed that Marvel would publish Ghost Rider. The first appearance of the character came in Marvel Spotlight #5 in early 1972.
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
The creator of the motorcycle-bound supernatural hero “Ghost Rider” comes to Oklahoma City this weekend for SoonerCon. Gary Friedrich will visit with fans at the annual science fiction convention, held today through Sunday at the Biltmore Hotel, 401 S Meridian Ave.
Friedrich talked to The Oklahoman about his comic-book experiences with “Ghost Rider” and other comics in a recent interview.
“The first flash of an idea for Ghost Rider came when I was still a kid and saw Marlon Brando in ‘The Wild One,’” Friedrich said. “I loved the movie and began to think about a superhero on a motorcycle.”
As time went by, Friedrich said he was influenced by the cycle gang movies of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as daredevil Evel Knievel.
“The ideas began to come together in the late sixties during a period when I was away from Marvel and worked for another company for a time,” Friedrich said. “But as I began to lean toward a supernatural connection, I realized the Comics Code Authority probably wouldn’t accept anything like that. So although I had the concept pretty much together by 1970, I had to wait until the Code eased its standards for horror-type comics in 1971 to attempt to get the character published.”
The Ghost Rider first appeared in “Marvel Spotlight” No. 5 in early 1972.
Friedrich worked on several titles for Marvel Comics in the 1960s, including “Captain America,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.” His longest run as a writer came on “Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.”
“There was an order of titles through which new writers would progress at Marvel,” Friedrich said. “You’d start out with ‘Millie the Model,’ then progress to western titles like ‘Kid Colt’ and ‘Two-Gun Kid,’ then came ‘Sgt. Fury.’ But after I’d gone through that progression and written a few issues of ‘Fury’ and was deemed ready to move on to the superhero big time, I didn’t want to let go of ‘Fury and his Howling Commandos.’ I’d grown fond of the ol’ Sarge as well as of working with Dick Ayers and inker John Severin, so I talked Stan and Roy into letting me continue writing the title, which I did for several years and probably more than 50 issues.”
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
Many people thinking of comics from the 1940s would think of muscled supercharacters such as Superman and Batman. But writer Ron Goulart follows another trend, that’s continued from the early days of comic books until today.
“Good Girl Art,” the latest book by comics historian Goulart, traces the popularity of drawing pretty, often scantily-clad female characters back to the Phantom Lady, Torchy, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.
Comics originally were reprints of comic strips from newspapers. But after the success of Superman in “Action Comics,” more and more publishers began requesting original material.
By 1941, “some of the more crafty publishers realized it wasn’t just kids (reading comics), it was teenage boys, it was young men,” Goulart said in a phone interview.
“The thing about GIs in the Second World War, they were kids, 18 or so,” Goulart said.
Rather than look solely at Superman, these teens and young men “might want to see somebody in a bikini, like Sheena,” he said.
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is described by Goulart as a “blonde, female Tarzan,” and was published in “Jumbo Comics,” from the shop of Jerry Iger and Will Eisner.
“What distinguished her from Tarzan, Ka-Zar and the other comic book jungle characters was that a great many readers found her a bit more interesting to look at,” Goulart writes in “Good Girl Art.”
“Her core audience was added to appreciably during World War II, when thousands of pin-up happy GIs joined the ‘Jumbo’ readership.”
The Good Girl style of art took a bit of a beating in the 1950s, as Dr. Frederic Wertham, senior psychiatrist of the New York Department of Hospitals, led a crusade against comics that caused the adoption of the Comics Code. This voluntary code slowed down Good Girl Art, but it came back in the 1960s and 1970s.
“By the 1970s, you have a college audience and an older audience,” Goulart said, that was drawn to characters like Vampirella and a revived Black Canary.
“Good Girl Art” also follows the career of Dave Stevens in the 1980s.
“We have two pieces of his work, the one where he did the Betty Page-type character for the Rocketeer, and then he did an unpublished Phantom Lady, which is one of the last ones in the book,” Goulart said. “He was one of the, in his period … one of the most popular guys doing that kind of thing. He certainly helped the revival of interest in Betty Page, as well. Betty Page also influenced the return of Phantom Lady in the ’40s.”
And Good Girl art continues to this day, with artists like Frank Cho, who provided the cover to “Good Girl Art,” and Adam Hughes.
But one thing that’s changed is the role the women play.
“In the old days, like the ’40s … when you saw women on comic book covers, about half of them would be victims,” Goulart said. “Now when there’s women on the cover of a comic book, I would say 95 (percent) or 99 percent of them are heroes. You don’t see the woman being saved anymore, you see the woman saving someone else.”
Goulart says comic books often reflect what’s going on in the world and in society.
“In the Second World War you had Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth and you had pin-up girls. This was what was going on. Comics were aimed mostly … (at) males. So they’re going to put pictures of pretty women,” he said. “I didn’t invent that, and I’m not justifying it, but that’s the way it is. You could say, well, this is a very sexist thing, but … the good girl art, for the most part (is) incredibly tame considering what you can see in the men’s magazines, or certainly on the Internet now. It’s a very sedate kind of sexiness.”
