{"id":2884,"date":"2020-02-04T16:44:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T00:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/?p=2884"},"modified":"2024-01-10T16:50:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T00:50:57","slug":"maggies-world-078-60-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/maggies-world-078-60-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"Maggie\u2019s World 078: 60 Years Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MAGGIE’S WORLD BY MAGGIE THOMPSON<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maggie\u2019s World 078: 60 Years Ago<\/h1>\n\n\n
Maggie Thompson<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In\u00a0the most recent installment<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of this column, I waxed nostalgic about \u201cthe Olden Days of Comic Books.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But 1960 received only a couple of paragraphs in that look back, noting such points as, \u201cThose who had grown up with earlier fare were now old enough to grow nostalgic for what had been, and fan communications grew stronger, as a network formed in what was then our social medium: fandom.\u201d (Master of the run-on sentence: That\u2019s me.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six Decades Ago<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By summer of 1960, I was looking ahead. I was starting college at Oberlin in the fall, I was dating Don Thompson, who had just graduated from journalism school at Penn State. Given my plans, Don was going to work at The Cleveland Press<\/em>, a bus trip away from Oberlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of us had been letterhacking for a number of science-fiction fanzines. Both of us had attended the World Science Fiction Convention in Detroit (Detention) the year before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Before the birth of comics fandom, a few readers had held onto their comics, and some even shared memories. Among classics many of them remembered were Walt Kelly\u2019s winning checkers strategy and Carl Barks\u2019 \u201csquare eggs\u201d story.\u00a0Four Color\u00a0<\/em>#148 \u00a9 2020 Walt Kelly\u00a0Four Color\u00a0<\/em>#223 \u00a9 Disney. All Rights Reserved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And we were both custodians of fledgling comics collections. We\u2019d both read and kept E.C. titles. And I\u2019d collected Walt Kelly comic books and comic strips for more than a decade. Comics had been among our conversation topics the day we met in 1957.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But among our comics challenges in 1960 was that, aside from \u201chow to draw\u201d guides, we could find only a few reference books in libraries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • 1942: Comics and Their Creators: Life Stories of American Cartoonists <\/em>by Martin Sheridan<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1943: Cartoon Cavalcade <\/em>edited by Thomas Craven<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1947: The Comics <\/em>by Coulton Waugh<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1947: Secrets behind the Comics <\/em>by Stan Lee<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1954: Seduction of the Innocent <\/em>by Fredric Wertham<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1959: Comic Art in America <\/em>by Stephen Becker<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    And not all of those were in every library. Let\u2019s face it: Lee\u2019s \u201cbook\u201d had been a saddle-stitched pamphlet aimed at young readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Among precursors to the longer-lasting comics fandom were fanzines focused on the E.C. line. Thanks to the credits, EC fans were able to spot favorite artists.\u00a0Weird Science\u00a0<\/em>#17 (January 1953) \u00a9 2020 William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.\u00a0MAD\u00a0<\/em>#9 (February 1954) \u00a9 2020 EC Publications, Inc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Earlier Comics Groups<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

    Comic book companies themselves had tried to create fan clubs. DC\u2019s Superman. Fawcett\u2019s Captain Marvel. E.C.\u2019s Fan Addict Club. And more. Each had membership cards. Heck, a Captain Marvel club had even played a role in the 1950 Jack Carson film The Good Humor Man <\/em>(with its own pop-culture connections of writers Frank Tashlin and Roy Huggins).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But the comics-associated groups had failed to morph into an ongoing comics fandom. Heck, the (science fiction) First Fandom fan David Kyle, inspired by Flash Gordon<\/em>, tried his hand at a comics story in the first issue (February 1936) of his science fiction fanzine The Fantasy World<\/em>. But he didn\u2019t continue such projects, as he grew older. There were EC and satire fandoms with such \u201cmembers\u201d as Landon Chesney, Mike May, Ron Parker, Joe Pilati, Bill Spicer, Larry Stark, Bhob Stewart, and Fred von Bernewitz. But those groups had limited focuses and didn\u2019t deal with the world of comics as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Comic Book Time<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

    Then it was 1960, and, for some reason, 1960 seemed to be Comic Book Time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One of the turning points may have been the appearance of Dick and Pat Lupoff as Fawcett\u2019s Captain and Mary Marvel at the World Science Fiction Convention in 1960 (Pittcon).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But neither Jerry Bails nor Roy Thomas attended that event\u2014although I\u2019m guessing that it was that (and the Lupoffs\u2019 Xero <\/em>#1 with the first installment of \u201cAll in Color for a Dime\u201d) that led Don and me to begin preparation for Comic Art <\/em>#1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My speculation at the moment? It\u2019s that the 1959 publication of Comic Art in America <\/em>led many of us to explore the art form in greater detail. Nevertheless, the question still arises: What brought together these people who felt the mutual alert of Comic Book Time? High-schoolers who wanted to make their own comics? Scholars studying popular culture even before that term was created?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While much statistical analysis of those fans remains to be done, it is intriguing to look at how old they were when they participated in the first couple years of amateur comics research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In 1960, then: Bill Thailing was 34. Robert Coulson was 32. Ron Goulart, Juanita Coulson, Jim Harmon, and Jerry Bails were 27. Richard Lupoff and Don Thompson were 25. Larry Ivie was 24. Pat Lupoff and Bhob Stewart were 23. Ted White was 22. Roy Thomas was 20. I was 18. And Steve Stiles was 17. (I can\u2019t find a date of birth for Hal Lynch, Bill Sarill, Mike McInerney, Jean Linard, or Dick Ellington, who were also active.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Super-hero revivals reminded some readers of earlier favorites and helped comics-fan networks to grow.\u00a0Showcase\u00a0<\/em>#23 (November 1959) was the second Silver Age appearance of its revamp of a Golden Age character. TM & \u00a9 DC.\u00a0Fantastic Four\u00a0<\/em>#4 (May 1962) offered an actual Golden Age character to join Marvel\u2019s new versions of Golden Age supers. \u00a9 2020 MARVEL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    Then \u2026<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

    It was a time of \u201cOoo, did you know about?\u201d and \u201cHey, have you seen?\u201d Don knew Will Eisner\u2019s The Spirit<\/em>. I hadn\u2019t seen it. Information networks were established and grew. Thanks to Bill Thailing, we were able to begin collecting more. By 1976, we were able, not only to identify the identity of Carl Barks, but also to visit him and Gar\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jerry Bails was at the forefront of a variety of comics research projects. He began by reaching out via letters columns in newsstand comic books and then establishing approaches (who\u2019s who, amateur publishing association, awards) and supporting others (a price guide, other fanzines).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many of us had already been keeping an eye out in used-book venues (a Salvation Army store was only a few blocks away, when we lived in Cleveland\u2014and we had a magic moment in Kay\u2019s Books downtown).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It really was <\/em>Comic Book Time. It didn\u2019t take long before more books were added to those earlier library collections:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    • 1963: The Funnies: An American Idiom <\/em>edited by David Manning White and Robert H. Abel<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1965: The Great Comic Book Heroes<\/em> by Jules Feiffer<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1970: All in Color for a Dime <\/em>edited by Dick Lupoff and Don Thompson<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1971: Comix: A History of Comic Books in America <\/em>by Les Daniels<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1971: The Penguin Book of Comics <\/em>by George Perry with Alan Aldridge<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1973: The Comic book Book <\/em>edited by Don Thompson and Dick Lupoff<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      And These Days \u2026<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

      Hey, material released in 1924 (including early installments of Harold Gray\u2019s Little Orphan Annie<\/em>) is now in public domain: which is to say that a variety of early comic art is available for reprint\u2014although much of it still remains unvisited. But keep in mind that comic book material going into public domain in 2034 will include 1938\u2019s Action Comics<\/em> #1 [Superman] and Donald Duck<\/em>. 2035 will bring us 1939\u2019s Detective Comics<\/em> #27 [Batman] and Marvel Comics<\/em> #1 [Human Torch]. We\u2019ll have to wait until 2037 for 1941\u2019s Captain America Comics <\/em>#1, Pep Comics<\/em> #22 [Archie], and All-Star Comics<\/em> #8 [Wonder Woman].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Then, how long will it be before English Literature textbooks will include these stories alongside the public-domain tales that appeared in my 1950s texts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      How many will have been forgotten by then? Let\u2019s keep the classics alive for future researchers\u2014and libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Maggie\u2019s World by Maggie Thompson appears the first Tuesday of every month here on <\/em>Toucan!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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      Written by<\/p>\n\n\n

      Maggie Thompson<\/div>\n\n\n

      Published<\/p>\n\n\n