Volume 21, Number 4

Vol. 21, No. 4
April 2010
whole number 244
2010 pages 025-032 (8 pages)

A tribute to frequent contributor Creig Flessel, who passed away in 2008.  Some words of remembrance from Robin Snyder, a page of Flessel's handwritten letter (published in DETECTIVE COMICS #512 in 1982), some samples of his published pages from NEW COMICS (1936) and YOUNG ROMANCE (1975), a drawing of Flessel with Vin Sullivan, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson and Whitney Ellsworth.

Under the Gun also has letters from Steve Ditko (commenting briefly on Jack Burnley) and Bob Heer.

Volume 5, Number 3

Vol. 5, No. 3
March 1994
whole number 51
1994 pages 021-032 (12 pages)

A copy of an old A Date With Judy page up front, to go with part 3 of writer Paul S. Newman's bibliography, covering 1947/1948. 

"Newman's comics earnings increased to $4500 in this year [1948]"

An obituary for the recently deceased Jack Kirby in here, with an anecdote about an interaction Snyder had with Jack and Roz Kirby when he was processing art returns for DC. One of those pages, the brilliant intro page to the then-unpublished In The Days Of The Mob #2, is on the backcover. DC has subsequently published the stories meant for that issue in various formats.

Long Under The Gun column this time, with a header by Fred Rhoads and correspondence from Rhoads, Jerry DeFuccio, Paul Norris, Creig Flessel, Jack Schiff, Dick Ayers, Bob Haney, Paul S. Newman (with a sample of a Smokey The Bear strip by Newman and artist Wes Wood from 1958), Chris Pedrin, Jon R. Warren, Nick Caputo, Ray Bottorff, Harry W. Miller, Michael Teitelbaum, Tim Barnes, Robert Rowe, Frances Saint Martin, Mike Benton, Joel Thingvall, Rodney Schroeter,

As a note of trivia, this appears to be the issue that the title of the newsletter took its final form, The Comics (unless you want to count punctuation).

Volume 1, Number 12

Vol. 1, No. 12
November 1990
whole number 12
1990 pages 087-094

Creig Flessel provides a Sandman drawing and a short biographical essay in "Apples and Comic Books".

Flessel also leads the letter column in Under the Gun, with additional letters from Dick Sprang, Robert Rowe, Bob Haney, Rich Morrissey and Dick Ayers.

Robin Snyder takes a page to address some on-going issues, including communications with Eclipse, the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame not notifying inductees Steve Ditko and Alex Toth.

On the topic of "Who Created The Challengers of the Unknown", writer George Kashdan shares some recollections.

Dick Ayers writes "Fun", about his work method in his first decade in comics, and includes a drawing of Jimmy Durante, who he drew for Magazine Enterprises in 1948-1949.

Sam Glanzman provides a very entertaining look at his long career in comics, with a sample of his early work in Fly-Man and discussion about Charlton, Joe Kubert, his work and Marvel and then-current work at 4Winds.  There's also a brief bibliography of some of his major works and a funny comic strip in a different style than his usual.

Volume 1, Number 5

Vol. 1, No. 5
May 1990
whole number 5
1990 pages 033-040

"An Insider’s Part of Comics History: Jack Kirby’s Spider-Man", by Steve Ditko analyzes the claim that Kirby created Spider-Man, with details about his recollections of the events around the creation of the character. He includes a pictorial guide to the costumes of three heroes: Simon and Kirby’s Captain America, Kirby’s Spider-Man (from memory) and his own Spider-Man.  This was later reprinted in AVENGING WORLD [2002].

Under the Gun contains comments by Robert Kanigher and Joe Simon, who adds his remarks to the Spider-Man creation matter and includes a two-panel sequence by C.C. Beck from Simon’s Comic Book Makers.

I Remember Romance part 2: The DC Bibliography, Robin Snyder's  early attempt to produce a bibliography of the DC love comics, with a list of the many titles and editors.

A cartoon by Creig Flessel featuring the Sandman and a self-portrait.

King of the Comics Writers, first update, by Robin Snyder, with some quick numbers for some of the most prolific writers of American comics.

Toth/FF, A look back into the 1940s by and with Alex Toth on his early years in comics, specifically Famous Funnies / Eastern Comics from 1943 to 1947, leading up to his stint at DC from 1947 to 1952.  

Alex Toth—A Bibliography by Robin Snyder looks at his work from  1945-47