Volume 36, Number 2

Vol. 36, No. 2
February 2025
whole number 422
2025 pages 009-016

Michael Fleisher featured this issue, with a script for the first page of an unpublished Batman / Jonah Hex crossover he wrote in the early 1980s.  The story would have referenced the 1978 "The Last Bounty Hunter" story by Fleisher and Russ Heath. Also included, an unused Sunday page for a proposed Jonah Hex comic strip, circa 1980 by Fleisher and Heath, and a page from a 1978 issue of VAMPIRELLA by Fleisher and Jess Jodloman.

The Carl Wessler bibliography, "Upon Reflection" is up to 1968/1969 in part 61, featuring work for DC, Harvey and Warren.

In Under The Gun Robin Snyder looks at a Lincoln anecdote and how it applies to numbering presidents and grading comics.  Letters of comment from Nick Caputo on the breadth of Ditko's career and Joe Frank on Stan Lee's changing story on the creation of Doctor Strange, Jerry Siegel's letters and the enigmatic notations Carl Wessler sometimes used in his records.

Volume 35, Number 12

Vol. 35, No. 12
December 2024
whole number 420
2024 pages 089-096

A Dan Gormley cover of Frosty the Snowman from a 1952 Dell issue up front.

The obligatory Sheldon Mayer contribution to the Christmas issue is a two page excerpt from his unfinished Rudolph story "Christmas for a Cave Man" from 1979.

Dave Sim writes "Voice Over", a review of the Ditko at Charlton books of the 1970s and the evolution of his art over the decades.

Under The Gun Letters from Joshua Warren, G.G. Faircloth, Nick Caputo, Warren Sattler, Bernard Brannigan, Gene Hall, Joe Frank, Thomas W. Scott III and Paul Bach.

Yearly index for 2024 finishes up the issue and the year.

Volume 35, Number 11

Vol. 35, No. 11
November 2024
whole number 419
2024 pages 081-088

Cover this time is a script page to THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT by Marvin A. Karp from 1962.  Karp's 2003 passing is noted with some notes on his career, as is Roger Elwood's 2007 passing.

Bob Haney provides a long memoir, "The Sixties", about some of his prolific career at DC, hitting all the highlights including Metamorpho and The Brave and the Bold.

Dave Sim reviews INTRODUCING CAPTAIN ATOM, the recent collection of Ditko's work at Charlton in 1960.

Part 60 of Carl Wessler's Upon Reflection has entries from 1968, including work at Harvey and DC.

Letters from Margaret Johnson, G.G. Faircloth, Joe Frank,T homas W. Scott III,W illiam Barker, Bernard Brannigan and Jim Stenstrum

Volume 34, Number 3

Vol. 34, No. 3
March 2023
whole number 399
2023 pages 017-024 (8 pages)

This issue features excerpts from Robert Kanigher's 1943 book WHERE AND HOW TO SELL YOUR MANUSCRIPTS, published by Cambridge House, with its list of markets for comic scripts and a sample of a comics script format for "Adam Anthony", which I'm assuming wasn't a real comic.

That book was of course a companion to Kanigher's HOW TO MAKE MONEY WRITING... series, which included HOW TO MAKE MONEY WRITING FOR COMICS MAGAZINES, available in an 80th Anniversary edition.

In Under the Gun Robin Snyder looks at a few other early books about comics and there are letters from Mike Tuz, Nick Caputo and Joe Frank.

Volume 33, Number 12

Vol. 33, No. 12
December 2022
whole number 396
2022 pages 089-096 (8 pages)

Up front is part 72 of the Robert Kanigher bibliography, "The Mystery Of The Human Thunderbolt", featuring his character creations from 1947 to 1963.

Also featured are two pages from the Sheldon Mayer and Nestor Redondo unpublished "The Story Of Jesus" for DC, in both Mayer script/layout form and finished art by Redondo for the "Life In Bible Days" features.

There's a letter by Joe Frank "Under The Gun" and the yearly index to Vol. 33, 2022.

Volume 30, Number 12

Vol. 30, No. 12
December 2019

whole number 360
2019 pages 089-096 (8 pages)

Hy Eisman provides a seasonal cover from the Popeye comic strip for which he's long done the Sunday pages for as the latest successor to creator E.C. Segar.

Sheldon Mayer is represented as usual in the year-end issue, this time with a layout page and three script pages from the unfinished "Story of Jesus" comic.

Letters in Under The Gun by Joe Frank on Christmas comics and Gary Poole on Ditko's Konga and his own 1968 King Kong adaptation.

And the year finishes up with an index to all of Volume 30 of the newsletter

Volume 28, Number 9

Vol. 28, No. 9
September 2017
whole number 333
2017 pages 065-072

Mart Nodell is up front, with a 1993 illustration of his Golden Age creation Green Lantern.  

Inside Robert Kanigher, a frequent Green Lantern writer back in the late 1940s after Nodell's time, provides a few manuscript pages of an unpublished Green Lantern story he wrote in 1982.

Over in "Under the Gun", the passings of Vic Donahue, Blanche Fago and Vernon Henkel are noted and there are letters from Robert Rowe, Mike Tuz, Nick Caputo, Joe Frank, Gary Poole, Harry Leeman, Athos Bousvaros, Daniel Tesmoingt and Donnie Pitchford.

"And my favorite 'villain' would have to be the pathetic, infuriating, and maddeningly hilarious Grey Negotiator!" -- Gary Poole (on Ditko's new comics)

Volume 25, Number 4

Vol. 25, No. 4
April 2014
whole number 292
2014 pages 025-032 (8 pages)

On the cover this time is THE MODNIKS #2, the belated 1970 follow-up to the debut issue of the Gold Key series back in 1967. A page from #1 is on the backcover (artist on both unknown), and creator Gary Poole writes in with some words on his current work and past career, and provides a three page memo/outline about the series detailing the characters and concepts. 

At first I assumed this was a Monkees riff (Dell got the comics license to that show/band), but the Poole memo dates from May 1966, several months before the Monkees show/album release. Maybe it was just something in the air, post-Beatlemania. DC had their own take on the concept with the shortlived Maniaks around the same time (and the longer lasting SWING WITH SCOOTER, although the music elements didn't last long), contemporary with the Archie gang forming the band The Archies and others.

Also this issue, part 2 of a bibliography of the prolific Bill Harris, continued from the previous issue.

Also letters from Joe Frank, Darren Ford, Gary Kato and Andrezzzz xx, plus RS reviews some recent acquisitions in his library.

Call out the instigators, because there's something in the air...

Volume 24, Number 9

 Vol. 24, No. 9

Extra Tags

See full index

Volume 24, Number 2

Vol. 24, No. 2
February 2013
whole number 278
2013 pages 009-016 (8 pages)

Martin Filchock is featured this issue, shortly after his passing in 2012 at age 100. He drew for Centaur in the 1930s, and two of his covers are featured in colour here. He's remembered by Robin Snyder and G. G. Faircloth, plus a partial bibliography of his work.

Also featured is the conclusion of Ron Goulart's biography of Artie Saaf and correspondence from Stan Goldberg, Andrez Bergen, Joe Frank, Kevin Greenlee, Gary Poole and Spider Robinson.

Volume 23, Number 10 - Extra Tags

 Vol. 23, No. 10

Extra tags

See full index

Volume 23, Number 4

Vol. 23, No. 4
April 2012
whole number 268
2012 pages 025-032 (8 pages)

Sheldon Mayer up front and on the back this time, with the front and back cover to an unpublished Ronald McDonald comic book, possibly from a pitch for DC to do some merchandise for the company.  There are at least two full stories Mayer did for that project.

Jim Ivey provides a quick cartoon.

Gary Poole provides a few pages of plot and script for some Witch Hazel / Little Scarecrow / Little Itch stories, which I think primarily ran in the back of Little Lulu comics, plus in the letter column puts Snyder in touch with Bill Harris, who we'll hear more from later. 

There's also a mystery portrait with the artist and subject revealed in a few months.

Additional letters from D. Fenton, Joe Frank and Don Mangus, plus notes on the passing of Ruth Brank-Croal, Vic Herman, John Keel, Bill Rechin and Philip Sturm.

Volume 23, Number 1 - Extra Tags

 Vol. 23, No. 1

Extra tags

See full index

Volume 22, Number 11

Vol. 22, No. 11
November 2011
whole number 263
2011 pages 081-088 (8 pages)

Part 38 of Just Imagine, the bibliography of the prolific Paul S. Newman, covers the rest of 1962 and first part of 1963, when Newman continued to work for both branches of the Dell/Western split, including books like Yogi Bear Visits The U.N. as part of 2030 pages of in 1962.

Also this issue, a look at the personnel of Western through the years and a long Under The Gun with a header and letter from Jim Ivey and letters from Bob Cavanaugh and Joe Frank.

Volume 21, Number 8 - Extra Tags

 Vol. 21, No. 8

Extra Tags

See full index

Volume 20, Number 4

Vol. 20, No. 4
April 2009
whole number 232
2009 pages 025-032

Stephen R. Bissette leads off the issue, with the long first part of his 3-part autobiographical essay "Moving Day", originally published on his blog in 2005 and a Center For Cartoon Studies commencement speech in 2008. It's about his journey to becoming part of the first class of the Joe Kubert School in 1976, and thus dedicated to Muriel Kubert. This chapter covers Bissette's background and how his time at Johnson State College led him to take a leap of faith on this fledgling new school opening up in Dover, New Jersey:

"In 1976, the thought of anyone, much less a hick from Duxbury and Waterbury, making a career in comics was a reckless, delusional undertaking -- I mean, comics weren't a profession, they were a hobby." -- S. R. Bissette

(said fledgling school is still around, now fully accredited, and having trained many professionals since the first class Bissette attended)

The on-going task of listing "The Works Of Carl Wessler" (later titled "Upon Reflection") hits part 24, and is only up to 1952, when he was writing a lot of comics for Timely, all over their crime, romance and horror lines. Also some work for Lev Gleason, including one amusingly titled "The End of Johnny Morrow", presumably no relation to the publisher John Morrow...

Long "Under The Gun" letter column, with Joe Frank, Mark Fuller, Matt Murphy, D. Fenton, Sandeep Atwal, Gavin Callaghan and Stan Goldberg.

Volume 20, Number 3 - Extra Tags

 Vol. 20, No. 3

Extra Tags

See full index