Category: Comic Books

Let’s Rap About Cap and Crap

Ever since arranging the estate sale at my late parents’ house in Arizona three years ago, I’ve been mulling over the problem of having all of the stuff I’ve accumulated over these many years. When the late publisher and comic art dealer Russ Cochran announced he was selling most of his massive collection, I couldn’t imagine why he would want to do that. But I was much younger then, and now I can imagine all too well. Cochran was getting old, he was planning ahead, and he needed to downsize.

Jerry Beck, the noted animation historian and archivist, moved recently. Beck has announced on Facebook that he is holding a garage sale to clear a storage space of “lots of magazines, toys, plush figures, books, DVDs, VHS tapes, stuff.” Jerry is my age, and I have the same inclination. Yard sale? Craigslist? eBay? I suppose all three will be useful.

While I contemplate divesting myself of possessions, I am of course continuing to accumulate. The “Get Back” Beatles book to accompany Peter Jackson’s documentary is on pre-order. As is Andrew Sandoval’s revised, expanded and definitive Monkees day-by-day book. No date has been announced yet for the long-delayed second volume of IDW’s Artist’s Edition of Jim Steranko’s 1960’s work at Marvel.

The original art for the center spread from Captain America #113 is coming up on Heritage Auctions. The first two Cap issues that Steranko drew, #110 and #111, were inked by my pal, the great Joe Sinnott. The whereabouts of the original art for the center spread to one of those issues was the subject of some controversy. The art had been promised to Joe, but he never saw it again. Joe had only the original production stat for the art. Someone said they saw the original art hanging in the home of a well-known comic book person, but when asked about it later, that person reportedly denied ever having the art. I assume the art was eventually located and scanned for inclusion in the Artist’s Edition volume, but some of the pages in the first volume were taken from stats.

When Steranko couldn’t meet the deadline for issue #112, there was a Kirby fill-in. Jim returned for his trilogy’s big finish in issue #113, which was inked by Tom Palmer. Steranko has always said that he, rather than Palmer, inked the two center pages. This scan confirms it, although the use of Zip-a-Tone was a Palmer trademark.

Taking Sides

Chuck Jones hated Bob Clampett for claiming he created Bugs Bunny. Jack Kirby resented Stan Lee for claiming he created the Marvel Super Heroes. Fans often express their opinions in these matters as if they have a personal stake in them, regardless of whatever the full truth may actually be.

Steve Ditko’s position on the creation of Spider-Man is a particularly frustrating example. Ditko wanted credit that he felt was denied to him by Stan, which wasn’t legally Stan’s to give anyway. But Ditko also acknowledged that he had accepted payment under a work for hire arrangement. The rigid Ayn Rand logic that Ditko followed allows both of these viewpoints to be valid, leaving them irreconcilable.

With that in mind, as a follow-up to yesterday’s post, did Ub Iwerks hate Walt Disney for claiming he created Mickey Mouse, and did Walt resent his studio’s co-founder for leaving to become a competitor? Not likely from this photo, taken not long before Disney’s death.

Bettie’s Bangs and Hard Knocks

Betty Page was a one-of-a-kind pinup girl. Appearing mostly in low-brow magazines, Bettie’s appeal was more kitschy than sleazy. Bettie (her preferred spelling) was happy to pose nude, but Irving Klaw never had her do that in his famous fetish photos. Personally, I don’t get the attraction of fetish material, and Bettie thought of it as a funny performance.

Bettie Page Reveals All, an affectionate yet unflinching portrait, is on Amazon Prime. The documentary is a bit amateurish, like the magazines Bettie appeared in, but I recommend it for both the cheesecake photos (there’s an old-fashioned term) and for Bettie’s life story.

For years, Bettie’s fans wondered where she was. The documentary really does reveal everything, including how she went from this…

… to this.

Bettie’s resurrection was thanks to comic book artist Dave Stevens. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Dave saved Bettie’s life, as the documentary explains. Bettie died less than a year after Dave’s untimely passing. Tim Estiloz, a comic book fan and friend, who I met through Joe Sinnott, once interviewed Bettie.