Multiversity’s history column returns with seven – count ’em SEVEN – new items from the depths of the comic book industry. We’re going to start waaaaaaaay back in 1906 before leapfrogging back to 1998, which is practically yesterday. As is our way on the first Monday of each month, the theme will be events that occurred in that month.
The first booklet reprinting newspaper comic strips was sold in 1897. Over the next few years new reprint comic books were put out regularly by various publishers. Because they were cheap and sold well, sophisticated types had to sneer at them. In August 1906, “The Atlantic Monthly” ran a piece by children’s poet Ralph Bergengren titled ‘The Humor of the Colored Supplement.” He was rather bitter that newspapers would print these things in color, and noted that the artwork looked much nicer in the cheaper black and white papers. Seeing as how his most popular work wouldn’t be published for another dozen years, most of his complaints come across as sour grapes. How dare those plebeians enjoy colorful funnies instead of his artfully crafted….art?
He was hardly alone, however. Similar articles continued to appear in magazines like “The Nation,” “Ladies Home Journal,” and “Good Housekeeping” through the next few years, until America put aside its internal disputes while it participated in World War I.
The newsstand of the 1940s didn’t just sell comic books – they had all kinds of material. They had newspapers, news magazines, gossip magazines, romance magazines, and general interest magazines. There was also a large clientele for “men’s magazines” that featured jokes, innuendo, and pin ups alongside other commentaries – think “Maxim.” The pinups usually had a theme of some kind, and in August 1941 “Peek” magazine ran ‘The Comics Come to Life,’ a series of pictures showing model Merle Louis dressed up as a variety of comic book heroines. Scantly-clad super heroines.
Young boys had been tying a towel around their neck and pretending to be Superman for three years at this point, so Louis wasn’t the first cosplayer. She is the first professional one though, at least as far as I can tell.
Maxwell “Max” Charlie Gaines was instrumental in getting comic books started in 1933. He also played an outsized role in the creation of Wonder Woman, the Justice Society, and other DC heroes before selling out his share and using the proceeds to start Educational Comics in 1943. He put his publishing efforts behind titles like “Picture Stories from the Bible” and resolutely avoided unsavory content that made other comics popular. By 1947, his company was $100,000 in debt ($1.3MM in 2023 dollars).
In August 1947, Max took his family to Lake Placid for a vacation. On Wednesday, August 20, Max’s adult daughter and a friend were swimming far from shore, so he followed them in his motorboat. This was to be available if they needed help and to make them more visible to other boaters. A friend and his friend’s young son were riding with Max. Another motorboat was coming toward them from the side, and apparently veered in their direction at the last moment. The young boy saw it coming and ducked. The two men were killed almost instantly as the other boat ramped over theirs. The friend’s body was wrapped in the propeller. Gaines’ body wasn’t found until a few days later. The two swimmers were unharmed, and the passengers in the other boat had only minor injuries.
Max’s son, Bill, had been on his way to being a chemistry teacher. His mom pushed him to take over the comic business, which he reluctantly did. At first he just kept things moving as normal, but when he realized he didn’t have to follow his dad’s rules, he came to enjoy it more. He changed the company name to Entertaining Comics and starting putting out Science Fiction, War, Crime, and Horror stories, turning the company into the EC Comics that fans remember today.
In the late 50s and early 60s, DC believed that covers were what sold their comics. Editors would often buy an exciting cover, then assign writers the task of incorporating the scene in a story. Sometimes the scenes were elaborate or bizarre, and the easiest way for a writer to make it work was to have the whole thing be a dream, or perhaps a hoax. Other times the lack of continuity would just be unacknowledged, like “Superman” #132 in October 1959. Continued below
In August 1960, DC hit an even easier way to handle the craziness: just label them “imaginary” so readers can separate them from the “real” Superman stories. “Lois Lane” #19 was the first cover to carry the new description. Once readers got used to it, DC would began using crazy cover scenes and exclaiming that it wasn’t an imaginary tale!
Marvel saw some major changes in 1972. Founder Martin Goodman retired. Stan Lee was promoted to both Publisher and President. Ascended fanboy Roy Thomas became the new Editor-in-Chief.
Management was worried about the loss of Lee, whose personal brand had helped build Marvel into what it became. Even though he was no longer writing, editing, or otherwise associated with the comics, they wanted to maintain a connection. How to do this, exactly, was left up to Thomas. He chose to add “Stan Lee Presents” to the intro of every new issue starting with the ones cover-dated August 1972.
In 1983, a famine in Ethiopia threatened almost 8 million people. It was exacerbated by the government, which weaponized the famine to weaken domestic insurgents. At least 400,000 people died, and possibly three times that many. World response to the crisis included Band Aid, Live Aid, and Marvel’s “Heroes for Hope” one-shot released in August 1985.
The idea for the charity comic came from Jim Starlin, who received full support from management when he pitched it. Over 54 different creators contributed to the 48 pages, including horror novelist Stephen King. Everyone involved, including Marvel and the newsstand distributor Curtis Circulation, donated the profits to famine relief.
Following the sales success of Superman’s death and Batman’s Knightfall, DC editorial mandated a massive shake up for Hal Jordan / Green Lantern. When the current writer’s plan was deemed too tame, he was replaced by Ron Marz, who turned Jordan into an insane murderer and replaced him with a new character, Kyle Rayner. Circulation increased in most places, but many long-term readers were unhappy with the change.
One such fan, Harry Phillipo, took to the internet in 1994 and formed Hal’s Emerald Attack Team (H.E.A.T.). They started a petition to fire Marz and restore the former status quo and garnered 2,000 signatures. They also raised funds to take out a full page ad in “Wizard” to raise awareness of their goals. Some of their fringe members sent threats to the DC offices and/or Marz. DC ignored them. “Wizard” mocked them. Readers accepted Kyle. The world moved on.
By 1998, Phillipo had also moved on, but HEAT continued. Now led by 17 year old Jack Grimes, their demands were more tempered and the ‘A’ now stood for ‘advancement.’ They were seeking “peaceful coexistence” by asking DC to take Marz off the book, but just to put him on a different one. They didn’t want Kyle erased, they just wanted a heroic Hal back. They still had money, and they were spending it to raise awareness of their efforts and recruit more members. During a March 1998 interview, Marz was asked about HEAT. Diplomatically, he noted that no member of HEAT was being forced to buy or read the comic. He also suggested they spend their money on something productive, like a charity, rather than continue attacking his livelihood.
Maybe Grimes read that interview, maybe it was coincidence, but Grimes did just what Marz suggested over the summer. Silver Age “Green Lantern” writer John Broome was invited to be a guest of honor at SDCC in August, but the con organizers couldn’t afford to pay for Mr & Mrs Broome’s international airfare (they were living in Japan). Along with David Siegel other Broome fans, Grimes and HEAT helped the Broomes attend their first and only comic convention.
