The master swiper, super comic enthusiast, and consistent zine gift giver, Martin L. Greim, returns with Comic Crusader, issue 14!
Maker of the most consistent zines, Comic Crusader, Martin Greim, formed one of the most highly appreciated fan experiences of the past. Martin’s unashamed love for comic books and 
strips was on display every darn issue, and this one is no exception. In his editorial, Martin declares the theme of this issue to be MAGIC! It starts with the nicely composed cover by Dennis Fujitake (inked by fellow zine publisher, Bill Black) seen above. Dennis’s work adorned many a zine, including The Collector, Fantastic Fanzine, The Buyer’s Guide and more. To the left is a somewhat grainy photo of Dennis I found online. Dennis was originally from Hawaii, along with Gary Kato (also in this issue), and, after fandom, created and worked on the series, Dalgoda. He developed from a somewhat Ditko-esque style (also, like Kato, though Kato kept it up as he started his own independent comic work later), but later incorporated more of a Jeff Jones aesthetic and just kept getting better and better. Below you can see another illustration from this issue by Fujitake.
The illo above is one of several illustrating the first subject of this issue, Ibis. Ibis appeared in the first issue of Whiz Comics (as did Captain Marvel). Other illustrations of the character adorning this article are by Keith Fukumitsu, Gary Kato and Greim himself (as seen below). See if you can discern the source material for Martin’s piece. Me, I think I see Cockrum’s style in the reclining woman…and that has got to be a Gil Kane dragon! A fun illo regardless.
Fujitake even contributes an Ibis strip (I don’t actually recall Dennis doing much more than single illustrations usually). Below you see a sample page.
Fujitake’s Hawaiian compatriot, Gary Kato, contributes a few spot illustrations as well, as you can see.
Mandrake the Magician gets the coverage following Ibis’s entry, featuring an interview 
with the character’s creator, Fred Fredericks. Along
with visual evidence of Frederick’s mastery of composition and line, the character is illustrated by Tom Armstrong (see right). There are also several photos of Fredericks himself, along with Greim. This sort of thing was gold back then for us readers. Remember this was a time of no internet, only a few conventions, and otherwise, very little coverage of the creators of our medium. A repeating column by Bob Cosgrove, Comic Chatter is next, and focuses on pencilling. Again, this is something that the fanzines of that period were extremely appreciated for. “Behind the scenes” stuff like this was few and far between. Elaborating on the theme of the article are several illustrations including a Steranko swipe by Martin, and inked by Bill Black. The article is elevated further by pencil pieces not only by Jim Steranko (seen after the Kirby drawing), but two illustrations by Jack Kirby, including the incredibly action filled Demon piece seen below.
The magic themes continue with a feature on Mr. Mystic, illustrated again by Greim and also by Wayne Pond. Next up is a real treat for Steve Ditko fans. Greim mentions in the editorial that this strip (called H) was submitted to DC, but was not used. Probably just too personal and political, as much of Ditko’s work had become by then. But it looks sooooo good! The premise is interesting, a hero who changes costumes to suit “the job.” Below you can see a sampling of the 8 page story.
The letters column follows, and has illustrations by Bruce Patterson and Carlos Gimenez. Another very nice addition to this issue of the Crusader is a full page illustration by Elfquest‘s Wendy Pini. This was of course, a good five or six years before that independent series premiered. Look below for some gorgeous scene setting.
Well, that about wraps up this month’s installment of Ink Stains. Don’t forget to go to my site and upload the pdf…you have to see the whole Ditko strip, the entire Fujitake Ibis strip, and many more illustrations featured in the zine. Thanks again for the generous help from fellow fanzine fanatic, Herb Warren. Take a bow, buddy! Come back next month for a new blast from the past…and please share the column with anyone you think might like it!
Ken Meyer Jr.
kenmeyerjr@yahoo.com
Great article! I don’t think I ever owned a copy of CC #14, either back in the day or more recently. I followed Dennis Fujitake’s stuff early on, and watched him transform from being a Ditko clone to a great artist with his own, unique style. And while he did do a lot of pin-ups early on, he also did some strip work. In fact, he was the first artist to draw a comic book story for the “Buyer’s Guide for Comic Fandom.” The unnamed, full-page, EC-style horror strip, drawn in a Ditko-esque style, was published in TBG #7, Sept. 1971.
yeah he was a huge fave of mine back then…thanks for commenting!
Another great review. Thanks again for allowing me to walk down memory lane with you.
Thanks Artie and thanks for leaving a note!
Thanks for the interesting and entertaining post of this great fanzine…hoping you will be posting more regularly!
Hey Mike thanks for leaving a comment!
Thanks for the education and you gave me some more people to look up! That’s one racy Wonder Woman by Steranko. Must have been before the comics code authority was in effect lol
or, that is the reason it only appeared in a fanzine!