Mary Greim returns once again with his long running and incredibly professional zine,
Comic Crusader…with a Captain Marvel theme!
Comic Crusader 15: 1973
Editor and publisher: Martin Greim.
Ah, Martin Greim. Like G. B. Love, one of the true fans who took great pride in his fan output. Unlike Love, though, Marty could both write and draw! Admittedly, and this is old news, Marty did a fair amount of “swiping” or copying to make his work…but it was imbued with such reverence that no one minded. This fifteenth issue of his impressive and consistently professional fanzine, Comic Crusader, pays tribute to some long standing greats of the comic field, both created and creator. As you can see above, one such creation is Captain Marvel (no, not “Shazam,” as the recent film would have you believe), rendered by long time pro, Kurt Shaffenberger (who was also a long time Superman artist), starting this installment with a big, clean ZZZZZZZTTTT!
The initial and main “battle royale” that is covered by Greim and crew in this issue is between Captain Marvel and Dr. Sivana, his greatest rival. As Greim notes in his editorial, there was none better to cover this visually than fan fave Don Newton. Don does several illustrations on the subject, including the dramatic full page piece seen above, as well as left and below.
Considering how well Newton handled dramatic shadowing (lending his talents well in the pro field to such characters as The Phantom and Batman), it is funny how easily he adapts to the more simple and lighter ambiance of Captain Marvel. Then again, Don was so good, it is really no surprise! To see a great and very expansive site covering the late artist, go here. The article, written by John Clark, is pretty lengthy and features art by Newton, Greim, C. C. Beck (reprinted from the comics), and Clark. Below you can see a few of the illustrations by Don and (in center) Dave Gibbons.
Next up is an interview with creators Otto and Jack Binder by Bob Cosgrove entitled Journey to the Rock of Eternity. The art featured throughout this piece is varied and historic, including pieces by Mac Raboy (unpublished until this showing), Jack Binder (also unpublished, see below), and C. C. Beck, as well as fan artists Bill Black and Anthony Kowalik.
Following Marvel and crew is a somewhat related piece, an interview with huge fan fave, Dave Cockrum (stated to be the “new artist on Captain Marvel Jr.”). Dave is very fondly remembered by many for both his fan and pro work. I know he was one of my all time favorite fan artists for his work here, and in zines like The Collector, Fantastic Fanzine and many, many more. Dave, of course, went on to be a seminal creator and long time influence on Marvel’s X-Men titles. There is a nice article here on Dave’s pro career. There is also a nice long interview from the great folks at Comic Book Artist here for you to enjoy.
Following the Cockrum interview is an article by Greim on a very different captain in the Captain Marvel milieu, Captain Nazi, profusely illustrated by Greim himself. Greim then treats us to an interview with Superman veteran, Kurt Schaffenberger, even illustrated by the super clean artist himself! Check it out!
That is Kurt himself trying to keep the ultra powerful heroes from wreaking havoc on the zine page! I admit, back then, I was somewhat bored of the art of people like Schaffenberger…but maybe that was because the DC universe didn’t interest me as much as Marvel’s characters…what did I know??? It is very hard to do work that simply rendered…any defects are so much more easily seen!
Exiting the superhero world for a world much darker (but even more black and white thematically), we are plunged into part two of a short series by Steve Ditko, the H-Series. This is some of the cleanest, most dramatic, and most “in your face” work I have seen of his in the fanzines (and he did a lot there). You can see a few pages below and judge for yourself. It is an 8 page story, so be sure to get the pdf to see it all!
Back into the world of superheroes we go next, specifically the Submariner, and more specifically, the creations of Bill Everett, who authored the pointy eared wet blanket (if you ask the Human Torch) way back in 1939. The article comes with many illos by Marty and a few photos of Bill, a sampling of which can be seen below.
Lastly, there is the letters column and a back cover seen below by Syd Shores. Frankly, this is much more powerful than what I remember of Shores work. Greim says it possibly was supposed be a Hulk cover (with the Inhumans), but was replaced by a Steranko piece.
Be sure to download the pdf from my site at www.kenmeyerjr.com, because there are so many more nice illustrations (and of course, full articles and story) to be seen, including Wayne Pond, John Clark, Mac Raboy, several Greim/Newton pieces, and much more! Thanks this time go out to Herb Warren, who sent me copies of this issue to scan for the column.
Thanks for reading and please comment if you dropped by!
Ken Meyer Jr.
kenmeyerjr@yahoo.com
I recall some beautiful Captain Marvel paintings by Newton that appeared on fanzine covers; he clearly loved the character, who may have loomed large in his generation. I also remember some nice Captain Marvel Jr. art by Robert Kline in Comic Crusader. Do we know whatever happened to him?
Robert Kline is retired and living in California. He has a Facebook page (Bob Kline), but hasn’t been super active in recent months.
Oh, Bob Kline is still alive and well…I did an interview awhile back that appeared in Robin Dale’s current zine (https://www.facebook.com/robin.dale.73). He just retired from animation a year or two ago. Newton died many years ago, as you probably know.
Weird, did not register my reply! Don Newton died years ago, but Bob is alive and kicking, and retired recently from the animation biz…I interviewed him and it appeared in Robin Dale’s modern fanzine. You can find him on facebook.
Thanks for the info, guys.