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I’ll Be Damned 1: May, 1970
Editor and publisher: Mark Feldman

As you have seen from the previous couple of installments covering this fun zine, editor Mark Feldman made good use of his chutzpah and his connections, filling the pages of his zines with some of the best writers and artists available at that time. In the previous column I mentioned the book, Tales From the DMV, by Joseph Ball, which chronicles the fan scene of the Virginia, DC, and Maryland area (including people like Mark, Berni Wrightson, and more). I will just direct you there for lots of info on how Feldman plotted his adventures in fanzines, comic conventions and comic store ownership. Suffice to say, when Mark set out to do something, he followed through! This first issue, in my opinion, remains his best, for not only the quality, but quantity of good material. I was lucky enough to have someone provide the color version of the black and white Frazetta cover for you to see above.

There are several good interviews in this issue, but we start out with a strip by Jim Miller (new to me), who has another strip later in the zine as well. This first one is titled Doctor Demono. The script is a little confusing and the balloon and caption placement could have been a little better thought out, but the Steranko-esque art is stylish and suits the noir atmosphere well, as you can see below.

Up next is the first of the interviews, this one featuring future Studio member, Mike Kaluta. You will notice a distinct format through most of the interviews, which gives them an undesirable quality of sameness…so, it is up the interviewees to pick up the slack. Mike imparts a sort of enjoyable smart aleck quality to his answers. I tell you, though, editor Feldman could have really benefitted from a spell checker! I guess we can give him a pass, since I think he was still a junior in high school around the time this zine was assembled.

After a Roy Krenkel spot illo (seems like you could not get away with publishing a zine in the 70s without that!), there is a quite lengthy Cheech Wizard strip by Vaughn Bode (The Race to the Moon) and an interview immediately follows. Nice to see so much Cheech!

Mike Cody and Steve Hickman follow with a strip called Vampires of the Mind, with a surprise EC-ish ending. See below.

Meade Frierson III provides The EC Answer to Comic Book Originality and then we are treated to the beautifully organic line work of Kenneth Smith in the form of a four page portfolio, a couple of which you can see below.

John Severin is the subject of the next interview (sadly, there is no art accompanying the piece, other than one title illustration of his Crazy character). One thing I found funny in the expansive interview is the comment by Severin, possibly sarcastically, that Mad Magazine was “just a passing fancy.” This interview is fun, primarily because of Severin himself, and chock full of great info.

There are several very nice pin ups throughout the zine, and you can check out a few below.

Tom Sutton gives a one page interview (free of the intrusive formatting, though), and then, after a Frazetta sketch, there is a similarly brief interview with Berni Wrightson. But, we get to see this great illustration below!

A Steranko Fury sketch follows, then another Jim Miller strip (makes sense following the Steranko sketch with the Steranko like art of Miller). The last interview is with Jeff Jones, who provides the most serious answers on the various subjects…I just wish it was longer!

Montgomery Mulford details A Script Writer Meets the Comic Magazine Editors, and then a few more pin ups follow, to end the zine. Check out a few below.

Be sure to check out the pdf for much more in the visual department, and the entirety of the interviews! Despite the somewhat distracting number of spelling errors, the enthusiasm that makes a fanzine the treasure that it is permeates the pages. Well done, Mark! Thanks this installment go out once again to Manny Maris, for providing the zine and the color cover image!

Ken Meyer Jr.
kenmeyerjr@yahoo.com