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It’s gonna be Light all day! Alan Light and All Dynamic 5/6, 7, plus the Special!

All Dynamic 5/6, 7, and All Dynamic Special: 1970
Editor and publisher: Alan Light

As I stated in an earlier column or two of Ink Stains, the publisher and editor of All Dynamic (and The Buyer’s Guide), Alan Light, is primarily responsible for my love of and induction into the world of fandom. To the left you can see the young publishing tycoon…most likely in his teenage bedroom. Check out the old presstype under the art in the foreground!

This installment you will be reading about three issues of Light’s wonderful zine, issue 7 being the final issue. The Special looks to be at least a partial reprinting of content from earlier issues. We will start with the first of the three, issue 5/6 (I have always found it interesting that several fanzine editors published double issues like this, Gary Groth’s Fantastic Fanzine being another).

Issue 5/6 starts out with a cover of The Spectre (seen above), by the publisher of Paragon and several other titles, Bill Black. You will see more of him in issue 7 as well. Inside the first thing we see is a nicely controlled coquille board (I assume) pencil drawing of a cowboy by pro Dan Adkins. Coquille board is a drawing paper board with a bumpy surface, presenting a textured/dotted surface tone when media is applied. It’s funny…I just now noticed when looking inside that the fanzine is actually labeled just “Dynamic Magazine” in the indicia. Alan’s editorial, adorned with a goofy Superman bust by John G. Fantucchio, follows.

Next up is a short column called Graphic Traffic by Mark Evanier, concentrating on Captain America. Mark has been a fixture in comics and television for too many years to count. Check out his IMDb page here for more info. A full page Cap illustration by fan fave Fantucchio follows the column. After that are a few pin ups by Jim Pinkoski and Bill Black. Jim Medelsohn follows with Dick Tracy: Crimestopper. The inevitable letters column is up next, filled with familiar names from fandom (a lot of alliteration for an aspiring artist!). A serious examination of fanzine art, comic art, and art in general is after that, by letter writer Mark Rogers. Then we read Gordon Matthews’ words examining what actually makes a comic hero in Anatomy of a Hero (preceded by an early illustration of Rich Buckler, inking over Arvell Jones, seen above). The late and certainly great Don Newton does a centerspread, seen below.

A feature on fan artist and writer, Jim Pinkoski, features next, including an interview. Jim contributed to many zines back around that time, slowly developing a very stylistic look (culminating, in my opinion, with his No Man work in The Collector). Jim has published many books since then, many covering subjects of a biblical nature. You can see his site here. In the interview, we learn that Jim was in college around the time of this particular fanzine. To the left you can see one of several spot illustrations Pinkoski contributed to this issue of All Dynamic.

There is an actual continuity strip this issue as well, the always entertaining “champion o’ clean living,” Jim Hanley’s Goodguy. Nine pages of whimsical old school comic work will fill your eyes if you download the pdf! The back cover is also by Hanley and features his Marvel Family-esque characters. Check it out below.

The final issue of the regular run of the zine is next, that being issue 7. It starts out with more wonderful realistically rendered work by Don Newton (see it at the top of the column). Like issue 5/6, the inside cover is a black and white silhouette by Dan Adkins. Cover artist Newton gives us a con report next, specifically, Multicon ’70 (as in 1970), which took place in Oklahoma City. It is nice to hear that Newton brought six paintings with him and sold them all within an hour of arriving at the hotel! At left you see a photo of the quick sell artist.

Following the con report is another spotlight column, this time featuring Bill Black. It is interesting to note that Black went from “pro-dom” (doing work for early Warren publications, for example) to fandom…being somewhat unaware of the latter until he saw an ad for long time zine, RBCC, in a Marvel comic. Below is a centerspread by Black, featuring his own character creations.

After the Black article is another installment of Duffy Vohland’s Duffy’s Tavern, which appeared in many fanzines in the 70s. In this installment he discusses the 1979 Comic Art Convention, a tour of the DC offices, and more. The letter column follows next, with the usual suspects. But, there is a long and thoughtful letter by pro Dan Adkins, discussing world affairs, defending the art of Martin Greim, and taking to task Jim Pinkoski’s assertion in the previous issue that “many fans can draw better than an established pro.” I would have to agree with Adkins here, as much as I love fan art. A short feature on Don Newton follows, finishing up with a John Adkins Richardson back cover. I should add that there are several stylistic spot illustrations adorning this issue by one of my favorites, Dennis Fujitake. Though Dennis went on to do a fair amount of really nice professional work in titles like Dalgoda, I have to admit it is his fanzine art I still enjoy the most. His latter zine work, with a somewhat Jeff Jones-ish flair, stood out amidst all the superhero work. 

The All Dynamic Special is somewhat of an anomaly, Alan himself saying via email that the special, in his mind, is not all that special. He thinks he did it just to have some sort of current product to sell way back then. In all honesty, I am not sure if any of the contents are new and done just for the Special (I do recognize a few articles from the previously mentioned third and fourth issues I profiled). However, it does start off with a stylish Loki cover by the amazing Jim Steranko, seen at top, and you cannot go wrong with Steranko! Considering I just mentioned my love of Fujitake above, the backcover is by the artist, so that is also worth checking out. There are several illustrations I have not seen by artists such as Stephen Fabian and James Shull as well. At left is one of two illustrations by Fabian. Stephen Fabian achieved his dreamy stylistic look using the coquille board technique I mention near the beginning of the column. His work is always interesting and incredibly well done. You really need to check out Fabian’s site here. Aside from all the amazing imagery, he talks extensively about almost every piece of work…and there is a lot there!

Possibly the strangest thing in this zine is the Neal Adams story for HVAC company, Rheem, The Case of the Wasted Water. You are not going to be able to find stuff like this very often…I really have no idea where it was originally published. Check out a few pages below.

Do not forget to check out the pdfs, which will be linked on my site here. If you do, you will see much more work from those mentioned above, as well as John Buscema, James Shull, and more. And hey, don’t you want to see how the Rheem thriller turns out? Who will be air conditioned? What will be heated? The world wants to know!

And there you have it. In the editorial of the last issue of All Dynamic, Alan mentions a “new venture” he might be pursuing…could it have been The Buyer’s Guide? Considering it was started a year after the last issue of AD, I think it must have been! Thanks go out to the generous Herb Warren, for loaning me these fanzines and more. Most of all, thank you, Alan Light, for participating in the wonder of fandom, and introducing me to this amazing world so long ago.

Ken Meyer Jr.
kenmeyerjr@yahoo.com