Alter Ego #108 April 2012 (magazine review).
The 108th edition of ‘Alter Ego’ is significant for being its first issue to be in full colour.
Editor Roy Thomas explains that he won’t normally hand over pages to comic book collectors but makes the exception for Warren Reece. He’s a fan interested in the earliest Marvel Comics, the name that Timely took for their company name, and had Namor and the Human Torch there. He also had the opportunity to talk to their creators, Bill Everett and Carl Burgos, both admitting that they created them for no other reason than to put food on the table.
I think the most startling thing was the reveal and showing that the Human Torch wasn’t given a red uniform to wear in his first issue but in blue. I think that has been the biggest revolution in my thinking about seeing the original comic books rather than reprints. We’ve seen recolouring, often digitally, with reprints, but to discover this happened back then and showing comparisons between the original and reprint will make you think.
I wish Reece had said when the Torch’s outfit was turned red, not to mention why the experiment of being able to see his face in the flames as demonstrated was never used. Saying that, Reece gives a lot of insight into various Marvel bullpenners, especially as he worked with some of them in the 1970s.
The third part of Jim Amash’s interview with comic book artist Tony Tallarico goes into a lot more depth over his time at Charlton Comics. If anything, it demonstrates how people not caring from the top down reflects on everyone else developing the same attitude. Considering how poor the money was, it was enough to churn it out. I do agree with one important aspect: there are no cheap comic book companies for people to develop their techniques and skills anymore. Granted, that doesn’t explain how they sold in the old days.
Dewey Cassell interviewed Fern Peppe about her late husband, Mike Peppe, who, for much of his life, was a respected inker, learning on the job. Seeing his work here and the odd pencil sketch from the 1950s-70s, I can see why he was in demand, as he brought out the linework of various artists as diverse as George Tuska, Alex Toth and Steve Ditko.
Michael T. Gilbert has a look at the career of Angelo Ciciliano, better known to us as Charles Atlas (1893-1972), and the inspiration and lessons for a lot of bodybuilders. He also sorts out a lot of the legends against truths, although I didn’t know Atlas was the model for several statues around New York.
In the Fawcett section, we see a reply from Marc Swayze to CC Beck about commercial art training, and I loved his bit about disarming students before lessons, but he thinks they need to be taught how to write and speak well to communicate better with their employers.
Finally, PC Hamerlinck presents the fifth segment of his interview with editor/writer Roy Ald, which focusses on his experiences after leaving Fawcett. He created a series of magazines, including ‘Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine’, which is still going strong. Moving on as he came up with a new idea gives some insight into the process.
The change to colour with ‘Alter Ego’ added some more dimension to the magazine, and it’s always fascinating seeing magazines develop.
GF Willmetts
April 2025
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: varies. ISSN: 1932-6890. Direct from them, you can get it for $ 8.95 (US))
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_55&products_id=1002
