Customer Reviews

Alter Ego Collection, Vol. 1 (v. 1)

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At the risk of sounding like a giddy comic book nerd, Roy Thomas is one of my all-time heroes in comics, and certainly my favorite writer. His long run on the Avengers from 1966 through the early 1970's was arguably the greatest period for the series and saw the introduction of characters such as The Vision, Yellow Jacket, Ultron, the new Black Knight, and the Squadron Supreme. It also featured one of the most important storylines in Marvel history, The Kree-Skrull War.

There was no one more responsible for keeping alive the legacy of the Golden Age of comics in the 70's and 80's than Roy Thomas through titles like The Invaders, The All-Star Squadron, and Infinity Inc. Thomas continues to keep the Golden, and Silver Ages alive and well through his long-running zine, Alter Ego, now in its third incarnation and published by TwoMorrows publishing. Alter Ego originally started in the early 60's by comics historian Dr. Jerry Bails and Thomas, then a college student. This collection from TwoMorrows features the first two issues of the new Alter Ego Magazine that Thomas resurrected in 1999 along with 30 pages of brand new material.

A full transcript of the 1995 roast of Stan Lee at the Chicago Comicon is a feature of the first issue. Guest speakers included Sal Buscema, John Romita Sr., Chris Claremont, Roy Thomas, Jim Shooter, and Julius Schwartz, and was hosted by Peter David. There's some hilarious stories told by the guests about their experiences in working with Stan. Buscema relates the tale of his first meeting as Stan proceeded to leap about his office explaining how comics were done the "Marvel" way. The only downer was Jim Shooter who used the opportunity to play the martyr by talking about how he and Stan were both stabbed in the back by friends, and misjudged, misquoted and slandered by people who were ignorant of the facts. Even reading the transcript you can feel the tension in the room.

Other features in the first issue include Roy's secret history of Infinity, Inc. those children, and children in spirit to the original Golden Age Heroes and an interview with Irwin Hansen, artist on the Golden Age Green Lantern (after creator Martin Nodell) who would later do the long running "Dondi" newspaper comic strip.

There is also a very rare glimpse at an unusual team-up, The Golden Age Captain Marvel and the Human Torch. This rarity happened in a Brazilian comic book in 1964, where these titles continued to run even many years after the American comics has been canceled.

In the second issue, Roy, along with rare letters from Gardner Fox, Jerry Bails, and Julie Schwartz, uncovers the tangled history and origin of the Silver Age Atom. This is a fascinating piece and we get a look back in time some 45 years through the reprinting of these letters and the remarkable communication that took place between creators, editors, and fans.

The highlight of the second issue is the interview with Stan Lee's younger brother, Larry Lieber. Despite having been in the comic business since the 1950's, we've never heard much about Stan's little brother. Lieber discusses working at Atlas in the late 1950's and early 1960's and working with Jack Kirby and Don Heck. Lieber wrote many early Thor stories and coined the term "Uru" hammer. There's a funny story about how Roy Thomas searched through a book of Norse mythology to try and find out what Uru meant, only to learn that Larry just made it up. Lieber also shares his thoughts on working for the New Atlas Comics in the 1970's which sunk faster than the Titanic. (but you know I still have a copy of Grim Ghost #1!).

Alter Ego is an absolute dream for fans of Golden and Silver Age comics. It's one of the few magazines that I actually read cover-to-cover because it is so well-written by people who know what their talking about. Pure fun the way comics are supposed to be!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Alter Ego was the premier 'fanzine' of comics. Started by Jerry Bails, Alter Ego was taken over by Roy Thomas, who published more history packed issues, then output slowed to a stop as Roy became one of the chief writers at Marvel Comics.

After nearly 20 years since the last issue, Alter Ego is back, with Roy Thomas at the helm, and is once again the premier magazine of comics history. Alter Ego covers the Golden Age to the Silver Age and every age in-between. This is a collection of the first few, out of print issues, with new material for those hesitant to shell out for something they might own already.

A great addition to your bookshelf, full of great reading and reference. Hey! It's from TwoMorrows, what more need I say?!