Artist/writer Rick Veitch discusses his varied career, from undergrounds at age 20, graduating "first class" at the Kubert School, his wild ride in the '80s with 1941 to Epic Illustrated to Heavy Metal , stint as Swamp Thing man, to his own creator-owned King Hell Heroica universe, including The One , Brat Pack , and Maximortal! Plus we finally uncover the saga of Studio Zero, the short-lived '70s California collective bringing together Jim Starlin, Frank Brunner, Alan Weiss, Steve Englehart, and others who all almost scored a regular comics feature in Rolling Stone magazine! And we shine a spotlight on hugely talented but little-recognized artist Errol McCarthy about his underground comix, CARtoons , and He-Man, Master of the Universe work! Plus a very rare interview with the late Michael Dowers of Seattle's Starhead Comix, a vital presence in the history of alternative comics, conducted by Pat Moriarity.

(W) VARIOUS (A) VARIOUS Alter Ego #193 features "Drawn to Greatness," the lavishly illustrated story of the Golden and Silver Age Superman artists who followed in Joe Shuster's boot-steps! It's an abridgement of the super-rare book by Eddy Zeno-showcasing the likes of Wayne Boring, Paul Cassidy, Fred Ray, Jack Burnley, John Sikela, Leo Nowak, Win Mortimer, and others, with appreciations by Ordway, Kupperberg, Isabella, Jurgens, Waid, Macchio, Neary, Nowlan, Eury, Thomas, and others! Plus Fawcett Collectors of America, Michael T. Gilbert in Mr. Monster's Comic Crypt, and more!

Tune into Saturday morning super-heroes Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! Plus: The Mod Squad , Hanna-Barbera cartoonists, Jesus Christ Superstar , Mr. Potato Head, 'Old Yeller" actress Beverly Washburn, Flying Nun collectibles, and more! Featuring columns by Andy Mangels, Will Murray, Scott Saavedra, Scott Shaw, and Mark Voger. Edited by Michael Eury.

Supporting Players! We give top billing to some of the lesser lights of Jack's oeuvre, including almost-major villains like Darkseid's crony Kanto the Assassin and Diablo, along with wannabe "Loser" Rodney Rumpkin, Mr. Little, the Falcon, Randu Singh, and others who finally take center stage! Plus: an unpublished 1970 interview with Jack by Shel Dorf, our regular columnists, Mark Evanier and our other regular columnists, a never-reprinted Simon & Kirby story, a pencil art gallery devoted to second-stringers and little guys bringing up the rear, and more ways of digging out the deeper meanings to be found in even Jack's minor concepts! With an unused Mister Miracle cover inked by Mike Royer.

I, the Cryptologist, am back with editor Peter Normanton and my horrible little troop of ne'er do wells, to inflict the dread of Mars Attacks upon you-the banned cards, model kits, and despicable comics, along with a few words from the film's deranged storyboard artist Pete von Sholly! The chilling poster art of Reynold Brown gets brought up from my vault by Steve Kronenberg, along with a host of terrifying puppets from film, and more pre-Code comic books Dr. Wertham would prefer you forget! Plus, Tim Leese spends more Hammer Time on that studio's films, we run from another Killer "B" movie (1959's The Manster ), and Justin Marriot flips through obscure '70s fear-filled paperbacks.

It was a time when America's entry into World War II was presaged by the arrival of such patriotic do-gooders as Will Eisner's Uncle Sam, Harry Shorten and Irv Novick's The Shield, and Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Captain America. It was when teenage culture found expression in a fumbling red-haired high school student named Archie Andrews. But most of all, the first five years of the 1940s was the age of the "packagers" when studios headed by men like Harry A. Chesler, Will Eisner, and Jerry Iger churned out material for a plethora of new comic book companies that published the entire gamut of genres, from funny animal stories to crime tales to jungle sagas to science-fiction adventures.

Comic Book Artist Bullpen collects all seven issues of the little-seen labor of love fanzine published in the early 2000s by Jon B. Cooke (editor of Comic Book Creator magazine). Featured are in-depth interviews with some of comics' major league players, including George Tuska, Fred Hembeck, Terry Beatty, and Frank Bolle-and an amazing all-star tribute to Silver Age great Jack Abel by the Marvel Comics Bullpen and others. That previously unpublished all-comics Abel appreciation includes strips by Joe Kubert, Walter Simonson, Kyle Baker, Marie Severin, Gray Morrow, Alan Weiss, Sergio Aragonés, Mort Todd, Dick Ayers, and many more! Plus a new bonus feature on Jack Kirby's unknown 1960s baseball card art, and a 16-page full-color section, all behind a Jack Kirby cover!