Five Highlights from THE NOSTALGIA JOURNAL 31

Image from TCJ Archives.

THE NOSTALGIA JOURNAL #31 (December 1976)

COVER:  Well, a nude Big Bards cover drawn by Dave Cockrum in 1972 is definitely a headlight...I mean, highlight. (page 1)

From Donald Rex's Twitter feed!

TNJ MEMOS: Lambs lead to slaughter, Part Three: "Long-time Ohio fan Don Rex joins the TNJ editorial crew with this issue. Don was bound and gagged at NYC's Creation Con and brought down to Fantagraphics's executive headquarters in Maryland. Don woke up and immediately  started helping out with mailing, sorting, filing, proofing and other assorted chores that seem to multiply with each passing issue" Incredibly, this is our favorite former Comics Twitter person: Donald Rex, Jr. (page 2)

Image from facebook.

JACK KIRBY INTERVIEW, PART TWO: Kirby talks a few times about his war experience, and about working with Stan Lee (positive at this point). He gets pretty worked up when the interviewer asks him why he doesn't do everything himself, then later gives a logical reason why he didn't ink his own work. (pages 23-24)

The latest issue of METAL HURLANT available at the time. From GCD.

BUD PLANT WATCH: Bud Plant carried many French albums and other imports in the 70s serving both comics artists and discerning comics fans, to this day they carry a wide variety of imported and translated comics. Here are all the imported European albums they listed in their ad in this issue: Guido Crepax (CIAO, VALENTINA; HISTORY OF O), Victor De La Fuente (THE PEOPLE OF THE NIGHT, THE LAND OF THE AMPHIBIANS, THE NIGHT OF TIME, THE CAPTURE OF FIRE, AMARGO, MY NAME IS SUNDAY, LES JUGES MAUDITS), Phillipe Druillet (DELIRIUS, THE SIX ADVENTURES OF LONE SLOANE, YRAGAEL, URM LE FOU, MIRAGES, VUZZ), Moebius/Jean Giraud (BLUEBERRY: LA JUENESSE DE BLUEBERRY, CHIHUAHUA PEARL, LE HORS LA LOI, SPECTRE AUX BALLES DE'OR, GENERAL TETE JUANE, BALLADE POUR UN CERCUIL. Science Fiction: GIR and HARZACK), Hermann and Greg (BERNARD PRINCE: GUERILLA POUR UN FANTOME, LA LOI DE L'OURAGAN, THE OASIS IN FLAMES, FLAME OF THE CONQUISTADOR. Western: LE LOUPS DE WYOMING), Mezieres and Christin (VALERIAN: LES CITE DES EAUX MOUVANTES, THE EMPIRE OF A MILLION PLANETS, BIENVENUE SUR ALFOLOL, LES PAYS SANS ETOILE, LES OISEAUX DU MAITRE, L'AMBASSADEUR DES OMBRES), Hernandez Palacios (LEGENDS OF ALEXIS MAC COY, MY NAME IS MAC COY, PIEGES POUR MAC COY), [Michel Blanc-] Dumont (JONATHAN CARTLAND), Lob and Gigi (CEUX VENUS D'ALILLEURS), Tardi (THE DEMON OF THE GLACIERS, RUMEURS DUR LE ROUERGUE), Moliterni and Gigi (LES JOUETS MALEFIQUES), Hugo Pratt (LA BALLADE DE LA MER SALLEE), Jean Claude Forest (LA MORT SINEUESE, L'ETOILE ENDORMIL), Paape and Greg (LUC ORIENT: 24 HOURS FOR THE PLANET EARTH), Auclair (JASON MULLER), Bilal (FAITH OF THE FORGOTTEN), Carlos Gimenez and Mora (THE PLANET NEVERMORE). Publications: L'ECHO DES SAVANES, METAL HURLANT, PHENIX, TANTE LENY, TOUSSE BOURIN. (page 14)

Image from TCJ Archives.

ADVERTISEMENT: Future Fantagraphics staff member Peppy White has a quarter page ad calling for contributions to his FANTA-FOLIO. (page 25)

Five Highlights from THE NEW NOSTALGIA JOURNAL 30

THE NEW NOSTALGIA JOURNAL #30 (NOVEMBER 1976)

Gary Groth's THE EDITOR'S BALLOON: Continuing his discussion of writing about comics from the last issue Groth nails the description of bad fan writing that still holds true in the social media age, "Writing about comics is an activity seductive to buffs, fanatics, apologists, and publicists, all of whom do not address themselves to the successes and failures of the medium. Rather, they deal with their personal cravings, idiosyncratic obsessions, and childhood memories. The questions of content, value, story, and weight are left unanswered, so the estheticians, theorists, and other squares who would elevate the medium to an artform with all the heavy questions, obligations, and standards that go with their point of view dry up because their voices are not heard." ( page 2)

Subscription page detail from The TCJ Archive

FAN ART: I think this Green Arrow/Black Canary drawing is by Joe Zabel, who went on to draw AMERICAN SPLENDOR in the 80s. (page 3)

TNJ MEMOS: Lambs Lead to Slaughter Department, Part two: Abel Mills joins Alan Friedman as Editorial Assistant on TNJ and SOUNDS FINE. (page 4)

View this comic on comicbookplus.com

JACK KIRBY INTERVIEW, PART ONE: Not the greatest Kirby interview, however his opinion on EC Comics is definitely worth reading. Also a Kirby sketch from Gary Groth's collection graces the cover. (page 21-22)

Undated recent photo of Artie Romero

Comixjoint gives us an array of REALM 6 covers

TNJ LISTINGS: Very early fanzines by Larry Blake, Jim Pack, and Tim Corrigan are included, they became prominent small press publishers in the 80s. On the underground spectrum of fanzines: Artie Romero's REALM #6. (page 31)

Five Highlights from The New Nostalgia Journal 27

Image from TCJ Archive

THE NEW NOSTALGIA JOURNAL #27 (July 1976)

"[...]Gary Groth, whose first fanzine was so bad it could not be read[...] " Jim Wilson, page 23. Our out-of-context quote of the day.

This is an inauspicious  beginning to THE COMICS JOURNAL media empire. Thanks to the trio of Gary Groth, Michael Catron, and Jim Wilson however the future was definitely looking up. Digging into the many pages devoted to Alan Light, THE BUYERS GUIDE TO COMIC FANDOM, and Dynapubs is well worth the occasional cringe-worthy verbiage. Groth composes a detailed history of Light's evolution from "crudzine" publisher to fanzine mogul and his business practices to get there, the kind of in-depth reporting I'm sure had never been seen in the fanzines up to that point. The first TCJ-style interview is a real hoot, with Groth (in full Mike Wallace mode) grilling Murry Bishoff relentlessly, and Light having none of it. This is really the only content of historical interest in their first effort, but there's definitely other things of specialized interest to a few of us brave souls willing to read further:

Image from GCD

DOUG FRATZ: "TNJ Listings: Fanzines" is a time capsule of all the then current fanzines published in 1976. Fratz lists underground and alternative related zines like Clay Geerdes' COMIX WORLD newsletter, BOB VOJTKO'S COMIX CONVENTION adzine, Lee Marrs' PUDGE GIRL BLIMP (Star*Reach), and Eric Vincent's CERBERUS.

image from isfdb.org

"The Unlicensed Balloon Vendor: AMONG THE DEAD AND OTHER EVENTS LEADING TO THE APOCALYPSE by Edward Bryant." Review column by author Alan Brennert, who according to ISFDB had nine science fiction short stories published by the time he authored this column. Also listed on ISFDB are twenty-two other review columns written by Mr. Brennert between 1974-77 for  LOCUS and DELAP'S F&SF REVIEW. For what the author has been up to since his brief intersection with TCJ check out his website here.

Image from GCD

BUD PLANT (pages 15-17): This is an adzine so Comics & Comix and Bud Plant are naturally represented. Mr. Plant is still in business today, of course, but back then his was a unique one stop shop for undergrounds, fanzines, semi-pro zines, classic newspaper strip reprints, golden age comics reprints, comics history, classic animation, movie serials, foreign comics,  and art books. Just five things that stick out as tangentially future Fantagraphics publications: BERNARD PRINCE: GUERILLA POUR UN FANTOME by Hermann and Greg; PHANTASMAGORIA 1-4 by future TCJ mainstay Kenneth Smith; KRAZY KAT, PRINCE VALIANT, POPEYE, MICKEY MOUSE early reprint volumes; THE HISTORY OF O by Guido Crepax; and, AMERICAN SPLENDOR 1. Oh yes, fantasy-themed belt buckles in stock, in case you needed to be reminded it was the seventies (hey, I wore enough plaid and corduroy in that decade that I'm not judging anybody's fashion choices).

image from GCD

JACK KIRBY (page 18): a May 14, 1971 interview with Jack Kirby from The Tim Skelly Show on WNUR. The interview touches on his childhood, influences, Joe Simon, Fighting American, working relationship with Stan Lee, Steve Ditko creator of Spider-Man, why he left Marvel, In the Days of the Mob, comics as film (not pulps), character design, coloring, New Gods books, and DC's problems with his depiction of Superman.

JIM WILSON "The Creative Experience: Highest Castle, Deepest Grave" (page 23-26): I wish I could just post this whole essay, as it discussed many things that resonated through the future efforts of Fantagraphics Books and the sort of people they have gravitated toward. Here was the first paragraph which set out Mr. Wilson's theory more plainly than I could have summarized: (page 23) "Hello. You are very fortunate, you out there who are reading this. You are fortunate because you are a comics fan, which-from the viewpoint of creative achievement-automatically places you several steps above most in your peer group, whether that group be grade school friends, high school friends, college friends, common men, or whatever. You are fortunate because you decided that you weren't going to let your potential for creative work and self-expression atrophy; that you wanted an intellectual atmosphere where open-mindedness prevailed; where people could consider and discuss and believe in things which weren't necessarily consistent with the status quo of their daily lives. You came to comics fandom and found, to a large degree, what you were looking for. Anybody who could sit and enjoy the offbeat beauty of a comic book against almost universal disapproval would have to have an open mind. And then you discovered that fandom was much more than just comic books." Mr. Wilson went on to discuss the place in the general society of the people that read comics and made fanzines and what set them apart, no matter their level of talent or social standing. I'll leave it at that, if you identified with Mr. Wilson's observations (like I did) please seek out the full article on the TCJ Archive.

"[...]and whose present product is without equal in design and format." Jim Wilson (page 23). The rest of the story...