Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary Read online

  OTTO BINDER

  OTTO BINDER

  THE LIFE AND WORK OF A COMIC BOOK AND SCIENCE FICTION VISIONARY

  BILL SCHELLY

  FOREWORD BY RICHARD A. LUPOFF

  North Atlantic Books

  Berkeley, California

  Copyright © 2003, 2016 by Bill Schelly. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

  Published by

  North Atlantic Books

  Berkeley, California

  Cover art by Michael T. Gilbert and Bill Schelly

  Cover design by Jasmine Hromjak

  The first edition of this book was published as Words of Wonder: The Life and Times of Otto Binder (Seattle: Hamster Press, 2003).

  Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary is sponsored and published by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences (dba North Atlantic Books), an educational nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.

  North Atlantic Books’ publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

  Bizarro, Brainiac, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Junior, Jimmy Olsen, Legion of Super-Heroes, Lois Lane, The Marvel Family, Mary Marvel, Mystery in Space, Superboy, Supergirl, Superman, ™ and © DC Comics. Captain America, The Avengers ™ and © Marvel Characters, Inc. Mighty Samson ™ and © Random House, Inc. Weird Tales ® is a registered trademark owned by Viacom International Inc. “Standing Room Only,” “The Teacher from Mars,” ™ and © William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. Alter Ego #7 & Roy Thomas cartoon ™ and © Roy & Dann Thomas. Xero ™ and © Richard & Patricia Lupoff. Adam Link, “I, Robot,” Jon Jarl, “The Life Battery,” Lords of Creation, “Memoirs of a Nobody” ™ and © the Estate of Otto Binder. Amazing Stories, Argosy magazine, Commander Steel, Dan Hastings, “Dead End,” Dracula, Fatman, Master Comics, The Moon, Our Ever Changing World, The Outer Limits, Planets, Saga magazine, Whiz Comics, Will Eisner Hall of Fame ™ and © respective copyright holders.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Schelly, William, 1951– author.

  Title: Otto Binder : the life and work of a comic book and science fiction visionary / Bill Schelly ; foreword by Richard A. Lupoff.

  Description: Berkeley, California : North Atlantic Books, 2016. | “The first edition of this book was published as Words of Wonder: The Life and Times of Otto Binder (Seattle: Hamster Press, 2003).” | Includes bibliographical references.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015035354 | ISBN 9781623170370 (paperback) | ISBN 9781623170387 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Binder, Otto O. (Otto Oscar), 1911-1975. | Cartoonists—United States—Biography. | Authors, American—20th century—Biography. | Comic books, strips, etc.—Authorship. | Science fiction—Authorship. | BISAC: LITERARY CRITICISM / Comics & Graphic Novels. | BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary. | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture.

  Classification: LCC PN6727.B48 Z85 2016 | DDC 741.5/973—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015035354

  To Mary L. Binder

  Otto Binder in the Painted Desert, on a 1939 vacation. Courtesy of the Julius Schwartz Collection.

  CONTENTS

  AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

  AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  FOREWORD BY RICHARD A. LUPOFF

  1—APPLAUSE

  2—AN AMERICAN TALE BEGINS

  3—CONNECTIONS

  4—THE NEW YORK BEAT

  5—BANGING THE KEYS

  6—CITIZEN LINK

  7—SEDUCED INTO COMICS

  8—LIGHTNING STRIKES!

  9—PLAYING THE FIELD

  10—LIFE IN ENGLEWOOD

  11—GOOD-BYE FAWCETT, HELLO EC

  12—SITTING PRETTY

  13—THE MOST DIFFICULT MAN IN COMICS

  14—BINDER IN FANDOMLAND

  15—TOUGH SLEDDING

  16—MARY

  17—A NEW LIFE

  18—THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE

  19—LEGACY

  EPILOGUE

  APPENDIX

  ENDNOTES

  INDEX

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Otto Binder. Courtesy of Michael Turek.

  “The Mystery of the Flying Saucer,” written by Otto Binder, brings two of his favorite things together: super heroes and UFOs. Captain Marvel Adventures #116 (January 1951). ™ and © DC Comics.

  AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

  WHERE FACT MEETS FICTION

  The first thing anyone should know about Otto Binder is that he was a writer who was successful in four fields of the written word: science fiction, comic books, science fact, and ufology.

  To fans of science fiction (SF), he’s the man who invented the first sentient robot, Adam Link, in the story “I, Robot” and wrote many other stories that appeared in the SF pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s.

  To fans of comic books, he’s the writer of about half of all the stories featuring the original Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family in the 1940s. Then he wrote many of the most important Superman stories of the 1950s and 1960s, creating (or co-creating) Superman’s cousin Supergirl, the Legion of Super-Heroes, the villain Brainiac, the bottle city of Kandor, and more.

  To those interested in the space race of the 1960s, he’s the editor of Space World magazine, a writer for NASA, and author of popular science books for young readers such as The Moon: Our Neighboring World and Planets: Other Worlds of Our Solar System.

  To those drawn to the study of UFO phenomena, he’s an important ufologist who published What We Really Know About Flying Saucers (1967), wrote articles about Ted Owens (“the PK Man”) for Saga magazine in the early 1970s, and explored the possibility of ancient astronauts from other worlds in his co-authored book Mankind: Child of the Stars (1974).

  Otto Binder’s writing can be seen as a bridge between science fact and science fiction, appropriate creative territory for a visionary writer whose work exists on the frontier where the known meets the unknown. That he was also a prolific writer of stories and educational matter for young readers is fitting, because he never lost his inner child. Indeed, that childlike ability to dream unfettered contributed a great deal to his ability to write words of wonder that entertained and enlightened readers for over four decades.

  This second edition corrects errors in the original text; expands the endnotes; introduces additional material to give more attention to certain aspects of Binder’s creative life; presents new photographs; and, in the appendix, displays several pages from Binder’s personal records. While it may not qualify as an “expanded edition,” the improvements in this new edition give the reader a more complete portrait of Otto Binder’s life and work.

  BILL SCHELLY, 2016

  AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

  WHY OTTO BINDER?

  The simplest way for me to explain what Otto Binder’s writing means to me, personally, is to point out that he scripted most of the stories in the first comic book
I ever read, an eighty-page giant published in 1960 called the Giant Superman Annual #1. Since the nine stories in that extra-thick comic book introduced me to the comics medium, which has been a great source of joy and fascination for me ever since, it would be hard to overstate Binder’s importance in my life. Would another author’s stories have had an equally thunderous effect on me? Maybe. Maybe not.

  Like a space rocket, Binder’s significance to me came in more than one stage. Stage two arrived within weeks after I discovered comics fandom in 1964 and received a copy of one of the premier fan magazines, Alter Ego. Its seventh issue featured a lengthy article about the exciting and sometimes whimsical adventures of Captain Marvel and the other members of his “family,” Captain Marvel Junior and Mary Marvel. I venture to say that “One Man’s Family,” the article in A/E by Roy Thomas, inspired hundreds of comics fans to look for old Fawcett comic books featuring the Big Red Cheese, as he was affectionately dubbed. Roy’s piece perfectly captured the charm of those Golden Age comics. Soon I managed to get my hands on tattered copies of some of those vintage comic books, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Captain Marvel instantly became one of my favorite characters. Though the stories bore no credits, I knew who had written by far the majority of them, because he’d had a long letter in the back of that same issue of Alter Ego—Otto Binder.

  Giant Superman Annual #1 (June 1960) was the author’s first encounter with the writing of Otto Binder. (Binder wrote six of the nine stories in this 25¢ comic book.) ™ and © DC Comics.

  While books on the lives and work of the best comic book artists are not in short supply, few have been devoted to comic book writers (not writer-artists). A disparity is understandable, given the emphasis on visuals in comics … but why is it so lopsided?

  Recently, I resolved to do something to remedy that inequity by writing a book about Otto Binder that would delve into his life and career in depth. I was, however, immediately beset by an obstacle: I had never met the man. He had passed away in 1974. While I intended to focus in large part on his writings, his ideas, and the trajectory of his career, it would seem an incomplete book without conveying something of the man himself: his background, his motivations, his creative methods, his personality, his disappointments and his triumphs. What sort of person was he? My main avenue was to seek out those who had known him. In that pursuit I was blessed by the generous cooperation—nay, active participation—of numerous intimates of Otto Binder: his friends, colleagues, and collaborators. Aid of immeasurable importance was also provided by the family of Otto’s wife, especially Patricia Turek, and by Jack Binder’s daughter Bonnie Binder Mundy. Invaluable, too, was the assistance offered by a man who knew Otto Binder for forty years: legendary DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz.

  Another valuable resource was the numerous fans whom Binder welcomed into his houses, both in Englewood, New Jersey, and Chestertown, New York. These fans, the recipients of the writer’s generosity of time and energy, often had ongoing contact with him, some to the extent they should be numbered among his friends. He was unfailingly open to his fans. Luckily, some of the interviews Binder gave were tape-recorded (including one in 1973 that had heretofore been lost), as was his panel discussion at the first full-fledged comic book convention in New York in 1965. I’ve been able to listen to Otto Binder reminisce about the glory days of comics in the 1940s, discuss his views on the potential of the medium, and share his sometimes unorthodox opinions on everything from UFOs to communication with the dead—just like those lucky souls who were able to listen to him in person, so many years ago.

  Then, at the eleventh hour, came a wonderful discovery: Otto’s manuscript from 1948 for the autobiographical book Memoirs of a Nobody. Completed, unpublished, and apparently forgotten, this charmingly lighthearted look at his life was among Binder’s papers bequeathed to SF historian Sam Moskowitz, which were acquired by the Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M University upon Moskowitz’s passing. I owe a great debt of gratitude to former curator Hal Hall for providing a copy of this memoir, as well as about fifty letters from the correspondence between Otto and his brother Earl during and after their writing partnership. To my knowledge, the contents of these letters have never been published before. Thus, if this book succeeds in evoking the personality and essence of Otto Binder, it’s because I came as close to meeting him as possible.

  One thing I chose not to do was try to relate an all-inclusive history of Fawcett Comics, or their most famous characters, the Marvel Family. While Binder’s thirteen-year stint as chief writer for Fawcett is examined in some detail, I was mainly interested in what Otto and Jack Binder contributed to those memorable comic books. But the Binder brothers were only two of the dozens of writers and artists who contributed mightily to the success of Fawcett. For those who want a more complete history of that comic book publisher, I recommend P. C. Hamerlinck’s excellent Fawcett Companion (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2002) and Jim Steranko’s The Steranko History of Comics, Vol. 2 (Supergraphics, 1972). Between those two sources, you’ll get the whole picture.

  Otto Binder’s decade-long stint as a writer for science fiction and weird pulps was largely unknown to me when I began this book. I took great delight in learning about this work, which goes far beyond the Adam Link series. That portion of his career composes about 15 percent of this book. His writing about UFOs makes up another 5 percent. The rest is devoted to his thirty years writing comic books, where (in my estimation) he achieved his greatest heights. He was simply one of the most brilliant and prolific comics writers of all time.

  Think I’m exaggerating? Read on!

  BILL SCHELLY, 2003

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to thank the following people (some posthumously) for their invaluable help in researching and illustrating this book:

  First, I must thank Roy Thomas for more or less suggesting it, and providing nearly all the visual material on Adam Link: pulps, comics, paperback books. I’m also grateful that he read an early draft of the manuscript and provided many helpful suggestions.

  Others took the time to read the manuscript in various forms, for the purpose of checking my facts: Robert Madle, Jerry Bails, and Dick Lupoff. Their comments and corrections were invaluable, and Dick’s introduction provides both an entertaining and informative jumping-off point for the story of Otto’s life and work.

  I am also indebted to Paul Hamerlinck for allowing me to use art and photographs from the Fawcett Companion (TwoMorrows Publishing), and for permitting me to quote extensively from the excellent interview with Otto Binder therein. Special thanks to Jim Steranko for his fabulous history of Fawcett Comics and Otto Binder in the second volume of his History of Comics, which I highly recommend.

  Many of Otto’s friends and colleagues assisted, none more extensively than the late Julius Schwartz, who gave unstintingly of his time (and photo collection). Thanks also to Murphy Anderson, D. Bruce Berry, Al Feldstein, Max Flindt, and William Woolfolk (who passed away just as the manuscript was being completed).

  The following individuals provided immeasurable help: Jim Amash, David Armstrong, Robert Beerbohm, Jon Berk, Murray Bishoff, Louis Black, Al Bradford, Gary Brown, David Carsteins, Mark Chiarello, Bob Cosgrove, J. Randolph Cox, Dennis Cresswell, Mark Evanier, Tom Fagan, Jeff Gelb, Don Glut, Martin Greim, Michael E. Grost, Jack C. Harris, Morgan Holmes, Michael Kaluta, Robert Klein, David Anthony Kraft, and Matt Lage.

  More thanks to Richard Lieberson, Arthur Lortie, Russ Maheras, Don Maris, Alden McWilliams, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Brian Morris, John Morrow, Bonnie Mundy, Frank Mundy, Edwin and Terry Murray, Michelle Nolan, Patrick O’Connor, Bud Plant, Diana Schutz, David Scroggy, Robin Snyder, Bill Spicer, Dan Stevenson, Maggie Thompson, Alice Turek, Michael Turek, Patricia Turek, Michael Uslan, Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr., Edward Waterman, Alan Weiss, Ted White, George C. Willick, and Bill Wormstedt. My appreciation also goes to the National Library of Canada and National Archives of Canada for valuable historical information about Anglo-American Publis
hing.

  For assistance with this second edition, I extend my appreciation to Dana Andra; Jean Bails; Steve Bissette; Terry Bisson; Louis Black; John Cassiello; Michael Cassiello; Jon B. Cooke; Brian Cremins; Clark Dimond; Bertil Falk; James Kealy; Jan Kouba Tabert; Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD; Robert Morrison; Ted Owens; Philip Smith; Neale Smith; Bill Spicer; and Bernie Wrightson. I am especially pleased with the new cover by Michael T. Gilbert.

  Help from beyond the grave was provided by C. C. Beck, Joe Orlando, Gerry de la Ree, Don Thompson, and most of all to Jack, Otto, and Earl Binder, who contributed through interviews and surviving correspondence. Much of that correspondence, and the excerpts from Memoirs of a Nobody, came from the Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M University. Again I acknowledge the aid of Hal Hall, former curator of the special collections at Cushing, for coming through in heroic fashion, late in the game.

  Finally, I must extend my appreciation to my friend and editor of the first edition, Barbara Barker. Not only was she easily able to correct my errors in the finer points of grammar and spelling, but Barbara contributed much beyond that. Her suggestions improved the book immeasurably.

  FOREWORD: BINDER, RHYMES WITH TINDER

  BY RICHARD A. LUPOFF

  The first time I came across the byline “Eando Binder,” I was reading a copy of Captain Marvel Adventures. I was a comic book fanatic, my favorite character was Captain Marvel, and this monthly dose of Shazamania was a regular highlight of my elementary school days. I loved that comic book so much, I even read the little text stories that appeared in each issue. This was something that nobody, but nobody, in my comic book-devouring circle, ever did.