From Comics to Community

A collection of interviews by comic book historian Bill Schelly with notable personalities from the early years of comic book fandom.

The genesis of comic fandom took shape with a brainy crew of amateur authors, editors, and artists who in the early 1960s gave fans of all comic books, from science fiction to super-heroes, a like-minded community in which to exchange their ideas, sharpen their minds, and share their passions.

Comic book historian Bill Schelly chats at length with:

• RICHARD AND PAT LUPOFF, the editors of the pioneering (and Hugo Award-winning) fanzine Xero, whose contributors ranged from Harlan Ellison and Donald E. Westlake to a very young Roger Ebert

• JERRY BAILS, the “Father of Comic Book Fandom,” whose early 1960s fanzine Alter Ego is still published today, and who launched the first amateur press association dedicated to comic books, CAPA-alpha

• RONN FOSS, a fan artist and one-time editor of both The Comicollector and Alter Ego, and the creator of such characters as the Eclipse

• RICHARD “GRASS” GREEN, the creator of Xal-Kor the Human Cat, and the most prominent black member of comic-book fandom during its early years

• JOHN BENSON, a prominent interviewer (his subjects included Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, and Gil Kane), author, and editor (most notably of EC fanzine Squa Tront)

With photos, illustrations, and index.

A rousing paean to the primeval world of comic fandom!