Steve Sabo Swag from eBay...

Nice piece of original art by prolific 60's fanzine artist Steve Sabo.  Not the Steve Sabo who was named Atlanta Falcons Director of College Scouting in 2013 
This one:

In 1965, DC Comics had no plans to revive Doctor Mid-Nite. DC editor Julius Schwartz gave M.I.T. student and comic book letterhack Rick Norwood permission to publish a Dr. Midnight story in his fanzine, Five. The story written by Norwood and illustrated by Steve Sabo features a doctor named Tom Benson who is blinded in battle. He discovers that his other senses are super-sensitive and dons the Doctor Midnight costume to fight crime.

Kurtzman Fanzine Stolen (!) at San Diego Comic-Con...

Hey Gang,
Bill Schelly, author, fandom founder and publisher of many fanzines and fanzine-related books such as: The Golden Age of Comic Fandom, The Comic Fandom Reader, Fandom's Finest Comics, Founders of Comic Fandom, Best of Star-Studded Comics plus the Art of Joe Kubert and the upcoming American Comic Book Chronicles series was a victim of theft!
In his own words:

"I was having a great time at Comic-Con International 2013 in San Diego, only to have this Kurtzman fanzine stolen from me on Thursday. Actually, it's not a fanzine per se, but a booklet put together by Harvey's first year class at the School of Visual Arts in New York City (1973). I'm going to contaqct as many dealers as possible, especially those in Southern California, so they recognize this stolen item, if anyone approaches them. Please spread the word and help me do anything possible to get this wonderful treasure back!! Thanks!!"

Lets help Bill by spreading the word of this theft around quickly to keep it from being sold to some unknowing collector or shop owner.  Be a real-life superhero and tell as many people as you can.  Let's catch this thief!

If you have any information, please post it here or get in contact with Bill directly at 

                                                     bill.schelly@facebook.com.

Here is a large scan of the stolen item for your detecting pleasure:

Alley Awards Statue...

This is really, really a cool post we have for you tonight!
This here is one'a them thar Alley Awards you've heard so much about
but rarely ever see except in black and white in an old fanzine.
I've had this pic of the actual statue for a while but waited for the right time to post it.
It came from an ebay auction that I lost because some rich person ponied up
more moolah than me. (sounds of me crying!)
Alter Ego #4 is also shown for your referencing pleasure.
Here is the actual copy that came from that listing for history's sake:

Alley Award Statue (ACBFC, 1967). In 1963, uber-fan Jerry Bails, having given birth to comic fandom with the publication of the first fanzine devoted entirely to comics (Alter-ego), proposed that the growing throngs of comic enthusiasts now form their own organization, and thus was born the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors. One of the annual duties of the Academy was to award the "Alley" awards -- named for Alley Oop, who had graced the cover of Alter-ego #4 -- for excellence in both pro and fan comics. These awards came to be very highly regarded in the industry during the '60s, and would often be cited by DC and Marvel in their advertising. To commemorate these awards, popular artist and fanzine publisher Ronn Foss carved a likeness of Oop out of redwood and then struck molds from the carving, producing plaster casts of the figure that were painted either gold (for professional) or silver (for amateur) and either mailed or given in person to the winners. Because these statuettes were made of poor-grade plaster, they were very prone to breakage, and very few survive today. Offered here is an Alley award given to Julius Schwartz in 1967, naming him best editor of the year. Given the crude materials used to manufacture it, this Alley, which stands approximately 8" tall, is in very good condition; a break at the ankles (the most common damage to most Alley awards) has been well-repaired, but there is a chip out of the front of Oop's right leg, and a few smaller chips around the base and at the back of the head. The paint is rubbed above his left eye, but is in excellent condition overall. Considering how few Alleys survive today, this is a rare opportunity to acquire one, and the fact that it was awarded to a lunimary such as Julie Schwartz makes the deal all but irresistible. Bid now, and bid high, as you never know when you'll have another opportunity to add this gem to your collection! From the personal collection of Julius Schwartz!

George R.R. Martin (GRRM) Fanzine Contributions Part 1...

According to Wikipedia, George R.R. Martin was selected by Time Magazine as one of the "2011 Time 100" which is their listing of the most influential people of the year.  With "Game of Thrones" on HBO returning and a host of other multimedia projects of his in the works, it seems a fair assessment.
As a high-schooler, though, Martin contributed in varying degrees to many popular comic and SF fanzines of the day.  These have been listed at his site: http://georgerrmartin.com/collectors.html.  There isn't much in the way of visuals save a pic of Star Studded 7 which is probably making those in fandom heaven roll their eyes in disbelief!  The one issue Martin put up is the one that had 2 of it's color plates reversed by accident in the printing process so the result was not what the Texas Trio had intended. (I like it myself, as is)  So, being the only fanzine SuperSite on the web, the good ol' Captain is going to fix this problem for fans of fanzines and of GRRM by posting as many of the listed fanzines as are at my disposal.  I will note the ones missing and if you have it or know where I can get it, give a holler!

First set is from Martin's list of his LOC's (letters of comment):

ROCKET'S BLAST #24, October 1963

ROCKET'S BLAST #25, December 1963

Missing: THE COMIC WORLD NEWS #7, January 1964

ROCKET'S BLAST #28, March 1964

THE COMIC WORLD NEWS #9, March 1964

THE COMIC WORLD NEWS #10, April 1964

KOMIX ILLUSTRATED #12, April 1964

Missing: THE COMIC WORLD NEWS #11, May 1964

FIGHTING HERO COMICS #10, June 1964

ROCKET'S BLAST - COMICOLLECTOR #31, June 1964

Comic Book and more...The work of Alan Jim Hanley

Wow.
That's the thought that came to my mind when I first saw Alan (or Jim) Hanley's artwork. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see. It seemed there was more than just pictures here to explore.
I was right. His political takes and statements on (then) current affairs soaked his stories. The light, cartoonish style he had seemed to make his point in a manner similar to Pogo.
He had a character named "Goodguy" that was a nostalgic salute to Fawcett comics' Captain Marvel.
I immediately wanted to find this guy and see what he was up to these days. Surely a man with such a wonderful take on the state of the world had gone on to do something great!
But he hadn't.
He was involved in an auto accident not far from his home in the winter of 1980. He was buried in a little town called Tomah, Wisconsin. He was 42.
I'm 42.
Makes me sad to look upon the total time I've had on the planet and think, "that's all you get".
I'm sure, given enough time he could have done much more with his life than give a bunch of comic fans a laugh, a thrill and maybe a second look at the world around us.
Or maybe that was enough.
God bless ya, Alan. Rest in Peace.


I have here some Alan Hanley covers and a puzzle I found with his character, All American Jack.
I have had some difficulty with the Comic Book covers. All accounts indicate there were only 6 issues. Even Alan stated so in the back of issue 6. Bill Schelly says so in his book, "The Golden Age of Comic Fandom" that there were only 6 issues.
Yet I count 7. The silver issue has number seven on the cover. Is 7 reprint material?
Anyone who can help me make order of this is welcome to comment.
Thanks.

Alter Ego Volume 1/ Issue 11/1978...

Mike Friedrich and Roy Thomas finished Alter Ego 11 seventeen years after the first issue was published. Issue 10 had been published in 1969.
Alter Ego sponsored the first fandom awards, the Alley Awards (after Alley Oop, the 'first' superhero by virtue of his place in time). Here's one owned by Julius Schwartz!
This is the last of these, but there exists another cover for issue 10 by Sam Grainger. I will try to locate a scan to post. To hold you over, here is the original artwork for issue 10 by Marie Severin and Gil Kane!

Capa-Alpha Part 2/Issues 5-10