Q&A with Joe Sinnott

Happy 50th anniversary, Fantastic Four!  To think, 50 years ago, a total of one issue of the Fantastic Four was available to buy, and it cost a total of 10 cents.  If I was around in 1961 and had some foresight, I would have bought a hundred copies, sat back and waited for my millions to roll in.  Of course, I'd be fifty years older now, so maybe there's a tradeoff.  In any case, it's quite a milestone.

I met Joe Sinnott, one of the FF architects as a long-time inker, at the 2010 Pittsburgh Comic Con, and was lucky enough to have a chance to talk with him and his son.  He even drew the above Yeti sketch, which will grace the cover of Teddy and the Yeti before too long.  A little while after, I sent him some questions for a quick interview, and I'm posting that today.  These questions are from a few months ago, before the 50th anniversary date came around.  In his answers,  Joe mentions that he hadn't been contacted by Marvel to produce any art for the anniversary.  Since that time, Joe inked classic Archie artist Stan Goldberg on a variant cover to FF #1:

Unfortunately, that's the only project he's worked on in relation to the FF's 50th.  To be fair, Stan Lee hasn't been involved in the process at all either, but in my opinion, that just doubles the shame on what should be a grander event.  Marvel should give these guys their due and celebrate the birth of the Silver Age in style.

Check out the Q&A below (questions are in bold).  Many thanks to Mr. Sinnott for his time and his contributions to the comic book industry.

JM: There are many celebrated runs by creative teams when it comes to comics, but your work with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby on the Fantastic Four stands out as one of the all time greats.  What do you think it was that worked so well for the three of you on that title?  What is it about the FF that worked so well with what you, Stan and Jack brought to the table?

JS: First of all, I was fortunate to come on the FF when Stan and Jack created most of their famous characters, and the stories were at their strongest point. I worked extremly well with Jack, according to most critics and fans, and this certainly helped. Inking issue #5 - The very first appearence of Dr. Doom, and then returning for a very long run with Jack starting with issue #44 - The beginning of the Inhumans, and then Galactus and the Silver Surfer was a great thrill. What a way to start my run on the Fantastic Four!

JM: This year is the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four at Marvel, and I expect to see a number of titles spring up in celebration.  To the point that you are allowed to say, will you be working on anything for this anniversary?  Can you divulge any details?

JS: Marvel has yet to contact me concerning any projects involving the FF, but I certainly hope I am included in some capacity. I was fortunate enough to ink many of the FF's 40th Anniversary Worlds Greatest Comics. That was 12 issues.  I probably wouldn't want to ink that much at this stage, but I would really like to contribute something as I feel I have been a big part in the success of the FF lasting for 50 years.

JM: The role of inkers in comics has changed over the years.  These days, pencilers sometimes ink their own work, and there are comics that cut out the inker altogether in lieu of coloring directly over top of pencils.  What do you think the industry has in store for inkers in the years to come?  Do you see inkers being phased out, or do you think there will always be a place for traditional inking in the world of comics?

JS: I think that there will always be a place in the future for the inker that is also a gifted penciler - unfortunately, not all inkers are good artists, some can just ink, and are very good at what they do. Although adding color to just the pencils may work to a certain degree, I feel that there will always be work for the inker.

JM: Artistically speaking, you've been involved in more than just comics in your career.  One achievement that stood out to me in particular was your work on some Bing Crosby album covers.  How did this come about?

JS: Yes, I've done many Bing Crosby record album covers and Bing magazine covers throughout the years.  After the first Bing art that I did, it just seemed that anyone that produced anything on Bing wanted me to do all the artwork for them.  It was a real pleasure, since I am a big Crosby fan as well, this is something that I really enjoyed doing.

JM: Lastly, you've let it be known that you enjoy, from an historical perspective, the US Civil War.  Who are some of your favorite figures from this period of history?  I won't hold it against you if you don't mention Union General George B. McClellan, a relative of mine from your neck of the woods in New York.  But I also won't think it's pandering if you do mention him.

JS: General George McClellan sure looked the part of a Hollywood General, handsome with a great military bearing, but as you know, Lincoln thought him to be too tentative and replaced him with Grant.  Of course, Custer was my favorite and one of the real heroes of the Civil War. "Stonewall" Jackson was without doubt the best that the south had, although Jeb Stuart had outstanding success until Custer's cavalry routed him at Gettysburg. 

Of course Grant was outstanding, but he did have his mistakes and setbacks, such as the Battle of Cold Harbor when Lee routed him with Grant's command suffering great losses. I never could see why Lee was considered the genius he was made out to be. His decision to send Pickett up that murderous hill at Gettysburg, despite Pickett and the other Southern Generals admonishing him not to, was the big blunder of the war in my opinion.

It's not often that you get to talk the Civil War with a legend the comic book industry.  Thanks, Joe!

People are People!

A few weeks ago at Greensburg's Pop Culture Connection, I stumbled upon a copy of Justice League of America #8, published in 1961, and bought it for a great price.  As is sometimes the case with comics that are 50 years old, I found the story to be a little goofy (the uncomfortable "Wonder Woman can be rendered powerless if you bind her tight" issue was brought up), but some of the ancillary material was pretty interesting.

Take the above advertisement - apparently purchased by the United Nations, of all places.  In its bold title it proclaims that "People are People!"  Despite sounding a bit redundant and a perhaps a precursor to Charlton Heston's famous line from the movie Soylent Green ("Soylent Green is PEEEEOPLEEE!"), I was impressed with this ad once I began to think about the context in which it was printed.

The 1960s were right in the middle of the Civil Rights movement, a real turning point for this country in reaction to the kind of prejudices that still existed despite the fact that the Civil War had been over for a century at this point.  To print an advertisement like this in a book marketed to millions of kids at a time in which racial tensions were at a boiling point showed savvy and guts on the parts of the UN as well as DC Comics.  While the six-panel comic and its message might seem a little obvious (in a "how can this not be an accepted way of thinking" kind of way) 50 years later, I can only imagine what it took to produce and print something as potentially incendiary at the heart of the struggle for equal rights.

The issue also gives us this gem, brought to you by the makers of Science:

First off, this advertisement makes the abstract concept of science seem rather antagonistic: "What's that, kids?  You think cold water pipes freeze faster than hot water pipes?  Well GUESS WHAT?!  SCIENCE says you're wrong!  Eat it, children."

For more reasons than that, though, this is a strange ad...or whatever it purports to be...because it's difficult for me to believe that there was ever great debate surrounding any of these subjects.  I can't see that one person ever said to another: "The vibrations of a fly's wings alone make its familiar buzzing sound!"  While another replied: "Hogwash!  The buzzing is created by its wings IN ADDITION to the exceedingly rapid vibrations of its thorax!", at which time the two must have decided to settle the dispute by blowing holes in each other.

Beyond this rather flippant observation, I'm not convinced that all of the science reported here is entirely correct - if nothing else, the wording is a little strange.  Science (the bastard) says you're wrong if you believe that the amount of oxygen in the blood controls how often you breathe.  Instead, it's the amount of carbon dioxide!  But...aren't the two amounts inversely connected?  In that a larger percentage of carbon dioxide implies a smaller percentage of oxygen, and vice versa, meaning that the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide control the number of breaths you take, and not simply one or the other?  Maybe I'm thinking of things improperly, which has been known to happen (if that's the case, perhaps a more science-minded reader can correct me), but it sounds to me like Science is splitting hairs.

Inside Jokes, part 2

My last post mentioned a little "inside joke" I snuck into the "Presidents and Precedence" tale that leads off our third issue.  That joke was subtle and had some great backstory regarding my relation to Civil War General George McClellan, a story which I think was worth telling.

"Presidents and Precedence" has another hidden joke in its pages, and I'd like to say that there was some deep meaning behind it as I feel I've set the bar at least somewhat high; however, they can't all be winners.  The title of this series, of course, is Teddy and the Yeti.  In the scene pictured above, where the Yeti is being attacked by mechanical constructs of historical figures, we see none other than a representation of 26th U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt (Duane drew him biting the Yeti, which I think is spectacularly funny).  Teddy...and the Yeti.  Get it?!  I know...this one was much more obvious.  But I've got the original art to the page hanging in my house, and I still chuckle at it every time I see it, which it quite often.  Maybe it's where that FATE Magazine article came from.

Inside Jokes

The upcoming third issue of Teddy and the Yeti opens with a colored version of the story "Presidents and Precedence" - a seven-page tale that was first published (in black and white) in the Josh Howard Presents: Sasquatch anthology.  The first page of this story features the iconic (?) image of the Yeti knocking the head off a robotic Abraham Lincoln.  The Yeti soon discusses her growing dislike for the 16th President of the United States, surely aggravated by the fact that robot Lincolns keep attacking her, mentioning that if she were alive at the time (and, presumably, allowed to vote) she would have voted for "the other guy".  Ted retorts by asking if she even knows who "the other guy" was, which, of course, the Yeti does not.

This scene gave me a measure of satisfaction beyond its surface, as "the other guy", at least during Lincoln's bid for a second term in office, just so happens to have been an uncle of mine.  Well, a great-great-great-great-whatever uncle of mine: Civil War General George Brinton McClellan.

Let me say that it is difficult to look back at the history of the United States and say "boy, I wish Uncle George had won the election...over Abraham Lincoln."  Lincoln has earned his spot on Mr. Rushmore, for sure, as a liberator and a great leader.  It's hard to think of what this country might have become without his steady, guiding hand just when we as a people needed it most.  The Presidential election of 1864 was won by a landslide, and really, how could it have been otherwise?  McClellan had no chance, and it was for the betterment of the country that he lost.

That being said, seeing the Yeti punch robot Lincoln in the head was somewhat cathartic, in a twisted way.  Lincoln and McClellan had a strained relationship, with Lincoln famously writing that since the General was not using the Union army, he "would like to borrow it for a time."  McClellan, in his own display of insubordination, once rode his horse into the White House.  Into the White House!  Imagine something like that happening today.

Perhaps because of this feud, and certainly due to his hesitant nature in battle (he'd often defeat the Confederate forces and then hold back, thinking the enemy was trying to draw him out into a trap, when in reality they were just retreating), McClellan isn't given what I think is his just due by a lot of the history books.  I think this is unfair - and I'll admit that being related to the guy has something to do with it.  But if you read about the man, one thing that inevitably comes up is how popular he was with the soldiers in his command: this is what he based his '64 Presidential campaign on.  I think that caring for the welfare of those underneath you, not wanting to have men slaughtered needlessly, is something that should be admired, even if it was sometimes too cautious an approach for an all-or-nothing struggle like the Civil War.

McClellan's story isn't told very often anymore - most people don't realize that Ulysses S. Grant wasn't the only general to command the Union Army - but I'm proud of him, in my own way.  Losing the election didn't seem to keep him down, either, as he was elected governor of New Jersey in 1878.  His son, George Jr., was a member of the House of Representatives and the mayor of New York City in the early 20th century.  And I write a small press comic book!  Sigh.

In case anyone is wondering why my last name is "McClelland", not "McClellan", well...the spelling was a bit more "optional" in the 19th century.  Some people kept the 'd', some people dropped it.  I have no idea why.  I don't dwell on it often.

Yetisburg

As I was browsing through Evil Genius Comics a few weeks back, the card game seen pictured above caught my eye.  Since I was promoting a book that prominently features a Yeti at the time, I stopped and picked this product up to make sure that I wasn't going insane and was actually seeing two Yetis dressed up in Civil War gear.

"Yetisburg", as it is called, proves that things that rhyme with "-eti" are supremely marketable (you hear that, Hollywood?!).  However, the setting and background of this game do seem to be a little inconsiderate.  I'm not one who thinks that everything past is sacred, mind you, but taking the most bloody struggle in U.S. history and reenacting it with rather absurd mythical characters...well, I suppose that worse things have been done, but still.

The product description is below.  If there's anyone who has actually played this, I'd be interested in hearing how the game holds up.  I'm not much into most card games myself, but hey, put a Yeti in it and maybe I'll take notice.

Four Score and Seven Yetis Ago…

On the bloody fields of Pennsylvania in 1863, two great armies collided to decide the fate of a nation. The South rose, and the North responded with fervent mettle.

At the forefront of the battle stood the mighty Yetis, white-furred giants imported from the wilds of Canada to shred the opposing front lines. The great generals strode through the battle lines, engineering the destruction of the opposing forces while powerful mastodons hurled bombs into the fray.

Yetisburg is a fast-paced, two-player card game where the South is pitted against the North in brutal battle.

Yetisburg contains: 

Two decks of 55 cards each  

60 tokens 

Initiative marker 

One rule booklet

Yetisburg—This War's Anything but Civil.