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entertainment
LI’s comic book
Fanfare Q

HERO
MAD MAGAZINE
Great Neck’s Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson Comic-Book Scare and How It
Changed America,” agrees.
The Major, as
Wheeler-Nicholson was
Calling him “the link between known, and “New Fun No. 1,”
founded a company 85 years ago the pulps and what we know of
as comics today,” he says the
above, which was released in
1935.
that would eventually become DC Comics Major “was writing genre
fiction for adults and luxuriat- under that name and “More
ing in the aesthetic of the Fun,” it ran nearly 13 years. A
BY FRANK LOVECE signing copies of her book “DC pulps. He brought that mode of second series, “New Comics,”

I
Special to Newsday Comics Before Superman” at thinking when he created the gradually evolved into “Adven-
table J-7 in the New York Comic first comic book of all-original ture Comics” — longtime
t was a major undertak- Con’s “Artists Alley” next week, content.” Additionally, says home of DC’s popular Legion
ing, in more ways than she says, “He was interested Hajdu, the Major saw “New of Super-Heroes.
one: Maj. Malcolm from the beginning in doing Fun” as “a vehicle to showcase But the Major was long gone
Wheeler-Nicholson of original material. He came out new comics stories so that he by that point, pushed out of his
Great Neck — ex-U.S. of pulp magazines creatively, so could sell the rights to news- own company shortly before
Cavalry, pulp-fiction he was used to being in a world paper syndicates. That’s where Superman debuted in 1938,
author, military gadfly of original material.” the money was in cartooning launching an archetype and a
who earned headlines and a in those days.” media empire.
court-martial for an open letter THE MAJOR WAS THE LINK “New Fun,” from the Major’s Up to then, the Major’s life
to President Warren Harding David Hajdu, author of “The National Allied Publications, had been as colorful and
criticizing the Army — Ten-Cent Plague: The Great proved successful enough that adventurous as that of any
founded the company that pulp hero. Born in Tennessee
became DC Comics. When and raised riding horses in
that home of Superman,
Batman and Wonder Woman
celebrates its 85th anniversary
The Comic Con lineup the Pacific Northwest, he
came from an iconoclastic
family whose matriarch, his

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soon, it commemorates the ew York Comic Con members of “Buffy the Vam- mother, Antoinette, was a
date “the Major” published his takes over the Javits pire Slayer,” “The Good freewheeling feminist, suffrag-
landmark comic book, “New Center and other Place,” “Outlander,” “Star ist, crusader against capital
Fun” No. 1. venues Oct. 3-6. In addition Trek: Discovery” and other punishment and magazine
Hitting newsstands Jan. 11, to an exhibition floor, the shows. Authors include founder. Malcolm attended
1935, it was the first comic giant convention will stage William Gibson, Laurell K. military school in Syracuse
book to contain all-original numerous panels by comics Hamilton and R.L. Stine. and was commissioned a
material rather than reprints of and book publishers, film Comics and animation second lieutenant in the U.S.
newspaper comic strips. Comic and TV companies and guests include filmmaker Cavalry in 1911.
books close to today’s format others, hosted by Neil Bill Plympton; “Sin City” After postings around the
newsday.com

existed before that, and a cou- deGrasse Tyson and others. and “300” creator Frank country, he spent 1916 in the
ple of proto-comic book prede- The season-premiere Miller; star artist John Philippines attached to the 9th
cessors had run original mate- episodes of “The Walking Romita Jr., of Port Jefferson; Cavalry’s Troop K — one of
rial, but “New Fun” tied it all Dead,” “Castle Rock” and “The Walking Dead” creator the famed “Buffalo Soldier”
together in the basic form we “The Purge” and the series Robert Kirkman; popular companies, which by law were the first of their five children
NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

know today. DC in January is premieres of Syfy’s “Resi- X-Men writer Chris Clare- led by white officers. Accord- was born, he brought his new
reprinting it for the first time, dent Alien,” CBS’ “Evil” and mont; longtime Spider-Man ing to the Major’s autobiogra- family to America in 1921. But
as a hardcover book. The CW’s “Nancy Drew” scribe Dan Slott; Deadpool phy, he also “chased bandits on his public criticism of the
“A lot of people who’ve writ- will screen. creators Fabian Nicieza and the Mexican border, fought Army that year led to a court-
ten about this period of comics Among the dozens of Rob Liefeld; Jim Starlin, fevers and played polo in the martial conviction in June 1922.
history make a slightly deroga- guests scheduled to hawk creator of the movie super- Philippines, [and] led a He was allowed to remain in
tory remark, like the Major did autographs, photo ops and villain Thanos; and 87-year- battalion of infantry against the service but, with no more
this because he couldn’t get the projects are actors including old Iron Man, Thor and the Bolsheviki in Siberia.” chance of advancement,
rights to reprint newspaper Sean Astin, Tom Hiddleston, Ant-Man co-creator Larry In 1920, during his time resigned his commission.
strips,” says granddaughter Paul Rudd, Nichelle Nichols, Lieber. studying at a military academy Having already authored the
Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Paul And you might see one or in Paris, the Major met and military-strategy book
calling her kin by the title he Reubens, Billy Dee Williams two people walking around married the aristocratic Swede “Modern Cavalry” (1922), the
went by. A journalist-turned- and Sean Young, plus cast in costume. — FRANK LOVECE Elsa Bjorkböm. After a sojourn Major turned to writing as a
comics-historian, who will be in her native Stockholm, where livelihood, becoming a
 newsday.com/entertainment C9

Fanfare Q
NICKY WHEELER-NICHOLSON
newsday.com
cover-featured name in pulp Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Donenfeld’s accountant, division DC Comics. been on good terms. The

NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

magazines and pursuing such and Joe Shuster, and “New Jack Liebowitz. The Major went back to publisher even bought a
ventures as a self-syndicated Comics” No. 1 featured Walt Then in early 1938 — not writing. He and Elsa eventually $12,000 copy of “New Fun”
comic strip. By the time the Kelly years before Kelly’s long before Superman would downsized to a house in No. 1 for its archives at her
Major founded National Allied classic comic strip “Pogo.” A change comics forever — the Bayside, Queens, after the kids urging.
in 1934 to publish comic books, third title followed in 1937: new partners ousted him using were grown, and he died “He was more focused on the
he had moved his family into a “Detective Comics,” future dubious means involving a Sept. 21, 1965, in New York City creative end,” she says of her
house on Avalon Road in Great home of Batman. It was Donenfeld-crony judge and a — returning to Long Island to grandfather, “and they were
Neck. published by a sister company, bankruptcy declaration while be buried at Nassau Knolls more focused on the business
Detective Comics Inc., formed the Major was out of the Cemetery in Port Washington. end. Donenfeld and Liebowitz
NURTURED YOUNG TALENT out of necessity when the country. Detective Comics Inc. He was inducted into the were incredible businessmen.
Operating on a shoestring, cash-strapped Major took on absorbed National Allied and, comics industry’s Will Eisner But without his vision and
he nurtured young talent. two partners: Harry through further mergers and Hall of Fame in 2008. creativity, there wouldn’t have
“New Fun” No. 6 published the Donenfeld, a publisher and name changes, eventually But Nicky Wheeler- been anything. It took all three
first comic book work of future distributor of racy magazines, became today’s Warner Bros. Nicholson and DC have always to make it happen.”