Captain George's Vast Whizzbang Organization Part 1
In 1969 I was first introduced to Comic World, likely through an advertisement in Alan Light's The Buyer's Guide. After I received the first set of ten issues, I was hooked on anything the publisher Captain George Henderson produced.
Henderson was born in Stratford, Ontario, around 1929 and grew up in Montreal. Tragedy struck at the age of 18 when both his young wife and child died during childbirth. Afterward he enlisted in the Canadian Army where he trained as a paratrooper and served in Germany, Korea, and Indochina for 12 years.
When he returned to civilian life Henderson worked at a series of odd jobs. "I've done some pretty kooky things in my life," he once said. "In fact, I went to a psychiatrist once, and he certified me as a kook."
A few of his "kooky" jobs were truck driver and carnival stuntman. "I would jump out of an airplane at 5,000 feet, with three chutes strapped to me," he said in an interview with The Sunday Sun. "The first two chutes were designed to open, and then break away from me, giving the crowd below the impression that the first chute was no good, that I would fall to my death. Then the second chute would open, and there would be a sigh of relief from the crowd . . . then the second chute too would collapse. Again they waited for the 'thunk' of my body hitting the ground, but I had my trusty third chute on me, and finally, just a few hundred feet off the ground, I would pull the ripcord, the canopy opening just long enough to break my fall.
"I kept hoping throughout that I wouldn't forget the order of chutes . . . might have proven embarrassing."
Captain George Presents #36 and #41
Henderson was also a writer and soon began writing paperbacks. "I'd dabbled in writing since I was a kid. I picked up a few paperback novels, got the style down and started writing a few of my own."
From 1962 to 1966 he supported himself writing softcore sex novels that paid about $700 apiece. "I never titled my books, but one day when the publisher titled one 'Homo Hotpants,' I was appalled, terribly appalled. My friends kept asking to see what I had written. I was ashamed . . . especially with a title like that. What would they think?"
No longer interested in writing for his publisher, Henderson moved to Toronto around 1966 and opened his first bookstore, Viking Books in what was at the time a rundown location known as Queen Street. He stocked the store with old comic books his aunt had stored away and posted pictures of his friends—an assortment of "freaky people" he'd met from his days in the army and the carnivals. "One of them was a guy known as the 'Octopus Man.' He was born with these odd tentacles for arms, and he was downright hideous . . . but he was my best friend," recalled Henderson.
Viking Books specialized in material that Henderson loved himself. Orphaned early in his childhood he was raised by the Salvation Army and spent every night reading comics. "To this day, among other things, I'm a comic strip nut," he confirmed. Those "other things" included comic books, pulp magazines, Big Little Books, movie magazines, and other collectibles that filled his store. He also helped found and host meetings of the now defunct Ontario Science Fiction Club (OSFiC).
In 1967 he relocated the store to Markham Street and renamed the shop Memory Lane Books. His adopted title of Captain was inspired from the popular 1920's humor magazine, Captain Billy's Whiz Bang. At about that time interest in comic collecting and nostalgia was beginning to explode in the US, and Henderson played a leading role in connecting Canadian fans. His knowledge and enthusiasm for old movies and comics earned him the unofficial title of the "Patriarch of Canadian Comics".
Captain George's Comic World #22 and #23/24
In July 1968 he produced the first of several comic conventions, George's Triple Fan Fair for fans of comics, science fiction, and classic movies. Over the years guests included Roger Zelazny, Stan Lee, Isaac Asimov, Kirk Alyn, Ron Goulart, and Anne McCaffrey.
The Memory Lane bookstore also served as the editorial offices for Henderson's fledgling publishing empire. In 1968 he offered an early Canadian alternative comic book called Operation Missile drawn by Derek Carter, whose artwork would later appear in issues of Whizzbang. By 1969 he introduced his most famous titles: Captain George's Comic World, Captain George's Whizzbang, and the weekly Captain George's Penny Dreadful. In the 70s he also published a newspaper called Captain George's Yellow Journal.
Captain George Presents #38/39 and #42
In addition to the bookstore, Henderson opened what was perhaps the world's first comic art gallery, The Whizzbang Gallery, just a few doors down from his bookstore.
A great spokesperson, Henderson was frequently interviewed for Toronto television and radio shows. He even played host to a series of classic movies at the now defunct Poor Alex Theatre.
Henderson was at the center of fandom in Toronto and influenced Canadian and US fans alike. He dubbed his closest followers part of the Vast Whizzbang Organization.
Captain George's Comic World #16 and #4
George Henderson died in Toronto on February 10, 1992 at the age of 62. As longtime friend and key contributor to Henderson's publications, Don Hutchison recalled, "George was an interesting character. Part showman, part recluse, he could be irascible one day, friendly and generous the next. He talked little of his past, even to those who visited him often."
Top Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Memory Lane Publications Part 2
Captain George's Comic World #1 and #5
Henderson must have loved every kind of nostalgic media and through the pages of his Memory Lane Publications he introduced me to dozens of golden age comic book, comic strip, pulp, and movie creators. Captain George's Comic World was produced and sold in batches of ten issues. The cost was only $2 a set. Subsequent sets were $3. Several issues of the first set went back to the very beginnings of newspaper comic strips and reprinted samples of The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown by R.F. Outcaut, Dream of the Rarebit Fiend by Winsor McCay, Clumsy Claude by C.W. Kahles, It's Only Ethelinda by Grif, and Happy Hooligan by Fredrick Opper. I'd already become a fan of George McManus' Bringing Up Father when I was lucky enough to find it, but Comic World reprinted samples of it's earlier incantations like The Newlyweds and Their Only Child.
The early issues of every Memory Lane Publication were all printed on newsprint on a web offset press. Issues of Comic World were either tabloid (and folded in half) or roughly 8.5" x 11". None of the issues were bound. The pages were simply collated and folded together like a newspaper. Henderson stated in a letter column response that this approach enabled him to print them at the lowest cost and sped their production.
Krazy Kat from Comic World #4
The late sixties was a banner period for comic strip reprint collections. During that time several great hardcovers were published including Buck Rogers, Dick Tracy, Little Orphan Annie, Popeye, and Krazy Kat. But if you couldn't afford these pricey hardcover books, Comic World offered a low-cost alternative to read these vintage comics. Some of Henderson's reprints offered only a few samples strips, but he devoted several complete issues to Krazy Kat (#4), Dick Tracy (#11 featuring art from a BLB), Red Ryder (#12), Buck Rogers (#16), Little Orphan Annie (#19), Secret Agent X9 (#31/32), Popeye (#37), and Prince Valiant (#46).
The Terror of the Tiny Tads from Comic World #13
Henderson partnered with bp Nichol's grOnk and produced two dual issues that fit into the run of Comic World and grOnk. #3 featured a full issue of Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland, Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend, A Pilgrim's Progress, and Little Sammy Sneeze; and #13 featured a full issue of Gustave Verbeck's The Terror of the Tiny Tads. Verbeck was actually better known for his other series: The Upside Downs of Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo.
Barrie Phillip Nichol was an avant garde author, poet, and cartoonist who often was credited as bp Nichol. He published several small press magazines including grOnk. Considered Canada's first newave comic, his Scraptures started as a supplement in grOnk in 1967.
Reg'lar Fellers from Comic World #5
Issue #5 was a special "how to draw" issue. The cover showed how Hal Foster developed a single panel of Prince Valiant from rough sketch to final, inked illustration. Inside Henderson reprinted a script and finished comic page from Tomahawk, a couple of Tom and Jerry model sheets, a letter of advice from Chic Young, but perhaps the best was a three-page step-by-step example of Reg'lar Fellers by Gene Byrnes.
Superman comic strip from Comic World #7
Issue #7 featured what was presumably the first sequence of eight Superman comic strips depicting his origin by Jerry Simon and Joe Shuster. The bulk of the issue reprints another early sequence from 1940.
Issue #9 reprints a great series of early work by Hal Foster from the Tarzan Sunday page, prior to his work on Prince Valiant.
Red Ryder from Comic World #12
Issue #14 featured clipping from one of Henderson's scrapbooks. A nice collection of old comic strips—mostly Bringing Up Father and Mutt & Jeff, with a few less common titles like Minute Movies, The Nebbs, and Flying to Fame.
The cover features a passage written by Evelyn Marie Stuart that reads: "Deal gently with the vulgar taste for pretty jim-cracks, for there is the germinating seed of art appreciation. Planted in poor or neglected soil the aesthetic emotion may flower in nothing more elegant than crocheted tidies or wreathes of hair flowers, or in five-and-ten store color reproductions. Dreadful though such exhibitions may be to those 'in the know' they still bespeak the working of that 'little leaven' that ultimately 'leaveneth the whole lump'.
"This delight in things of little use but much importance to the eye and the mind is almost solely a human trait. With the exception of the crow and the pack rat, man is about the only collecting animal. The one living thing that will pick up and store away something that feeds the soul rather than the body. Crows and pack rats are outstanding in intelligence above other birds and rodents, and psychiatrists tell us that collectors never go insane."
This must've been a favorite of Henderson's as he adopted it as the maxim for his other fanzine, Whizzbang, and ran it on the first page of every issue.
Captain George's Comic World #18 and #25/26
Comic World #15 featured a collection of full page illustrations of scantily clad women drawn by Frank Frazetta. By issue #19 Henderson began printing letters from his readers including one that read, "Enclosed is a check for $3. Please send me the ten issues including the Frazetta issue. Yours truly, Jeff Jones."
In 1969, I'd only begun to learn about the history of pulp magazines that had colored the newsstands of the 30s and 40s. Issue #18 introduced me to a sampling of the black-and-white illustrations from the interior pages of a few of the science fiction titles. It was through Memory Lane Publications that I was first introduced to the incredible artwork of Virgil Finlay, Edd Cartier, and Hannes Bok in issue #28. In addition to the wonderful artwork Sam Moskowitz' profile of Finlay was reprinted from the Nov. 1965 issue of Worlds of Tomorrow.
Henderson later revisited Finlay and Bok, showcasing their work in issue #41.
By issue #22 Henderson expanded the scope of Comic World further when he began reprinting vintage comic book stories. This one featured Captain Marvel and Marvel Jr. The following issue had so many pages he packaged it as a double-issue to hold everything. His comic book reprint volumes included #23/24 with Timely reprints of Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Human Torch, and The Vision. Captain American returned in issue #30.
Captain George's Comic World #22 and 23/24
Issue #25/26 was another double-issue with 80 pages of Silver Star Sunday pages by Stanley and Reginald Pitt.
Issue #27 featured a Spirit story by Will Eisner and a Brothers of the Spear tale by Russ Manning. Sandwiched between them was Henderson's first coverage of the undergrounds. Smut, Love, Art, Society was a six page article by David Zack, illustrated with by S. Clay Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, and Gilbert Shelton.
Top Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Captain George Presents Part 3
With issue #30 Henderson changed the name of Captain George's Comic World to Captain George Presents. If he offered an explanation for the change, I missed it. There was another fanzine with the same title published around that time by Robert Jennings, but I don't know if that had anything to do with it.
Captain George Presents #31/32 and a sample page from #33/34
Henderson kicked off his third set of ten with a couple of double-issues. As noted earlier, #31/32 featured Secret Agent X9. He reprinted with the earliest 94 comic strips, but unfortunately ran out of pages before the story concluded. Why didn't he continue it in the following issue? Who knows? Instead, the second double issue featured Feg Murray's Seein' Stars.
In the 30s, at least two weekly humor magazines competed for reader's attention. Both were loaded with gag cartoons, humorous stories, puzzles, and columns on bridge and golf. Henderson reprinted an entire issue of each: Life (#35) and Judge (#36), both from 1931.
Captain George Presents #37 and 38/39
Issue #37 was probably my favorite of the entire run. It reprinted 32 pages of E.C. Segar's Popeye comic strips including the first appearance of Sweetpea in an adventure called Star Reporter.
The work of Frank Frazetta returned in double issue #38/39 with reprints of Barney Rooster, Looie Lazybones, Kathy, Hucky Duck, Dan Brand, Tipi, Heroic True Life Story, and cartoon illustrations for single-page prose backup features.
Issue #40 returned to the movies, reprinting photo features on Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, Dracula, King Kong, and—what was at the time—a new cartoon series from Walter Lantz called Andy Panda.
Issue #42 featured reprints of Golden Age stories from Canada's Active Comics with Commander Steel and Thunderfist.
Captain George Presents #43/44 and #45
Double issue #43/44 provided a look at King Features' lineup circa 1948 with reprints of sample strips and full page promotional artwork for what may have been their entire catalog of comic features. Of course all of King's famous offerings are included, but it's the long-forgotten and newly discovered strips that really make this issue one of Henderson's best.
Issue #45 was split between Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby and Cliff McBridge's Napolean. Although Henderson had ended comic strip reprints mid-story in the past, this one featured a hint of things to come. The Rip Kirby sequence was interrupted by the editor's note: "We regret that copyright restrictions do not allow us to go further with the story."
Captain George Presents #46 and The Movies #1
The final issue of Captain George Presents was #46. It featured a full issue's worth of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant Sunday pages. Unfortunately readers had to be content with the artwork because the text was in Dutch.
Letters from readers appeared in select issues. In addition to Jeff Jones, other well-known letter-writers included Jay Lynch, Rudy Franke, Larry Henderson, Jim Ivey, Woody Gelman, and Russ Manning. When Captain George Presents ended, Henderson announced plans to publish a Letters to Captain George newsletter that would include news of conventions, fanzines, projects, and meaty letters of comment about fandom and comic art. However, I suspect this well-intentioned project was never completed.
I'm uncertain of the exact date The Movies appeared, but I'd guess it was 1970. The first issue of this tabloid newspaper featured reprints from the Illustrated London News. The articles included pieces on The Lost World, Pioneer Drama, Fred Astaire, talkies, Walt Disney, Paul Muni, and A Midsummer Night's Dream among others. Henderson asked his readers for feedback on what they'd like to see in future issues, but I believe the premier issue was the only one ever produced.
The Michael Roden Benefit Portfolio
Cartoonist Interviews
Zinographies