===== jimmy_olsen_139_24.txt =====
Dear Editor: :

Your revitalized Jimmy Olsen was three issues old be-
fore 1 even began to follow the general drift of your writ-
ing. lam finally etting over my initial sense of astonish-
ment (that’s really too mild a word, but I'm unable to.
come up with anything that accurately describes my feel-
ings) and, having caught my breath, I must write to com~,
mend you and Vince for a job well done.

Somehow. in the time it takes to produce eight closely:
spaced issues of four different comic books, you have
transformed Jimmy Olsen into a rather likable young ad-*
venturer (a distinct improvement over the obnoxiously
meddlesome clod of old), introduced a second-generation
Newsboy Legion anda subtly sinister Morgan Edge, stir-
red in such fantastic concepts as utilization of the.
D.N.A. complex. whipped up a frankly far-out Whiz:
Wagon, resurrected the Guardian (at least a clone is a
more acceptable substitute for the original Jim Harper
than an outright impostor would have been) and (for the
benefit of the older readers) the original Newsboy Le-
gion. injected the majestically malevolent Darkseid. fol-
Towed up with Orion and the Forever Kids (along with
their Super-Cycle. Mother Box and Infinity Man) from
Super Town. presented not one but wo Mister Miracles,
plus a crime-coalition called Inter-Gang ~- and mean-
while (puff! pant!), Superman is running around, getting
troubled by the more muscular Darkseid’s minions and
wondering what the devil is going on.

That amounts to a heckuva lot of activity on your -

part, Jack!

1 do have to complain about a couple of things. First
of all, there's Flippa Dippa. Sir. it is virtually impossible
to run, let alone engage in fisticuffs. when one is bur-
dened with a scuba tank, a weight belt and flippers. Holy
moley, man, and that name! Flippa Dippa, indeed!

My second gripe is over a technicality. Presumably.
you dre aware of the parallel-worlds set-up. first de-
ascribed in the classic “Flash of Two Worlds” (The Flash
*#123). Now, on Earth-One dwell the various members of
ithe Justice League of America, while Earth-Two is in-
habited by the Justice Society of America. Now dig
this--Superman and Jimmy, although not without their
Golden Age counterparts. live on Earth-One. What does
this have to do with the Darkseid chronicles? Well, in his
History of the Comics, Jim Steranko mentions a Boy
Commandos yarn published in Detective Comics #79, in
which the Commandos, the Newsboy Legion, the Guard-
ian, and Sandman (of the Justice Sociery) all teamed up.
(Sure. | agree it's a minor point, but I just had to bring it
to your attention before somebody beat me to it.)

Steven Utley, Garland, Tex.

{Okay—since there is a Superman on each Earth—and a
Batman, too—why not a Newsboy Legion on
each?—E.N.B.)
Dear. Editor:

1 know that to disagree with Gary Skinner. a fan
who's highly respected (by me. anyway) is futile. espe-

cially when he's part of a large majority. However, |
»think that I do have Gregory Kent in my corner, so | risk

disagreeing with an iota of confjdence. 1 feel that Jack

. Kirby is no good for Jimmy Olsen,

. Kirby's art is mind-staggering and innovative. The sto-
ryline is extremely imaginative. and the Newboy Legion
is fabulous. All of this may sound paradoxical in relation
to my previous paragraph, but what I meant was that
Mr. Kirby does no justice to Jimmy himself. | thought
that Jimmy would be better than ever, but he’s not. He
seems to be taking a back seat to Kirby's imagination.
and the magazine itself is being used as a supplement to
Mr. Kirby's trilogy of mags. and nothing more.

I'm crazy about The Forever People, New Gods and
Mr. Miracle. Those mags don’t have to mesh with pre-
ceding events'in the DC line. so Kirby's imagination can
be used to its fullest extent. However, Superman and
Jimmy Olsen can’t be spending all their time in the Proj-
ect area while appearing in other mags.

If it were up to me, I'd just let the Newsboy Legion
float around in Kirby's other mags. and let the entire
spectacle take place there. Superman could even make
guest appearances there. Jimmy could be a great help to
Metropolis (as in “The Secret Slumlord of Metropolis”)
and should be featured in stories like that one, and in an
updated wardrobe. But, alas, it isn’t up to me, so I gui
T'll have to sit back and just watch,

Gerard Triano, Elmont, N.Y.

(So watch! Jimmy leaves the Project—and the Newsboy
Legion—behind in this issue. Next ish, you'll see the real
Don Rickles in a hilarious guest-shot, plus Jimmy's con-
frontation with Morgan Edge. And the October issue
sends Jim and Superman on a fabulous new adventure
together, with nobody shoving our reckless redhead into
the background. Okay?—E.N.B.)

Dear Editor:

I'm speechless. What can one say after reading the
first eight of Kirby's new efforts at DC?

Jimmy Olsen is fantastic! Who but Kirby cbuld take
such a flop of a mag and turn it into a masterpiece? }
hope we see the Newsboy Legion, their fathers, and the
new Guardian on a semi-regular basis.

A few suggestions: Please let Jack do his own covers
for JO, Change the name and picture above the letter
column, And include an original Newsboy Legion reprint
in each Giant JO.

One question: What function are Mark Evanier and
Steve Sherman (formerly editor and assistant editor of
Marvelmania Magazine) serving at DC? Any chance of
getting them to form a comparable magazine and or or-
ganization for DC?

Jim Zimmerman, Canton, Ohio

(We'll see—though they're pretty busy right now assist-
ing Jarring Jack out in California, with such jobs as
doing the lettercols for his other three mags. I'p: sure
you're glad to see Jack back on the Olsen covers. But as
for original Newsboy Legion reprints—that doesn’t look
‘possible for the immediate future because of production
problems. \f we lick those—we'd sure like to bring vou
the old, N.L.—E.N.B.)

===== jimmy_olsen_140_29.txt =====
GIANT JIMMY OLSEN’S PEN PALS...

Dear Editor: 1

Just: read Jimmy Olsen Giant $131 and already V've
found two mistakes in it.

First. if Jimmy had Circe's wand in “The Animal
Master of Metropolis.” what were the Catwoman and
Lois fiddling around with back in Lois Lane 470 & 71?
When the Catwoman held up the wand in that story. it
looked different from that in the Olsen story. Explain
this!

In “The Cabinet from Krypton,” on page 1, the “C™
in the word “city.” on a sign, is reversed. 1 know
Mxyzptlk reversed the order of the letters, but otherwise.
he left the letters themselves forward.

Jimmy Olsen is my favorite comic. [ have red hair and

freckles, also. :
Christopher White. Tiburon, Calif.

(Thanks, Chris, Guess Mxyzptlk even confused himself
that time. As for the wand, we don't consider it a mis-
take. Circe was smart enough to keep a spare wand, in
case she lost one. —E.N.B.)

Dear. Editor:

After reading the JO Super-Curios Giant, - began
wondering. What’ are Jimmy's most valuable trophies?
And what does Jim's middle initial, ““B™, stand for?

Mark Barrack, Phoenix. Ariz.

{The “B" stands for Bartholomew. And Jimmy's most
valuable trophies are-all the fans he's won—like you,
Mark! Too bad there's not room for all of you in his
curio collection. —E.N.B.)

Dear Editor: «

For the next Olsen Giant, | have two suggestions:

(A Giant with Jimmy Olsen and Superman in their
greatest adventures together in Kandor. as Nightwing
and Flamebird.

(2) Jimmy's adventures with the Legion of Su:
per-Heroes, Z
Martin Leuthauser: Littleton. Colo.

(Great ideas, Marty! So great we used both of them in
this one issue! —E.N.B.)

aes

Dear Editor: m
In “The Burglar Kit from the Future."* Jimmy stated
that the dimensional tongs came from the fourth dimen-
sion. Isn’t the fourth dimension time? | can remember
many times you've commented on that.
Mike Trapp. Redlands, Calif.

(Check—but Jimmy didn’t say the tongs came from the
Jourth dimension—only that they were fourth-
dimensional. They could bypass the safe walls by going
through tine to when the safe wasn't there. But on the
other hand. the tongs were from the future. so you could

say they came from the fourth dimension!’ —E.N.B.)

wee

Dear Editor:

Jimmy Olsen 131 was good. but could you please try
to tell us where the Stories were originally published?
And in “The Cabinet {rom Krypton.” did anyone point
out that Superman couldn't have inscribed anything on
the cabinet because. being from Krypton. it was in-
vulnerable?

‘Jay Zilber. Columbus, Ohio

‘Ves, you did. But if the metal wasn's heat-proof on

Krypton, Superman's heat vision could affect it on

Earth. Hope you like the credits we've added this ish.
ENB)

Dear Editor:

Thave spread out in front of me “The Most Fantastic
Camera in the World.” and issues #211 and 229 of Su-
perman, The crux of all three stories is Superman's
Clark Kent glasses. They conflict on this point.

In the first, Jimmy's camera spirits away Clark's su-
per-glasses and Supie wears a regular pair until he gets
them back.

In “The Name of the Game Is Superman,” Clark gets
rid of his super-specs because they almost gave away his
secret identity.

In “Clark Kent. Assassin.” he reveals what are appar-
ently two pairs of real super-glasses, one of which is af-
fected by radiation, Can you explain?

‘Warren Purkel, Mascoutah, Ill,

(The first story: originally published some years ago, had
Clark using spare specs made from plain window-glass,

The experience convinced him he needed an extra pair of
super-glasses, which he has carried since. The second tale

taught him to throw identity-hunters off the scent with @

third pair of specs—one with real prescription lenses.

Never did he say he intended to abandon his su-

perselasses, since he sometimes must secretly use his heat

vision in his Clark identity, and he.can’t do that if his”
glasses melt! —E.N.B.)

Dear Editor:

Your latest Giant about Jimmy's curiog was great. But
in “The Unwanted Superman Souvenirs.” Superman
twisted a gun barrel into Jimmy's name, The letter “i is
dotted, but nothing is holding the dot up, How do you
explain that?

Jeffrey Vorchheimer, Elmhurst. N.Y.

(Simple! Superman made a thin piece of metal to hold
the dot—so thin it was virtually invisible 10 the naked
eye! —E.N.B.)

Address comments on this issue to: GIANT JIMMY.
OLSEN. N: al Periodical Publications. 909 ‘TRird*
Ave., New York. N.Y. 10022.


===== jimmy_olsen_142_24.txt =====
JIMMY OLSEN’S

en-Pr

Send all letters to: c/o National Periodical
* Publications, Inc. 909 Third Avenue,

New York. New York 10022

Dear Editor: > “

Call me jaded, but rarely does a comic book thrill
or excite me. An occasional Flash story makes me
race along the text as the Scarlet Speedster per-
forms ons of his speed tricks, but other than that,
huh-uh,

The last ten pages of “The Big Boom" had me al-
most on the edge of my chair, Movies do that to
me, but when a comic does, I'm almost ashamed to
admit it. The near invincibility of the Four-Armed
Terror, compounded by the birth of an army of
such beings, was plot enough. But add to that the
heat of a nuclear explosion that would wipe out

Metropolis—(whew!) it sounds so good there's got.
to be a catch.

And there was a catch. In order to get to the good
part, | had to wade through six pages of Newsboy Le-
gion jokes, I'm as in favor of nostalgia as the next
guy ¢ the next guy hap ens to be Abbie Hoffman)
and there are a lot of things about the Golden Age
which should be remembered and, perhaps, re-
ene the Newsboy Legion is not one of them,

‘orget it,

The Golden Guardian, on the other hand, is tre-
mendous. Nobody handles fight scenes like Kirby,
and the Guardian is the perfect vehicle.

I'm also glad to see Jimmy underplayed and-Su-
paenan: put into a position of prominence in peat
stories. The Man of Steel is handled beautifully by
Kirby and should not be relegated to the role of a
supporting character. (Of course, every once in a
while, you should have a “token” Jimmy Olsen sto-
ry as a novelty—as horrible as it sounds.)

Keep up the good work, and all power to the
imagination!

Tom Pever, Syracuse, N.Y.

(An occasional starring role for Jimmy—in his own
mag? That's the weirdest “tokenism™ we've ever
heard of. We'd prefer him to work with Superman
and share the honors, as he does in this issue. Of
course, the story itself will dictate the roles of the
various heroes—including the very popular News-

boy Legion! —E.N.B.)

Dear Editor:

This is to both you and skeptical Mr. Rozakis, for I>

couldn't disagree with him more, Where've you
been, Bob? Don't you read anything but comics?
Try and get hold of Time for April 19, 1971, and
you'll see what! mean. In it is a 16-page article on
.the new genetics, titled “Man into Superman.” This
article explains how it is not only possible, but prob-
able, for man in the near future to regenerate or-
gans. or evenentire organisms, from a single cell (it
has been done already with frogs); to create
itest-tube life (they've sept a human fetus alive for
.two months); to make ‘*knowledge pills” from the
brain cells of previously taught animals (they've
proved it effective with worms and. mice). When |
“finished reading the article, | had to look at the cov-
er to make sure itwasn’t anew issue of JO (jokingly,
of course).

As for Jimmy Olsen itself, | admit the first two is+
sues turned me off, but the last four have been the
first truly scientific, relevant and non-juvenile come
ics I've read (I'm 16). The Newsboy Legion is the ab-
solute end in comic relief. Ha ait the charges
that Jimmy is becoming secondary in his own mag,
nonsense! | admit it's hard to keep track of him
with all that’s going on, but who has time to look?

Bajt 60-15, Tarrytown, N.Y.

(Thanks for the rundown on some of the scientific
background of Jarring Jack’s D.N.A. Project, And
speaking of Bob Rozakis—here he is now!—E.N.B.)

Dear Editor:

Believe it or not, | actually liked "The Big Boom!”
Liked it because Superman managed to defeat the
D.N, Aliens without the help of anybody else. (The
"past few issues have been rather annoying, since
every time the Man of Steel got into a battle, some-
body else had to lend a hand, quite a letdown for
the world's mightiest mortal!) | liked it because
Morgan Edge popped up again and | think he is one
of the best villains around. | liked it because Super-
man and Jimmy will finally be leaving the Project
to return to Metropolis. And | liked the issue be-
cause you printed another of my letters and this
time you spelled my name correctly. Thank you.

Oh, one other thing before | close. | noticed that
Perry White has been demoted to Managing Editor
of the Daily Planet. How can you do this to him? *

Bob Rozakis, Elmont, N.Y.

(Do what? Perry's still the top man at the Planet. He
was never the owner or publisher. Perhaps the title
you're looking for is Editor-in-Chief; but forget itl
He'll never use it. You should know by now how he
hates to be called “chief.” —E.N.B.)

Dear Editor:

1 owe you a show of ‘gratitude for making my
term paper a success, | had performed a lengthy

_ Study of the last decade of comics from N.P.P., and

the reader who graded my paper positively raved
over the two-and-a-half-odd pages | had dedicated
to your work. | scored a double-A-plus and several
inquiries as to where | bought my magazines.

Karl Merris, San Diego, Calif.

fo banks: Hope a devoted some space to Green
ntern-Green Arrow, since it scored tops in the
Shazam Awards presented by the new Academy of
Comic Book Arts. Best continuing feature, best sto-

Ae best writer (Denny O'Neil), best pencil artist
‘(Nei

al Adams).-. . In fact, D.C. swept most of the
awards. Don't fret because Jack lost out this time.
Most of his new stuff was dated 1971, so it won't be
eligible for the Shazams till next year.—E.N.B.) -

===== jimmy_olsen_143_24.txt =====
Send all letters to: c/o National Periodical
Publications, Inc. 909 Third Avenue,
New York, New York 10022

Dear Editor:

I was born with my foot in my mouth. I have a knack
for speaking too soon; that is to say, to complain about a
matter which-is either resolved or on the verge of resolu-
tion. To wit: Jimmy Olsen #139.

I've misjudged Jack Kirby, as this issue and the descrip-
tions of the forthcoming issues seem to have shown. Jim-
my is Hella returning to the head of the aig and is being
handled quite well. It’s evident that Mr. Kirby wanted to
give us a change of pace story to offset the intricate,
heavy-handed ones he's previously done. Brother, did he
succeed!

“The Guardian Fights Again” was original and amus-
ing. When I eyeballed the credits (inked,-inked and
inked—good grief!), I knew the story would be light and
comical. pear was more farcical than usual. But
Goody Rickels!?! 1 went into near-convulsive hysteria.
Don Rickles is my favorite master of insult, and I can’t
wait till he appears next issue. Everything about Goody
was sppealite, from his reference to John Wayne to that
ridiculous costume. (Have Don and Mr. Kirby met? This
‘almost seems like vengeance for a time Jack might possi-
bly have been roasted by. Don.)

ly Mannheim was also humorous because he seemed
to have been taken straight out of a gangland movie. He
makes Darkseid look attractive, which is extremely diffi-
cult. I'd definitely like to see more of him.

‘Well, Jack eu feta struck again. Please forgive
me for that undeserv Ho ae of you.

Gerard [riano, Elmont, N.Y.

(Consider yourself forgiven, Gerry. Actually, Jack did the
two-issue stor; elf he full Eoonirolion ao Don Rickles.
himself. Maybe if Don sees your letter he'll be impressed
enough to tell you you're a dummy, or something,

—EN.B.)
Dear Editors

Tam not amused. To say that Jimmy Olsen #139 was a
letdown is an-understatement. To say I can't believe Kirby
would foist such an atrocious tale on his literate readi

lic is =a Soh . To say that Kirby has bet
peels the fertility of his inazingtion issad

true.

The story in JO #139 was self-parodying, which ts one
of the worst possible sins for a serious fantasy comic. In
the seventh Kirby-produced issue, Jack seemed to be say-
ing, “I don’t really take my comic magazines seriously.
‘They're just a joke to me.” If the creator doesn't take his
work seriously, how can we be expected to? After the fan-
‘tastic paving of the groundwork for Olsen stories in the
last six issues, with the Project, the D.N. Aliens, etc, we
have now progressed one more step towards the ulti-
mate—Don Rickles?!? | hope you can see what I mean.

I usually hand what I feel to be the most significant
comic books of, the month over to my father (who is an
educator) for his perusal. He is quite impressed by the so-
phistication in today’s comics and has already used some
as educational tools. But if I had let him see JO #139, he
would have asked me why Leven ‘bother to read and collect
such juvenile stuff.

Please do not'do such a thing again and maybe some-
how all can be forgiven. Now that I have thoroughly chas-
tised you, let me make a few suggestions which would, in

my opinion, be helpful to the Jimmy Olsen magazine. (1)
Emphasize The Guardian rather than Superman, since
Superman receives enough exposure elsewhere. (2) The
trend today seems to be away from the overuse of exe
clamation points. Exclamation points are one of Kirby’s
major hang-ups and tend to make everything look me-
lodramatic. (3) Avoid overuse of photographic montages.
(4) Play down the Newsboy Legion whenever possible. (5)
‘Avoid too many blurbs on covers and emphasize good
artwork, :
Please, Jack, don’t let us down.
: Mark Gruenwald, Oshkosh, Wis.

(Welt, you're not the only one who disliked the Rickles
story. Our mail indicates, a couple of other guys agreed
with you. Kind of reminds us, though, of some crities in
the 18th century who thought it was terrible that Shakes-
peare included comedy relief in Hamlet! We say, if Ham-
let could have his humorous gravediggers, Jimmy can have
Goody Rickels in a couple of issues. —E.N.B.)

gv
Dear Editor:

I want to disagree with your answer to Steven Utley’s
letter in JO 7139. You stated the possibility of a Newsboy
Legion existing on each of DC’s twin Earths, because
they had appeared in the ‘40's with Earth-2’s Sandman. 1
think that such an explanation would be disappointing to

-older fans and confusing to newer ones. 1 prefer to think
that the fathers of today’s NL are the same ones who
peared in Star-Spangled Comics 25 years ago, So here's
my solution to the conflict:

spain titles have been contradicting themselves
terribly. In Superman, we see the Man of Steel weakened
and losing his powers completely at times. In Action Com-
ics, he doesn’t lose his powers, but as in Superman, he is
seen working for Morgan Edge’s television station. But in

JO, Superman is not only as strong as ever, but is still-re-

for the Daily Planet. Conclusion—the adventures
taking place in JO are occurring on Earth-2, and these are
the sons of the Golden Age Newsboy Legion (and not their

Earth-1 counterparts).

‘There's one problem. There have been a few crossover
references to JO in Action, and some D.N. Aliens taken
from cells of the JLA members appeared in a recent Lois
Lane. But for the sake of extending my propesed con-
cepts, I could overlook a couple of minor sis
Tike these. What do you think?

Harold May, Clarksdale, Miss.

(Sorry, it won't work! Remember, Morgan Edge made his
bow in Jimmy Olsen. So Clark occasionally works for the
paper as well as the TV ste That happens in. other
mags, too. Lois Lane is tied in with the Kirby mythos. The
Black Racer recently appeared and you'll see De-
saad and Darkseid aexe issue. Besides, as revealed in the
last JLA-JSA teamup, the Earth-2 Clark Kent is now edi«
tor of the Daily Star. As for the super-powers, the prob-
Jems with the sand-creature were confined to Superman to
make it easier on the other-editors. And way Coavae
there have been identical Legions on both Earths? By the
way, the story featuring the Newsboy Legion, The Sand-
man and The Boy Commandos is reprinted in the latest
Mister Miracle, on sale soon! —E.N.B.)