August, 1974
Who is the mystery man that controls every move of the Flash’s life? Turns out he was none other than FLASH writer Cary Bates. Somehow magically transported to the fictitious Central City by the power of his own imagination, Cary found himself aiding the Scarlet Speedster in battle against the villainous Trickster.
I don’t know if I was consciously aware that real human beings were responsible for creating the comics I read before this issue came out, but I was certainly aware of it in the aftermath. And it galvanized my own desire to someday enter the business.
In fact, not long after this, I sent a letter to DC declaring my intentions, and asking for any advise they could give me. To my surprise, I received a reply from publisher Carmine Infantino’s office, in which he revealed such arcane lore as the fact that DC stood for DETECTIVE COMICS. He also enclosed one or two of Joe Kubert’s “So You Want To Be A Cartoonist” pages with valuable tips about the art of comic book illustration.
Little realizing that such a response was a fluke, I continued to bombard the DC offices with submissions and questions. And I’m still waiting for a reply
