The Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors (ACBFC) was the first official organization of

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

enthusiasts and historians. Active during the 1960s, the ACBFC was established by Jerry Bails, the "father of comics fandom". A vital player in the development of comics fandom, the ACBFC brought fans of the medium together, administered the first industry awards (the Alley Awards), and assisted in the establishment of the first comic book

fan convention A fan convention (also known as a con or fan meeting) is an event in which Fan (person), fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also inc ...

History

Origins and the Alley Awards

The idea of the academy was inspired by Bails' friend and fellow enthusiast

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

, who felt a comics-industry version of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

would be an effective way "to emphasize the seriousness of comics fans about their hobby". Schelly, Bill. "Jerry Bails' Ten Building Blocks of Fandom", ''

Alter Ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

'' vol. 3, #25 (June 2003), pp. 5-8. Bails further liked "the idea of a fandom organization that would not only perpetuate the concept of comics as an art form, but would also act as a sort of umbrella for all his ideas and projects, and those of others". In short order — 1961 or 1962 — the Academy of Comic-Book Arts and Sciences was established. Bails served as the academy's first executive secretary, which had an initial roster of about twenty members. The academy's first order of business was to administer the Alley Awards, which traced their origin to "a letter to Jerry dated October 25, 1961", by Thomas, in which he suggested to Bails that his fanzine ''

Alter-Ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different personality. Add ...

'' create its own awards to reward fandom's "favorite comic books in a number of categories" in a manner similar to the

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

. Initially suggested as "The Alter-Ego Award", the resulting idea was soon named "The Alley Award", "named after V. T. Hamlin's Alley Oop" by Thomas "because surely a caveman had to be the earliest superhero chronologically". The first Alley Awards, given for the calendar year 1961, were reported in ''Alter Ego'' #4 (Oct. 1962).

Ratification

In 1963 Bails renamed the organization (which now had a membership of 90) the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors upon ratification of its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

,Lopes, Paul. ''Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book'' (Temple University Press, 2009), p. 94. with these goals: * conduct and administer the Alley Awards * publish the comics news

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

'' The Comic Reader'' * endorse a "code of fair practice in the selling and trading of comic books" * publish "a directory of comic fans" in the hopes of building local chapters * endorse other fan organizations * assist in establishing a yearly comics convention, and encourage industry professionals to participate ''Forum'' was name of the ACBFC journal, the first issue of which was published in October 1964 out of

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Alley Talley

On March 21–22, 1964, the first annual "Alley Tally" by ACBFC members was organized by Bails at his house in

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, with the purpose of counting "the Alley Award ballots for 1963". This became notable in retrospect as the first major gathering of comics fans, predating the earliest comic book conventions, which were held later in the year. Attendees included Ronn Foss, Don Glut, Don and Maggie Thompson, Mike Vosburg, and Grass Green. Comics historian Bill Schelly notes that the Alley Tally and "even larger fan meetings in Chicago . . . helped build momentum" for these earliest conventions. Bails himself was "on the organizing committee" for the Detroit Triple Fan Fair, held in 1965. At the end of 1964,Graves, Philip. "Early comics fandom (Part 2) - After the Alley Awards", ''Examiner.com'' (Sept. 11, 2009). Bails passed on his role as executive secretary to fellow fan Paul Gambaccini (who termed himself "ExecSec2")."With a Little Help From His Friends...", ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #25 (June 2003), pp. 14-19.

Academy Con

By 1965, the title of ACBFC Executive Secretary had passed to Dave Kaler and the academy had a membership of 2,000. Under Kaler's leadership, the academy produced three successful "Academy Con" comic book conventions in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

during the summers of 1965–1967,Schelly, Bill. "Introduction", ''Founders'' (McFarland, 2010), p. 8.Schelly, Bill. "The Kaler Con: Two Views: Bigger And Better Than The Benson Con Just Three Weeks Before?? (Part VIII of '1966: The Year Of (Nearly) Three New York Comics Conventions')", ''Alter-Ego'' #64 (Jan. 2007). attracting industry professionals such as Otto Binder,

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – ) was an American comic book writer who co-created the DC Comics character Batman with Bob Kane. Despite making major (sometimes, signature) contributions as an innovative writer, visionary mythos/world ...

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

Mort Weisinger Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' ''Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features ...

, James Warren,

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

, and

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz ( ; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was an American comic book editor, and a science fiction agent. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various times he ...

. Kaler planned another Academy Con for the 1968

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weekend, but it never came to pass, possibly because of the successful first iteration of

Phil Seuling Philip Nicholas Seuling (; January 20, 1934 – August 21, 1984) was an American comic book fan convention organizer and comics distributor primarily active in the 1970s. Seuling was the organizer of the annual New York Comic Art Convention, orig ...

's Comic Art Convention (a.k.a. the "International Convention of Comic Book Art"), which took place in New York City in the summer of 1968.

Decline and demise

By 1968, comics fandom — including annual conventions being held in New York, Detroit, St. Louis, and the Southwest — had become well established, and the academy's mission had been essentially fulfilled. In early 1968, due to a number of factors, Executive Secretary Kaler left, and Academy member Maggie Thompson declared the ACBFC "moribund". A 1969 mention in "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins" may have helped revive interest temporarily — it noted that the group "holds an annual poll to determine the most popular mags, writers and artists of the preceding year" (referring to the Alley Awards) and directed fans to obtain a ballot from then ACBFC executive secretary (and future comics professional) Mark Hanerfeld (who resided in Flushing, New York).Marvel "Bullpen Bulletins" page, "Fabulous Facts and Frivolous Fables from Frantic Fans, Faithful Friends, and Fiendish Foes!" in Marvel Comics cover-dated April 1969, including '' The Incredible Hulk'' vol. 2, #114. Nonetheless, the academy waned, "and it was disbanded for lack of interest by the decade's end". 1970 was also the final year of the Alley Awards (awarded for calendar year 1969). '' The Comic Reader'', meanwhile, became "a mainstay of fandom", continuing as a (generally) monthly magazine under a succession of editors (including Hanerfeld and Paul Levitz), before being taken over in 1973 by Street Enterprises, which published the magazine until the mid-1980s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors Comics-related organizations