Youngstown native inked sagas of the superhero

By KATIE SEMINARA

Vindicator Staff Writer

BATMAN’S MYSTIQUE IS UNMISTAKABLE,

and a Youngstown native known more for his science fiction works also penned part of the Caped Crusader’s legacy.

The works of Edmond Hamilton, born in Youngstown in 1904, are featured in books chronicling the superhero’s feats during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

This year, comic book icons Iron Man and The Hulk topped the box office, and critics say “The Dark Knight,” which opened at midnight, is likely to trump the competition.

But these characters wouldn’t have made it to their red carpet premieres without the minds who created them.

Hamilton is not credited for solely developing the character of Batman, but during his 20-year stint with DC Comics, he was one of a handful of writers who wrote Batman’s adventures. At DC, he was noted for helping launch The World’s Finest comics line which was spawned from the story “The Mightiest Team on Earth!” in Superman comics No. 76 from 1952. That story featured the first pairing of Batman and Superman.

“He never bragged about how famous he was,” said Don Sutton, who grew up next to Hamilton’s home in Kinsman, where Hamilton and wife, Leigh Brackett, also a prominent writer, did most of their work.

Hamilton was known nationally and internationally, but Sutton said Hamilton never talked about his achievements. He preferred to discuss other writers.

“The first time I met him, I was 7 and saw his Corvette Stingray. My mother said, ‘Superman bought him this car,’” said Sutton, who was then under the impression that it was possible to write comics and drive Corvettes.

But it wasn’t always Corvettes and creative writing for Hamilton.

Hamilton was born in Youngstown, but grew up right across the state line in New Castle, Pa. He was named after Edmond H. Moore, noted Youngstown attorney and one-time mayor of Youngstown, according to Vindicator files.

By 14, he already had started furthering his education at Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pa., but after three years there, he began working for the Pennsylvania railroads.

After selling his first sci-fi story for $100 at about age 20, Sutton said, Hamilton told his family he would never work another day of hard labor in his life. He was right.

Hamilton didn’t always write comics and was better known for his works of science fiction, most notably “City at World’s End.”

The fiction Hamilton wrote was “hard-core science,” Sutton said. Hamilton wrote stories based on scientific principles, rather than magic.

“I think he would approve of the new series [Batman Begins, Dark Knight],” said Sutton, who said the first series of Batman movies went against Hamilton’s view of science fiction.

The Batmobile would never have driven up the side of a building during the years Hamilton wrote for comics, and one of the original rules of Batman was no guns, Sutton said.

Hamilton would have written in harpoons or something other than firearms.

Although the glitz of Hollywood may not follow the comics exactly, Louis Varricchio, managing editor of New Market Press Newspapers, believes Hamilton would still be pleased to see Batman in theaters.

“I think he’d be thrilled to see that his works are coming into the light,” said Varricchio, who corresponded with Hamilton during the last years of his life through letters.

It was writers such as Hamilton who inspired young writers to pursue their science-fiction dreams, and Varricchio said he had some helpful exchanges with Hamilton.

“He was a very loving guy in the way that he never turned away even the strangest fan mail,” Varricchio said.

Both Sutton and Varricchio believe comic writers such as Hamilton would relish in the thought of characters such as Batman on the big screen.

Back in the 1940s and 1950s, comic books weren’t taken seriously, recalled Sutton, who said it’s interesting to see that those comic book characters are inspiring today’s summer blockbusters.

“I think people like him [Hamilton] are missed in the science fiction world,” Varricchio said. “He has a great legacy, and it’s nice to see a new generation is picking up on his characters in terms of movies and animation.”