"[3] He wrote in 1960 that by 1945, he "began my campaign to collect all the back issues of this magazine [All-Star Comics]," and six years later when the JSA was dropped, started to work towards their revival.
100 pages' worth of letters in less than five months" starting from the end of November 1960, and forge a friendship which in Thomas' words "set in motion a chain of events which led to Alter Ego, organized comics fandom, the Alley Awards, and maybe a bit more.
For instance, in Justice League of America #4, the letters page is filled with missives from Bails under different pen names.
These were followed by Ron Parker's Hoohah, Dick and Pat Lupoff's Xero and Don and Maggie Thompson's Comic Art.
Xero presented essays about comics ultimately collected in a 1970 book, All in Color for a Dime, published in hardcover by Arlington House and by Ace in paperback.
Bill Schelly writes that, while important building blocks, the science fiction fanzines should be considered in the context of comics fandom.
Working with Thomas and in conjunction with Schwartz, Bails contacted other comic book letter writers and invited them to subscribe to and participate in Alter Ego.
[5] The finished article became "an amateur journal devoted to the revivals of the costumed heroes at DC and elsewhere, as well as historical studies of what Bails deemed 'The First Heroic Age of Comics.
[9] A third, standalone volume was launched as a separate magazine (with similarly revived fanzine the Fawcett Collectors of America as a section) in 1999, and continues to 2011.
"[7] Accordingly, in September 1961, the first issue of the 20-page Bails-published The Comicollector, the self-styled "companion to ALTER-EGO" (as the masthead declared it), and "first comics advertising fanzine.
[10] Spinning-off from Alter-Ego after appearing for three issues as a column within that publication, Bails' On the Drawing Board "was devoted to blurbs and news items pertaining to upcoming events in pro comics.
[7] Released in standalone form as "a single-page news-sheet," On the Drawing Board #4 (#1-3 being applied to the columns appearing in those issues of A/E) debuted on October 7, 1961.
While there was considerable interest in developments at DC (especially the revival of Hawkman), fans also closely followed the entrance of other companies into the costumed hero sweepstakes: Archie Comics, Gold Key, Charlton, and Marvel.
[7]In March 1962, issue #8 of On the Drawing Board was retitled The Comic Reader, and the (generally) monthly title became "a mainstay of fandom."
Established in large part solely to deal with the Alley Awards (below), and inspired by Roy Thomas' thoughts on a comics-industry version of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the name and workings of the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors became a way "to emphasize the seriousness of comics fans about their hobby.
Bails served as the Academy's first Executive Secretary, later passing his role on to fellow fan Paul Gambaccini (who termed himself "ExecSec2"[11]), who later gave way to Dave Kaler.
[12][13][14] Despite a 1969 "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins" mention noting that the group "holds an annual poll to determine the most popular mags, writers and artists of the preceding year," and directing fans to obtain a ballot from future comics professional Mark Hanerfeld at 42-42 Colden Street in Flushing, New York ...,"[15] the Academy waned, "and it was disbanded for lack of interest by the decade's end.
"[7] (Bill Schelly notes no one "bothered to ask the NEA Syndicate for permission to utilize V. T. Hamlin's comic strip character.
"[7] In an attempt to focus these emerging talents, and head off the over-abundance of "crud-zines" (poor quality fanzines), which seemed to equal in number their good quality counterparts, Bails adapted the long-standing practice of amateur press alliance (APAs) for comics, creating the first all-comics APA, "CAPA-alpha" (the first — e.g., 'alpha' — 'Comics A.P.A.').
Compiled in the regular APA mold by a 'central mailer' (in which role Bails first served), copies of the membership's individual submissions could then be collated and mailed out to everyone.
"Now," explained fandom historian Bill Schelly, "fans could get into print and retain editorial control of their material, without publishing their own fanzine.
The lack of reference materials available to comics fans meant that much early fandom activity revolved around indexing various companies and individuals' output.
He wrote an introductory essay on the collecting of comics and produced a brief timeline of fandom as well as a "truncated Golden Age index.
With many creators largely unknown before the advent of comics fans and fandom in the 1950s and 1960s, Bails was one of the earliest proponents of documenting these individuals' credits.
He wrote to a large number of creators and was able to encourage many to share their recollections, credits and, in some cases, personal records to assist in the accuracy of his project.
A major part of the reference work was fan-identification of artistic styles and signature-spotting and recognition, which deductions often formed the basis for Bails' questions to creators, who could then offer corrections and additions.
The online database also attempts to cover foreign creators, the small press and alternative publishers of comic books which have received U.S. distribution.