Bob Oksner (October 14, 1916 – February 18, 2007) was an American comics artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero and humor comic books , primarily at DC Comics .
31-461: Marvel Mystery Comics (first issue titled simply Marvel Comics ) is an American comic book series published during the 1930s–1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books . It was the first publication of Marvel Comics ' predecessor, Timely Comics , a division of Timely Publications. In 1949, with the popularity of superheroes having waned, the book was converted into
62-651: A different series of the same name in the 1960s, primarily reprinting Spider-Man stories. Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known characters were introduced, including Superman , Batman , Robin , Captain Marvel , Captain America , and Wonder Woman . The first recorded use of
93-718: A result, the Comics Code Authority was created by the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers to enact self-censorship by comic book publishers. At this time, EC canceled its crime and horror titles and focused primarily on Mad . The Silver Age of Comic Books is recognized by some as beginning with the debut of the first successful new superhero since the Golden Age, DC Comics' new Flash , in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956). Bob Oksner Oksner's early work includes creating
124-542: A time beginning in 1965; and drawing and co-creating Soozi (1967), with Don Weldon. He retired from comics in 1986. Oksner was Jewish . Oksner won the National Cartoonists Society Division Award for Comic Books in 1960 and 1961, and in 1970 the Shazam Award for Best Pencil Artist (Humor Division) for his work on Adventure Comics and other DC titles. Oksner was a recipient of
155-764: The Flash , Green Lantern , Doctor Fate , the Atom , Hawkman , Green Arrow and Aquaman . Timely Comics , the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics , had million-selling titles featuring the Human Torch , the Sub-Mariner , and Captain America . Although DC and Timely characters are well remembered today, circulation figures suggest that the best-selling superhero title of the era was Fawcett Comics ' Captain Marvel Adventures with sales of about 1.4 million copies per issue. The comic
186-717: The King Features syndicate, the newspaper comic-strip spin-off of the 1950s TV sitcom I Love Lucy . Other work includes drawing the original humor comics Angel and the Ape and Stanley and His Monster . When the demand for humor comics fell off by the 1970s, Oksner began drawing such DC superhero series as Superman , Supergirl , Shazam! , Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane , Ambush Bug , and others. Oksner's other work in comic strips included succeeding Gus Edson as writer of artist-creator Irwin Hasen 's Dondi for
217-449: The horror anthology Marvel Tales from issue #93–159 (Aug. 1949 – Aug. 1957), when it ceased publication. In 1939, pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman expanded into the newly emerging comic book field by buying content from comics packager Funnies, Inc. On August 31, 1939, his first effort, Marvel Comics #1 ( cover-dated Oct. 1939), from his company Timely Publications ,
248-659: The Archie Andrews character remaining in print well into the 21st century. At the same time in Canada, American comic books were prohibited importation under the War Exchange Conservation Act which restricted the importation of non-essential goods. Canadian publishers responded to this lack of competition by producing titles of their own, informally called the Canadian Whites . While these titles flourished during
279-560: The Golden Age. During this time, the popularity of superhero comics waned. To retain reader interest, comic publishers diversified into other genres, such as war , Westerns , science fiction , romance , crime and horror . Many superhero titles were canceled or converted to other genres. In 1946, DC Comics ' Superboy , Aquaman and Green Arrow were switched from More Fun Comics into Adventure Comics so More Fun could focus on humor. In 1948 All-American Comics , featuring Green Lantern , Johnny Thunder and Dr. Mid-Nite ,
310-514: The Great (October 1939 – January 1942) American Ace (December 1939 – January 1940) Electro, the Marvel of the Age (February 1940 – May 1941) Ferret, Mystery Detective (February 1940 – July 1940) Terry Vance, The School Boy Sleuth (August 1940 – July 1944) The Vision (November 1940 – October 1943) The Patriot (July 1941 - June 1949) Jimmy Jupiter (February 1942 - October 1943)) The first Marvel Tales
341-766: The Human Torch, looking much different than in the interior story. That initial magazine quickly sold out 80,000 copies, prompting Goodman to produce a second printing, cover-dated November 1939 and identical except for a black bar in the inside-front-cover indicia over the October date and the November date added at the end. That sold approximately 800,000 copies. With a hit on his hands, Goodman began assembling an in-house staff, hiring Funnies, Inc. writer-artist Joe Simon as editor. Simon brought along his collaborator, artist Jack Kirby , followed by artist Syd Shores . The Human Torch and
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#1732852543856372-517: The Sub-Mariner would continue to star in the long-running title even after receiving their own solo comic-book series shortly afterward. The Angel, who was featured on the covers of issues #2–3, would appear in every issue through #79 (Dec. 1946). Other characters introduced in the title include the aviator the American Ace (#2, Dec. 1939), with part one of his origin reprinted, like the first part of
403-509: The Sub-Mariner's, from Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1; the private detective the Ferret (Leslie Lenrow) by writer Stockbridge Winslow and artist Irwin Hasen (issues 4-9, February 1940-July 1940); and writer-artist Steve Dahlman's robot hero Electro, the Marvel of the Age (appearing in every issue from #4–19, Feb. 1940 – May 1941). Issue #13 saw the first appearance of the Vision , the inspiration for
434-564: The comic book industry hit a setback when the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was created in order to investigate the problem of juvenile delinquency . After the publication of Fredric Wertham 's Seduction of the Innocent the following year that claimed comics sparked illegal behavior among minors, comic book publishers such as EC's William Gaines were subpoenaed to testify in public hearings. As
465-542: The eight-page original story now expanded by four pages. Also included were Al Anders' Western hero the Masked Raider (Jim Gardley), canceled after appearing in the first twelve issues; the jungle lord feature "The Adventures of Ka-Zar the Great", with Ben Thompson beginning a five-issue adaptation of the story "King of Fang and Claw" by Bob Byrd (pseudonym of Martin Goodman) in Goodman's pulp magazine Ka-Zar #1 (Oct. 1936);
496-463: The entire 1950s were Action Comics , Adventure Comics , Batman , Detective Comics , Superboy , Superman , Wonder Woman and World's Finest Comics . Plastic Man appeared in Quality Comics ' Police Comics until 1950, when its focus switched to detective stories; his solo title continued bimonthly until issue 52, cover-dated February 1955. Timely Comics ' The Human Torch
527-523: The final two issues, which included Black Cat stories. Lev Gleason Publications ' Daredevil was edged out of his title by the Little Wise Guys in 1950. Fawcett Comics ' Whiz Comics , Master Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures were canceled in 1953, and The Marvel Family was canceled the following year. Also during this period, the mass media with the advent of television were forcing media companies to put out comics that reflected
558-504: The licensed Walt Disney animated-character comics) outsold the superhero comics of the day. The publisher featured licensed movie and literary characters such as Mickey Mouse , Donald Duck , Roy Rogers and Tarzan . It was during this era that noted Donald Duck writer-artist Carl Barks rose to prominence. Additionally, MLJ 's introduction of Archie Andrews in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941) gave rise to teen humor comics , with
589-512: The new title, through #159 (Aug. 1957). It ended because of the collapse of Atlas's distributor, American News Company , and the subsequent restructuring that limited the number of comics the company could publish in a month. An issue of Marvel Tales was included in a display of covers representative of the "Crime, Horror & Weird Variety" at the April 1954 hearings of the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency . Marvel published
620-435: The non-continuing-character story "Jungle Terror", featuring an adventurer named Ken Masters and Professor John Roberts, written by the quirkily named Tohm Dixon; "Now I'll Tell One", five single-panel, black-and-white gag cartoons by Fred Schwab , on the inside front cover; and "Burning Rubber", a two-page prose story by Ray Gill about auto racing . A painted cover by veteran science fiction pulp artist Frank R. Paul featured
651-551: The popular culture of the time period. Comic books focused on space, mystery, and suspense that television and other forms of media were turning to in the march toward scientific progress. According to historian Michael A. Amundson, appealing comic-book characters helped ease young readers' fear of nuclear war and neutralize anxiety about the questions posed by atomic power. It was during this period that long-running humor comics debuted, including EC Comics ' series Mad and Dell's series Uncle Scrooge (both in 1952). In 1953,
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#1732852543856682-680: The same-name Marvel Comics superhero created in 1968. The original Vision appeared in solo stories through Marvel Mystery Comics #48. Also featured in the title was Terry Vance, The School Boy Sleuth by Ray Gill and Bob Oksner (debuting in issue #10, August 1940 until #57, July 1944, as well as appearing in the first two issues of the revived Mystic Comics shortly thereafter). (in order of appearance) The Human Torch (October 1939 – June 1949) The Angel (October 1939 – December 1946) The Sub-Mariner (October 1939 – April 1949) The Masked Raider (October 1939 – October 1940) Ken Masters/Professor John Roberts (October 1939) The Adventures of Ka-Zar
713-923: The second version of Marvel Boy in 1943 for Timely Comics , the predecessor of Marvel Comics . He later wrote with Jerry Albert and drew the syndicated newspaper comic strip Miss Cairo Jones (1945–1947), after which DC editor Sheldon Mayer hired him as an artist on comics adapted from other media. Oksner drew a few Justice Society of America stories in All Star Comics during his early years at DC. He moved from adventure strips to teen-oriented strips such as Leave It to Binky which debuted in February 1948. Oksner's work in this field included The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and its successor, The Adventures of Jerry Lewis ; The Adventures of Bob Hope ; The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ; Sgt. Bilko ; Pat Boone ; and Welcome Back, Kotter ; and, for
744-729: The term "Golden Age" was by Richard A. Lupoff in an article, "Re-Birth", published in issue one of the fanzine Comic Art in April 1960. An event cited by many as marking the beginning of the Golden Age was the 1938 debut of Superman in Action Comics #1, published by Detective Comics (predecessor of DC Comics ). Superman's popularity helped make comic books a major arm of publishing, which led rival companies to create superheroes of their own to emulate Superman's success. Between 1939 and 1941 Detective Comics and its sister company, All-American Publications , introduced popular superheroes such as Batman and Robin , Wonder Woman ,
775-650: The time of the Second World War following the Shield 's debut in 1940. Many heroes of this time period battled the Axis powers , with covers such as Captain America Comics #1 ( cover-dated March 1941) showing the title character punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler . As comic books grew in popularity, publishers began launching titles that expanded into a variety of genres. Dell Comics ' non-superhero characters (particularly
806-423: The war, they did not survive the lifting of trade restrictions afterwards. The term Atomic Age of Comic Books is sometimes used to describe a brief time period, starting with either the end of World War II in 1945 or in 1948 with the first outcry of Fredric Wertham, and lasting until the mid-1950s. Some authors consider this an interregnum period or an era in its own right, but most regard it as still part of
837-530: Was canceled with issue #35 (March 1949) and Marvel Mystery Comics , featuring the Human Torch, with issue #93 (Aug. 1949) became the horror comic Marvel Tales . Sub-Mariner Comics was canceled with issue #42 (June 1949) and Captain America Comics , by then Captain America's Weird Tales , with #75 (Feb. 1950). Harvey Comics ' Black Cat was canceled in 1951 and rebooted as a horror comic later that year—the title would change to Black Cat Mystery , Black Cat Mystic , and eventually Black Cat Western for
868-494: Was published biweekly at one point to capitalize on its popularity. Another notable series was The Spirit by Will Eisner , which deviated from the usual publishing model of the period as a weekly multi-page supplement in the Register and Tribune Syndicate newspapers for which Eisner held the copyright, a rare consideration for creators of that period. Patriotic heroes donning red, white, and blue were particularly popular during
899-469: Was published. This featured the first appearances of writer-artist Carl Burgos ' android superhero the Human Torch , Paul Gustavson 's costumed detective the Angel , and the first generally available appearance of Bill Everett 's mutant anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner. The Sub-Mariner was created for the unpublished movie-theater giveaway comic Motion Picture Funnies Weekly earlier that year, with
930-508: Was replaced with All-American Western . The following year, Flash Comics and Green Lantern were canceled. In 1951 All Star Comics , featuring the Justice Society of America , became All-Star Western . The next year Star Spangled Comics , featuring Robin, was retitled Star Spangled War Stories . Sensation Comics , featuring Wonder Woman , was canceled in 1953. The only superhero comics published continuously through
961-970: Was the direct continuation of the superhero anthology Marvel Mystery Comics , published by Marvel Comics ' initial iteration, Timely Comics . This series ran through issue #92 (cover-dated June 1949). Beginning with issue #93 (Aug. 1949), it became Marvel Tales , an anthology of horror, fantasy, and science fiction stories. The bulk of this series was published under the company name Atlas Comics . Marvel Tales included among its contributors writer and editor-in-chief Stan Lee and such comics artists as Golden Age veterans Harry Anderson, Carl Burgos , Bill Everett , Fred Kida , Mike Sekowsky , Syd Shores , and Ogden Whitney , and, early in their careers, Dick Ayers , Gene Colan , Tony DiPreta , Mort Drucker , Russ Heath , Bernard Krigstein , Joe Maneely , Joe Sinnott , and Basil Wolverton , among others. Issue #147 featured one of Steve Ditko 's first stories for Marvel, "The Vanishing Martians". The series ran 67 issues under