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Born in Bessemer, Michigan on August 26, 1911, Otto Binder began writing comics in 1939 in order to supplement his income as an editor at Otis Klein's literary office in New York. His brother Jack was the foreman at Harry "A" Chesler Studio, which provided companies like Timely Comics (later Marvel) with finished material for their books. Binder wrote scripts for Dan Hastings, Power Nelson, The Black Owl, and Captain America while in Chesler's employ. In 1941, Binder moved over to Fawcett Publications, where he became the primary writer on Captain Marvel. When the series was discontinued in 1953 as the result of a lawsuit filed by DC Comics, Binder moved on to other companies such as Gold Key, Timely, Quality, and even DC, where he co-created the Legion of Super-Heroes with Mort Weisinger. Although he only wrote four actual Legion stories (three if you discount the first appearance of Insect Queen in Superboy # 124), Binder wrote what was argueably their most important appearance -- their first in Adventure Comics # 247. He left comics in 1968 when he and a group of fellow creators were dismissed by DC Comics after asking for basic health benefits. He then returned to his first writing occupation: prose science fiction. Otto Binder died on October 14, 1974 in Chestertown, New York. |
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Born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 17, 1914, Jerome Siegel was a fan of the science-fiction genre from an early age. As a teenager he published his own science-fiction fanzine, and collaberated with fellow teen Joe Shuster to co-create their best-known creation, Superman. In 1947, after filing a lawsuit against DC Comics over the creation of Superboy and other Superman matters, Siegel's contract with the company was not renewed. In 1959, in search of a writer familiar with the Superman mythos, Siegel was rehired by Superman family editor Mort Weisinger to write for such titles as Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Adventure Comics featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes. Siegel was responsible for the strong connection between the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Superman mythos, and had a hand in the creation of many Legionnaires, including Colossal Boy, Chameleon Boy, Brainiac 5 and Triplicate Girl, to name just a few. In 1978, in wake of the publicity surrounding the Superman movie, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were given pensions by DC Comics and the addeneum "Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster" was added to the splash page of every Superman title. Jerry Siegel died in Los Angeles on January 28, 1996. |
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Hamilton
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Born in Youngstown, Ohio on October 21, 1904, Edmond Hamilton was a prolific writer for science fiction pulp magazines before entering the world of comics. Hired by Mort Weisinger in 1946 to write some Batman stories, he later moved on to the Superman family of titles, including Adventure Comics featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes. Hamilton brought a science-fiction flavor to his Legion work, downplaying the "Super" angle used by fellow writer Jerry Siegel in favor of more "space opera" type stories. Hamilton is perhaps best known for co-creating the Legion of Substitute Heroes, whom he used frequently, and the Super-Moby Dick of Space, whom he used only once. He was married to fellow science fiction author Leigh Brackett, and left comics permanently in 1966 in order to concentrate on more prose writing and to travel the world with his wife. Edmond Hamilton died on February 1, 1977 in Lancaster, California. |
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Bridwell 
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Born in Sapulpa, Oklahoma on September 22, 1931, Edward Nelson Bridwell grew up in nearby Oklahoma City. He sold his first published story to ACG's Adventures Into The Unknown while still in high school, and followed it up with sales to Mad Magazine and Kathy Keene before becoming Mort Weisinger's assistant editor in 1964. He co-created Angel and the Ape, The Secret Six, and The Inferior Five for DC Comics in the Sixties, and wrote Shazam! and Super Friends for the publisher in the Seventies. In 1970 he became the writer of the syndicated Batman strip, a position which he held for two years. He is best remembered by Legion fans for his two-part story featuring the Devil's Dozen in Adventure Comics #'s 350- 351, and he also wrote Adventure Comics # 356. A DC staffer for over twenty years, Bridwell's primary responsibility was as caretaker of the Superman legend. E. Nelson Bridwell died on January 23, 1987. |
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Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 27, 1951, Jim Shooter started writing comics while only thirteen years old. A prolonged stay in a children's hospital in 1965 reintroduced him to the medium, and he noticed that while comics produced by Marvel Comics were popular with the other children, those made by DC Comics were not. Believing that he understood the reason why one company was successful over the other, he mailed off a submission to DC for a Legion of Super-Heroes story, fully drawn by himself. As luck would have it, Mort Weisinger was looking for a new writer for the title, and bought the script from the young author. More work would follow, as Shooter then became the new writer on Adventure Comics. He negelected to tell his employeers his true age, but when it was eventually discovered, Shooter got to keep his job, and had what was arguably the best run of the Legion's Sixties era. In the late Seventies, Shooter became Editor-In-Chief of Marvel Comics, and led the company to one of its most profitable periods, both financially and creatively. In 1988 he founded Voyager Communications, the parent company of Valiant Comics, before leaving the company in a dispute with his fellow owners. Shooter is currently the Executive Producer and Head of Creative Affairs for Phobos Entertainment, a science-fiction film and entertainment company. |
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Born in 1921, Al Plastino worked for many different publishers during the 30s and 40s, including a stint with Timely Comics where he drew Captain America. In 1948 he moved to DC, where he became a regular on the various Superman titles. Although he didn't begin to draw Superboy interiors until 1957, later on that year he would illustrate a landmark issue featuring the boy of steel --Adventure Comics # 247, featuring the first appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Although it was Plastino's only Legion work, it is still remembered fondly by Legion fans today. When Carmine Infantino became editorial director of DC Comics in 1968, Plastino, along with many other long-time DC artists, was phased out of the company's future plans in favor of the new style of illustration which Neal Adams had brought into the industry. After a period working in newspaper syndication, most notably on the Batman daily strip, Al Plastino retired from comic strip illustration. He is currently not active in the comic book industry. |
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Born in New York on January 20, 1916, George Papp was one of the original DC artists, drawing filler pages and cartoons in early issues of Superman. In 1941 he co-created Green Arrow with editor Mort Weisinger, and drew the strip continuously, with an exception for the war years, until 1958. When Joe Sikela stepped down as Superboy artist in the same year, Papp became the new artist on the title, a role which he would maintain for a decade. Papp also drew an occassional issue of Adventure Comics, most noticeably those featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes. He was the artist on the Legion's second appearance, and the traditional Silver Age costumes of Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Cosmic Boy were all first worn in his issue. When Carmine Infantino became editoral director of DC Comics in 1968, Papp was one of the artists who did not receive additional work. George Papp died on August 8, 1989. |
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Born in California on August 13, 1919, Jim Mooney first worked for Ace Publishing in 1940 as the artist on such features as Lash Lightning and Magno. He later moved on to Timely Comics (later Marvel Comics), where he drew mainly funny animal strips for the publisher. When the market for the genre died in 1946, he approached DC Comics for work when he heard that Jerry Robinson had left Batman. He continued to work on Batman for many years (including the adventures of Robin in Star-Spangled Comics) before becoming the regular artist on the Tommy Tomorrow feature in Action Comics in 1952, replacing Curt Swan on the feature. When Tommy Tomorrow was replaced with Supergirl in 1959, Mooney remained on as the artist, a job which he would maintain until he left DC Comics in 1968. Mooney was the third artist to portray the Legion of Super-Heroes, and the first to draw such Legion stalwarts as Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Chameleon Boy, and Phantom Girl. Sensing that future work from DC would be hard to come by, he left DC for Marvel Comics, where he provided finishes for John Romita's pencils on Amazing Spider-Man. Mooney would later illustrate such titles as Omega The Unknown and Man-Thing for Marvel, the latter being his all-time personal favorite assignment. From 1975-1985 Mooney was under exclusive contract with Marvel Comics, and in the early Eighties he bridged the generation gap by inking John Romita, Jr on Amazing Spider-Man. Still working into his eighties, Mooney was the penciller and inker on Elvira and the inker on Soulsearchers & Co. from Claypool Comics as recently as 1999. Currently retired and living in Florida, Mr. Mooney accepts commission work from fans. Anyone wishing to purchase an original piece of art from the artist may contact his representatives at WTM4788@aol.com. |
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Born in New York on October 6, 1918, John Forte began his career in 1941 at Timely Comics (later Marvel Comics) working with Stan Lee on the backup strip The Destroyer. He worked for many different publishers during the following years, including Quality (Blackhawk) and Gleason (Black Diamond), before moving on to the American Comic Group in the 1950's to draw some of their horror titles. When the genre died out in the wake of the institution of the Comics Code Authority, Forte moved over into the romance field, illustrating such titles as Girl's Romance and Girl's Love Stories. When those titles were bought by DC Comics in 1958, Forte became a DC regular, eventually chosen by Superman editor Mort Weisinger to draw the backup feature in Adventure Comics, "Tales of the Bizarro World." Although the feature only lasted a little over a year, Forte retained the job of drawing what would replace it, "The Legion of Super-Heroes." Forte remained the artist on the feature until the time of his death in 1965. |
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Born in Willmar, Minnesota on February 17, 1920, Curt Swan began drawing at an early age. While in the sixth grade he illustrated a homemade "Little Big Book" on the back of a desktop calendar for a school fair and sold it to a classmate. In the late Thirties he joined the National Guard, and in 1940 his unit was inducted into the army. While there he joined the staff of the Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper, and met France Herron, who would provide for him contacts in the comic book industry. After a suggestion from Herron that he show his work to Whitney Ellsworth and Mort Weisinger at DC Comics, Swan received an assignment to draw Boy Commandos. Later assignments included Tommy Tomorrow, Gangbusters, and the occassional Superboy cover. In 1953, when DC needed to put out a 3-D Superman comic in a hurry, Swan and Al Plastino were called in to help out Wayne Boring. Weisinger liked what he saw, and gave Swan more Superman assignments. From 1955 to 1986, Curt Swan became the definite Superman artist, helping to define the Man of Steel for generations of his fans. Swan is also considered by many to be the definite Legion of Super-Heroes artist, a man who gave each member a unique look and feel. Curt Swan died on June 16, 1996. |
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Born in New Jersey on May 19, 1913, Pete Costanza first worked in comics in 1940 when he joined C.C. Beck's studio at Fawcett Comics. He eventually rose to become Beck's right hand man and partner in charge of production. In 1944, Beck and Costanza jointly opened the Beck-Costanza studio in Englewood, New Jersey, in order to handle additional (non-Fawcett) accounts. During his thirteen years at Fawcett, Costanza illustrated such titles as Ibis, Golden Arrow, Bob Steele Western, and, most notably, Captain Marvel. When Fawcett folded in 1953 after losing a lawsuit filed by DC Comics, Costanza went on to illustrate educational comics and comic book adaptations of classic novels, as well as White Indian for Magazine Enterprises. In 1966 he joined DC Comics after a ten year stint at American Comics Group drawing science-fiction and monster comics, working primarily as the artist on Jimmy Olsen. He drew three issues of Adventure Comics featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, specifically the two-parter featuring Dr. Mantis Morlo (who was also a dead ringer for Captain Marvel foe Dr. Sivana) and the one issue "Revolt of the Super-Pets!", a Legion fan favorite. Costanza continued to work for DC until 1971, when a stroke robbed him of the use of his right arm. Never daunted, he learned to draw and paint with his left hand, and would later teach a painting class for stroke victims. Mentioned by friend Beck as "...a fine artist...[who] never gave up until the bitter end," Pete Costanza died on June 28, 1984. |
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Born in Hamilton, Ontario on May 23, 1919, James Winslow "Win" Mortimer received some early graphics training from his father, who was employed in the poster department of a local lithography firm. After high school Mortimer attended the Art Students League of New York, studying anatomy under George Bridgeman in the same class as Stan Drake. When World War II broke out he enlisted in the Canadian Army, and began designing posters for the Canadian Ministry of Information after his discharge in 1943. Once the war was over Mortimer found work hard to come by, so he moved to New York City in 1945. In order to comply with immigration laws, DC placed him on a steady salary in the bullpen, but by 1949 he was mainly employed as a freelance artist working out of his home. From 1946 to 1955 Mortimer produced an astounding number of covers, ranging from standard super-hero titles such as Superman and Batman to comics as diverse as Mr. District Attorney and Real Fact Comics. He left DC in 1956 for the syndicated newspaper strip David Crane, and returned to comics in 1968, where he drew the last eight appearances of the Legion of Super-Heroes in Adventure Comics. He followed the Legion over to Action Comics, and worked in and out of the comics industry until 1983, when he joined Neal Adams at Continuity Associates. After heart bypass surgery in 1987 Mortimer continued to work for Continuity, where Neal Adams would later describe him as "...an ideal for other artists to pay attention to." Win Mortimer died on January 11, 1998. |
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Moldoff
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Born in New York City on April 14, 1920, Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff sold his first cartoon at age seventeen, and became a regular artist for All-American Comics (later known as DC Comics) while still in his teens. He drew every Hawkman story from Flash Comics # 4 in 1940 until he joined the army in 1944, and also created the feature The Black Pirate. Upon leaving the armed services in 1946 he was unable to get his old job back with All-American, and so he moved on to Fawcett, where he drew Captain Midnight, Tex Ritter, and Captain Marvel, Jr.. He would later draw Moon Girl for EC Comics, where he suggested to new publisher William Gaines a horror line of titles in exchange for a percentage of future profits. Gaines later reneged on the deal, causing Moldoff to bring future horror work to Fawcett, including This Magazine Is Haunted and Worlds of Fear. In 1953 Moldoff began a fifteen year stretch as Bob Kane's primary "ghost" artist on Batman, and in 1968 he left comics altogether as DC decided to not offer a substantial number of veterans any future work. For a period in the Sixties Moldoff also fulfilled assignments for Superman family editor Mort Weisinger, including some inking work on Adventure Comics featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes. Currently retired and living in Florida, Moldoff does commission work for fans. Anyone seriously interested in obtaining a commission piece should contact the artist at: 3710 Inverrary Drive 1W, Lauderhill, FL 33319. |
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Born in New York on April 24, 1922, George Klein's comic book career began in 1942 for Timely Comics (later Marvel Comics), where he penciled and inked funny animal strips for Krazy Komics. In the 1950s he went on to work for American Comics Group, where he drew such titles as Forbidden Worlds and Adventures Into The Unknown. In 1962 Klein arrived at DC Comics, where he was often paired with penciller Curt Swan on the Superman family of titles. Klein's inks over Swan's pencils are considered by many fans to be the definite look of the Silver Age Legion, as well as that of the Man of Steel. He left DC in 1968 to work for Marvel Comics, where he inked such titles as Thor, Daredevil, and The Avengers until his death one year later. George Klein died in 1969. |
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Born in New York on July 15, 1927, Jack Abel entered the comic book field in the early 1950s working as an inker, a role which he would maintain for virtually his entire career. After George Klein left DC in 1968, Abel became Curt Swan's primary inker on Adventure Comics. He also inked many issues of Win Mortimer's run on the title, and followed both Mortimer and the Legion over to Action Comics. In the 1970s Abel shifted over to Marvel, where he joined the Marvel Bullpen and inked such titles as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Master of Kung-Fu. He was also an illustrator, and has several issues of Gold Key's Grimm's Ghost Stories to his credit. Abel returned to the Legion briefly in the late Seventies as an inker before returning to Marvel Comics, where he continued to work in various capacitites until the time of his death. Jack Abel died on March 6, 1996. |
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Born on June 15, 1941, Neal Adams was an enthusiastic comic book reader as a child, and in 1959 he approached DC Comics for employment, but was turned down. Instead of abandoning comic work entirely, he began assisting on the Bat Masterson comic strip, as well as doing some work for Archie Comics. From there he went into the world of professional advertising, where he also drew the successful Ben Casey newspaper strip from 1962-1966. After his artist's portfolio was stolen, Adams visited Archie Goodwin at Warren, where he drew some issues of Creepy magazine. He then decided to give DC Comics a second try, and this time was successful, initially landing assignments on comics such as Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope before becoming the regular artist on such features as Deadman and The Spectre. Adams was also a proliferic cover artist for DC, and his artwork graced the covers of such titles as The Brave and The Bold, Superboy, and Adventure Comics featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes. Although he never drew a single issue featuring the Legion, his artwork on their covers remains appreciated by Legion fans today. In 1969 Adams broke one of the comic book industries biggest taboos as he kept his own name while drawing X-Men for Marvel Comics, instead of choosing a pseudonoun while simultaneously continuing his affiliation with DC. In 1978 he was largely responsible for DC's decision to reward Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster with lifelong pensions, and later the same year he drew the oversized comic novel Superman Vs. Mohammed Ali. He is perhaps best known for redefining the look of Batman for the 1970s, as well as for his controversial run on Green Lantern/Green Arrow. In the mid-Seventies he founded Continuity Studios, a company which runs the gamut from comic book work to advertising to storyboards for animation, where he still works today. Neal Adams currently works infrequently in the comic book industry. |
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