Fred Schwab | |
---|---|
Born | August 25, 1917 New York City, U.S. |
Died | May 13, 2000 (aged 82) New York City, U.S. |
Area(s) | Penciler, Inker, Cartoonist |
Notable works |
Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939) " Lady Luck" |
Fred Schwab (August 25, 1917 – May 13, 2000) [1] [2] was an American cartoonist whose humor panels and short features were published in a wide variety of comic books from at least 1938 to 1950, during a period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. His notable comic-book appearances include Timely Comics' Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), the first publication of the company that would become Marvel Comics; and some of the earliest publications of the companies that would become DC Comics.
Fred Schwab was born in New York City [2] and educated there at the Art Students League; his influences included cartoonists Billy DeBeck and Milt Gross. [3] Schwab broke into the nascent field of comic books as a teenager in 1936, at Manhattan's Harry "A" Chesler studio, [4] the first of the comic book "packagers" that supplied complete comics to publishers testing the waters of the emerging medium. [5] In 1939, Schwab began freelancing for two other packagers: the Eisner-Iger studio, and Funnies, Inc. [6] He signed his work both with his own name and a variety of pseudonyms that included Boris Plaster, Fred Wood, Fist E. Cuffs, Stockton Fred, Fred Ricks, Fred West, and Fred Watt. [6] [3] For this reason, and because creator credits were not routinely given during the early days of comic books, a comprehensive list of his credits is difficult if not impossible to compile.
Whether for a packager or on his own, Schwab supplied gag cartoons in 1938 and 1939 to the glossy magazine Boys' Life, and in the early 1940s to the military magazine Yank. [3] Schwab's first known comic-book credit is as writer and artist of the two-page "Tenderfoot Joe" Western- humor feature in Centaur Comics' Star Ranger #1 (Feb. 1937). Other early work includes the one-page "Silly Sleuths" in Detective Comics #1-2, 5 and 7 (March–April, July, Sept. 1937), from Detective Comics Inc., one of the predecessors of DC Comics; the two-page "The Great Boodini" in Centaur's Funny Pages vol. 2, #3 (Nov. 1937); the one-page "Butch the Pup" in More Fun Comics #33-35 (July-Sept. 1938), from DC predecessors National Allied Publications/National Comics; a Sherlock Holmes parody feature for Fox Comics' Mystery Men Comics #1-2 (Aug.-Sept. 1939); and much more in issues of National's Adventure Comics, Action Comics, and others. [7]
For Funnies, Inc., in 1939, either Schwab [8] or Martin Filchock [9] drew the cover of Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (sources differ), an unpublished series designed to be a promotional giveaway in movie theaters. That comic is best known for the first appearance of the superhero the Sub-Mariner, created by fellow Funnies, Inc. freelancer Bill Everett. When Funnies, Inc. then supplied the contents of Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), the first comic book published by Marvel Comics predecessor Timely Comics, the packager included both an expanded version of the Sub-Mariner story plus five one-panel gags by Schwab that appear on the inside front cover under the rubric "Now I'll Tell One". [7]
Schwab also supplied humor pieces and features in the 1940s for Columbia Comics' Big Shot Comics; Fiction House's Fight Comics; Four Star Publications' Captain Flight Comics; Fox's Fantastic Comics; Novelty Press' Target Comics; and Timely's Daring Mystery Comics, in addition to much work for National. [7] He served in World War II as a photojournalist. [2]
In 1948, Schwab drew in a more adventure-oriented vein when he began ghosting for Klaus Nordling on the lighthearted adventure feature " Lady Luck", which originated in Will Eisner's syndicated Sunday- newspaper comic-book insert, The Spirit Section. Schwab, under Nordling's byline, drew a number of Lady Luck stories later reprinted in Quality Comics' Smash Comics #79 (Oct. 1948) and in the last four of the publisher's five issues of Lady Luck, which took over Smash Comics' numbering from issues #86-90 (Dec. 1949 - Aug. 1950). [7]
From 1947 until his retirement in 1979, he worked in the art department of The New York Times, as a graphic designer. [2] [4]
Schwab married Barbara Frick, who predeceased him. [2] He lived at 411 East 53rd Street in Manhattan at the time of his death. [2]
Schwab's work has been reprinted in publisher Ken Pierce's two-issue Lady Luck (1980); DC's Millennium Edition: Detective Comics 1 (2001); and Marvel Comics #1: 70th Anniversary Edition (2009). A handful of his humor pieces appear in DC's first three volumes of Superman Archives reprints of Golden Age Superman comics (1989–1991).
He was a retired graphic illustrator for The New York Times and a freelance cartoonist.
{{
cite web}}
: |first2=
has generic name (
help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
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[Harry "A"] Chesler 'always wore his hat, even indoors, and he always smoked a big cigar,' recalled Fred Schwab, a member of The New York Times art department, who worked for Mr. Chesler in 1936.(Abstract; full article available for fee or to subscribers)
Much of this material was created by the first comic-art 'shop,' which had been set up in the summer of 1936 by a farsighted entrepreneur named Harry 'A' Chesler.
Fred Schwab | |
---|---|
Born | August 25, 1917 New York City, U.S. |
Died | May 13, 2000 (aged 82) New York City, U.S. |
Area(s) | Penciler, Inker, Cartoonist |
Notable works |
Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939) " Lady Luck" |
Fred Schwab (August 25, 1917 – May 13, 2000) [1] [2] was an American cartoonist whose humor panels and short features were published in a wide variety of comic books from at least 1938 to 1950, during a period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. His notable comic-book appearances include Timely Comics' Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), the first publication of the company that would become Marvel Comics; and some of the earliest publications of the companies that would become DC Comics.
Fred Schwab was born in New York City [2] and educated there at the Art Students League; his influences included cartoonists Billy DeBeck and Milt Gross. [3] Schwab broke into the nascent field of comic books as a teenager in 1936, at Manhattan's Harry "A" Chesler studio, [4] the first of the comic book "packagers" that supplied complete comics to publishers testing the waters of the emerging medium. [5] In 1939, Schwab began freelancing for two other packagers: the Eisner-Iger studio, and Funnies, Inc. [6] He signed his work both with his own name and a variety of pseudonyms that included Boris Plaster, Fred Wood, Fist E. Cuffs, Stockton Fred, Fred Ricks, Fred West, and Fred Watt. [6] [3] For this reason, and because creator credits were not routinely given during the early days of comic books, a comprehensive list of his credits is difficult if not impossible to compile.
Whether for a packager or on his own, Schwab supplied gag cartoons in 1938 and 1939 to the glossy magazine Boys' Life, and in the early 1940s to the military magazine Yank. [3] Schwab's first known comic-book credit is as writer and artist of the two-page "Tenderfoot Joe" Western- humor feature in Centaur Comics' Star Ranger #1 (Feb. 1937). Other early work includes the one-page "Silly Sleuths" in Detective Comics #1-2, 5 and 7 (March–April, July, Sept. 1937), from Detective Comics Inc., one of the predecessors of DC Comics; the two-page "The Great Boodini" in Centaur's Funny Pages vol. 2, #3 (Nov. 1937); the one-page "Butch the Pup" in More Fun Comics #33-35 (July-Sept. 1938), from DC predecessors National Allied Publications/National Comics; a Sherlock Holmes parody feature for Fox Comics' Mystery Men Comics #1-2 (Aug.-Sept. 1939); and much more in issues of National's Adventure Comics, Action Comics, and others. [7]
For Funnies, Inc., in 1939, either Schwab [8] or Martin Filchock [9] drew the cover of Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (sources differ), an unpublished series designed to be a promotional giveaway in movie theaters. That comic is best known for the first appearance of the superhero the Sub-Mariner, created by fellow Funnies, Inc. freelancer Bill Everett. When Funnies, Inc. then supplied the contents of Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), the first comic book published by Marvel Comics predecessor Timely Comics, the packager included both an expanded version of the Sub-Mariner story plus five one-panel gags by Schwab that appear on the inside front cover under the rubric "Now I'll Tell One". [7]
Schwab also supplied humor pieces and features in the 1940s for Columbia Comics' Big Shot Comics; Fiction House's Fight Comics; Four Star Publications' Captain Flight Comics; Fox's Fantastic Comics; Novelty Press' Target Comics; and Timely's Daring Mystery Comics, in addition to much work for National. [7] He served in World War II as a photojournalist. [2]
In 1948, Schwab drew in a more adventure-oriented vein when he began ghosting for Klaus Nordling on the lighthearted adventure feature " Lady Luck", which originated in Will Eisner's syndicated Sunday- newspaper comic-book insert, The Spirit Section. Schwab, under Nordling's byline, drew a number of Lady Luck stories later reprinted in Quality Comics' Smash Comics #79 (Oct. 1948) and in the last four of the publisher's five issues of Lady Luck, which took over Smash Comics' numbering from issues #86-90 (Dec. 1949 - Aug. 1950). [7]
From 1947 until his retirement in 1979, he worked in the art department of The New York Times, as a graphic designer. [2] [4]
Schwab married Barbara Frick, who predeceased him. [2] He lived at 411 East 53rd Street in Manhattan at the time of his death. [2]
Schwab's work has been reprinted in publisher Ken Pierce's two-issue Lady Luck (1980); DC's Millennium Edition: Detective Comics 1 (2001); and Marvel Comics #1: 70th Anniversary Edition (2009). A handful of his humor pieces appear in DC's first three volumes of Superman Archives reprints of Golden Age Superman comics (1989–1991).
He was a retired graphic illustrator for The New York Times and a freelance cartoonist.
{{
cite web}}
: |first2=
has generic name (
help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
[Harry "A"] Chesler 'always wore his hat, even indoors, and he always smoked a big cigar,' recalled Fred Schwab, a member of The New York Times art department, who worked for Mr. Chesler in 1936.(Abstract; full article available for fee or to subscribers)
Much of this material was created by the first comic-art 'shop,' which had been set up in the summer of 1936 by a farsighted entrepreneur named Harry 'A' Chesler.