Jack Oleck (March 1, 1914 – March 10, 1981)Social Security Death Index, SS# 115-01-6988. was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

novelist and

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

writer particularly known for his work in the horror genre. The brother-in-law of comics pioneer

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

, Oleck's comic book career was basically in two parts. During the

Golden Age of comics The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era 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 chara ...

Oleck wrote for

EC Comics Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, war novel, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through th ...

and the Simon-

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

Studio. After the mid-1950s temporary collapse of the industry following the publication of

Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German-American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafarg ...

's ''

Seduction of the Innocent ''Seduction of the Innocent'' is a book by German-born American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was tak ...

'' and the establishment of the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

, Oleck left comics, instead writing novels and publishing an

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...

magazine. From the late 1960s until his death in 1981, Oleck worked for

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

as a writer for their extensive line of horror/suspense titles.

Biography

Early career

Oleck's first comics credit was as a writer for

Lev Gleason Publications Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971), was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including '' Daredevil Comics'', '' Crime Does Not Pay'', and '' Boy Comics''. Backg ...

' '' Silver Streak'', in 1940. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, leaving the service as a

sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Golden Age

In 1948, using his connection as Simon's brother-in-law, Oleck joined the Simon-Kirby studio, which produced material for such publishers as

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

Hillman Periodicals Hillman Periodicals, Inc., was an American magazine and comic book publishing company founded in 1938 by Alex L. Hillman, a former New York City book publisher. It is best known for its true confession and true crime magazines; for the long-runni ...

, and Simon & Kirby's own

Mainline Publications Mainline Publications, also called Mainline Comics, was a short-lived, 1950s American comic book publisher established and owned by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Foundation With the 1950s backlash against comics, led by the psychiatrist Fredric Wert ...

. Oleck quickly established himself as "the number one scriptwriter for Simon and Kirby," producing

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

stories,

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

stories and

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

features, in addition to the burgeoning field of

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

editor

Al Feldstein Albert Bernard Feldstein ( ; October 24, 1925 – April 29, 2014) was an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine '' Mad''. After retiring from ''Mad' ...

recruited Oleck in the early 1950s, where he became one of the main writers of '' Crime SuspenStories''. Oleck also scripted stories for EC's '' The Vault of Horror'' and ''

Weird Science-Fantasy ''Weird Science-Fantasy'' was an American science fiction-fantasy anthology comic, that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a 14-month span, the comic ran for seven issues, starting in March 1954 with issue #23 and ending with ...

'', as well as the EC Picto-Fiction titles, '' Crime Illustrated'', ''

Shock Illustrated ''Shock Illustrated'' was an American black and white magazine published by EC Comics from late 1955 to early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The artists drew one to four panels per page with t ...

'' and ''

Terror Illustrated ''Terror Illustrated'' was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in late 1955 and early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated blocks of text with several illustrat ...

''.

Novelist and magazine publisher

After temporarily leaving comics, Oleck was the publisher and editor of ''Interior Decorator News'' from 1957 to 1969. During this period, Oleck wrote a popular

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

, ''Messalina'', about the

Roman empress This is a list of Roman and Byzantine empresses. A Roman empress was a woman who was the wife of a Roman emperor, the ruler of the Roman Empire. The Romans had no single term for the position: Latin and Greek titles such as '' augusta'' (Greek ...

, which has been republished many times. He penned a second historical novel, ''Theodora'', reflecting his fascination with and great knowledge about the Roman Empire. Oleck followed with a few more, lesser known books as well as at least one television script.

DC Comics

Horror comics made a comeback in the late 1960s and Oleck joined

' stable of writers in 1968. His first story for DC, "The House of Gargoyles", was published in ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series. First se ...

'' #175 (July–August 1968). He became a regular contributor to such titles as ''

Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion ''Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion'' was a horror-suspense- romance anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1971 to 1974, a companion to '' Secrets of Sinister House''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soa ...

'', ''House of Mystery'', '' House of Secrets'', '' Secrets of Sinister House'', ''

Tales of Ghost Castle ''Tales of Ghost Castle'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics in 1975. ''Tales of Ghost Castle'' was "hosted" by Lucien, who later became an important supporting character in Neil Gaiman's '' The Sandman''. M ...

'', ''

Weird Mystery Tales ''Weird Mystery Tales'' was a mystery horror comics anthology published by DC Comics from July–August 1972 to November 1975. Publication history 100 Page Super Spectacular The title ''Weird Mystery Tales'' was first used for '' DC 100 Page S ...

'', and ''

Weird War Tales ''Weird War Tales'' was a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics. It was published from September–October 1971 to June 1983. Publication history The original title ran for 12 years and 124 issues. It was ...

''. He also returned to the romance field, scripting stories for DC's '' Young Love'' and '' Young Romance'', both titles Oleck had written for in the 1950s which had subsequently been acquired by DC. For ''House of Mystery'' #194 (Sept. 1971), Oleck wrote the seven-page story "The King Is Dead", which was illustrated by

Nestor Redondo Nestor P. Redondo (May 4, 1928 – December 30, 1995)Nestor P. Redondo
at the

Bernard Baily Bernard Baily (April 5, 1916 – January 19, 1996)
at the

Oleck and artist

Alex Niño Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine. Biography Early life and career Alex Niño was bo ...

created the science-fiction feature "Space Voyagers" in '' Rima, the Jungle Girl'' #1 (May 1974). Oleck and

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 4, 2000) was a Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. His 1963 cr ...

created '' Kong the Untamed'' in 1975, and Oleck was the writer of the short-lived series starring Kong. Oleck's final story for DC was "Legend of the Lost" in ''House of Mystery'' #287 (Dec. 1980). In the 1970s, Oleck wrote horror paperback novels, including two film tie-ins.

Bibliography

Comic books

Charlton Comics

* ''

Ghost Manor ''Ghost Manor'' is a horror video game that was released by Xonox in 1983 for the Atari 2600 and VIC-20. It was generally packaged in a double ended cartridge and a cassette tape along with one of three other games in an effort to appeal to ...

'' #62 (1982) * ''

Haunted Haunted or The Haunted may refer to: Books * ''Haunted'' (Armstrong novel), by Kelley Armstrong, 2005 * ''Haunted'' (Cabot novel), by Meg Cabot, 2004 * ''Haunted'' (Palahniuk novel), by Chuck Palahniuk, 2005 * ''Haunted'' (Angel novel), a 200 ...

'' #71 (1984) * ''Out of This World'' #3–4 (1957) * ''

Strange Suspense Stories ''Strange Suspense Stories'' was a comic book published in two volumes by Fawcett Comics and Charlton Comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Starting out as a horror/suspense title, the first volume gradually moved toward eerie fantasy and weird science f ...

'' #32 (1957)

DC Comics

* ''

The Amazing World of DC Comics ''The Amazing World of DC Comics'' was DC Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s. Running 17 issues, the fanzine featured DC characters and their creators, and was exclusively available through mail order. Primarily text articles, wi ...

'' #12 (1976) * ''Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love'' #3 (1972) * ''

DC Special ''DC Special'' was a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics originally from 1968 to 1971; it resumed publication from 1975 to 1977. For the most part, ''DC Special'' was a theme-based reprint title, mostly focusing on stories from DC's ...

'' #11 (1971) * '' DC Special Series'' #12 (1978) * ''Falling in Love'' #137 (1972) * ''

'' #5, 8–10 (1972–1973) * ''

Girls' Love Stories ''Girls' Love Stories'' was an American romance comic book magazine published by DC Comics in the United States. Started in 1949 as DC's first romance title, it ran for 180 issues, ending with the Nov-Dec 1973 issue. The stories covered such topic ...

'' #149, 153, 156–157, 159, 177 (1970–1973) * ''

'' #175, 182–184, 186, 189, 191, 194–198, 200, 204, 206, 210–214, 222–223, 225–226, 230–232, 234, 236–239, 241–242, 246–248, 250–258, 265, 278–279, 287 (1968–1980) * '' House of Secrets'' #95–96, 99–102, 104, 106–107, 110, 113, 116–118, 121–122, 124–126, 129–133, 136, 138–139, 141–143, 147–149, 152–153 (1971–1978) * '' Kong the Untamed'' #1–3 (1975) * '' Phantom Stranger'' vol. 2 #12 (1971) * ''

Plop! ''Plop!'', "The New Magazine of Weird Humor!", was a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics in the mid-1970s. It falls into the horror / humor genre. It lasted 24 issues and the series ran from Sept./Oct. 1973 to Nov./Dec. 1976. Backg ...

'' #2, 7, 9 (1973–1975) * '' Rima, the Jungle Girl'' #1 (1974) * ''Secret Hearts'' #148, 152 (1970–1971) * '' Secrets of Haunted House'' #1–4, 6, 9–10, 13 (1975–1978) * '' Secrets of Sinister House'' #9, 12–13, 15 (1973) * ''

Star Spangled War Stories ''Star Spangled War Stories'' was the title of a comics anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed characters and stories. Among the features published in this series were writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Jerry Grandenetti ...

'' #190, 192, 195, 203 (1975–1976) * ''

'' #2–3 (1975) * '' The Unexpected'' #118, 161, 189, 191–194 (1970–1979) * '' Unknown Soldier'' #218 (1978) * ''

'' #4–5, 8–13, 21, 24 (1973–1975) * ''

'' #13, 15–16, 20–22, 24, 26–27, 29–30, 32–33, 35–36, 38–40, 42–47, 49, 51–54, 58–59, 63, 65, 69–71 (1973–1979) * ''

Weird Western Tales ''Weird Western Tales'' is a Western genre comics anthology published by DC Comics from June–July 1972 to August 1980. It is best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 (Jan.–Feb. 1977) when the character was promoted to h ...

'' #15 (1972) * '' The Witching Hour'' #11 (1970) * '' Young Love'' #85, 88–90 (1971) * '' Young Romance'' #165–166 (1970)

EC Comics

* '' Aces High'' #3–5 (1955) * '' Crime Illustrated'' #1–2 (1955–1956) * '' Crime SuspenStories'' #24–27 (1954–1955) * ''

The Haunt of Fear ''The Haunt of Fear'' was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics, starting in 1950. Along with '' Tales from the Crypt'' and '' The Vault of Horror'', it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. ''T ...

'' #27 (1954) * ''

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Imp ...

'' #4 (1955) * '' Incredible Science Fiction'' #30–33 (1955–1956) * ''

Piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

'' #5 (1955) * ''

'' #2–3 (1956) * ''

Shock SuspenStories ''Shock SuspenStories'' was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The bi-monthly comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, began with issue 1 in February/March 1952. Over a four-year span, it ran for 18 issues, ending wi ...

'' #14–15 (1954) * ''

'' #1–2 (1955–1956) * '' The Vault of Horror'' #35–37 (1954)

Harvey Comics

* ''Alarming Tales'' #2–4 (1957–1958) * ''

Black Cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

'' #62 (1958)

Hillman Periodicals

* ''Pirates Comics'' #1–4 (1950)

Mainline Publications

* ''Foxhole'' #3–4 (1955)

Marvel Comics

* ''Astonishing'' #55 (1956) * ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s. ...

'' #11 (1953) * ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science ...

'' #49 (1956)

Prize Publications

* ''

Black Magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 14 ...

'' #35 (1957) * ''Strange World of Your Dreams'' #4 (1953) * ''Young Romance'' #4 (1948)

Novels

* ''Messalina'' ( Lyle Stuart, 1959) * ''Theodora'' (

Signet Signet may refer to: *Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals * Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...

, 1971), historical novel similar in spirit to ''Messalina'' * ''The Villagers'' (Lyle Stuart, 1971) * ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'' (

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

, 1972), film tie-in * '' The Vault of Horror'' (Bantam Books, 1973), film tie-in * ''The House of Mystery'' Book 1 and 2 (Warner Paperback, 1973), illustrated by

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

* ''Satan's Child'' (1978), illustrated by Arthur Suydam * ''The Rites of Spring'' (1982), illustrated by Arthur Suydam

References

External links

*
Jack Kirby Museum: Simon and Kirby: Jack OleckJoanne Renaud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleck, Jack 1914 births 1981 deaths American comics writers American horror writers American male novelists United States Army personnel of World War II EC Comics Golden Age comics creators People from Massapequa, New York Silver Age comics creators United States Army soldiers