John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary a ...

noted for his distinctive work with

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, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...

, primarily on the

war comics War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...

Two-Fisted Tales ''Two-Fisted Tales'' is an anthology war comic published bi-monthly by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title originated in 1950 when Harvey Kurtzman suggested to William Gaines that they publish an adventure comic. Kurtzman became the editor o ...

'' and ''

Frontline Combat ''Frontline Combat'' is an anthology war comic book written and edited by Harvey Kurtzman and published bi-monthly by EC Comics. The first issue was cover dated July/August, 1951. It ran for 15 issues over three years, and ended with the Januar ...

''; for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, especially its war and

Western comics Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of the Mississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with an American comic books ...

; and for his 45-year stint with the

satiric Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

magazine ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

''. He was one of the founding cartoonists of '' Mad'' in 1952. Severin was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2003.

Early life

John Severin was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, of Norwegian and Irish descent. He was a teenager in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York City, when he began drawing professionally. While attending high school, he contributed cartoons to '' The Hobo News'', receiving payment of one dollar per cartoon. Severin recalled in 1999: He attended the

High School of Music & Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art" (or "M&A"), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High ...

in New York City, together with future

and '' Mad'' artists

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...

Al Jaffee Allan Jaffee (born Abraham Jaffee; March 13, 1921) is an American cartoonist. He is notable for his work in the satirical magazine '' Mad'', including his trademark feature, the ''Mad'' Fold-in. Jaffee was a regular contributor to the magazine ...

and

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' ...

.John Severin
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved February 15, 2012
Archived
from the original on January 5, 2010. After graduating from the school in 1940, he worked as an apprentice machinist and then enlisted in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, serving in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

during World War II.

Career

Early work: 1947–51

In a 1980 interview, Severin recalled his start as a professional artist: Inspired by the quick money Kurtzman would make in between advertising assignments with one-page "Hey Look!" gags for editor Stan Lee at

Timely Comics Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...

, Severin worked up comics samples inked by Elder. In late 1947, he recalled, the writer-artist-editor team of Joe Simon and

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 ...

Crestwood Publications Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title ''Prize Comics'' contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book fea ...

"gave us our first job." Since it was not standard practice to credit comics creators during this era, a comprehensive list of his early work is difficult to compile. Author and historian Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr., based on Severin's description of "a crime story about a boy and a girl who killed somebody ... I think it was their stepfather. They lived on a farm, or out in the suburbs," believes that first Severin/Elder story was the eight-page "The Clue of the Horoscope" in ''Headline Comics'' #32 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d Nov. 1948), from the Crestwood-affiliated

Prize Comics A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. The standard reference

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

has no credits for that story, and lists Severin's first confirmed work in comics as two stories published the same month: the ten-page

Boy Commandos Boy Commandos is a fictional organization from DC Comics first appearing in ''Detective Comics'' #64 (June 1942) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. They are a combination of "kid gang" characters, an international cast of young boys fighting Nazis — ...

adventure "The Triumph of William Tell" in

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 thei ...

' ''Boy Commandos'' #30; and the eight-page

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

story "Grinning Hole in the Wall" in Prize Comics' ''Prize Comics Western'' vol. 7, #5 (each Dec. 1948), both of which he penciled and the latter of which he also inked. Through 1955, Severin drew a large number of stories for the latter title and other Western series from Prize, and as penciler, he co-created with an unknown writer the long-running Native American feature "American Eagle" in ''Prize Comics Western'' vol. 9, #6 (Jan. 1951), inked by his high-school classmate turned fellow pro Will Elder. Around this time, Severin did his first confirmed work for two publishers with whom he would long be associated,

and

. For the future Marvel Comics, he penciled the seven-page

romance comic Romance comics is a comics genre depicting strong and close romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published t ...

story "My Heart Had No Faith" in

' ''Actual Romances'' #1 (Oct. 1949).

EC Comics

For EC Comics, he debuted with the seven-page "War Story" in ''

'' #19 (Feb. 1951), continuing to work in tandem with his friend Elder as his inker, notably on science fiction and war stories. Severin drew stories for both ''Two-Fisted Tales'' and ''

''. When Kurtzman dropped the war comics to devote more time to '' Mad'', Severin became sole artist on ''Two-Fisted Tales'' for four issues and scripted some stories. He also illustrated stories written by his friend Colin Dawkins and future ''Mad'' art director John Putnam. Severin and Dawkins were the uncredited co-editors of ''Two-Fisted Tales'' #36–39. Severin and Elder eventually split as a team at EC. They both were in the group of the five original artists who launched editor

's landmark

comic book ''Mad'', along with Kurtzman,

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', '' Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fr ...

and Jack Davis. Severin appeared in nine of ''Mads first ten issues, drawing ten pieces between 1952 and 1954. According to accounts by both Severin and Kurtzman, the two had a falling out over art criticisms Kurtzman made during this period. It was Kurtzman who suggested that Severin ink with a pen as opposed to brush inking. Though Severin eventually took this advice in his later work, he was annoyed at Kurtzman at the time, for this and other remarks, and refused further work with him. Kurtzman insisted on doing the layouts for all the artists, which some resented, including Severin. His ability to draw people of different nationalities convincingly was highly admired by his peers, as was his eye for authentic details.Schelly, Bill and Keith Dallas. ''American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s'' (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2013), p. 17. Upon Severin's death, writer Mark Evanier remembered, "

used to say that when he had to research some historical costume or weapon for a story, it was just as good to use a John Severin drawing as it was to find a photo of the real thing. They don't make 'em like that anymore."

Marvel Comics and other publishers

Following the cancellation of EC's comic book line in the wake of the

Comics Code 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. T ...

in the mid-1950s, Severin began working for Atlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of

. ''Sergeant Barney Barker'', drawn by Severin, was Atlas' answer to '' Sgt. Bilko''. Artist and colorist

Stan Goldberg Stan Goldberg (May 5, 1932 – August 31, 2014) was an American comic book artist, best known for his work with Archie Comics and as a Marvel Comics colorist who in the 1960s helped design the original color schemes of Spider-Man, the Fantastic F ...

, a company colleague, recalled in 2005, After Atlas transitioned to become Marvel Comics in the 1960s, Severin did extensive work as penciler, inker or both on such series as ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'', ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'', and ''

Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders ''Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders'' is a World War II comic book published by Marvel Comics. The series lasted for nineteen issues, from January 1968 to March 1970. By issue #9 the name was switched to ''Captain Savage and his Battlefie ...

''.

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on '' The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wolve ...

, the primary ''Hulk'' penciler during this period comics fans and historians call the

Silver Age of comic books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...

, said in 2009, "I was kind of thrilled when John Severin inked me, because I liked his work for EC Comics, and he was one of my idols." As inker, Severin teamed with penciler

Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on s ...

on an acclaimed run of the

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

series ''

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...

'', beginning with #44 (July 1967). In the 1970s, he collaborated with his sister, artist

Marie Severin Marie Severin (; August 21, 1929 – August 29, 2018) was an American comics artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics. She is an inductee of the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame and the Harvey Awards ...

, on Marvel's sword and sorcery series, ''

King Kull Kull of Atlantis or Kull the Conqueror is a fictional character created by writer Robert E. Howard. The character was more introspective than Howard's subsequent creation, Conan the Barbarian, whose first appearance was in a re-write of a rejec ...

''. During this time he was by far the most prolific contributor to the

'' magazine, drawing television and movie parodies along with other features, including most of the magazine's covers. For

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include '' After Hours'', '' Creepy'', '' Eerie'', '' F ...

in the 1960s, he drew for the black-and-white comics magazines '' Blazing Combat'' and ''

Creepy Creepiness is the state of being wikt:creepy, creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or wikt:unease, unease. A person who exhibits creepy behaviour is called a creep. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others. The ...

''. Severin also contributed to

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...

' line of bubble gum

trading cards A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...

. He was one of the artists on

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also kno ...

's self-published ''Sojourn'' series in 1977. His 1980s work for Marvel included ''

The 'Nam ''The 'Nam'' was a war comic book series detailing the U.S. war in Vietnam from the perspective of active-duty soldiers involved in the conflict. It was written by Doug Murray, initially illustrated by Michael Golden, edited by Larry Hama an ...

'', ''

What The--?! ''What The--?!'' is a Marvel Comics comic book series self-parodying the Marvel Universe, similar in vein to the 1960s series '' Not Brand Echh''. It was billed as "The Marvel mag of mirth and mayhem!" The series ran for 26 issues, from August 19 ...

'', and '' Semper Fi''. Circa 2000, writer Jeff Mariotte recalled in 2002, Severin phoned

Scott Dunbier Scott Dunbier is an American comic book editor, best known as the Special Projects Editor at IDW Publishing. Career Dunbier rose to prominence in the comic book industry as executive editor of the Wildstorm comic book line. After several years a ...

, a group editor at

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wild ...

imprint, "and said he was looking to do comics again" after working primarily for ''Cracked'' at the time. "I happened to pass by Scott's office as he hung up the phone, and he sounded kind of awestruck as he told me that John Severin wanted to do something with us. I said something like, 'Gee, a '' Desperadoes'' story by Severin would be great,'" referring to Mariotte's

miniseries for DC. "Scott agreed. We needed to hurry, before he was snapped up by someone else, so I went home and worked up a proposal overnight. We had sent him, right after that first call, copies of the original ''Desperadoes'' books. That was followed up by the proposal, the next day. He liked what he saw and wanted to play along." This led to Severin drawing the sequel miniseries ''Desperadoes: Quiet of The Grave''. He illustrated the controversial 2003 Marvel limited series '' The Rawhide Kid'', a lighthearted parallel universe Western that reimagined the outlaw hero as a kitschy though still formidably gunslinging gay man. Severin, who had drawn the character for Atlas in the 1950s, refuted rumors that he had not known of the subject matter, saying at the time of the premiere issue's release, "The Rawhide Kid is rather effeminate in this story. It may be quite a blow to some of the old fans of Rawhide Kid. But it's a lot of fun, and he's still a tough ''hombre''." Also in the 2000s, Severin contributed to Marvel's ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

'';

' ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'', ''

American Century The American Century is a characterization of the period since the middle of the 20th century as being largely dominated by the United States in political, economic, and cultural terms. It is comparable to the description of the period 1815–19 ...

'', ''Caper'', and '' Bat Lash''; and

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

' '' Conan'', '' B.P.R.D.'' and '' Witchfinder''.

Personal life

Severin's family members working in the publishing and entertainment fields include his sister

, a comic book artist, who was the colorist for EC's comics; his son John Severin, Jr., the head of Bubblehead Publishing; his daughter, Ruth Larenas, a producer for that company; and his grandson, John Severin III, a music producer and recording engineer. Severin died at his home in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado, on February 12, 2012 at the age of 90. His wife of 60 years, Michelina, survived him, as did his six children and comics artist sister Marie Severin.

Awards and honors

Severin received an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...

in 1998 and was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2003. With writer

Gary Friedrich Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'', and, in the following era, for the series '' The Monster o ...

and penciler

, Severin's inking contributed to ''

'' winning the

Alley Award The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with th ...

for Best War Title of 1967 and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

. He was among the winners of the

Cartoon Art Museum The Cartoon Art Museum (CAM) is a California art museum that specializes in the art of comics and cartoons. It is the only museum in the Western United States dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of all forms of cartoon art. The permanen ...

's 2001 Sparky Award. His artwork was exhibited three times at the Words & Pictures Museum in Northampton, Massachusetts – in the grand-opening group show (October 9, 1992 – January 5, 1993), in the group exhibit "War No More" (May 18 – August 8, 1993) and in the group show "Classic Comics: A Selection of Stories from EC Comics" (December 7 – February 11, 1996)., Words & Pictures Museum (official site)
Original page
/ref> In 2022, Severin was awarded the

Inkwell Awards The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is a trophy given in the field of inking in American comic books. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community, and after the pe ...

Stacey Aragon Special Achievement Award (SASRA) for his lifetime achievement in inking."First Comics News - 2022 Inkwell Awards Lifetime Achievement Winners"
/ref>

References

External links

*: Excerpts/additional material from interview in ''

'' #215, August 1999
WebCitation archive
* Shaw, Scott, , "Oddball Comics" (column) #1097, December 2, 2005. *
John Severin
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Severin, John 1921 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists United States Army personnel of World War II American cartoonists American comics artists American people of Irish descent American people of Norwegian descent Artists from Brooklyn Artists from Jersey City, New Jersey Comics inkers DC Comics people EC Comics Golden Age comics creators Inkpot Award winners Mad (magazine) cartoonists Marvel Comics people Military personnel from New Jersey People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Silver Age comics creators The High School of Music & Art alumni United States Army soldiers Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees

Early life

Career

Early work: 1947–51

EC Comics

Marvel Comics and other publishers

Personal life

Awards and honors

References

Further reading

External links