James Winslow Mortimer (May 1, 1919 – January 11, 1998) Note: The Marvel Comics 1978 Calendar merchandise lists Mortimer's birth date as June 23 and ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' lists it as May 23 per was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

and

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

artist best known as one of the major illustrators of the

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 ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

. He additionally drew for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book 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 Comics'' in ...

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...

, and other publishers. He was a 2006 inductee into the

Canadian comics Canadian comics refers to comics and cartooning by citizens of Canada or permanent residents of Canada regardless of residence. Canada has two official languages, and distinct comics cultures have developed in English and French Canada. The ...

creators Joe Shuster Hall of Fame.

Biography

Early life and career

Win Mortimer was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

, Canada. Trained as an artist by his father, who worked for a

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

company, and at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may st ...

, Mortimer found work as an illustrator after a short stint in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

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 ...

. Discharged in 1943, Mortimer found work designing posters.

DC Comics

Mortimer began working for DC Comics in 1945, and quickly became a cover artist for comics featuring

Superboy Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...

and

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

. His first known comics work is as the

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

and

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

of the 12-page lead Batman story, "The Batman Goes Broke" by writer Don Cameron, in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' #105 (Nov. 1945); contractually credited to

Bob Kane Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...

, it is also signed "Mortimer." and The introduction of Batman's

Batboat The Batboat, Batstrike, or Batsub is the fictional personal aqua-dynamic hydrofoil/submersible watercraft of the DC Comics superhero Batman. Batman's boats Batskiboat The Batskiboat is a version of the Batboat in the 1992 live-action film ''Bat ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #110 (April 1946) was another Cameron/Mortimer collaboration. Mortimer launched a

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

feature in ''

Star-Spangled Comics ''Star Spangled Comics'' was a comics anthology published by DC Comics which ran for 130 issues from October 1941 to July 1952. It was then retitled ''Star Spangled War Stories'' and lasted until issue #204 (February–March 1977). Publication his ...

'' #65 (Feb. 1947). He succeeded Wayne Boring on the ''Superman'' newspaper strip in 1949, leaving it in 1956 to create the adventure strip '' David Crane'' for the

Prentice-Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari ...

Syndicate. Following his run on that series, Mortimer produced the '' Larry Bannon'' strip for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

'' beginning in 1960. During the same period, Mortimer returned to DC and worked on a large variety of comics, ranging from humor titles such as ''

Swing with Scooter ''Swing with Scooter'' is a DC Comics teen-humor American comic book published from 1966 to 1972. It starred a British teenage musician nicknamed Scooter who lived in the US. Publication history ''Swing with Scooter'' was published by DC Comics for ...

'' to superhero features starring the

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st cent ...

and

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

. He and writer

Arnold Drake Arnold Drake (March 1, 1924 – March 12, 2007) was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, amo ...

co-created ''

Stanley and His Monster Stanley and His Monster was an American comic-book humor feature and later series from DC Comics, about a boy who has a monster as his companion instead of a dog. Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Winslow Mortimer as a backup feature in ...

'' in 1965.

Later life and career

By the early 1970s, Mortimer was also freelancing for other publishers. At Marvel, he drew virtually every story in the TV tie-in children's comic '' Spidey Super Stories'', starring

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

, for its entire 57-issue run (Oct. 1974 – March 1982) as well as the short-lived '' Night Nurse'' series. Mortimer's work at Gold Key Comics included ''

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

Tales of Mystery'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'', and ''

Battle Of The Planets ''Battle of the Planets'' is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime series ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' (1972). Of the 105 original ''Gatchaman'' episodes, 85 were used in the ''Battle of the Planets'' adaptation, produced by Sandy Fra ...

''. He left comics in 1983 to do

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and commercial art for

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

' studio,

Continuity Associates Continuity Studios (formerly Continuity Associates, originally known as Continuity Graphics Associates)Eury, Michael and Giordano, Dick. ''Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day at a Time'', TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003. is a New York City and Los ...

. Mortimer's last superhero art was the four-issue DC

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

''World of Metropolis'' (Aug.–Nov. 1988), plus some character drawings for the reference ''Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes'' #7 (Nov. 1988). His final comics work was penciling the four page "Noble Heart" story for '' The Big Book of Martyrs'' (Aug. 1997).

Awards and honors

Mortimer is a 2006 inductee into the Canadian comics' creators Joe Shuster Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

Comics work (interior art) includes:

DC Comics

*''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...

'' (

) #101, 113–114, 117, 119, 129; (

) #378–387, 389–392; (

Lori Lemaris Lori may refer to: *Lori (given name) *Lori Province, Armenia *Lori Fortress, a fortress in Armenia *Lori Berd, a village in Armenia * Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, a historical Armenian kingdom from c. 980 to 1240, sometimes known as the Kingdom of ...

) #475 (1946–1977) *''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'' (

) #119; (Legion of Super-Heroes) #373–380; (

) #381, 383–389, 391–396, 415; (

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman'' #4 (November 1964). Zatanna is a stage magician with actu ...

) #421 (1947–1972) *'' The Adventures of Alan Ladd'' #2 (1949) *'' All-American Men of War'' #106 (1964) *''

'' #33, 176, 304 (1946–1978) *'' The Best of DC'' #45 (1984) *'' The Big Book of Martyrs'' #1 (1997) *''

Big Town ''Big Town'' is a popular long-running radio drama featuring a corruption-fighting newspaper editor initially played from 1937 to 1942 by Edward G. Robinson in his first radio role, with echoes of the conscience-stricken tabloid editor he had ...

'' #2–6 (1951) *'' Binky'' #73 (1970) *''Binky's Buddies'' #5, 7–11 (1969–1970) *''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varie ...

'' #63–64, 69 (1965–1966) *''Captain Storm'' #17 (1967) *'' DC 100-Page Super Spectacular'' #DC-5 (1971) *''

'' (

) #105, 107, 109–112, 114–116, 120 (1945–1947) *''Falling in Love'' #82, 98, 104, 112, 120 (1966–1971) *''

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 ...

'' #7, 11 (1972–1973) *'' The Fox and the Crow'' #94–98, 100–102, 106–108 (1965–1968) *''

Gang Busters ''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957. Histo ...

'' #5–6, 9, 28, 47 (1948–1955) *''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

'' #89, 91, 94 (1980) *'' Girls' Romances'' #141 (1969) *'' Heart Throbs'' #110 (1967) *''

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 ...

'' #178, 204 (1969–1972) *''

Inferior Five The Inferior Five (or I5) are a parody superhero team appearing in books by the American publisher DC Comics. Created by writer E. Nelson Bridwell and artist Joe Orlando, the team premiered in the DC Comics title ''Showcase'' #62 (May-June 19 ...

'' #7–10 (1968) *''Leave It To Binky'' #71 (1970) *''Love Stories'' #147 (1972) *''Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood'' #3–4, 7 (1949–1950) *''

Mr. District Attorney ''Mr. District Attorney'' is a radio crime drama produced by Samuel Bischoff that aired on NBC and ABC from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 (and in transcribed syndication through 1953). The series focused on a crusading district attorney initi ...

'' #8, 18, 43 (1949–1955) *''

My Greatest Adventure ''My Greatest Adventure'' was a DC Comics comic book that began in 1955 and is best known for introducing the superhero team Doom Patrol. Publication history The title was originally an anthology series with adventure stories told in the first p ...

'' #8 (1956) *''

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Cole, Plastic Man was one of the fi ...

'' #2–7 (1967) *''

Real Fact Comics ''Real Fact Comics'' is a series of educational American comic books published by three early iterations of DC Comics: World's Best Comics, Inc., Detective Comics, Inc., and National Comics Publications. The series lasted for 21 issues with cover ...

'' #5, 7–14, 19–20 (1946–1949) *''Secret Hearts'' #133, 136, 139 (1969) *'' Secrets of Haunted House'' #8 (1977) *''

'' #110 (1968) *'' Star Spangled Comics'' #65–91 (1947–1949) *''

'' #50–52, 72 (1948–1951) *'' The Superman Family'' (

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...

) #185–188, 190–193; (

Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the '' Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and ha ...

) #187; (Supergirl) #199–222 (1977–1982) *''

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it co ...

'' (

Newsboy Legion The Newsboy Legion is a teenage vigilante group in the DC Comics Universe. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, they appeared in their own self-titled feature which ran from ''Star-Spangled Comics'' #7 (April 1942) to #64 (January 1947). In 1970, ...

) #150 (1972) *''

'' #21, 23–24 (1969–1970) *'' The Unexpected'' #212 (1981) *'' Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes'' #4, 6–7 (1988) *'' The Witching Hour'' #4, 9, 22, 27 (1969–1973) *''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as bein ...

'' #177 (1968) *''World of

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

'' #1–4 (1988) *''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #20–26, 29–30, 43–48 (1945–1950) *'' Young Love'' #82–83, 87–88, 111, 114, 123, 126 (1970–1977) *'' Young Romance'' #150, 162, 208 (1967–1975)

Gold Key Comics

*''

Battle of the Planets ''Battle of the Planets'' is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime series ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' (1972). Of the 105 original ''Gatchaman'' episodes, 85 were used in the ''Battle of the Planets'' adaptation, produced by Sandy Fra ...

'' #1–5 (1979–1980) *''

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom Solar is an American fictional comic book superhero created by writer Paul S. Newman, editor Matt Murphy, and artist Bob Fujitani. The character first appeared in ''Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom'' #1 in 1962 by Gold Key Comics and has since appeare ...

'' #15–27 (1965–1969)

Marvel Comics

*''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

'' #220 (1981) *''

Avengers Spotlight ''Solo Avengers'' was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, and was a spin-off from the company's superhero team title '' The Avengers''. It was published for 20 issues (December 1987–July 1989) until it was renamed ''Avenger ...

'' #37 (1990) *''

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

'' #17, 21, 22, 25, 31, 32, 38, 53 (1992-1995) *''Barbie Fashion'' #16, 17, 45 (1992-1994) *''

Dracula Lives ''Dracula Lives!'' was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 13 issues and one '' Super Annual'' from 1973 to 1975, and starred the Marvel version o ...

'' #10–11 (1975) *''Giant-Size Chillers'' #1 (1975) *''Haunt of Horror'' #3 (1974) *''

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. ...

'' vol. 2 #4–5 (1973) *''

Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own serie ...

'' #59 (

Werewolf by Night The Werewolf by Night (usually referred to by other characters simply as the Werewolf) is the name applied to two fictional characters who are werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of We ...

backup story) (1981) *'' Marvel Super Special'' #23 ('' Annie'' movie adaptation) (1982) *'' Monsters Unleashed'' #3, 5 (1973–1974) *''My Love'' #19, 21 (1972–1973) *'' Night Nurse'' #1–4 (1972–1973) *'' Spidey Super Stories'' (

) #1–57 (1974–1982) *''Spoof'' #4–5 (1973) *'' Supernatural Thrillers'' #4 (''

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'' adaptation) (1973) *'' Tales of the Zombie'' #2, 4, 7 (1973–1974) *'' Vampire Tales'' #1, 5 (1973–1974) *''

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 ...

'' #8, 10, 14 (1990–1991)

References

External links

*
"DC Profiles #68: Winslow (Win) Mortimer"
at the Grand Comics Database
Win Mortimer
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, Win 1919 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Canadian artists Advertising artists and illustrators Artists from Ontario Art Students League of New York alumni Canadian Army soldiers Canadian cartoonists Canadian comic strip cartoonists Canadian comics artists Canadian comics writers Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian poster artists DC Comics people Golden Age comics creators Marvel Comics people Silver Age comics creators Writers from Hamilton, Ontario