Arthur Saaf (December 4, 1921 – April 21, 2007) 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 comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literar ...

from the

Golden Age of Comics The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history 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 ...

who also worked in television. He commonly went by Art or Artie.

Career

Art Saaf was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York in 1921 and developed his art skills working at Macfadden Publishing in 1938 and built his first art table using schematics from '' Mechanics Illustrated''. He then majored in pictorial illustration at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

from 1941 to 1942, then attended the School of Arts and Mechanics and the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Saaf worked on titles including '' Commando Rangers'' and '' Phantom Falcons'' as well as covers and features (like "Clipper Kirk") for '' Wings Comics'' and ''

Jumbo Comics ''Jumbo Comics'' was an adventure anthology comic book published by Fiction House from 1938 to 1953. ''Jumbo Comics'' was Fiction House's first comics title; the publisher had previously specialized in pulp magazines. The lead feature for ''Jumbo ...

''. He "ghosted" '' Hap Hopper'', providing art credited to Drew Pearson. After the war, Saaf worked for

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

and

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

as well as drawing autobiographical comics including "The Clown of Baseball" for Real Life Comics. He drew the first appearance of Princess Pantha in '' Thrilling Comics'' #56 (Oct. 1946) and drew the character's feature until its end in 1949. While still doing comic book work, Saaf ventured into television. In 1954 he worked for the Kudner Agency as an assistant television director and provided

storyboards A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process ...

for ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMont Televisio ...

'', and followed that in 1956 working for Dancer, Fitzgerald and Sample Agency. Around 1959, Saaf began working at a freelancer, stating "the pace was too fast, and I wanted time to think about what I was doing." Into the 1960s he worked for numerous agencies providing many

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically us ...

for products ranging from

Post Cereal Post Consumer Brands, LLC (previously Post Cereals and Postum Cereals; also known simply as Post) is an American consumer Fast-moving consumer goods, packaged goods Food processing, food manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota. The co ...

, Crest, Zest,

Maxwell House Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the Ma ...

Life Savers Life Savers (stylized as LifeSavers) is an American brand of ring-shaped hard and soft candy. Its range of mints and fruit-flavored candies is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in paper-wrapped aluminum foil rolls. Candy manufacturer ...

and many others. In the 1970s, he worked for

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

illustrating romance stories until finally leaving comic books. He drew

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 Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

stories in the character's original solo series in 1972. He continued drawing in other publishing fields and provided work for ''

Highlights for Children ''Highlights for Children'', often referred to simply as ''Highlights'', is an American children's magazine. It was started in June 1946 by educators Garry Cleveland Myers and Caroline Clark Myers in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. They worked for the ...

'' magazine as well as various newspapers and other publications. Saaf died April 21, 2007, from the effects of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

at age 85.

Bibliography

DC Comics

* ''

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''), ...

'' #409, 412–413 (

) (1971) * ''

Angel and the Ape ''Angel and the Ape'' is a humor comic book created by E. Nelson Bridwell & Bob Oksner published by DC Comics. The characters first appeared in 1968 in comics, 1968 in ''Showcase (comic book), Showcase'' #77 then graduated to their own title, w ...

'' #5 (1969) * '' Binky'' #72 (1970) * '' DC Special Series'' #7 (1977) * ''Falling in Love'' #102, 110–111, 115–117, 121–122, 127, 139, 141 (1968–1973) * ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' #5–7, 29, 74 (1972–1979) * '' Girls' Love Stories'' #144, 152, 154, 156–157, 159, 166, 168, 177 (1969–1973) * ''

Girls' Romances ''Girls' Romances'' is a romance comic Comics anthology, anthology published by DC Comics in the United States. Debuting with a Feb.,/Mar. 1950 cover-date, it ran for 160 issues, ending with the Oct. 1971 issue (the final issue came out on Octob ...

'' #154, 157 (1971) * ''

Heart Throbs ''Heart Throbs'' was a romance comic published by Quality Comics and DC Comics from 1949 to 1972. Quality published the book from 1949–1957, when it was acquired by DC. Most issues featured a number of short comics stories, as well advice co ...

'' #132–133, 146 (1971–1972) * ''Love Stories'' #149–152 (1973) * ''Meet Angel'' #7 (Angel and the Ape) (1969) * '' Our Fighting Forces'' #118–122 (1969) * ''

'' #1–4, 6–10 (1972–1974) * ''

The Superman Family ''The Superman Family'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1974 to 1982 featuring supporting characters in the ''Superman'' comics. The term "Superman Family" is often used to refer to the extended cast of characters of c ...

'' #165 (Supergirl) (1974) * ''

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics. The series focusing on the adventures of Lois Lane began publication with a March/April 1958 cover date and ended its run in September/October ...

'' #105, 132 (1970–1973) * ''

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 ...

'' #30–31, 33 (1970–1971) * ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' #40–43 (1972–1973) * '' The Unexpected'' #112, 114, 116, 125, 130, 135–136, 138 (1969–1972) * '' The Witching Hour'' #15, 31–32, 39 (1971–1974) * '' Young Love'' #60, 84–85, 91, 120 (1967–1976) * ''

Young Romance ''Young Romance'' is a romantic comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the Crestwood Publications imprint (trade name), imprint Prize Comics in 1947 in comics, 1947. Generally considered the first Romance comics in the United ...

'' #171–172, 175, 191 (1971–1973)

Fiction House

* ''Fight Comics'' #4, 7, 13, 17, 21–22, 28–29 (1940–1943) * ''

'' #17, 21–35, 39, 55–65 (1940–1944) * ''Jungle Comics'' #12, 15, 42, 44, 48, 54–55, 161 (1940–1953) * ''

Planet Comics ''Planet Comics'' was a science fiction comic book title published by Fiction House from January 1940 to Winter 1953. It was the first comic book dedicated wholly to science fiction.Benton, Mike. ''Science Fiction Comics: The Illustrated History'' ...

'' #11, 14, 18–23, 66–67, 69 (1941–1952) * ''Rangers Comics'' #8–20 (1942–1944) * ''Rangers of Freedom Comics'' #4–7 (1942) * ''

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional American comic book jungle girl heroine during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She originally debuted in the British magazine ''Wags'' #46 (January 1938). and later made her first American appearance i ...

'' #3 (1943) * '' Wings Comics'' #7, 15, 19–57, 98 (1941–1948)

Gold Key Comics

* ''

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

Tales of Mystery'' #24–25 (1968–1969) * ''

Mystery Comics Digest ''Mystery Comics Digest'' was one of three digest size comics published by Gold Key Comics in the early 1970s. The other two were '' Golden Comics Digest'' and ''Walt Disney Comics Digest''. History ''Mystery Comics Digest'' was published for 26 i ...

'' #7, 17–18, 21, 26 (1972–1975) * ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...

'' #12, 77, 80 (1969–1978) * ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' #27, 29 (1968–1969)

Harvey Comics

* ''Champ Comics'' #14–17 (1941) * ''First Romance Magazine'' #47, 52 (1957–1958) * ''Speed Comics'' #13 (1941)

Quality Comics

* '' National Comics'' #17–18 (1941–1942)

Standard Comics

* ''Adventures into Darkness'' #5, 7, 10 (1952–1953) * ''America's Best Comics'' #28 (1948) * ''Best Romance'' #5–7 (1952) * ''Broncho Bill'' #8, 12 (1948–1949) * ''Crime Files'' #6 (1952) * ''Date with Danger'' #6 (1953) * ''Dear Beatrice Fairfax'' #8–9 (1951) * ''Exciting Comics'' #66, 68–69 (1949) * ''Fantastic Worlds'' #6 (1952) * '' Fighting Yank'' #27 (1949) * ''Intimate Love'' #12, 14–16, 18, 21, 24–28 (1951–1954) * ''Joe Yank'' #5–6, 9 (1952) * ''Kathy'' #11–17 (1952–1953) * ''Lost Worlds'' #6 (1952) * ''Mel Allen Sports Comics'' #1, 6 (1949–1950) * ''My Real Love'' #5 (1952) * ''New Romances'' #5–6, 8, 10, 13–16, 18, 20–21 (1951–1954) * ''Out of the Shadows'' #5 (1952) * ''Ozark Ike'' #19 (1950) * ''Popular Romance'' #9, 12, 14, 17–18, 23, 27–29 (1950–1954) * ''Real Life Comics'' #50–52, 54 (1949–1950) * ''Startling Comics'' #52–53 (1948) * ''This Is War'' #8 (1953) * '' Thrilling Comics'' #56, 58, 62–66, 68–74, 76–78 (1946–1950) * ''Thrilling Romances'' #5, 12–13, 15–19, 22–26 (1949–1954) * ''Today's Romance'' #8 (1952) * ''The Unseen'' #6–7, 9–10 (1952–1953)

References

External links

*
Art Saaf
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Saaf, Art 1921 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American artists American advertising artists and illustrators American comics artists American storyboard artists Romance comics artists Art Students League of New York alumni Artists from Brooklyn DC Comics people Deaths from Parkinson's disease in the United States Golden Age comics creators Pratt Institute alumni Silver Age comics creators