Bob Powell (

né The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Stanley Robert Pawlowski;

While gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, and gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, Bails and Ware note: "family name corrected by his son, Seth R. Powell July 2006." October 6, 1916Robert Powell
at the

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

via GenealogyBank.com. Retrieved on September 23, 2012
Archived
from the original on September 23, 2012. Note

at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ). His son Boris Kousemaker has been the owner since 2007. From 1968 to 2015, it was located in the Ke ...

erroneously gives death date as Oct. 1, 1967. – October 1, 1967) was an American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

known for his work during the 1930–1940s

Golden Age of comic books 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 ma ...

, including on the features "

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 ...

" and "

Mr. Mystic ''Mr. Mystic'' is a comics series featuring a magician crime-fighter, created by Will Eisner and initially drawn by Bob Powell. The strip featured in four-page backup feature a Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert, known colloquially as "The Spiri ...

". He received a belated credit in 1999 for co-writing the debut of the popular feature "

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urubitinga'' * Mangrove black hawk, ''Buteogallus (anthracinus) s ...

". Powell also did the pencil art for the

bubble gum Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Composition In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...

trading card 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 t ...

series ''

Mars Attacks ''Mars Attacks'' is a science fiction-themed trading card series released in 1962 by Topps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artists Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. The cards form a story arc, which tells of the invasion of Earth by ...

''. He officially changed his name to S. Robert Powell in 1943.

Biography

Early life and career

Raised in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, Reprinted in Joe Simon: "Bob was from Buffalo." Bob Powell in the 1930s moved to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he studied art 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 ...

. Like many comics artists of the time, he found work at

Eisner & Iger Eisner & Iger was a comic book packager that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s, a period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by Will Eisner and Jerry Ige ...

, one of the most prominent "packagers" who supplied complete comic books to

publishers Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

testing the emerging medium. Powell's first published comic-book art is tentatively identified as the uncredited three-page story "A Letter of Introduction", featuring the famed

ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (né Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen ...

and his dummy,

Charlie McCarthy Charlie McCarthy was a dummy partner of American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Charlie was part of Bergen's act as early as high school, and by 1930 was attired in a top hat, tuxedo and monocle. The character was so well known that his popularity ex ...

, in

Fiction House Fiction House was an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. It was founded by John B. "Jack" Kelly and John W. Glenister.Saunders, David"JACK BYRNE (1902-1972),"Field Guide to Wild American P ...

's ''

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 ...

'' #2 (Oct. 1938). Another of his earliest works, under the pseudonym Arthur Dean, was

penciling 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. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...

the adventure feature "Dr. Fung" in

Fox Feature Syndicate Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...

's ''Wonder Comics'' #1 (May 1939) and subsequently.Bob Powell
at the

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 use ...

Powell also did early work for Fox's ''Wonderworld Comics'' and '' Mystery Men Comics''; Fiction House's ''Planet Comics'', where his strips included "Gale Allen and the Women's Space Battalion";

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alf ...

' ''Speed Comics'', for which he wrote and drew the feature "Ted Parrish", (pencilling at least once under the pseudonym Bob Stanley);

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 ...

' one-shot ''Tough Kid Squad Comics'';

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

' ''Crack Comics'' (where he pencilled as Terence McAully), ''Hit Comics'' (as Stanley Charlot), ''

Military Comics A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a di ...

'' (where he signed his pencils for the "Loops and Banks"

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

strip as Bud Ernest), ''Smash Comics'' (as Powell Roberts), and ''Feature Comics''. Other pseudonyms included Rex Smith and W. Morgan Thomas, as well as Buck Stanley, S. T. Anley, and Major Ralston.Bob Powell
at the

. .

Sheena and superheroes

As part of the

studio, Powell drew many of the earliest adventures of the jungle-queen Sheena in ''Jumbo Comics''. Later, after

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

split off to form his own studio in an arrangement with Quality publisher Everett M. "Busy" Arnold — bringing Powell,

Nick Cardy Nicholas Viscardi (October 20, 1920 – November 3, 2013), known professionally as Nick Cardy and Nick Cardi, was an American comics artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters. Cardy was induct ...

, Chuck Cuidera,

Lou Fine Louis Kenneth Fine (November 26, 1914 – July 24, 1971)Louis Fine
at the United States Eisner in 2005 recalled his studio as "a friendly shop, and I guess I was the same age as the youngest guys there. We all got along. The only ones who ever got into a hassle were

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the Everett M. "Busy" Arnold created tensions when Arnold wanted to hire Powell separately: Artist

, a colleague at the Eisner studio, said Powell "came in later when I was doing he 'Spirit Section' feature'

Lady Luck Lady Luck, a personification of luck, may refer to: Fiction and mythology * Fortuna, in Roman mythology, goddess of fortune * Tyche, in Greek mythology, goddess of fortune * Lady Luck (comics), a character created by Will Eisner Film * ''L ...

'. He was sitting behind me. He would help a kid around the block — tell a newcomer to take it easy and that sort of thing". Powell became particularly known for his "

good girl art Good girl art (GGA) is a style of artwork depicting women primarily featured in comic books, comic strips, and pulp magazines. The term was coined by the American Comic Book Company, appearing in its mail order catalogs from the 1930s to the 1970 ...

" in

Magazine Enterprises Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book publishing company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western, humor, crime, adventure, and children's comics, with virtually no superheroes. It was founded by Vin Sullivan, an ed ...

' '' Cave Girl'', and in Fiction House's ''Jungle Comics'', where he worked on early Sheena stories and later on the

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

- bikini'd

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

adventuress Camilla. In the realm of

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

comics, Powell co-created the patriotic character personifying the Spirit of '76, in Harvey's ''Pocket Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1941). It would become a long-running feature in Harvey's ''Green Hornet Comics''. Powell also penciled a Golden Age

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

story, "The Sorcerer's Sinister Secret", in Timely's ''

All Winners Comics ''All Winners Comics'' is the name of two American comic book series of the 1940s, both were published by Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. A superhero anthology co ...

'' #4 (Spring 1942), and pencilled a chapter of the historic ''All Winners Comics'' #19 (Fall 1946). He drew the backup feature "Mr. Mystic" in Eisner's " The Spirit Section", a 16-page comic-book insert for Sunday newspapers, from the feature's inception in 1940 until Powell entered the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

for his

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 ...

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in 1943, the same year he officially changed his name to S. Robert Powell. As comics historian and critic Tom Heintjes wrote,

Post-war Powell

Following his discharge, Powell formed his own studio and drew for numerous comic-book publishers. His work in the 1950s included features and covers for

Street and Smith Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc., was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among t ...

's '' Shadow Comics'';

' '' Bobby Benson's B-Bar-B Riders'', based on the

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

series, and all four issues of that publisher's ''Strong Man''; and, for

, many war, romance, and horror stories, as well as work for the comics ''Man in Black'', ''Adventures in 3-D'' and ''True 3-D''.

Howard Nostrand Howard Nostrand (May 13, 1929Nostrand, Howard. "Nostrand by Nostrand", ''Graphic Story Magazine'' #16 (Summer 1974), p. 18–August 1, 1984)rew Rew or REW may refer to: People In the military * Thomas Rew, United States Air Force In science * George Campbell Rew, American chemist who co-invented Calumet baking powder * R. Henry Rew, British agricultural statistician In sport * Charle ...

backgrounds ndMartin Epp, who inked, lettered and helped George on backgrounds. I started out inking and then got into doing backgrounds ... and then

." Features on which they worked during this period included "Red Hawk" in

' '' Straight Arrow''; and, for

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

, work in ''

Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...

Comics'', an adaptation of the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

The Red Badge of Courage ''The Red Badge of Courage'' is an 1895 war novel by American author Stephen Crane. The novel was published on 3 October 1895. Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming ...

'', and "a couple of Westerns" including the movie-spinoff feature "

Lash LaRue Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917 – May 21, 1996) was a Western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. Early life and education Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana in 1917, he was reared in various towns throughout Louisiana, ...

". In 1961, Powell became

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

for the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

magazine '' Sick'', working there until his death. On a freelance basis, he worked on

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

' 1962 ''

'' trading cards, doing the final pencil art based on early pencils roughs by

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 (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

;

Norman Saunders Norman Blaine Saunders (January 1, 1907 – March 7, 1989) was a prolific 20th-century American commercial artist. He is best known for paintings in pulp magazines, paperbacks, men's adventure magazines, comic books and trading cards. On occasio ...

then did the final painted art. Powell had previously worked with Saunders and others on Topps' 1961 ''

Civil War News ''Civil War News'' was a set of collectible trading cards issued in the early 1960s by Topps. The set featured colorful painted artwork and was characterized by vivid colors, graphic depictions of violence, death and blood (base card #21 "Painful ...

'' series of cards. During this 1960s period that 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, the Silver A ...

, Powell also drew a handful of stories for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

featuring the superheroes Daredevil,

Giant-Man Giant-Man is the alias used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in association with the alias Ant-Man. Hank Pym first appeared as Giant-Man in ''Tales to Astonish'' #49, though he had appea ...

, the

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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

and the

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...

. As commentator and columnist

Fred Hembeck Fred Hembeck (born January 30, 1953) is an American cartoonist best known for his parodies of characters from major American comic book publishers. His work has frequently been published by the firms whose characters he spoofs. His characters are ...

described Powell's brief tenure at Marvel, In

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of 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 terminology#Captio ...

, Powell drew writer Bessie Little's short-lived ''Teena-a-Go-Go'' (1966) and the similarly short-lived ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...

'' strip (1959–1960). Sources differ on the date of Powell's death. The

confirms his birth date as October 2, 1916, but gives his death date only as December 1967. A standard reference source, the

, gives a birth date (October 6, 1916) at odds with the U.S. government record, and a death date of October 1, 1967.

Legacy

Some Powell’s work has been reprinted and collected, beginning with full comic-book reproductions by Bill Black’s

AC Comics AC Comics (formerly known as Paragon Publications and Americomics) is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.

. In 2011,

Yoe Books IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...

released ''Bob Powell’s Terror''. In 2014, Kitchen Sink Books and

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...

released ''The Complete Bob Powell's Cave Girl'', followed in 2015 by ''The Complete Bob Powell's Jet Powers''.

References

External links

"Bob Powell"
at Wildwood Cemetery: The Spirit Database. Accessed January 15, 2010
WebCitation archive
*

(original art by Powell and inker

Howard Nostrand Howard Nostrand (May 13, 1929Nostrand, Howard. "Nostrand by Nostrand", ''Graphic Story Magazine'' #16 (Summer 1974), p. 18–August 1, 1984)WebCitation archive
* Includes unused Powell ''Mars Attacks'' sketch. {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Bob American comic strip cartoonists Golden Age comics creators 1916 births 1967 deaths Marvel Comics people