Donald Clough Cameron (December 21, 1905 – November 17, 1954) was an American writer of

detective novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

and

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 ...

s. He is credited with creating several supporting characters and villains in

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 ...

' line of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

comic books.

Career

Donald Clough Cameron graduated from St. John's Military Academy in

Delafield, Wisconsin Delafield is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Bark River. The population was 7,185 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The city of Delafield is a separate municipality from the Tow ...

, and became a crime reporter for the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' in 1924 and later worked for the ''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'' in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

. In the 1930s, he settled in New York City and became a writer, publishing short stories, sometimes signed with the pseudonym C.A.M. Donne, for pulps and comic books. Between 1939 and 1946, Cameron wrote six

, three of which featured the young criminologist and detective Abelard Voss, who liked to take philosophical reflections during his investigations. The sixth and final novel by Don Cameron, ''White for a Shroud'', features the character of Andrew Brant, the only journalist in a local newspaper, who investigates a series of murders committed in an American town isolated from the outside world by a snowstorm. Cameron made several notable contributions to the

mythos. The story "Here Comes Alfred!" in ''

'' #16 (April–May 1943) by Cameron and

Bob Kane Robert Kane ( Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator, and artist who created Batman and many early related characters for DC Comics. He was inducted into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby ...

introduced

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

as Bruce Wayne's butler. Cameron co-created

Tweedledum and Tweedledee Tweedledum and Tweedledee are characters in an English nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book '' Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There''. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. T ...

in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman 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 ...

'' #74 (April 1943) and the

Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #81 (Nov. 1943). His story "Brothers in Crime!" in ''Batman'' #12 (Aug.–Sept. 1942) featured "Batman's Hall of Trophies" a precursor to the

Batcave The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...

, which debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #83 (Jan. 1944). Cameron and

Win Mortimer James Winslow "Win" 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 comic book and comic stri ...

created Batman's

Batboat Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #110 (April 1946). In addition, Cameron was one of the writers of the ''

'' comic strip for the

McClure Newspaper Syndicate McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the mar ...

. His work on

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

includes creating the

Toyman Toyman is the name of three supervillains and one adolescent superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, as an adversary for Superman. The most well-known incarnation of Toyman is Winslow Schott, a criminal who uses toy-based or to ...

in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' #64 (Sept. 1943) and writing the earliest

Superboy Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...

stories in ''

More Fun Comics ''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'',''New Fun'' #v1#1 (Feb. 1935 ...

''. Cameron created Liberty Belle in '' Boy Commandos'' #1 (Winter 1942) and

Pow Wow Smith Ohiyesa "Pow Wow" Smith is a fictional Western comics, Western hero published by DC Comics. Created by writer Donald Clough Cameron, Don Cameron and penciler Carmine Infantino, he is a Sioux who is the sheriff of the small Western town of Elkhor ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #151 (Sept. 1949). He was one of the writers of DC's ''

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He wa ...

'' licensed series based on the film and TV

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 ...

hero. Other comic book work by Cameron includes

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

Congo Bill Congorilla (originally in human: William "Congo Bill" Glenmorgan) is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Originally co-created by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist George Papp, he was later transfor ...

, and the Western character

Nighthawk The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, which is a grouping of 92 species of medium-sized birds with long wings and short bills specialized for eating insects. The nighthawk's ...

. Donald Clough Cameron died of cancer in New York City in November 1954. His final comics story "The Giant Eagle Robberies" was published posthumously in ''Hopalong Cassidy'' #99 (March 1955).

Other similarly-named creators

Donald Clough Cameron should not be confused with the similarly named Don Cameron, an artist who was also active during the

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 ...

, nor with an unrelated Don Cameron, a comics artist who worked on the '' Cyberella'' series in the 1990s.

Bibliography

Comic books

* ''

'' #58, 61–68, 70–71, 77–83, 85–86, 88–90, 99–100, 102, 107, 109, 119, 148, 151, 192 (1943–1954) * ''

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''), ...

'' #91, 103–121, 123–128, 132, 138, 141, 147–149, 151, 154, 156, 158, 160–166, 168, 171–174 (1944–1952) * ''

'' #12–17, 19–21, 23–30, 32, 36, 38, 46 (1942–1948) * '' Boy Commandos'' #1–2, 6–8, 12–13, 16, 27–28, 30, 33 (1942–1949) * ''

'' #70, 73–75, 79, 81–83, 86, 89, 96, 98–101, 105–111, 114–117, 131, 151–152, 154–156 (1942–1950) * ''

'' #86–90, 92–99 (1954–1955) * ''

More Fun Comics ''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'',''New Fun'' #v1#1 (Feb. 1935 ...

'' #101–107 (1945–1946) * '' Star-Spangled Comics'' #20–49, 51–68 (1943–1947) * ''

'' #6, 11, 19 (1950–1952) * ''

'' #23–24, 26–44, 47, 49–50, 53, 60 (1943–1949) * ''

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 bo ...

'' #2, 6, 15, 18, 21–28, 30, 32–42, 44–47 (1948–1954) * ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' is 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 ...

'' #12–13, 15, 17–21, 23, 25, 28–31, 33–34, 45, 47–48, 61, 63 (1943–1953)

Novels

Abelard Voss series

* ''Murder's Coming'' (1939) * ''Grave Without Grass'' (1940) * ''And So He Had to Die'' (1941)

Other novels

* ''Death at Her Elbow'' (1940) * ''Dig Another Grave'' (1946) * ''White for a Shroud'' (1947)

Pulps

As Donald Clough Cameron

* ''Mood for Murder'' (1939) * ''In the Dark'' (1940) * ''Benjy Takes a Holiday'' (1944) * ''Attar of Homicide'' (1944)

As C.A.M. Donne

* ''Isle of Ghouls'' (1935) * ''Marriage for Murder'' (1937) * ''Vengeance of the Severed Hands'' (1937) * ''Judgment of the Ghost God'' (1937) * ''A Bride for the General'' (1939) * ''White Man's Magic'' (1941) * ''Rendezvous'' (1941) * ''No More Raids'' (1941)

References

External links

Donald Clough Cameron
at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

*
Donald Clough Cameron
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Donald Clough 1905 births 1954 deaths American comics writers American crime fiction writers American crime reporters DC Comics people Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Golden Age comics creators 20th-century pseudonymous writers Writers from Detroit Novelists from Michigan