Murray Boltinoff (January 3, 1911 – May 6, 1994) was an American writer and editor of

comic books 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 ...

who 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 ...

from the 1940s to the 1980s, in which role he edited over 50 different comic book series.

Biography

A graduate of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, in 1933 Boltinoff was hired as an assistant editor at the ''

New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 ...

''—the first newspaper to hire his younger brother

Henry Boltinoff Henry Boltinoff (February 19, 1914 – April 26, 2001) was an American cartoonist who worked for both comic strips and comic books. He was a prolific cartoonist and drew many of the humor and filler strips that appeared in National Periodical c ...

as a cartoonist. Although

Craig Yoe Craig Yoe (; born February 23, 1951) is an American author, editor, art director, graphic designer, cartoonist and comics historian, best known for his Yoe! Studio creations and his line of Yoe Books. Early life Craig Yoe was born in Des Moines, ...

has stated that "Murray had got Henry hejob",

Don Markstein Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

reported that it was actually ''more'' difficult for Henry to sell artwork to Murray, as "both

trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

to avoid any appearance of favoritism". Henry Boltinoff subsequently began selling cartoons to Whitney Ellsworth at

National Allied Publications National Comics Publications (NCP; later known as National Periodical Publications Inc. or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company. It was the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was origin ...

, and suggested that Ellsworth hire Murray as an assistant, which Ellsworth did around the year 1940. As an editor, he oversaw the creation of the

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appear ...

in ''

My Greatest Adventure ''My Greatest Adventure'' is 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 first-person narratives. The series ...

'', and came up with their

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

, "The World's Strangest Heroes". When the ''Doom Patrol'' series was canceled in 1968, Boltinoff and artist

Bruno Premiani Giordano Bruno Premiani (; January 4, 1907 – August 17, 1984
at the

appeared in the story to urge readers to keep the series alive. Boltinoff revived

Metamorpho Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, the character debuted as the lead feature in The Brave and the Bold, ''The Brave and the Bold'' (January 1965). ...

as the backup feature in ''

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 ...

'' #218–220 and #229 after the character had a brief run as the backup 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 ...

'' #413–418. Gina Misiroglu has described Boltinoff as Metamorpho's "savior" from post-cancellation obscurity due to his "tendency to stick etamorphointo whichever comic oltinoffhappened to be working on at the time." The character's creator

Bob Haney Robert Gilbert Haney, Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 25, 2004) was an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Lance Bruner, Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and ...

later reported having read an interview in which Boltinoff claimed to have created Metamorpho, and attributed this to

senility Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform everyday activities. This typically involves problems with memory, ...

on Boltinoff's part. Haney was not the only one to comment on Boltinoff's memory: ''

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes The 1958 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes (also called the original/Preboot Legion) is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the . The team is the first incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and was followed by the Legion of ...

'' writer

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor, and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comic ...

recounted that Boltinoff "would forget the character's uper-owers" and "seemed to have early stage

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Seriously. Ask his former assistant, Jack Harris. Murray would give me instructions, forget what he'd said, then be upset that I hadn't followed some orders he'd never given me. I ended up doing rewrites because Murray misremembered things." While editing ''

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 ...

and the

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a 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 centuries of t ...

'', his actions included rejecting

Dave Cockrum David Emmett Cockrum (; November 11, 1943 – November 26, 2006) was an American comics artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler (character), Nightcrawler, Storm (Marvel Comics), Storm, Colossus (character), Colos ...

's proposal for a new character on the grounds that the character was "too weird looking" and hiring

Mike Grell Mike Grell (born September 13, 1947) is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as '' Green Lantern/Green Arrow'', '' The Warlord'', and '' Jon Sable Freelance''. Early life Grell studied at the University of ...

as artist. After Cockrum left DC and joined

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 ...

, he repurposed the character as Nightcrawler. Grell subsequently described his conflict with Boltinoff over the lack of

racial diversity Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

in the Legion's 30th-century setting, noting that Boltinoff had forbidden him from representing a corrupt police officer (in ''

'' #207's "The Rookie Who Betrayed the Legion") as that setting's first black character, on the grounds that "'You can't do that because there's something negative in that character.' (...) Murray felt that would make the character appear weak" excerpting ''

Comics Scene ''Comics Scene'' was a magazine published in three volumes by Starlog Group Inc. Its original 11-issue run lasted from January 1982 through September 1983 and the second volume was published between 1987 and early 1996, lasting 56 issues (this ...

'' #9 (1983) and "we've never had a black person in the Legion of Super-Heroes, and now you're gonna have one in there who's not perfect"; excerpting Boltinoff also promised Grell that a black character was forthcoming and, in ''Superboy'' #216,

Tyroc Tyroc (Troy Stewart) is a fictional character appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Created by writer Cary Bates and artist Mike Grell, he first appeared in ' ...

was introduced. Murray Boltinoff retired from the comics industry in 1988. His final editing credit was '' Sgt. Rock'' #422 (July 1988).

Bibliography

As editor unless noted:

DC Comics

* ''

'' #393–418 (1970–1972) * ''

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''), ...

'' #66–81 (1941–1942) * '' The Adventures of Bob Hope'' #87–109 (1964–1968) * ''

The Adventures of Jerry Lewis ''The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis'' is the title of a celebrity comic book published by DC Comics and featuring the popular team of comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The series ran for forty issues from 1952 through 1957, at wh ...

'' #83–124 (1964–1971) * '' All-Out War'' #1–6 (1979–1980) * '' Blackhawk'' #196–198 (1964) * ''

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 a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology ...

'' #50–51, 53–54, 78–131 (1963–1964, 1968–1976) * ''

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

'' #28–77 (1962–1970) * ''

DC Special ''DC Special'' was a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics originally from 1968 to 1971; it resumed publication from 1975 to 1977. For the most part, ''DC Special'' was a theme-based reprint title, mostly focusing on stories from DC ...

'' #2, 10, 22–25 (1968–1971, 1976) * ''

DC Special Series ''DC Special Series'' was an umbrella title for one-shots and special issues published by DC Comics between 1977 and 1981. Each issue featured a different character and was often in a different format than the issue before it. ''DC Special Serie ...

'' #4, 7, 22 (1977–1980) * ''

'' #86–121 (1964–1968) * ''Falling in Love'' #106–121 (1969–1971) * '' 1st Issue Special'' #3 (1975) * '' The Fox and the Crow'' #86–108 (1964–1968) * ''

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 ...

'' #1–72 (1971–1979) * ''

G.I. Combat ''G.I. Combat'' is an American comics anthology featuring war comics, war stories. It was published from 1952 until 1956 by Quality Comics, followed by DC Comics until its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived. Publication histor ...

'' #174–288 (1974–1987) * ''

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 ...

'' #139–155 (1969–1971) * ''

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

'' #26–27 (1968) * '' House of Secrets'' #57–65 (1962–1964) * '' Limited Collectors' Edition'' #C–32 (1974) * '' The Losers Special'' #1 (1985) * ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulmans Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, 1 ...

'' #25–26 (1964) * ''

'' #71–85 (1962–1964) * '' Our Fighting Forces'' #163–181 (1976–1978) * ''

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...

'' #1–10 (1966–1968) * '' Secret Six'' #1 (1968) * ''

Secrets of Sinister House ''Secrets of Sinister House'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972-1974, a companion to '' Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soap opera ''D ...

'' #16–18 (1974) * '' Sgt. Rock'' #410–422 (1986–1988) * '' Showcase'' #41–44, 46–47, 73, 82–84, 104 (1962–1963, 1968–1969, 1978) * ''

Stanley and His Monster Stanley and His Monster is 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 t ...

'' #109 (1968) * ''

Star Spangled War Stories ''Star Spangled War Stories'' is the title of a comics anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed characters and stories. Among the features published in this series were writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Jerry Grandenetti's ...

'' #131–133 (1952) * ''Star Spangled War Stories'' vol. 2 #3–17 (1952–1954) * ''

Sugar and Spike ''Sugar and Spike'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1956 through 1971, named after its main protagonists. The series was created, written, and drawn by Sheldon Mayer. Publication history The series was launched in ...

'' #53–93 (1964–1970) * ''Super DC Giant'' #S–16, S–19, S–23, S–25 (1970–1971) * ''

'' #149–155, 157–164, 166–173, 175–184, 186–223 (1968–1977) * ''

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 ...

'' #164, 166–167, 169–170, 172–173, 175–176, 178–179, 181 (1974–1976) * ''

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 conta ...

'' #133–135, 154–163 (1970–1971, 1972–1974) * '' Tales of the Unexpected'' #103–104 (1967) * ''

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 ...

'' #32–43 (1971–1973) * ''

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. Etymology The name comes from Powhatan langu ...

'' #82–130 (1962–1970) * '' The Unexpected'' #105–188 (1968–1978) * '' The Witching Hour'' #14–85 (1971–1978) * ''

'' #215–222, 224–242 (1972–1976)

References

External links

*
"DC Profiles #4: Murray Boltinoff"
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 ...

Murray Boltinoff
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Boltinoff, Murray 1911 births 1994 deaths American comics writers American comic book editors DC Comics people Golden Age comics creators New York University alumni Silver Age comics creators