Samuel E. Grainger (June 14, 1930 – July 25, 1990)

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

number 249-34-6798, 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 SortedByName.com. Retrieved on February 12, 2016
Archived
from the original on February 12, 2016. Additionally, a
Samuel E, Grainger
at the

via FamilySearch.com. Retrieved on February 27, 2016. 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 ...

best known as a

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 ...

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing ...

during the 1960s and 1970s periods fans and historians call, respectively, the

Silver Age The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent interpretatio romana, Roman interpretation. Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to pr ...

and the

Bronze Age of Comic Books The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of American superhero comic books, usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books and is followed by the Modern Age of Comic Books. ...

. Series on which he worked include '' The Avengers'', ''

The Incredible 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'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'' and ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

''.

Biography

Early career

Sam Grainger's first known credited

work was at the

Derby, Connecticut Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately west-northwest of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic River, Housatonic and Naugatuck River ...

-based publisher

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...

. His seven-page backup story, " Behold...The Sentinels", which he both penciled and inked in '' Peter Cannon... Thunderbolt'' #54 (Oct. 1966), also marked the first

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 ...

story by prominent 1960s comic-book writer

Gary Friedrich Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' and in the following era, the series '' The Monster of Fr ...

. Grainger continued on the "Sentinels" feature through issue #59 (Sept. 1967).Sam Grainger
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 ...

Afterward, he drew the cover and writer

Howard Keltner John Howard Keltner (1928 – July 29, 1998) was an American comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (co ...

's eight-page story "The Adder", starring the superhero Astral Man, in the

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

Star-Studded Comics ''Star Studded Comics'' is the name of three comics-related publications, including a comic from the Golden Age of Comics, a comics fanzine, and a modern comic homage to the previous. Cambridge House Publishers title The first publication to ...

'' #14 (Dec. 1968). Another issue's adaptation of the

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

''Warrior of Llarn'' by writer

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

and artist Grainger was reprinted in the book ''The Best of Star-Studded Comics'' ( Hamster Press, 2005). Grainger additionally drew and colored some covers for 1969 issues of the

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

fanzine '' ERB-dom'', and interior art beginning 1965.

Marvel Comics

Grainger made his

debut inking a backup story in ''

'' #55 (April 1969), over penciler Werner Roth. He went on to ink further ''X-Men'' backups as well as covers and interior stories in '' The Avengers'' (over

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema ( ; born Silvio Buscema, , on January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he had a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as art ...

, and

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

); 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, ...

comic '' Not Brand Echh''; ''

'' and '' Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (both over

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on '' The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wol ...

); and the feature " Ka-Zar" in ''

Astonishing Tales ''Astonishing Tales'' is an American anthology comic book series originally published by Marvel Comics from 1970 to 1976. Its sister publication was ''Amazing Adventures'' (vol. 2). In 2008 and 2009, Marvel produced 11 webcomics starring differ ...

'', over industry legend

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

. Among his considerable amount of 1970s work, Grainger inked penciler

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 ...

on several issues of ''X-Men'', a title whose revival in that decade led to its becoming one of comics' most popular series. Cockrum's successor, John Byrne, later stated that he had requested that Grainger be kept on as inker for his run so as to "soften the blow" of Cockrum's departure, but that this idea was rejected by editorial staff.

Later career

In the 1970s, Grainger inked for both Marvel and

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 ...

, including on the latter's ''Ghosts'', '' Unknown Soldier'' and ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...

''. He also inked two issues of the

independent comics Alternative comics or independent comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream su ...

series ''Southern Knights'', from publisher The Guild, and various issues of and backup stories in '' Grimjack'' and '' Dreadstar'', from

First Comics First Comics is an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991 and then from 2011 to present (stylized as 1First Comics), known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', '' Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' ...

. Grainger moved to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, sometime before spring 1969. There he freelanced for the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

s company

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

; his work there includes interior art for the " Endless Quest" series of gamebooks, including the

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

book ''Under Dragon's Wing'' (Feb. 1984), the

Hyborian Age The Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the Setting (narrative), setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian. The word "Hyborian" is ...

book '' Conan and the Prophecy'' (June 1984), the

Star Frontiers ''Star Frontiers'' is a science fiction role-playing game produced by TSR from 1982 to 1985. The game offers a space opera action-adventure setting. Description ''Star Frontiers'' is a space opera role-playing game that is set near the cent ...

book ''Captive Planet'' (July 1984), and, with Jim Holloway, the Dungeons & Dragons book ''Knight of Illusion'' (June 1986). Fantasy artist

Clyde Caldwell Clyde Caldwell (born February 20, 1948) is an American artist. Self-described as a fantasy illustrator, he is best known for his portrayals of strong, sexy female characters. With his work at TSR in the 1980s, he is considered one of the artis ...

described Grainger's later career, and his mentorship: Grainger made guest appearances at the Charlotte

comic book convention A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events h ...

Heroes Convention. Before he succumbed to

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

-related medical issues, Heroes Con in 1987 held a benefit auction for his medical expenses. Grainger's last work was penciling and inking the posthumously published, eight-page

Volstagg Volstagg the Voluminous is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgard (comics), Asgardian adventurers and supporting cast of Thor (Marvel Comi ...

story "The Thief of Asgard" in ''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...

'' #66 (1990).''Marvel Comics Presents'' #66
at the Grand Comics Database

Personal life

Grainger was living in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

when he died on July 25, 1990.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grainger, Sam 1990 deaths 1930 births American role-playing game artists American comics artists Silver Age comics creators DC Comics people Marvel Comics people