“Besides John Severin’s inimitable style, there was a feeling of total authenticity to whatever he drew.”— Stan Lee
remaining a workhorse up ’til his final art at age 89. Included in this volume is an “American Eagle” section (with two epic adventures starring the Native American hero), eye-popping art, and extensive personal photos and artifacts (including WWII “Victory Mail” cartoons, handmade greeting cards for his family, and other rarely-seen material). Written by GREG BIGA and multiple Eisner Award-winner JON B. COOKE, this retrospective includes an Introduction by HOWARD CHAYKIN, Foreword by MORT TODD, and Afterword by CHUCK DIXON. With testimonials by many of the late artist’s peers, this profusely illustrated book celebrates the 100th anniversary of the twofisted artist’s birth.
John Severin: Two-Fisted Comic Book Artist is the spirited biography of one of the most prolific creators in the history of American comics. From a start in 1947 at the Simon & Kirby shop, he co-created the legendary Western strip American Eagle, and became an EC Comics mainstay, working with Harvey Kurtzman on MAD, Frontline Combat, and Two-Fisted Tales. In addition to a 40+ year association with Cracked magazine, his pivotal Marvel Comics work included an extended run inking Sgt. Fury and The Hulk, and teaming with sister Marie Severin to create the definitive version of Robert E. Howard’s Kull the Conqueror. Throughout a storied career, Severin freelanced for virtually every major publisher, ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-106-6 ISBN-10: 1-60549-106-3 53995
9 781605 491066
John Severin caricature by Marie Severin. Coloring by Glenn Whitmore. Eagle TM & © the estate of John Severin.
$39.95 in the USA ISBN: 978-1-60549-106-6
TwoMorrows Publishing
Raleigh, North Carolina PRINTED IN CHINA
TABLE of CONTENTS Foreword by Mort Todd..........6 Introduction by Howard Chaykin.........10 Chapter One: The Early Years..........12 Chapter Two: “Hobo News” Boy..........20 Chapter Three: Castle on the Hill..........30 Chapter Four: The Okinawa Kid..........38 Chapter Five: The Fourth Musketeer..........48 American Eagle: Special Section..........56 Chapter Six: Two-Fisted Days..........72 Chapter Seven: And Then… Michelina..........84 Chapter Eight: Atlas Slumped..........92 Chapter Nine: The Cracked Man..........100 Chapter Ten: Drawn to History..........110 Chapter Eleven: The Marvel Age of Severin..........116 Chapter Twelve: His Winning Losers..........122 Chapter Thirteen: Better in Black-&-White..........128 Chapter Fourteen: Kull the Collaboration..........132 Chapter Fifteen: Rocky Mountain Man..........140 Chapter Sixteen: The Twilight Years.........146 Afterword by Chuck Dixon..........152 Testimonials..........154 Notes.........158
Chapter One
THE EARLY YEARS
I think I must have been born reaching for a pencil and I just never stopped. John Severin to John Benson, Graphic Story Magazine #13, Spring 1971
ohn Powers Severin was born on Dec. 26, 1921, and died from prostate cancer, on Feb. 12, 2012. These are facts. However, these dates could not be more trivial regarding the history of this accomplished man. His life was hardly one limited to dates and settings of events. His life was not simply the sum of such ïLittle “Jack” Severin (John’s nickname among immediate family) and his doting mother, Marguerite. òPrerequisite naked baby portrait. John P. Severin, 1922.
mundane things. Severin possessed an extraordinary talent, one astonishingly sharp and vivid up until his passing at age 90, yet it was sadly under-appreciated by the greater world. Still, the man’s achievements hardly went unnoticed by his peers and discerning aficionados, many who rank Severin as among the very greatest of comic book artists, a storyteller of the highest rank. This book, as much a celebration as biography, will (we ñJohn P. Severin did, indeed, dedicate time to his beloved
hope) reveal that greatness and examine a life made as an exam- pastime of drawing, even at ple imbued with old world qualities—being a gentleman, ded- this tender age. ication to family, and finding value in most everyone around him. Beloved son, husband, father, grandfather, friend, and brother (to his only sibling, the equally-talented younger sister, comic book legend Marie Severin), the man had the makings of greatness whether he ever picked up a pencil or not. Chapter One: The Early Years
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13
the 23-year-old working on Wall Street as a bookkeeper for a church pension fund. The following year, Severin was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving “over there” during World War 1 and its aftermath for almost an year. He was honorably discharged on June 14, 1919, from Company D, 305th Infantry, as a private first class. Soon thereafter, having met in New York City, he was engaged to Marguerite J. Powers, of Syracuse, New York, and the two promptly married. Delivered to a mother from County Waterford, Ireland, and an upstate New York father of Irish descent, Marguerite Josephine Powers was born on March 31, 1890—preñMother Marguerite and her firstborn, John Powers Severin.
òTricyclist John, mid-1920s.
The saga of this natural-born artist begins
sumably in Syracuse—the oldest of four sis-
before his birth in Jersey City, New Jersey,
ters (and said to have suffered polio). In 1898,
with the engaging history of the parents of
with their mother, Mary, stricken with tuber-
John Powers and Marie Anita Severin.
culosis, Marguerite and her siblings—the youngest a mere toddler—were sent by their
Father John & Mother Marguerite
father, Abraham (a carpenter who was sen-
John E. Severin was born Hans Abrahamsen,
tenced to six months in the Onondaga Coun-
on Sept. 16, 1893, in Kristiania (today called
ty Penitentiary for “non-support,” in 1903),2
Oslo), Norway, during a period when the
to be cared for by the nuns of the all-girl St.
country was united with neighboring Swe-
Vincent’s Orphan Asylum, in Syracuse. The
den. As a three-year-old, he accompanied his
1900 U.S. Census lists Marguerite (10), Anna
mother and sister as they immigrated to the
(7), Mary (4), and Gertrude (1) as among the
United States. Upon arrival on Ellis Island,
orphanage’s 200 “inmates.”3 The 1910 Cen-
authorities renamed the boy John Edward
sus lists 19-year-old “Margaret Powers” and
Severin, his surname chosen after the first
two sisters, Mary and Gertrude, as still insti-
name of his father. (Marie Severin said that
tutionalized, with her being employed by St.
her paternal grandfather was a shipbuilder.
Vincent’s as “night watch.”4 (Anna married
“But the money was so bad [in Norway] that
a lawyer and lived in East Rockaway, N.Y.,
he moved to the States, set himself up,”)
near the Long Island beach frequented by the
1
The lad resided in Brooklyn, New York,
14
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sisters when they vacationed.)
living with his uncle and aunt, Sadie E. Sil-
Marguerite and John met when he re-
vertsen. A 1917 draft registration card cites
turned to his Wall Street job and, during the
JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Under the Influences John Powers Severin, like all cartoonists, was
most rabid appreciation for Western-theme painter
inspired by the work of those who came before him
Charles Marion Russell [1864–1926] (“Wagons,”
and, once he joined the brotherhood of comic book
1921, seen at bottom left) whose nickname, “the
artists, less with the artistry of his peers in the
cowboy’s artist,” speaks to Russell’s superb
business. He would cite the work of adven-
renditions of scenes from the Old West. With
ture comic strip creators Milton Caniff (Terry
Severin’s own pronounced affection for draw-
and the Pirates, seen at center), Alex Raymond
ing Westerns, one could be hard-pressed to
(Flash Gordon, below), Hal Foster (Tarzan, bottom right, and Prince Valiant), and, most notably, Roy Crane (Wash Tubbs/ Captain Easy and Buz Sawyer, next page, lower portion), as important to his development as storyteller. Significant, too, was Severin’s al-
identify a predecessor who better reflects the same dedication to authenticity and respect for the dignity of both cowboy and Native American. Severin also selected Edwin Austin Abbey [1852–1911] (“King Lear,” 1898, seen next page, top), whose Arthurian and Shakespearean paintings enthralled the cartoonist.
28
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
didn’t talk to anybody about art. They would
right out of the same mold. So it was a much
say things like, ‘Oh, John. John draws.’ That
looser, easier going, bohemian style of high
was the extent of the conversation about
school than I ever dreamed there was. Not
John and what he liked to do. ‘He was an
that there weren’t rules and regulations, and
oddball. He liked to draw.’ And now I’m in
you’d have to abide by them, don’t make any
this high school where, my God in heaven,
mistake about that. But, at the same time,
everybody’s talking this stuff constantly and
this was really freedom to me. Wow! I wasn’t
bringing up new ideas. Oh, it was a wonder-
too sure I liked it.” After a pause and with a
ful atmosphere especially for somebody like
chuckle, Severin added, “It grew on me.”34
me, who didn’t have that around him.”33 But what the upright, straight-shoot-
Making Contacts
ing Bay Ridge boy raised with strict Catho-
Upon adapting to the permissive atmo-
lic schooling found intimidating was to be
sphere, the teen thrived at the progressive ñTeenage John P. Severin.
thrust into such an undisciplined environ-
school and importantly made connections
ment, among a decidedly weird and eclectic
among the student body that later had a pro- òWestern theme drawings by
bunch gathered from hither and yon. “The population was all these eccentrics,” he
found impact on the trajectory of his career. Art student, 1940. And, professionally, no association proved
said. “They’re all artists, musicians, ballet
more important than one John made with
dancers, etc.… So these people are entirely
underclassman Harvey Kurtzman. As Kurtz-
different. Also the teachers, the faculty, were
man biographer Bill Schelly related:
the High School of Music and
Chapter Three: Castle on the Hill
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33
Enter Dawkins A lifelong, hugely gratifying—and quite fruitful—friendship Severin established at M&A was with a classmate said to have been born on an Oklahoma Indian reservation. Colin Campbell Dawkins II was in the first M&A graduating class and, during those years before their extensive collaboration in the 1950s (and, briefly, in the latter ’70s), he ñLifelong buddies Colin Dawkins (left) and John P. Severin.
òSeverin sketches from the 1930s.
Kurtzman’s third year in high school marked the beginning of his friendship with
|
his best friend—became playful chums.
John Severin, another promising illustrator
“John and I used to exchange drawings,”
and cartoonist. Kurtzman and Severin made
Dawkins said. “We’d start wars. We shared
an unlikely duo. Harvey was 15. John, a se-
the same desk in French class, only in dif-
nior, was 18. Kurtzman hadn’t reached his
ferent [time periods], so he would leave an
adult height of (5'6"). Severin towered over
insulting drawing in his inkwell, and I would
him at 6'2". Kurtzman was Jewish. Severin
pick it up and then return it in kind, although
was Catholic.
he drew so much better than I that he actually
35
While their friendship hit some low
34
and Severin—who Dawkins later described as
discouraged me.”36
points in time, during high school and in
Dawkins also recalled, “I was brought up
the immediate post-M&A period, their fre-
on [Rudyard] Kipling’s Stalky & Co., and put
quent correspondence was proof that an
Severin on to it, too. I was Stalky; he was Mc-
ardent bond had been established between
Turk. (If you have not read Stalky & Co., it’s
the two. In his letters to Kurtzman, Severin
still not too late. And you must!)”37
lavishly illustrated the envelopes with pen
Perhaps it was during their school days
drawings often enhanced with watercolors.
when Severin and Dawkins began to dis-
JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
on Okinawa intended to be used as staging ground for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of Japan, predicted to cost as many as 250,000 American lives and the death of countless Japanese. To the relief of Severin and most of civilization, in early August, the ’85 got word that the enemy surrendered, th
negating any U.S. assault onto the Japanese mainland. The Blade, the ’85th’s newsletter on Okinawa, ran a description of troop reaction of hearing the news (which was not to be confirmed for a nail-biting six days): “Friday, 10 August
Lo quas nem ipsam, officid ulluptinihil moluptatem consequ iberatia consequis ulloribus ipsa vendia volo entur? Pelit, nonsequi dolupta temolest, simet peruntium hicit elignate perum lis qui consentium fugit od ma
1945. During the showing of the movie, about 2100 hours [9:00 p.m.], the erroneous rumor came that the war was over. What a demonstration of joy and pent-up emotions. Tracers, flares, searchlights filled the sky. The movie was completely forgotten. For hours, jubilant troops laughed and sang, gave thanks to God, and talked of home and loved ones.”53 (In a battalion publication, Severin depicted the exult in an illo opposite a spectacular aerial photo of Okinawa taken that night.) Craps and Catastrophe In 1945, typhoons Ursula (Sept. 7–15) and Louise (Oct. 2–12) swept through the region, with the latter making a direct hit on Okinawa—the worst such storm to strike the island in 20 years—creating massive damage to the U.S. presence and also, Severin related, to some Japanese hold-outs, who revealed their chilling proximity to the Americans. “These guys, after the typhoon, they’d come creeping out of the caves,” he exclaimed. “My God, they’re ñClockwise from top left is group portrait of the 1885th EAB; cover of award ceremony brochure and PFC Severin on patrol in
starving, they’re hungry, Okinawa; list of company members of the 1885th overlaid with th the typhoon beat the crap Bronze Star and close-up of JPS thlisting; 1885 commendation; and hand-colored JPS illo of ’85 commander Lt. Col. Marvin
out of them. We didn’t Reynolds in the latrine as Japanese soldiers surrender, Jan. 1945. Chapter Four: The Okinawa Kid
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41
The Severins’ Victory Mail Correspondence The parents and sister of PFC John P. Severin kept up a steady correspondence with their boy in the Army through “Victory Mail,” and the recipient sent back heavily illustrated replies, with the banter between siblings particularly amusing. The National World War II Museum website explains V-mail: V-mail, short for “Victory mail,” was a particular postal system put into place during the war to drastically reduce the space needed to transport mail thus freeing up room for other valuable supplies. Although the V-mail system was only used between June 1942 and November 1945, over 1 billion items were processed through these means. Officially entitled the “Army Micro
Two rolls of V-mail microfilm equated to a staggering 3,200 regular-size letters.
Photographic Mail Service,” War Department Pamphlet No. 21-1 describes V-mail as “an expeditious mail program which provides for quick mail service to and from soldiers overseas. A special form is used which permits the letter to be photographed in microfilm. The small film is transported and then reproduced and delivered. Use of V-mail is urged because it greatly furthers the war effort by saving shipping and airplane space.”58
Chapter Four: The Okinawa Kid
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45
48
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Chapter Five
THE FOURTH MUSKETEER
I said, “What’s Harvey doing over there? ” And he says, “Drawing comics.” John Severin to John Benson, Graphic Story Monthly #13, Spring 1971
rank J. Reilly was the artist John Severin most wanted to learn from upon returning stateside. The renowned painter/illustrator/muralist/teacher taught at the famed Art Students League of New York, and, eager as the Army war vet was to receive instruction from the master, there was one enormous problem: the list for enrollees to get into Reilly’s class betrayed a 12-month wait. And ïOriginal art featuring American Eagle, star of the break-out series in Prize Western Comics, drawn by John Severin (pencils) and Will Elder (inks). Cover, #93 [May–June 1952].
here’s where Dawkins reemerges into Severin’s daily life. Before his decades-long stint with a top U.S. ad agency, Dawkins òThe young professional artist
in a candid photo from the late
learned of a small art instruction outfit—actually run out of an ’40s/early ’50s. uptown loft—the School for Art Studies, which catered to servicemen who had tuition covered by the G.I. Bill. Thus, for about six months, Severin and his chum received art lessons from Maurice Glickman. “It was okay,” Severin said. “It was a great place to study and do some more practical stuff than what I had been doing naturally and in high school.
ñThe Severin/Elder team was formed at the suggestion of Harvey Kurtzman, with the partnership lasting until each developed a solid handling of both penciling and inking. This is their photo-stat “signature.”
I brought some great books from them, because they had a lot of books that you could buy on the G.I. Bill there. Because you were allotted,… for supplies and so forth. Sometimes I took it out in books. To hell with the supplies! I’d almost rather have the books. I still have the books, I don’t have any supplies.”59 Chapter Five: The Fourth Musketeer
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49
About those early post-war days, Severin
plained, “I brought a couple of paintings up
later said that returning to civilian life posed
to them, and I didn’t realize that the other
nagging but surmountable problems, one
guys were there.”61 The “other guys” were
being the time it took to wipe away the per-
Kurtzman and Will Elder, who had, around
sistent mental fog he experienced when he
1947, established the Charles William Har-
came back to the States after serving over-
vey Studio with Stern. “They propositioned
seas. And it was a chance encounter with an-
me,” Severin continued, “Why don’t I come
other high school pal that helped to clear his
on in the studio and work there for a month
head and give Severin lucid direction.
until I got my feet under me? Which was damn kind of them. So I dropped out of the
ñWill Elder, circa 1945.
Charles William Harvey Studio
school, because I had no big drive to do fine
òFor about a half-year, Severin and Dawkins attended a G.I. Bill-friendly art school in midtown Manhattan, run by artist Maurice Glickman.
As he had with Dawkins, Severin stayed in
art. I wanted to go into the commercial field
contact with former M&A classmates Harvey
and make some money, so I took them up on
Kurtzman as the two became dedicated letter
it and worked there for a while, and they be-
writers after graduation. “We corresponded
gan dropping off parts of jobs to me. It went
before and during the War, and a remarkable
on like that. I was earning a certain amount of
thing about John,” Kurtzman offered in 1981,
money, paying my way, at least.”62
òFrom left, during the days of Charles William Harvey Studio, Kurtzman, Severin, and JPS “bosom buddy” René Goscinny, who went on to great fame as co-creator of Asterix the Gaul in his native France.
“when he wrote letters, he would illustrate
While Dawkins went off to eventual suc-
the outside of the envelope with a watercol-
cess as a J. Walter Thompson copywriter,
or or pen sketch—and I think he was as good
Severin picked up what freelance jobs he
then as he is today. He was born a remarkable
could at the workshop, which he described:
draftsman.”
“The three of them were equally involved in
60
Fellow grad Charles Stern organized
the studio… and they would sort of spread
M&A alumni art shows and, Severin ex-
[work] around. For instance, if Charlie Stern got a job, he would take it, whether he could do it or not, knowing that Bill Elder or Harvey might be able to do it… Ordinarily, though, they got their own jobs. The purpose of the studio was to have a studio.”63 About the gigs he had a hand in, Severin said, “It would be design work, logos for toy boxes, logos for candy boxes, cards to be included in candy boxes, everything but the candy itself.”64 All the while, Kurtzman was drawing his “Hey Look!” one-pagers for Stan Lee at Timely Comics. “He’d get an assignment from Stan, turn one or two out, and
50
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
because the editor frowned upon freelancers working for competitors and company policy not allowing creators to sign their work, Severin engaged in good-natured clowning with his boss. “When I first started working there,” he said, “Stan Lee and I used to resemble one another in build, height, and so forth, and it was a strange coincidence that we would wear the same type of clothes certain days. For example, he would come in with slacks and a woolen plaid shirt on a day that I’d show up with the same damn thing. And we’d get each other’s calls down the hall. ‘Stan!’ ‘It’s me, John, not Stan.’ Or, ‘Hey, John. Oh, sorry, Stan, I thought you were Severin.’ And I have a picture on my wall here [inscribed by Lee]: ‘To my very good buddy and look-alike, Honest John.’”73 Working in the Timely bullpen proved difficult for Severin due to the annoying distraction of the bantering between artists, but during the half-year or so he worked in the building, he made the acquaintance of two talented creators who later caroused with Severin upon his return on staff between 1955–57. Veteran Bill Everett and newcomer Joe Maneely, two vitally important—and supremely talented—artists for the publisher, shared Severin’s predilection for intoxicating spirits. (During his days at Charles William Harvey, Severin had become friendly with Jerry DeFuccio, a young, enthusiastic wanna be cartoonist—a pal who introduced Severin to the person who would become the most important relationship in his lifetime—and there was brief talk between DeFuccio and Severin to throw caution to the wind and travel to Australia to start a studio together. After sleeping it off, they thought better of it, but the two soon enough began collaborating.) Chapter Five: The Fourth Musketeer
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55
Written by Nevin Fiddler & M.R. Reese (attributed), art by John Severin (pencils) & Will Elder (inks). Originally appeared in Prize Comics Western #85 [Jan.–Feb. 1951]. Restoration and color by Chris Fama. 56
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
American Eagle Special Section
|
57
Likely written by John Severin and/or Colin Dawkins, art by John Severin (pencils & inks). Originally appeared in Prize Comics Western #104 [Mar.–Apr. 1954]. Restoration and color by Chris Fama. 64
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Chapter Six
TWO-FISTED DAYS
The most enjoyment came when Harvey had turned overTwo-FistedTales to me. John Severin to Steven J. Allen, Mirk-Wood Times #2, Mar. 1973
ven before EC Comics and prior to the Charles William Harvey Studio—cartoonist Al Jaffee says his friend had been planning since high school!—Harvey Kurtzman was hoping to recruit his artist buddies into some publication he’d one day oversee. “During a chat with Harvey,” Jaffee shared, “I asked him why he wanted to connect with fellow Music and Art High School grads, which included Will Elder, Charles Stern, John Severin, myself, and others. He told me it was always his lifelong dream to become a publisher and bring in talent he met along
ïSqua Tront #9 illustration
the way. When he arrived at M&A High, he said he took note detail featuring JPS as “scout/ dietician,” likely drawn in the
of certain students whom he would someday hire for his future 1950s. ñSelf-caricature by JPS. òEmblem of William M. publication, whatever that might be.”74 Gaines’ fabled comic book
Aside from his short-lived Humbug in the late ’50s, Kurtz- imprint, EC Comics. man never became a publisher, but he did realize much of that high school dream once a foot was in the door at Entertaining Comics. Upon first arriving in the fall of 1949, when he started ïOuttake from photo shoot for the “EC Artists of the Issue” feature, Frontline Combat #5 [Mar.–Apr. 1952]. From left, John Severin and Will Elder.
receiving assignments for the “New Trend” titles of horror, crime, and science fiction comics, he worked primarily as artist but, hearing that publisher William M. Gaines was looking for new genres to expand the EC line, he spoke up. Chapter Six: Two-Fisted Days
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73
By then, Severin was becoming increas-
as both penciler and inker were needed at ñMarie Severin’s gift for cari-
cature is captured in this 2004
grew progressively more miffed at Kurtz-
Kurtzman’s MAD, thereafter leaving Sev- print depicting the famous bullpen grabbing lunch in erin to render his own work without much Patrissy’s Italian Restaurant,
man’s directive to have Elder do the finish-
criticism, even as he contributed to that situated just around the corner
ing. And that insistence chafed the former
game-changing satirical comic book.
ingly confident of inking his own pencils and
M&A cohorts’ long-standing, once intense friendship. In retrospect, given Severin’s
Enter Sister Marie
subsequent reputation as among the indus-
After graduating the Catholic all-girls’ Bish-
try’s most sought-after inkers, Kurtzman’s
op McDonnell Memorial High School, in
opinion is arguably misguided and might be
Jan. 1948, Marie Severin was reluctant to
tinged with deeper resentments the two had
attend art school despite her father and
as “frenemies.” Certainly, as politics go, the
brother’s wishes for her to enroll at the
deeply conservative Severin was a polar op-
Pratt Institute. Rather, like her friends,
posite of New York City liberal Kurtzman.
the young lady wanted to work in
Soon enough the question of whose
from EC Comics, on Kenmare Street (right off Lafayette), Lower Manhattan. òGlass ashtray from same, where Gaines and Feldstein would “gorge” on pasta and bread.
Manhattan, and she found mundane
inks were better on Severin’s penciled pag-
employment at the Norcross Greeting Card
es would become moot, as Elder’s talents
Company and, subsequently, dull filing work Chapter Six: Two-Fisted Days
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75
MAD Man Jerome Alphonse DeFuccio Responding to an opening question directed his way in Comics Interview #120 [May 1993], Jerry DeFuccio boasted that a good friend also happened to be family. Asked to reveal something hitherto unknown about himself, the gregarious gent answered, “Well, let’s see, you know that I’m the cousin of John Severin? He’s married to my cousin.”87 And it’s absolutely true that Defuccio introduced first cousin Michelina DeFuccio (nicknamed Micky) to his pal! But Jerome Alphonse DeFuccio wasn’t just a mere cousin-in-law to some renowned artist, as he was entitled to boast of much more. MAD magazine associate editor for a quarter-century (1955–80), he was a participant at the legendary EC Comics and also recognized as a valued historian in the field.
But despite his father’s disapproval, young
DeFuccio was born July 3, 1925, in Jersey City,
DeFuccio pursued his budding interest and even
New Jersey, the only child of Dr. Charles Pasquale
dabbled as cartoonist himself, as illustrator in the
DeFuccio [1889–1955]
high school yearbook. “When I was in a Jesuit prep
and Drusiana “Daisy”
school,” he shared, “we used to, like, have a holy
Lettieri [b. 1890], who
day off and I would go over to Lexington Avenue [in
died at 28 when the boy
Manhattan] and visit some of the comic book hous-
was three. Charles, a
es. They were very nice to me. They would let me
prominent pediatrician—
watch them work and, I guess, my favorite was Reed
who had been knighted
Crandall, who did such phenomenal work on Black-
by the King of Italy for service work—remarried in
hawk… I also met Jack Cole, who did Plastic Man.
1936, to Irish-born Mary Hennessey, mother of
He was very patient. I guess Crandall and Jack Cole
Jerry’s half-brother, Charles [b. 1938].
were the two biggies of my prep school days.”89
Growing up, the boy became enamored with the
Following his dad’s lead, DeFuccio enrolled in
brand-new medium then taking the world by storm,
the pre-med program at St. Peter’s College, but the
but he had a big problem. “My dad hated comics,”
temptation of comics remained irresistible. “It was
DeFuccio confessed. “I used to sneak comics into the
Alex Toth that I looked up in the Manhattan phone
house. I can remember Dad coming out of his exam-
book and he graciously invited me to his apartment
ining room with his stethoscope around his neck and
—on Lexington and 75th in those days,” he said in
he would frisk me—looking for comics.”88
1972. “Subsequently I’d visit Alex and watch him
Above inset is an illo by teenage Jerry DeFuccio appearing in the “Prophecy” section of his 1943 prep school yearbook. Above right and next page are portraits of DeFuccio by John Severin.
work, while his mother—a very attractive woman
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
with [Zsa Zsa] Gabor verve and a beguiling Hungar-
Chapter Seven
AND THEN… MICHELINA
No Need... for Buried Gold, You’re All the Treasure I Need John Severin Valentine’s Day card to Michelina Severin, circa 1950s
hough an exact date when John Severin met future wife Michelina Ruth DeFuccio remains unknown, there are amusing details of the couple’s first ïMichelina Ruth DeFuccio as a fetching teenager posing in her native Florida environs. òSmitten husband John Severin would create homemade greeting cards for his beloved. This Valentine is from 1969.
encounter about which their children still recalled some 70 years after that fateful moment. First, let the stage be set: Annoyed that no challenging jobs were to be found in her hometown of Miami, 25-year-old Michelina traveled north to her late father’s native Jersey City to seek work in the big city, where cousin Jerry recently found a position at EC Comics as Harvey Kurtzman’s assistant. Maybe it was during lunch at Patrissy’s or around the corner and upstairs at the innovative comic book company, where Jerry introduced the beauti- ñUndated photograph of John and Michelina Severin, who
ful young lady to eligible bachelor—and dashingly handsome were married in Miami, Florida, swashbuckler-type—Alfonso Williamson, Jr., a boyish charm- on the day before Valentine’s er then barely in his 20s. The two hit it off and started dating. It’s uncertain how involved this relationship became, but
Day, in 1953. Jerry DeFuccio, first cousin of the bride, was best man, and John’s sister, Marie, was maid of honor.
Al Williamson, just beginning a career, did go so far as to introduce Michelina to his mother, Sally. After his date complimented Sally on a chair she owned, soon thereafter Williamson gifted DeFuccio with that same piece of furniture, which today brightens the home of Michelina’s daughter Cathy. Chapter Seven: And Then… Michelina
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85
Was Michelina
on the Southern branch of the DeFuccio clan
enchanted by Wil-
as Jerry rang up first cousin Michelina to ask
liamson’s crooked
her to brew them a pot of coffee to help the
smile and jaunty
boys sober up, as they were coming over.
demeanor? Daugh-
Family legend has it that the half-asleep
ter Michelina ex-
Michelina, none too thrilled to be awakened
claimed, “He was Al
at such a late hour and, with curlers in her
Williamson! I mean,
hair, she had zero interest in meeting anoth-
he was so handsome
er of Jerry’s inebriated artist friends. (Adding
and charming. What
to the scenario, Michelina’s bags had been
wouldn’t
packed as she, frustrated by a fruitless job
woman
want to date him?”
96
But any long-
As their mom, always with a smile, lat-
Michelina
er related to the half-dozen Severin kids,
and the suave Alex
Michelina then opened the door and there
Raymond acolyte—a man soon to be consid-
stood their father and her future husband,
ered one of the greatest illustrators to ever
artwork tucked under one arm, umbrella un-
grace the comics world—would be met with
der the other. Whether or not the image of
a formidable challenge in the guise of John
this tipsy, John Wayne-sized cartoonist on
Powers Severin.
the threshold immediately won her heart re-
future
tween
mained a secret Michelina forever held close.
How John Met His Match
But circumstances suggest that some spark
In 1949, Michelina’s father, Frank [b. 1897]
must have ignited an attraction within the
died suddenly, at 52, and thus she, her sister
young lady as, the very next day, she chose
Dolores
86
|
headed for the Sunshine State.)
be-
term
Clockwise from above on this two-page spread is John Severin’s 1953 Valentine to Michelina DeFuccio, which alludes to the rivalry between suitors JPS and Al Williamson; the newlyweds; wedding notice of nuptials from the Miami Herald, Feb. 14, 1953, pg. B-3; portrait of the vivacious Michelina; undated pic of the married couple; and former rivals for the affections of Michelina, Al Williamson (left) and JPS.
search, was poised to catch the morning train
[1930–
not to board that Florida-bound train.
2008], and mother
As for his reaction upon meeting the
Frankie (née By-
spouse-to-be, there was no doubt to anyone
num) [1898–1990]
with eyes to see that, after he first caught
came to New Jersey
sight on this bella donna, John was hopeless-
from Florida, and
ly thunderstruck. The following morning,
one night in late
the first of many letters of adoration arrived
1952, after tipping
at Michelina’s door. The daily missives con-
glasses in a local
tinued without fail, as the smitten 31-year-old
saloon, EC buddies
cartoonist was vigorously determined to win
Jerry DeFuccio and
the heart of the Southern belle. It took a mere
Severin paid a call
five dates for John to propose to Michelina.
JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Chapter Eight
ATLAS SLUMPED
We had lots of fun... Joe[Maneely] and I. It was a real loss when he died. John Severin to Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., Squa Tront #11, 2005
tan Lee, the editor-in-chief of Martin Goodman’s comics line, had held on tight during the wild rollercoaster ride of the American comic book industry in the 1950s. Though he ïQuartet of covers by John Severin, drawn during his days with Stan Lee at Atlas, 1955–57. Clockwise from top left: Black Rider #1 [Sept. ’57], Devil Dog Dugan #1 [July ’56], Yellow Claw #2 [Dec. ’56], and Sergeant Barney Barker #1 [Aug. ’56]. òComics Code Authority seal of approval, which cluttered up its share of comic book covers between 1954 and 2011.
later referred to this period as his “Limbo Years,” that decade would start with the publishing outfit flooding the comics racks with 60 titles, many of them knock-offs of other companies’ successes. By the end of ’51, Timely officially became Atlas Comics, named for Goodman’s new distribution company. When EC Comics hit it big with its three horror books, Atlas jumped in with a raft of wanna bes, 18 titles in total, making the company the most prolific horror comics publisher ever. And, after the Korean conflict erupted, when war comics joined horror to become a hit genre, Atlas put out 19 books to ñGoateed John Severin
smoking a pipe, circa sometime
EC’s two, with many contributors to the former liberally ref- in the 1950s. erencing Kurtzman’s Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat. In fact, Severin found amusement in clipping panels from his own EC combat stories to compare with those of Atlas war artists swiping his work. Then he’d send the pasted-up evidence to tease his lookalike buddy Stan Lee (whose offices had moved from the vertigo-inducing Empire State Building).
Chapter Eight: Atlas Slumped
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93
The tumult of that period hit a crescendo with the public attack on “crime comics,” em-
ñJPS good buddy and Atlas mainstay Joe Maneely. òThe Three Musketeers (from left): Bill Everett, Joe Maneely, and John Severin, as depicted by Marie Severin, when all were working at Atlas Comics.
the horror comic book contained scenes of hari-kari, stabbings, and murder.101
bodied during Spring 1954 with the double-
The impact of the repressive hysteria
whammy of the publication of Dr. Fredric
devastated the business. By one count, some
Wertham’s anti-comics screed, Seduction of
900 comic book professionals left the field
the Innocent, and the U.S. Senate Subcom-
permanently,102 and of 99 companies list-
mittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings,
ed in Seduction of the Innocent’s notorious
which sealed the fate of EC Comics and sent
“Bibliographical Note,”103 only nine pub-
panic through the other imprints.
lishers survived into the ’60s. Between 1954–
Though the Atlas business manager testifying at the hearings preferred to discuss Bi-
56, industry output went from approximately 650 separate titles down to about 250.
ble Tales for Young Folk, it was Strange Tales #28 [May 1954] the inquisitor waved before
The Bullpen Reborn
the publishing executive, pointing out that
Somehow Atlas survived the culling, adhering to the restrictions of the newly-formed Comics Code Authority, to which Goodman’s outfit was a signatory, and the company did well enough by 1955 to hire a salaried in-house staff, which included John Severin. Commuting the hour or so from New Jersey for the next two years, Severin worked nineto-five in the bullpen, which he described as “one gigantic room which there were all the artists, letterers, inkers, all together.”105 With the demise of EC’s color comics and MAD transforming into a black-&-white magazine, there was little work available for colorist Marie Severin, so she followed brother John’s lead to seek work at Atlas. “I went up to Stan because there wasn’t that much going on at EC,” she said, “and he wanted a good colorist and he knew I knew reproduction on comics.”106 Doubtless one reason the Atlas editor enjoyed having the Severin siblings in-house was he recognized their respective abilities to draw in a humorous style and, of course,
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
by a new distributor (one owned by
pre-’60s stretch made for some ex-
competitor DC Comics).
cellent published comics, a time
While sister Marie found a job at
when he reveled in cover work, cre-
a Brooklyn greeting card company to
ating 166 Atlas covers—mostly depict-
pay the bills (though maybe not the
ing Western themes—compared to a
rent, as she still lived with her par-
total of five covers for EC and 30 for
ents), one source said that business
Prize. The era also showed him to be
was so slow for brother John that he
an exceptional inker, among the very
111
was employed at a match factory.
best, as exemplified by his exquisite
But, if that were so, such work could
rendering over Jack Kirby’s pencils
not have been long-lived as the car-
in Yellow Claw #4 [Apr. 1957].
toonist, now in his mid-30s, was con-
It was also a time when it was
sistently finding freelance gigs (albeit
firmly established that no matter the
likely lower-paying jobs compared to
rate, no matter the publisher, and no
his salaried days at Atlas).
matter the assignment content, John
However short, Severin’s stint with Stan Lee during his post-EC/
Powers Severin was dedicated to giving every job his absolute best. Chapter Eight: Atlas Slumped
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97
Chapter Nine
THE CRACKED MAN
When I got into Cracked magazine, boy, that took everything. John Severin to Steve Ringgenberg, Nov. 7, 2002
òFreaky Cracked #24 [April 1962] cover by John Severin. While his work may not have been the favorites of his fans, the artist told Aaron Sultan in 2007, “To tell you the truth, I really enjoyed doing Cracked because of the variety of stuff that was going on, and it was so constant. There’d be two pages, three pages, a cover, a back cover, four pages. All different subject matter.”
y the last half of 1957, Sol Brodsky, who previous- òSylvester P. Smythe, Cracked magazine mascot, rendered
ly worked alongside Stan Lee during lean times as by John Severin. half of Atlas’s “two-man department,” was short of steady work and eager to get busy after the Atlas debacle. He connected with start-up publisher Robert C. Sproul and, with funding from money-man Bernie Brill, they prepared a magazine to grab some of the MAD readership. (Kurtzman’s creation, when it morphed from comic book into black-&-white magazine, was a huge newsstand success story, with peak sales of 2.1 million, by 1974.) “Knowing I could do this comic stuff,” Severin said, “[Sol] asked me to come in on it.”118 Sproul had learned the ropes in the circulation department at Ace Books and he partnered with the prominent science fiction paperback publisher to produce magazines under the Candar imprint, and he found early success with a “men’s sweat” line, starting with Man’s Action, in 1958. Explained one history, “Sproul took well to the market, expanding to five magazines, most of which were published into the ’70s.”119
ïJohn Severin at his drawing table, later 1960s, before moving to Denver (where the artist discarded his toupée for good).
Under Sproul’s Major Publications (a Candar subsidiary), Cracked became the entrepreneur’s most successful title, as it ultimately boasted a circulation of 500,000 by the late Chapter Nine: The Cracked Man
|
101
“At the Art Gallery” [Cracked #26, Nov. 1962], written by future underground comix pioneer Jay Lynch, was Severin’s absolutely flawless imitation of MAD artist Don Martin’s style, signed “J. Lewis.” Other pseudonyms used were: LePoer (French for Powers), Nireves (Severin backwards), Sigbjorn (Swedish for Severin), Noel (for being born the day after Christmas), and even Double-O Severin (first used on a James Bond spoof).
Tinting His Craft While generally overlooked by fans of Severin’s comic book art, his Cracked pages showcased the artist’s versatility not only in adapting other cartoonists’ styles, but also in technique. In the humor mag, he became expert in perfecting the use of Craftint Doubletone Paper, described as “seemingly magical paper as an illustration board with a latent pattern on its surface that, when brushed with a liquid developer… appears where desired.”125 (Perhaps the foremost Craftint practitioner was Roy Crane, a cartoonist ñJohn and Michelina’s second oldest child, Michelina Dolores, revealed that her father’s cover painting for Cracked #5 [Oct. 1958] used the three oldest Severin kids as models. From left, John Powers, Jr., Michelina Dolores, and Mary Frances. ðJPS caricature of Johnny Carson, from Cracked.
was to deal with John Severin.
who profoundly influenced
As wife Michelina explained,
Severin). “Harvey was the
“John was a separate entity.
one who started me on that
They would pay John regu-
stuff,” he said. “I started us-
larly whether he did work or
ing [Craftint] and I really en-
not. Sproul set it up that way. I
joyed it. I’m not at all like Roy
know other people would have
Crane, but I sure wish I was.
problems getting paid.”
So I kept off and on sticking
124
Next page: at top is JPS’s header illustration for the inhouse advertising section run in Cracked, circa early 1960s. At bottom right is a James Montgomery Flagg pastiche by JPS, used for subscription ads in Cracked magazine. 104
|
In truth, the artist was
it on things like explosions
conversely a blessing for the
and so forth. Eventually, of
humor magazine, as Severin
course, I was put in a position
could draw in multiple styles
where I could use Craftint on
under various pen-names.
the whole doggone job. You
JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Curiously, through the ’60s, Severin was a regular, prolific cartoonist for Voices, the American Academy of Psychotherapists journal,
and
his
headshrinker gags were so appreciated by the editors—who unequivocally
de-
clared, “We love Mr. Severin”—that he ñJPS cover for POW! #1 [Aug. ’66]. ðJPS color gag cartoons, perhaps intended for Playboy. òTopps test-marketed these Crazy TV cards by JPS in 1968. Next page is JPS caricature of Henry Winkler as The Fonz.
was
honored
opined, “While there’s no disguising that
with a “Best of Severin” section in the Sum-
Cracked ’s look and subject matter [were]
mer/Fall 1969 edition, subsequently re-
shamelessly cribbed [from MAD] right down
printed as a 10-page stand-alone booklet to
to its nebbish janitor mascot, Sylvester T.
entertain patients in psychotherapist waiting
Smythe, it was undeniably a handsome piece
rooms.128 (Gahan Wilson was another nota-
of work.”129
ble contributor to the quarterly, which used gag cartoons into at least the early 1970s.)
Forty-Five Years of Cracked Cracked began as a haven for Atlas refugees, boasting Bill Everett, Russ Heath, and Joe Maneely (among others) as contributors, and soon even a few Humbug castaways, including Jack Davis and Will Elder, briefly came aboard when that Kurtzman effort went under. Editor Sol Brodsky left Cracked with #10 [Aug. 1959], lured by Stan Lee to become production man at Goodman’s reborn comics division (soon rechristened Marvel Comics). By then, Cracked was running on full steam and, as MAD knock-offs go, it was a pretty nifty presentation. One survey 106
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Severin, responsible for much of the allure the mag exhibited, endured a steady
Along with his regular assignments for Cracked, JPS also contributed to other Sproul publications, including For Monsters Only (above is #2’s cover and #7 back cover). Interestingly, JPS’s arrangement with Sproul was for the cartoonist to retain ownership of his “Ye Hang Ups” gags and Sagebrush strips. In 1964, Pocket Books published the JPS and Don Edwing gag cartoon collection, Once Upon a Dungeon. On the next page is the original art featuring regular Cracked characters, provenance unknown.
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Chapter Ten
DRAWN TO HISTORY
I’d always been interested in doing things in an accurate way, an authentic way. John Severin to Mark Voger, Asbury Park Press, Jan. 7, 1996
o be completely accurate, John Severin was al- Previous page features a detail of JPS’s 1983 contribution to
ways captivated by American history, particularly the World’s Famous Comic the annals of the Old West and U.S. Civil War, en- Books Artists Portfolio (Édi-
tions Déesse, Paris, 1983), one
thusiasms the artist was able to indulge with freelance assign- of 16 plates by comics greats. ments at Crestwood and with Harvey Kurtzman at EC Comics. ïJPS hand-colored a numIn the early 1950s, perhaps stoked by Kurtzman’s dedica- ber of Civil War-era military
figures, which he framed and
tion to authenticity and his own enduring passion for history, hung in the Severin home.
Severin joined the ranks of the Company of Military Collec- òPortrait of a “Crow Warrior” tors & Historians, a hobbyist group “made up of profession- by John Severin. al and amateur historians, curators, and collectors who wish to preserve the material military culture”133 of the Western hemisphere. Between 1953–64, as a “Fellow,” the artist contributed at least 17 illustrations accurately depicting combatant uniforms, mostly those of the War Between the States. Initially, the illos appeared in black-&-white in the organization’s quarterly journal—which debuted in 1949 and, Lo quas nem ipsam, officid ulluptinihil moluptatem consequ iberatia consequis ulloribus ipsa vendia volo entur? Pelit, nonsequi dolupta temolest, simet peruntium hicit elignate perum lis qui consentium fugit od ma
numbering some 275 quarterly issues, is still being published today—with any number made into colored prints and some also collected into bound volumes alongside those by other illustrators, including MAD artist George Woodbridge, who was also known as “America’s Dean of Uniform Illustration.” Chapter Ten: Drawn to History
|
111
Back during his Prize Comics Western days, Severin entertained a fascination with 19th century Native American culture courtesy of agreeable editors. “I would suggest let’s do a single page of Indian artifacts, Western lore, and so on and so forth, and they’d say, ‘Sure.’ So I’d go home and draw up a bunch of stuff, decorate it with Indian designs or whatever, bring it back and they’d take it and ñIssue of Military Collector & Historian containing JPS work. ðOne-pager by JPS in PCW #89 [Sept.–Oct. ’51].òColor print by JPS, one of 17 or so made available to the Fellows of the Company of Military Collectors & Historians.
print it.”134
Special Issues Kurtzman’s war books were renowned for painstaking fidelity to accurate detail and, because he suffered a physical breakdown due to (literally) exhaustive dedication to exactitude, the result was his greatest achievement, MAD. Ironically, that mania for being factually correct began because of Severin: “I started getting him research for different things, especially when he got into the Civil War. I started him on the research. He wasn’t aware there was such—well, like most people, they think there were gray and blue uniforms and that was sort of it. I got him started on that, and the next thing you know he was contacting [Civil War expert] Fletcher Pratt and trying to find out all the minor details of all the different battles that went on.”135 With the assist of Pratt, Kurtzman had planned an ambitious series within his titles to cover the entire conflict, amounting to some 28 stories. Alas, readers proved indifferent to the editor’s three published issues [Frontline Combat #9, Two-Fisted Tales #31, 35], and the project was
112
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Chapter Eleven
THE MARVEL AGE OF SEVERIN
Working for Marvel was always amusing (I don’t mean “funny”). John Severin to Jim Amash, The Jack Kirby Collector #25, Aug. 1999
nto the 1960s, John Severin remained busy with his steady Cracked humor work, with only occasional outside jobs—including a few covers for Joe Simon at Harvey Comics and Israel Waldman at I.W., respectively, as well as two one-pagers for Harvey Kurtzman’s Help! magazine (and, believe it or not, a side-gig contributing one-panel illustrations for the National Enquirer’s “Strange Happenings” column!)—but it wasn’t until 1965 when the artist reconnected somewhat permanently with Stan Lee, who was now riding high with his Marvel Comics Group, formerly known as Atlas. The combination of Jack Kirby pencils and Severin inks, an art team (assuredly one made in heaven) only previously ñDick Ayers (left) and John Severin remained life-long
seen eight years prior in the last issue of Yellow Claw, was re- friends and they joined born in three outstanding installments of “Nick Fury, Agent together to resurrect the Sgt.
Fury creative team with writer
of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Strange Tales #136–138 [Sept.–Nov. ’65]. Gary Friedrich for the one-shot
Bombast [Apr. 1993], overseen
ñWhile conservative JPS chafed at the anti-war themes liberal writer Gary Friedrich put into his Sgt. Fury scripts, the artist did his duty. Sgt. Fury #64 [Mar. 1969]. ïDynamic Severin illustration featuring Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos.
This exquisite trio of stories proved to be the beginning of by Roy Thomas and published Severin’s first Marvel phase, where, for the next ten years, he by Topps Comics. In an interview with Thomas [Alter Ego
was primarily utilized as an inker (aside from solo cover work). #31, Dec. 2003, pg. 24], Ayers chuckled that, on Fury, “If I
Of their glorious, brief re-teaming, Severin referred back put a ribbon on a guy’s chest, to the Yellow Claw job. “Jack’s pencils were always complete,” when John did it, it would be he said, “so again I was enjoying the inking on the ace.”143
the Good Conduct Medal, but he’d help me to identify it.”
Chapter Eleven: The Marvel Age of Severin
|
117
Days of Fury The spy character Nick Fury, of course, was an updating of a Lee and Kirby star of Marvel’s singular mid’60s war title, a book Severin would be closely associated in the closing years of the decade. In an interview, Severin
recalled
chatting with Kirby before the Fury years when, after they both attended a business conference in midtown Manhattan,
tween 1967–70, he was instrumental in hav- ñTwo unforgettable full-pages
the two went out for coffee. Kirby was producing a daily newspaper comic strip at the
ing a hand in 34 issues of Sgt. Fury and His inked with panache by JPS. At Howling Commandos, the comic book star- left is splash page from Strange
time and asked Severin if he’d like to become
ring a tough, cigar-smoking sergeant with a right is ST #138 [Nov. ’65].
a partner in a new strip Kirby was conceptu-
squad of oddball G.I.s.
penciled by Jack Kirby and
Tales #136 [Sept. 1965]. At
alizing. “The story would be set in Europe
At the same time as the Strange Tales
during WWII,” Severin recalled, “the hero
assignments, Severin had joined former EC
ïOriginal art page by JPS from Not Brand Echh #1 [Aug. ’67]. òThree killer covers by JPS, Western Gunfighters #8–10 [April–July 1972].
would be a tough, cigar-smoking sergeant with a squad of oddball G.I.s—sort of an adult Boy Commandos.”144 To his later regret,
Severin
turned down Kirby’s
offer
but,
soon enough, beChapter Eleven: The Marvel Age of Severin
|
119
As mentioned, during that same period, Severin also helped publisher Sproul encroach on Warren’s Famous Monsters territory with covers and illustrations for the oneshot Monster Howls [1966] and For Monsters Only [10 issues, one annual, 1965–72].
Master Embellisher For whatever reason, Stan Lee found wanting Severin’s solo issues as both penciler and inker of Sgt. Fury [#44, July 1967–#46, Sept. ’67], but kept him on as inker when the editor reinstated penciler Dick Ayers to the war book. Curiously, as an artist working solo, Severin was approved for 20 or so Fury covers between 1969 and ’73. (In Lee’s defense, perhaps Marvel’s editor-in-chief was responding to scripter Gary Friedrich, who complained of “literal chicken scratching” on the Fury art boards he needed to dialogue. “I was given [sparsely penciled pages] with John Severin on a couple of issues of Sgt. Fury that he penciled,”
ñIncredible Hulk #109 [Nov. ’68] page and ðcover, and ò#141 [July ’71] splash detail featuring Herb Trimpe pencils, JPS inks. Next page, Sub-Mariner #38 [June ’71] and Two-Gun Kid #102 [Jan. ’72].
Comics compatriots to be part of Blazing Combat, where he contributed excellent work for scripter/editor Archie Goodwin through the war comic’s spectacular (albeit short) four-issue run [Oct. 1965–July ’66]. And, while since his days at EC, Severin steadfastly refused to draw horror stories, the artist nonetheless produced macabre work for Creepy and Eerie over his short time freelancing for Jim Warren’s black-&white comics outfit during the ’60s.
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Chapter Twelve
HIS WINNING LOSERS
Joe Kubert’s all right... He’s a good guy... Good old Joe. John Severin to Steve Ringgenberg, Comic Book Marketplace #98, Jan. 2003
ohn Severin’s 1970s stint at DC Comics òFor three glorious story arcs
in Unknown Solder [1981–82],
primarily came about due to his enduring and JPS was able to indulge his inbuddy-buddy friendship with Joe Kubert, then ed- terest in World War I bi-planes with a trio of multi-part “Ene-
itor of the company’s war comics line, as well as a my Ace” tales written by Bob
Kanigher. Panel from Unknown
top creator at the imprint. Both comic book vets shared Soldier #261 [Mar. 1982]. a mutual appreciation that stretched back to the days of EC. In fact, Severin had a running gag involving the legendary artist, one initiated on the day they first met. Upon being introduced, Severin took notice of Kubert’s muscular build and, when hands were grasped, Severin dropped to the floor as if Kubert’s grip had crushed the life out of him! Ever after, when the two comic book giants shook hands, Severin repeated the collapse to Kubert’s uproarious and appreciative laughter. Severin’s association with DC actually dated back to the late 1950s, when he briefly freelanced for Robert Kanigher’s war titles. The artist said of his experience with the notorious editor, “I can only say he was happiest when you turned in a ñThe artist, in full gunslinger regalia, poses for the camera. ïClose-up of JPS’s spectacular work on “The Losers” opening spread in Our Fighting Forces #137 [May–June 1972].
well-drawn or well-inked job. When it looked like you had taken as much interest in drawing it and inking it as he had taken in writing it. Because most of the stories I got from him were things he had written himself.”148 Chapter Twelve: His Winning Losers
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123
Bob
124
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Jerry DeFuccio Redux
er also scripted
As previously mentioned, Severin’s cous-
Severin’s
assign-
in-in-law and friend, Jerry DeFuccio, was
ments during the
moonlighting from his associate editor job
artist’s DC tenure
at MAD by putting together his own adven-
between 1971–74,
ture comics magazine. The anthology was
when the pair pro-
to be bankrolled by a partner who suddenly
duced “The Los-
reneged on the financing, leaving DeFuccio
ers” feature in an
with a handful of stories, the art of which had
unbroken 20-issue
already been paid for with his own money. He
run of Our Fighting
found a home for the tales—all written by De-
Forces [#131–150].
Fuccio, with four drawn by Severin and one
Some years lat-
by Reed Crandall—in Kubert’s DC war titles.
er, the pair reunit-
Two of the DeFuccio/Severin collabora-
ed for three “Ene-
tions depicted stories starring their creation,
my Ace” multi-part
Sgt. Tubridy, who had first appeared in the
stories in 1981–82
Kurtzman EC war books. Of those exploits,
[Unknown Soldier
John Garcia and John Benson wrote:
260–
It’s a shame Severin and his good pal did
261, 265–267], providing Severin with the
so few stories together. Influenced by Rudy-
welcome opportunity to render World War
ard Kipling and P.C. Wren, DeFuccio’s sto-
I biplanes in aerial combat, as well as present
ries are completely unlike anything Kurtz-
his take on one of Joe Kubert’s most beloved
man would have done. His and Severin’s
signature characters, Hans Von Hammer,
four Sgt. Tubridy stories are love poems to
the haunted German air ace otherwise known
the British Army in Afghanistan, the Empire
as “The Hammer of Hell.”
worship made more palatable by the realistic
#251–253, ñThe single cover by Severin assigned to the artist during his early 1970s DC Comics stint, G.I. Combat #166 [Nov. ’73]. ðAt top, two-pager by JPS from Atlas/Seaboard’s Blazing Battle Tales #1 [July ’75] and panel from JPS Sgt. Rock story, Our Army at War #272 [Sept. ’74]. òJPS’s Losers, Our Fighting Forces #135 [Feb. ’72].
Kanigh-
JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Lo quas nem ipsam, officid ulluptinihil moluptatem consequ iberatia consequis ulloribus ipsa vendia volo entur? Pelit, nonsequi dolupta temolest, simet peruntium hicit elignate perum lis qui consentium fugit od ma
forces of the unglamorous lives of the enlisted men. Two were
The Big Move
done for Kurtzman at EC, but the two published 16 years lat-
By the early months of 1970, John and Michelina made the
er in DC’s war titles were perhaps even
decision to move the Severin clan to a
better, “Back of Beyond” [Star Spangled
more rustic, wholesome climate, at least
War Stories #162, May 1972] is a John
when compared to Norwood, New Jer-
Ford-style vignette about petty thieves
sey’s proximity to the threatening per-
enlisting in the British Army to avoid
missiveness of the Big Apple. After all,
prison. “Parable” [Our Fighting Forces
the couple had five daughters to worry
#124, Apr. 1970] mixes a little Somerset
about, with the oldest barely 16 and the
Maugham with the Kipling in its tale of
swingin’ ’60s only just ended!
a British trooper going native.149 There were two other fine DeFuc-
Over the course of a single weekend, Michelina flew out to Denver, Colora-
cio/Severin collaborations in DC war books and the friends
do, met a realtor, selected a five-bedroom home in the city’s
later crossed paths professionally when DeFuccio joined
Cherry Creek neighborhood, and bought it. Soon enough,
Cracked magazine as an editor from 1989–92.
John loaded up the family station wagon to make the trek to Chapter Twelve: His Winning Losers
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Chapter Thirteen
BETTER IN BLACK-&-WHITE
I love black-&-white. I hate color... You know what it is? I’m colorblind. John Severin to Gary Groth, The Comics Journal #216, Oct. 1999
agle,” despite its disappointingly short run in Joe Kubert’s Sojourn tabloid, was perhaps John Severin’s greatest achievement in comics art and ïJPS frontispiece (with slight digital manipulation) for Blazing Combat #1 [Oct. 1965]. ðTwo panels from JPS Weird Tales of the Macabre #2 [Mar. 1975] story. òDetail from JPS story in Blazing Combat #1.
certainly the finest black-&-white work of his career. The artist so loved the feature that when the National Cartoonist Society asked in 1978 for an illustration to be included in a limited edition portfolio, he created a piece nothing short of epic, a spectacular battle scene titled, “The Eagle Taking Coup.”* Aside from humor work for Cracked and other wanna be MAD satire magazines, Severin’s first major foray into black&-white work was, as said, for Archie Goodwin, during his mid- to later ’60s run as chief writer and editor of Warren Publishing’s horror and war comics magazines. Joining a Murderer’s Row of former EC Comics artists, Severin contributed some seven stories and six one-pagers during the ’60s, departing with editor Goodwin’s last issue of Creepy [#17, Oct. ’67]. Severin was featured in all four issues of Blazing Combat [Oct. ’65–July ’66], drawing a story in each and sparing no effort with his artistry. Considered among the finest comics ever, the magazine was a worthy and spiritual successor to Harvey Kurtzman’s Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales.
*The original art of same is seen as endpapers at the front of this book. Chapter Thirteen: Better in Black-&-White
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Geez, It’s Louise! After an arid creative stretch during the late ’60s and early ’70s, Warren Publications experienced its second Golden Age, much due to the presence of editor Bill Dubay and his effervescent successor, Louise Jones (now Simonson). Through attentiveness and kindly support, never mind an immense degree of charm, “Weezie,” as she was nicknamed, was able to entice great work from veteran Warren stalwarts, as well as from gifted newcomers. Of the old-timers, Simonson recalled one in particular. “John Severin!” she exclaimed. “The man was a perfectionist. The bulk of his work was done for the humor books— which paid much better than Warren did—and I felt very privileged to have him. Though I never met the man in person, I had a crush on him over the phone. He lived out in Colorado and I had a crush on him long distance. There was something so adorable about him that when I met [current husband and comics great] Walter [Simonson], I thought, ‘Y’know, he really reminds me of John Severin.’ And that was Walter’s big selling point!” Amid laughter, she added, “Funny, I don’t even know if John would remember me—and yet, today, evOf particular note from that early Warren period is Sev-
ery once in a while, I’ll hear Walter on the phone with some
erin’s superb art for the Western horror story, “Dark Rid-
young assistant editor and I’ll think, “Yeah, maybe Walter’s
er” [Eerie #8, Mar. ’67], a tale of the Old West about three
her John Severin!”150
horsemen in a mountainous region, pursued by a mysterious stranger during a snowstorm, all lovingly rendered.
130
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JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
Due to his initial mid-’70s art for the publisher, Severin received the Warren Award for “Best All-Around Artist,” in
Chapter Fourteen
KULL THE COLLABORATION
My stuff... err... my sister’s stuff and my stuff is down to earth, more real. John Severin to Arnie Fenner & Byron L. Roark, REH: Lone Star Fictioneer #4, Spring 1976
ull, born of Atlantis, king of Valusia, conqueror and destroyer from the Thurian Age, Robert E. Howard pulp creation and crowned predecessor to barbaric ïPlate from the Severin siblings’ Kull II [1977] portfolio, though some plates were all by JPS, such as this beauty.
descendant Conan, was never quite so splendidly rendered in comic books than by the sister-and-brother team of Marie and John Severin, as a more perfect a pairing of penciler and inker could hardly be imagined. Opined one sharp observer:
òKull—king, conqueror, and destroyer—by John Severin.
The Severins… immediately made the character their own. These issues (along with Mike Ploog’s first issue, #10) stand as the best comic book portrayals of Kull and some of the most beautiful comic art ever published. Marie’s ability to capture the dynamic style of Marvel storytelling, with John’s Hal Foster-ish inking, created a synthesis that was so perfect for Kull that, as with the Windsor-Smith and Buscema Conans or Alan Weiss Solomon Kanes, it’s practically impossible to see a comic book version any other way. The Severins’ Kull is the standard ñWhen Kull the Conqueror was briefly cancelled after #2, the series was to continue in the typically all-reprint title, Monsters on the Prowl, though only one such episode appeared, in #16 [Apr. ’72]. Cover by John Severin.
by which all comic book versions have been compared.151 From 1971 until ’73, the duo rendered the sword-&-sorcery tales of Kull—as adept wielding a blade as literary cousin Conan, though a far more introspective fellow—for eight issues of Kull the Conqueror, as well as a pair of Kull short stories in Chapter Fourteen: Kull the Collaboration
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133
ñAnother plate from Middle Earth’s Kull II portfolio, this one with pencils by Marie and inks by John Severin.
ñEvocative cover by JPS, Kull the Conqueror #4 [Sept. ’72]. 134
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other books. The twosome also produced an
Kull the Comic Book
outstanding portfolio, Kull II [seven plates],
Upon Marvel licensing the property from
for Middle Earth, in 1977, a sequel to the all-
the Howard estate, Kull had a bumpy ride
John Severin Kull set [six plates], published
art-wise. Bernie Wrightson, submitting his
in 1973 by Denver’s Goblin Graphix.
inaugural Marvel assignment, saw his “Skull
Acclaim for the Severins’ work came fore-
of Silence,” the publisher’s first Kull story,
most from inside the Bullpen, from no less
badly reproduced in Creatures on the Loose
than Marvel’s art director of that era, John
and his cover art rejected. Plus Ross Andru
Romita, Sr., who worked side-by-side with
and Wally Wood, the art team for Kull the
the female half of the team. Calling their Kull
Conqueror #1 (its cover greatly revised by
the Conqueror work a “landmark series,”152
Marie Severin), turned in a terrific job, but
Romita gushed, “She was not just somebody
quit when Kull suddenly became a quarterly.
that would do small stuff. She could do major
Roy Thomas, Howard enthusiast and
stuff, and she was a great storyteller, and she
Marvel editor who championed the arrival
had a great feel for strong characters. And
of sword-&-sorcery at the House of Ideas,
I think some of the greatest stuff done was
was foggy on why Marie was initially chosen
when she penciled and her brother inked on
as penciler of Kull #2. “Whether it was Stan
Kull. It was sensational.”153
[Lee]’s idea or mine to have Marie become
JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST
the new penciler, I don’t remember—though
line the next issue
I suspect it was Stan’s, since he’d loved her
of the Atlas mon-
cover figure for #1. She, in turn, suggested
ster reprint title,
we ask her brother to ink the issue…”
Kull the Conquer-
Thomas continued, “As it turned out,
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, John liked the idea inking his littleTHIS sister, CLICK THE of LINK TO ORDER ISSUE IN PRINT OR DIGITAL FORMAT! and they made a magnificent combo for a
or was officially relaunched
with
#3 [July ’72]. Thus
number of issues, probably the most iconic
the Severin team
one of any run of Kull comics anywhere.”154
resumed their su-
Despite their superb debut as Kull ’s
perb run on the
new art team in Kull #2 [Sept. ’71], the title
title, certainly one
was abruptly cancelled by publisher Mar-
of the most beau-
tin Goodman. Soon, though, the character
tifully
was made the star of the (otherwise reprint)
series of the 1970s, a fitting complement to ñThe Severin siblings in the
Monsters on the Prowl #16 [April ’72], in a JOHN SEVERIN: COMIC BOOK ARTIST 10-page tourTWO-FISTED de force introducing villainous
the stellar work emerging super-star artist of their Kull the Conqueror Windsor-Smith was producing at the same collaboration.
Mad and Two-Fisted Tales) and co-creator of Western strip Thulsaon Doom, Kull’s nemesis. American Eagle. Covers hisvile workarch with Cracked magazine, inking
time on Marvel’s trailblazing sword-&-sor- and John’s inks, on this Kull
Biography of EC Comics mainstay (with HARVEY KURTZMAN
HERB TRIMPE on The Hulk and teaming with sister MARIE SEV-
ERIN onthe Kingfollow-up Kull, and more! With commentary ADAMS, Before episode wasbyto headCORBEN, BYRNE, HEATH, SIMONSON, and others!
rendered early 1970s, around the time òCompare Marie’s pencils
cery comic book, Conan the Barbarian.
the Conqueror #2 [Sept. ’71] splash page.
(160-page FULL-COLOR HC) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-106-6 https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=95_93&products_id=1633
Chapter Fourteen: Kull the Collaboration
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