Monday, July 7, 2025

Comics: A Few Details About Len Leone, Letterer, Assistant Art Editor and Art Director

 
Leonard Patrick “Len” Leone was born on March 11, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York according to his World War II draft which had his full name. His parents were Patrick J. Leone and Domenica Lemoyne Purpura who married on May 21, 1923 in Brooklyn. Leone was three years old when his father passed away on August 27, 1927. An obituary appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 29, 1927. He was laid to rest on August 30, 1927.

The 1930 United States Census counted Leone (line 16), his mother and brother in the household of his maternal grandparents, Joseph and Vincencia Purpura. The family lived in Brooklyn at 312 8th Street.


In the 1940 census, Leone’s maternal grandmother was the head of the household. His mother was a stenographer. Leone (line 77) had completed two years of high school. They were Brooklyn residents at 316 80th Street.

 
On June 30, 1942, Leone signed his draft card. His address was the same but later changed to 7825 4th Avenue. He was employed at Shipman Studio. After the war, Leone worked at Fawcett Publications. Leone’s description was five feet ten inches, 143 pounds, with blue eyes and blonde hair. (Co-incidentally, there was another Leonard Patrick Leone, of Cleveland, Ohio, who served in the Marine Corps during World War II.)


The Steranko History of Comics 2 (1972) said
Fawcett still maintained its own staff for several years, which included letterers like Al Jetter, his wife Charlotte, Martin De Muth, Angelo Grasso, Ben Oda, and Leonard Leone (who began correcting lettering at Fawcett and eventually became vice president and art director at Bantam Books).
The Fawcett Companion: The Best of FCA, Fawcett Collectors of America (2001) said Robert Laughlin and Leone, in 1946, worked on Fawcett’s comic books. Laughlin said
Leonard and I were just doing menial jobs, such as making changes in word balloons. We did content pages and advertisements—like those for the Captain Marvel Club—but it was all layout and paste-up work, with no original artwork created. Those ads were all done on a freelance basis. Lettering stories was our main task. The editors were always making changes in the copy.
On September 23, 1947, commercial artist Leone and receptionist Loretta E. Quinn obtained, in Brooklyn, marriage license number 20997. They married on October 5, 1947. At the time, Leone was a Brooklyn resident at 141 93rd Street.



The same address was recorded in the 1950 census. Leone (line 1) and his wife had a son, Leonard Jr. Also living with them was Leone’s mother and brother. Leone was a commercial artist.


In 1953, Leone was a member of the Salmagundi Club.

At some point Leone moved from Fawcett’s comic books to its magazine division. By 1953 he was assistant art editor at True the Man’s Magazine. Al Allard was its art director. Allard’s profile is here in the sidebar.
 
 
Advertising Age, August 2, 1954, reported Leone’s move to Argosy magazine where he was art director. Less than a year later, Advertising Age, April 11, 1955 and Variety, April 13, 1955 reported Leone’s resignation from Argosy.

In a few months, Leone became art director at Bantam Books. A stylistic change in paperback covers was noted in Quote Magazine, October 16, 1955, which said
... Publishers are bringing out better books in greater variety, and garbing them with more concern for the content. Leonard Leone, art director of Bantam Books, reflects the current thought in his discussion of a new cover design for Somerset Maughham’s Stranger in Paris. ‘None of this bosomy, tight-dress stuff,” he said. “This is a good novel and the new cover should demonstrate that fact.” ...
The change was also reported in Art Direction, December 1955. The July 1957 issue of Art Direction featured Leone’s article about paperback covers. 
 
In the 1970 paperback book, The Bantam Story, Leone said
“About 15 years ago, when Saul David hired me as art director,” says Leone, “everybody was buying emotional, highly realistic, low-key cover art. We decided to move the other way. We decided to buy airy, light things—not yet the white cover. Often when an illustrator would come by with sketches, we liked the lightness and airiness of the sketches and decided to shoot directly from them. Of course, we would pay the full price of a finished painting. This was a constant source of amazement to some of the illustrators. They couldn’t quite believe it. ...

One of Leone’s best known works was his logo for the Doc Savage series which began in 1964 and ended in 1990.

Art by James Bama
 
Courtney Rogers corresponded with Leone for an article in The Bronze Gazette #53, June 2008 which was posted at ThePulp.net. Rogers explained how Doc Savage came to Bantam Books. In Illustration, October 2001, illustrator James Avanti spoke highly of Leone.
Leonard Leone actually knew what he was doing. He was the first really articulate art director I ever worked for. He actually came up with concepts; most art directors didn’t. He always had an idea and would act it out for you. He was very design-oriented, so it reduced the work load on my poor brains. It was no longer really me anymore—it was me trying to be something to suit Leone.
Another memorable cover was Jaws. The New York Times Magazine, April 21, 1974, wrote about the making of the book and cover. The Print article, “The Making of Jaws’ Iconic Book Covers”, showed the various covers. Both articles did not mention Leone. Leone got his due credit in Robin Adams Sloan’s syndicated column which appeared in numerous newspapers including the Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, Florida), September 27, 1975.

On August 23, 1989, Leone’s mother passed away.
 
Leone passed away on July 1, 2013 in Northport, New York. An obituary was posted at Nolan Funeral Home.
Leonard P. Leone
March 11, 1924 – July 1, 2013
Leone, Leonard P. on July 1, 2013, 89 years of age, of Northport. Beloved husband of the late Loretta. Loving father of Leonard & Carmella, Robert & Laura, David & Theresa, and Jeffrey & Maureen. Fond grandfather of Five. Reposing Nolan & Taylor-Howe Funeral Home, 5 Laurel Avenue, Northport, Wednesday 10 AM–12 Noon. Service at the Funeral Home at Noon. Interment, with Military Honors, Calverton National Cemetery.
(Leone should not to be confused with Leonard Leone, of Niagara Falls, New York, who studied advertising design at Pratt Institute and graduated in 1953.)
 
 
 
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Monday, June 30, 2025

Comics: Superman Days

This coming Thursday, July 3, 2025, is the 85th anniversary of Superman Day at the New York World’s Fair which opened on April 30, 1939. Here is the link to my June 2013 post, Superman Day.

DC Comics designated April 18 as Superman Day. Co-incidentally, the April 18, 1942 issue of Publishers Weekly had an article about comics that mentioned the successful Superman Day at the World’s Fair. June 12 was also a Superman Day.

American Newspapers Comics (2012) said the Superman comic strip debuted on January 16, 1939 and ended on May 1, 1966. The Superman figure, in the advertisement, was also used to promote Superman Day at the World’s Fair.

Editor & Publisher, September 19, 1942
 
Trademark application for Superhombre appeared in the Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, November 21, 1944. 
 

Variety, April 4, 1956, mentioned the Superman Day at the Palisades Amusement Park in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Actor Jack Larson, of the Superman TV show, was scheduled to appear.

In The Great Superman Book (1978), Michael Fleisher described the Superman Day celebrated in Metropolis in November 1962 and September 1965.

Another Superman Day was reported in The Monster Times #26, September 1973. The chosen day, January 21, was celebrated in Metropolis, Illinois which has a museum.
 
 
 

Monday, June 16, 2025

Comics: Jill Elgin, Artist and Writer

 

Kathleen Josephine “Jill” Elgin was born on January 13, 1923 in Trenton, New Jersey according to the New Jersey Birth Index at Ancestry.com. The same birth information was in Who Was Who in America (2006). Some bios said her birthplace was Princeton which is about 12 miles [19 kilometers] north of Trenton. Elgin’s Social Security application said her birthplace was Princeton Meadows. 
 
Elgin’s parents were Charles Porter Elgin and Mary L. Poore who married on August 30, 1919 in Franklin County, Ohio. In 1915, Charles Elgin was a freshman at Princeton University. The Princeton Alumni Weekly, July 4, 1967, said
... Mary Poore and Chick were married in August, 1919. They joined other married undergraduate couples in Princeton in the fall of 1920. He received his C.E. degree in June, 1921, and the Graduate E.E. degree in June 1922. He worked for the New York Telephone Company, then the Ohio Bell Telephone organization, returning to his home town of Columbus, Ohio in 1923. ...
According to the 1920 United States Census, Elgin’s parents lived with her maternal grandparents, George and Belle Poore, in Columbus at 232 South Monroe Avenue. Elgin’s parents were at the same address in the 1924 city directory. The 1927 directory listed her parents at 247 North Remington Road in Bexley, a suburb of Columbus.

The 1930 census counted Elgin (line 92), her parents and sisters, Susanne and Charlene, at the same Bexley address. Her father was an electrical engineer.


The Columbus Dispatch, October 29, 1932, mentioned Elgin as a student at Cassingham Avenue School. The Dispatch, August 2, 1931, said Elgin was a Camp Fire Girl.

By the mid-1930s, Elgin (line 80) and her family were residents of Xenia, Ohio at 241 North King Street, according to the 1940 census.



The Dispatch, August 25, 1940, listed Elgin’s state fair awards:
Special Students Classification
Any Subject—Any Medium—First, Kathleen Elgin, Xenia; ...
Sculpture—First, Kathleen Elgin, Xenia; ...
Unclassified—Fourth, Kathleen Elgin, Xenia; ...
Design—First, Kathleen Elgin, Xenia;...
The Dispatch, August 23, 1941, said Elgin won three state fair ceramics awards.
Kathleen Elgin, Xenia, three firsts for “St. Catherine,” in stained glass, tile tableware and a pottery punch bowl
Elgin’s father signed his World War II draft card on February 16, 1942. His address was 241 North King Street in Xenia, Ohio. Sometime later, the address was updated to R.R. 8, Shakertown Pike, Dayton, Ohio. The Princeton Alumni Weekly said
... He served as a Major in the Air Force in World War II. Chick was an Engineer for Lindly and Company of Mineola, N.Y. from the end of the war until his retirement in 1964. All Engineering pursuits held a keen interest for him, and he was at his best when engineering problems were involved. The Elgins built a lovely home in Hampton Bays, N.Y. after retirement, where Mary and Chick were very happy. ...
Some of the books by Elgin included a brief biography. Science Fiction & Readers Guide (1953) said
Jill Elgin enjoys people, books, and dogs. She was brought up in Baltimore [sic] and studied at the Maryland Institute of Art [sic] and at the Grand Central School of Art in New York City. She has done a number of portraits and has illustrated several children’s books. She likes to travel throughout the United States, especially in the West.
The bio in The First Book of Norse Legends (1956) said
Kathleen Elgin began to draw when she was five years old, and she has never stopped since then. She studied at the Dayton, Ohio, Art Institute for two years, then went to work in a stained glass studio. During World War II she illustrated technical manuals for the U.S. Air Force. After the war she moved to New York City, where she studied at the American School of Design.

Today Miss Elgin divides her career between advertising and book illustrating. She illustrated The First Book of Japan, The First Book of Poetry, and The Science Book of the Human Body. She both wrote and illustrated The First Book of Mythology.
Another bio, in Billions of Years of You (1967), said
Kathleen Elgin, who has illustrated over thirty-five books is also an author. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, she studied at the Dayton Art Institute in Ohio and the School of General Studies, Columbia University. A wintertime resident of New York City, Miss Elgin makes her home on New York’s Fire Island during the summer months.
Illustrators of Children’s Books, 1957–1966 (1968) said
After graduating from high school in Xenia, Ohio, Kathleen Elgin attended the Dayton Art Institute for two years, studying in Decorative Arts, her interest developing in stained glass. Later she worked in a glass studio for two years on the commission of a History of Medicine window for the Mayo Clinic. During the Second World War she executed technical manuals for the Air Force. She came to New York in 1945 and began free lancing in advertising, turning after six years to the field of book illustration. Since then, she has written as well as illustrated several books. Miss Elgin, who works primarily in black and white, describes her work as representational and decorative. She notes that in the last ten years her style has changed from pure line to half tone, and that she has perfected her dry brush technique. In 1962, she had a one-man show of her dry brush drawings. Miss Elgin lives on Fire Island, New York.
According to the bio in The Human Body: The Skeleton (1973), Elgin came to New York in 1944.

Before Elgin began work for a living, she needed a Social Security number. In Ohio, Elgin filed an application in August 1942. She moved to New York and quickly found an assignment. Elgin’s first book, Gay Legends of the Saints, was published in November 1942 by Sheed and Ward
 
Science Fiction & Readers Guide and A.D., Summer 1951 said Elgin studied at Grand Central Art School which closed in 1944. A.D. said she also attended Art Career School in the Flatiron Building.
 
American Artist, February 1943
 
Elgin’s comic book work was not mentioned in the bios. Elgin’s Grand Comics Database credits, including questionable ones, place her in New York as early as 1941. The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half-Baked Heroes from Comic Book History (2015) claimed Pat Parker, War Nurse was created by Elgin. Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics (2020) questioned Elgin’s involvement with Pat Parker. The character debuted in Speed Comics #13, May 1941. In 1941, Elgin still lived with her parents in Xenia.
 
Elgin is credited with many stories from 1943 to 1946. Elgin signed the splash page on five stories published in 1945.

Green Hornet Comics #22, January 1945, Blonde Bomber



Speed Comics #36, March 1945, Girl Commandos (Original art is here.)



Speed Comics #37, May 1945, Girl Commandos (Original art is here. The cover of War Sirens and Liberty Belles #1, 1991, used part of the splash page and reprinted four of her Girl Commandos stories.)


Speed Comics #39, September 1945, Girl Commandos


Speed Comics #40, November 1945, Girl Commandos (Original art is here.)


Elgin’s work on Girl Commandos and the Black Cat was mentioned in Women and the Comics (1985); The Encyclopedia of American Comics (1990), here and here; A Century of Women Cartoonists (1993); The Comic Book Reader’s Companion: An A-to-Z Guide to Everyone’s Favorite Art Form (1993); The Great Women Cartoonists (2001); 500 Great Comic Book Action Heroes (2002); Comic Book Encyclopedia (2004); The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes (2004); The Ten-Cent Plague (2008); Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy Volume 1: Overviews (2009); Divas, Dames & Daredevils: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics (2013); Pretty in Ink: North American Women Cartoonists 1896–2010 (2013); Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas, Volume 1: 1800–1960 (2014); and Babes in Arms: Women in the Comics During the Second World War (2017).

Elgin’s Girl Commandos art was included in the exhibition, “Wonder Women, on Page and Off”, which opened at the Women’s Museum of California. The exhibit was curated by Trina Robbins from her personal collection and other artists. The show ran from June 7, 2013 to September 1, 2013. In 2014 the exhibit traveled to Pittsburgh’s ToonSeum. The Associated Press article is here
 
When the war ended, Elgin pursued book illustration at various publishers. For the Catechetical Guild, Elgin illustrated the books, Wopsy, The Adventures of a Guardian Angel (1946) and Wopsy Again (1947).

The 1950 census counted Elgin (line 25) as a Manhattan, New York City resident in the Ansonia Hotel at 2109 Broadway. She was a freelance book illustrator. Her roommate was Bernice Shepard. The Dispatch, March 6, 1955, said Elgin was Shepard’s maid of honor. Elgin’s parents and sister, Charlene, resided in Northport, New York at 168 Bayview.



Elgin’s books were credited to either Jill Elgin or Kathleen Elgin. In the early 1950s, some of her books include
 
1950: Lollipop Farm; The Size of It; Ups and Downs; The Wanderings of Wopsy; Wopsy and the Witch Doctor 
 
1951: Let’s Start Cooking 
 
1952: All Ready for Winter; Climb a Lofty Ladder; The News Is Good; Passage to Texas; and Speckles Goes to School

For a brief time, Elgin was art editor of A.D. magazine. The Summer 1951 issue said
As this issue goes to press the editorial staff welcomes a new member. Miss Jill Elgin, one of New York’s better commercial artists, becomes our Art Editor. You have seen her work in our previous issues. “Now,” she says, “I intend to introduce the best art talent I can find to the readers of A. D.” She tells us she will welcome correspondence with young artists. Miss Elgin graduated from the Grand [Central] Art School and the Art Career School, specializing in illustration and portrait painting.
Elgin illustrated the articles, “A Sense of Belonging” and “Jean Cocteau, The Frivolous Prince”. 


Elgin was a contributor to Story Parade magazine. Her art appeared in issues dated May 1952 and October 1952.

In 1952 Elgin visited Europe. She was aboard the ship Nieuw Amsterdam when it departed Havre, France on May 28. One week later, she arrived in New York on June 4.

In the 1950s, Elgin lived on the southeast corner of Ocean Parkway and Superior Street in Ocean Bay Park, New York. Some Manhattan, New York City telephone directories are available at Ancestry.com. Elgin was listed in directories, from 1957 to 1960, at Midway Walk, Ocean Bay Park.

Elgin’s books from 1953 to 1959 include

1953: The Hungriest Robin; It Was All Very Strange; The Mysterious Treasure of Cloud Rock; The Real Book About Bugs, Insects and Such; and Stories of Today

1954: A Dangerous Day for Mrs. Doodlepunk; The First Book of Poetry; Land of Gray Gold: Lead Mining in Wisconsin; and Mixups and Fixups

1955: 365 Bedtime Stories; Best Friends; Dinah Shore Coloring Book; Finding Answers; A Crown for Carly; The First Book of Mythology; Little Men; Little Women; and The Science Book of the Human Body
; and Ten-in-One Coloring Book

1956: All Ready for Summer; Away I, Go; The First Book of Norse Legends; Guess and Color Coloring Book ; We Live on a Farm; and A Wish for Billy

1957: All Ready for School; Speckles Goes to School
; and Toys to Color

1958: Five-in-One Coloring Book; Little Schoolhouse

1959: Plants That Heal

Elgin’s career overview at Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 includes unconfirmed employment at the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in the 1950s.
 
Elgin’s books from 1960 to 1969 include

1960: ABC 1-2-3 Dot-to-Dot Coloring Book; Fairy Tales to Read Aloud; Farm Fun Coloring Book; Getting to Know India; Getting to Know Israel; How to Grow House Plants; and The Story of Archaeology in the Americas

1961: ABC 1-2-3, Color and Follow the Dots; ABC Science Series 3; The Adventures of Silly Billy; All Ready for Summer; From This to That; and Underwater Zoos

1962: Attorneys’ Dictionary of Medicine; Farmyard Friends to Color; Grandpa’s Wonderful Glass; James Whitcomb Riley, Hoosier Boy; The Language of Animals; Living in Places Near and Far; My Circus Coloring Book; and The Story of Life: Plants and Animals Through the Ages

1963: Bible Pictures to Color; Ham the Astrochimp; How Animals Live Together; and See This Little Line?

1964: Nun: A Gallery of Sisters; and The Secret Story of Pueblo Bonito

1965: Keeping Your Friends

1966: The Beginnings of the Church; English This Way Book 7; and In the Steps of the Great American Zoologist: William Temple Hornaday

1967: Billions of Years of You; The Human Body: The Brain; Human Body: The Ear; and Human Body: The Eye

1968: Alphabets to Color; The Great Reaching Out: How Living Beings Communicate; The Human Body: The Hand; More Reading 2; and The Quakers: The Religious Society of Friends

1969: Ballet Coloring Book; The Female Reproductive System; The Male Reproductive System; and The Mormons, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

In 1966 Elgin was president of the Ocean Bay Property Owners Association. The Long Island Advance, July 14, 1966, said she presented a petition to the Brookhaven Town Board seeking action to “protect the residents of the beach area from excessive noises and rowdyism during the weekend.”

Elgin’s father passed away on April 21, 1967. An obituary appeared in The Long-Islander, April 27, 1967.

Elgin’s books from 1970 to the early 1980s include

1970: The Episcopalians: The Protestant Episcopal Church; The Human Body: The Respiratory System;
Santa’s Paint with Water; and Simple Objects to Color

1971: The Human Body: The Glands; The Human Body: The Skin; and The Unitarians: The Unitarian Universalist Association

1972: The Ups and Downs of Drugs

1973: African Treehouse; The Human Body: The Skeleton; The Human Body: The Digestive System; and Twenty-Eight Days

1974: The Fall Down, Break a Bone, Skin Your Knee, Book; and The Human Body: The Muscles

1979: Baby Mouse Learns His ABC’s

1981: Baby Mouse Goes Shopping

1982: Baby Mouse Goes Searching
 
On August 28, 1979, Elgin’s mother passed away.

Elgin retired in Florida. Her illustration, “Wreck Ashore!”, was reproduced in The Florida Keys Volume 3: The Wreckers (2001). 
 
Elgin passed away on January 25, 2005. The Social Security Death Index said her last residence was Key West, Florida.
 
 
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