Monday, October 7, 2024

Comics: Bernie Zuber, Artist, Writer, Letterer, Editor, Publisher and Fan

Bernard Anthony “Bernie” Zuber was born on March 4, 1933, in Asnières, Seine, France, according to an American Consular Service report at Ancestry.com and the National Archives. His parents were Anthony F. Zuber, of Brooklyn, New York, and Marie Josephine Giulio Tonolo of Chambery, France. Zuber’s father was a clerk at the American Embassy, Office of Commercial Attaché.


On May 22, 1942, the family sailed aboard the steamship Drottningholm from Lisbon, Portugal. They arrived in the port of New York City on June 1, 1942. Their destination was 62 Hemlock Street in Brooklyn. Presumably Zuber’s education was in Brooklyn. 



Seven years later on August 5, 1949, Zuber and his father departed on the steamship Queen Elizabeth from New York bound to Cherbourg, France. 


Two years later Zuber and his father sailed on September 24, 1951 from Le Havre, France. The steamship America arrived in New York City on October 1, 1951. Their final destination was 62 Hemlock Street in Brooklyn.



A little less than four months had gone by when they were aboard the same steamship headed for Le Havre, France


On March 26, 1953, Zuber was a Pan American flight from Paris to New York. 


It’s not known where Zuber served during the Korean War and the dates of his enlistment and discharge. On March 4, 1954, Private Zuber, serial number 51237501, was on a flight from Chicopee, Massachusetts to Frankfurt, Germany.


Twenty-two days later, Zuber was on a TWA flight for New York.


The Social Security Death Index said Zuber obtained his number in 1955 in Maryland. His employer is unknown. 

The California Voter Registration at Ancestry.com said Zuber, in 1956, was a democrat who lived at 1776 North Las Palmas Street in Los Angeles, California. 

Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 estimated Zuber’s comics career from 1950 to around 1981. He started work at Western Publishing. Hey Kids Comics Wiki said “... Bernie Zuber was an editorial artist, a position similar to that of a production artist, from 1957 until 1982.” Information about his art training has not been found. Three of his lettering credits are Wonderworld #9, August 1973, Bernard Prince; Yogi Bear #4, May 1978; and The Flintstones #5, June 1978. 

Samples of Zuber’s fan artwork are here, here, and here (see April). 

On May 27, 1972, Zuber and Ida C. Rule married in Los Angeles, according to the California Marriage Index at Ancestry.com. 

Mark Evanier wrote about Zuber’s personal struggles. 

Zuber passed away on October 14, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. He was laid to rest at Riverside National Cemetery


Further Reading
Tolkien Gateway, Bernie Zuber
Internet Science Fiction Database, Chronological Bibliography: Bernie Zuber
The Internet Archive has many publications that mentioned Zuber here, here and here


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(Next post on Monday: Scotch & Soda)

Monday, September 30, 2024

Monday, September 16, 2024

Comics: Sid Greene, a Comic Book Artist and Inker, and His Wife, Anita, an Unknown Letterer

Sid Greene was born Sidney Greenberg on June 4, 1921, in Brooklyn, New York. Greene’s World War II draft card had his birth information and name change. 


In the 1925 New York state census, Greene was the second of three children born to Joseph, a house painter, and Goldie (Chertkoff), both Russian emigrants. Greene’s sisters were Sylvia and Theresa. They lived in Brooklyn at 410 Sheffield. 


The 1930 census recorded the Greenberg family in Brooklyn at 807 Cleveland Street. 


According to the 1940 census, the Greenbergs continued to reside in Brooklyn but at a different address, 149 Rockaway Parkway. Greene had completed four years of high school and was unemployed. 


Information about Greene’s art training has not been found. In Superhero Comics: The Illustrated History (1991), Mike Benton said 
Greene began his comic book career in 1941 as an artist in the Lloyd Jacquet comic studio, where he drew features for Target comics. After working at Marvel Comics, Holyoke, and Ace Comics, Greene came to DC Comics in 1955. 
On February 15, 1942, Greene signed his World War II draft card. His address was unchanged. He was a freelance cartoonist who changed his name while in service. Greene’s description was five feet nine inches, 155 pounds, with brown eyes and hair. His veteran’s file, at Ancestry.com, said he enlisted on September 14, 1942 and was discharged on February 1, 1946. 

One week later, Green and Anita E. Smith obtained a Manhattan marriage license and were married that day, February 8. The license said Anita was born in 1921 but it was actually 1917.





Just over a year later, they married again. The license revealed Anita’s previous two marriages to Ralph E. Basile and Edward D. Long. Anita’s divorce from Long was granted in May 1946, two months after her marriage to Greene. So Greene and Anita E. Long obtained a Brooklyn marriage license on March 18, 1947 and married two days later. The license had Anita’s correct birth year of 1917.





Anita Elizabeth Smith was born on August 4, 1917, in Norway, Maine, according to her Social Security application at Ancestry.com. Her parents were Seymour Smith and Ida M. Lurvey. 

In the 1920 census, Anita, her parents and older sister, Hazel, lived in Everett, Massachusetts at 69 Hancock Street. Her father was a draftsman. 


The 1930 census said the Smith family resided in West Springfield, Massachusetts at 47 Cass Avenue. 


In 1934 Anita and Ralph Basile married in Springfield, Massachusetts. They divorced in 1936. Anita had a daughter, Joan.

On February 25, 1938, Anita married Edward Long in Hartford, Connecticut. The 1940 census recorded Anita, her husband and daughter, Marilyn, in Hartford at 51 East Street. Anita and Long divorced in May 1946. 


The 1940 census said Anita’s first daughter, Joan, was living her maternal grandparents in Springfield, Massachusetts at 168 Phoenix Terrace, the same address on Anita’s New York marriage documents. 

Greene, Anita, and his stepdaughters were counted in the 1950 census. They were Brooklyn residents at 124 Bradford Drive. Greene was a comic book artist, and Anita a comic book letterer. Both were self-employed. The Grand Comics Database has a checklist of Greene’s work


Presumably, Anita lettered many of Greene’s stories beginning in the late 1940s and beyond. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 has an entry for an Anita Greene, a writer. 

I believe Anita advertised in The American Girl, August 1950. 


When he finally arrived at DC in 1955, Sid Greene had had his passport stamped at Ace, Eastern Color, Lev Gleason, Holyoke, Marvel, Pines, Orbit, and Quality. He spent some 15 years at DC, drawing Adam Strange, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, among others. “I’m told,” Don Rosa would later note, “Greene died in the mid-1970s after years of being unable to find work despite his decades as a very capable artist.”
At some point Greene moved to New Jersey. Greene passed away on November 8, 1975. This date was in his veteran’s file and the New Jersey Death Index which said he died in New York state. Wikipedia said his death was in Port Jervis, New York. 


In the 1990s Anita retired to Sun City, Arizona, according to the Public Records Index at Ancestry.com. She passed away on January 14, 1996. The Social Security Death Index said her last residence was Bella Vista, Arkansas. 


Further Reading and Viewing
Amazing Heroes, #128, November 1, 1987, “Who Were the Star Rovers”
The Justice League Companion (2005), photograph of Sid Greene and Julius Schwartz
Heritage Auctions, original art
Green Mask #5, June 1941: Page six of Spark Stevens of the Navy has a book, in panel five, with the title “The Life and Loves of Sid Greene”.


Comics Letterer Posts













(Next post on Monday: Circular Motion)