Original storefront sign above the
Vancouver Fish Company Restaurant
Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada
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Monday, September 30, 2024
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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.
Comics: Between the Panels (1998) said
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
The Comic Book Heroes (1997)
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
A. Machine and Royal Cartoon, Mario Acquaviva, Gerald Altman, Gene Barnett, Vivian Berg, Daniel Bhang, Ray Burley,
Gerda Gattel, Angelo Grasso, Anita Greene, Al Grenet, Ed Hamilton, Ray Holloway, IBM Directory, Alex Jay, Albert and Charlotte Jetter,
Abe Kanegson, George Kapitan, Anna Kaufman, Gary Keller, Nadine French King, Ralph Komisarow, Grace Kremer, Morrie Kuramoto, Al Kurzrok,
Georgette Sauterel, Ira Schnapp, Irving Settel, Rome Siemon, Artie Simek, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Herman Stackel, Stan Starkman, Daisy Swayze, Zoltan and Terry Szenics,
Richard Deane Taylor, Alberta Tews, Irv Watanabe, Leo Wurtzel, John Yakata, Bill Yoshida, Bernie Zuber
Women in Comics Posts
Ruth Atkinson, Olive Bailey, Valerie Barclay, Vivian Berg, Helen Chu aka Duffy Mohler, Ellen Cole, Corinne Boyd Dillon, Anahid Dinkjian,
Barbara Clark Fogel, Evelyn Gaines aka Lynn Lovelace, Merna Gamble, Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Jane Krom Grammer, Anita Greene,
Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Serena Summerfield, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep,
(Next post on Monday: Circular Motion)
Monday, September 9, 2024
Typography: George W. Jones, Printer
The Printing Art, August 1919
A Noted English Printer
(Next post on Monday: Sid Greene, a Comic Book Artist and Inker, and His Wife, Anita, an Unknown Letterer)
Monday, September 2, 2024
Comics: Irving Settel, Editor, Writer, Letterer, Advertising Marketer, College Teacher, and Columnist
Irving J. Settel was born on November 21, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York. According to the New York, New York Birth Index at Ancestry.com. His parents were Joseph Settel and Dora Rosenberg.
In the 1920 United States Census, Settel (line 21) was the youngest of three brothers. His father was an Englishman and wholesale salesman. The family resided on Young Street in Monticello Village, New York.
The 1925 New York state census recorded Settel (line 3), his parents and brothers in Brooklyn at 24 Crosby Avenue. His father was an insurance salesman.
The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York), April 25, 1929, said Settel was a new member of its Rainbow Club
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Settel’s address was the same in the 1930 census. He is on line 95.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (New York), January 27, 1930, said Settel attended Public School 76 where he received a service award.
The Daily Eagle, April 1, 1933, said Settel was an assistant editor on the Liberty Bell newspaper of Thomas Jefferson High School. He was also on the Embers yearbook staff. Settel graduated in 1933.
Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 said Settel was a writer, artist and letterer in the comic book industry during the 1930s. Apparently Settel was at the Harry “A” Chesler comic book shop when Fred Schwab was there from 1936 to 1938. Settel and Schwab would collaborate twenty years later.
The 1940 census counted Settel (line 1) and his parents at the same address. He had two years of college and was unemployed.
On October 16, 1940, Settel signed his World War II draft card. He was employed at the Gay Apparel Corporation in Manhattan. His description was five feet six inches, 155 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
On August 23, 1941, Settel and Gertrude Schulman obtained, in Brooklyn, marriage license number 18837. They married on September 19, 1941.
Settel enlisted on September 29, 1942. His occupation was advertising agent. His assignment is not known.
Beginning in 1946, Settel was on the faculty of Pace College in New York City.
1966 Legend yearbook
The 1949 Manhattan city directory listed Settel at 523 East 14th Street.
The 1950 census said Settel (line 12), his wife and three-year-old son, Kenneth, were Manhattan residents at 523 East 14th Street. Settel was an advertising manager at a men’s clothing store chain.
In 1951 Settel obtained a B.A. from Brooklyn College. He earned an M.S. at New York University in 1955.
Settel wrote or edited several books including Effective Retail Advertising (1951), Transportation Advertising (1951), Television Advertising and Production Handbook (1953), Top TV Shows of the Year (1955), Best TV Humor of of the Year (1956), Best TV Humor of 1957 (1957), A Pictorial History of Radio (1960), A Pictorial History of Television (with William Laas, 1967), and A Pictorial History of Television, Second Edition (1983).
Fred Schwab illustrated Settel and Bill Adler’s Congratulations, It’s Your Birthday!, Congratulations, You’re Married!, and Congratulations, You’re a Grandparent!, all published by Citadel Press in 1959
The Book Buyer’s Guide, June 1959
When Settel resided in Bayside, he contributed, in 1961, to the neighborhood newspaper, Bayside Times.
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July 6, 1961
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August 10, 1961
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September 14, 1961
The Bayside Times, July 11, 1963, reported his long distance lectures.
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Settel retired to Florida. A directory at Ancestry.com listed his home in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Settel passed away on February 19, 2002, in Canton, Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Death Index at Ancestry.com. His wife passed away on March 21, 2013 in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Related Posts
A. Machine and Royal Cartoon, Mario Acquaviva, Gerald Altman, Gene Barnett, Vivian Berg, Ray Burley,
Gerda Gattel, Angelo Grasso, Anita Greene, Al Grenet, Ed Hamilton, Ray Holloway, IBM Directory, Alex Jay, Albert and Charlotte Jetter,
Abe Kanegson, George Kapitan, Anna Kaufman, Gary Keller, Nadine French King, Ralph Komisarow, Grace Kremer, Morrie Kuramoto, Al Kurzrok,
Georgette Sauterel, Ira Schnapp, Irving Settel, Rome Siemon, Artie Simek, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Herman Stackel, Stan Starkman, Daisy Swayze, Zoltan and Terry Szenics,
Richard Deane Taylor, Alberta Tews, Irv Watanabe, Leo Wurtzel, John Yakata, Bill Yoshida, Bernie Zuber
(Next post on Monday: George W. Jones, Printer)