Comics: Marvel Magazine Group

In 1980 Jim Shooter contacted Neal Adams to create a new branding design for Marvel’s magazines. Neal asked me to work on the project. My hand-lettered Marvel Magazine Group was inside a thick bordered box. The interior background would be a solid color. I positioned the price, date and issue number all on the right. The space on the left was for the character. On my own, I did a new Conan logo that wasn’t used. When Larry Hama started Conan Saga, he accepted my logo.

Original art for Marvel Magazine Group with Conan logo photostat

Photostat dummy showing positions of the various elements

 

Marvel adopted some of my designs beginning with Bizarre Adventures #25, March 1981; The Savage Sword of Conan #63, April 1981; and The Hulk! #27, June 1981.

Bizarre Adventures #25, March 1981

The Savage Sword of Conan #62, March 1981

 (digital version)

The Savage Sword of Conan #63, April 1981

 

The Savage Sword of Conan Omnibus Volume 5

I was not involved with the Conan Magazine Group.

The Hulk! #26, April 1981

The Hulk! #27, June 1981

(Next post on Monday: Rich Chidlaw, Cartoonist)

Interrobang, Part 6: Kenneth Wright, Graphic Designer

 

Kenneth David Wright was born on October 7, 1931 in Bridgeport, Connecticut according to his Social Security application. He was the son of John Wright and Janet Ruddiman who were Scottish immigrants. Two years after serving in the Royal Navy during World War I, Wright’s father immigrated to Canada in June 1920. About two years later he moved to Bridgeport. Wright’s mother arrived in New York on September 13, 1921. Wright’s parents married on December 18, 1924 in Bridgeport where his sister was born in June 1926. The 1930 United States Census counted the trio in Bridgeport at 180 River Street. Wright’s father was an engineer at the United Illuminating Company.

In 1935 Wright, his mother and sister visited Scotland. They were aboard the ship Transylvania when it departed Glasgow on September 25. The ship arrived at the Port of New York on October 5.

The 1940 census counted the Wright family in Fairfield, Connecticut at 177 Dorothy Street. Also in the household was Wright’s maternal grandfather, William Ruddiman.

Wright and his parents were at the same address in the 1950 census. Wright graduated Roger Ludlowe High School.

1950 Fairfieldiana yearbook

On October 18, 1952 Wright and Georgia Delamater married in Bridgeport. The 1956 city directory listed their address, 109 Grovers Avenue.

Wright’s veteran file said he served in the Army from January 11, 1954 to February 29, 1956.

Wright enrolled at the University of Bridgeport where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in graphic design.

1960 Wistarian yearbook

The 1963 Newtown, Connecticut city directory said Wright was a graphic designer who resided in Monroe on Twinbrook Terrace.

At some point Wright was employed at Remington Rand Office Machines, a subsidiary of Sperry Rand Corp. in Norwalk, Connecticut. He designed an interrobang for the 1968 Model 25 electric typewriter. (Richard Isbell’s Americana interrobang, a hot metal type, was released in 1967.)

Bridgeport Post, October 13, 1968

A number city directories are available at Ancestry.com. The 1976 Westport, Connecticut directory listed “Graphic Groups” at 431 East State with Mrs. Georgia Wright in parenthesis. The 1978 Newtown directory said Wright’s home address was 37 Old Zora Road in Monroe. His business was the Graphics Group in Westport.

Years later, Wright and his parents moved to Massachusetts. Wright passed away on January 13, 1997 and laid to rest at Oak Ridge Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his father, January 26, 1992, and mother, December 16, 1996.


Further Reading
You Call that a Punctuation Mark?! The Interrobang Celebrates its 50th Birthday
Luc Devroye, Richard Isbell


Related Posts 

Interrobang, Part 1, Martin K. Speckter, Art Director
Interrobang, Part 2: Jack Lipton, Designer and Art Director
Interrobang, Part 3: Larry Ottino, Lettering Artist, Designer and Art Director
Interrobang, Part 4: Joe Carter, Lettering Artist and Calligrapher
Interrobang, Part 5: Clarence Noel Johnson, Art Director
 

 

(Next post on Monday: Marvel Magazine Group)

Interrobang, Part 5: Clarence Noel Johnson, Art Director

Clarence Noel Johnson was born on December 25, 1897 in Chicago, Illinois according to his World War I and II draft cards. In the 1900 United States Census, he was the youngest of two sons born to David, a music teacher, and Mamie. The family’s Chicago address was 2239 Ashland Avenue.

The 1910 census counted a third son in the Johnson family who resided at 4626 North Ashland Avenue in Chicago.

The name of Johnson’s high school is not known. There were two students named Clarence N. Johnson who attended Waller High School. The Chicago Daily Tribune, January 29, 1915, said one graduated the two-year vocational course. The Tribune, June 23, 1916, listed the same name under the four-year commercial course.

On September 12, 1918, twenty-year-old Johnson signed his draft card. He was a printer at R. R. Donnelly. Johnson’s description was medium height, slender build, blue eyes and brown hair.

The 1920 census said Johnson lived with his parents at the same address. He was a printer.

Johnson married Marjorie May Stewart on April 9, 1927 in Evanston, Illinois. The Chicago Tribune, April 11, published a photograph of the bride. The 1927 Evanston city directory listed the couple at 911 Elmwood Avenue. Johnson worked in advertising.
 

Johnson has not yet been found in the 1930 census. He was not listed in the 1931 Evanston directory.

Art Director Johnson and his wife were Chicago residents at 25 East Bellevue Place. The 1940 census said he was in the advertising industry and earned $3,900 in 1939.

On February 16, 1942, Johnson signed his draft card. His address was unchanged. Johnson’s description was five feet eleven inches, 168 pounds, hazel eyes and brown hair.

 

The Art Directors Club of Chicago published their ADCC Record of Advertising Art in 1944. Johnson, art director at Reincke-Ellis-Younggreen & Finn, had four advertisements represented in the book. (The New York Times, December 25, 1945, said the agency’s name would change, effective on January 1, to Reincke, Meyer & Finn.)

Fifty-two-year-old Johnson had the same address in the 1950 census. (On the same enumeration sheet was cartoonist Dick Fletcher who lived a block south on Oak Street.)

Johnson had letters published in numerous publications including the Congressional Record of the Senate on July 25, 1950.

I am, and have been for the last 24 years, art director for Reincke, Meyer & Finn, advertising, 520 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill. I am a veteran of the First World War and during World War II was sponsor for a Japanese alien for the United States Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.

Martin K. Speckter wrote about creating the interrobang in Type Talks, March-April 1962. The article included three interpretations by Martin K. Speckter Associates, Inc. art director, Jack Lipton. Johnson’s three designs appeared in the October 1967 issue of Art Direction.

 

 

Johnson passed away on April 6, 1975 and laid to rest at Windsor Congregational Cemetery. The Chicago Sun-Times, April 8, 1975, published an obituary.

Clarence N. (Jim) Johnson, 77, a retired advertising agency official, died Sunday in Grant Hospital.

Until retiring in 1969, Mr. Johnson, of 2247 N. Geneva, was art director of Reincke Meyer & Finn Inc., 625 N. Michigan. He was a director of the Mid-North Assn., a Lincoln Park neighborhood group, and editor of the association’s newsletter.

Surviving are his widow, Marna, and a bother, Raymond H.

There will be no visitation or services.

Further Reading
You Call that a Punctuation Mark?! The Interrobang Celebrates its 50th Birthday
 

 

Related Posts

Interrobang, Part 1, Martin K. Speckter, Art Director

Interrobang, Part 2: Jack Lipton, Designer and Art Director

Interrobang, Part 3: Larry Ottino, Lettering Artist, Designer and Art Director

Interrobang, Part 4: Joe Carter, Lettering Artist and Calligrapher

Interrobang, Part 6, Kenneth Wright, Graphic Designer

 

(Updated November 17, 2025. Next post on Monday: Interrobang, Part 6, Kenneth Wright, Graphic Designer)

Lettering: Happy Halloween

St. Nicholas, November 1911

George O. Butler, artist and writer

 

(Next post on Monday: Interrobang, Part 5, Clarence Noel Johnson)

Interrobang, Part 4: Joe Carter, Lettering Artist and Calligrapher

Joseph “Joe” Carter Jr. was born on March 14, 1902 in Maryport, England according to his World War II draft card. On September 8, 1906, four-year-old Carter and his parents, Joseph, a carpenter, and Isabella, were aboard the ship Caledonia when it departed Scotland. They arrived at the Port of New York on September 16.

 

Carter’s father began the naturalization process on November 30, 1908. He filed his Declaration of Intention in Chicago, Illinois, where his address was 1642 Berenice Avenue. He was naturalized on December 27, 1912.

The 1910 United States Census counted eight-year-old Carter and his parents in Chicago at 4855 Berenice Avenue.

According to the 1920 census, Carter was a commercial artist employed at a directory business. The 1936 publication, 27 Chicago Designers, had a photograph of Carter who was a

graduate of the School for Apprentices and worked in the Art Department of R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company—also under the direction of William A. Kittredge in the Design Department of that concern. He is now associated with Paul Ressinger, having joined him in 1924.

In the 1930 census, Carter had the same occupation and worked in a design studio. He lived with his parents.

Carter was member of the Society of Typographic Arts (STA). His name appeared in an STA announcement reproduced in The Inland Printer, April 1931. Carter was involved in the 1937 A.I.G.A. annual exhibit, Commercial Printing of the Year. He became an STA Fellow in 1939.

The 1940 census said Carter, 38, was a self-employed commercial artist who had one year of college education. The Chicago Design Archive said Carter, for a time, was with Lettering Incorporated which began in 1939.

On February 16, 1942, Carter signed his draft card. He had the same home address. His office address was 75 East Wacker Drive which was the Mather Tower. Carter’s description was five feet eight inches, 165 pounds, blue eyes and blonde hair.

The Inland Printer, November 1944, reproduced one of Carter’s STA citations. Carter was mentioned in Print magazines here, here and here.

Carter’s father died on August 20, 1945, and mother April 8, 1947.

In 1950 Carter lived alone at the same address. He had his own business and worked in advertising.

Martin K. Speckter wrote about the creating the interrobang in Type Talks, March-April 1962. The article included three interpretations by Martin K. Speckter Associates, Inc. art director, Jack Lipton. Carter’s interrobang design was included in the next issue. His design also appeared in the October 1967 issue of Art Direction.

 

Carter was mentioned in the following books.

Calligraphy & Handwriting in America 1710–1962 (1963)
Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Volume 4, Calligraphy to Church Libraries (1970)
With Respect to RFD (1978)
Calligraphy, a Sourcebook (1982)

Carter passed away on November 12, 1979 in Chicago.

 

Further Reading

You Call that a Punctuation Mark?! The Interrobang Celebrates its 50th Birthday

Related Posts 

Interrobang, Part 1, Martin K. Speckter, Art Director

Interrobang, Part 2: Jack Lipton, Designer and Art Director

Interrobang, Part 3: Larry Ottino, Lettering Artist, Designer and Art Director

Interrobang, Part 5: Clarence Noel Johnson, Art Director

Interrobang, Part 6, Kenneth Wright, Graphic Designer

 

 

(Updated November 17, 2025. Next post on Friday: Happy Halloween)

Interrobang, Part 3: Larry Ottino, Lettering Artist, Designer and Art Director

 

Anthony Lawrence Ottino’s parents were Egidio “John” Ottino and Mary Borghi who married in 1908 in New Jersey. In the 1920 United States Census, the couple and four children lived in West Hoboken, New Jersey at 354 Spring Street. Ottino’s father was a machinist at a shipyard.

Four months after the census enumeration, Ottino was born on April 4, 1920 in West Hoboken according to the New Jersey Birth Index at Ancestry.com. (On June 1, 1925, the Township of West Hoboken and the Town of Union combined to become Union City. Some of Ottino’s documents had Union City as his birthplace.)

According to the 1930 census, Ottino was the youngest of five siblings. The household included their parents and paternal grandparents. They resided in Union City at 318 40th Street. Ottino’s father was an insurance salesman.

In the 1940 census Ottino lived with his parents in Union City at 122 41st Street. Ottino was a messenger at a label company.

On July 1, 1941, Ottino signed his World War II draft card that had Union City as his birthplace. He was employed at the textile manufacturer, F. G. Montabert Co. One of its products was silk woven labels. Ottino’s description was five feet six inches, 135 pounds, with brown eyes and hair.

Six weeks later, Ottino and Violet Mabel Carlomagno married on August 15, 1941 in Manhattan. The certificate said Ottino was a designer. It’s not known where Ottino received his art training.

Commercial artist Ottino enlisted in the Army on March 6, 1942 at Fort Dix, New Jersey. His veteran’s file said he was discharged on November 1, 1945. Information about his service has not been found.

The 1950 census said Ottino, a freelance commercial artist, and Violet had a daughter and son. Also living with them were Ottino’s in-laws. They were residents of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey at 3921 Teaneck Road.

At some point Ottino was associated with the art studio, Roy Germanotta Inc. It advertised in the trade publication Art Director & Studio News (renamed Art Direction in 1956). The earliest advertisement, and possibly the first, appeared in the August 1953 issue.

Ottino was credited in advertisements published in the following issues: January 1954; May 1954; January 1955, below;  July 1955; January 1956; and June 1956. 

Art Direction, October 1956, reported Roy Germanotta, Inc. was renamed Fenga & Donderi, Inc. Art Direction, April 1957, said

Larry Ottino has resigned as associate to Sam Marsh and has rejoined Fenga & Donderi Inc. as vice president. A top lettering designer, he will supervise all F & D lettering in addition to his own work and will be available for consultation on all aspects of the studio’s business.

Headliners International advertised its Palisade type family, designed by Ottino, in Art Direction, March 1961. 

 

 

The back cover of Ottino’s 1973 book, The Art of Lettering with Pen & Brush*, said

Mr. Ottino has designed 58 original alphabets for photo-lettering process which are sold internationally. He has also designed exclusive alphabets for Fisher-Price Toys, Eastern Airlines, Volvo Automobiles, Tudor Games, Lever Brothers, American Airlines and American Motors. ...

 

Ottino’s new job was reported in Art Direction, December 1961.

Larry Ottino to Ad Agencies & Headliners
Former vp in charge of lettering and design at Feng & Donderi art studio for the past 8 years, Larry Ottino has been appointed executive director of graphics for Advertising Agencies’ Service Co. and its affiliate The Headliners of New York.

Martin K. Speckter wrote about creatiing the interrobang in Type Talks, March-April 1962. The article included three interpretations by Martin K. Speckter Associates, Inc. art director, Jack Lipton. Ottino’s interrobangs appeared in the next issue. His designs also appeared in the October 1967 issue of Art Direction.

 

 

The same issue of Art Direction said

Lettergraphics International, photo process lettering service, Los Angeles, announced new franchises of lettering services are now available—in New York at Larry Ottino/Martin Solomon Co., Inc., Graphic Division of Royal Typography; Boston at Franklin Photo Service; Indianapolis, at Service Typographers, Inc.

The New York Art Directors Club’s Distinctive Merit Award was given to Ottino, John Alcorn and Ad Agencies’/Headliners in the 44th Annual of Advertising & Editorial Art & Design (1965).

The New York Times, August 9, 1966, noted Ottino’s appointment as a vice president of Geer, DuBois & Co., Inc.

Ottino (pictured below) was editor of the 1967 book, 46th Annual of Advertising & Editorial Art & Design, which was produced by the New York Art Directors Club.

By 1967, Ottino had partnered with Martin Solomon to form Ottino/Solomon Co. (also known as Larry Ottino/Martin Solomon Co.) Ottino was its president. 

 

Art Direction, June 1967

Their company published Photoprocess Lettering & Photo-Typography Styles in 1969.

The Art of Lettering with Pen & Brush (1973) said “Ottino has taught in the Advertising Design Department of the School of Visual Arts in New York City for the past 6 years.” He also taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Below are two pages from The Art of Lettering with Pen & Brush.

 

The Dartnell Direct Mail and Mail Order Handbook (1980) included three paragraphs about Ottino’s one-of-a-kind promotion pieces.

Ottino’s handwriting lettering, for the IBM PC Family advertisement, was described in the March 1985 issue of Art Direction.

The New Yorker, November 5, 1984

 

U&lc, August 1987, wrote about Ottino’s alphabet contest for the offspring of people in the advertising community.
 

Ottino passed away on December 2, 2007. The Hackensack Record, December 5, 2007, said

Ottino, Anthony, age 87, on Dec. 2, 2007 of Ridgefield Park. Funeral service at Vorhees Funeral Home 59 Main St. Ridgefield Park Wed. 11 AM. vorheesfuneralhome.net

* The Art of Lettering with Pen & Brush was was translated into four languages and copyrighted by Grumbacher.

 

Further Reading
You Call that a Punctuation Mark?! The Interrobang Celebrates its 50th Birthday


Related Posts

Interrobang, Part 1, Martin K. Speckter, Art Director

Interrobang, Part 2: Jack Lipton, Designer and Art Director

Interrobang, Part 4: Joe Carter, Lettering Artist and Calligrapher

Interrobang, Part 5: Clarence Noel Johnson, Art Director

Interrobang, Part 6, Kenneth Wright, Graphic Designer

 

 

(Updated November 17, 2025. Next post on Monday: Interrobang, Part 4, Joe Carter)

Interrobang, Part 2: Jack Lipton, Designer and Art Director

On June 15, 1913, twenty-one-year-old Mark Lipton returned from a visit to New York City. He was aboard the ship Caronia when it docked in Liverpool, England. His was a composer in the printing industry. Seven weeks later, Mark was sailing on the same ship when it arrived in New York on August 10, 1913. The manifest said compositor was his occupation.

Mark and Sadie Grasshandler married on October 14, 1914 in Brooklyn. He was born in Manchester, England and resided at 23 Jefferson Street, Brooklyn. His wife’s first name was misspelled Badie on the front of the certificate. On the back her signature was Sadie.

The 1915 New York state census counted the couple in Manhattan at 402–406 East 78th Street. Sadie was Hungarian. Almost eleven weeks later, their son, Harvey, was born on August 20, 1915.

Mark signed his World War I draft card on June 5, 1917. His Bronx address was 636 Wales Avenue. Mark commuted to White Plains where his employer, book publisher H. W. Wilson Company, was headquartered.

Mark and Sadie have not yet been found in the 1920 census which was enumerated starting January 1. Later that month, Jack was born on January 22 in Manhattan according to the New York, New York Birth Index at Ancestry.com.

In the 1925 New York state census, the Liptons were Manhattan residents at 1280 Third Avenue. The 1930 census said the family was in the Bronx on the 2100 block of Bronx Park East. Jack’s father was a proofreader in the advertising industry.

In 1940 Jack lived with his parents in the Bronx at 2125 Holland Avenue. He was a sales clerk at a retail fruit stand. The census said he completed his fourth year of high school and earned $500 in 1939.

Jack signed his draft card on July 1, 1941. He had the same address which was updated later. Jack also had a mailing address, 423 Irving Street NW, Washington, DC, where he was a senior laborer at the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving. Jack’s description was five feet four inches, 145 pounds, blue eyes and brown hair.

Jack’s veteran’s file said he enlisted on January 6, 1942 and discharged on December 23, 1945. Where he served is not known.

At some point, Jack married Dorothy. The 1950 census counted them and their three-year-old son, Richard, in Miami, Florida at 752 Euclid Avenue. Jack worked at an advertising agency. His parents also lived in Miami at 338 NW 39th Street.

The Directory of Advertising Agency Personnel 1951 listed Jack as art director at Blackstone Advertising, Inc. in New York. He held the same title in the Television Age Yearbooks for 1956, 1957, and 1958.

By the early 1960s, Jack was art director at Martin K. Speckter Associates. Inc. which was founded in June 1956. Speckter, editor of Type Talks, wrote about creating the interrobang in the March–April 1962 issue. Jack designed three versions.

 

Image from Shady Characters

 

The interrobang was included in American Type Founders Co.’s 1967 typeface, Americana, which was drawn by Richard Isbell. The October 1967 issue of Art Direction included interrobang designs by Larry Ottino, Jack Lipton, Joe Carter, Frank Davies, Raymond Landino, Clarence Noel Johnson and Richard Isbell.

 

 

In 1968, an interrobang was rendered by Kenneth Wright for the Remington Rand Model 25 electric typewriter.

Later on, Jack was art director at Duncan-Brooks Inc., a Garden City, Long Island, New York advertising agency. He was listed in the 1968 Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies. The agency’s president, Donald W. Dragon, was in charge of a 1970 architectural contest. He turned to Jack to design the award.

Newsday, June 5, 1970

Jack passed away on January 2, 1988 and laid to rest at Mount Hebron Cemetery.


Further Reading
You Call that a Punctuation Mark?! The Interrobang Celebrates its 50th Birthday
Luc Devroye, Richard Isbell

 

Related Post
Interrobang, Part 1, Martin K. Speckter, Art Director

Interrobang, Part 3: Larry Ottino, Lettering Artist, Designer and Art Director
Interrobang, Part 4: Joe Carter, Lettering Artist and Calligrapher
Interrobang, Part 5: Clarence Noel Johnson, Art Director
Interrobang, Part 6, Kenneth Wright, Graphic Designer

 

 

(Updated November 17, 2025. Next post on Monday: Interrobang, Part 3, Larry Ottino)