Tenth Letter of the Alphabet: Marvel Comics

Showing posts with label Marvel Comics. Show all posts

Monday, July 28, 2025

Comics: Galactus Fan Art, 1966

Back in 1966 I was impressed by Jack Kirby’s Galactus in Fantastic Four #49. I made a poster of Galactus for my bedroom wall. The art was drawn with a felt-tip pen and colored with markers.

Jack Kirby Way

Jack Kirby’s 9-Panel Fights

(Next post on Monday: Walter Palais, Letterer, Penciler and Inker)

Monday, May 26, 2025

Comics: A Few Details About Jack Keller, Artist and Writer

Jack R. Keller was born on June 16, 1922 in Reading, Pennsylvania according to his World War II draft card which did not have his middle initial. In the 1930 United States Census, Keller (line 19), his parents and older sister, Vivian lived in West Reading, Pennsylvania at 119 South 4th Avenue. His parents were Reuben Keller, a hosiery knitter, and Catharine F. Horning, who married in October 1919.

Reading Eagle, November 12, 1937

The Kellers were at the same address in the 1940 census (see line 27).

Keller attended West Reading High School. The Reading Eagle, May 10, 1940, said the art department exhibit included pen drawings by Keller. According to the Eagle, May 29, 1940, Keller was one of fifty students who graduated last evening.

On June 30, 1942, Keller signed his draft card. His address was unchanged. He was a self-employed cartoonist. His description was five feet seven inches, 130 pounds, with blue eyes and auburn hair.

In 1942 Keller went to New York and sold his first comic book feature, “The Whistler Strikes”, which appeared in War Stories #5 from Dell Comics. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo said

Keller was now living in New York City full time at the 34th street YMCA and his quarters were cramped and tiny.

Keller found work with Busy Arnold at Quality Comics. He also did backgrounds on Lou Fine’s The Spirit when Will Eisner was away during the war. Clients included DC, Fawcett, Fiction House, Hillman, Lev Gleason and others.

Keller’s father passed away on January 29, 1947. His obituary appeared in the Eagle, January 30, 1947.

Keller’s engagement to Phyllis Ann Bolig, was announced in the Eagle, September 15, 1949.

The 1950 census counted Keller, his mother and stepfather, Carl F. Schatz, a steel company carpenter, in Reading at 107 Newport Avenue. Keller (line 8) was a cartoonist in the publishing industry.

In 1950, Keller saw Stan Lee and started doing horror, war and romance stories. Keller started on Kid Colt in 1953. An overview of his career is at Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999. The Grand Comics Database has a checklist of his credits.

The Eagle, February 25, 1951, said Keller, 28, and Phyllis A. Bolig, 20, obtained a marriage license. They married on March 3. The Eagle said

... The bride is a graduate of Shillington High School while the bridegroom is a graduate of West Reading High. He is employed as a cartoonist with the Timely Comics, in New York.

Their first child, Richard Jack Keller, was born on October 3, 1953 in Reading.

When work from Marvel decreased, Keller found a job at a car dealership. The salesmen of Morganstern Chevrolet were pictured in an advertisement in the Eagle, January 24, 1958. Keller is in the bottom row, second from left.

Gradually Keller was getting more assignments from Marvel. The same image of Keller appeared in the 1964 annual, Marvel Tales #1, which featured Marvel’s staff. His Marvel credits are here. Keller was best known for Kid Colt.

Kid Colt Outlaw #98, May 1961; reprinted in #220, October 1977

Keller also produced material for Charlton Comics from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.

Surf n’ Wheels #4, May 1970, with lettering by his son, Rick

Keller’s art was among the exhibits at the Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery in March 1965. Also included were works by Milton Caniff, LeRoy A. Gensler and Kenard Fischer, both Reading newspaper cartoonists. The Eagle, March 8, 1965, said nearly 1,500 people attended the first day.

By 1972, Keller was employed at the car dealer, Marshall Chevrolet. The company went out of business in early January 1982.

Reading Eagle, November 21, 1972

advertisement detail

Keller’s mother passed away on March 3, 1981. Her obituary appeared in the Eagle, March 4, 1981.

In January 1983 Keller began work at the car dealer, Savage, for about a year.

Reading Eagle, January 26, 1983

advertisement detail

In September 2000, Keller was a guest at Golden Eagle Comic Con 1 in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

Reading Eagle, September 27, 2000

Keller passed away on January 2, 2003. An obituary appeared in the Eagle, January 3, 2003.

Jack R. Keller, retired illustrator of comic books
Jack R. Keller, a retired comic book artist, writer and creator, died Jan. 2 in St. Joseph Medical Center, where he had been a patient since Dec. 17.

Keller, 80, of Brighton Avenue, Pennside, was a free-lance cartoonist since 1941 and illustrated Kid Colt Outlaw for Marvel Comics from 1952 to 1964, the most prolific run for one strip in comic book history.

He also did hot rods and racing cars for Charlton Comics from 1958 until his retirement in 1973. Keller was considered by other professionals as the icon of auto racing/hot rod comics.

Keller also wrote and illustrated many other characters such as the Sheriff of Tombstone, Billy the Kid, Cheyenne Kid and illustrated many war comic stories.

Following his retirement, he was employed as a salesman by Marshall Chevrolet, Reading, until 1983 when the dealership closed. He was last employed as a part-time salesman by Fun Stuff Hobbies and Kiddie Kar Kollectibles, both of Reading, last working in June.

Born in Reading, he was a son of the late Reuben and Catherine (Horning) Keller.

Keller was a 1940 graduate of West Reading High School.

He was a member of the Community Evangelical Church, Lower Heidelberg Township.

Surviving are two sons, Richard J., Mount Penn and Robert J., Portland, Conn.

Other survivors include a sister, Vivian (Keller) Riegel, Sinking Spring; and a grandson.

He was predeceased by a son Scott M. Keller, in 1988.

Services will be Monday at 11 a.m. in Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home Inc., West Reading. Burial will be in Forest Hills Memorial Park, Reiffton.

Obituaries were published in The Comics Journal #251, March 2003, and Alter Ego #23, April 2003.

Further Reading
Comicartville Library, Jack Keller Remembered

News from ME, Jack Keller, R.I.P.

Don Markstein’s Toonopedia, Kid Colt, Outlaw

Comic Book Artist #12, March 2001, interview
Doc Lehman, Summer, Race Cars & Comic Books
Comics Buyer’s Guide #894, January 4, 1991, Hotrodding in two dimensions

(Next post on Monday: Rick Keller, Letterer)

Monday, November 7, 2022

Comics: Ray Holloway, Letterer

Raymond Alphonso “Ray” Holloway was born on June 8, 1920, in Columbus, Ohio, according to his World War II draft card. His parents were John Holloway and Mable Akers.

In the 1930 United States Census, Holloway and his parents lived at 428 Denmead Avenue in Columbus. His father worked in construction.

I believe Holloway was mentioned in the Columbus Dispatch, March 9, 1934.

Junior High Clubs Elect New Officers
Organizations at Champion Avenue School Select Leaders.

Officers have been elected at Champion Avenue junior high. The clubs, officers and sponsors are listed below:

...Short Story—Octavia Jones, sponsor; Richard Moore, president; Raymond Holloway, Vice President, and Benny Watson, secretary.

The 1940 census said the Holloway family were Columbus residents at 247 17th Street.

During World War II, Holloway enlisted in the National Guard on March 10, 1941.

Holloway was in New York city for a period of time. He and nineteen-year-old Gladys Mitchell obtained a marriage license on August 21, 1942 and were married the next day.

The marriage ended in divorce according to a notice in the Columbus Dispatch, December 27, 1944.

Discharged from the Army, unemployed Holloway filled out another World War II draft card on December 11, 1944. His address was 142 St. Clair Avenue in Columbus. A second address, 419 East Main Street, was added on October 4, 1945. Holloway was described as five feet nine-and-a-quarter inches, 155 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.

At some point Holloway returned to New York City and found work in the comic book industry. Information about his art training has not been found. The Tom Brevoort Experience posted a 1948 photograph of Holloway with Syd Shores, Dave Jaffee, Ezra Jackson, Art Simek, Art Weiss and Alan Sulman.

Holloway and Thelma Equiller DeWitt obtained a Manhattan marriage license on February 7, 1948 and married the following day. The marriage application said Holloway’s occupation was “letterer art”.

The 1950 census listed Holloway, his wife and three children, Daniel, and fraternal twins, Raymond Jr. and Sandra. The family lived in Manhattan at 2175 Fifth Avenue. Holloway was a letterer at a publications firm.

The Grand Comics Database has many of Holloway’s comics credits from 1951 to the 1980s. Comic Book FX has some panels of Holloway sound effects.

Journey into Mystery #93, June 1963

Tales of Suspense #50, February 1964

Tales to Astonish #85, November 1966

Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 said Holloway used the pen name Sherigail. However, it was Morrie Kuramoto who used his wife’s name, Sherigail, as a pen name.

Marvel’s fan magazine, FOOM, #17, March 1977, published a bullpen photograph that included Holloway.

A stroll down Memory Lane with the boys from the Bullpen:

left to right, the top row includes Joe Letterese, Morrie Kuramoto,

Dan Crespi, Sal Contrera, Herb Cooper, Artie Simek, Vince

Madafferi, Carl Burgos, Stan Starkman, Neva Del Vecchio

and Chris Rule. Bottom row: Sol Brodsky, Ray Holloway and

Stan Goldberg. Whew!

On May 29, 2016, Monomythic posted “The Timely Life of Marvel Comics Pioneer Allen Bellman”. Bellman talked about race in the comic book industry and said:

… This was a generation that read books like Little Black Sambo in primary school, Bellman explained, something that would be unheard of today.

“We had one black artist, Ray Holloway. He was a freelancer and he did a comic strip Scorchy Smith for the Associated Press,” he added. “There was no animosity against color. I never heard anybody say or use the N-word. Some guys were nasty, but, eh... ”

American Newspaper Comics (2012) named the artists who drew Scorchy Smith, from March 17, 1930 to December 30, 1961: John Terry, Noel Sickles, Bert Christman, Howell Dodd, Frank Robbins, Edmund Good, Rodlow Willard, Al C. Hollingsworth, George Tuska, and Milt Morris. Bellman may have confused Holloway with Hollingsworth who was Black.

Holloway passed away on May 21, 1989. The Social Security Death Index said his last residence was Jamaica, New York. He was laid to rest at the Calverton National Cemetery.

Jean Callahan, Helen Chu aka Duffy Mohler, Milton Cohen, Ellen Cole, Herb Cooper, Danny Crespi, Laurens Crossley,

Jon D’Agostino, James Daleo, Martin DeMuth, Shel Dorf, Marty Epp, Howard Ferguson, Herb Field,

Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Louis L. Goldklang, Angelo Grasso, Anita Greene, Al Grenet, Ed Hamilton, Delores Heilman, Ray Holloway, IBM Directory, Alex Jay, Albert and Charlotte Jetter,

Abe Kanegson, George Kapitan, Anna Kaufman, Gary Keller, Rick Keller, Nadine French King, Ralph Komisarow, Grace Kremer, Morrie Kuramoto, Al Kurzrok,

Bob Lander, Bob Laughlin, Bob Leatherbarrow, Shelly Leferman, Len Leone, Joe Letterese, Veda Lufkin,

Robert N. MacLeod/Leroy Lettering, Lee Maroshek, Larry Mayer, Ed McLean, Jack Meltzer, Mel Millar, Jim Novak, Bill Oakley, Ben Oda,

Walter Palais, Stephen Palmisano, Charles Paris, Otto Pirkola, Fred Proctor, Jerry Robinson, Joe and Sam Rosen, George Roussos,

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, Matthew Tweedy, Frank Vina, George Ward, Irv Watanabe, Irving Werstein, Leo Wurtzel, John Yakata, Bill Yoshida, Bernie Zuber

(Next on Monday: RKO-Radio Pictures Advertisements in the Motion Picture Herald)

Monday, April 11, 2022

Comics: Jon D'Agostino, Colorist, Artist, Inker and Letterer

John P. “Jon” D’Agostino was born Carlo D’Agostino on June 13, 1929, in Cervinara, Italy. D’Agostino’s birth information is from a transcribed death certificate at Ancestry.com. D’Agostino’s birth name was recorded on a passenger list.

On December 30, 1930, D’Agostino, his mother, Annunziata, and older siblings, Luigia and Giovanni, were aboard the S. S. Augustus when it departed Napoli, Italy. They arrived in the port of New York City on January 9, 1931. D’Agostino’s father, Pasquale, lived in Brooklyn at 144 Brookman Street.

D’Agostino’s father had emigrated earlier and was naturalized which made D’Agostino and his siblings United States citizens. D’Agostino’s mother was naturalized on February 7, 1944.

The 1940 U.S. Federal Census said D’Agostino, his parents and four siblings lived in Manhattan at 336 East 117 Street. D’Agostino’s father was a tailor of men’s clothing.

D’Agostino graduated from the School of Industrial Art in 1947. His classmates were Hal Fromm, Herbert Tauss and John Romita.

The Palette, 1947 School of Industrial Art Yearbook

On his blog, News from ME, Mark Evanier erroneously said D’Agostino graduated from the Industrial School of Art in Los Angeles. According to Evanier, D’Agostino got his start in comics as a colorist at Timely Comics which would become Marvel Comics. At some point he met Pat Masulli, another comic book colorist who later became editor at Charlton Comics.

Daily Argus (Mount Vernon, New York), November 1, 1950

According to the New York State Marriage Index, at Ancestry.com, D’Agostino and Egidia D’Onofrio married on November 26, 1955, in Mount Vernon, New York.

D’Agostino’s talents included pencilling, inking and lettering. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 has an overview of his comics career. The Grand Comics Database lists many of D’Agostino’s credits. Some of D’Agostino’s work can be viewed at the Internet Archive. At Marvel, D’Agostino was known as “Johnny Dee” who lettered several 1960s titles including The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963).

The Amazing Spider-Man #1 splash page at Heritage Auctions

Captain Atom #82, September 1966

In Alter Ego #26, July 2003, Joe Sinnott was interviewed by Jim Amash. Below is a brief excerpt.

Sinnott: … But in those days, you had to knock the stuff out in order to make a living. I’s pencil a page in the morning and ink it in the afternoon. After supper, I’d ghost a couple of Archie pages for Jon D’Agostino; I did that for a number years. I was also doing covers for a crossword magazine publisher. I only had so much time to spend on the Marvel stuff, because I couldn’t give up my other assignments. Those people were depending on me, too. I used to juggle a lot of assignments.

JA: Jon D’Agostino still works for Archie Publications as an inker. What did you do for him?

Sinnott: I inked... everything but the faces, because Jon wanted it to look like his work. The pages weren’t easy, because there were always parties going on in the stories, balloons and confetti, and all those characters. It was time-consuming. Jon was a very good friend of mine. He lettered all the stories I did for Treasure Chest. He was a great letterer, but then he got into inking.

Top Dog #10, October 1986

In the 1950s, D’Agostino resided in Ansonia, Connecticut. The 1959 directory listed his address as 12 Evelyn Road and occupation as artist at Charlton Press. The 1960 directory said he moved to Seymour, Connecticut. The 1965 directory, below, listed D’Agostino as a partner in Giordano & D’Agostino, a commercial art studio in Ansonia at 100 Main Street. His partner was Dick Giordano. The 1983 directory said D’Agostino was a commercial artist at 161 Benz in Ansonia.

D’Agostino’s first marriage was to Jean D’Onofrio in 1955. She passed away in 1992. D’Agostino married Vivi Testa in 1995.

D’Agostino passed away on either November 28 or 29, 2010, in Ansonia, Connecticut. He was remembered on page 64 of Life with Archie #6, February 2011, which has 28 as the day of death. The Connecticut Death Index, Social Security Death Index, and New Haven Register (Connecticut) said it was November 29. D’Agostino was laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery.