Comics: A Few Details About Alex Schomburg, Artist

 

Alex Schomburg was born Alejandro Schomburg on May 10, 1905 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico according to the Civil Registration at Ancestry.com. His death certificate had the name Alexander Anthony Schomburg. Schomburg’s parents were Guillermo Schomburg and Francisca Rosa.

The 1910 United States Census counted Schomburg (line 30) as the youngest of seven siblings who were Arturo, Guillermo, Carlos, Augusto, Oma and Federico. His father was a widower. The family and three housekeepers lived in San Cristobal, Puerto Rico.

On November 28, 1917, Schomburg (line 3) and his brother, Federico, were aboard the ship Coamo when it departed San Juan, Puerto Rico. They arrived in New York City on December 4, 1917. The passenger list recorded Schomburg’s birth date as April 24, 1906.

In the 1920 census the Schomburg brothers adopted new names. Carlos was Fred, an export salesman (he was Charles Frederick on his World War I draft card); Augusto was August, an artist; Federico was William, an export clerk; and fourteen-year-old Alejandro was Alex (line 94), a student. They lived in Manhattan at 630 West 124th Street.

The 1925 New York state census said Schomburg (line 43) and his brothers, Charles (aka Fred) and August, were commercial artists. They resided at 65 West 46th Street.
 

 

Schomburg married Helen Scott on November 7, 1928 in Manhattan. At the time, Schomburg lived at 587 Riverside Drive.

The 1930 census recorded Schomburg (line 24) and his wife in the Bronx at 1240 Walton Avenue. He was an artist in the film industry.

Schomburg’s brother, Charles, passed away on February 2, 1933. He was laid to rest at the Fresh Pond Crematory and Columbarium.

One of Schomburg’s clients was Thrilling Wonder Stories. The June 1939 issue profiled its contributors including Schomburg.

Born in N.Y.C. [sic] in 1905. Studied art under private teacher.

Started own studio about 15 years ago. Built window displays, illustrated song slides for theatre organists. Later sold business to slide manufacturer and worked for them. Four years later joined large film company as a staff artist.

First did magazine illustrations more as a hobby than anything else. Mostly Westerns and Detective stuff. One day the publisher asked me to do an illustration for Thrilling Wonder Stories. I had always been interested in science fiction and he liked the way I handled the art work.

I enjoy reading the story as much as doing the illustrations. In my opinion an illustration is very important. For instance, give the same story to two different persons ... then ask them to picture a certain scene. You can bet they’ll be entirely different.

According to the 1940 census, enumerated in April, Schomburg and his wife had a seven-year-old son, Richard. They were Bronx residents at 2165 Ryer Avenue. The artist earned $5,000 in 1939.

Schomburg signed his World War II draft card on October 16, 1940. His Bronx address was 2691 Reservoir Avenue. Schomburg was employed by the National Screen Service. His description was five feet four inches, 130 pounds, with brown eyes and hair.

A list of Schomburg’s comic book work is at Grand Comics Database. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 has an overview of his career.

Manhattan city directories, from 1942 to 1946, listed Schomburg’s office at 690 Eighth Avenue. The 1947 Darien, Connecticut city directory said Schomburg, a commercial artist in New York, lived at 21 Green Avenue in New Canaan. That address was added to his draft card.

The 1950 census said Schomburg had an eight-year-old daughter, Diana. He was a self-employed commercial artist who earned $7,900 in 1949.

The 1955 Darien directory said Schomburg and his son, Richard, had moved to Seattle, Washington. Apparently they lived there a while then moved to Spokane. 

 

 

The Spokesman-Review, October 11, 1957, said

Two “Sputnik” Watchers Say they Saw It
Two Spokane residents yesterday reported they believed they saw the Russian Sputnik at around 5:45 a.m.

One was Alex Schomburg, N921 Burns road, who said he saw what looked like “a very bright star” directly overhead. The object, which he watched through binoculars, moved south out of sight, after “10 or 11 minutes.” ...

Schomburg was in the 1958 Spokane city directory. His address was N921 Burns Road. In 1962 Schomburg moved to Newberg, Oregon.

Schomburg’s daughter, Diana, was an artist who was profiled in the Spokane Daily Chronicle, May 11, 1964.

In the early 1960s, Schomburg painted mural for Portland General Electric. The story of Schomburg’s work was told in the Sunday Oregonian, January 29, 2014. Restoration of the painting was told here and here.

On April 11, 1970, Schomburg filed a claim for Social Security benefits.

In 1977 Schomburg did commissions for Collectors Showcase which auctioned the paintings.

Schomburg was a convention guest at the 1976 Portland Alliance of Fans; 1977 All-American Comic Con in Portland; Palouse Empire Science Fiction Association’s 1979 Moscon 1 in Moscow, Idaho; Portland Science Fiction Society’s 1979 OryCon; and 1984 Westercon 37.

Schomburg was featured in the Oregon Journal, June 28, 1977, and Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction, August 1979. Steve Duin, political columnist of The Oregonian, produced two illustrated profiles of Schomburg. A four-page article appeared in the Sunday Oregonian’s Northwest Magazine, March 24, 1991. Comic Book Marketplace, August 1995, published a seven-page feature. Material from those profiles appeared in his 1998 book, Comics, Between the Panels.

Schomburg’s brother, August, passed away in February 1973 in New Jersey. His wife, Helen, died on February 26, 1985 in Oregon. Three years later his daughter, Diana, died on October 4, 1988.

Schomburg passed away on April 7, 1998. An obituary appeared in The Oregonian, April 10, 1998.

A funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday, April 10, 1998, in Attrell’s Funeral Chapel in Newberg for Alex Schomburg, who died April 7 at age 92.

Mr. Schomburg was born May 10, 1905, in Agiadilla, Puerto Rico. He moved to New York City as a youth and worked in his bothers’ commercial art business, whose clients included Great Northwestern Railway. He later illustrated comic books, pulp magazines and science fiction novels, for which he attained prominence. He lived in Spokane from 1954 until moving to the Newberg area in 1962. In 1928, he married Helen Scott; she died in 1985.

Survivors include his son, Richard of Hillsboro; and five grandchildren. A daughter, Diana Beaudry Thiessen, died in 1988.

Interment will be in Valley View Memorial Park in Newberg.

The Comics Journal, May 1998, published an obituary.

Schomburg’s son, Richard, died on February 17, 2015 according to a death notice in The Oregonian, March 15, 2015.

 

Further Reading and Viewing

Digital Comic Museum photograph
Space Art
Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth-Century Future
Encyclopedia of Collectible Children’s Books: Identification & Values
The Art of Alex Schomburg
Field Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists

 

(Next post on Monday: Art Direction 1962)

Comics: A Few Details About Syd Shores, Artist, Inker and Art Director

Syd Shores was born Sydney Lawrence Schwartz according to his daughter, Nancy Shores Karlebach, in an interview published in Alter Ego #167, January 2021. The name change was noted on his World War II draft card that said he was born on September 4, 1913, in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

The 1915 New York state census recorded Shores, his parents, Louis and Anna, and older sister, Retha, in Brooklyn at 452 Williams Avenue, apartment 13 (lines 8–11). His father, a Russian immigrant, was a fur operator. 

In the 1920 United States Census, the family of five had moved across the street to number 461 (lines 56–60). 

Shores was a student at James Madison High School in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 24, 1929, said 

51 H.S. Students to Receive Prizes from Art League

Fifty-one Brooklyn and Queens high school students will receive medals and awards from the School Art League tomorrow afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, having won distinction in art work in their respective schools. 

Those who receive the arts-in-trades medal for work in design are: … Sidney [sic] Schwartz, James Madison …

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 28, 1929, covered the graduation at James Madison High School. 

1929 Log yearbook

According to the 1930 census, Shores had three sisters. The family continued to reside in Brooklyn at 351 Barrett Street (lines 79–84).

During the 1930s, Shores attended evening classes at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He studied pictorial illustration and graduated in 1936. Shores also met his future wife, Selma Hirschhorn, who studied advertising design and graduated in 1935. 

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 19, 1936

The 1940 census counted Shores, his parents and siblings at 1586 East 22nd Street in Brooklyn. He was a “whiskey rectifier” in the “liquor distilling” industry (lines 9–13). 

Later in 1940, Shores and Selma Hirschhorn married in New Jersey. 

On October 16, 1940, Shores signed his World War II draft card. His address was updated three times. His description was five feet eleven inches, 168 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Shores was self-employed.

In 1941, Joe Simon hired Shores. 

Shores enlisted in the Army on March 16, 1944. Shores was a commercial artist. His veteran’s file said he was discharged on January 19, 1946.

Shores and his family were counted twice in the 1950 census. In Brooklyn they lived at 135 Caton Avenue (lines 29 and 30; his daughters were on the next sheet). In Randolph, New Jersey, Shores was in his father-in-law’s household (lines 22–29). 

Timely-Atlas-Comics posted a photograph of Shores and his wife. 

Shores passed away on June 3, 1973 in New York. His wife passed away on October 25, 1976. 

Further Reading

Writer’s Digest, November 1947

Men, November 1957

Editor and Publisher, September 19, 1970

Secrets Behind the Comics (1947)

The Great Women Superheroes (1996)

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (2012)

Heroes of the Comics (2014)

A Tribute to Syd Shores by Gene Colan

Interviewed by Alan Hewetson

Fantastic Fanzine #12, 1970 interview

Grand Comics Database

Lambiek Comiclopedia

Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999

Hirschhorn Family Chart

(Next post on Monday: Art Direction 1961)

Comics: A Few Details About Phyllis Muchow, Writer and Artist

March is Women’s History Month.

Phyllis Lillian Muchow was born on September 22, 1918 in Evanston, Illinois according to a family tree at Ancestry.com.

The 1920 United States Census counted Muchow, her parents, William and Lillian, and older brother, William, in Evanston at 1011 Grove Street. Her father was a dentist.

In the 1930 census the Muchows resided in Evanston at 1316 Davis Street. Muchow had two younger brothers, Gordon and John. Her father was a president in the mining industry. Muchow was mentioned in Uncle Mame: The Life of Patrick Dennis (2000). Patrick Dennis, a friend of Gordon, nicknamed her Cindy for Cinderella.

On June 17, 1932 Muchow graduated Nichols Intermediate School (reported in the Evanston Review, June 2, 1932). Four years later she was an Evanston Township High School graduate (below).

Senior yearbook

 

Muchow was a freshman at Northwestern University. The Daily Northwestern, May 4, 1937, published her answer to the question, What is, in your opinion, the greatest need of the University?

Phyllis Muchow, Freshman, LA—“I think Northwestern needs a campus eating-place. Three blocks is too far to go for a coke or a sandwich between classes, and it is usually then that we feel the need for new energy.”

At some point Muchow transferred to the National College of Education where she graduated in 1940. The class prophecy said “Muchow will be a veterinary.”

According to the 1940 census Muchow lived with her parents and siblings at the same address in Evanston.

In the early 1940s Muchow moved to New York City. Trina Robbins’ Pretty in Ink (2013) published a photograph of her, holding the September 1942 Esquire, at Coney Island.

Muchow was an editorial associate at Coronet magazine. Her name appeared in the staff box from December 1943 to August 1945. One of the editors was Bernard Geis. The managing editor was Arnold Gingrich who was a co-founder of Esquire magazine.

From June to December 1946 Muchow produced Taffy for Timely’s Miss America magazine. Her artwork can be viewed in the following issues: June, August (below), September, November and December. A checklist of Muchow’s Taffy is at the Grand Comics Database. Muchow’s Taffy was mentioned in Trina Robbins’ A Century of Women Cartoonists (1993).

 

Muchow returned to Evanston and was listed in the 1948 city directory. Her occupation was editor in Chicago.

Muchow was counted in her father’s household in the 1950 census. The Muchows lived at the same Evanston address. Muchow was a journalist at a publishing company.

At some point Muchow returned to New York. Her contributions to Esquire have not been cataloged.

On February 2, 1957 Muchow and Bruce Williamson married in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The following year they sailed to England and arrived on August 2, 1958. They planned to visit for twelve days.

Around 1960 Muchow’s daughter, Stephanie, was born. Stephanie wrote about her mother in the 2018 post, Supplies at Hand.

Muchow’s former husband passed away on October 6, 1998.

On June 17, 2013 Muchow passed away in Alameda, California. Her obituary appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Phyllis Williamson passed away peacefully in Alameda on June 17, 2013. She was born Phyllis Muchow in Evanston, Illinois. After graduating from Northwestern University, she worked as a writer and editor for many publications including Esquire, Time, and Forbes until her retirement at age 81. Phyllis lived in Greenwich Village from the late 1940’s until 2009. She had many fascinating stories to tell. She is survived by her daughter Stephanie (Joseph McGuire), grandsons Henry and Ethan, brothers Gordon and Johnny, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her former husband, film critic Bruce Williamson, parents William and Lillian Muchow, and brother Ralph Muchow.

Phyllis was a passionate devotee of art, history and culture, who loved collecting rocks and shells on the beaches of Montauk and Nantucket Island. A private family memorial will be held at a future date in Nantucket, MA.

Women in Comics Posts

Jeanne Alippe, Ruth Atkinson, Olive Bailey, Valerie Barclay, Betty Bentley, Vivian Berg, Zena Brody, Jean Callahan, Helen Chu aka Duffy Mohler, Ellen Cole, Corinne Boyd Dillon, Anahid Dinkjian, Jill Elgin,

Barbara Clark Fogel, Laura E. Foster, Evelyn Gaines aka Lynn Lovelace, Merna Gamble, Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Jane Krom Grammer, Anita Greene,

Bonnie Hano, Delores Heilman, Ray Hermann, Joye Hummel, Marjorie Wilkes Huntley, Grace Jacquet, Charlotte Jetter, 

Anna Kaufman, Bessie Mae Kelley, Nadine French King, Alice Kirkpatrick, Grace Kremer, Ada Levy,  Pauline Loth, Veda Lufkin,

Marion McDermott, Emma C. McKean, Tarpé Mills, Claire S. Moe, Phyllis Muchow, Lily Reneé, Ruth Roche, 

Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Serena Summerfield, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep, 

Alberta Tews, Peggy Zangerle

(Next post on Monday: Zena Brody, Editor)

Comics: A Few Details About Ada Levy, Unknown Editorial Assistant and Writer at Timely Comics

March is Women’s History Month.

Ada Levy was born on March 19, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, according to the New York, New York Birth Index at Ancestry.com. She was almost one-month-old in the 1930 United States Census (line 16). Her parents were Phillip and Matilda, both Russian immigrants. Also living with them were Levy’s maternal grandfather and uncle. They resided in Brooklyn at 784 Troy Avenue. 

The 1940 census counted Levy (line 8), her parents, brother Kenneth and grandfather in Brooklyn at 302 East 46 Street. Her father was a salesman of beauty supplies. 

Levy’s engagement was reported in the Brooklyn Eagle, January 9, 1949. 

Ada G. Levy Engaged to Student

Mr. and Mrs. Philip Francis Levy of 2515 Glenwood Road announce the engagement of their daughter, Miss Ada G. Levy, to Marvin Ira Glauberman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Glauberman of 861 E. 24th St.

Miss Levy is a sophomore at New York University. She is a member of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority. Mr. Glauberman is a senior at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. He is a member of Pi Lambdi Phi fraternity.

According to the 1950 census, the Levy family (lines 14–18) lived in Brooklyn at 2515 Glenwood Road. 

On January 19, 1951 Levy and her fiancé obtained Brooklyn marriage license number 1230. On February 4, 1951, the newlyweds returned from Bermuda according to a passenger list (lines 11 and 12) at Ancestry.com. 

The Bayside Times, September 20, 1951, published a short story by Levy, now Mrs. Glauberman, and said

Mrs. Ada Glauberman of 188-02 64th avenue moved here from Brooklyn eight months ago. She took her Bachelor of Arts degree in English at New York University and taught at Madison High School, Manhattan. She was an editorial assistant for the magazine Management and for Timely Comics. She has traveled in the United States and has written short stories and comic books, as well as other fiction. She has been married one year.

Levy is not listed at Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 or the Grand Comics Database. Additional information about her has not been found. 

Women in Comics Posts

Jeanne Alippe, Ruth Atkinson, Olive Bailey, Valerie Barclay, Betty Bentley, Vivian Berg, Zena Brody, Jean Callahan, Helen Chu aka Duffy Mohler, Ellen Cole, Corinne Boyd Dillon, Anahid Dinkjian, Jill Elgin,

Barbara Clark Fogel, Laura E. Foster, Evelyn Gaines aka Lynn Lovelace, Merna Gamble, Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Jane Krom Grammer, Anita Greene,

Bonnie Hano, Delores Heilman, Ray Hermann, Joye Hummel, Marjorie Wilkes Huntley, Grace Jacquet, Charlotte Jetter, 

Anna Kaufman, Bessie Mae Kelley, Nadine French King, Alice Kirkpatrick, Grace Kremer, Ada Levy,  Pauline Loth, Veda Lufkin,

Marion McDermott, Emma C. McKean, Tarpé Mills, Claire S. Moe, Phyllis Muchow, Lily Reneé, Ruth Roche, 

Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Serena Summerfield, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep, 

Alberta Tews, Peggy Zangerle

(Next post on Monday: A Few Details About Phyllis Muchow, Writer and Artist)

Comics: Mel Blum, Art Director

Melvin Donald Blum was born on February 23, 1920 in Manhattan, New York City, according to the New York, New York Birth Index, at Ancestry.com, and the Social Security Death Index. However, his World War II draft card and marriage application had the birth date February 22, 1917. 

Blum was born six weeks after the 1920 United States Census enumeration. His parents, Sidney and Selma, and sisters, Dora and Sarah, were in the household of his paternal grandparents. They were Manhattan residents at 1646 Madison Avenue. Blum’s father was a dry goods salesman. 

The 1925 New York state census counted Blum, his parents and sister in the Bronx at 1635 University Avenue. His father was a printer. 

In the 1930 census, Blum, his parents, sister, Rita, and brother, Barry, lived in Brooklyn at 2207 East 4th Street. His father was a printing executive. 

Presumably Blum attended school in Brooklyn. It’s not clear if he had any formal art training. Apparently Blum’s father had some influence on his career direction. 

According to the 1940 census, Blum was an art director at a printing firm. He continued to live with his parents in Brooklyn at 1620 East 33rd Street. Blum was a high school graduate who earned $2,400 in 1939. 

Six months after the census enumeration, Blum signed his World War II draft card on October 10, 1940. His address was updated twice. Blum’s description was five feet nine inches, 175 pounds, with blue eyes and blonde hair. His employer was the A.J. Lipp Company, a printing firm in Manhattan. 

On March 21, 1941, Blum and Betty Shapiro obtained a Brooklyn marriage license. The application said he was a production manager. The couple married on April 6, 1941.

At the Timely-Atlas-Comics blog, Dr. Michael J. Vassallo interviewed Allen Bellman who explained that Blum sometimes used his brother’s name to be known as Mel Barry. Beginning in Fall 1942, Mel Barry was credited in Krazy Komics numbers 2 (associate editor) and 3 (technical advisor), and Terry-Toons issues 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 (technical advisor). Mel Blum was technical advisor in Terry-Toons numbers 10, 11, 12, 49 and 51.  

 

Years later Blum became art director of Martin Goodman’s magazines and paperbacks. 

Lion Books, Inc.

The 1950 census recorded the Blum family of four in Flower Hill, Nassau County, New York at 11 Greenway Street. Blum was art director at Magazine Management. He earned $1,700 in 1949 and did not serve during World War II. 

Writer’s Digest, March 1957, said Blum was the editor of Ken for Men. Journalism Quarterly, Summer 1958, published “The Social Anatomy of the Romance-Confession Cover Girl”. The footnote said Blum was one of the respondents to the research. 

At some point Blum was divorced. In 1960 he married Lorraine Setchen in Manhattan. 

Common Sense, February 15, 1960, published a Jewish Pornography Index that included three magazines art directed by Blum. 

At some point Blum left Goodman’s publishing empire and found work at the National Enquirer. It’s not clear when he started there. In 1971 the newspaper moved from New York to Lantana, Florida. The Working Press of the Nation, Volume 2 (1980) had an entry for the National Enquirer whose staff included Blum. 

National Enquirer

600 S.E. Coast Ave., Lantana, FL. 33464

Last Date Listing Updated Verified 01/79

National Enquirer

Phone: 305-586-1111

PBD: Weekly

Circulation: 5,719,918 (ABC) 

PG: 58 x 78 1/2 picas; COL: 11.3 picas; PHOTO: Yes; MAT; No, CUT: Yes; SCREEN: 65; CHARGE: Yes; PAY: Yes; RATE: Depends on material.

Generoso Pope, Jr. ..... Publisher

Iain Calder ..... Editor 

Paul Levy ..... Managing Editor 

Ralph Gallagher ..... Advertising Manager 

Malcolm Balfour, Mel Blum ..... Associate Editors

Ron Caylor, Raymond Villwock ..... Associate Editors 

Blum passed away on July 10, 2010. The Social Security Death Index said his last residence was Brooklyn. A paid death notice appeared in The New York Times, July 12, 2010. 

Blum—Mel. Loving father of Marilyn, Terry, Gene, Vicki, and Avi. Sibling to Barry and Rita.

Further Reading

Mens Pulp Mags, Andrew Nette: pulp fiction historian, novelist, blogger—and real cool cat 

Horrorhound #30, July/August 2011, “World of Vintage Men’s Adventure Magazines” (Blum not mentioned)

(Next post on Monday: Ark Interiors Logo)