Otto Edward Pirkola was born on March 13, 1908 in Yaphank, Long Island, New York, according to his World War II draft card. His parents, Edward (1883–1958) and Anna (1883–1976), were Finnish emigrants.
The 1910 United States Census said Pirkola, his parents and younger sister, Esther, resided on Colonial Avenue in Hempstead, New York. His father was a carpenter who emigrated in 1903. At Ancestry.com there is a passenger list with an “Edvard Pirkola” who sailed aboard the S.S. Celtic from Liverpool, England on April 15, 1903. Nine days later he arrived in New York City, where he would join his cousin, Ida Pirkola, who paid for his passage. She lived at 577 12th Avenue, New York City.
According to the 1915 New York State Census, the Pirkolas lived on Pennsylvania Avenue in Hempstead, New York. His father was a carpenter. Pirkola attended Roosevelt School.
Pirkola’s father signed his World War I draft card on September 12, 1918. At the time he lived in Roosevelt, New York, on Centennial Avenue. The address was the same in the 1920 census which included another son, Alfred, in the household.
Pirkola and his sister were students at Hempstead High School. They were listed in the The Colonial 1925 yearbook.
The 1925 New York state census listed the Pirkola family at 105 Lillian in Freeport, New York. Pirkola attended Freeport High School.
Pirkola Is Winner of Poster Contest at Freeport H. S.
The poster by Otto Pirkola, of 105 Lillian avenue, Freeport, his been judged the best submitted in the poster contest open to pupils of the Freeport High School for art work best depicting the need of the $500,000 Freeport Community Hospital. Otto was warded first prize of $10 in gold by the committee in charge of the contest. …
Otto is a popular member of the senior class of the high school. He is 19 years old and he has shown a marked aptitude for drawing during his school life. He is a member of the staff of “The Student,” the school paper, and many of his, contributions have appeared in this sheet. He is also a member of the Art Club of the school and the Glee Club. …
Nassau Daily Review, May 6, 1927, said Pirkola was the art editor of the student newspaper.
Dodd Praises Work of Freeport Pupils on Student Paper
The last issue of the Freeport High School publication, “The Student,” is out today and is a Memorial issue. It contains the pictures of three Freeport High School men of the five who lost their lives in the World War and a brief history of these men.
Superintendent of Schools John W. Dodd addressed the student body of the Seniors Wednesday at noon in the assembly ball and lauded the work of the Student staff for editing the publication and the students for giving it their support. He said this year”s issues had been the finest that the school has ever enjoyed.
Pirkola graduated in June 1927.
In the 1930 census, Pirkola was an artist who did sign work. The 1930 Freeport city directory listed Pirkola as a card writer. The Pirkola family remained in Freeport at 79 Lillian Avenue.
Pirkola was a self-employed commercial artist in the 1940 census. He lived with his parents and brother at the same address.
On October 16, 1940, Pirkola signed his World War II draft card. His description was five feet eleven inches, 168 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.
Several movie trade publications, including The Film Daily, October 2, 1942, noted Pirkola’s upcoming service. Three members of the RKO Radio home office joined the armed forces this week. Otto Pirkola, publicity department artist, enlisted in the Coast Guard. Because of his previous small boat experience he was given the rating of assistant boatswain, second class.
In The Comic Book Makers (2003), Joe Simon talked about working at Harvey Comics and how Pirkola got his job there. Another good-sized room held the art department. Otto Pirkola was the actual art director, regardless of Leon’s [Leon Harvey] title. Otto and Harlan Crandall, the former art director at Macfadden Publications who had steered me into the comic book business, had spent time moonlighting as an advertising agency. The endeavor had faltered and the part-time partners decided to search out other means of employment. When Alfred Harvey told them he had an opening for an art director—but that he could hire only one of them—the two ex-advertising guys flipped a coin in Alfred’s office. Otto won and remained for over twenty years until he retired. Otto’s young assistant was Ken Selig, a graduate of the High School of Music and Art, and just discharged from the army. A bullpen of letterers and three production artists occupied the remaining drawing tables.
Pirkola continued living with his parents at the same address according to the 1950 census. He was an art director at a publisher.
Ken Selig was interviewed by Jim Amash in Alter Ego #89, October 2009, “Come Back When You Learn How To Draw”. Selig talked about Pirkola. Otto Pirkola … was a master of logos. Otto was largely responsible for the logo look of Harvey Comics. Otto came aboard about 1949 from McFadden Publications. Otto was an unsung hero at Harvey, because I always considered the comic book as a poster. He gave the comic books a posterish look with his logos, and that’s the first thing you saw. You didn’t see the body of the cover when you looked at the usual newsstand or candy store where you bought your comics. You saw the logo first, so it had to stand out. Otto had a very friendly nature, meaning that when he saw me, he sort-of realized that I was a young fellow who was pretty much like himself. I had to be instructed by Otto in how to peel a piece of masking tape. He saw me fumbling with this double-backed masking tape, and I said to him, “I don’t think you really want me here. I don’t know how to handle this stuff,” because I’d not been in an art department before then.
… He had once worked for McFadden [sic] Publications. Florence Buckley [the office manager] asked Otto to come over from—I think it was Redbook. So he was hired about 1948 or ’9 …
Selig became Harvey’s art director when Pirkola retired around 1970.
Nyt Oton elämässä alkoi erikoinen vaihe. Hän muutti Suomeen serkkunsa Aili Wikströmin kanssa. He asuivat joitakin vuosia Vantaan Myyrmäessä. Sieltä he muuttivat Helsinkiin. Erikoista, jopa katkeran huvittavaa on se, että Vantaan jälkeen Otta ja Aili asuivat meidän kodistamme noin kilometrin päässä Helsingin Huopalahdentiellä. Olen hyvinkin saattanut tavata Oton tietämättäni. Otto ja Aili muuttivat myöhemmin Palm Beachin rantakaupunkiin Floridaan, jossa heillä oli yhteinen koti. Siellä Otto kuoli 22.11.1992. Hänen uurnansa tuotiin Suomeen keväällä 1993 ja haudattiin Helsingin pitäjän kirkon hautausmaalle. Aili Wikström kuoli vuonna 2000 ja hänet on haudattu Oton viereen.
Google Translation
Now a special phase began in Otto’s life. He moved to Finland with his cousin Aili Wikström. They lived in Myyrmäki, Vantaa, for some years. From there they moved to Helsinki. What is special, even bitterly amusing, is that after Vantaa, Otta and Aili lived about a kilometer from our home on Huopalahdentie in Helsinki. I may well have met Otto without my knowledge. Otto and Aili later moved to the beach town of Palm Beach, Florida, where they shared a home. Otto died there on November 22, 1992. His urn was brought to Finland in the spring of 1993 and buried in the cemetery of the parish church in Helsinki. Aili Wikström died in 2000 and is buried next to Otto.
SIDEBAR: Otto Pirkola’s Logos
The exact date of Pirkola’s employment at Harvey is not known. I believe Selig has the best estimate at around 1949. Identifying Pirkola’s logos is based on changes to some of the logos published in 1948 and 1949. I believe new logos from 1950 through 1969 are by Pirkola. As art director, Pirkola would have been involved with approving logos he did not design. Apparently Harvey did not publish any new titles in 1970. Selig said Pirkola retired around 1970. One new 1971 title was Richie Rich Fortunes. It is possible this title was Pirkola’s last logo. Below are covers, in mostly alphabetical order, from the Grand Comics Database.
The title was typeset to match the American Airlines
logo. Pirkola’s role was limited to art directing.
The first Baby Huey logo in
Second Baby Huey logo in
Third Baby Huey logo in
with a slightly different “the Baby Giant”
The fourth logo version was used on the series.
First appearance of the Casper logo. Subtitle
was relettered in a smaller size for the series.
(Funnies was reused on Tiny Tot Funnies #9, farther down)
(Racket Buster was reused on Kerry Drake
Racket Buster Cases #32, farther down;
is a great showcase of Pirkola’s logo designs.
Steve Canyon’s Air Power
Tales of the Invisible
Paramount Animated Comics
Teen-Age Dope Slaves
several new characters and titles. They have
been inserted alphabetically in the list.
A charred texture was added to the letters.
Mazie #23, September 1957
(somewhat similar to Simon and Kirby’s Boys’ Ranch)
(Steve Canyon logo is from the comic strip.)
(used established character logos)
(True is dropped from the title.)
(True is dropped from the title.)
SIDEBAR: Titles edited by Joe Simon
Joe Simon edited several titles for Harvey Comics. He’s also known for designing logos and having a letterer do the final art. Harvey Comics was the publisher and had final say on what it produced.
SIDEBAR: Harlan Crandall
Harlan Crandall was involved with two people who went into comics: Joe Simon and Otto Pirkola. Crandall was fifteen months older than Pirkola. They grew up together and probably knew each other at a young age. In the 1925 Hempstead High School yearbook, The Colonial, Pirkola, his sister and Crandall’s twin brothers, Russell and Wilbur, were freshman. Census records show Crandall’s and Pirkola’s various residences.
1910: Both lived in Hempstead, Long Island, New York.
1920: Both lived in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York.
1930: Both lived in Freeport, Long Island, New York.
One day in 1939 I was in Harlan Crandall’s office at Macfadden, and he was looking at some work I had brought in. He was impressed with how fast I could deliver what he needed. I had learned speed on the newspapers, where there were always urgent deadlines. …
… “There’s a new business that’s starting to use a lot of artists. … I have a friend who runs an agency. … His name is Lloyd Jacquet, and based on your samples, I think you’d be perfect for the business. I’m going to send you over to see him.”
I thanked him, and asked what this “new business” was.
“It’s called comic books.”
I think Harlan Crandall was very interested in comics from the start, because he was a wannabe cartoonist himself. Also, he was a great letterer.
In the 1940 census, Crandall was married with three children and lived in Hempstead. Pirkola was single and living with his parents in Freeport.
On October 16, 1940, World War II draft cards said Pirkola was self-employed and Crandall was an art director at Macfadden Publications.
On January 24, 1944, the Nassau Daily Review-Star (Freeport, New York) said Crandall was at Macfadden Publications.
Crandall is on the left.
In the mid- to late-1940s, Simon said, in The Comic Book Makers, Pirkola and Crandall “had spent time moonlighting as an advertising agency”. Later, both applied for the art director position at Harvey. Simon explained how Pirkola got the job. … When Alfred Harvey told them he had an opening for an art director—but that he could hire only one of them—the two ex-advertising guys flipped a coin in Alfred’s office. Otto won and remained for over twenty years until he retired.
The 1950 census said Pirkola and his parents resided in Freeport. Crandall and his family lived in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey.
At some point Crandall established a studio called Harlan Crandall Associates. Crandall was listed in the Annual of Advertising and Editorial Art and Design for the years 1951, 1952 and 1953. According to the May 1953 issue of Art Director & Studio News, Crandall had died. The New Jersey Death Index, at Ancestry.com, said Crandall passed away March 1953 in Morristown, New Jersey.
Further Reading
Otto Pirkola—Harvey Comics Logo Designer
Mark Arnold
BearManor Media, 2017
Includes photographs of Otto Pirkola and Ken Selig
Michael Eury
TwoMorrows Publishing, 2017
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