Wikipedia

Russ Heath

Russell Heath Jr.[1](September 29, 1926 – August 23, 2018)[2]was an American artist best known for hiscomic bookwork, particularly hisDC Comicswar stories and his 1960s art forPlayboymagazine's "Little Annie Fanny"feature. He also producedcommercial art,two pieces of which, depictingRomanandRevolutionary Warbattle scenes fortoy soldiersets, became familiar pieces ofAmericanaafter gracing the back covers of countless comic books from the early 1960s to early 1970s.

Russ Heath
Heath at the November 2008
Big Apple Comic Con
BornRussell Heath Jr.
(1926-09-29)September 29, 1926
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 23, 2018(2018-08-23)(aged 91)
Long Beach, California,U.S.
Area(s)Penciller
Notable works
"Little Annie Fanny",All-American Men of War
Awards1997Inkpot Award
2009Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame
2018Inkwell AwardsStacy Aragon Special Recognition Award

A number of Heath's drawings of fighter jets and pilots inDC Comics'All-American Men of Warwere the uncredited and uncompensated basis forpop artistRoy Lichtenstein's oil paintingsBlam,Okay Hot-Shot, Okay!,andBrattata.[3][4][5]

Heath was inducted into theWill Eisner Comic Book Hall of Famein 2009.

Early life

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Raised inNew Jerseyas an only child, Russ Heath at an early age became interested in drawing. "My father used to be a cowboy, so as a little kid I was influenced by Western artists of the time.Will Jameswas one, an artist-writer—I had most of his books.Charlie Russellwas my favorite because his work was absolutely authentic, because he drew what he lived... "[6]Largely self-taught, Heath began freelancing for comics during summers while he was in high school, and bothpenciledandinkedat least two installments of the naval feature "Hammerhead Hawley" inHolyoke Publishing'sCaptain Aero Comicsvol. 2, #2 (Sept. 1942) and vol. 3, #12 (April 1944).[7]

Heath was inMontclair, New Jersey'sMontclair High Schoolclass of 1945.[8]It is unclear if Heath, anxious to fight inWorld War II,graduated; in a 2004 interview, he recalls going "into theAir Forcein my senior year of high school, in 1945, "after having been" put in an accelerated class so I could get through with high school. I almost made it, but then the Air Force called me and in I went. "[9]He served stateside for nine months, drawing cartoons for his camp newspaper, but due to a clerical error, he said,[9]he was on neither the military payroll nor any official duty roster for a significant portion of his time. A 2011 article in his hometown newspaper said that, "After a short stint in the military, Heath came back to Montclair, graduated from high school, got married and started a family."[8]

Career

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While spending several weeks arranging appointments with artists for an assistant's job, Heath was hired as an office "gofer"for the large Manhattanadvertising agencyBenton & Bowles,earning $35 weekly. He continued looking for work as an artist on his lunch hour, and in 1947, landed a $75-a-week staff position atTimely Comics,the 1940s predecessor ofMarvel Comics.Initially working in the Timely offices, Heath, like some of the other staffers, soon found it more efficient to work at home. He and his new wife had been living at his parents' home and continued to do so for two more years, while saving money for their own house. By the mid-1960s, however, they had children and were divorced.[10]

The artist said in 2004 he believed his first work for Timely was aWesternstory featuring theTwo-Gun Kid.[10]Historians have tentatively identified his first work as either aKid Coltstory in the omnibus seriesWild Western#4 (Nov. 1948); the second Two-Gun Kid story inTwo-Gun Kid#5 (Dec. 1948), "Guns Blast in Thunder Pass;" and the Two-Gun Kid story inWild Western#5 (Dec. 1948), while confirming Heath art on the Kid Colt story that same issue. Heath's firstsuperherostory is tentatively identified as the seven-pageWitness story,"Fate Fixed a Fight," inCaptain America Comics#71 (March 1949).[7]

1950s

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Heath drew several Western stories for such Timely comics asWild Western,All Western Winners,Arizona Kid,Black Rider,Western Outlaws,andReno Browne, Hollywood's Greatest Cowgirl.As Timely evolved into Marvel's 1950s iteration, known asAtlas Comics,Heath expanded into other genres. He drew the December 1950 premiere of the two-issue superhero seriesMarvel Boy,as well as scattered science fiction anthology stories (inVenus,Journey into Unknown Worlds,andMen's Adventures);crime drama(Justice);horrorstories and covers (Adventures into Terror,Marvel Tales,Menace,Mystic,Spellbound,Strange Tales,Uncanny Tales,the cover ofJourney into Mystery#1),satiric humor(Wild,Mad), andwar stories.[7]

Heath produced combat stories both for the wide line ofTimelywar titles and the first issue (Aug. 1951) ofEC Comics' celebratedFrontline Combat.He contributed toMad#14, illustratingHarvey Kurtzman's parody ofPlastic Man.Heath later did the first of many decades' worth of war work forDC Comics,withOur Army at War#23 andStar Spangled War Stories#22, both cover-dated June 1954.[7]

Other 1950s work includes an issue of3-DComicsfromSt. John Publicationsand "The Return of the Human Torch" (minus the opening page, drawn by character-creatorCarl Burgos) inYoung Men#24 (Dec. 1953),[7][11]the flagship of Atlas' ill-fated effort to revive superheroes, which had fallen out of fashion in the post-war U.S.

Later career

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Heath co-created with writer-editorRobert Kanigherthe feature "TheHaunted Tank"inG.I. Combat#87 (May 1961).[12]Heath stated in a 1999 interview that "I didn't like" The Haunted Tank "[inG.I. Combat] as much... I liked less because there was always the same four characters – J.E.B. Stuart plus his three buddies – virtually the same story every issue: He'd be talking to this ghost, over and over again. I couldn't believe kids kept wanting to look at it. "[13]Also with Kanigher, Heath co-created and drew the first issues of DC'sSea Devils,about a team of scuba-diving adventurers.[7][14]DC Comics writer and executivePaul Levitzdescribed Heath in 2010 as "[A] master of texture and lighting and meticulous levels of detail. Given the chance he'd draw every barnacle on a sunken pirate ship."[15]Several of Kanigher's characters were combined into a single feature titled "The Losers".Their first appearance as a group was with the Haunted Tank crew inG.I. Combat#138 (Oct.–Nov. 1969) drawn by Heath.[16]

Various Heath drawings of fighter jets inDC Comics'All-American Men of Warwere the uncredited and uncompensated basis forpop artistRoy Lichtenstein's oil paintingsWhaam!,Blam,Okay Hot-Shot, Okay!,andBrattata.[3][4][5][17][18][19][20][21]

Heath became known for the authenticity of his military comics. The artist would buy uniforms, helmets and radios atArmy surplus storesto use as reference, which peerJoe Kubertsaid

... set him apart. He could illustrate mechanical things like rifles and tanks in a realistic way that few other artists could. He would build models of the things he would draw prior to drawing them and his stuff would come out right on the button. Other artists used to keep what they called a swipe file – pictures of things they may have to draw someday that they could use for reference. Russ' work was so good, other artists used it as reference.[8]

Sometime in the 1960s, Heath drew two pieces ofcommercial artthat became familiar bits ofAmericanaafter gracing the back covers of countlesscomic booksthrough the early 1970s: advertisements fortoy soldiersets, depictingRomanandRevolutionary Warbattle scenes.[1]As Heath described in a 2000s interview,

I got fifty bucks for those two separate pages.... A lot of people didn't know I did them because [the client] didn't want them signed. I did have a small "RH" on the lower left-hand corner of the Revolutionary soldiers and I don't remember about the Roman soldiers. Then [customers] would blame me [when the actual toys were not as depicted]; I'd never seen the damned things, because they're like abas reliefor whatever they call it. They're not fully formed, not three dimensional. It would be flat things that were shaped a little and the kids felt gypped and they figured that it was my fault.[22]

One version of Heath's "Roman Soldiers" ad that appeared for years on the backs of 1960s and 1970s comic books

Heath was one of the artists who sometimes assisted Kurtzman andWill Elderon their regularPlayboystrip "Little Annie Fanny".[23]WriterMark Evanierdescribed Heath making the most of one such assignment:

One time when deadlines were nearing meltdown, Harvey Kurtzman called Heath in to assist in a marathon work session at thePlayboy Mansionin Chicago. Russ flew in and was given a room there, and spent many days aiding Kurtzman and artist Will Elder in getting one installment done of the strip. When it was completed, Kurtzman and Elder left... but Heath just stayed. And stayed. And stayed some more. He had a free room as well as free meals whenever he wanted them from Hef's 24-hour kitchen. He also had access to whatever young ladies were lounging about... so he thought, 'Why leave?' He decided to live there until someone told him to get out... and for months, no one did. Everyone just kind of assumed he belonged there. It took quite a while before someone realized he didn't and threw him and his drawing table out.[23]

Heath recalled in 2001 that as an adult he lived "seven years in Manhattan, seven years in Chicago and seven years in Connecticut", in the town ofWestport,before moving to California in 1978.[24]There he worked as an animator forSaturday-morning TV cartoonsand later did commissioned art for comics fans. A rare example of Heath working on super-hero material was his inkingMichael Golden's penciled artwork onMister Miracle#24 and 25.[25]Heath and writerCary BateslaunchedThe Lone Rangercomic strip on September 13, 1981.[26]His last comic-book story was penciling and inking the four-pageflashbacksequence of the 22-page story "The Mortal Iron Fist, Conclusion", inMarvel Comics'The ImmortalIron Fist#20 (Jan. 2009)[7][27]He went on to provide cover art for publisherAardvark-Vanaheim's satiric comic bookglamourpuss#11–13 (Jan.–May 2010), with his last known published comics work the one-page illustration "That Russ Heath Girl #4", appearing in issue #19 (May 2011).[28]He lived inVan Nuys, California,where in his 80s he had knee surgery afterThe Hero Initiativeand the Comic Art Professional Society of Los Angeles raised money to help pay for an operation.[8][27]

Awards

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Heath received anInkpot Awardin 1997[29]and was inducted into theWill Eisner Comic Book Hall of Famein 2009.[30]Heath received the Sergio Award from theComic Art Professional Societyin 2010[23]and theNational Cartoonists Society's Milton Caniff Award in 2014.[31]In 2018, Heath was awarded theInkwell AwardsStacy Aragon Special Recognition Award for his lifetime achievement as comic book inker.[32]

References

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  1. ^abBails, Jerry;Ware, Hames."Heath, Russ".Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999.Archived from the original on February 19, 2012.RetrievedMarch 10,2012.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^"Russ Heath".LambiekComiclopedia. August 18, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on July 18, 2014.
  3. ^abDavis, Lauren (November 12, 2014)."Victim of Lichtenstein's Copying Draws A Comic About His Experience".io9.Archivedfrom the original on August 10, 2020.RetrievedAugust 25,2018.
  4. ^abBaker, R. C. (April 6, 2011)."The Misbegotten Career of Roy Lichtenstein".The Village Voice.Archivedfrom the original on August 10, 2020.RetrievedJune 23,2013.
  5. ^abPisano, Dominick A., ed. (2003).The Airplane in American Culture.University of Michigan Press.p. 275.ISBN0472068334.
  6. ^"Comic Giants: The Russ Heath Interview"."The Pulse" (section), ComicCon.com. April 27, 2005. Archived fromthe originalon May 11, 2008.
  7. ^abcdefgRuss Heathat theGrand Comics Database
  8. ^abcdO'Donnell, Chuck (December 22, 2011)."Montclair Man's Life as Colorful as the Comics He Draws".The Montclair Times.Montclair, New Jersey.Archivedfrom the original on March 7, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 8,2012.
  9. ^abRuss Heath interview (September 2004). "I Was So Interested in Drawing That I Didn't Want to Do Anything Else!".Alter Ego.Vol. 3, no. 40. Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing.p. 3.
  10. ^abHeath interview,Alter Ego,p. 23
  11. ^Brevoort, Tom;Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1950s".Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History.London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley.p. 58.ISBN978-0756641238.After an initial outing by Russ Heath, the Human Torch strip was illustrated by either the Torch's creator Carl Burgos or up-and-coming young artist Dick Ayers.{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah (Ed) (2010). "1960s".DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle.Dorling Kindersley.p. 103.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.G.I. Combat#87 saw Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart guide Lt. Jeb Stuart and the Haunted Tank on their first adventure by scribe Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^Cooke, Jon B. (December 1999)."Russ Heath of Easy Co.: Interview with the Artist on His DC War Comics Duty".Comic Book Artist Special Edition(1). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing.Archivedfrom the original on June 12, 2008.
  14. ^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 101: "Showcase#27 in August [1960] saw Dane Dorrance, Biff Bailey, Judy Walton, and Nicky Walton dive into underwater adventures as the Sea Devils, by writer Robert Kanigher and illustrator Russ Heath. "
  15. ^Levitz, Paul(2010). "The Silver Age 1956–1970".75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking.Cologne, Germany:Taschen.p. 434.ISBN9783836519816.
  16. ^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 135: "Scribe Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath turned these self-described Losers – including" Navajo Ace "Johnny Cloud of the U.S. Army Air Force, Marines Gunner Mackey and Sarge Clay, and Captain William Storm, a PT boat commander with a prosthetic leg – into a fighting force that meshed as one."
  17. ^"Blam".Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Image Duplicator.Archivedfrom the original on July 13, 2011.
  18. ^Barsalou, David (2000)."BLAM by Russ Heath from the comic book:All American Men of War#89 ".Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein.Archivedfrom the original on March 8, 2012.AdditionalArchivedDecember 21, 2007, at theWayback Machine.
  19. ^Armstrong, Matthew (Autumn 1990). "High & Low: Modern Art & Popular Culture: Searching High and Low".Moma.2(6).Museum of Modern Art:4–8, 16–17.JSTOR4381129.
  20. ^"Okay Hot-Shot, Okay!".LichtensteinFoundation.org.Archivedfrom the original on August 10, 2020.RetrievedJune 23,2013.
  21. ^"Brattata".LichtensteinFoundation.org.Archivedfrom the original on August 10, 2020.RetrievedJune 24,2013.
  22. ^Stroud, Bryan, ed. (May 12, 2008)."Russ Heath".Interview, part 2, at A Tribute to the Silver Age of DC Comics.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2010.
  23. ^abcEvanier, Mark(September 14, 2010)."Honoring Russ".P.O.V. Online (column).Archivedfrom the original on February 1, 2015.
  24. ^"The Horrors of Ruth Heath".The Warren Companion.Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. 2001. p. 185.ISBN978-1893905085.RetrievedSeptember 8,2012.
  25. ^Nolen-Weathington, Eric (2007).Modern Masters Volume 12: Michael Golden.Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 14–15.ISBN978-1893905740.
  26. ^"Bates and Heath PremiereLone Ranger– NY Times Syndicate Revives Classic Comic Strip ".Comics Feature(12/13).New Media Publishing:21. September–October 1981.
  27. ^abMcLauchlin, Jim (March 14, 2011)."Legend Faces Adversity".Newsarama.Archivedfrom the original on May 1, 2011.
  28. ^glamourpussat theGrand Comics Database
  29. ^"Inkpot Awards".San Diego Comic-Con International.2014.Archivedfrom the original on October 10, 2014.
  30. ^"2000s Eisner Award Recipients".San Diego Comic-Con International. December 2, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on October 6, 2014.
  31. ^Melrose, Kevin (January 15, 2014)."Russ Heath to receive NCS's Milton Caniff Award".Comic Book Resources.Archivedfrom the original on April 15, 2014.
  32. ^Evans, Rhys (July 22, 2018)."Inkwell Awards 2018 Winners".Inkwell Awards.Archivedfrom the original on September 2, 2018.
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