Marc Swayze

Marc Swayze
Born	Marcus Desha Swayze (1913-07-17)July 17, 1913 Monroe, Louisiana,U.S.
Died	October 14, 2012(2012-10-14)(aged 99) Monroe, Louisiana, U.S.
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer,Penciller,Artist,Inker,Colourist
Notable works	Captain Marvel Mary Marvel
Spouse(s)	June Bloomer Swayze
Children	5

Marcus Desha Swayze,known asMarc Swayze(July 17, 1913 – October 14, 2012), was an Americancomic book artistfrom 1941 to 1953 forFawcett ComicsofNew York City.

He is best known for his work onCaptain Marveland theMarvel Familyduring theGolden Age of comic booksfor Fawcett Comics. He was the co-creator ofMary Marvel,along with writerOtto Binder.The first Mary Marvel character sketches came from Swayze's drawing table, and he illustrated her earliest adventures, including the classic origin story, "Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel" (Captain Marvel Adventures#18, Dec. 1942).

Biography

Swayze was born to Louis Herbert and Mildred (née Turner) Swayze. He graduated from Neville High School in his nativeMonroe, Louisiana.He attended the Northeast Center of LSU (nowUniversity of Louisiana at Monroe) before receiving his degree fromLouisiana Tech UniversityinRuston.He subsequently procured aMaster of Fine Artsdegree from Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM) where he also taught art.

Swayze was hired primarily by Fawcett to illustrate Captain Marvel stories and covers forWhiz ComicsandCaptain Marvel Adventures.He wrote many Captain Marvel scripts and continued to do so while he served in theUnited States Army,which he entered atFort Oglethorpein northGeorgiaduringWorld War II.He played guitar and performed twice withBing Crosbyentertaining troops.

After leaving the military in 1944, he made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories on a freelance basis from his home inMonroe,where he created both art and storylines forThe Phantom Eagle(Wow Comics), as well as drawing the "Flyin' Jenny"newspaper strip forBell Syndicate(created byRussell Keaton). After Wow Comics ceased publication, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett's top-selling line of romance comics, includingSweetheartsandLife Story.After the company ceased publishing comics, Swayze switched toCharlton Publications,from which he ended his comics career in the middle 1950s. He was then hired byOlin Mathiesonto establish the art department for the company's packaging division.

In an interview in 2000 with theMonroe News Star,Swayze describes his philosophy of developing comics as the utilization of "art in storytelling so that even a child who couldn't yet read could get a story out of it."An oil painter and former semi-professional league baseball player, Swayze wrote a column containing his memoirs, carried inAlter Egomagazine, from 1996 until his death, under the title,We Didn't Know It Was the Golden Age!

Family and death

Swayze and his wife, the former June Bloomer, reared five children in Monroe. He was elected to theOuachita Parish School Board,and was vice commander of theAmerican Legion.

He died October 14, 2012, in Monroe at age 99. In addition to his wife of 66 years, he was survived by his three daughters, a son, and four grandchildren. The fifth child is not mentioned by name in the obituary, presumably having predeceased his or her parents. Services were held on October 17, 2012, at the FirstUnited MethodistChurch of Monroe. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery in Monroe.

External links

• Marc Swayzeat theGrand Comics Database
• Marc Swayzeat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)