Wayne Boring
| Wayne Boring | |
|---|---|
 Wayne Boring byMichael Netzer | |
| Born | June 5, 1905 Minnesota,U.S. |
| Died | February 20, 1987(aged 81) Pompano Beach, Florida,U.S. |
| Area(s) | Penciller,Inker |
| Pseudonym(s) | Jack Harmon |
Notable works | Action Comics Superman |
| Awards | Will Eisner Hall of Fame2007 |
Wayne Boring(June 5, 1905[1]– February 20, 1987)[2]was anAmericancomic book artistbest known for his work onSupermanfrom the late 1940s to 1950s. He occasionally used thepseudonymJack Harmon.
Biography
[edit]Early life and career
[edit]Boring attended theMinnesota School of Artand theChicago Art Institute.In 1937, he began "ghosting"(drawing for hire without credit) on such comic book features asSlam BradleyandDoctor Occultfor theJerry Siegel-Joe Shusterstudio. In 1938, Siegel and Shuster's characterSupermanwas published inAction Comics#1, for theDC ComicsprecursorNational Allied Publications,and Boring became a ghost on the soon spun offSupermancomic strip,eventually becoming the credited artist.[3]
Superman comic books
[edit]In 1942, the by-then-named National Comics hired Boring as a staff artist,[4]teaming him aspencilerthe following year with inkerStan Kaye.The two would work together for nearly 20 years during a period fans and historians call theGolden Age of comic books.In 1948, following Siegel and Shuster's departure from the company over aSuperman rights lawsuit,Mort Weisinger,the editor of the Superman line, brought in Boring as well asAl PlastinoandCurt Swan.During this mid-1940s period, he often signed his work for rivalNovelty Press'sBlue Bolt ComicsasJack Harmon.[5]
Boring's "Superman Covers Atom Bomb Test!" cover forAction Comics#101 (Oct. 1946) was an early example ofnuclear weapons in popular culture.[6]A more detailed origin story for Superman by Boring and writerBill Fingerwas presented inSuperman#53 (July 1948) to mark the character's tenth anniversary.[7]Boring co-created theFortress of SolitudeinAction Comics#241 (June 1958) with writerJerry Coleman[8]andBizarro WorldinAction Comics#263 (April 1960) withOtto Binder.[9]
Boring was the primary Superman comic book penciller through the 1950s. Swan succeeded him the following decade,[10]though Boring returned for sporadic guest appearances in the early 1960s and then again in late 1966 and early 1967.[11]One critic wrote of Boring's 1950s Superman art, "Comics legend Wayne Boring played a major role in visually defining the most well known super-hero in the world during the peak of Superman's popularity."[12]Another writer echoed, "Boring's bravura brushwork defined many of its key elements and made Superman look more powerful and imposing, now standing a heroic nine heads tall, and brought a fresh realism, a sleek sci-fi vision and a greater seriousness of tone."[13]
Boring was let go from DC in 1967[13]along with many other prominent writers and artists who had made demands for health and retirement benefits.[14]From 1968 to 1972, Boring ghosted backgrounds forHal Foster'sPrince ValiantSundaycomic strip[13]and took over the art on writerSam Leff's 1961–71United Feature SyndicatestripDavy Jones.[15]Afterward, Boring drew three issues ofMarvel Comics'Captain Marvel,then left the field to semi-retire as a bank security guard, though he would continue to draw commissioned work.[16]He briefly returned to DC to pencil some stories inAll-Star SquadronAnnual#3 (1984),Superman#402 (Dec. 1984), andAction Comics#561 and 572 (Nov. 1984 and Oct. 1985).[11]
Boring died of a heart attack,[16]following a brief comeback announced in one of his last published works, penciling aGolden Age Supermanstory written byRoy Thomasand inked byJerry OrdwayinSecret Originsvol. 2 #1 (April 1986).[17]His final work wasAll-Star Squadron#64 (Dec. 1986) a recreation ofSuperman#19.[18]
Awards
[edit]In 1985, DC Comics named Boring as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publicationFifty Who Made DC Great.[19]
He was posthumously inducted into theWill Eisner Hall of Famein 2007.[20]
Bibliography
[edit]Comics work (interior pencil art) includes:
DC Comics
[edit]- Action Comics#35–36, 121, 132, 134, 137–138, 141–142, 144, 146–147, 150–152, 158–168, 171, 173–175, 178–182, 184, 186–188, 190–192, 194–196, 198–200, 202–204, 206–207, 209–211, 215–216, 218–219, 221, 223–227, 229–241, 243, 245–246, 248, 250, 257–258, 261–264, 266–268, 275–276, 342–344, 346, 348–353, 355–357, 561, 572 (1941–1967, 1984–1985)
- Adventure Comics#42–43, 285 (1939, 1961)
- All-Star Squadron#64,Annual#3 (1984–1986)
- Secret Originsvol. 2 #1 (Superman) (1986)
- Showcase#10 (Lois Lane) (1957)
- Silver Age 80-Page Giant#1 (2000)
- Superboy#7 (1950)
- Superman#5, 7–8, 10, 53–110, 112–115, 117, 119–122, 124–130, 132–136, 138–143, 150, 155, 189–190, 200, 229, 402 (1940–1970, 1984)
- Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane#2, 4, 6–8, 10, 13 (1958–1959)
- Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen#43 (1960)
- Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe#12, 14, 18–19, 22 (1986)
- World's Finest Comics#14, 35–38, 44–46, 48, 50, 52–53, 59, 62–63, 65, 68–69, 181 (1944–1968)
Marvel Comics
[edit]- Astonishing#4 (1951)
- Captain Marvel#22–24 (1972–1973)
- Creatures on the Loose#19 (Gullivar Jones, Warrior of Mars) (withGil Kane) (1972)
- Official Handbook of the Marvel UniverseDeluxe Edition#16, 19 (1987)
- Thor#280 (1979)
References
[edit]- ^Wayne Boringat the United StatesSocial Security Death Indexvia FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on February 21, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on July 18, 2015. Gives death date only as February 1987 ".
- ^Fryer, Kim (July 1987). "Superman artist Wayne Boring dead".The Comics Journal(116).Fantagraphics Books:23.
Wayne Boring, one of the first Superman artists, died at the age of 81 on February 20 in Pompano Beach, Florida. Boring, who was born in Minnesota on June 5, 1905...
- ^"Wayne Boring".Lambiek Comiclopedia.June 12, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2011.RetrievedOctober 18,2011.
- ^Daniels, Les(1995). "The Superman Style Refining the Man of Steel".DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes.New York, New York:Bulfinch Press.p. 28.ISBN0821220764.
The image of Superman that eventually became preeminent was Wayne Boring's. By 1942 the former assistant to Joe Shuster was working on his own for DC, turning out pencilled and inked pages forAction ComicsandSuperman.
- ^Jack Harmonat theGrand Comics Database
- ^Wallace, Daniel; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1940s".DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle.London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley.p. 51.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.
A stunning cover by Wayne Boring heralded a tale that played on the conflicted post-warzeitgeistsurrounding the use of nuclear weapons.
{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 59: "Superman's origin was retold—and slightly revamped—for this special tenth anniversary issue...Writer Bill Finger and penciller Wayne Boring related how Joe-El failed to save Krypton and sent his son to Earth."
- ^Irvine, Alex"1950s" in Dolan, p. 91: "Superman's Fortress of Solitude was seen for the first time. The story 'The Super-Key to Fort Superman', by writer Jerry Coleman and artist Wayne Boring, revealed the secrets of the Fortress."
- ^McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 100: "Writer Otto Binder and artist Wayne Boring introduced an entire world filled with the backward beings, living amid foul, dilapidated conditions."
- ^Daniels "The Superman Family Strength in Numbers", p. 118: "By 1961, Swan's new look would replace Wayne Boring's patriarchal version. Swan's Superman became definitive, and ultimately he would draw, as he says, 'more Superman stories than anybody else.'"
- ^abWayne Boringat theGrand Comics Database
- ^Vance, Michael (December 13, 2000)."Comics Legend Wayne Boring"."Suspended Animation" (column), Starland.Archivedfrom the original on June 28, 2011.
- ^abcGravett, Paul(December 2002)."Curt Swan: A Superman Walked Among Us".3(97). Comic Book Marketplace via PaulGravett.Archivedfrom the original on July 17, 2011.RetrievedMarch 28,2009.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^Barr, Mike W.(Summer 1999). "The Madames & the Girls: The DC Writers Purge of 1968".Comic Book Artist(5). Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing.
- ^Agena, Eric."Davy Jones,by Sam Leff and Al McWilliams ".ComicStripFan.Archivedfrom the original on October 8, 2010.
- ^abEury, Michael(2006).The Krypton Companion.Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing.p. 18.ISBN978-1-893905-61-0.
- ^Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 218: "The heroes of the DC Universe got a little more exposed thanks to the new ongoing effortSecret Origins,a title offering new interpretations to the backgrounds of some of comics' biggest icons. [Its] debut issue featur[ed] the origin of the first true super-hero – the Golden Age Superman – by writer Roy Thomas and illustrator Wayne Boring. "
- ^All-Star Squadron#67at the Grand Comics Database
- ^Marx, Barry,Cavalieri, Joeyand Hill, Thomas (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Wayne Boring Superman Remodeled"Fifty Who Made DC Great,p. 26 (1985). DC Comics.
- ^"Will Eisner Hall of Fame".San Diego Comic-Con International.Archivedfrom the original on March 29, 2014.RetrievedMay 17,2014.
External links
[edit]- "Wayne Boring".(fan site). Archived fromthe originalon September 7, 2011.
- Wayne Boringat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
- Wayne Boringat Mike's Amazing World of Comics
- Wayne Boringat the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1905 births
- 1987 deaths
- 20th-century American artists
- American comics artists
- Artists from Minnesota
- DC Comics people
- Golden Age comics creators
- Minneapolis College of Art and Design alumni
- Artists from Ridgefield, Connecticut
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
- Silver Age comics creators
- Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees