Alexander A. Schomburg,
born Alejandro Schomburg y Rosa (; May 10, 1905
[Alejandro Schomburg Y Rosa]
at Puerto Rico Civil Registration via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on March 21, 2015. Note: Pulp historian David Saunders (cite below) gives name as Antonio Alejandro Schomburg. – April 7, 1998),
[Alexander A Schomburg]
at the United States Social Security Death Index
The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...
via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved March 4, 2013. was a Puerto Rican commercial artist and
comic-book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
artist and painter whose career lasted over 70 years.
Biography
Alex Schomburg was born on May 10, 1905, in
Aguadilla
Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla i ...
,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
,
as the son of Guillermo Schomburg, a civil engineer and land surveyor of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
ancestry and
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
ancestry,
and Francisca Rosa. Alex Schomburg moved to New York City in 1917, where he joined his older brothers and attended public school. In 1923 he began work as a commercial artist with three of his brothers.
In 1928, the brothers' partnership ended and Schomburg found work with the
National Screen Service
The National Screen Service (NSS) was a company that controlled the distribution of theatrical advertising materials in the United States from approximately 1940 through the 1980s. It was located in Englewood, New Jersey.
NSS was formed in 1920 to ...
, creating
lantern slides
The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a si ...
and working on
movie trailers
A trailer (also known as a preview, coming attraction or attraction video) is a commercial advertisement, originally for a feature film that is going to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater/cinema. It is a product of creative and tech ...
there through 1944.
During the 1930s, in addition to working for the NSS, Schomburg freelanced
Better Publications
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...
, producing interior line art for ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' and others of the company's
pulp magazine
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
s. His skill at drawing anything mechanical soon had him illustrating aviation covers for ''
Flying Aces
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
'' and electronic equipment for the
Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish–American editor and magazine publisher, whose publications including the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publ ...
pulp ''Radio Craft.'' Schomburg's first
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
-themed cover was for the September 1939 issue of ''Startling Stories.'' As the artist recalled in 1939, "One day the publisher asked me to do an illustration for ''Thrilling Wonder Stories''. I had always been interested in science fiction and they 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."
The following decade, Schomburg freelanced primarily for
Timely Comics
Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...
, the 1940s forerunner of
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
* ...
, displaying his talent for action tableaux in covers featuring
Captain America, the
Sub-Mariner, the
Human Torch
The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a si ...
, and other
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
es. His first recorded comic-book work is two covers released the same month, for ''
Daring Mystery Comics
''Daring Mystery Comics'' is an American comic-book series published by Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics, during the 1930-1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Primarily a superhero anthology, it ran eigh ...
'' #1 and ''
Marvel Mystery Comics
''Marvel Mystery Comics'' (first issue titled simply ''Marvel Comics'') is an American comic book series published during the 1930s–1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. It was the first publication of Mar ...
'' #3 (both
cover-date
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...
d Jan. 1940).
[Alex Schomburg]
at the Grand Comics Database
The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...
.["The Alex Schomburg Checklist]
at LiveForEverett.com. Archived from th
on July, 23, 2008. Schomburg would draw most of the companies covers, as well as a smattering of single-page interior illustrations, through ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' #76 (Sept. 1946). He also provided covers for
Pines Publications, for titles including ''Exciting Comics'' and ''
America's Best Comics
America's Best Comics (ABC) is a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics.
History
''America's Best ...
'', featuring such superheroes as the
Black Terror
The Black Terror is a fictional comic book superhero who originally appeared in ''Exciting Comics'' #9, published by Nedor Comics in January 1941. The character was popular, and on the strength of the Black Terror's sales, Nedor made ''Exciting C ...
and the
Fighting Yank
The Fighting Yank is the name of several superheroes, first appearing in ''Startling Comics'' #10 (Sept 1941).
Fall 1941 was a boom period for patriotic superheroes as the country prepared to enter World War II; during this period, comic book p ...
, as well as for
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
, including the licensed radio-series crimefighter star of ''
Green Hornet Comics''.
On some Pines comics from 1947 to 1949, he signed covers as "Xela."
["Xela"]
at the Grand Comics Database.
In the early 1950s, Schomburg left comics and spent the remainder of his career on covers and illustrations for science fiction magazines, astrology publications, and books, including the Winston juvenile series.
In 1977, Schomburg and a few of his fellow Golden Age comic book artists collaborated on the ''
Invaders'' Annual #1, written by
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...
. Schomburg penciled and inked a six-page chapter featuring the
Golden Age Human Torch.
Late in life, Schomburg resided in
Hillsboro, Oregon, and died in
Beaverton, Oregon, on April 7, 1998.
Awards
* Nominated for
Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist
The Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. The award has been given annually under several names since 1955, with the except ...
1962; runner-up
* Doc Smith Second Stage Lensman Award September 30, 1979 Moscon 1
*
Frank R. Paul Award 1984
*
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...
1985
*
Kentucky colonel
Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) i ...
May 6, 1986
*
Chesley Award (A.S.F.A. Award for Artistic Achievement) 1986
*
Guest of Honor,
PulpCon 16, July 9–12, 1987, Dayton, Ohio
*
Lifetime Achievement Award
Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions.
Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include:
A
* A.C. ...
, Kansas City Comic Con, Fall 1989
*
First Fandom Hall of Fame award
First Fandom Hall of Fame is an annual award for contributions to the field of science fiction dating back more than 30 years. Contributions can be as a fan, writer, editor, artist, agent, or any combination of the five. It is awarded by First Fa ...
1990
*
47th World Science Fiction Convention Noreascon III Special Committee Award (Lifetime Achievement Award), 1989, for contributions to Science Fiction
*
The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame 1999
Critical assessments
Stan Lee wrote:
See also
*
List of Puerto Ricans
References
Further reading
*
External links
The Official Estate of Alex SchomburgArchivedfrom the original on December 16, 2014.
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schomburg, Alex
1905 births
1998 deaths
American speculative fiction artists
American illustrators
American comics artists
Golden Age comics creators
Science fiction artists
People from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees
Marvel Comics people
Pulp fiction artists