Henry Allan Hartley (October 25, 1921 – May 27, 2003)Henry A. Hartley
at the United States

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the Social Security Administration, United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Mas ...

via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on February 23, 2016
Additionally at
GenealogyBank.com. known professionally as Al Hartley, was an American comic book writer-artist known for his work on

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to * Atlas Comics (1950s) Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic book, comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and mass market paperback, paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin ...

(the 1950s precursor of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

), and many Christian comics. He received an

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 c ...

at the 1980

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

. Hartley was the son of

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Frederick Allan Hartley, Jr., a New Jersey

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

remembered in history for the Taft-Hartley Act.

Biography

Early life and career

Al Hartley was born in Kearny, New Jersey, the son of Hazel Hartley and

Frederick Allan Hartley, Jr. (

from New Jersey), co-author of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. He had a brother, Jack, and a sister, Lorraine. Their father, Hartley said, "encouraged me. He knew I wanted to draw from the time I could hold a crayon.... My father wanted me to pursue my own dreams and never attempted to steer me in any other direction."Hartley in Hartley drew for the local newspaper while still in high school,Hartley, ''Alter Ego'', p. 76 and studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

.Al Hartley
at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

Archived
from the original on November 16, 2010. He began selling humorous spot illustrations to magazines, and drew a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

comic-book story about

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

for the publisher

Street & Smith Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among t ...

before the U.S. joined

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, after which he enlisted in the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

and flew 20 missions as a

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

bomber pilot in Europe.Hartley, ''Alter Ego'', p. 75 On his return, he became a

commercial artist Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

and made the rounds of comic-book publishers, quickly getting work with publisher Ned Pines'

Standard Comics 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 ...

and its imprints

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 ...

and

Nedor Publishing 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 ...

. There he drew his first known credited work, the backup feature "Roger Dodger" in ''Exciting Comics'' #51–67 (Sept. 1946 – May 1949).Al Hartley
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 ...

Hartley also did humor one- and two-pagers for the publisher's ''

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 ...

'' #20–28 (Dec. 1946 – Nov. 1948), as well as the feature "Zippie" in '' The Fighting Yank'', and pieces for ''Startling Comics'' and ''Wonder Comics''. During this time he also did the backup features "Debbie" and "Teen Tales" in Michel Publications' ''Cookie, The Funniest Kid in Town''; and "Peg" for ACG's ''The Kilroys''. As well, his work appeared in the titles ''All Romances'', ''Dotty'', ''Dotty and Her Boyfriends'', and ''Vicky'' for A. A. Wyn, Inc.'s

Ace Comics ''Ace Comics'' was a comic book series published by David McKay Publications between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title reprinted syndicated newspaper strips owned by King Features Syndicate, follow ...

Patsy (and Hedy)

In 1949, Hartley began freelancing for editor

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

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 progenitor of

. Hartley recalled, As Timely segued into

Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to * Atlas Comics (1950s) Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic book, comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and mass market paperback, paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin ...

, Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Hartley made his mark with a more than decade-long run on the ''

Patsy Walker Patricia "Patsy" Walker is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stuart Little and Ruth Atkinson, Patsy Walker first appeared in ''Miss America Magazine'' #2 (November 1944), published by Marvel precu ...

'' teen-girl titles. With writer-editor Lee, Hartley chronicled the redheaded high schooler's lightly comic adventures in her namesake series (which ran through 1964) and in its spin-offs, ''Patsy and Hedy'' (which ran through 1967) and the single-issue ''A Date with Patsy'' (Sept. 1957). Well into the Marvel era, Hartley also drew the "Special Queen Size Annual" publication ''Patsy Walker's Fashion Parade'' #1 (1966). Walker eventually would be integrated into mainstream

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

continuity in the 1970s as the supernatural superheroine Hellcat long after Hartley had left the character. Also for Atlas, Hartley co-created Leopard Girl with writer

Don Rico Donato Francisco Rico II (September 26, 1912 – March 27, 1985) was an American paperback novelist, screenwriter, wood engraver and comic book writer-artist, who co-created the Marvel Comics characters the Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) with plot ...

in ''

Jungle Action ''Jungle Action'' is the name of two American comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The Marvel version contained the first series starring the Black Panther, the first black superhero in mainstream co ...

'', and drew such features as "The Black Rider" in ''

Wild Western ''Wild Western'' (originally titled ''Wild West'') was a Western comic book series published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics. The omnibus series published 57 issues from 1948 to 1957. Kid Colt stories were usually the lead ...

'', and "Cliff Mason, White Hunter" in ''Jungle Tales''. Hartley drew as well for the horror/suspense titles '' Mystic'', ''Spellbound'', ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...

'', ''Adventures into Terror'', and ''Mystery Tales'', among many other Atlas books.

Silver Age of Comic Books

For Marvel in the 1960s, Hartley drew a single superhero comic: an episode of the

Norse god In Germanic paganism, the indigenous religion of the ancient Germanic peoples who inhabited Germanic Europe, there were a number of different gods and goddesses. Germanic deities are attested from numerous sources, including works of literature, ...

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, ...

feature "

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

" in ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stori ...

'' #90. He recalled that "

superheroes 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, ...

weren't really my forte. I don't recall the circumstances that led me to draw that story. At that stage of the game, I was mostly doing work that I was more comfortable with, mostly teenage and humor stories."Hartley, ''Alter Ego'', p. 77 Harley dabbled in Marvel scripting on two stories: the "

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

" feature in ''

Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such arti ...

'' #68 (Aug. 1965), and the last "Giant-Man" feature, in ''

Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series and a One-shot (comics), one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a science-fic ...

'' #69 (July 1965). Among Marvel miscellanea, Hartley drew the 1961–63 series ''Linda Carter, Student Nurse'', which began as a humor comic then became a romance with issue #2. After fellow Atlas artist

Joe Maneely Joseph Maneely (; February 18, 1926 – June 7, 1958) was an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics, where he co-created the Marvel characters the Black Knight, the Ringo Kid, the Yell ...

was killed in an accident in 1958, Hartley succeeded him on writer Stan Lee's syndicated

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

''Mrs. Lyon's Cubs''. Hartley had done a short-lived gag-panel cartoon, ''Suburbia'', the year before. As well, he said, "There was one point in the early 1960s when I was Stan's assistant for about two months. I didn't feel comfortable in that position, so I went back to freelancing. As Stan's assistant, frankly, I did everything I normally did, and did some of the things that Stan did. I edited and wrote stories. I don't recall doing art corrections on anyone else's work."Hartley, ''Alter Ego'', pp. 76–77

Christian comics

In 1967, feeling "sterile, numb, and filled with fear", Hartley became a

born again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

, as did his wife, Hermine. At the time, he was among several artists who drew the black-and-white, "

nudie cutie In film, nudity may be either graphic or suggestive, such as when a person appears to be naked but is covered by a sheet. Since the birth of film, depictions of any form of sexuality have been controversial, and in the case of most nude scen ...

" secret-agent feature " Pussycat" that ran in some of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman's men's magazines; Hartley told the publisher he couldn't continue. He began writing and drawing for

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. He later received a call from publisher Fleming H. Revell, for whom he then freelanced a comic-book adaptation of

David Wilkerson David Ray Wilkerson (May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011) was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book '' The Cross and the Switchblade''. He was the founder of the addiction recovery program Teen Challenge, and founding pastor of t ...

's '' The Cross and the Switchblade'' in 1972, quickly followed by adaptations of '' God's Smuggler'' by the pseudonymous Brother Andrew and '' The Hiding Place'' by

Corrie ten Boom Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker, who worked with her father, Casper ten Boom, her sister Betsie ten Boom and other family member ...

. Inspired, Hartley helped launch the

Spire Christian Comics ''Spire Christian Comics'' was a line of comic books published by Fleming H. Revell starting in 1972. In the 1980s, Barbour & Company, founded by Hugh Revell Barbour, acquired the rights to republish many of the titles in the Spire Christian Com ...

line, and pitched Archie president John L. Goldwater to let him license the Archie characters. The Jewish Goldwater, himself religious, agreed, and Spire went on to release 59 comics – at least 19 of them Archie titles, along with six Bible stories, 12 biography adaptations, four other book or movie adaptations (including '' Hansi: The Girl Who Loved the Swastika''), and nine children's comics. Comics writer Kathleen Webb wrote,

Book illustration

Hartley wrote a 1977 memoir, ''Come Meet My Friend! (New Life Ventures)'' (F. H. Revell, ), and a 1997 inspirational hardcover, ''It Takes a Family: How to Create Hope and Celebrate Your Future'' (Barbour Publishing, # ).

Personal life

Hartley and his wife of 61 years, Hermine, had two children, Fred and Alana. Hartley died May 27, 2003, aged 81, at Health Park Medical Center in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

References

External links

The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

with scans

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Al 1921 births 2003 deaths People from Kearny, New Jersey People from Fort Myers, Florida American children's book illustrators Golden Age comics creators Silver Age comics creators Archie Comics Atlas Comics Marvel Comics people Christian comics creators