Al Gabriele (deceased) was an American

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 during the 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books. He is known for his work on some 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 ...

' earliest Captain America and Sub-Mariner stories, and for co-creating the company's superheroes

Black Marvel The Black Marvel (Daniel Lyons) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist Al Gabriele with an unknown writer, he first appeared in ''Mystic Comics'' #5 (March 1941), published by ...

, Miss America, and possibly, the Whizzer. Source lists " Al Avison and Al Gabrielle" as that character's creator. However
''USA Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1941)
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 ...

lists Avison as penciler for the character's debut, and Gabriele solely as inker, not generally considered a co-creator position. His last name is given erroneously in at least some standard references as "Al Gabrielle", with two "L"s, Bails, Jerry, ed
Gabrielle, Al
at ''Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999''
WebCitation archive
though other references and the vast majority of his credits spell his name with one "L".Al Gabriele
an
Al Gabrielle
at the Grand Comics Database

Biography

Early life and career

Writer and artist credits were not routinely given during the 1930s–1940s period fans and historians refer to as the Golden Age of comic books, making full bibliographies difficult for many of the

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

's pioneering creators. Al Gabriele's first confirmed credit is as one of three inkers over penciler and future industry legend

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

on the lead story in '' Blue Bolt Comics'' #4 (Sept. 1940), from the publisher

Novelty Press Novelty Press (a.k.a. Premium Service Co., Inc.; a.k.a. Novelty Publications; a.k.a. Premier Group) was an American Golden Age comic-book publisher that operated from 1940 to 1949. It was the comic book imprint of Curtis Publishing Company, publ ...

. Gabriele would continue to work on that character while also freelancing for

Fiction House Fiction House was an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. It was founded by John B. "Jack" Kelly and John W. Glenister.Saunders, David"JACK BYRNE (1902-1972),"Field Guide to Wild American P ...

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 ...

(for which drew the debut of the female superhero the Black Cat, in ''Pocket Comics'' #1, Aug. 1941),

Prize Comics A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

, and most notably

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 1930s–1940s predecessor of

. There Gabriele helped provide art for the hit characters Captain America and the Sub-Mariner, as well as for the popular second-tier characters the

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

and the Destroyer. Gabriele's first confirmed work for Timely was both penciling and inking the "Mantor the Magician" feature in '' The Human Torch'' #2 (Fall 1940). Circa 1941–1942, Gabriele freelanced through the Jerry Iger Studio.

Golden Age of Comics

Gabriele's other early work, some of it reprinted in the 1960s

Silver Age of comic books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...

and in the modern era, includes penciling and inking the debut of the

, an early creation of future Marvel editor Stan Lee, in ''

Mystic Comics ''Mystic Comics'' is the name of three comic book series published by the company that eventually became Marvel Comics. The first two series were superhero anthologies published by Marvel's 1930-1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, during what fans an ...

'' #5 (March 1941); inking the caveboy character Tuk in '' Captain America Comics'' #2 (April 1941); inking another the early Stan Lee character,

Father Time Father Time is a personification of time. In recent centuries he is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, sometimes with wings, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device. As an image, "Father Ti ...

, in ''Captain America Comics'' #6 (Sept. 1941); co-penciling (with

Alex Schomburg Alexander A. Schomburg, born Alejandro Schomburg y Rosa (; May 10, 1905Alejandro Schomburg Y Rosa

) the 40-page lead story in '' Sub-Mariner Comics'' #3 (Fall 1941); and inking character-creator

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was alleg ...

in ''Sub-Mariner Comics'' #4 (Winter 1941). On Captain America, Gabriele inked pencil art by co-creator and future industry legend

on some stories in ''Captain America Comics'' #3–4 (May–June 1941) and ''

All Winners Comics ''All Winners Comics'' was the name of two American comic book series of the 1940s, both published by Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. A superhero anthology comic i ...

'' #1 (Summer 1941), and on the cover and in all three of the hero's stories in ''Captain America Comics'' #8 (Nov. 1941). He would continue contributing to that series and to ''Sub-Mariner Comics'' through 1949 and the ends of their respective runs. Gabriele and fellow artist Al Avison, plus an unknown writer, crafted the debut of Timely's super-speedster the Whizzer in '' USA Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1941), though precise creator credits for the character are difficult to confirm. The Whizzer would go to appear in most issues of '' USA Comics'' and was part of Timely/Marvel's first superhero team, the

All-Winners Squad The All-Winners Squad is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company's first such team, it first appeared in ''All Winners Comics'' #19 (Fall 1946), published by Marvel predecessor Timely Co ...

. The character returned, much older, in 1970s Marvel Comics stories, as well as in flashback stories set during

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 opposing ...

. With writer

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...

, penciler-inker Gabriele created the superheroine Miss America in ''

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 ...

'' #49 (Nov. 1943). Throughout the decade, Gabriele provided art as well to Timely's '' Blonde Phantom Comics'', ''Comedy Comics'', ''Kid Comics'', and '' Young Allies Comics''. He worked as well for

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

, penciling and inking covers and stories both of the spirit-of-America character

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

in ''National Comics'' and ''Uncle Sam Quarterly''. Gabriele also penciled and inked the character Yankee Eagle in Quality's ''Smash Comics''.

Later career

Gabriele's last confirmed comics work is inking the eight-page Captain America story "The Man Who Wouldn't Give Up", penciled by Carl Burgos in ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' #92 (June 1949), the final issue of that title. The Grand Comics Database also lists a tentative Gabriele credit as the cover artist of the following month's ''Captain America Comics'' #73 (July 1949).

Golden Age reprints

As inker, unless otherwise specified (p) for penciler, or (p)(i) for penciler & inker * ''Marvel Super-Heroes'' #15 (July 1968) ::''Mystic Comics'' #5 (March 1941) :::"Origin of the Black Marvel" (p)(i) *''

The Invaders ''The Invaders'' is an American science-fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invas ...

'' #10 (Nov. 1976) ::''Captain America'' #22 (January 1943) :::"The Wrath of the Reaper" *''The Original Black Cat'' #6 (Aug. 1991) ::''Pocket Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1941) :::"Origin of the Black Cat" (p)(i) * ''Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Captain America'' (Marvel, 2005) ::''Captain America Comics'' #2 (April 1941) :::Tuk, Caveboy: "The Valley of the Mist" ::''Captain America Comics'' #3 (May 1941) :::"The Return of the Red Skull" (co-inker) ::''Captain America Comics'' #4 (June 1941) :::"The Unholy Legion" (co-inker) ::''Captain America Comics'' #8 (Nov. 1941): :::"The Strange Mystery of The Ruby of the Nile...And its Heritage of Horror" :::"Murder Stalks The Maneuvers" :::"Case Of The Black Witch" *''Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Sub-Mariner'' (Marvel, 2005) ::''Sub-Mariner Comics'' #4 (Winter 1941) :::"The Horror That Walked" *''Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age All-Winners Comics'' (Marvel, 2006) ::''All Winners Comics'' #1 (Summer 1941) :::Black Marvel: "The Order of the Hood" :::Captain America: "The Case of the Hollow Men" (co-inker) *''Marvel Milestones: Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Microman & Mantor the Magician'' (Nov. 2006) ::''The Human Torch'' #2 (Fall 1940) :::Mantor the Magician: "Hidden Treasure Means Death"

References

External links

Al Gabrielle
at Lambiek Comiclopedia
Archived
2009-11-26. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriele, Al Golden Age comics creators Possibly living people Year of birth missing Place of birth missing 20th-century American artists Marvel Comics people