Bill Benulis (November 5, 1928 – May 30, 2011) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

in the 1950s. His style is distinctive, and he signed his work, he drew 146 stories in a variety of genres. He was associated with artist

Jack Abel Jack Abel (July 15, 1927 – March 6, 1996)
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. November 24, 2009. was an United States of Amer ...

who inked much of his work. His work appears in war comics, horror comics, and science fiction comics, and was reprinted in the Marvel Comics reprint series, '' War Is Hell'', as well as in several of the reprints of fifties comic books published under the IW imprint in the sixties. His work is also collected in several reprints in the

Marvel Masterworks ''Marvel Masterworks'' is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, with the main goal of republishing classic ''Marvel Comics'' storylines in a hardcover, premium edition, often with ...

: Atlas Era series ('' Strange Tales'', '' Battlefield'' and '' Journey into Mystery'').

Biography

Benulis was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York. He married in 1959, and has three children and two grandchildren. Between 1952 and 1956 he drew 146 comic stories, mostly for

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 ...

, but also for Fiction House, Lev Gleason, American Comics Group, Superior, Prize and Premier Magazines. In 1952 he drew his only superhero stories, two Captain America tales in ''

Captain America Comics Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' #76. Although most of the comic stories that he drew did not credit the writer, he illustrated many written by

Carl Wessler Carroll O. Wessler (May 25, 1913 – April 9, 1989),Carroll O. Wessler
Social Sec ...

and several by

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 ...

, Frank Kelly,

Hank Chapman Henry P. Chapman (living status unknown), who is credited in comics under both his formal name and as Hank Chapman, is an American comic book writer for Marvel Comics' two predecessors, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics, and later for DC Comics, whe ...

and Burt Frohman. About a third of his stories were inked by

Jack Abel Jack Abel (July 15, 1927 – March 6, 1996)
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. November 24, 2009. was an United States of Amer ...

. He decided not to pursue his art further past the end of 1956 in order to provide for his family by working in the post office. Despite living with the after-effects of childhood polio, he worked many years on foot as a letter carrier in the post office and retired from it around 1993. Sadly, he never drew any more after his short time in comics—a time in which he was able to work alongside others he admired like Will Eisner and

. He illustrated a cover for an early science fiction book by Scientology founder

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...

Bibliography

* ''Adventures Into Mystery'' 2,

* ''Adventures Into Terror'' 11, 22–27, 31,

* ''Adventures Into Weird Worlds'' 9, 12, 16, 24, 27,

* ''Amazing Detective Cases'' 4,

* ''Astonishing'' 21, 29, 41, 45, 48,

* '' Battle'' 20, 40, 41,

* ''Battle Action'' 23,

* ''Battlefield'' 10,

* ''Battlefront'' 30, 34, 37,

* ''Battleground'' 12, 14,

* ''Black Magic'' (1950 series) Vol. 4, 4, Prize * ''

'' 76,

* ''Combat'' 10, 11,

* ''Combat Casey'' 10–14,

* ''Crime Does Not Pay'' (1942 series) 123,

Lev Gleason Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971), was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including '' Daredevil Comics'', '' Crime Does Not Pay'', and ''Boy Comics''. Backgr ...

* ''Ghost Comics'' 4–11, Fiction House * ''Girl Confessions'' 31,

* '' Journey into Mystery'' 3, 10, 21, 24, 31, 33, 38,

* ''Journey into Unknown Worlds'' 33, 34,

* '' Jumbo Comics'' 163, Fiction House * ''Jungle Comics'' 163, Fiction House * ''Justice Traps the Guilty'' Vol. 8, 2 Prize * ''Marines in Action'' 8,

* '' Marvel Tales'' 110, 111, 139, 141,

* ''Marked Ranger'' 7, Fiction House * ''Men's Adventures'' 19,

* ''Monster'' 2, Fiction House * ''Mystery Tales'' 2, 8, 15, 19, 28, 34, 35, 38,

* ''Mystic'' 15, 30, 42, 45, 47, 481,

* ''Navy Action'' 1, 2, 3, 5, 8,

* ''Outlaw Fighters'' 3,

* '' Planet Comics'' 71, 72, 73, Fiction House * ''Police Against Crime'' 2, 5, 6, Premier Magazines * ''Rangers'' 67-69 Fiction House * ''Romantic Adventures'' 40, American Comics Group * ''Rugged Action'' 40,

* ''Sinister Tales'' 56, Alan Class * ''Spaceman'' 2, 6,

* ''Spellbound'' 10, 11, 15, 23, 24, 26,

* ''Strange Suspense Stories'' 6,

* '' Strange Tales'' 9, 10, 22, 30, 31, 36, 40, 50,

* ''Strange Tales of the Unusual'' 3, 4,

* ''Tales of Justice'' 54,

* ''

Uncanny Tales (comics) Uncanny Tales is the name of two American science-fiction / horror comic-book series, published in the 1950s and the 1970s. The first volume was by Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics, and the second volume by Marvel. It is also ...

'' 11, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 30, 33, 38, 41, 42, 45,

* ''War Comics'' 13, 21, 33, 37, 40,

* ''Western Outlaws'' 2,

* ''Wild Western'' 32,

* '' Wings Comics'' 124, Fiction House * ''Young Brides'' Vol.2, 5, Prize * ''Young Love'' Vol. 5, 11, Prize

Notes

References

* *

External links

Bill Benulis
on Comicvine

Obituary. {{DEFAULTSORT:Benulis, Bill 1928 births 2011 deaths American comics artists