Bob Powell (

né A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...

Stanley Robert Pawlowski;

While gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, and gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, Bails and Ware note: "family name corrected by his son, Seth R. Powell July 2006." October 2, 1916Robert Powell
at the

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 GenealogyBank.com. Retrieved on September 23, 2012
Archived
from the original on September 23, 2012. Note

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 ...

erroneously gives death date as Oct. 1, 1967. – December 1967) 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 An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

known for his work during the 1930–1940s

Golden Age of comic books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known char ...

, including on the features "

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional American comic book jungle girl heroine, originally published primarily by Fiction House during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was the first female comic book character with her own title, with her ...

" and "

Mr. Mystic ''Mr. Mystic'' is a comics series featuring a magician crime-fighter, created by Will Eisner and initially drawn by Bob Powell. The strip featured in four-page backup feature a Sunday-newspaper comic-book insert, known colloquially as "The Spirit ...

". He received a belated credit in 1999 for co-writing the debut of the popular feature "

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...

". Powell also did the pencil art for the

bubble gum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...

trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...

series ''

Mars Attacks ''Mars Attacks'' is a science fiction-themed trading card series released in 1962 by Topps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artists Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. The cards form a story arc, which tells of the invasion of Earth by c ...

''. He officially changed his name to S. Robert Powell in 1943.

Biography

Early life and career

Raised in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, Reprinted in Joe Simon: "Bob was from Buffalo." Bob Powell in the 1930s moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he studied art at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

. Like many comics artists of the time, he found work at

Eisner & Iger Eisner & Iger was a comic book "packager" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Many of comic books' most significant c ...

, one of the most prominent "packagers" who supplied complete comic books to

publishers Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

testing the emerging medium. Powell's first published comic-book art is tentatively identified as the uncredited three-page story "A Letter of Introduction", featuring the famed

ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Ch ...

and his dummy,

Charlie McCarthy Charlie McCarthy is Edgar Bergen's famed ventriloquist dummy partner. Charlie was part of Bergen's act as early as high school, and by 1930, was attired in his famous top hat, tuxedo, and monocle. The character was so well-known that his populari ...

, in

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 ...

's ''

Jumbo Comics ''Jumbo Comics'' was an adventure anthology comic book published by Fiction House from 1938–1953. ''Jumbo Comics'' was Fiction House's first comics title; the publisher had previously specialized in pulp magazines. The lead feature for ''Jumbo C ...

'' #2 (Oct. 1938). Another of his earliest works, under the pseudonym Arthur Dean, was

penciling A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

the adventure feature "Dr. Fung" in

Fox Feature Syndicate Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...

's ''Wonder Comics'' #1 (May 1939) and subsequently.Bob Powell
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 ...

Powell also did early work for Fox's ''Wonderworld Comics'' and ''

Mystery Men Comics ''Mystery Men Comics'' was an anthology American comic book series from the Golden Age of Comic Books published by Fox Feature Syndicate. The series was Fox's second title after the ''Wonderworld Comics'' series being first published in August 1939 ...

''; Fiction House's ''Planet Comics'', where his strips included "Gale Allen and the Women's Space Battalion";

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 Alfr ...

' ''Speed Comics'', for which he wrote and drew the feature "Ted Parrish", (pencilling at least once under the pseudonym Bob Stanley);

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 ...

' one-shot ''Tough Kid Squad Comics'';

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 ...

' ''Crack Comics'' (where he pencilled as Terence McAully), ''Hit Comics'' (as Stanley Charlot), ''

Military Comics ''Military Comics'', later ''Modern Comics'', was a comic book anthology title published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books from 1941 until 1950. The first issue of ''Military Comics'' is notable for featuring the debut of Bl ...

'' (where he signed his pencils for the "Loops and Banks"

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

strip as Bud Ernest), ''Smash Comics'' (as Powell Roberts), and ''Feature Comics''. Other pseudonyms included Rex Smith and W. Morgan Thomas, as well as Buck Stanley, S. T. Anley, and Major Ralston.Bob Powell
at the

. .

Sheena and superheroes

As part of the

studio, Powell drew many of the earliest adventures of the jungle-queen Sheena in ''Jumbo Comics''. Later, after

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

split off to form his own studio in an arrangement with Quality publisher Everett M. "Busy" Arnold — bringing Powell,

Nick Cardy Nicholas Viscardi (October 20, 1920 – November 3, 2013), known professionally as Nick Cardy and Nick Cardi, was an American comics artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters. Cardy was induct ...

Chuck Cuidera "Charles Nicholas" is the pseudonymous house name of three early creators of American comic books for the Fox Feature Syndicate and Fox Comics: Chuck Cuidera (1915–2001), Jack Kirby (1917–1994), and Charles Wojtkoski (1921–1985). The name or ...

Lou Fine Louis Kenneth Fine (November 26, 1914 – July 24, 1971)Louis Fine
at the United States

Eisner in 2005 recalled his studio as "a friendly shop, and I guess I was the same age as the youngest guys there. We all got along. The only ones who ever got into a hassle were

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the Social Security Death Index via Fami ...

and Bob Powell. Powell was kind of a wiseguy and made remarks about other people in the shop. One day, George had enough of it, got up, and punched out Bob Powell". Eisner on another occasion said his partnership with Everett M. "Busy" Arnold created tensions when Arnold wanted to hire Powell separately: Artist

, a colleague at the Eisner studio, said Powell "came in later when I was doing he 'Spirit Section' feature' Lady Luck'. He was sitting behind me. He would help a kid around the block — tell a newcomer to take it easy and that sort of thing". Powell became particularly known for his "

good girl art Good Girl Art (GGA) is a style of artwork depicting women primarily featured in comic books, comic strips, and pulp magazines. The term was coined by the American Comic Book Company, appearing in its mail order catalogs from the 1930s to the 1970 ...

" in

Magazine Enterprises Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western comics, Western, humor, crime comics, crime, adventure, and children's literature, children's comics, with virtually no superhero ...

' '' Cave Girl'', and in Fiction House's ''Jungle Comics'', where he worked on early Sheena stories and later on the

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...

- bikini'd

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

adventuress Camilla. In the realm of

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, ...

comics, Powell co-created the patriotic character personifying the

Spirit of '76 Spirit of '76 may refer to: * Spirit of '76 (sentiment), patriotic sentiment engendered by the American Revolution * ''The Spirit of '76'' (painting), a painting by Archibald Willard * ''Spirit of '76'' (album), a 1975 album by Spirit * Spirit ...

, in Harvey's ''Pocket Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1941). It would become a long-running feature in Harvey's ''Green Hornet Comics''. Powell also penciled a Golden Age

Captain America 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 ...

story, "The Sorcerer's Sinister Secret", in Timely's ''

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 ...

'' #4 (Spring 1942), and pencilled a chapter of the historic ''All Winners Comics'' #19 (Fall 1946). He drew the backup feature "Mr. Mystic" in Eisner's " The Spirit Section", a 16-page comic-book insert for Sunday newspapers, from the feature's inception in 1940 until Powell entered the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

for his

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 ...

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

in 1943, the same year he officially changed his name to S. Robert Powell. As comics historian and critic Tom Heintjes wrote,

Post-war Powell

Following his discharge, Powell formed his own studio and drew for numerous comic-book publishers. His work in the 1950s included features and covers for

Street and 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 ...

's '' Shadow Comics'';

' ''

Bobby Benson's B-Bar-B Riders Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

'', based on the

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

series, and all four issues of that publisher's ''Strong Man''; and, for

, many war, romance, and horror stories, as well as work for the comics ''Man in Black'', ''Adventures in 3-D'' and ''True 3-D''.

Howard Nostrand Howard Nostrand (May 13, 1929Nostrand, Howard. "Nostrand by Nostrand", ''Graphic Story Magazine'' #16 (Summer 1974), p. 18–August 1, 1984)rew Rew is a surname and place name of English origin, and may refer to: People * Charles Rew, British rower * George Campbell Rew, American chemist, co-inventor of alum-based Calumet baking powder * Harvey Rew, English professional footballer * Henry ...

backgrounds ndMartin Epp, who inked,

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

and helped George on backgrounds. I started out inking and then got into doing backgrounds ... and then

." Features on which they worked during this period included "Red Hawk" in

' ''

Straight Arrow The ''Straight Arrow'' radio program was a western adventure series for juveniles which was broadcast, mostly twice weekly in the United States from 1948 or 1949 through 1951.Anderson, Roland. A total of 292 episodes were aired. Although firs ...

''; and, for

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

, work in ''

Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

Comics'', an adaptation of the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

The Red Badge of Courage ''The Red Badge of Courage'' is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Ove ...

'', and "a couple of Westerns" including the movie-spinoff feature "

Lash LaRue Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917 – May 21, 1996) was a popular western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Early life and education Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana in 1917, he was reared in various towns th ...

". In 1961, Powell became

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

for the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

magazine ''

Sick Sick may refer to: Medical conditions * Having a disease or infection * Vomiting (British) Music * The Sick, a Swedish band formed by two members of Dozer Albums * Sick (Loaded album), ''Sick'' (Loaded album), 2009 * Sick (Massacra album), ' ...

'', working there until his death. On a freelance basis, he worked on

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American Football Card, American football, Baseball card, baseb ...

' 1962 ''

'' trading cards, doing the final pencil art based on early pencils roughs by

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

;

Norman Saunders Norman Blaine Saunders (January 1, 1907 – March 7, 1989) was a prolific 20th-century American commercial artist. He is best known for paintings in pulp magazines, paperbacks, men's adventure magazines, comic books and trading cards. On occasi ...

then did the final painted art. Powell had previously worked with Saunders and others on Topps' 1961 ''

Civil War News ''Civil War News'' was a set of collectible trading cards issued in the early 1960s by Topps. The set featured colorful painted artwork and was characterized by vivid colors, graphic depictions of violence, death and blood (base card #21 "Painfu ...

'' series of cards. During this 1960s period that fans and historians call the

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 int ...

, Powell also drew a handful of stories for

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 ...

featuring the superheroes

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...

Giant-Man Giant-Man is the alias used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Editorial Story Hank Pym, the first Giant-Man, with the Wasp, appeared in many superheroes stories published in the serial ''Tales to ...

, the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

and 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 ...

. As commentator and columnist

Fred Hembeck Fred Hembeck (born January 30, 1953) is an American cartoonist best known for his parodies of characters from major American comic book publishers. His work has frequently been published by the firms whose characters he spoofs. His characters are ...

described Powell's brief tenure at Marvel, In

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

, Powell drew writer Bessie Little's short-lived ''Teena-a-Go-Go'' (1966) and the similarly short-lived ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

'' strip (1959–1960). Sources differ on the date of Powell's death. The

confirms his birth date as October 2, 1916, but gives his death date only as December 1967. A standard reference source, the

, gives a birth date (October 6, 1916) at odds with the U.S. government record, and a death date of October 1, 1967.

Legacy

Some Powell’s work has been reprinted and collected, beginning with full comic-book reproductions by Bill Black’s

AC Comics AC Comics (formerly known as Paragon Publications and Americomics) is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.

. In 2011, Yoe Books released ''Bob Powell’s Terror''. In 2014, Kitchen Sink Books and

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

released ''The Complete Bob Powell's Cave Girl'', followed in 2015 by ''The Complete Bob Powell's Jet Powers''.

References

External links

"Bob Powell"
at Wildwood Cemetery: The Spirit Database. Accessed January 15, 2010
WebCitation archive
*

(original art by Powell and inker

Howard Nostrand Howard Nostrand (May 13, 1929Nostrand, Howard. "Nostrand by Nostrand", ''Graphic Story Magazine'' #16 (Summer 1974), p. 18–August 1, 1984)WebCitation archive
* Includes unused Powell ''Mars Attacks'' sketch. {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Bob American comic strip cartoonists Golden Age comics creators 1916 births 1967 deaths Marvel Comics people