Charles Solomon Sultan (November 16, 1913 in Brooklyn, New York — February 28, 1984 in Camarillo, California)Charles Sultan from Edan Hughes' ''Artists in California 1786-1940''; archived at AskArt.com; retrieved December 2, 2018 was an American illustrator and editor known for his work during the Golden Age of Comic Books, and for his later work in
pulp fiction
''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...
.
Professional life
In 1931, Sultan quit school to become a sign painter, so as to help support his family financially;CHARLES SULTAN (1913-1984) by David Saunders, at PulpArtists.com; published 2012; retrieved December 2, 2018 he was so successful that he was able to enroll in the Art Students League of New York, where he studied under Walter Biggs,
John Steuart Curry
John Steuart Curry (November 14, 1897 – August 29, 1946) was an American painter whose career spanned the years from 1924 until his death. He was noted for his paintings depicting rural life in his home state, Kansas. Along with Thomas Hart B ...
, and George Bridgman.
He began illustrating various pulp magazines in 1936. In 1939, he joined
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 ...
,Charles Sultan at '' Lambiek''; published no later than May 6, 2008 (earliest date on archive.org); retrieved December 2, 2018 and by 1940 was an art director for
Harry "A" Chesler
Harry Chesler (January 12, 1897, or January 12, 1898 (sources differ) – December 1981),Harr ...
. He also worked 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 (DC Comics), Captain Marvel, the alter ego of ...
(where he created the character of "
Spy Smasher
Spy Smasher is the name of two fictional characters appearing in comics published by Fawcett and DC Comics. The first is a superhero that was formerly owned and published by Fawcett Comics. The second is a female anti-terrorism government agent, ...
"),
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 ...
, and
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 ...
.
In 1942, Sultan was drafted into the US Military, and served four years, during which he drew comic strips for a military newspaper. He subsequently illustrated comic books for
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
,
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...
, Better Publications, and a variety of other publishers. He also edited and published
pocket books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.
History
Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing ...
, and provided illustrations for adventure magazines.
Personal life
Sultan's brother-in-law was
Lou Fine
Louis Kenneth Fine (November 26, 1914 – July 24, 1971)Louis Fine at the United States
Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, 2d ed. by William B. Jones, Jr., published September 29, 2011 by McFarland & Company
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 ...