Donald Clough Cameron (December 21, 1905 – November 17, 1954) 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 ...

writer of

detective novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

and

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 ...

s. He is credited with creating several supporting characters and villains in

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 ...

' line of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

comic books.

Career

Donald Clough Cameron graduated from St. John's Military Academy in

Delafield, Wisconsin Delafield is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, along the Bark River. The population was 7,085 at the 2010 census. The city of Delafield is a separate municipality from the Town of Delafield, both of which are situated in township 7 North ...

and became a crime reporter for the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' in 1924 and later worked for the ''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bo ...

'' in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

. In the 1930s, he settled in New York City and became a writer, publishing short stories, sometimes signed with the pseudonym C.A.M. Donne, for pulps and comic books. Between 1939 and 1946, Cameron wrote six

, three of which featured the young criminologist and detective Abelard Voss, who liked to take philosophical reflections during his investigations. The sixth and final novel by Don Cameron, ''White for a Shroud'', features the character of Andrew Brant, the only journalist in a local newspaper, who investigates a series of murders committed in an American town isolated from the outside world by a snowstorm. Cameron made several notable contributions to the

mythos. The story "Here Comes Alfred!" in ''

'' #16 (April–May 1943) by Cameron and

Bob Kane Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...

introduced

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

as Bruce Wayne's butler. Cameron co-created

Tweedledum and Tweedledee Tweedledum and Tweedledee are characters in an English nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There''. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. The ...

in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' #74 (April 1943) and the

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #81 (Nov. 1943). His story "Brothers in Crime!" in ''Batman'' #12 (Aug.–Sept. 1942) featured "Batman's Hall of Trophies" a precursor to the

Batcave The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...

, which debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #83 (Jan. 1944). Cameron and

Win Mortimer James Winslow Mortimer (May 1, 1919 – January 11, 1998) Note: The Marvel Comics 1978 Calendar merchandise lists Mortimer's birth date as June 23 and ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' lists it as May 23 per was a Canadian comic book and comic strip arti ...

created Batman's

Batboat The Batboat, Batstrike, or Batsub is the fictional personal aqua-dynamic hydrofoil/submersible watercraft of the DC Comics superhero Batman. Batman's boats Batskiboat The Batskiboat is a version of the Batboat in the 1992 in film, 1992 live-acti ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #110 (April 1946). In addition, Cameron was one of the writers of the ''

'' comic strip for the

McClure Newspaper Syndicate McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the marke ...

. His work on

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

includes creating the

Toyman The Toyman is the name of three supervillains and one adolescent superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly as an adversary for Superman. The most well-known incarnation of the Toyman is Winslow Percival Schott, a criminal w ...

in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...

'' #64 (Sept. 1943) and writing the earliest

Superboy Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...

stories in ''

More Fun Comics ''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' a.k.a. ''New Fun Comics'',''N ...

''. Cameron created Liberty Belle in ''

Boy Commandos Boy Commandos is a fictional organization from DC Comics first appearing in ''Detective Comics'' #64 (June 1942) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. They are a combination of "kid gang" characters, an international cast of young boys fighting Nazis — ...

'' #1 (Winter 1942) and

Pow Wow Smith Ohiyesa "Pow Wow" Smith is a fictional Western hero published by DC Comics. Created by writer Don Cameron and penciler Carmine Infantino, he is a Sioux who is the sheriff of the small Western town of Elkhorn, where he is known as a master detec ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #151 (Sept. 1949). He was one of the writers of DC's ''

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He was ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

series based on the film and TV

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 ...

hero. Other comic book work by Cameron includes

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...

Congo Bill Congorilla, originally a human character known as Congo Bill, is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Originally co-created by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist George Papp, he was later transformed i ...

, and the Western character

Nighthawk The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, native to the western hemisphere. The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Bible of 1611, was originally a local name i ...

. Donald Clough Cameron died of cancer in New York City in November 1954. His final comics story "The Giant Eagle Robberies" was published posthumously in ''Hopalong Cassidy'' #99 (March 1955).

Other similarly-named creators

Donald Clough Cameron should not be confused with the similarly-named Don Cameron, an artist who was also active during the

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 ...

, nor with an unrelated Don Cameron, a comics artist who worked on the ''

Cyberella ''Cyberella'' is an American comic book series first published in 1996 as part of the short-lived DC Comics imprint, Helix. The title was initially scheduled to be an ongoing monthly, but, owing to poor sales figures for both it and the Helix l ...

'' series in the 1990s.

Bibliography

Comic books

* ''

'' #58, 61–68, 70–71, 77–83, 85–86, 88–90, 99–100, 102, 107, 109, 119, 148, 151, 192 (1943–1954) * ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'' #91, 103–121, 123–128, 132, 138, 141, 147–149, 151, 154, 156, 158, 160–166, 168, 171–174 (1944–1952) * ''

'' #12–17, 19–21, 23–30, 32, 36, 38, 46 (1942–1948) * ''

'' #1–2, 6–8, 12–13, 16, 27–28, 30, 33 (1942–1949) * ''

'' #70, 73–75, 79, 81–83, 86, 89, 96, 98–101, 105–111, 114–117, 131, 151–152, 154–156 (1942–1950) * ''

'' #86–90, 92–99 (1954–1955) * ''

More Fun Comics ''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' a.k.a. ''New Fun Comics'',''N ...

'' #101–107 (1945–1946) * ''

Star-Spangled Comics ''Star Spangled Comics'' was a comics anthology published by DC Comics which ran for 130 issues from October 1941 to July 1952. It was then retitled '' Star Spangled War Stories'' and lasted until issue #204 (February–March 1977). Publication hi ...

'' #20–49, 51–68 (1943–1947) * ''

'' #6, 11, 19 (1950–1952) * ''

'' #23–24, 26–44, 47, 49–50, 53, 60 (1943–1949) * ''

Western Comics Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of the Mississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with an American comic books ...

'' #2, 6, 15, 18, 21–28, 30, 32–42, 44–47 (1948–1954) * ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #12–13, 15, 17–21, 23, 25, 28–31, 33–34, 45, 47–48, 61, 63 (1943–1953)

Novels

Abelard Voss series

* ''Murder's Coming'' (1939) * ''Grave Without Grass'' (1940) * ''And So He Had to Die'' (1941)

Other novels

* ''Death at Her Elbow'' (1940) * ''Dig Another Grave'' (1946) * ''White for a Shroud'' (1947)

Pulps

As Donald Clough Cameron

* ''Mood for Murder'' (1939) * ''In the Dark'' (1940) * ''Benjy Takes a Holiday'' (1944) * ''Attar of Homicide'' (1944)

As C.A.M. Donne

* ''Isle of Ghouls'' (1935) * ''Marriage for Murder'' (1937) * ''Vengeance of the Severed Hands'' (1937) * ''Judgment of the Ghost God'' (1937) * ''A Bride for the General'' (1939) * ''White Man's Magic'' (1941) * ''Rendezvous'' (1941) * ''No More Raids'' (1941)

References

External links

Donald Clough Cameron
at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

*
Donald Clough Cameron
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Donald Clough 1905 births 1954 deaths American comics writers American crime fiction writers American crime reporters DC Comics people Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Golden Age comics creators 20th-century pseudonymous writers Writers from Detroit Novelists from Michigan