Francis Edward Herron (July 23, 1917 – September 2, 1966) 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 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 ...

writer and editor active in the 1940s–1960s, mainly 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 ...

. He is credited with co-creating

Captain Marvel Jr. Captain Marvel Jr. (Frederick "Freddy" Freeman) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A member of the Marvel/Shazam Family team of superheroes associated with Captain Marvel/Shazam, he was created by Ed H ...

and the

Red Skull The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...

, as well as such characters as

Cave Carson Calvin "Cave" Carson is a fictional character that appeared in stories published by DC Comics. Carson, a spelunker, first appeared in '' Brave and the Bold'' #31 (September 1960); he was created by France Herron and Bruno Premiani. Publication h ...

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 ...

, and

Mr. Scarlet Mr. Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid are two duo fictional character, fictional comic book superheroes connected to each other, and first introduced in ''Wow Comics''. The superheroes were originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comi ...

and

Pinky the Whiz Kid Mr. Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid are two duo fictional comic book superheroes connected to each other, and first introduced in '' Wow Comics''. The superheroes were originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. The original Mis ...

. Herron spent the bulk of his time in the comics industry writing for such characters as

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

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 ...

, and the

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 ...

character

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

Biography

Early life and career

Herron was born in 1917 in Ohio farm country. Partially of

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

heritage, he grew up in West Virginia. Herron got his start in comics while still a teenager, with the

Harry "A" Chesler Harry Chesler (January 12, 1897, or January 12, 1898 (sources differ) – December 1981),Harr ...

"packaging" studio in 1937, writing and editing for such

Centaur Comics Centaur Publications (also known as Centaur Comics) was one of the earliest American comic book publishers. During their short existence, they created several colorful characters, including Bill Everett's Amazing-Man. History Comics Magazine Co ...

' titles as ''Star Comics'' and ''Star Ranger Funnies''. In 1939, Herron joined Fox Features Syndicate, where he first met

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

and

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 gr ...

. In 1940–1941, Simon and Kirby hired Herron to write stories for their new creation

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 ...

, published by the

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 ...

forerunner

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 ...

. Herron and artists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby co-created the

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 ...

'' #7 (Oct. 1941). Beginning in 1940 and continuing throughout the decade, Herron wrote various features for the publisher

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 ...

. From 1942 to 1944, Herron wrote the ''

Captain Midnight ''Captain Midnight'' (later rebranded on television as ''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'') is a United States, U.S. adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. The character's popularity throughout the 1940s and into ...

'' strip for the

Chicago Sun Syndicate The Field Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated independently from 1941 to 1984, for a good time under the name the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate. The service was founded by Marshall Field III and was part of ...

Fawcett Comics

Herron joined

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 ...

in 1940, eventually becoming the company's executive editor by 1942. With artist

Mac Raboy Emmanuel "Mac" Raboy (April 9, 1914 – December 12, 1967) was an American comics artist best known for his comic-book work on Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel Jr.Brent Frankenhoff & Maggie Thompson ''The Greatest Comic Book Covers Of All Time''. I ...

, he created

in ''

Whiz Comics ''Whiz Comics'' was an anthology comic book series published by former American comic book publishing company, Fawcett Publications between February 1940 until June 1953. It is widely known for being the comic run in which hugely popular superhero ...

'' #25 (Dec. 1941), and with Jack Kirby he created

in ''

Wow Comics ''Wow Comics'' was an ongoing monthly Golden Age comic book anthology series published by Fawcett Comics from winter 1940 to August 1948. From issue #9 to #58, the book's cover features were the solo adventures of Fawcett's Mary Marvel character. ...

'' #1 (Winter 1940–1941) and

in ''Wow Comics'' #4 (Spring 1942). It was in the Mr. Scarlet story in ''Wow Comics'' #1 that the name "

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...

" first appeared in the comics. Comics historian

Greg Theakston Greg Allen Theakston (November 21, 1953 – April 22, 2019) was an American comics artist and illustrator who worked for numerous publishers. He is known for his independent publications as a comics historian under his Pure Imagination impri ...

notes that this pre-dates its name as such in

' ''

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 ...

'' #4. During this period, Herron wrote for such Fawcett titles as ''

Captain Marvel Adventures ''Captain Marvel Adventures'' was a long running comic book anthology series by Fawcett Comics, starring Captain Marvel during the Golden Age of Comic Books. Publication history The series was the first solo series starring the superhero after he ...

'' and ''Captain Marvel Jr.''.

World War II

Herron joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in 1942, where he wrote for the military newspaper '' Stars and Stripes'' during his tour of duty. While at ''Stars and Stripes'', Herron met artist

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

, who later became the definitive

artist. According to Swan, it was Herron who first directed him to

DC Comics

Herron began writing for

in 1945, initially on

stories in ''

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''), ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. Herron was Green Arrow's lead writer throughout the 1950s, staying with the character until 1963. Other superhero titles Herron worked on included ''

'', which he wrote many stories for throughout the 1950s, and ''

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

'', which Herron was the lead writer for from 1959 until 1966. He wrote a number of

and Robin stories for ''

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 ...

'' and ''

'' in the mid-1950s and mid-1960s. Herron was one of the lead writers on Batman during the overhaul of the character and the introduction of his "New Look." Throughout the 1950s and the 1960s, Herron partnered with artist

Fred Ray Frederic E. "Fred" Ray, Jr. (February 4, 1920 – January 23, 2001)Dates and spelling of name peFrederic E.Ray Social Security Number 204-03-7262, aSocial Security Death Index Source gives birthplace and "Jr." was an American Comic book creator, c ...

as the creative team on DC's ''

'' and the Tomahawk stories which appeared in ''

'' during this period. In the mid-1950s, Herron wrote the features Pow Wow Smith and

for DC's ''

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 ...

'' omnibus; he continued to write spot stories for the title until 1961. Herron wrote

mystery comics Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

titles including ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series. First serie ...

'', ''

Mystery in Space ''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues ...

'', '' Strange Adventures'', and '' Tales of the Unexpected''. From 1953 to 1959, he wrote many stories for such DC

war comics War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...

as '' All-American Men of War'', ''

Our Army at War ''Our Army at War'' was an American comic book anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed stories and featured the first appearances of Sgt. Rock and Enemy Ace. The series was published from August 1952 to February 1977, then ...

'', ''

Our Fighting Forces ''Our Fighting Forces'' is a war comics anthology series published by DC Comics for 181 issues from 1954–1978. Publication history ''Our Fighting Forces'' began with an October–November 1954 cover date. Writer-editor Robert Kanigher's w ...

'', and '' Star Spangled War Stories''; returning to such work in 1963–1964. With artist

Dick Sprang Richard W. Sprang (July 28, 1915 – May 10, 2000)Richard Sprang
United States

, Herron co-created

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

in ''

'' #184 (June 1952) and the

Batman of Zur-En-Arrh Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. In the Silver Age story, the character is an alien named Tlano from the planet Zur-En-Arrh who decided to become a version of Batman for his own planet. The character's rea ...

in ''

'' #113 (Aug. 1958). Artist

Lee Elias Lee Elias (May 21, 1920 – April 8, 1998) was a British-American comics artist. He was best known for his work on the ''Black Cat'' comic book published by Harvey Comics in the 1940s. Biography Emigrating to the United States from Manchester ...

and Herron co-created the

Clock King The Clock King is the name of three supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first Clock King debuted in '' World's Finest Comics'' #111 (August 1960), and was created by France Herron and Lee Elias. The Clock ...

in ''

'' #111 (Aug. 1960). With artist

Bruno Premiani Giordano Bruno Premiani (January 4, 1907 – August 17, 1984)
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia, which notes, "Most American sources ...

, Herron co-created

in ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varied ...

'' #31 (Aug. 1960).

Harvey Comics

In 1966 Herron moved to

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 ...

, hired by his old associate

. During that year, Herron was the lead writer for the publisher's short-lived Harvey Thriller superhero line, working on characters such as Dynamite Joe, Glowing Gladiator, Jack Q. Frost, and Lone Tiger, in the titles ''Robot Parade'' and '' Spyman''.

Syndicated newspaper strips

In addition to his work in the comic book field, Herron wrote syndicated

newspaper comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st c ...

s for

Columbia Features Columbia Features was a syndication service that operated from 1953 to 1994. Originally located in New York City, The syndicate specialized in comic strips based on licensed characters such as Smokey the Bear, Bat Masterson, and Nero Wolfe. Not ...

. Beginning in 1955, he wrote the daily strips '' Davy Crockett, Frontiersman'' and ''

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in Ne ...

''—staying on the ''Davy Crocket'' strip until 1959, when he became the writer of the ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Rip Tide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal flo ...

'' strips, which he wrote until his death in 1966.

Death

Herron died in September 1966.

Bibliography

Centaur Publications

* ''The

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'' #3 (1941) * ''Detective Eye'' #2 (1940) * '' Masked Marvel'' #3 (1940)

DC Comics

* ''

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 ...

'' #128–130, 137, 145, 147 (

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

) (1949–1950) * ''

'' #118, 152, 174–175, 221, 248, 256 (

) (1947–1959) * '' All-American Men of War'' #7, 9, 11, 13–17, 20–25, 27–29, 41, 47–48, 51–52, 54, 57, 68–69, 71, 103 (1953–1964) * ''

All-Star Western ''All-Star Western'' was the name of three United States, American comic book series published by DC Comics, each a Western fiction omnibus featuring both continuing characters and anthological stories. The first ran from 1951 to 1961, the second ...

'' #73–75, 80–89, 91, 93, 96, 99 (1953–1958) * ''

'' #86, 105, 113, 164–166, 168–169, 174 (1954–1965) * ''

Big Town ''Big Town'' is a popular long-running radio drama featuring a corruption-fighting newspaper editor initially played from 1937 to 1942 by Edward G. Robinson in his first radio role, with echoes of the conscience-stricken tabloid editor he had ...

'' #1–2, 24–27, 31–32, 40 (1951–1956) * ''

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 uru ...

'' #181, 196, 200, 212, 218–221, 223–227 (1963–1966) * ''

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 — ...

'' #11, 20, 22, 24–25, 29, 32, 34–35 (1945–1949) * ''

'' #1 (Golden Gladiator); #31–33 (

) (1955–1960) * ''

'' #11, 14, 29, 34, 37–38, 40–43, 47, 50, 52–54 (1959–1967) * ''

Danger Trail King Faraday is a fictional secret agent featured in DC Comics. Faraday first appeared in ''Danger Trail'' #1 (July 1950), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino. Faraday's last appearance in the 1950s was in ''World's Finest Co ...

'' #1–2 (1950) * ''

'' #184, 208–209 (1952–1954) * ''

G.I. Combat ''G.I. Combat'' was an American comics anthology featuring war stories. It was published from 1952 until 1956 by Quality Comics, followed by DC Comics until its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived. Publication history The focu ...

'' #47, 49–53, 59, 72, 103 (1957–1963) * ''

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 ...

'' #97–111, 113, 115–116, 118, 122 (1955–1957) * '' House of Secrets'' #19, 59 (1959–1963) * ''

My Greatest Adventure ''My Greatest Adventure'' was a DC Comics comic book that began in 1955 and is best known for introducing the superhero team Doom Patrol. Publication history The title was originally an anthology series with adventure stories told in the first ...

'' #61, 70, 76 (1961–1963) * ''

'' #23–24, 27, 32, 36, 38, 41–42 (1954–1958) * ''

'' #16–17, 20, 22, 24–32, 35–39, 41–43, 57, 61, 63–65, 67–69, 74–75, 134, 138 (1953–1964) * ''

'' #1–5, 15, 18, 23–25, 27–32, 37–38, 83 (1954–1964) * '' Robin Hood Tales'' #12–13 (1957–1958) * '' Sea Devils'' #12–15 (1963–1964) * ''

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 ...

'' #60, 123–126, 128 (1946–1952) * '' Star Spangled War Stories'' #14–25, 27–28, 30–37, 39–42, 45–46, 51, 58–59, 62–64, 67, 74 (1953–1958) * '' Strange Adventures'' #49, 51, 53, 59–61, 78–79, 81–84, 87–89, 154, 157, 160–163, 182, 189 (1954–1966) * ''

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 ...

'' #1, 22 (1949–1952) * ''

'' #98 (1955) * '' Tales of the Unexpected'' #13, 84, 103 (1957–1967) * ''

'' #81, 83–103, 106–108, 111, 118–119 (1962–1968) * ''

'' #43–60 (1954–1956) * ''

'' #28–29, 36, 71–72, 91, 95, 97–98, 100–102, 104–112, 114–116, 120, 124–125, 129, 131–134, 136, 138 (Green Arrow); #39 (Boy Commandos); #72, 79 (Tomahawk); #126, 129 (

and

) (1947–1963)

Fawcett Comics

* ''

'' #25 (1941) * ''

'' #1 (1940)

Harvey Comics

* ''Double-Dare Adventures'' #1–2 (1966–1967) * '' Spyman'' #2–3 (1966–1967)

Timely Comics

* ''

'' #1, 7 (1941) * ''

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 ...

'' #2 (1940)

References

External links

* * *
France Herron
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
France Edward Herron
at

Find a Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herron, France 1917 births 1966 deaths American comics writers United States Army personnel of World War II American people of Cherokee descent Burials at Long Island National Cemetery Comic book editors DC Comics people Golden Age comics creators Silver Age comics creators United States Army soldiers