Frederick B. Guardineer (October 3, 1913 – September 13, 2002)Frederick B. Guardineer
Social Security Number 111-12-8578, at the United States

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

. Retrieved on January 8, 2016
Archived
from the original on January 8, 2016. was an American illustrator 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 ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

- artist best known for his work in the 1930s and 1940s during what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books, and for his 1950s art on 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 ...

comic-book series '' The Durango Kid''. A pioneer of the

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

itself, Guardineer contributed two features to the seminal ''Action Comics'' #1, the comic book that introduced

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 ...

Biography

Early life and career

Fred Guardineer was born in Albany, New York. He acquired a fine arts degree in 1935, then moved to

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 drew for

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

s. The following year he joined the studio of the quirkily named

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

, an early "packager" supplying comics features on demand for publishers entering the emerging

of comic books. There he drew adventure features such as "Dave Dean" and the

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

feature "Dan Hastings" before going freelance in 1938.Fred Guardineer
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia Guardineer's first known comics credits appear in several one- to three-page

and comic-Western stories, and in spot illustrations for a text story, in

Centaur Publications 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 ...

' ''Star Ranger'' #2 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d April 1937). Through that year, he continued writing and drawing such short features in a variety of genres in some of the medium's first comics, including Centaur's ''Star Comics'', '"Funny Pages'' and ''Funny Picture Stories''.Fred Guardineer
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 ...

He is among the contributors to the future

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 ...

' landmark title ''

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 ...

'' #1 (June 1938), the comic that introduced

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...

and

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

's seminal

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, ...

. There Guardineer wrote, drew and

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 ...

the 12-page feature introducing his magician-hero creation

Zatara Giovanni "John" Zatara is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He debuted as a superhero, starring in his own stories in '' Action Comics'' during the Golden Age of Comics. He first appeared in the fi ...

, a character remaining in the DC stable as of the 21st century. Guardineer was also one of the artists on two features handled previously by

Creig Flessel Creig Valentine Flessel (February 2, 1912 – July 17, 2008)Creig Valentine Flessel
at the Un ...

in ''

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

'': " Pep Morgan" (on which he sometimes used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Gene Baxter) and, 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 ...

'', " Speed Saunders, Ace Investigator". He married Ruth Ball in 1938 and bought a home in Long Island, New York the following year. Guardineer's other early work includes art for

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 ...

, where he created the character Blue Tracer; and

Columbia Comics Columbia Comics Corporation was a comic book publisher active in the 1940s whose best-known title was ''Big Shot Comics''. Comics creators who worked for Columbia included Fred Guardineer, on ''Marvelo, the Monarch of Magicians''; and Ogden Whitne ...

, where he worked with former DC editor

Vin Sullivan Vincent Sullivan (June 5, 1911 – February 3, 1999Vincent Sullivan
at the

...

, who had edited ''Action Comics''.

Later life and career

Guardineer followed Sullivan to the editor's next venture, the comic-book company

Magazine Enterprises Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western, humor, crime, adventure, and children's comics, with virtually no superheroes. It was founded by Vin Sullivan, an editor at Co ...

, which Sullivan founded. There from 1949–1955, Guardineer drew writer

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

masked-crimefighter series ''The Durango Kid''. In the late 1940s, he also drew for such

Lev Gleason Publications 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''. Backg ...

comics as ''Black Diamond Western'' and ''Crime Does Not Pay''. In 1955, Guardineer retired from comics and worked 20 years with the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

, and during this time did wildlife illustrations for publications including ''The Long Island Fisherman''. He was a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. Popular-culture historian

Ron Goulart Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy, and science fiction author. He published novelizations and other work under various pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson, Co ...

called Guardineer Comics historian

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and b ...

wrote that during Guardineer's years away from comics, '' Mad'' magazine writer and editor

Jerry DeFuccio Jerome DeFuccio (July 3, 1925 – August 10, 2001)"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JPZP-729 : accessed March 12, 2013), Jerome Defuccio, August 15, 2001. was an American comic ...

located him "and became the first of many collectors to pay what Guardineer considered tidy sums to re-create some of his old covers." Guardineer again lost contact with the comics community until 1998, when a comics fan found him in northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and convinced him to attend that year's Comic-Con International in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. There, he was part of an Evanier-hosted panel "of every surviving person who'd had a hand in the creation of the historic ''Action Comics'' #1. hen presented with the convention's Inkpot Award,Fred was confined to a wheelchair ... but with great effort, he insisted on standing as he made a brief but eloquent acceptance speech." Guardineer later was a guest at

WonderCon WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and film convention held in the San Francisco Bay Area (1987–2011), then—under the name WonderCon Anaheim—in Anaheim, California (2012–2015, 2017–present), and WonderCon Los Angel ...

, in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. One source says Guardineer moved to San Ramon,

, where he died in 2002, though the

gives his last place of residence as

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

, New York ( ZIP Code 11702) in Suffolk County,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

Awards

* 1998

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...

Biography

Early life and career

Later life and career

Awards

References

Further reading