Jack R. Keller (June 16, 1922 – January 2, 2003)Jack Keller
at the

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 ...

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 best known for his 1950s and 1960s work on 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 ...

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

Kid Colt Kid Colt is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a cowboy whose adventures have taken place in numerous western-themed comic book series published by Marvel. The second is a ...

, and for his later hot rod and

racecar Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

series at

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

Biography

Early life and career

The self-taught Keller broke into comics in 1941, a year after graduating from West Reading High School, creating a single-appearance feature called "The Whistler" (no relation to the radio-show character) in

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark" ...

' ''War Stories'' #5 (1942; no cover date). This led to work the following year with

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 worked in lesser or greater capacities on such comic-book series as ''

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 ...

'' and such features as "Man Hunter" and "Spin Shaw". As well, Keller drew backgrounds for

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 ...

's eight-page

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

Sunday-supplement comic ''

The Spirit The Spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter created by cartoonist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940, as the main feature of a 16-page, tabloid-sized, newsprint comic book insert distributed in the Sunday edition of Register and Trib ...

'', working with serviceman Eisner's

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 opposing ...

fill-in artist,

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

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 ...

, including the feature "Suicide Smith" in the

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 a ...

-themed ''

Wings Comics ''Wings Comics'' was an aviation-themed anthology comic book published by Fiction House from 1940–1954. ''Wings Comics'' was one of Fiction House's "Big 6" comics titles (which also included '' Jumbo Comics'', ''Jungle Comics'', ''Planet Comics' ...

''.Jack Keller
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 ...

In 1950, Keller became a staff artist at

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

, publisher Martin Goodman's 1950s predecessor to

. The dependable, unflashy Keller drew Western, horror and, working with writer

Carl Wessler Carroll O. Wessler (May 25, 1913 – April 9, 1989),Carroll O. Wessler
Social Sec ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

stories.

Kid Colt and hot rods

Keller began his long association with

in ''

Kid Colt, Outlaw ''Kid Colt, Outlaw'' is a comic book title featuring the character Kid Colt originally published by Atlas Comics beginning in 1948 and later Marvel Comics. Publication history Kid Colt and his horse Steel first appeared in ''Kid Colt'' #1 (Augu ...

'' #25 (March 1953). He stayed with the character for at least a dozen years in that signature title, as well as in such anthology series as ''All Western Winners'', ''Two-Gun Western'' and '' Gunsmoke Western''. In 1955, Keller also began freelancing for the low-budget

, based in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, drawing

and war stories for titles including ''

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

'', ''Cheyenne Kid'', ''Battlefield Action'', '' Fightin' Air Force'', ''

Fightin' Army ''Fightin' Army'' was a bimonthly war comic published by Charlton Comics from 1956–1984 (though it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 to the end of its run). Telling fictional stories of the United States Army, it was a sister title of the ...

'', '' Fightin' Marines'' and ''Submarine Attack''. Following the near-demise of

' comic-book line in 1957, and the accompanying cutbacks and firings, Keller supplemented his income by working in a

car dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive mainte ...

in his home town. Within two years, he would be back freelancing for Atlas / Marvel. By this time, Keller was also indulging his love of race cars and

model car A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aime ...

s by writing and drawing such Charlton comics as ''Grand Prix'', '' Hot Rod Racers'', ''Hot Rods and Racing Cars'', ''Teenage Hotrodders'', ''Drag 'n' Wheels'', ''Surf 'n' Wheels'' and ''World of Wheels''. He stopped drawing for

by 1967, when ''Kid Colt, Outlaw'' had become mostly reprints, then drew a small number of stories 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 ...

from 1968 to 1971, including for the licensed toy-car comic '' Hot Wheels''. He also continued to draw for Charlton, where his last known comics work was the cover and the accompanying eight-page story "The Rescuers" in the combat title ''Attack'' #14 (Nov. 1973). Comics writer and historian

Tony Isabella Tony Isabella (born December 22, 1951) is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath; DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning; and as ...

wrote that Keller

Later career and death

Keller returned to selling cars at Marshall Chevrolet in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and later was a part-time salesperson for Fun Stuff Hobbies and for Kiddie Kar Kollectibles. Keller died at St. Joe's Hospital in Reading, age 80, on January 2, 2003. He was buried at Forest Hills cemetery in Reiffton, Pennsylvania, and was survived by sons Richard and Robert, and by a sister, Vivian Riegel.

Critical assessment

Cartoonist 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 ...

wrote that,

References

External links

at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
Kid Colt, Outlaw
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
October 25, 2011

at An International Catalogue of Superheroes

at An International Catalogue of Superheroes

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Jack American comics artists Golden Age comics creators Silver Age comics creators Atlas Comics Marvel Comics people Charlton Comics People from Reading, Pennsylvania 2003 deaths 1922 births