Klaus Nordling (May 29, 1910 – November 19, 1986)Klaus Nordling
at the

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

, which gives no specific day of death, and notes that his last address of record was Ridgefield,

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 cap ...

Archived
from the original on January 9, 2012.
at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

. was an American writer-artist for

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 books 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 ...

. He is best known for his work on the 1940s masked-crimefighter feature " Lady Luck", and as co-creator of 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 ...

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, ...

the Thin Man. Some of the early Nordling's pen names are Fred Nordley, F. Klaus, Ed Norris, and Clyde North.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Klaus Nordling moved to the United States as a toddler in 1912. He broke into art professionally as a gag

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

for '' Americana Magazine'' in the 1930s. From 1935 to 1937, he wrote and drew the weekly newspaper comic strip ''

Baron Munchausen Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book '' Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on a real ...

'' for Van Tine Features, under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Fred Nordley. In 1939, he joined the studio

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 ...

, a prominent comic book "packager" that produced comics on demand for

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

s entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call 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 ...

. Due to Golden Age comics work often going unsigned, comprehensive credits are difficult if not impossible to ascertain. Nordling's tentative credits begin with script and art for the naval adventure feature "Spark Stevens" in

Fox Comics Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...

' ''

Wonderworld Comics Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...

'' #3-4 (July-Aug. 1939). His first confirmed credit is as

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

of the six-page feature "Lt. Drake of Naval Intelligence" in Fox's ''

Mystery Men Comics ''Mystery Men Comics'' was an anthology American comic book series from the Golden Age of Comic Books published by Fox Feature Syndicate. The series was Fox's second title after the ''Wonderworld Comics'' series being first published in August 1939 ...

'' #1 (Aug. 1939). Nordling, who is confirmably credited as the "Spark Stevens" writer-artist in ''Wonderworld Comics'' #5-#15 (Sept. 1939 - July 1940), also wrote and drew the humor features "Strut Warren" (in

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 ...

's ''

Fight Comics Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

''), "Bob Swab" (

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 ...

' ''

Hit Comics ''Hit Comics'' was a comic book anthology title published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books from 1940 until 1950. The first issue of ''Hit Comics '' featured the debut of Red Bee and Neon the Unknown, among others. The comi ...

''), "Shorty Shortcake" in ''Wonderworld Comics'', and "The Barker" (Quality's '' National Comics''), plus 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 air ...

feature "Shot and Shell" (Quality's ''

Military Comics ''Military Comics'', later ''Modern Comics'', was a comic book anthology title published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books from 1941 until 1950. The first issue of ''Military Comics'' is notable for featuring the debut of Bl ...

''), among others.Klaus Nordling
at the Grand Comics Database Some of his early comics are signed under the pen names F. Klaus, Ed Norris, and Clyde North. Quality Comics editor

Gill Fox Gilbert Theodore Fox (November 29, 1915 – May 15, 2004) was an American political cartoonist, comic book artist and editing, editor, and animator. Biography Fox began his career in animation at Max Fleischer's studio, but left due to labor unr ...

recalled Nordling as "a little guy. Good-looking. And involved in local theatre. He had a very vivid imagination and was a good writer. In later years I'd send some work in his direction. But if you did something for him, he'd think you wanted something back. We got to know each other socially, but he still mistrusted people. Even me. But I admired his cartooning. And he was a great guy to sit and talk to". Nordling created the feature "The Three Aces", also known as "Crash, Cork, and the Baron", in

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 ...

' ''

Speed Comics In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantit ...

'' #1 (Oct. 1939), and the

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

feature "Pen Miller" in ''National Comics'' #1 (July 1940). For

predecessor

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 ...

, Nordling and an unknown writer created the Thin Man, one of comics' first "stretching" superheroes, in ''

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 ...

'' #4 (July 1940).

Lady Luck

In 1942, Nordling began his best-known comics work, " Lady Luck", which appeared as a four-page weekly feature in a Sunday newspaper insert colloquially called "The Spirit Section". This 16-page, tabloid-sized, newsprint comic book, sold as part of eventually 20 Sunday newspapers with a combined circulation as high as five million, starred

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 masked detective the

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

. The titular crimefighting adventureress Lady Luck had been created and designed in 1940 by Eisner (who wrote her first two stories under 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 ...

"Ford Davis"), Horn, Maurice. ''100 Years of American Newspaper Comics'' (Gramercy Books, New York, 1996) p. 173 with artist Chuck Mazoujian. Writer

Dick French Richard Allan French (born 7 August 1938 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian Test cricket match umpire. He umpired 19 Test matches between 1977 and 1987. His first match was between Australia and India at Perth on 16 December to 2 ...

then took over scripting.Lady Luck
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
October 25, 2011. Writer-artist Nicholas Viscardi (later known as

Nick Cardy Nicholas Viscardi (October 20, 1920 – November 3, 2013), known professionally as Nick Cardy and Nick Cardi, was an American comics artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters. Cardy was induct ...

) took over the feature beginning with the May 18, 1941 strip. Nordling succeeded him from the March 1, 1942 to March 3, 1946, strip, when "Lady Luck" was temporarily canceled. After briefly being replaced by the humor feature "Wendy the Waitress" by Robert Jenny, "Lady Luck" returned from May 5 to November 3, 1946, under

Fred Schwab Fred Schwab (August 25, 1917 – May 13, 2000)Fred Schwab
at the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, comics retailer Atlas Comics noted in "The Top 100 Artists of American Comic Books", which listed Nordling at #78, "Lady Luck" stories were reprinted in the

comic book ''

Smash Comics ''Smash Comics'' is the title of an American Golden Age comic book anthology series, published by Quality Comics for 85 issues between 1939 and 1949. It became the series '' Lady Luck'' for #86-90 (Dec 1949–Aug 1950). ''Smash Comics'' had the ...

'' #42-85 (April 1943 - Oct. 1949), whereupon the series changed its title to ''Lady Luck'' for five more issues. Nordling providing new seven- to 11-page stories in ''Lady Luck'' #86-90 (Dec. 1949 - Aug. 1950), with

drawing the covers. ''Lady Luck'' #90 was Nordling's last known original comics work. Nordling assisted Eisner on "The Spirit" pencil art from 1948 until 1951, sometimes doing full ghost-art penciling.

Later life and career

Following the end of "The Spirit Section" in 1952, Nordling worked for Eisner's American Visuals Corporation through the 1970s. There he helped design instructional publications and other materials for a variety of clients. For 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 ...

, he contributed to the instructional "Joe Dope" feature in ''

PS, The Preventive Maintenance Monthly ''PS: The Preventive Maintenance Monthly'' is a series of United States Army technical bulletins published since June 1951 as a monthly magazine with comic book-style art to illustrate proper preventive maintenance methods. The magazine's title de ...

'', which American Visuals produced. Working with Eisner, he wrote and drew the comic ''Job Scene'', designed to teach job-seeking skills to economically disadvantaged youth. At some point, as well, Nordling penciled and inked a promotional comic book for

Borden, Inc. Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in ...

He also was ghost artist on

Guy Gilchrist Guy Gilchrist (born January 30, 1957''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 in Connecticut) is an American writer, artist, and musician, known for his children's books and comics. With his brother Brad, he produced a newspaper co ...

Register and Tribune Syndicate The Register and Tribune Syndicate was a Print syndication, syndication service based in Des Moines, Iowa, that operated from 1922 to 1986, when it was acquired by King Features to become the Cowles Syndicate affiliate. At its peak, the Register a ...

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 ...

''The Rock Channel''. Nordling died at his home in Ridgefield,

, survived by his wife, Tel, as well as by a son and a daughter. Note: Source gives erroneous birth year of 1915.

Reprint collections

*''Ace Comics Presents #3: The Golden Age of Klaus Nordling'' (2000) ::Includes "Bob and Swab" and "The Barker" stories, and January 21, 1982 Nordling letter to

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 ...

*''Lady Luck'' (

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

, 1977–1978) *''Lady Luck'' (Ken Pierce, Inc.

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

, 1980)

References

External links

*''

Alter Ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

'' vol. 3, #60 (July 2006): Golden Age panel discussion with Nordling,

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...

, and

Larry Ivie Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nordling, Klaus Finnish emigrants to the United States (1809–1917) Golden Age comics creators 1986 deaths 1910 births