Harris Levey (August 13, 1921 – August 18, 1984), whose

pseudonyms 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 ...

included Lee Harris, Leland Harris, and Harris Levy, was a comic book artist for DC Comics primarily in the 1940s. He co-created the Golden Age

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, ...

Air Wave, who has continued, in new permutations, into the 21st century.

Early life

As a teenager, Harris Levey studied at DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx. During his time there, he contributed illustrations to its literary magazine, ''The Magpie''.

DC Comics

Harris changed his name legally from "Harris Levey" to "Leland Harris" in his late teens following high school. After graduating, he worked briefly as an assistant to a theatrical magician billed as "Dante. His first known credited comic book work was the one-page filler "Super Sleuths" 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. ...

' ''

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 ...

'' #5 (Dec. 1939), near the beginning of the period historians and fans 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 ...

. Creator credits were not routinely given during this period, making a comprehensive account of Levey's credits difficult to ascertain. However, following a story drawn for

MLJ Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.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 ...

'' from the publisher National Comics, a forerunner of DC Comics. Among his first works there, he co-created the

Air Wave with a writer tentatively identified as either Mort Weisinger or Murray Boltinoff, the DC Comics

Air Wave. Levey, credited as Lee Harris, drew the character's seven- to eight-page adventures from ''Detective Comics'' #60 (Dec. 1942) to at least #74 (April 1943). At this point he left the comics industry to join the army. He returned to comics with a Rin-Tin-Tin story in DC's ''Real Fact Comics'' #2 (June 1946) before taking over Air Wave's art once more in ''Detective Comics'' #114-137 (Aug. 1946 - July 1948). Harris, often referred to in comic-book literature as "Harris Levy", generally signed his DC work as "Lee Harris", sometimes simply "Harris", or as "Leland Harris" (the latter being his legal name at the time). Harris' son, Jonathan Levey, was interviewed by Richard Arndt about Harris' contributions of artwork for DC comics and other publications, carried out during the Golden Age of comics. This 28 page interview was featured prominently in issue # 125 (June 2014) of Alter Ego Magazine: http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=122&products_id=1123 and was edited by internationally recognized Comic Historian, Roy Thomas. This feature article includes dozens of high-resolution colour scans scanned images of Harris' original artwork and serves as verification and as a rich resource on the artistry and contributions of Harris.

Commercial art and advertising

Circa 1948, Harris left the comic book field. In 1954, prior to his marriage to Elinor Seidl (1955), Harris changed his name legally from "Leland Harris", back to his original given name of "Harris Levey". In 1956 and 1963, Harris and his wife had two sons. By the early 1960s, while living in the Stuyvesant Town apartment complex in Manhattan, Harris took a job with the ''

New York Journal American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

'' newspaper. There and subsequently at '' The New York Times'' he worked in commercial illustration, layout, design, and advertising copy. During this period he created freelance cover illustrations for paperback book covers. He also illustrated the cover of the March 1953 issue of the science-fiction

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 ...

'' Amazing Stories'', credited as Harris Levey."Bibliography: Cover: ''Amazing Stories'', March 1953
at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Harris left the New York Times to serve as art director for the New York City advertising agencies Fuller-Smith & Ross, LM Frolich, Foote Cone & Belding, Ted Bates, and

NW Ayer N. W. Ayer & Son was a Philadelphia advertising agency founded in 1869. It called itself the oldest advertising agency in the United States. Named by Francis Ayer after his father N. W. Ayer, it ventured into advertising in 1884. It created a num ...

. In the early 1980s, Harris worked on print ads and a string of television commercials for the Bomstein/Gura Agency in Washington, D.C.

Death

During a weekend with his wife at a cabin near Crown Point, New York in the Adirondack Mountains, Harris suffered a heart attack during a hike. He was taken to Lake Placid Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to heart failure at age 63.

References

External links

Lee Harris/Harris Levy
at the Grand Comics Database
Harris Levy
at the DC Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Levey, Harris 1921 births 1984 deaths American comics artists Artists from New York City Golden Age comics creators DeWitt Clinton High School alumni