Ned L. Pines (December 10, 1905 – May 14, 1990) was an American
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 ...
of
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,
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 ...
, and
paperback books, active from at least 1928 to 1971. His
Standard Comics
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
was the parent company of the comic-book lines
Nedor Publishing
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in ...
and
Better Publications
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...
, the most prominent character of which was the
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
Black Terror
The Black Terror is a fictional comic book superhero who originally appeared in ''Exciting Comics'' #9, published by Nedor Comics in January 1941. The character was popular, and on the strength of the Black Terror's sales, Nedor made ''Exciting Co ...
. Pines also established the paperback book publisher
Popular Library
Popular Library was a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time were major pulp magazine and newspaper publishers. The company's logo of a pine tree was a tribute to Pines, and another P ...
, which eventually merged with
Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940).
It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine ''Captain Billy's Whiz B ...
.
Biography
Ned L. Pines was born in
Malden,
,
the son of Joseph and Dora Goldes Pines.
He had two brothers, Robert A. Pines, who would work with Ned in publishing, and Kermit L. Pines, who became a doctor; and a sister, Lillian.
Their father, a native of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, had settled in the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts, area and founded the Pines Rubber Company, of which he was president for 26 years before retiring sometime prior to his death in 1930, at age 57, at his home in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
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 ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Pines was president and owner of the
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
company Pines Publications, which he established in 1928, remaining as president until 1961.
He published
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 and other periodicals under a variety of company names, including
Thrilling Publications
Thrilling Publications, also known as Beacon Magazines (1936–37), Better Publications (1937–43) and Standard Magazines (1943–55), was a pulp magazine publisher run by Ned Pines, publishing such titles as ''Startling Stories'' and ...
, with pulp magazines that included ''Thrilling Western'', ''The Lone Eagle'', and ''
Thrilling Wonder Stories
''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...
''.
His Collegian Press, Inc. bought the existing magazine ''College Humor'' from
Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...
by the mid-1930s, publishing it through 1942.
In mid-1936, Pines refuted a claim by the
Cartoonists Guild of America
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 a ...
that ''College Humor'' had not agreed to pay the $15 Guild minimum, payable within 30 days, for drawings by Guild members.
In October 1952, his Standard Magazines purchased ''Silver Screen'' and ''
Screenland
''Screenland'' was a monthly U.S. magazine about movies, published between September 1920 and June 1971,[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 ...]
to the mix in 1939 with the publishing
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
Standard Comics
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...
, which became in turn the parent company of two comic-book lines:
Better Publications
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...
[Better Publications]
at the Grand Comics Database and
Nedor Publishing
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in ...
.
[Nedor Publishing]
at the Grand Comics Database Collectors and historians sometimes refer to them collectively as "Standard/Better/Nedor".
In 1942,
Pines founded the
paperback book
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, lea ...
publisher
Popular Library
Popular Library was a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time were major pulp magazine and newspaper publishers. The company's logo of a pine tree was a tribute to Pines, and another P ...
, remaining its president through 1966 and serving as chairman through 1968.
He retired in 1971 and continued as a consultant.
Popular Library was distributed through the
American News Company
American News Company (ANC) was a magazine, newspaper, book, and comic book distribution company founded in 1864 by Sinclair Tousey, which dominated the distribution market in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th ce ...
until that distributor's demise in 1957.
Pines was, additionally, announced as chairman of the board of
Eastern Life Insurance on June 1, 1960, after having been a director of the company for 11 years.
He remained in that position through 1971.
Pines was also a member of the coordinating committee of the
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
Institute of Research from 1945 to 1947; on the advisory board of ''
Commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
'' magazine; and, from 1970 to 1974, on the board of directors of the
Merce Cunningham
Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
Dance Federation.
He was a leader of the publishers' division of the
Federation of Jewish Philanthropies
UJA-Federation of New York (United Jewish Appeal – Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annually ...
and
United Jewish Appeal
The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was a Jewish philanthropic umbrella organization that existed from its creation in 1939 until it was folded into the United Jewish Communities, which was formed from the 1999 merger of United Jewish Appeal (UJA), Cou ...
in December 1949 when he was elected to the board of director of the
New York Guild for the Jewish Blind, and was made a life trustee of the Federation in 1968.
As of at least mid-1960, he was a member of the board of the
Magazine Publishers Association.
Pines' brother Robert, who died of a heart attack at age 52 on August 8, 1949, was a 1918 Columbia University graduate
who practiced law from 1921 to 1935 before becoming editor and publisher of ''College Humor'' magazine; in 1941, he became editor and publisher of ''See'' magazine.
He was also a director of Standard Magazines, Inc., Better Publications, Inc. and Eastern Life Insurance.
Pines, who had homes in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
;
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
; and
East Hampton,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, died at the
American Hospital of Paris
The American Hospital of Paris (''Hôpital américain de Paris''), founded in 1906, is a private, not-for-profit hospital that is certified under the French healthcare system. Located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the western suburbs of Paris, France, ...
after a brief illness.
Personal life
Pines' first wife was the former Jacquelyn Sanger (as her last name is spelled in ''The New York Times'') of
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 ...
,
the daughter of comic-book publisher
Ben Sangor. The couple had two daughters: Judith Ann Bernard, born July 25, 1939,
and Susan, born May 8, 1942.
The family lived at 965
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
during this the time.
By mid-1963, when Judith announced her engagement to Anthony Edward Marks, a
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
doctoral candidate in
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, Pines and his wife were separated or divorced, he living at 605 Park Avenue and Jacquelyn at 767 Fifth Avenue.
Pines was later married to Maxine Firestone and had two stepsons, Anthony and Kenneth Michaelman.
In 1941, Pines was an usher at the wedding of Ruth Feinberg, daughter of State Senator Benjamin F. Feinberg.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pines, Ned
American pulp magazine publishers (people)
Comic book publishers (people)
American book publishers (people)
1905 births
1990 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople