John Ogden Whitney (May 1, 1919 – August 13, 1975) 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 and sometime writer active from the 1930s–1940s
Golden Age of comics
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 chara ...
through the 1960s
Silver Age. He is best known as co-creator of the aviator hero
Skyman and of the superpowered novelty character
Herbie Popnecker
Herbie Popnecker is a fictional comic book character who first appeared in '' Forbidden Worlds'' #73 in December 1958, published by American Comics Group. He was created by Richard E. Hughes (using the pseudonym "Shane O'Shea") and his alter ego, the satiric
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
Fat Fury. Whitney as well had long runs on characters as diverse as 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 ...
masked crime-fighter the
Two-Gun Kid
The Two-Gun Kid is the name of two Western fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first, Clay Harder, was introduced in a 1948 comic from Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. The second, Matt Hawk a ...
, and the career-girl character
Millie the Model
''Millie the Model'' was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel. The comic book series deals with ...
.
In 2007, Whitney was one of two comics creators inducted into the comic-book industry's
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame, as a "Judges Choice".
Biography
Early life and career
Ogden Whitney was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
in 1918. His earliest recorded comic-book credit is drawing the six-page story "In the Pit of Dagan", written by
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 ...
and starring adventurer Cotton Carver, in ''
Adventure Comics
''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...
'' No. 42 (Sept. 1939), published by
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 ...
predecessor National Comics. He continued on the feature (both writing and drawing one story), and briefly succeeded artist
on the more prominent and enduring character the
Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
with issue No. 46 (Jan. 1940).
[Ogden Whitney]
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 continued on both features for two more issues before working primarily for
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 ...
for the remainder of the decade, co-creating
Skyman with writer Fox in ''Big Shot Comics'' No. 1 (May 1940).
[Skyman]
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 ...
That issue he also co-created (with an unknown writer), the
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
character Rocky Ryan, soon scripted by Fox. The team continued on both features through at least issue No. 11 (March 1941); records are spotty for this relatively obscure publisher, and such reference sources as 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 ...
(cited here) list only those features, without credits, running well in 1942, when Skyman and Rocky Ryan credits for Fox and Whitney resume. (The title became simply ''Big Shot'' with issue No. 30, Dec. 1942). Fox and Whitney (who also drew the vast majority of the covers) also collaborated on such additional ''Big Shot Comics'' characters as the Cloak, and the demon-masked
war correspondent and
World War II Axis-fighter the Face (all the stories for which the duo provided in issue No. 2 of his two-issue spin-off series). They also launched the solo title ''Skyman'' in 1941; four issues were published from then through 1948.
Whitney was inducted into 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 ...
in January 1943. There he completed eight weeks of truck-driving school before being assigned to work as an artist in the orientation office of
Camp Lee
Fort Lee, in Prince George County, Virginia, United States, is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the U.S. Army Quartermaster Scho ...
in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. He drew no comics while on furlough, but did some comics work "after hours" in the camp office. He served in the Philippines during
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 opposin ...
, in a unit with fellow comic artist
.
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 ...
letter to Ron Frantz, published in Frantz via ''Companion'', pp. 106–107
The Fox-Whitney team continued on ''Big Shot Comics'' confirmably through No. 44 (March 1944) and almost certainly beyond; ''Big Shot'' No. 97 (Jan. 1949), for example, contains a Whitney written-and-drawn Skyman story. ''Big Shot'' itself ran through issue No. 104 (Aug. 1949).
The cover of ''Big Shot'' No. 67 (July 1946) welcomes home "Ex-Sgt. Ogden Whitney", who draws Skyman again "starting this issue", and the first page of its six-page Skyman story is headlined, "Welcome home, Ogden Whitney!" and calls it his first one since his return from WWII service.
By this time Whitney had begun drawing
crime comics
Crime comics is a genre of American comic books and format of crime fiction. The genre was originally popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s and is marked by a moralistic editorial tone and graphic depictions of violence and criminal activity ...
for
Magazine Enterprises
Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western comics, Western, humor, crime comics, crime, adventure, and children's literature, children's comics, with virtually no superhero ...
, including the features "Fallon of the
F.B.I.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
" and "Undercover Girl" in ''Manhunt'' from 1947 to 1948. He also drew the company's official adaptation of the 1948 movie ''
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
'', starring
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...
, published the same year in the umbrella title ''A-1'' as ''Joan of Arc (A-1 #21)''. Whitney is tentatively credited as artist for the similar adaptation of ''
Destination Moon'' in
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel, the alter ego of ...
' of that title, also known as ''Fawcett Movie Comic'' No. 3 (1950).
1950s to 1960s
Through the following decade, Whitney drew
anthological
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
science fiction and other stories for
American Comics Group
American Comics Group (ACG) was an American comic book publisher started in 1939 and existing under the ACG name from 1943 to 1967. It published the medium's first ongoing horror-comics title, ''Adventures into the Unknown''. ACG's best-known cha ...
's ''Adventures into the Unknown'' and ''
Forbidden Worlds
''Forbidden Worlds'' was a fantasy comic from the American Comics Group, which won the 1964 Alley Award for Best Regularly Published Fantasy Comic. It published 145 issues between July/August 1951 to August 1967.
Publication history
''Forbid ...
'', and co-created the white-hunter feature "Typhoon Tylor" in ''Operation: Peril'' #1 (Nov. 1950). Other ACG titles he worked on include issues of the
war comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.
History American war comics
Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...
series ''Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub'', the humor title ''Dizzy Dames'', and 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 ...
''The Hooded Horseman''. He additionally did some work for
Ziff-Davis
Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. First founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology-oriented media websites, online shopping-related services, an ...
' ''
Amazing Adventures
''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics.
The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...
'' and ''Skypilot'', and did his earliest known work for the future
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 ...
, then called
Atlas Comics, with a four-page story in ''
Apache Kid
Haskay-bay-nay-ntayl ( 1860 – in or after 1894), better known as the Apache Kid, was born in Aravaipa Canyon (25 miles (40 kilometers) south of San Carlos Agency) into one of the three local groups of the Aravaipa/Arivaipa Apache Band (in Apa ...
'' No. 8 (Sept. 1951).
He soon began contributing work as well to the Atlas
horror titles ''Spellbound'', ''
Marvel Tales'' and ''
Adventures into Terror
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...
''. With writer
Don Rico
Donato Francisco Rico II (September 26, 1912 – March 27, 1985) was an American paperback novelist, screenwriter, wood engraver and comic book writer-artist, who co-created the Marvel Comics characters the Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) with plot ...
, he co-created the feature "Waku, Prince of the Bantu" — a rare feature in that it starred an African chieftain in Africa, with no regularly featured
Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
characters – in the Atlas anthology ''
Jungle Tales
''Jungle Tales'' (later called ''Jann of the Jungle'') was an American comic book title published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. It was an anthology title of stories set in an African jungle.
Publication history
Jungl ...
''.
But it was ACG that remained his primary client. Whitney drew countless stories and covers for, primarily, ''Adventures into the Unknown'' and ''Forbidden Worlds'' from 1950 to 1965.
Herbie
By then he had co-created (with ACG editor
Richard E. Hughes, under the pseudonym "Shane O'Shea")
the work for which he would become best known, the novelty character
Herbie Popnecker
Herbie Popnecker is a fictional comic book character who first appeared in '' Forbidden Worlds'' #73 in December 1958, published by American Comics Group. He was created by Richard E. Hughes (using the pseudonym "Shane O'Shea") . Debuting in ''Forbidden Worlds'' No. 73 (Dec. 1958), the short, fat, deadpan young Herbie, constantly nursing a
lollipop
A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are ava ...
, wandered with
slacker
A slacker is someone who habitually avoids work or lacks work ethic.
Origin
According to different sources, the term ''slacker'' dates back to about 1790 or 1898. "Slacker" gained some recognition during the British Gezira Scheme in the early t ...
ennui through life as one of comics' most powerful beings. Little by little as his story progressed in ''Forbidden Worlds'' and in his 23-issue spin-off series, ''Herbie'' (May 1964 – Feb. 1967), he revealed abilities to fly (by walking on air), talk to animals (who knew him by name), become invisible, travel through time, and more. His parents were blithely unaware of either his powers or of his eventual
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, ...
-satire identity as the
Fat Fury. Whitney drew all the stories and almost all the covers
for what became a cult-hit comic.
[Herbie]
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 ...
. from the original on January 31, 2012.
Later life and career
As ACG wound down and ceased publication in 1967, Whitney found work at
Tower Comics
Tower Comics was an American comic book publishing company that operated from 1965 to 1969, best known for Wally Wood's ''T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'', a strange combination of secret agents and superheroes; and Samm Schwartz's ''Tippy Teen'', an Archi ...
, where he was one of the stable of artists drawing issues of ''
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
''T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'' is a fictional team of superheroes that appeared in comic books originally published by Tower Comics in the 1960s. They were an arm of the United Nations and were notable for their depiction of the heroes as everyday pe ...
'' and ''
NoMan'', and
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 ...
, where he became the regular artist for 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 ...
series ''
The Two-Gun Kid'' from No. 87 to the final issue, No. 92 (May 1967 – March 1968). He wrote and drew the lead story in the mostly reprint revival of the title, in No. 103 (March 1972), and
penciled
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 ...
a nine-page backup story, "Invitation to a Gunfight", by writer
Marv Wolfman
Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New Te ...
, in the following issue (May 1972), marking his last known comics work.
Also in the mid-1960s for Marvel, Whitney drew issues of what was then the romantic-drama series ''
Millie the Model
''Millie the Model'' was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel. The comic book series deals with ...
'' and its sister title, ''Modeling with Millie''. He additionally penciled and
inked a 12-page "
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." story, over
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...
layouts, in ''
Strange Tales
''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...
'' No. 149 (Oct. 1966).
''
Mad'' magazine 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 ...
wrote that circa 1965, Whitney lived in
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 ...
at
Honors
In 2007, Whitney was one of two comics creators inducted into the comic-book industry's
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame, as a "Judges Choice" along with
Robert Kanigher
Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...
.
Critical assessment
Dan Nadel, author, ''Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries, 1900–1969'' (
Harry N. Abrams
Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery.
The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael ...
, 2006; ; ):
Whitney is a master of psychological distress. He had these super-bland faces; nobody looks distinctive. But then he'll throw in these crazy close-ups, or very oddball compositions, where things are static in space. I find them really compelling, almost terrifying. If you read his romance comics
Romance comics is a comics genre depicting strong and close romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published t ...
... they're the weirdest romance comics ever. ... His version of men and women courting is men and women terrorizing each other for eight or sixteen pages. Pure terror. Psychological warfare. Also the thing about Whitney I like so much is that it's like phone book
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
art – it's so generic it's unique.
References
External links
The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Ogden
1919 births
1975 deaths
American comics artists
American comics writers
Golden Age comics creators
Silver Age comics creators
Atlas Comics
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees
Marvel Comics people
Artists from Massachusetts
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American artists