Aaron P. "Pat" Boyette (July 27, 1923 – January 14, 2000)
was an American
broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
personality and news producer, and later a
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 two decades of work for
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 ...
, where he co-created the character the
Peacemaker
Peacemaker or The Peacemaker (in various forms) may refer to:
Individuals and groups
* UN Peacemaker, a project of the UN to support international peacemakers and mediators
* Peace makers, a list of contemporary individuals and organizations inv ...
. He sometimes used the
pen names
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whi ...
Sam Swell, Bruce Lovelace, and Alexander Barnes.
[Pat Boyette]
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 ...
. October 18, 2011.
Biography
Broadcast career
Born and raised in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
Pat Boyette entered
radio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
as a youngster, performing on a local
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
. He became a broadcast journalist at radio station
WOAI, and returned to this career following his
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 ...
military service as a
cryptographer
Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adver ...
. He later segued into
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, becoming a TV
news anchor
A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
. Additionally, Boyette became the
producer of a daytime
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
, a puppet show, and TV commercials.
Films
Boyette
directed
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
, co-wrote, scored and narrated the low-budget 1962
horror movie ''The Dungeon of Harrow'', which was reminiscent of
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
's
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
cycle of films. He also wrote, produced and directed the
science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
''The Weird Ones'' a.k.a. ''The Weird One'' (1962), and co-directed the Korean War picture ''No Man's Land'' (1964).
All the films were shot in Texas. In 1970 he wrote the screenplay for
David L. Hewitt
David L. Hewitt (born August 12, 1939) is a film director and producer. Among the films he has directed are ''The Wizard of Mars'', ''Monsters Crash the Pajama Party'' (both 1965), ''Journey to the Center of Time'' (1967), ''The Mighty Gorga'' ( ...
's girl moonshiners vs. bikers film ''
The Girls from Thunder Strip
''The Girls from Thunder Strip'' is an exploitation film in the biker genre. It is directed by David L. Hewitt. Hewitt also co produced it with Michael Mehas. It was released in 1966. It also featured American Top 40 DJ Casey Kasem.
Story
Th ...
''.
Comics
While continuing to work in television, he wrote and drew the short-lived
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 ...
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 ...
''Captain Flame'' for a
syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest.
Etymology
The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French language, Frenc ...
owned by
Charlie Plumm. He returned to comics after first leaving broadcasting and spending most of the 1960s shooting movies in San Antonio.
Charlton
Turning to comic books, Boyette began a two-decade stint as a freelance artist for the
Derby, Connecticut
Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 8 miles west-northwest of New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. It borders the cities of Ansoni ...
-based, low-budget
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 ...
. His first known work for the company is the nine-page story "'Spacious' Rooms for Rent" in the
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
-
suspense
Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...
anthology
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 ...
''
Shadows from Beyond'' #50 (Oct. 1966). The Grand Comics Database also tentatively identifies an additional nine-page story that issue, "Reprieve!", as being penciled by Boyette.
On his next assignment, Boyette co-created with staff writer
the non-superpowered
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 Peacemaker in the backup story in ''
Fightin' 5
The Fightin' 5 are a Charlton Comics Special Forces paramilitary team, similar to DC Comics' Blackhawks. They debuted in ''Fightin' 5'' #28 (July 1964), and were created by Joe Gill and Bill Montes.
Publication history
The ''Fightin' 5'' comic ...
'' #40 (Nov. 1966). The Peacemaker was Christopher Smith, a
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
so committed to
peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
that he was willing to use force to advance the cause, employing an array of special
non-lethal weapon
Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...
s, and also founding the Pax Institute. Most of his antagonists were dictators and warlords. The Peacemaker received his own title which lasted five issues, cover-dated March to November 1967, with the Fightin' 5 as a backup series.
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 ...
acquired the character following Charlton's demise in the mid-1980s, and the Peacemaker became the basis for the character the
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
in writer
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
's
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 ...
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
''
Watchmen
''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...
''.
The Peacemaker
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 ...
. October 25, 2011.
Boyette drew, and often wrote, hundreds of stories for Charlton through to at least 1976, for such supernatural series as ''Ghost Manor
''Ghost Manor'' is a horror video game that was released by Xonox in 1983 for the Atari 2600 and VIC-20. It was generally packaged in a double ended cartridge and a cassette tape along with one of three other games in an effort to appeal to ...
'', ''Ghostly Tales
''Ghostly Tales'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by Charlton Comics from 1966 to 1984 (though it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 onward). The book was "hosted" by Mr. L. Dedd (later changed to I. M. Dedd), a m ...
,'' and ''The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves
''The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves'' was an American supernatural- anthology comic book published by Charlton Comics, often featuring stories by writer-artist Steve Ditko. The eponymous Dr. M. T. Graves was a fictional character who hosted the sto ...
''; science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
series like ''Outer Space'', ''Strange Suspense Stories
''Strange Suspense Stories'' was a comic book published in two volumes by Fawcett Comics and Charlton Comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Starting out as a horror/suspense title, the first volume gradually moved toward eerie fantasy and weird science f ...
,'' ''
Space: 1999'' and ''Space Adventures''; Western series such as ''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 t ...
'', '' Cheyenne Kid,'' and ''Outlaws of the West''; 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 ...
such as ''Love Diary'' and ''Secret Romance''; 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 ...
like ''Attack'' and ''Fightin' Marines''; and the licensed-character series ''Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...
'', ''Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began on January 7, 1934, as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle ...
'' and ''The Phantom
''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The charact ...
'' from King Features
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial c ...
, the prehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
adventure series '' Korg: 70,000 B.C.'' and ''The Six Million Dollar Man
''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is reb ...
''. Boyette also took on the writing and art for the superhero series ''Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt
Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt is a fictional superhero character originally published by Charlton Comics.
Publication history Charlton Comics
The character debuted in ''Peter Cannon ... Thunderbolt'' #1 (Jan. 1966), part of Charlton editor Dick Giord ...
'', succeeding creator Pete Morisi
Peter A. Morisi (January 7, 1928 – October 12, 2003),[Peter A. Morisi](_blank)
Social Security Number 076-20-5 ...
. His work continued to be published at Charlton as reprints through to at least 1986. Some of his Charlton work was reprinted as late as 2002 in Avalon Communications
Charlton Media Group (CMG) is a Montreal-based publisher owned and operated by Canadian entrepreneur Roger Broughton. CMG has published Charlton Comics and American Comics Group reprint comics, under several names, including Sword in Stone, A+, a ...
' ''Enemies and Aces'' #1.
Other comics work
For a brief period in 1968, Boyette drew issues of the DC Comics aviator series ''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 ...
''. That same year, his friend and Charlton colleague Rocke Mastroserio
Rocco A. "Rocke" Mastroserio (June 8, 1927 — early March 1968Dates per AdditionaWebCitation archivemade June 15, 2010. Note: The Social Security Death Index lists Rocco Mastroserioof New York City, born September 15, 1901, died December 1966.) w ...
helped Boyette join the stable of artists freelancing for Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...
's black-and-white horror-comics magazines, initially having him ghost-pencil, uncredited, "The Rescue of the Morning Maid" in ''Creepy
Creepiness is the state of being wikt:creepy, creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or wikt:unease, unease. A person who exhibits creepy behaviour is called a creep. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others. The ...
'' #18 (Jan. 1968), which credited artist Mastroserio inked.[Arndt, Richard J]
"The Warren Magazines"
(2005 version with five interviews). . Boyette would go on to do credited work for such other Warren titles as ''Eerie
''Eerie'' was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like '' Mad'', it was a black-and-white magazine intended for newsstand distribution and did not submit its stories to the comic book industry's voluntar ...
'' occasionally through 1970 before making Charlton his base. In the mid-1970s, he drew the feature "The Tarantula" in Atlas Comics' ''Weird Suspense''.
Boyette's other comic work includes a Black Hood
The Black Hood is a fictional character created by MLJ Comics (later known as Archie Comics) during the period known as the "Golden Age of Comic Books". The Black Hood first appeared in ''Top-Notch Comics #9'', October 1940 and became one of MLJ ...
story for Archie Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.[Renegade Press
Renegade Press was an American comic book company, founded by Canadian Deni Loubert, that operated from 1984 to 1988. Notable titles published by Renegade included ''Flaming Carrot'', '' Ms. Tree'', and ''normalman''.
History
Loubert was publis ...]
in 1986; his self-published SF/fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
anthology ''The Cosmic Book'' #1 (Dec. 1986), under the imprint Wandering Star Press; issues of ''Blood of Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
'' for Apple Press in 1988 and 1989; and inking penciler Howard Simpson on the 21-page story "White Men Speak with Forked Tongue (Jurassic Politics part 2)" in Acclaim Comics
Valiant Comics is an American comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim Entertainment ...
' '' Turok, Dinosaur Hunter'' #18 (Dec. 1994).[Pat Boyette]
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 ...
.
His last known comics work was penciling and inking the three-page story "The Head of Joaquin Murieta" in ''The Big Book of the Weird Wild West'' (Aug. 1998), one of 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 ...
/Paradox Press
Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton the imprint was renamed. It is best known for graphic novels like '' ...
's The Big Book of
''The Big Book Of'' is a series of graphic novel anthologies published by American company DC Comics imprint Paradox Press.
Publication history
The ''Big Books'' were published between 1994 and 2000. Just over half of them (ten out of seventeen) ...
... trade paperback series.
Death
Boyette died in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, of cancer of the esophagus
The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...
. He was predeceased by his wife, Betty or Bette (sources differ). The couple had a daughter, Melissa.
References
External links
*
*
* Evanier, Mark. ''Superheroes in My Pants!'' (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2004, ), "Pat Boyette", pp. 126+
* Additiona
WebCitation archive
June 15, 2010.
*
*Baumann, Marty. , IComics.com, June 10, 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyette, Pat
American radio personalities
American television news anchors
Deaths from cancer in Texas
Artists from San Antonio
2000 deaths
1923 births
Silver Age comics creators
Charlton Comics
Inkpot Award winners
Journalists from Texas
20th-century American journalists
American male journalists