Ray Herman (b. Ruth Rae Hermann, June 9, 1920December 26, 1996),Saunders, David Field Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists. Accessed Sept. 23, 2017. also known as Rae Herman or Ray Mann, was a publisher, editor, writer, penciller, and inker whose career spanned from 1940 to 1955. Her company,
Orbit Publications
Orbit Publications, also known as Orbit-Wanted, was an American comic book publishing house operated by the female publisher, editor, and cartoonist Ray Herman during the Golden Age of Comic Books.
, was a founding member of the
Association of Comics Magazine Publishers
The Association of Comics Magazine Publishers (ACMP) was an American industry trade group formed in the late 1940s to regulate the content of comic books in the face of public criticism during that time. It was a precursor to the Comics Magazine A ...
, for which she served as secretary and board director.
She started her career as an assistant to
Frank Z. Temerson
Frank Z. Temerson (1890–1963)Saunders, DavidField Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists. Accessed July 15, 2018. was a comic book publisher from the Golden Age of Comic Books. Temerson imprints included Ultem Publications, Helnit Publishing, Et-Es- ...
, publisher for Helnit, Et-Es-Go Magazines, and other loosely affiliated companies."Rae Herman," ''Who's Who of American Comic Book Artists, 1928–1999.'' Accessed Sept. 23, 2017. From 1943 to 1944, she was managing editor and co-owner (with Esther Temerson) of Continental Magazines, publishers of ''
Cat-Man Comics
Cat-Man and Kitten (also Catman and Kitten) are a pair of fictional character, fictional superhero Character (arts), characters created by artists Irwin Hasen (Cat-Man) and Charles M. Quinlan (Kitten) with unknown writers. Cat-Man was first publi ...
'' and ''Terrific Comics''. In 1945 she wrote for the syndicated comic ''Hep Cats'', before taking over as publisher, business manager, and co-owner (with
Marjorie May
Marjorie is a female given name derived from Margaret, which means pearl. It can also be spelled as Margery or Marjory. Marjorie is a medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the name of the herb marjoram. It came into English from the Old Frenc ...
) of
Orbit Publications
Orbit Publications, also known as Orbit-Wanted, was an American comic book publishing house operated by the female publisher, editor, and cartoonist Ray Herman during the Golden Age of Comic Books.
in 1946.
Orbit's titles included ''The Westerner'' (featuring Wild Bill Pecos), ''Love Diary'', ''Patches'', and ''Wanted Comics'', and contributing artists included
Syd Shores
Sydney Shores (1916 – June 3, 1973) was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books.
Bi ...
,
Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein (; March 22, 1919 – January 8, 1990), was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. His artwork usually displayed the s ...
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of the Mississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with an American comic books ...
, as well as ''Love Diary'' and another
romance comic
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 ...
, ''Love Journal'' (both published under the "Our Publishing" imprint). Hermann was also the rare actually female writer of a romance comic advice column. (Most advice columnists for other romance comics were male staff members using a female pseudonym.) In 1948, she also pencilled and inked crime comics for D.S. Publishing.
Also in 1948, Herman helped found the
Association of Comics Magazine Publishers
The Association of Comics Magazine Publishers (ACMP) was an American industry trade group formed in the late 1940s to regulate the content of comic books in the face of public criticism during that time. It was a precursor to the Comics Magazine A ...
(ACMP) in response to the rising anti-comics sentiment in the United States. The ACMP created the first Publication Code for policing the content of comics, but comics were not subject to formal review to use their seal of approval, and it was largely ignored. By 1950, the ACMP was virtually defunct, though a few publishers continued to use the seal. However, its Publication Code formed the backbone of the later
Comics Code
The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. T ...
.
Pop culture references
In issue #23 of ''
Cat-Man Comics
Cat-Man and Kitten (also Catman and Kitten) are a pair of fictional character, fictional superhero Character (arts), characters created by artists Irwin Hasen (Cat-Man) and Charles M. Quinlan (Kitten) with unknown writers. Cat-Man was first publi ...
'' (December 1943) (published by Frank Z. Temerson's
Holyoke Publishing
The Holyoke Publishing Company was an American magazine and comic-book publisher with offices in Holyoke, and Springfield, Massachusetts, and New York City, Its best-known comics characters were Blue Beetle and the superhero duo Cat-Man (later r ...
), superhero The Hood's blonde girlfriend's name is revealed to be "Miss Ray Hermann," later spelled "Ray Herman" and "Rae Herman."Mystery Men and Women - H