Reed Leonard Crandall (February 22, 1917 – September 13, 1982) Reed Crandall
at the

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the Social Security Administration, United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Mas ...

, via GenealogyBank.com; and vi
FamilySearch.org
citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing. Retrieved on 22 February 2013. Neither gives specific day of death. First cit
archived
from the original on 22 February 2013; second cit
archived
from the original on 22 February 2013. was an American

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

and

penciller 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 ...

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 ...

s and

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s. He was best known for the 1940s

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

' ''

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 ...

'' and for stories in

EC Comics Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-195 ...

during the 1950s. Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.

Biography

Early life and career

Reed Crandall was born in

Winslow Winslow may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England, a market town and civil parish * Winslow Rural District, Buckinghamshire, a rural district from 1894 to 1974 United States and Canada * Rural Municipality of Winslo ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

,Reed Crandall
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 ...

the son of Rayburn Crandall and wife. One cousin was reportedly official

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton Na ...

resident artist and photographer Harrison Crandall.(There is no verification that Reed is related to Harrison Crandall) Crandall graduated from Newton High School in

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, in 1935, and then attended the

Cleveland School of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at firs ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, on a scholarship. He graduated in 1939. His father died in the spring of Crandall's freshman year at art school, which Crandall left temporarily to return to Kansas.Interview with art-school classmate and lifelong friend Frank Borth, in Cooke, p. 66 His mother and sister moved to Cleveland during Crandall's junior year. With his schoolmate Frank Borth, Crandall found work painting signs on storefront windows. Crandall's art influences included the painters and commercial illustrators

N.C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

and

James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1 ...

. Another classmate, the son of the president of the Cleveland-based

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

syndicate, recommended Crandall for a job at NEA as a general art assistant, where Crandall drew maps and other supporting material.Borth, in Cooke, p. 67 Following his desire to be a magazine illustrator, Crandall unsuccessfully made the rounds of glossy magazines in

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 ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and at some point did a small amount of work for a

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

publisher. Moving to New York with his mother and sister, Crandall found work in the fledgling medium of

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 ...

, joining the Eisner and Iger Studio, an early comic-book packager that supplied complete, outsourced comics for publishers.

Quality Comics

Crandall drew for comic books from 1939 until 1973. His first work appears in comics from publisher

, for which he drew stories starring such

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, ...

es as the Ray (in ''Smash Comics'', beginning in 1941 and initially under the playful

pseudonym 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 ...

E. Lectron) and

Doll Man Doll Man is a superhero first appearing in American comic books from the Golden Age of Comics, originally published by Quality Comics and currently part of the DC Comics universe of characters. Doll Man was created by cartoonist Will Eisner a ...

(first in ''Feature Comics'' in 1941, then in the character's own solo title). His earliest confirmed cover art is for

Fiction House Fiction House was an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. It was founded by John B. "Jack" Kelly and John W. Glenister.Saunders, David"JACK BYRNE (1902-1972),"Field Guide to Wild American P ...

's ''Fight Comics'' #12 (April 1941) at the Grand Comics Database. Other early work includes

inking Inking may refer to: *Inking (attack), act of throwing ink on other person *Inking, a defensive activity of certain cephalopods and sea hares * Inking (comic book production) *Pen computing Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using ...

the pencil art of future industry legend

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 ...

on two of the earliest

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

stories, "The Ageless Orientals That Wouldn't Die", in ''Captain America Comics'' #2 (April 1941), and "The Queer Case of the Murdering Butterfly and the Ancient Mummies" in #3 (May 1941). With S.M. "Jerry" Iger credited as writer, Crandall co-created the superhero the Firebrand in Quality's ''

Police Comics ''Police Comics'' was a comic book anthology title published by Quality Comics (under its imprint "Comic Magazines") from 1941 until 1953. It featured short stories in the superhero, crime and humor genres. Publication history The first issue of ' ...

'' #1 (Aug. 1941) and began his long run as artist of his signature series, the

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 ...

aviator-team strip "

", in ''

Military Comics ''Military Comics'', later ''Modern Comics'', was a comic book anthology title published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books from 1941 until 1950. The first issue of ''Military Comics'' is notable for featuring the debut of Bl ...

'' #12-22 (Oct. 1942 - Sept. 1943) and, after his WWII service in the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, in ''Blackhawk'' and in ''Modern Comics''. During this time he also drew the adventures of

Captain Triumph Captain Triumph is a superhero from the Golden Age of Comics who first appeared in ''Crack Comics'' #27, published in January 1943 by Quality Comics. He continued to appear until the end of the series with issue #62 (Sept 1949). The character was ...

in Quality's ''Crack Comics''. His final "Blackhawk" work was a seven-page story, plus the cover, for ''Blackhawk'' #67 (Aug. 1953).

EC Comics and afterward

Crandall went on to become a mainstay of

, whose line of hit horror and

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 ...

titles would become as influential to future generations of comics creators as they were controversial in their own time due to their often graphic nature and mature themes. Joining a group that included artists

Johnny Craig John Thomas Alexis Craig (April 25, 1926 – September 13, 2001),John T. Craig
at the ...

, Jack Davis,

Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He is ...

Graham Ingels Graham J. Ingels (; June 7, 1915April 4, 1991) was a comic book and magazine illustrator best known for his work in EC Comics during the 1950s, notably on ''The Haunt of Fear'' and ''Tales from the Crypt'', horror titles written and edited by Al ...

Jack Kamen Jack Kamen (; May 29, 1920 – August 5, 2008) was an American illustrator for books, magazines, comic books and advertising, known for his work illustrating crime, horror, humour, suspense and science fiction stories for EC Comics, for his work in ...

, Bernard Krigstein and

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

, Crandall made his debut there with the six-page story "Bloody Sure", written by

Al Feldstein Albert Bernard Feldstein ( ; October 24, 1925 – April 29, 2014) was an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satire, satirical magazine ''Mad (magazine), Mad''. Aft ...

, in ''

The Haunt of Fear ''The Haunt of Fear'' was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics, starting in 1950. Along with '' Tales from the Crypt'' and '' The Vault of Horror'', it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. ''T ...

'' #20 (August 1953). He drew dozens of stories across a variety of genres for the EC anthologies ''

Crime SuspenStories ''Crime SuspenStories'' was a bi-monthly anthology crime comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title first arrived on newsstands with its October/November 1950 issue and ceased publication with its February/March 1955 issue, produc ...

'', ''

Shock SuspenStories ''Shock SuspenStories'' was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The bi-monthly comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, began with issue 1 in February/March 1952. Over a four-year span, it ran for 18 issues, ending wi ...

'', ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'', ''

Two-Fisted Tales ''Two-Fisted Tales'' is an anthology war comic published bi-monthly by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title originated in 1950 when Harvey Kurtzman suggested to William Gaines that they publish an adventure comic. Kurtzman became the editor o ...

'', '' The Vault of Horror'', ''Extra!'', ''Impact'', ''

Piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

'', and ''

Weird Fantasy ''Weird Fantasy'' is an American dark fantasy and science fiction anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The companion comic for ''Weird Fantasy'' was '' Weird Science''. Over a four-year span, ''Weird Fantasy'' ra ...

'' and its sequel series, ''Weird Science-Fantasy''. Following the demise of EC in the wake of the 1954 U.S. Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency and a wave of anti-comics sentiment, Reed freelanced for Atlas Comics, the 1950s iteration of

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 ...

, as well as for the

Gilberton Company The Gilberton Company, Inc. () was an American publisher best known for the comic book series ''Classics Illustrated'' featuring adaptations of literary classics. Beginning life as an imprint of the Elliot Publishing Company, the company became in ...

's ''

Classics Illustrated ''Classics Illustrated'' is an American comic book/magazine series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as ''Les Misérables'', '' Moby-Dick'', ''Hamlet'', and '' The Iliad''. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication ...

''. Crandall's work for ''Classics Illustrated'' consisted of joint projects with EC veteran George Evans on four titles: No. 18, ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (Fall 1960); No. 23, ''Oliver Twist'' (Fall 1961); No. 68, ''Julius Caesar'' (1962); No. 168, ''In Freedom's Cause'' (completed 1962; published UK 1963; published US 1969). In 1960, he went under contract with the publisher of ''

Treasure Chest Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...

'', a comic book distributed exclusively through

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

s. Crandall illustrated many covers and countless stories for ''Treasure Chest'' through 1972. In 1964, he illustrated books by

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

for

Canaveral Press Canaveral Press was a New York–based publisher of fantasy, science fiction and related material, active from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s. Richard A. Lupoff was the editor for publishers Jack Biblo and Jack Tannen. After many years o ...

. The following year, he began contributing to

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

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 ...

magazine ''

Blazing Combat ''Blazing Combat'' was an American war-comics magazine published quarterly by Warren Publishing from 1965 to 1966. Written and edited by Archie Goodwin, with artwork by such industry notables as Gene Colan, Frank Frazetta, John Severin, Alex Toth ...

'', and soon went on to contribute to the company's line of black-and-white horror publications, including ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 volunta ...

''. In the mid-to-late 1960s, he illustrated

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

stories for

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 ...

, and

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...

King Features Syndicate 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, editoria ...

's King Comics comic-book version of the syndicate's long-running hero

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 ...

. In June 1970, Crandall and

Buster Crabbe Clarence Linden Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimmi ...

were guests at the Multicon-70 convention in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Final years

Crandall, who had left New York City in the 1960s in order to care for his ailing mother in Wichita,

, had developed alcoholism.Borth, in Cooke, p. 68 Recovering by the time of his mother's death, he nonetheless suffered debilitated health and left art in 1974 to work as a night watchman and janitor for the

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

general headquarters in Wichita. After suffering a stroke that year, he spent his remaining life in a nursing home and died in 1982 of a heart attack. One of his last published stories, "This Graveyard Is Not Deserted", appeared in ''

'' #54 (July 1973). ''Creepy'' #58 contained "Soul and Shadow", possibly his last published comic book work.

Family

Crandall married artist Martha Hamilton, and they had two children. Their daughter, artist Cathy Crandall, had three children. Their son, Navy veteran Reed L. "Spike" Crandall (Sept. 8, 1945-July 2, 2005), an artist who owned and operated Crandall's Creations (

Clarkesville, Georgia Clarkesville is a city that is the county seat of Habersham County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,911, up from the 2010 census population of 1,733, up from 1,248 at the 2000 census. History Clarkesvill ...

), had a daughter, Samantha Pledger, and three grandchildren.

Awards and tributes

Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009. He is referenced in

Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning novel '' The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay''. The fictional character Joe Kavalier refers to Crandall as the "top" comic-book artist of his era.

References

External links

"Tower Comics Checklist"
'' Comic Book Artist'' #14 (July 2001)
"Crandall, Reed"
at the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crandall, Reed 1917 births 1982 deaths American comics artists American illustrators Golden Age comics creators People from Pike County, Indiana Silver Age comics creators Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees Cleveland School of Art alumni EC Comics Artists from Indiana 20th-century American artists United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II