Samuel E. Grainger (June 14, 1930 – July 25, 1990)

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

number 249-34-6798, at the

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

via SortedByName.com. Retrieved on February 12, 2016
Archived
from the original on February 12, 2016. Additionally, a
Samuel E, Grainger
at the

via FamilySearch.com. Retrieved on February 27, 2016. 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 panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...

best known as a

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book 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 Comics'' in 19 ...

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a penc ...

during the 1960s and 1970s periods fans and historians call, respectively, the Silver Age and the

Bronze Age of Comic Books The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of American superhero comic books usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books and is followed by the Modern Age of Comic Books. Th ...

. Series on which he worked include '' The Avengers'', ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'' and ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to ...

''.

Biography

Early career

Sam Grainger's first known credited

work was at 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 Anson ...

-based publisher

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 seven-page backup story, " Behold...The Sentinels", which he both

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 ...

and inked in '' Peter Cannon... Thunderbolt'' #54 (Oct. 1966), also marked the first superhero story by prominent 1960s comic-book writer

Gary Friedrich Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'', and, in the following era, for the series '' The Monster o ...

. Grainger continued on the "Sentinels" feature through issue #59 (Sept. 1967).Sam Grainger
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 ...

Afterward, he drew the cover and writer Howard Keltner's eight-page story "The Adder", starring the superhero Astral Man, in the

fanzine A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share t ...

'' Star-Studded Comics'' #14 (Dec. 1968). Another issue's adaptation of the

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 ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

''Warrior of Llarn'' by writer

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

and artist Grainger was reprinted in the book ''The Best of Star-Studded Comics'' ( Hamster Press, 2005). Grainger additionally drew and colored some covers for 1969 issues of the Edgar Rice Burroughs fanzine '' ERB-dom'', and interior art beginning 1965.

Marvel Comics

Grainger made his

debut inking a backup story in ''

'' #55 (April 1969), over penciler Werner Roth. He went on to ink further ''X-Men'' backups as well as covers and interior stories in '' The Avengers'' (over John Buscema,

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema (; ; born Silvio Buscema, January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as ar ...

, and

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

comic ''

Not Brand Echh ''Not Brand Echh'' is a satiric comic book series published by Marvel Comics that parodied its own superhero stories as well as those of other comics publishers. Running for 13 issues (cover-dated Aug. 1967 to May 1969), it included among its cont ...

''; ''

'' and '' Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (both over

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an Americans, American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist ...

); and the feature " Ka-Zar" in ''

Astonishing Tales ''Astonishing Tales'' is an American anthology comic book series originally published by Marvel Comics from 1970 to 1976. Its sister publication was ''Amazing Adventures'' (vol. 2). In 2008 and 2009, Marvel produced 11 webcomics starring differ ...

'', over industry legend

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential c ...

. Among his considerable amount of 1970s work, Grainger inked penciler

Dave Cockrum David Emmett Cockrum (; November 11, 1943 – November 26, 2006) was an American comics artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, and Mystique, as well as the antiheroine Black Cat. Cockrum ...

on several issues of ''X-Men'', a title whose revival in that decade led to its becoming one of comics' most popular series. Cockrum's successor, John Byrne, later stated that he had requested that Grainger be kept on as inker for his run so as to "soften the blow" of Cockrum's departure, but that this idea was rejected by editorial staff.

Later career

In the 1970s, Grainger inked for both Marvel and

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 their f ...

, including on the latter's ''Ghosts'', '' Unknown Soldier'' and ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comic ...

''. He also inked two issues of the

independent comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

series ''Southern Knights'', from publisher The Guild, and various issues of and backup stories in ''

Grimjack Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by the American company First Comics. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist ...

'' and '' Dreadstar'', from

First Comics First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', '' Grimjack'', '' Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comic ...

. Grainger moved to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, sometime before spring 1969. There he freelanced for the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

s company TSR, Inc.; his work there includes interior art for the " Endless Quest" series of

gamebooks A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does no ...

, including the

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

book ''Under Dragon's Wing'' (Feb. 1984), the

Hyborian Age The Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian. The word "Hyborian" is derived from the le ...

book '' Conan and the Prophecy'' (June 1984), the

Star Frontiers ''Star Frontiers'' is a science fiction role-playing game produced by TSR from 1982 to 1985. The game offered a space opera action-adventure setting. Fictional setting ''Star Frontiers'' takes place near the center of a spiral galaxy (the set ...

book ''Captive Planet'' (July 1984), and, with Jim Holloway, the Dungeons & Dragons book ''Knight of Illusion'' (June 1986). Fantasy artist

Clyde Caldwell Clyde Caldwell (born February 20, 1948) is an American artist. Self-described as a fantasy illustrator, he is best known for his portrayals of strong, sexy female characters. With his work at TSR in the 1980s, he is considered one of the artis ...

described Grainger's later career, and his mentorship: Grainger made guest appearances at the Charlotte

comic book convention A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events ...

Heroes Convention. Before he succumbed to

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

-related medical issues, Heroes Con in 1987 held a benefit auction for his medical expenses. Grainger's last work was penciling and inking the posthumously published, eight-page

Volstagg Volstagg is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers and supporting cast of Thor. He is known for having multiple children. ...

story "The Thief of Asgard" in ''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995. It returned for a second volume in 2007–2008, and a third volume that started in 2019. Volume 1 The first volum ...

'' #66 (1990).''Marvel Comics Presents'' #66
at the Grand Comics Database

Personal life

Grainger was living in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

when he died on July 25, 1990.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grainger, Sam 1990 deaths 1930 births Role-playing game artists American comics artists Silver Age comics creators DC Comics people Marvel Comics people