Sidney Greene (June 18, 1906 – October 1972)Sidney Greene
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 Limit ...

, Social Security Number 057-05-5691, based on 1972 death date provided by Who's Who in American Comic Books 1928-1999 and the Lambiek Comiclopedia. was an American comic book artist known for his work for a host of publishers from the 1940s to 1970s. As an inker on

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 ...

series including '' Batman'', ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'', ''

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceive ...

'' and ''

The Atom The Atom is a name shared by five superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Golden Age of comic books, Golden Age Atom, Atom (Al Pratt), Al Pratt, was created by writer Bill O'Connor and artist Ben Flin ...

'', he helped to define the company's house style for its 1960s Silver Age superheroes.

Biography

Early career

Sid Greene broke into comics during the 1930s to 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Initially, he freelanced at Funnies, Inc., one of the early "packages" that supplied comic books on demand for publishers testing the new

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

.Sid Greene
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
Archived
from the original on October 22, 2011. His first confirmed work, during a time when published credits were not routinely given in comics, is as penciler and inker of a nine-page "Spark Stevens" story in Fox Comics' '' The Green Mask'' #5 (June 1941), although Greene has been tentatively identified on stories in issues of

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 ''

Planet Comics ''Planet Comics'' was a science fiction comic book title published by Fiction House from January 1940 to Winter 1953. It was the first comic book dedicated wholly to science fiction.Benton, Mike. ''Science Fiction Comics: The Illustrated History'' ...

'' and '' Fight Comics''

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d as early as April 1940. His first signed work is as penciler-inker of a 10-page story starring the superhero the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

in '' The Human Torch'' #5 (Summer 1941), published by

Timely Comics Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...

, the Golden Age forerunner 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 ...

.Sid Greene
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 ...

Through 1943, Greene drew the adventures of

Target and the Targeteers The Target and the Targeteers are fictional characters, a trio of superheroes who first appeared in 1940, in ''Target Comics'' (after which the characters were named) from Novelty Press. History ''Target Comics'' debuted with a premiere issue co ...

Novelty Press Novelty Press (a.k.a. Premium Service Co., Inc.; a.k.a. Novelty Publications; a.k.a. Premier Group) was an American Golden Age comic-book publisher that operated from 1940 to 1949. It was the comic book imprint of Curtis Publishing Company, publ ...

' ''Target Comics'', and penciled a small number of Captain America and Miss America stories for Timely. During the decade, he also penciled comic-book stories for

Ace Comics ''Ace Comics'' was a comic book series published by David McKay Publications between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title reprinted syndicated newspaper strips owned by King Features Syndicate, follow ...

, Eastern Color, and

Hillman Periodicals Hillman Periodicals, Inc., was an American magazine and comic book publishing company founded in 1938 by Alex L. Hillman, a former New York City book publisher. It is best known for its true confession and true crime magazines; for the long-runni ...

. For

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 (late ...

, he drew the features "Fangs", "Inspector Hunt", and "Speed Spaulding".

Joining DC Comics

In the 1950s, after doing at least one story for Avon Comics, Greene did anthological horror,

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

and

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 ...

for Atlas Comics, that decade's forerunner of Marvel Comics, and also drew romance stories for

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.

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. His first known story for DC, where he would become best known during the imminent

Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...

, was the six-page "The Wrong Love", in ''Secret Hearts'' #18 (Nov. 1953). His first

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 uni ...

for DC was the eight-page "Earth Is the Target" in ''

Mystery in Space ''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues ...

'' #26 (July 1955), an anthology series in which Greene and writer

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 ...

would co-create the team

Star Rovers A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

in issue #66 (March 1961). Well into the early 1960s, Greene contributed many dozens of anthological science-fiction stories to ''Mystery in Space'' and ''Strange Adventures''. He also drew all six issues of DC's ''The New Adventures of

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alter ...

'' (June 1958 - April 1959), starring the long-running fictional

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

detective of novels and films.

Silver Age superheroes

Greene's first DC superhero work was inking

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

on a backup

Atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, ...

story in ''The Atom'' #8 (Sept. 1963). Along with

Murphy Anderson Murphy C. Anderson Jr. (July 9, 1926 – October 22, 2015) was an American comics artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the Golden Age of Comic Books in ...

, he became one of Kane's two regular inkers on that series, which generally featured two Atom stories each issue. Greene also soon became Kane's regular inker on ''

'', beginning with issue #29 (June 1964). As historian Daniel Herman wrote, "Finally, Kane had somebody who could keep up with his frenetic pacing and full-bodied anatomy." Greene soon became one of editor

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various ...

's most prolific inkers, one whose work helped define the DC look of the mid to late 1960s. He began inking the Elongated Man backup feature in '' Detective Comics'', over penciler Carmine Infantino, and Batman stories over, initially, penciler

Sheldon Moldoff Sheldon Moldoff (; April 14, 1920 – February 29, 2012) was an American comics artist best known for his early work on the DC Comics characters Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and as one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists" (uncredited collaborator ...

(ghosting for

Bob Kane Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...

), beginning in ''Batman'' #169-170, 172-174 (Feb.-March 1965, May–July 1965). Greene soon became, as well, one of the regular Batman inkers in ''Detective Comics'', including on issue #359 (Jan. 1967), the debut of Batgirl, with penciler Infantino — all while continuing to ink the adventures of the previous three characters mentioned. In addition to all this, Schwartz assigned Greene to succeed the retired

Bernard Sachs Bernard Sachs (January 2, 1858 – February 8, 1944) was an American neurologist. Early life and education After graduating with a B.A. from Harvard in 1878, Sachs travelled to Europe and studied under some of the more prominent physicians o ...

as regular inker on the publisher's primary superhero-team series, ''

'', beginning with issue #46 (Aug. 1966). Greene "added a new crispness to

Mike Sekowsky Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' ''Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' during th ...

's pencils for three years until reenes retirement in 1969." As Herman assessed, "Although Greene had a strong personality as a penciler, as an inker, he was able to successfully submerge his style and to highlight the pencilers he was embellishing." As a gesture of appreciation toward editor Schwartz, Greene in many ''Mystery in Space'' and ''Strange Adventures'' stories would draw characters who resembled him. Late in his career, Greene also returned to

, for whose predecessor companies he had drawn in the 1940s and 1950s. Freelancing, he inked

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the

on a 20-page story of the jungle lord Ka-Zar in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #19 (March 1969); and the 20-page story in the

superspy A superspy is a glamorous, important spy, especially seen in spy fiction Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intr ...

series '' Nick Fury, Agent of

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often dea ...

'' #12 (May 1969), co-inking

Barry Windsor-Smith Barry Windsor-Smith (born Barry Smith, 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' ''Conan the Barbarian'' from 1970 to 197 ...

(then billed as Barry Smith) in one of the future industry star's earliest professional works. After his final issue of ''Justice League'' (#73, Aug. 1969), Greene inked one last superhero story, the lead feature in ''Atom and Hawkman'' #45 (Nov. 1969). He then both penciled and inked stories in two issues each of ''

Our Army at War ''Our Army at War'' was an American comic book anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed stories and featured the first appearances of Sgt. Rock and Enemy Ace. The series was published from August 1952 to February 1977, then ...

'' and the supernatural anthology '' The Unexpected'', plus one story each in '' The Witching Hour'' and '' House of Secrets''. His stories in ''The Unexpected'' #117 and ''House of Secrets'' #84 (both cover-dated March 1970, and drawn at least three months earlier) mark his final published works.

Biography

Early career

Joining DC Comics

Silver Age superheroes

Death

References

External links

Further reading