Vincent Sullivan (June 5, 1911 – February 3, 1999Vincent Sullivan
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 ...

via FamilySearch.org) was a pioneering

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

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, th ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

Career

As an editor for

National Allied Publications National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...

Gerard Jones Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957) is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his comic book scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero Prime for Malibu Comics, and writing for ...

, ''Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book'' (Basic Books, 2004; trade paperback ) the future

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 ...

, he was the first editor on stories featuring

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

from creators

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996)Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, in ...

and

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

, beginning with that archetypal

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, ...

first appearance In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader intere ...

, in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...

'' #1 (1938), and in the following year's ''

'', the first

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

devoted to a single character. In addition, Sullivan drew the premiere cover of ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'', the series that in issue #27 launched the hit character

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

. After leaving National in 1940, Sullivan was hired by the

McNaught Newspaper Syndicate The McNaught Syndicate was an American newspaper syndicate founded in 1922. It was established by Virgil Venice McNitt (who gave it his name) and Charles V. McAdam. Its best known contents were the columns by Will Rogers and O. O. McIntyre, the ' ...

to form a new comic book publishing house. Requires scrolldown to item. NOTE: Both the press release and the

, which confirms a June 1911 birth, erroneously give his age at death in February 1999 as 88; he was 87 and eight months. This became the Columbia Comic Corporation (

Columbia Comics Columbia Comics Corporation was a comic book publisher active in the 1940s whose best-known title was ''Big Shot Comics''. Comics creators who worked for Columbia included Fred Guardineer, on ''Marvelo, the Monarch of Magicians''; and Ogden Whitne ...

), where Sullivan launched the superhero omnibus ''

Big Shot Comics ''Big Shot Comics'' was an American comic book series published by Columbia Comics during period in the 1940s that fans and historians refer to as the Golden Age of comic books. An anthology title, the series included a mix of superheroes, costum ...

'', publishing early work by

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 ...

Creig Flessel Creig Valentine Flessel (February 2, 1912 – July 17, 2008)Creig Valentine Flessel
at the Un ...

, and

Ogden Whitney John Ogden Whitney (May 1, 1919 – August 13, 1975) was an American comic-book artist and sometime writer active from the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of comics through the 1960s Silver Age of comics, Silver Age. He is best known as co-creator of t ...

, among others. Columbia Comics' several superhero features included Skyman. Unhappy with the reluctance of the owners to develop more original series. Sullivan left Columbia in 1943 and formed

Magazine Enterprises Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western comics, Western, humor, crime comics, crime, adventure, and children's literature, children's comics, with virtually no superhero ...

. This company lasted until 1958, after which Sullivan left comics. Sullivan was a guest at the August 1998 Comic-Con International in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, where he was reunited with some of his former colleagues. He died six months later due to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

References

External links

* * 1911 births 1999 deaths American comics artists Artists from New York (state) People from Manhasset, New York DC Comics people {{US-comics-creator-stub