Ed Furness (1911–2005) was a

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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 ...

artist associated with the " Canadian Whites", Canadian comic books published during

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 ...

. Furness, originally from the

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, grew up in Dunnville, Ontario. Furness graduated from the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

in 1933, and after a few years of working as an illustrator he was hired by Anglo-American Publishing to produce comic book stories for their burgeoning line of comics. In 1941, Furness, along with writer Ted McCall created the character of

Freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

for Anglo-American's

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. Furness also drew

Commander Steel Commander Steel (also known as Captain Steel, Citizen Steel and Sergeant Steel) is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics by the American publisher DC Comics, all members of the same family. The first Steel appeared in ''Steel, The ...

Grand Slam Comics Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

from 1941 and many other comic book stories, eventually becoming the lead artist for Anglo-American Publishing. The

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ended in 1946, and reopened the distribution of American comic books in Canada again, which led to the end to many Canadian comic book publishers. Anglo-American made one last-ditch effort to distribute their periodicals in the United States in color and failed. Anglo-American Publishing shut down production in 1956. Furness went on to do commercial art and landscape painting. Ed Furness was one of five comic book creators inducted into the

Joe Shuster Award The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadian comics, Canadi ...

s Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame in April 2005.

See also