comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary a ...

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 ...

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics' ...

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 ...

Mr. Freeze Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Batman'' #121 in February 1959 as the ice-based criminal Mr. Ze ...

Black Pirate The Black Pirate (Jon Valor) is a fictional character from DC Comics, created by Sheldon Moldoff. He first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). His ghost played an important role in James Robinson's 1990s '' Starman'' series. Fictio ...

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

Sheldon Mayer Sheldon Mayer (; April 1, 1917 – December 21, 1991) was an American comics artist, writer, and editor. One of the earliest employees of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, Mayer produced almost all of his comics wor ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

cartooning A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

Bernard Baily Bernard Baily (April 5, 1916 – January 19, 1996)
at the

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Betty Boop and other popular cartoons of the day—and he came by and looked at it and said, 'Hey, do you want to learn how to draw cartoons?' I said, 'Yes!' He said, 'Come on, I'll show you how to draw.'" He was of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

background. Moldoff sold his first cartoon drawing at age 17. "My first work in comic books was doing filler pages for Vincent Sullivan, who was the editor at National Periodicals",1994 Sheldon Moldoff interview, first published in '' Alter Ego'' # 59 (June 2006), p. 15 one of the three companies, with Detective Comics Inc. and

All-American Publications All-American PublicationsThe name is spelled with a hyphen per its logo (pictured) and sources includinat Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on April 15, 2012. was one of two American comic book companies that merged to form t ...

, that eventually merged to form the modern-day DC Comics. Moldoff's debut was a

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

filler that appeared on the inside back cover of the landmark ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ 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 Publications ...

'' #1 (June 1938), the comic book that introduced Superman.

Golden Age

During the late-1930s and 1940s Golden Age of comic books, Moldoff became a prolific cover artist for the future DC Comics. His work includes the first cover of the Golden Age

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, ...

, on issue #16 (July 1940) of All-American's flagship title ''

All-American Comics ''All-American Comics'' was a comics anthology and the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from 1939 to 1948. Characters created for the title, including Green ...

'', featuring the debut of that character created by artist

Martin Nodell Martin Nodell (November 15, 1915 – December 9, 2006) was an American cartoonist and commercial artist, best known as the creator of the Golden Age superhero Green Lantern. Some of his work appeared under the pen name Mart Dellon. Biography E ...

. Moldoff created the character

Black Pirate The Black Pirate (Jon Valor) is a fictional character from DC Comics, created by Sheldon Moldoff. He first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). His ghost played an important role in James Robinson's 1990s '' Starman'' series. Fictio ...

(Jon Valor) in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ 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 Publications ...

'' #23 (April 1940), and became one of the earliest artists for the character Hawkman (created 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 ...

and Dennis Neville, though sometimes misattributed to Moldoff). Moldoff drew the first image of the formerly civilian character Shiera Sanders in costume as

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics' ...

in ''

All Star Comics ''All Star Comics'' is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All ...

'' #5, based on Neville's Hawkman costume design. Beginning with ''Flash Comics'' #4 (April 1940), Moldoff became the regular Hawkman artist, following Neville's departure from the feature the issue before. He drew the Hawkman portions of the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

stories published in ''

All Star Comics ''All Star Comics'' is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All ...

'' as well. Moldoff recalled in 2000 that All-American publisher

Max Gaines Maxwell Charles Gaines (born Max Ginzberg September 21, 1894 – August 20, 1947) was a pioneering figure in the creation of the modern comic book. In 1933, Gaines devised the first four-color, saddle-stitched newsprint pamphlet, a precursor t ...

Drafted into

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 opposing ...

military service in 1944, Moldoff returned to civilian life in 1946, drawing for Standard, Fawcett, Marvel and Max Gaines'

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-1950 ...

. For EC he drew '' Moon Girl'', continuing with that character for

Bill Gaines William Maxwell Gaines (; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992), was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically import ...

. When superhero comics went out of fashion in the postwar era, Moldoff became an early pioneer in

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

, packaging two such ready-to-prints titles in 1948. He recalled in 2000 that, "I had shown '' This Magazine Is Haunted'' and ''Tales of the Supernatural'' to /nowiki>Fawcett_Comics'.html" ;"title="Fawcett_Comics.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Fawcett Comics">/nowiki>Fawcett Comics'">Fawcett_Comics.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Fawcett Comics">/nowiki>Fawcett Comics'/nowiki> Will Lieberson before I showed them to [

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-1950 ...

'] Bill Gaines, because I trusted Will Lieberson much more. He showed it to the big guys at Fawcett, and he said, 'Shelly, Fawcett doesn't want to get into horror now; they don't want to touch that'". Moldoff then did approach Gaines with the package, signing a contract stipulating that he would be paid a royalty percentage if the books were successful. Several months later, when EC's ''

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 ...

'' hit the newsstands, Gaines reneged on the deal, Moldoff recalled in 2000, with EC attorney Dave Alterbaum threatening to blacklist Moldoff if he took legal action. Afterward, said Moldoff, "Will Lieberson said, 'Let me bring it back to Fawcett again, and see if they'll take the title'. And so they did; they took ''This Magazine Is Haunted'' and ''Worlds of Fear'' and then ''

Strange Suspense Stories ''Strange Suspense Stories'' was a comic book published in two volumes by Fawcett Comics and Charlton Comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Starting out as a horror/suspense title, the first volume gradually moved toward eerie fantasy and weird science f ...

''. What they did was pay me $100 for the title, and give me as much work as I wanted, and I also did the covers. So that went on that way". Moldoff, who received no royalty there, either, created the cadaverous host Doctor Death.

1950s and 1960s

In 1953, Moldoff became one of the primary Batman ghost artists who, along with

Win Mortimer James Winslow Mortimer (May 1, 1919 – January 11, 1998) Note: The Marvel Comics 1978 Calendar merchandise lists Mortimer's birth date as June 23 and ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' lists it as May 23 per was a Canadians, Canadian comic book and comic ...

and Dick Sprang, drew stories credited to Bob Kane, following Kane's style and under Kane's supervision. While Sprang ghosted as a DC employee, Moldoff, in a 1994 interview given while Kane was alive, described his own secret arrangement: Moldoff and various writers created several new characters for the Batman franchise including the Batmen of All Nations, Ace the Bat-Hound, the original Batwoman, the Calendar Man,

Mr. Freeze Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Batman'' #121 in February 1959 as the ice-based criminal Mr. Ze ...

, Bat-Mite, the original Bat-Girl, and the second Clayface. Most of these characters were phased out in 1964 after a change in editors.

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 ...

and Moldoff revived the Riddler in ''Batman'' #171 (May 1965). Other Batman foes introduced by Moldoff include Poison Ivy and the Spellbinder. Moldoff was let go by DC in 1967, along with many other prominent writers and artists who had made demands for health and retirement benefits. His final Batman stories were published in ''Batman'' #199 and ''Detective Comics'' #372 (both cover dated February 1968). He turned to animation, doing

storyboards A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in th ...

for such animated TV series as '' Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse'', and wrote and drew promotional comic books given away to children at the Burger King, Big Boy,

Red Lobster Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Ho ...

, and

Captain D's Captain D's is an American fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in seafood and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The chain was founded as Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers by Raymond L. Danner Sr. on August 15, 1969, in Donelson, T ...

restaurant and fast-food chains, as well as through the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

team. When Moldoff illustrated a chapter of the

Evan Dorkin Evan Dorkin (born April 20, 1965) is an American comics artist and cartoonist. His best known works are the comic books ''Milk and Cheese'' and ''Dork''. His comics often poke fun at fandom, even while making it clear that Dorkin is a fan himsel ...

project '' Superman and Batman: World's Funnest'' in 2000, it was his first work for DC Comics in over 30 years.

Later life

Moldoff retired to Florida with his wife Shirley. His family included sons Richard Moldoff and Kenneth Moldoff and daughter Ellen Moldoff Stein. He died at age 91 on February 29, 2012, following kidney failure. He was the last surviving contributor of ''Action Comics'' #1.

Awards

Sheldon Moldoff received an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...

in 1991.

Bibliography

DC Comics

* ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ 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 Publications ...

'' #1–2, 5–8, 10, 12, 15–17, 20–36, 38–42 (1938–1941) * '' Adventure Comics'' #313, 320–322, 334–337, 339, 341–342, 346 ( Legion of Super-Heroes) (inker) (1963–1966) * ''

All-American Comics ''All-American Comics'' was a comics anthology and the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from 1939 to 1948. Characters created for the title, including Green ...

'' #27 (

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, ...

); #49 (

Sargon the Sorcerer Sargon the Sorcerer is the name of several fictional characters, the first incarnation of the character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics during the Golden Age. The original incarnation of the is John Sargent, son of archae ...

) (1941–1943) * ''

All-Flash ''All-Flash'', originally published as ''All-Flash Quarterly'', was a comic book magazine series published by All-American Publications and later National Periodicals (DC Comics) featuring superhero Jay Garrick, the original Flash. The series was ...

'' #6 (1942) * ''

All Star Comics ''All Star Comics'' is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All ...

'' #1–23 (1940–1944) * '' Batman'' #81–92, 94–175, 177–181, 183–184, 186, 188–192, 194–196, 199 (1954–1968) * ''

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 ...

'' #110–112, 119, 121–122, 127, 133–135, 139–147, 149, 151–161, 163–164, 168–169, 171–173, 181, 184 (inker) (1957–1963) * ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varied ...

'' #54 (

Kid Flash Kid Flash is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero The Flash. The first version of the c ...

/

Aqualad Aqualad is the name of two fictional comic book superheroes appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The first Aqualad, Garth, debuted in February 1960 in ''Adventure Comics'' #269 and was created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist ...

/ Robin) (inker) (1964) * '' Comic Cavalcade'' #1–3, 7, 14 (1942–1946) * '' Detective Comics'' #199–207, 213–215, 218–219, 221, 223, 225, 227–228, 230–231, 233–239, 241–242, 244–247, 249–263, 266–295, 297–298, 300–310, 312–317, 319–326, 328, 330, 332, 334, 336, 338, 340, 343, 344, 346, 348, 350, 353, 354–356, 358, 360, 362, 364–365, 368, 370, 372 (1953–1968) * '' Flash Comics'' #1–61 (1940–1945) * ''

Gang Busters ''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957. Histo ...

'' #29, 53, 55, 58, 61, 65–66 (1952–1958) * ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strang ...

'' #2, 16, 34, 60–62, 66–67, 80, 84, 139 (1952–1963) * '' House of Secrets'' #5–6, 15, 18, 21 (1957–1959) * '' Mr. District Attorney'' #18, 35, 49, 60–66 (1950–1958) * ''

My Greatest Adventure ''My Greatest Adventure'' was a DC Comics comic book that began in 1955 and is best known for introducing the superhero team Doom Patrol. Publication history The title was originally an anthology series with adventure stories told in the first ...

'' #16, 68 (1957–1962) * ''

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 ...

'' #99 (1965) * '' Sea Devils'' #16–35 (inker) (1964–1967) * '' Sensation Comics '' #1–31 (

Black Pirate The Black Pirate (Jon Valor) is a fictional character from DC Comics, created by Sheldon Moldoff. He first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). His ghost played an important role in James Robinson's 1990s '' Starman'' series. Fictio ...

); #34 (Sargon the Sorcerer) (1942–1944) * '' Strange Adventures'' #187, 197 (inker) (1966–1967) * ''

Superboy Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...

'' #118, 121, 146, 148 (inker) (1965–1968) * '' Superman'' #145, 147–148, 188 (inker) (1961–1966) * '' Superman and Batman: World's Funnest'' #1 (among other artists) (2001) * ''

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics. The series focusing on the adventures of Lois Lane began publication with a March/April 1958 cover date and ended its run in September/October 1 ...

'' #57 (inker) (1965) * ''

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it co ...

'' #50, 85, 87–88 (inker) (1961–1965) * '' Tales of the Unexpected'' #4–7, 10, 14, 16, 24, 48, 68, 84 (1956–1964) * ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' #1–6 (1942–1943) * ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #68, 104, 106–108, 110–113, 115, 118, 122–123, 125–127, 129, 132, 135, 139–140, 148–151, 157 (inker) (1954–1966)

EC Comics

* ''Animal Fables'' #7 (1947) * ''Crime Patrol'' #7 (1948) * ''

Gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

'' #5–6 (1948) * ''The Happy Houlihans'' #1 (1947) * ''International Comics'' #1–5 (1947) * ''International Crime Patrol'' #6 (1948) * '' Moon Girl'' #2–6 (1947–1949) * ''Moon Girl and the Prince'' #1 (1947) * ''Moon Girl Fights Crime'' #7–8 (1949) * ''War Against Crime!'' #4 (1948)

Fawcett Comics

* ''

Marvel Family The Marvel Family, also known as the Shazam Family (or "Shazamily"), are a group of superheroes who originally appeared in books published by Fawcett Comics and were later acquired by DC Comics. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and artist M ...

'' #25 (1948)

Marvel Comics

* ''Astonishing'' #33 (1954) * '' Combat Casey'' #12 (1953) * '' Journey into Unknown Worlds'' #17 (1953) * '' Menace'' #10 (1954) * '' Mystic'' #18, 29 (1953–1954) * ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science ...

'' #20 (1953) * '' Uncanny Tales'' #23 (1954)

Quality Comics

* ''Hit Comics'' #25-30 (

Kid Eternity Kid Eternity is a fictional character, a comic book superhero that premiered in ''Hit Comics'' #25 written by Otto Binder, drawn by Sheldon Moldoff, and published by American company Quality Comics in December 1942. All of Quality's intellectual p ...

) (1942–1943)

References

External links

Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff
(official site)
WebCitation archive
* *
Sheldon Moldoff
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Moldoff, Sheldon 1920 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American artists American animators American comics artists American military personnel of World War II American storyboard artists Artists from New York City DC Comics people Deaths from kidney failure EC Comics Golden Age comics creators Inkpot Award winners Silver Age comics creators

Biography

Early life and career

Golden Age

1950s and 1960s

Later life

Awards

Bibliography

DC Comics

EC Comics

Fawcett Comics

Marvel Comics

Quality Comics

References

Further reading

External links