Jack Oleck (March 1, 1914 – March 10, 1981)Social Security Death Index, SS# 115-01-6988. was an American novelist and

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

writer particularly known for his work in the horror genre. The brother-in-law of comics pioneer

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books ...

, Oleck's comic book career was basically in two parts. During the

Golden Age of comics The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many ...

Oleck wrote for

EC Comics E.C. Publications, Inc., (doing business as EC Comics) is an American comic book publisher. It specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, nota ...

and the Simon-

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

Studio. After the mid-1950s temporary collapse of the industry following the publication of

Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German–American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafa ...

's ''

Seduction of the Innocent ''Seduction of the Innocent'' is a book by German-born American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a harmful form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was tak ...

'' and the establishment of the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

, Oleck left comics, instead writing novels and publishing an

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

magazine. From the late 1960s until his death in 1981, Oleck worked for

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

as a writer for their extensive line of horror/suspense titles.

Biography

Early career

Oleck's first comics credit was as a writer for

Lev Gleason Publications Lev Gleason Incorporated, formerly known as Lev Gleason Publishing, is a Canadian comic book company founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971). They were the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, incl ...

' '' Silver Streak'', in 1940. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, leaving the service as a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Golden Age

In 1948, using his connection as Simon's brother-in-law, Oleck joined the Simon-Kirby studio, which produced material for such publishers as

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

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-runn ...

, and Simon & Kirby's own

Mainline Publications Mainline Publications, also called Mainline Comics, was a short-lived, 1950s American comic book publisher established and owned by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Foundation With the 1950s backlash against comics, led by the psychiatrist Fredric Wert ...

. Oleck quickly established himself as "the number one scriptwriter for Simon and Kirby," producing

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

stories,

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

stories and

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

features, in addition to the burgeoning field of

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 ...

editor

Al Feldstein Albert Bernard Feldstein ( ; October 24, 1925 – April 29, 2014) was an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine '' Mad''. After retiring from ''Mad' ...

recruited Oleck in the early 1950s, where he became one of the main writers of ''

Crime SuspenStories ''Crime SuspenStories'' was a bi-monthly anthology crime comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title first arrived on newsstands with its October/November 1950 issue and ceased publication with its February/March 1955 issue, produ ...

''. Oleck also scripted stories for EC's '' The Vault of Horror'' and '' Weird Science-Fantasy'', as well as the EC Picto-Fiction titles, ''

Crime Illustrated ''Crime Illustrated'' was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in late 1955 and early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated panels of typography with panels of ill ...

'', '' Shock Illustrated'' and '' Terror Illustrated''.

Novelist and magazine publisher

After temporarily leaving comics, Oleck was the publisher and editor of ''Interior Decorator News'' from 1957 to 1969. During this period, Oleck wrote a popular

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

, ''Messalina'', about the

Roman empress The term Roman empress usually refers to the consorts of the Roman emperors, the rulers of the Roman Empire. The duties, power and influence of empresses varied depending on the time period, contemporary politics and the personalities of their hu ...

, which has been republished many times. He penned a second historical novel, ''Theodora'', reflecting his fascination with and great knowledge about the Roman Empire. Oleck followed with a few more, lesser known books as well as at least one television script.

DC Comics

Horror comics made a comeback in the late 1960s and Oleck joined

' stable of writers in 1968. His first story for DC, "The House of Gargoyles", was published in ''

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 Comi ...

'' #175 (July–August 1968). He became a regular contributor to such titles as ''

Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion ''Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion'' was a horror-suspense- romance anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1971 to 1974, a companion to ''Secrets of Sinister House''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soap ...

'', ''House of Mystery'', '' House of Secrets'', ''

Secrets of Sinister House ''Secrets of Sinister House'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972-1974, a companion to '' Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soap opera ''D ...

'', '' Tales of Ghost Castle'', ''

Weird Mystery Tales ''Weird Mystery Tales'' is a mystery horror comics anthology published by DC Comics from July–August 1972 to November 1975. Publication history 100 Page Super Spectacular The title ''Weird Mystery Tales'' was first used for '' DC 100 Page ...

'', and ''

Weird War Tales ''Weird War Tales'' is a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics. It was published from September - October 1971 to June 1983. Publication history The original title ran for 12 years and 124 issues. It was an an ...

''. He also returned to the romance field, scripting stories for DC's '' Young Love'' and ''

Young Romance ''Young Romance'' is a romantic comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the Crestwood Publications imprint (trade name), imprint Prize Comics in 1947 in comics, 1947. Generally considered the first Romance comics in the United ...

'', both titles Oleck had written for in the 1950s which had subsequently been acquired by DC. For ''House of Mystery'' #194 (Sept. 1971), Oleck wrote the seven-page story "The King Is Dead", which was illustrated by

Nestor Redondo Nestor P. Redondo (May 4, 1928 – December 30, 1995)Nestor P. Redondo
at the

Bernard Baily Bernard Baily (April 5, 1916 – January 19, 1996)
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
Oleck and artist

Alex Niño Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in ''Heavy Metal (magazine), Heavy Metal'' magazine. Biography Early l ...

created the science-fiction feature "Space Voyagers" in '' Rima, the Jungle Girl'' #1 (May 1974). Oleck and

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 8, 2000) was a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. ...

created '' Kong the Untamed'' in 1975, and Oleck was the writer of the short-lived series starring Kong. Oleck's final story for DC was "Legend of the Lost" in ''House of Mystery'' #287 (Dec. 1980). In the 1970s, Oleck wrote horror paperback novels, including two film tie-ins.

Bibliography

Comic books

Charlton Comics

* '' Ghost Manor'' #62 (1982) * '' Haunted'' #71 (1984) * ''Out of This World'' #3–4 (1957) * ''

Strange Suspense Stories ''Strange Suspense Stories'' is a comic book that was published in two volumes by Fawcett Comics and Charlton Comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Starting out as a Horror comic, horror/Suspense (genre), suspense title, the first volume gradually moved ...

'' #32 (1957)

DC Comics

* ''

The Amazing World of DC Comics ''The Amazing World of DC Comics'' was DC Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s. Running 17 issues, the fanzine featured DC characters and their creators, and was exclusively available through mail order. Primarily text articles, wit ...

'' #12 (1976) * ''Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love'' #3 (1972) * ''

DC Special ''DC Special'' was a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics originally from 1968 to 1971; it resumed publication from 1975 to 1977. For the most part, ''DC Special'' was a theme-based reprint title, mostly focusing on stories from DC ...

'' #11 (1971) * ''

DC Special Series ''DC Special Series'' was an umbrella title for one-shots and special issues published by DC Comics between 1977 and 1981. Each issue featured a different character and was often in a different format than the issue before it. ''DC Special Serie ...

'' #12 (1978) * ''Falling in Love'' #137 (1972) * ''

'' #5, 8–10 (1972–1973) * ''

Girls' Love Stories ''Girls' Love Stories'' was an American romance comic book magazine published by DC Comics in the United States. Started in 1949 as DC's first romance title, it ran for 180 issues, ending with the Nov-Dec 1973 issue. The stories covered such top ...

'' #149, 153, 156–157, 159, 177 (1970–1973) * ''

'' #175, 182–184, 186, 189, 191, 194–198, 200, 204, 206, 210–214, 222–223, 225–226, 230–232, 234, 236–239, 241–242, 246–248, 250–258, 265, 278–279, 287 (1968–1980) * '' House of Secrets'' #95–96, 99–102, 104, 106–107, 110, 113, 116–118, 121–122, 124–126, 129–133, 136, 138–139, 141–143, 147–149, 152–153 (1971–1978) * '' Kong the Untamed'' #1–3 (1975) * ''

Phantom Stranger The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo imprint. The character ...

'' vol. 2 #12 (1971) * ''

Plop! ''Plop!'', "The New Magazine of Weird Humor!", is a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics in the mid-1970s. It falls into the horror / humor genre. It lasted 24 issues and the series ran from Sept./Oct. 1973 to Nov./Dec. 1976. Backg ...

'' #2, 7, 9 (1973–1975) * '' Rima, the Jungle Girl'' #1 (1974) * ''

Secret Hearts ''Secret Hearts'' was a romance comic anthology published by DC Comics in the United States, primarily in the 1950s and '60s. A staple of the company's romance line, it was "one of the publisher's most successful and well-known romance titles." ...

'' #148, 152 (1970–1971) * '' Secrets of Haunted House'' #1–4, 6, 9–10, 13 (1975–1978) * ''

'' #9, 12–13, 15 (1973) * ''

Star Spangled War Stories ''Star Spangled War Stories'' is the title of a comics anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed characters and stories. Among the features published in this series were writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Jerry Grandenetti's ...

'' #190, 192, 195, 203 (1975–1976) * '' Tales of Ghost Castle'' #2–3 (1975) * '' The Unexpected'' #118, 161, 189, 191–194 (1970–1979) * '' Unknown Soldier'' #218 (1978) * ''

'' #4–5, 8–13, 21, 24 (1973–1975) * ''

'' #13, 15–16, 20–22, 24, 26–27, 29–30, 32–33, 35–36, 38–40, 42–47, 49, 51–54, 58–59, 63, 65, 69–71 (1973–1979) * ''

Weird Western Tales ''Weird Western Tales'' is a Western genre comics anthology published by DC Comics from June–July 1972 to August 1980. It is best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 (Jan.–Feb. 1977) when the character was promoted to hi ...

'' #15 (1972) * '' The Witching Hour'' #11 (1970) * '' Young Love'' #85, 88–90 (1971) * ''

'' #165–166 (1970)

EC Comics

* ''

Aces High Aces High may refer to: *Aces High (comics), ''Aces High'' (comics), a comic book series by EC Comics *Aces High (video game), ''Aces High'' (video game), a combat flight simulator/massively multiplayer online game *Aces High (film), ''Aces High'' ...

'' #3–5 (1955) * ''

'' #1–2 (1955–1956) * ''

'' #24–27 (1954–1955) * ''

The Haunt of Fear ''The Haunt of Fear'' is an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series that was published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1954 created by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein. The magazine began in June 1947 as ''Fat and Slat''. It continued under this ...

'' #27 (1954) * ''

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a large force or mechanical shock over a short period of time * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Imp ...

'' #4 (1955) * ''

Incredible Science Fiction ''Incredible Science Fiction'' was an American science fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics in 1955 and 1956, lasting a total of four issues. Creative team ''Incredible Science Fiction'' ran for four issues, boasting a number of ski ...

'' #30–33 (1955–1956) * ''

Piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

'' #5 (1955) * '' Shock Illustrated'' #2–3 (1956) * '' Shock SuspenStories'' #14–15 (1954) * '' Terror Illustrated'' #1–2 (1955–1956) * '' The Vault of Horror'' #35–37 (1954)

Harvey Comics

* ''Alarming Tales'' #2–4 (1957–1958) * ''

Black Cat A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...

'' #62 (1958)

Hillman Periodicals

* ''Pirates Comics'' #1–4 (1950)

Mainline Publications

* ''Foxhole'' #3–4 (1955)

Marvel Comics

* ''Astonishing'' #55 (1956) * ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s ...

'' #11 (1953) * ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, 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. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...

'' #49 (1956)

Prize Publications

* ''

Black Magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

'' #35 (1957) * ''Strange World of Your Dreams'' #4 (1953) * ''Young Romance'' #4 (1948)

Novels

* ''Messalina'' (

Lyle Stuart Lyle Stuart (born Lionel Simon; August 11, 1922June 24, 2006) was an American author and independent publisher of controversial books. He worked as a newsman for years before launching his publishing firm, Lyle Stuart, Incorporated. A former pa ...

, 1959) * ''Theodora'' (

Signet Signet may refer to: *Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals * Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...

, 1971), historical novel similar in spirit to ''Messalina'' * ''The Villagers'' (Lyle Stuart, 1971) * ''

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 ...

'' (

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...

, 1972), film tie-in * '' The Vault of Horror'' (Bantam Books, 1973), film tie-in * ''The House of Mystery'' Book 1 and 2 (Warner Paperback, 1973), illustrated by

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017) was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein, adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his other ho ...

* ''Satan's Child'' (1978), illustrated by

Arthur Suydam Arthur Suydam (; born May 18, 1953) is an American comic book artist known for his work on Marvel Zombies, Deadpool, Black Panther, and KISS Zombies. He has done artwork for magazines including '' Heavy Metal'', ''Epic Illustrated'' and '' Nation ...

* ''The Rites of Spring'' (1982), illustrated by Arthur Suydam

References

External links

*
Jack Kirby Museum: Simon and Kirby: Jack OleckJoanne Renaud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleck, Jack 1914 births 1981 deaths American comics writers American horror writers American science fiction writers American male novelists United States Army personnel of World War II EC Comics Golden Age comics creators People from Massapequa, New York Silver Age comics creators United States Army soldiers