George Klein (comics)

Infobox Comics creator
name = George Klein

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imagesize = 150
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deathdate = 1969
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nationality = American
area = Inker, Penciller
alias = Nick Karlton
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George Klein (died 1969) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist whose career stretched from the 1930s and 1940s' Golden Age of comic books. He was best known as an inker for DC Comics, where he was an integral part of the Superman family of titles from 1955 to 1968, and for Marvel Comics, where he was the generally recognized, uncredited inker on industry legend Jack Kirby's pencil art for the landmark "Fantastic Four" #1. [ [http://www.povonline.com/jackfaq/JackFaq2.htm POV Online (column): The Jack FAQ — "Who Inked "Fantastic Four" #1?", by Mark Evanier] ]

Biography

Early career

At Marvel Comics' 1940s precursor, Timely Comics, Klein was both a penciler and an inker, initially on superhero features. He was among the pencilers of the super-speedster the Whizzer (in "All Winners Comics" #8-9, Spring-Summer 1943), inking him over Mike Sekowsky's pencils as early as "All Winners" #3 (Winter 1941/42). He also worked on the characters Miss America (inking the premiere issue in 1944), the Young Allies, the Black Marvel, the Golden Age Black Widow, the Defender, and, under the pseudonym Nick Karlton, the Challenger. Klein found himself more utilized, however, in what was called Timely's "animator" bullpen, which created such movie tie-in and original funny animal comics as "Mighty Mouse" and "Animated Funny Comic-Tunes" .

Because he was on staff, Klein frequently did not sign his artwork — a typical though not ironclad industry habit at the time — making it difficult to assess his Golden Age output.

In the post-war era, Klein drew for a variety of publishers. For DC Comics, nearly ten years before teaming with penciler Curt Swan on various Superman titles, Klein inked him on a "Boy Commandos" story in "World's Finest Comics" #21 (March-April 1946). For American Comics Group (ACG), Klein worked on such horror/suspense titles as "Adventures into the Unknown", "Forbidden Worlds", and "Out of the Night". For Atlas Comics, Marvel's 1950s iteration, Klein penciled but mostly inked stories for such comics as "Marvel Tales", "Sports Action", "Wild Western", and "Space Squadron", for which he drew the backup feature "Blast Revere". By late in the decade he was also doing stories for Prize Comics' "Black Magic."

uperman family

In 1955, Klein began his long association with penciler Curt Swan on a variety of titles in DC Comics' "Superman family", edited by Mort Weisinger. Starting with uncredited but generally recognized inks over Swan in "Superboy" #38 (Jan. 1955) — on a backup story featuring the Boy of Steel vs. "Public Chimp Number One!" — Klein soon took on the lead features there and in "Adventure Comics" starring Superboy; "Superman", starting in late 1961; and DC's flagship title, "Action Comics" starring Superman, in 1962.

Wrote one observer of Klein's work, "His crisp and clean lines perfectly complemented Curt Swan's natural pencils, and he raised the quality of comics tremendously during his time at DC" [ [http://members.shaw.ca/super-heroes/silver-age/talent/#george_klein "Creators of the Silver-Age Superman Family"] (anonymous author)] . Wrote another, " [I] t was Swan with Klein who created the definitive Superman image [that] typified the Silver Age". [ [http://www.captaincomics.us/ Captain Comics forum post] formerly at [http://www.captaincomics.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=12307 this dead link] ] (last access attempt Oct. 12, 2006).]

Later in the 1960s, Klein became the chief inker on "Adventure"'s lead feature, the Legion of Super-Heroes, by writer Jim Shooter and penciler Swan, helping set the visual foundation for what would become one of DC's most popular series.

In 1968, with new art director and soon-to-be editorial director Carmine Infantino given the mandate to revitalize DC in the wake of rival Marvel's pop-culture stardom, Klein was eased out along with such other Superman-family artists as Wayne Boring, Jim Mooney, and George Papp, and writers Otto Binder, Edmond Hamilton, and Jerry Siegel (Superman's co-creator with Joe Shuster). Klein's "Swan song" was "Adventure Comics" #367 (May 1968).

Marvel Comics

Ten years earlier, Klein had inked DC's "Showcase" #12 (Jan.-Feb. 1958), featuring Jack Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown — four unmaksed adventurers in jumpsuits who each issue faced the fantastic. Kirby and Klein faced their own unknown challenge three years later, when Klein would ink four more unmaksed adventurerers in jump suits — writer Stan Lee and artist/co-creator Kirby's "The Fantastic Four" #1-2 (Nov. 1961 - Jan. 1962). These first issues of the risky, groundbreaking book set the template for the "Marvel revolution" that revitalized the comics industry with a rough-hewn naturalism in which superheroes could bicker, worry about finances, and be flawed human beings, unlike the golden, square-jawed archetypes that had become the tradition.

Marvel also pioneered fuller creator credits than any comics company before it, listing not simply the editor, writer, and penciler, but also the inker and the letterer. (The colorist would not be credited until much later.) Yet these early "Fantastic Four" issues carried no credits other than the Lee and Kirby signatures, and accounting records from that time are spotty. Many inkers have been suggested as the unknown embellisher — the name most often bandied being that of Dick Ayers, an artist whose highly recognizable style has lent him the generally acknowledged cover-inking credit. Yet in the mid-2000s — with comic books having become a mainstream cultural phenomenon — scholars and comics-niche journalists gave those early issues increased scrutiny. Some sources, including the Jack Kirby Museum website [ [http://kirbymuseum.org/catalogue/ Jack Kirby Museum search page] ] list both George Klein and the late Timely/Atlas artist Christopher Rule; others credit only Klein, based on both inking style and because Rule has no recorded credits beyond July 1960 cover-dates. And Klein, while working almost exclusively for DC, did ink the occasional Kirby "pre-superhero Marvel" monster/suspense story.

Upon leaving DC during the 1968 company shakeup (see above), Klein rapidly became one of Marvel's most high-profile inkers in the short time before his death. He embellished John Buscema on a classic run of the "The Avengers"; Gene Colan on that penciler's signature series, "Daredevil"; and, in a tragic but fitting last assignment, his "Fantastic Four" #1 colleague Jack Kirby on "The Mighty Thor" #168-169 (Sept.-Oct. 1969). Among the significant Silver Age issues he inked were the "Avengers" stories that introduced the Vision, Yellowjacket, and the Clint Barton Goliath, and another with the marriage of Henry Pym and the Janet Van Dyne; "Brother, Take My Hand" in "Daredevil" #47 (Dec. 1968), cited by Stan Lee as one of his favorites among the comic-book stories he wrote; and the cover and interior of one of Barry Windsor-Smith's first comics, "Daredevil #51" (April 1969).

Klein died in his fifties, from cirrhosis of the liver, six months after getting married. [ "Alter Ego" #33 (Feb. 2004), interview with Pat Sekowsky, pp. 5-20]

Quotes

Atlas Comics [retailer] Presents the 20 Greatest Inkers of American Comic Books — "#17 George Klein:"

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comic Book Database]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]
* [http://www.ffplaza.com/library/?issue=ff1 FFPlaza.com: "Fantastic Four" Vol. 1, #1]
* [http://members.shaw.ca/super-heroes/silver-age/talent/#george_klein Creators of the Silver-Age Superman Family: George Klein]
* [http://www.twomorrows.com/alterego/articles/13buscema.html "Alter Ego" Vol. 3, #13, March 2002: John Buscema interview]
* [http://www.geocities.com/jjnevins/marvel.html Jess Nevins' "A Guide To Marvel's Golden Age Characters": The Black Marvel]

External links

* [http://www.comicartville.com/bellman.htm Comicartville Library: "A Timely Talk with Allen Bellman", by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo (2005)]