| Bernard Baily | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1916-04-05)April 5, 1916 |
| Died | January 19, 1996(1996-01-19) (aged 79) |
| Nationality | American |
| Area | Writer, Artist, Editor, Publisher |
| Pseudonym(s) | Glenda Carrol, Glenda Carol[1] |
Notable works | TheSpectre,Hourman |
Bernard Baily (April 5, 1916 – January 19, 1996)[2][3] was an Americancomic book artist best known as co-creator of theDC Comics characters theSpectre andHourman, and a comicspublisher,writer, andeditor.
Bernard Baily began his comics career underS. M. "Jerry" Iger, editor ofWow - What a Magazine!, one of the seminalAmerican comic books. The title ran four issues (cover-dated July-Sept. & Nov. 1936).[4] Like many other creators during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call theGolden Age of Comic Books, Baily transitioned to the newly formed studioEisner & Iger, a prominentcomic book packager that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the newmedium. There through the late 1930s, Baily worked on such fillers as the one-page movie-star biographies "Star Snapshots" for publisherQuality Comics'Smash Comics, as well as on asyndicated comic strip,Phyllis.[3]
ForDC Comics precursor National Comics, Baily co-created and drew the adventure feature "Tex Thomson" inAction Comics #1 (June 1938), the landmark comic book that introducedSuperman. The Thomson feature ran throughAction Comics #32 (Jan. 1941), after which the character adopted thesuperhero identitiesMister America (Action Comics #33-52) and theAmericommando (Action Comics #53-74, reaching tocover-date July 1944). Baily also wrote and drew thepirate-adventure feature "Buccaneer" in National'sMore Fun Comics #32-51 (June 1938 - Jan. 1940).[5]
InMore Fun Comics #52 (Feb. 1940), Baily and writerJerry Siegel, Superman's co-creator, introduced DC's violent spirit ofvengeance, theSpectre. The afterlifealter ego of murdered police detective Jim Corrigan, the character would become one of the longest-enduring comic-book creations, revived during the mid-1950s to 1960sSilver Age of Comic Books and continuing into the 21st century. One compilation of the top hundred American comics artists writes that, "Baily crafted a mood of menace and suspense, using bravura layouts featuring the Spectre's otherworldly powers and size. He was also a fabulous cover artist who contributed reams of great images."[6]
Baily co-created the frequently revived DC superheroHourman (dubbed Hour-Man in his earliest appearances), with writerKen Fitch, inAdventure Comics #48 (April 1940).[5]
The Golden Age Spectre's feature ran throughMore Fun #101 (Feb. 1945), with the Spectre also appearing as part of the superhero team theJustice Society of America inAll Star Comics #1-23 (Summer 1940 - Winter 1944/45), fromAll-American Publications, one of the early companies that merged with National to form the modern-day DC. Hourman ran throughAdventure Comics #83 (Feb. 1943).[5]
Baily also drew the short-lived syndicated comic stripsVic Jordan (which ran from 1944 to 1945 in theNew York City newspaperPM) andStories of the Opera (running from 1949 to 1950).[1]
In 1943, Baily founded the publishing company Baily Publications and, with artistMac Raboy, thecomics packager Bernard Baily Studio. The latter concern, which lasted through 1946, was the outsource producer of such comics as Cambridge House Publishers' single-issueStar Studded Comics andGold Medal Comics (both 1945). Other publishers for whom his studio created comics included the Rural Home Publishing imprint Croyden; Jay Burtis; Narrative; Lindsay Baird;Feature Comics; Neal Publications; theSpotlight Comics imprint Novack '45; R.B. Leffingwell; andHolyoke Publications.[7] Among the fledgling artists gaining a foothold in the industry at Baily's studio wereGil Kane,[8]Carmine Infantino,[7] andFrank Frazetta, who at 16 assisted the established artistJohn Giunta there.[9][10] Other personnel includedDan Barry,Dick Briefer,Manny Stallman, andNina Albright, one of a handful of Golden Agewomen comic-book artists.
Baily himself drew for a number of companies in the 1950s, includingDC Comics (House of Mystery,House of Secrets,Tales of the Unexpected, and theTV-series adaptationsMr. District Attorney andGang Busters);Fawcett Comics (This Magazine is Haunted,Beware! Terror Tales);Key Publications (Mister Mystery,Weird Mystieres,Weird Chills,Weird Tales of the Future);St. John Publications (Strange Terrors); andMarvel Comics precursorAtlas Comics (Astonishing,Journey into Mystery,Strange Tales,Tales of Justice,Uncanny Tales,World of Fantasy, and others).[5] He also wrote and drew the syndicated comic stripGilda Gay through the 1950s, and contributed toMajor Publications'satirical magazineCracked.[1]
From the late 1950s through the mid-1960s, Baily teamed with writerJack Schiff to produce a slew of one-pagepublic-service announcements, such as "Children of Tomorrow," commemoratingUnited Nations Day, "What's Your B.Q.? (Brotherhood Quotient)", and "Bike Safety = Bike Fun!" Through the next decade, he concentrated on drawingsupernatural-mystery andscience fiction stories for such DC anthology series asThe Phantom Stranger,Strange Adventures,Weird War Tales,Witching Hour, and others. He also drew the cover ofStanley Publications' black-and-whitehorror-comics magazineChilling Tales of Horror #1 (June 1969).[5]
During the 1970s, Baily publishedfarm periodicals.[1] His last known comics work waspenciling the eight-page "His Brother's Keeper", written byJack Oleck, in DC'sHouse of Mystery #279 (April 1980). Baily was living inPutnam County,New York, at the time of his death at age 79.[11]
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