Jack Kamen (/ˈkeɪmən/; May 29, 1920 – August 5, 2008) was an Americanillustrator for books, magazines,comic books and advertising, known for his work illustrating crime, horror, humour, suspense andscience fiction stories forEC Comics, for his work in advertising, and for the onscreen artwork he contributed to the 1982 horror anthology filmCreepshow.
Jack Kamen was born to aJewish family inBrooklyn, New York City, on May 29, 1920.[citation needed]
Kamen's first professional job was as an assistant to a sculptor working for theTexas Centennial. He studied sculpture with Agop Agopoff and was a student ofHarvey Dunn,George Brandt Bridgman andWilliam C. McNulty. When Kamen attended classes at theArt Students League and the Grand Central Art School, he paid for his studies by painting theatrical scenery, decorating fashion mannequins and creating sculptures. Shortly after he began his illustration career with Western and detectivepulp magazines, he was called into theArmy in 1942. AfterWorld War II, he started drawing comic book stories forFiction House and theEisner & Iger studio.[citation needed]
ArtistAl Feldstein also did work for the Eisner & Iger studio, where Kamen and Feldstein became friends. Later, Feldstein brought Kamen intoEC Comics, as Kamen recalled in an interview with Ken Smith:
After initially getting EC assignments to illustrate romance comics, he soon became one of the most prolific EC artists, drawing crime, horror, humour, suspense and science fiction stories. He was known for his drawings of attractive women. Describing Kamen's understated style, EC editorAl Feldstein said, "We gave Kamen those stories where the All-American girl and guy are married and then chop each other to pieces."[2] InTales from the Crypt #31, Kamen drew a semi-autobiographical self-satire, "Kamen's Kalamity", later adapted to HBO'sTales from the Crypt TV series as "Korman's Kalamity". The story depicted the transition from romance to horror by Kamen, who called it "my favourite story".[3][4]
After EC's line of comics fell victim to industry censorship in 1954–55, it was Kamen who suggested to the publisher that the company could avoid the newly imposedComics Code Authority strictures with a pricier magazine format, which Kamen dubbed Picto-Fiction.[2] However, EC's woes followed the new line of Picto-Fiction titles, including those with stories by Kamen. The magazines were underdistributed and soon canceled.[citation needed]
After leaving EC, Kamen began drawingSunday supplement illustrations and creating advertising art for a wide variety of clients:Esquire Shoe Polish,Mack Trucks,Pan American Airlines,Playtex,RCA,Smith Corona andSylvania. For artistTom Palmer, Kamen described one of his unusual painting techniques:
He also drew all the comic book artwork forStephen King andGeorge A. Romero's 1982 horror anthology filmCreepshow, King and Romero's homage to the EC horror comics.[6] Although the bulk of the artwork for thegraphic novel adaptation of the film was done by acclaimedmacabre artistBerni Wrightson (along with his daughter who did some of the coloring), Kamen illustrated the cover.
Jack Kamen married his wife, Evelyn Rothenberg, in 1946. They had four children.[citation needed]
His eldest son, Barton, was a director of pediatric hematology/oncology at theCancer Institute of New Jersey, a professor of pediatrics and pharmacology atUMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and the chief medical officer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Bart died on September 27, 2012.[7] Bart's daughter Libby is Jack and Evelyn's only grandchild.
His sonDean Kamen is the inventor of theSegway and theiBOT Mobility System, and Jack Kamen drew the patent renderings of the Segway. He also designed the logo for Dean Kamen'sFIRST program.[3][8]
Mitch and Terri are twins and the youngest of the four children. Mitch is a musician in New York and his only daughter Terri is the owner and general manager of an insurance agency in Palm Beach County, Florida.[citation needed]
Kamen died at his home inBoca Raton on August 5, 2008, from complications of cancer.[9]
