| Creig Flessel | |
|---|---|
 Creig Flessel | |
| Born | Creig Valentine Flessel February 2, 1912 Huntington,New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 2008(2008-07-17) (aged 96) Mill Valley,California, U.S. |
| Area | Penciller |
Notable works | Sandman Shining Knight |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (1992)[1] |
Creig Valentine Flessel (February 2, 1912 – July 17, 2008)[2] was an Americancomic book artist and anillustrator andcartoonist for magazines ranging fromBoys' Life toPlayboy. One of the earliest comic book illustrators, he was a 2006 nominee for induction into the comics industry'sWill Eisner Hall of Fame.
The son of Frank John Flessel, ablacksmith, and his wife Ida Hawkins Bunce, Flessel was born inHuntington,Long Island,New York.[3][4] He was the youngest of two boys and two girls,[4] with siblings Frank Bunce Flessel, Laura E. Flessel, and Elizabeth Flessel.[5] Flessel graduated high school in 1930 then attended Grand Central Art School, atGrand Central Terminal inManhattan, working as a door monitor in exchange for art lessons from instructors including the painterHarvey Dunn.[4] He studied there for two years, with cartoonistCharles Addams a classmate and casual acquaintance.[4][6] Afterward, he worked one summer as a gardener onWilliam K. Vanderbilt's estate, earning $25 a week.[4]
Flessel began drawing for thepulp magazines of the time, includingStreet & Smith'sThe Shadow. "They would give you a copy of a story and the space. Double spread would be $15; single would be seven, sometimes ten," Flessel recalled in 2001.[7] He broke into comics after answering an ad inThe New York Times by MajorMajor Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson,[7] whose National Allied Publications would eventually becomeDC Comics, and began freelancing there. His first known work for the publisher appeared inMore Fun Comics #10 (cover-dated May 1936),penciling andinking the two-pagesword-and-sorcery feature "Don Drake" and the two-page humor strip "Fishy Frolics".[8] Flessel recalled,
I don't think they were looking for any pedigree or "Would you do this?" More like, "You're a live body. What do you want to do? Take this and do it, then." I realized they were desperate so I had to go out and buy a drawing table. They had just one table that they were doing all of the mechanical work on. So I got a table and managed to find a chair and sat down and they said, "Here. Do this." I think I did a couple of center spreads forMore Fun. I did [the feature] "Fishy Frolics", I did an "Acorn and Andy" double-spread. Little nonsense cartoons.[7]
In 1936, Flessel applied for a position with theadvertising agency Johnstone and Cushing, and the firm, feeling he needed more experience, recommended him as an assistant to cartoonistJohn H. Striebel on thenewspapercomic stripDixie Dugan. He worked for Striebel "[h]alf a day for a year, while I was doing pulps and of course keeping my contact with Johnstone and Cushing, maybe picking up a job," while also continuing to work for Wheeler-Nicholson.[7] Flessel also assisted Streibel with advertising art featuring the humorousradio program charactersVic and Sade, who appeared inFarina Wheat cereal print ads. Flessel next found work with the majoradvertising agency Johnstone and Cushing, illustrating ads forNestleToll House cookies,General Foods,Raisin Bran,Eveready batteries, theNehi Beverage Company'sR.C. Cola (with the characters R.C. and Quickie) and other brands and products.[citation needed]
On November 20, 1937, Flessel and Marie G. Marino were married inBrooklyn,New York City.
Concentrating his attention on the fledgling comics medium, Flessel drew the covers of many of the firstAmerican comic books, including the pre-BatmanDetective Comics #2-19 (April 1937 - Sept. 1938). He both wrote and drew the two-page "Steve Conrad, Adventurer", premiering inNew Comics #5 (June 1936); the two-pagesports feature "Pep Morgan", premieringMore Fun #12 (Aug. 1936); "Bret Lawton" and "Speed Saunders" (the latter with writer E. C. Stoner and laterGardner Fox), both premiering inDetective Comics #1; "Bradley Boys", premiering inMore Fun #13; "Hanko the Cowhand", premiering in "More Fun" #25 (Oct. 1937); "Buzz Brown", premiering inMore Fun #30 (March 1938); and at least drew and possibly wrote "Red Coat Patrol" also known as "Sgt. O'Malley", premiering in "More Fun" #39 (Jan. 1939). As writer-artist, Flessel created the DC character theShining Knight, inAdventure Comics #66 (Sept. 1941).[8][9]
Flessel drew the cover ofAction Comics #1 Ashcan.[10]
Flessel, who drew many early adventures of the Golden AgeSandman and is closely associated with that character, has sometimes been credited as the character's co-creator. While Flessel drew theSandman cover ofAdventure Comics #40, generally considered the character's first appearance,[11] the character was created by writerGardner Fox and artistBert Christman.[12]
When DC Comics editorVin Sullivan left the company in 1940 to work forColumbia Comics, Flessel, Fox and others freelanced for hisBig Shot Comics. In 1943, when Sullivan formed his own comic book publishing company,Magazine Enterprises, Flessel signed on as associate editor. Among its other publications, the firm produced at least three issues of the highly violent, wartimepropaganda comicThe United States Marines, which presented "AuthenticU.S. Marine Corps Picture Stories" as well as graphic government photographs of such subjects as burned and bayoneted Japanese soldiers.
Flessel drew illustrations for several issues of thepulp magazineClues Detective Stories in 1939 and 1940. During the late 1950s he also provided uncredited artwork forAl Capp'sLi'l Abner comic strip.[13]
Flessel continued to draw comics, often uncredited, through the 1950s, includingSuperboy stories in both that character's namesake title and inAdventure Comics; and anthologicalmystery and suspense tales inAmerican Comics Group (AGC's)Adventures into the Unknown. Flessel's final regular comic-book work was penciling and inking the 62⁄3-page story "The Flying Girl of Smallville" inSuperboy #72 (April 1959). He returned in the 1970s to do occasional inking for writer-pencilerJoe Simon, as onPrez #4 (March 1973).[8]
Beginning in 1960, Flessel drew aHall Syndicate comic strip about a youngminister,David Crane, created byEd Dodd in 1956 and originally produced by artistWin Mortimer and writer Hart Spence.[14] In 1993, Flessel donated the original art for 2,677 strips to theOhio State University Cartoon, Graphic and Photographic Arts Research Library. AfterDavid Crane ceased publication in 1971, Flessel unsuccessfully attempted several other strips, includingCy Poppins, about the owner of a country store;Willie Wildwood, an environmentally aware strip; andThe Other Foot.[13]
Like his friendJack Cole, creator ofPlastic Man, Flessel also regularly contributed cartoons toPlayboy magazine, including a series titled "The Adventures of Baron Furstinbed". Many of these cartoons were reprinted in the one-shotSex and Other Late Night Laughs (1990), collecting the work of 26Playboy cartoonists.[15]
In 2000, Flessel and his wife Marie moved from the East Coast toMill Valley,California, where he continued to create art for local events and talent shows.[16] Their son, Peter Flessel, is anenvironmental engineer, and their daughter, Eugenie Fernandes, is a book illustrator and author in Ontario.[6][16][17]
In his final years, Flessel was rediscovered by comic fandom and was the recipient of many honors. He was a guest of honor at thefan convention Wondercon inSan Francisco,California, in February 2005, speaking on the Golden/Silver Age Panel. Flessel is also mentioned inMichael Chabon's 2000 novelThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (though his name is misspelled "Craig" in early editions).[18]
Flessel suffered astroke[16] and shortly afterward died at his home inMill Valley,California, on July 17, 2008.[2][13]
My older brother was very mechanical. ... I have two older sisters.
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