| Frank Robbins | |
|---|---|
 Frank Robbins c. 1968 | |
| Born | Franklin Robbins (1917-09-09)September 9, 1917 Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | November 28, 1994(1994-11-28) (aged 77) |
| Area | Writer,Penciller |
Notable works | Batman Detective Comics The Invaders Johnny Hazard Superboy |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Michael Robbins, Laurie R. Cox |
Franklin Robbins (September 9, 1917[1] – November 28, 1994) was an Americancomic book andcomic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including theWhitney Museum of American Art, where one of his paintings was featured in the 1955 Whitney Annual Exhibition ofAmerican Painting.
Born inBoston, Robbins was in his teens when he received a Rockefeller grant and scholarships to theBoston Museum and theNational Academy of Design in New York.[2] Robbins was married to his wife, Bertha in 1945 and had two children, Michael and Laurie Robbins.[3]
Robbins' early career included work as an assistant toEdward Trumbull on his NBC building murals, and creating promotional materials forRKO Pictures.[2]
Between February and April 1939, Frank Robbins illustrated thewestern comic stripLightnin’ and Lone Rider for the Associated Features Syndicate, owned byRobert W. Farrell, the strip had been initiated byJack Kirby and written by Farrell,[4] later reprinted inEastern Color Printing'sFamous Funnies.[5] That same year, theAssociated Press hired Robbins to take over the aviation stripScorchy Smith which he drew until 1944. Robbins created hisJohnny Hazard strip in 1944 and worked on it for more than three decades until it ended in 1977.[6] Robbins'Johnny Hazard comic book was published byStandard Comics from August 1948 to May 1949. The Sunday strips were reprinted in a full-color volume published by the Pacific Comics Club. Other reprints were published by Pioneer Comics andDragon Lady Press.[7]
In 1968, Robbins began working as a writer forDC Comics. His first story for that publisher appeared inSuperman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #83 (May 1968). He became the writer ofSuperboy[8] as of issue #149 (July 1968) and began writingBatman andDetective Comics the following month.[9] Robbins and artistIrv Novick crafted the story which revealed the last name ofBatman's butlerAlfred Pennyworth inBatman #216 (Nov. 1969).[10] It was later revealed that Robbins had simply used the name created by former DC editorWhitney Ellsworth for the Batman syndicated comic strip.[11] The Robbins and Novick team was instrumental in returningBatman to the character's gothic roots as in the story "One Bullet Too Many".[12][13]
Working with editorJulius Schwartz and artistsNeal Adams andIrv Novick, he would revitalize the character with a series of noteworthy stories reestablishing Batman's dark, brooding nature.[14] He introducedJason Bard as a supporting character inDetective Comics #392 (Oct. 1969) and later wrote a series of backup stories featuring the character.[15]Man-Bat was co-created by Robbins and Neal Adams inDetective Comics #400 (June 1970).[16] Robbins and Novick created theTen-Eyed Man inBatman #226 (Nov. 1970)[17] and theSpook inDetective Comics #434 (April 1973).[18] Robbins helped launch thePlop! title[19] and briefly drew DC'slicensed version ofThe Shadow[20] before moving toMarvel Comics. There he launched theInvaders series with writerRoy Thomas in 1975[21] and co-created the charactersUnion Jack,[22]Spitfire,[23] and the Kid Commandos.[24] Other Marvel work includedCaptain America[25] andGhost Rider as well as the licensed charactersHuman Fly andMan from Atlantis. His final new comics work was published in the black-and-white magazineThe Tomb of Dracula vol. 2 #2 (Dec. 1979).[9]
Robbins moved toSan Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and spent his final years focusing on painting. He died of a heart attack on November 28, 1994.[26]
The Frank Robbins collection atSyracuse University has 1,090 originalJohnny Hazard strips, consisting of 934 daily strips and 156 Sunday strips.[27] Comic creators who cite his influence includeChris Samnee.[28]
Interior pencil work (except where noted) includes:
In 1969,Superboy...swerved radically from the complacent Super-house style once writer Frank Robbins came aboard...Overnight the comic was reinvented with realistic teen angst, natural dialogue, and a sex appeal that was only aided by the inks of good-girl artist Wally Wood.
Writer Frank Robbins and artist Irv Novick revealed Alfred's last name as Pennyworth.
When Dick Grayson moved out of Wayne Manor to begin college, writer Frank Robbins and artist Irv Novick orchestrated a chain reaction of events that forever altered Batman's personality.
Editor Julius Schwartz had decided to darken the character's world to further distance him from the camp environment created by the 1966 ABC show. Bringing in the talented [Dennis] O'Neil as well as the innovative Frank Robbins and showcasing the art of rising star Neal Adams...Schwartz pointed Batman in a new and darker direction, a path the character still continues on to this day.
In 1975, [Roy] Thomas and adventure comic strip artist Frank Robbins created the Invaders.
| Preceded by | Superboy writer 1968–1972 | Succeeded by Leo Dorfman |
| Preceded by | Batman writer 1968–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Gardner Fox | Detective Comics writer 1968–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Archie Goodwin | Star Spangled War Stories writer 1973–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | The Shadow artist 1974–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | TheInvaders artist 1975–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Captain America artist 1974–1975 | Succeeded by |
