The celebrated Mr. K pays birthday tribute to the late comics stalwart… — UPDATED 12/26/25: The late John Severin was born 104 years ago. Perfect time to reprint this piece from 2023. Dig it. — Dan — By PAUL KUPPERBERG John Severin (December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) wasn’t an easy artist to categorize. In the late-1960s when I first became aware of his work, I thought of him as a “war artist,” because of all his work on the classic 1950s EC war titles and his then current stint on Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos and Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders for Marvel. Then he confounded my expectations by showing up on superhero titles like The Incredible Hulk, in sword and sorcery strips like Kull the Conqueror, and, once I started learning the history of this business, I discovered there wasn’t anything that John Severin couldn’t and hadn’t drawn in comics. Severin got his start in the late 1930s in the famed Will Eisner and Jerry Iger studio, but the young artist didn’t really hit his stride until the 1950s, when he joined publisher Bill Gaines on the now legendary EC Comics line. His early experiences laid the foundation for a remarkable career that would see him become one of the most versatile and respected artists in the field. His work in Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales showcased his ability to capture the gritty realism of war stories, earning him acclaim for his attention to detail and dynamic storytelling. His skill in illustrating military themes was further solidified working on DC Comics’ 1950s war comics like Our Fighting Forces and All American Men of War, as well as humor work for Mad, where he contributed to the magazine’s irreverent humor with his unique style. The 1960s saw Severin transition to Marvel Comics — where he became an integral part of Stan Lee’s revolutionary new Marvel Universe of heroes — as well as to the pages Mad competitor, Cracked, where he would remain a contributor for decades. Severin was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame in 2003 for his body of work in the comic book industry and his legacy lives on through his thousands of peerless pages in countless comics. Here then, MY 13 FAVORITE JOHN SEVERIN STORIES: — Boy Commandos #30 (November/December 1948). “The...