Posted By Dan Greenfield on Dec 26, 2024 | 1 comment

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: The late artist was born 103 years ago…

By PETER STONE

A posse of rough-hewn desperadoes race through an old Western town. A platoon of G.I.s fight off an overwhelming force of Nazi soldiers. A group of Northern soldiers battle Confederates in a brutal hand-to hand fight. The Revolutionary War comes to life on the page.

Then there is the humor. Years and years of parody strips in Cracked. Horror, sword and sorcery, and even commercial work. All these and more are images from the career of the late, great John Severin, who was born 103 years ago, on Dec. 26, 1921.

Severin was 16 when he started selling cartoons for the prestigious newspaper The Hobo News. Well, maybe not “prestigious” because it was a tabloid about the hobo life. He was paid the princely sum of one dollar for each cartoon. According to John, there were some weeks when he sold 19 or 20 cartoons, which in 1937 was enough money so that he didn’t have to get another job to work through high school. It was the start of a phenomenal career.

One of the aspects of John Severin’s work that stands out is his attention to detail and realism. He was a prodigious reader, starting with Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle, then moving on to more historically accurate books. Books on saddles, weapons, the history of the Spanish-American War, the Revolutionary War and many more.

He loved movies. John Wayne’s flicks were a favorite, but he tired of the Western shoot-’em-ups. He knew they were completely inaccurate. It became his trademark, historical accuracy.

High school was a Who’s Who of future comic book legends: Ross Andru, Al Jaffe, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Mike Esposito, and the master of humor comics, Harvey Kurtzman.

Then, Sergeant York, Hitler and Hirohito entered Severin’s life. After watching the Gary Cooper movie, Severin signed up for military service on Independence Day, 1942. Eventually, in the Airborne, he served in Guam and then Okinawa. His first professional work as an adult appeared in Air Corps publications.

Will Elder inks

In 1950, Severin started getting work with Stan Lee and Timely Comics. At the same time, with his inker Will Elder, Severin pencilled Western stories for Prize Comics Western. Soon after, he reconnected with his high school buddy, Harvey Kurztman, who was working at the incredibly bland Entertaining Comics. Then, the New Trend started: comics filled with horror, crime and science fiction. Pretty soon, Kurtzman, Severin and Elder were creating Two-Fisted Tales.

Elder inks

Thanks to being friends with Kurtzman, Severin also drew comedy strips in Mad Magazine. He made us laugh for nine issues.

Eventually, Prize Comics Western stopped publishing and John left EC over control issues. He took a job at Atlas (soon to be Marvel) under Stan Lee. He inked Jack Kirby, penciled and inked Journey Into Unknown Worlds. Then, when Atlas floundered, he took on Cracked and became their signature artist for decades.

In the ’60s, when Atlas became Marvel, Severin returned to ink Jack Kirby on Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. He also inked Kirby on the modern Nick Fury title. When Kirby moved on, Severin inked Dick Ayers on Howling Commandos. (He also did covers for Two-Gun Kid.)

Severin pencils and inks

In the ’70s, Severin teamed with Joe Kubert at DC Comics, drawing and inking The Losers, Our Fighting Forces, Enemy Ace and the Unknown Soldier. He moved on to Warren with Archie Goodwin as a writer on a title called Blazing Combat. Then back to Marvel for an epic run on Kull the Conqueror with his illustrious sister Marie.

Severin pencils and inks

John Severin was one of the greats. A legend worth studying and emulating. Not only for his drawing and inking abilities but for his personal life. Married for 60 years with 6 children and many grandchildren who gathered around him in his final days. You cannot look at the body of work he created, from the 1940s into the 200os, and not be impressed. He could draw anything and everything with the same intensity.

Any writer would be lucky to have Severin draw his story. I know I would have loved to have worked with this great artist.

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MORE

— PAUL KUPPERBERG: My 13 Favorite JOHN SEVERIN Stories. Click here.

— THE 13 WARS OF JOHN SEVERIN: A Birthday Salute. Click here.

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Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s twice-weekly online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com.