SCOTT SHAW! SATURDAYS…
By SCOTT SHAW!
The late Marie Severin — whose birthday was Friday (she was born Aug. 21, 1929) — is best known for her work as a colorist for EC Comics, a major cover designer for Marvel, and an artist on Dr. Strange, the Hulk, Namor, and King Kull.
Marie’s favorite assignments, however, were comedic projects… and her love of cartooning really showed.
The first time I ever saw Marie’s cartooning was in the September 1966 issue of Esquire. It had an article about Marvel Comics illustrated by Jack Kirby, and the magazine hired Marie to create humorous illustrations for a piece about faux college-age superheroes. They were so outstanding that I wondered, “Why hasn’t Marvel hired her to draw actual superhero stories, and not merely coloring?”
Not long after, Marie began drawing Doctor Strange in Strange Tales and the Hulk in Tales to Astonish, but between both assignments, once again, Ms. Severin blew my my mind with her funny parody of Marvel Western heroes in Not Brand Echh — “The Fastest Gums in the West!” written by Roy Thomas. Seeing Marie making fun of the cowboy comics I rarely read was almost as exciting as seeing Jack Kirby draw a parody of the Fantastic Four, characters that he created. She quickly became the backbone of Not Brand Echh until it wore itself out after 13 issues.
At the same time her cover for the all-reprint Not Brand Echh! #10 hit the racks, Esquire hired her again to draw a cover cartoon of Joe Namath as King Kong.
After making fun of comic books, Smilin’ Stan in 1970 hatched a new parody comic that was more Mad-ish, with parodies of television and films — Spoof, which lasted five issues over two and a half years. My hunch is that Stan Lee wanted to keep Marie busy at Marvel before she’d migrate to another publisher.
In the mid-’70s, when Marvel was reprinting kaiju, horror and Western stories from the Atlas days, it also reprinted material from its 1950s humor comic Crazy, as well as stories from Ross Andru and Mike Esposito’s Get Lost. Marie drew Arrgh!‘s first two covers, one of which starred the original Universal Monsters kinda disgusted about what goes on in contemporary theaters.
By this time, Marie was primarily doing promotional stuff for Marvel, including this ad for Pizzazz, a slick magazine for kids. It makes Smilin’ Stan look like the guy who sells paper towels, with a subtle joke about Daredevil’s lack of sight.
When Marvel added Star Comics for kiddos to its many publications in the 1980s, the company hired writers and artists from Archie and Harvey. But after Marvel Productions received Emmys for its Saturday morning CBS cartoon Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies, the House of Ideas already had someone who’d be perfect to draw them on the page — Marie.
I always enjoyed conversing with Marie and her good friend Ramona Fradon, two of my favorite cartoonists. In 1997, I asked Marie if she’d accept a commission I hoped she would draw. Marie agreed, with a wide grin on her face. When I received it, I was the one with the bigger smile. I’m very lucky to have known the sweet, salty, and super-funny Marie Severin and here’s the proof:
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For over half a century, SCOTT SHAW! has been a pro cartoonist/writer/designer of comic books, animation, advertising and toys. He is also a historian of all forms of cartooning. Scott has worked on many underground comix and mainstream comic books, including Simpsons Comics (Bongo); Weird Tales of the Ramones (Rhino); and his co-creation with Roy Thomas, Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew! (DC). Scott also worked on numerous animated series, including producing/directing John Candy’s Camp Candy (NBC/DIC/Saban) and Martin Short’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley. As senior art director for the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, Scott worked on dozens of commercials for Post Pebbles cereals with the Flintstones. He also designed a line of Hanna-Barbera action figures for McFarlane Toys. Scott was one of the comics fans who organized the first San Diego Comic-Con.
Need funny cartoons for any and all media? Scott does commissions! Email him at shawcartoons@gmail.com.
His latest project is Kilgore Home Nursing, based on stories that his home-care nurses told him about their jobs. He’ll have lots of copies for sale at the upcoming shows at which he’ll be a guest, including the Burbank Toon Con on September 7, 2025.
