Jack Abel

Jack Abel
Jack Abel by Michael Netzer
Born(1927-07-15)July 15, 1927
DiedMarch 6, 1996(1996-03-06) (aged 68)
AreaPenciller, Inker
PseudonymGary Michaels
Notable works
Superman

Jack Abel (July 15, 1927 – March 6, 1996)[1][2] was an American comic book artist best known as an inker for leading publishers DC Comics and Marvel Comics. He was DC's primary inker on the Superman titles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and inked penciler Herb Trimpe's introduction of the popular superhero Wolverine in The Incredible Hulk #181 (Nov. 1974). He sometimes used the pseudonym Gary Michaels.

Biography

Early life and career

Abel's published work stretches to 1951, when he penciled and inked horror stories for such anthology series as Mr. Publications' (Mike Esposito and Ross Andru's company)[3] Mister Mystery, and Atlas Comics'—the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics—Journey into Unknown Worlds, and Western tales in Prize Comics' aptly title Prize Comics Western. He inked science fiction, romance, and war comics for Atlas, American Comics Group, Avon Comics, Harvey Comics, and Hillman Periodicals, and later in the decade became a prolific penciler for the DC war titles All-American Men of War, Our Army at War, Our Fighting Forces, and Star Spangled War Stories.[4]

Writer Hank Chapman and Abel co-created the character Sgt. Mule – whose name, "Millie", meant she was actually not a mule (male) but a hinny (female) — appeared with various keepers including Private Mulvaney (Our Army at War #149 and 160, Star Spangled War Stories #136); Private Skinner (G.I. Combat #104); and Private Smith (Our Army at War #117).[4]

Roy Lichtenstein recomposed a panel from a story written by Bob Haney and illustrated by Abel in Star Spangled War Stories #102 (April–May 1962)[5] for his 1963 pop art lithograph Crak!.[6] Similarly, Torpedo...Los! is based on Abel's art in the Haney-written story "Battle of the Ghost Ships?", in Our Fighting Forces #71 (October 1962).[7][8]

DC and Superman

Abel inked hundreds of DC stories, and eventually was chosen to succeed longtime "Superman family" inker George Klein as Curt Swan's embellisher on "Legion of Super-Heroes" in Adventure Comics (most issues, #369–380, June 1968–May 1969); Superman (most issues, #208–219, July 1968–Aug. 1969); "Superman" in Action Comics (#368–379, Oct. 1968–Aug. 1969), and occasional issues of Superboy.[4]

Later career

After a reshuffling at DC c. 1970, Abel went to Marvel. He had already inked Gene Colan there on a long stretch of Iron Man stories beginning with Tales of Suspense #73 (Jan. 1966), under the pseudonym "Gary Michaels".[4][9] As Colan recalled, "He did a lot of Iron Man with me. He had a very slick line, which was okay on Iron Man, of course. Iron Man was made of iron, so you want it to look like metal. But when it came to stone and dark corners and garbage [laughs], he wasn't the man for that".[10]

Later, under his own name, he would embellish Colan on some issues of Daredevil and The Tomb of Dracula (including the introduction of Blade, in #10); Trimpe on The Incredible Hulk; George Tuska on Iron Man; and Paul Gulacy on Master of Kung Fu, among other work.

From the mid-1970s, Abel inked not only for Marvel and again DC (including its Teen Titans and The Flash), but for the smaller companies Gold Key (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, Grimm's Ghost Stories, Mighty Samson, the licensed title The Twilight Zone); Charlton Comics (Ghost Manor, Ghostly Haunts, Haunted, Midnight Tales); Atlas/Seaboard Comics (IronJaw, Morlock 2001); and Skywald Publications (The Heap, and additionally the black-and-white horror comics magazines Nightmare and Psycho).[4] The character Cinnamon was introduced in Weird Western Tales #48 (Sept.–Oct. 1978) by writer Roger McKenzie and Abel.[11]

Baseball-fan Abel, who in the 1970s rented studio space at Neal Adams and Dick Giordano's Continuity Associates,[12] organized the Continuity softball team that played league games in Central Park.[13]

After suffering a serious stroke in 1981, Abel rehabilitated his paralyzed right hand to the extent that he was able to ink and draw again[14]—which he did through the rest of the 1980s, primarily for Marvel.

Comic strips

Outside comic books, Abel inked John Celardo from 1967–1969 on the syndicated comic strip Tales of the Green Beret, written by Robin Moore.[15]

Awards

In 2016, Abel was nominated and tied for runner-up for the Inkwell Awards Special Recognition Award.[16]

Bibliography

Archie Comics

Atlas/Seaboard Comics

  • Brute #3 (1975)
  • Ironjaw #1 (1975)
  • Morlock 2001 #1–2 (1975)
  • Western Action #1 (1975)

Charlton Comics

DC Comics

Marvel Comics

Prize Comics

Skywald Publications

  • Heap #1 (1971)
  • Nightmare #4–6 (1971)

Tower Comics

References

  1. ^ Jack Abel at the United States Social Security Death Index via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved February 15, 2013. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine from the original on July 18, 2015.
  2. ^ "Jack Abel". Lambiek Comiclopedia. October 28, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ Lovece, Frank (October 25, 2010). "Long Island Comic Book Artist Mike Esposito Dead at 83". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2010. (Requires subscription) Print version: "Mike Esposito, Comic Book Artist", p. A30
  4. ^ a b c d e Jack Abel at the Grand Comics Database
  5. ^ "Star Spangled War Stories #102 (April–May 1962)". Grand Comics Database.
  6. ^ Lobel, Michael (2009). "Technology Envisioned: Lichtenstein's Monocularity". In Bader, Graham (ed.). Roy Lichtenstein. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 118–120. ISBN 978-0-262-01258-4.
  7. ^ "Our Fighting Forces #71 (October 1962)". Grand Comics Database.
  8. ^ "Torpedo...LOS!". Lichtenstein Foundation. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  9. ^ Evanier, Mark (April 14, 2008). "Why did some artists working for Marvel in the sixties use phony names?". P.O.V. Online (column). Archived from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2008.
  10. ^ Field, Tom (May 2001). "The Colan Mystique". Comic Book Artist. No. 3. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009.
  11. ^ Beatty, Scott (2008), "Cinnamon I", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley, p. 83, ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1
  12. ^ "Bob McLeod". (interview) Adelaide Comics and Books. 2003. Archived from the original on September 11, 2009.
  13. ^ Gale, Ken (2008). "The Fandom Fireballs". Ken Gale's Pages. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010.
  14. ^ Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins," Marvel Comics cover-dated June 1982.
  15. ^ "Abel, Jack". Who's Who of American Comic Strip Producers. n.d. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011.
  16. ^ "Inkwell Awards 2016 Winners". Inkwell Awards. 2016. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016.


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