Creig Flessel

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Creig Flessel
Mill Valley, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Penciller
Notable works
Sandman
Shining Knight
AwardsInkpot Award (1992)[1]

Creig Valentine Flessel (February 2, 1912 – July 17, 2008)

Boys' Life to Playboy. One of the earliest comic book illustrators, he was a 2006 nominee for induction into the comics industry's Will Eisner Hall of Fame
.

Biography

Early life and career

The son of Frank John Flessel, a

William K. Vanderbilt's estate, earning $25 a week.[4]

Flessel began drawing for the

sword-and-sorcery feature "Don Drake" and the two-page humor strip "Fishy Frolics".[8]
Flessel recalled,

I don't think they were looking for any pedigree or "Would you do this?" More like, "You're a live body. What do you want to do? Take this and do it, then." I realized they were desperate so I had to go out and buy a drawing table. They had just one table that they were doing all of the mechanical work on. So I got a table and managed to find a chair and sat down and they said, "Here. Do this." I think I did a couple of center spreads for More Fun. I did [the feature] "Fishy Frolics", I did an "Acorn and Andy" double-spread. Little nonsense cartoons.[7]

Creig Flessel's cover for Detective Comics #7 (Sept.1937)

In 1936, Flessel applied for a position with the

R.C. Cola (with the characters R.C. and Quickie) and other brands and products.[citation needed
]

On November 20, 1937, Flessel and Marie G. Marino were married in Brooklyn, New York City.

Golden Age of comic books

Concentrating his attention on the fledgling comics medium, Flessel drew the covers of many of the first

sports feature "Pep Morgan", premiering More Fun #12 (Aug. 1936); "Bret Lawton" and "Speed Saunders" (the latter with writer E. C. Stoner and later Gardner Fox), both premiering in Detective Comics #1; "Bradley Boys", premiering in More Fun #13; "Hanko the Cowhand", premiering in "More Fun" #25 (Oct. 1937); "Buzz Brown", premiering in More Fun #30 (March 1938); and at least drew and possibly wrote "Red Coat Patrol" also known as "Sgt. O'Malley", premiering in "More Fun" #39 (Jan. 1939). As writer-artist, Flessel created the DC character the Shining Knight, in Adventure Comics #66 (Sept. 1941).[8][9]

Flessel drew the cover of Action Comics #1 Ashcan.[10]

Flessel, who drew many early adventures of the Golden Age

Bert Christman.[12]

When DC Comics editor

U.S. Marine Corps
Picture Stories" as well as graphic government photographs of such subjects as burned and bayoneted Japanese soldiers.

Alter Ego #45 (Feb. 2005): New Sandman cover art by then 93-year-old Flessel

Flessel drew illustrations for several issues of the pulp magazine Clues Detective Stories in 1939 and 1940. During the late 1950s he also provided uncredited artwork for Al Capp's Li'l Abner comic strip.[13]

Later life and career

Flessel continued to draw comics, often uncredited, through the 1950s, including

Prez #4 (March 1973).[8]

Creig Flessel's David Crane (June 10, 1961). The titular minister is not depicted in this particular slice of small-town life.

Beginning in 1960, Flessel drew a

minister, David Crane, created by Ed Dodd in 1956 and originally produced by artist Win Mortimer and writer Hart Spence.[14] In 1993, Flessel donated the original art for 2,677 strips to the Ohio State University Cartoon, Graphic and Photographic Arts Research Library. After David Crane ceased publication in 1971, Flessel unsuccessfully attempted several other strips, including Cy Poppins, about the owner of a country store; Willie Wildwood, an environmentally aware strip; and The Other Foot.[13]

Like his friend Jack Cole, creator of Plastic Man, Flessel also regularly contributed cartoons to Playboy magazine, including a series titled "The Adventures of Baron Furstinbed". Many of these cartoons were reprinted in the one-shot Sex and Other Late Night Laughs (1990), collecting the work of 26 Playboy cartoonists.[15]

In 2000, Flessel and his wife Marie moved from the East Coast to

environmental engineer, and their daughter, Eugenie Fernandes, is a book illustrator and author in Ontario.[6][16][17]

In his final years, Flessel was rediscovered by comic fandom and was the recipient of many honors. He was a guest of honor at the

San Francisco, California, in February 2005, speaking on the Golden/Silver Age Panel. Flessel is also mentioned in Michael Chabon's 2000 novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (though his name is misspelled "Craig" in early editions).[18]

Flessel suffered a

Mill Valley, California, on July 17, 2008.[2][13]

Awards and nominations

Books

  • Along the Shore by Elizabeth F. Weidner, illustrated by Creig Flessel (Behrman House, 1985)
    ISBN 0-682-40239-7
  • Draw 50 People by Lee J. Ames with Creig Flessel (Doubleday, 1993; Sagebrush reissue, 1994)
    ISBN 0-613-51071-2
    (reissue)

References

  1. ^ Inkpot Award
  2. ^
    FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on November 5, 2015. Also Creig Valentine Flessel
    at the United States Social Security Death Index via GenealogyBank.com. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  3. ^ "Family: Creig Valentine Flessel/Marie G Marino (F1759)". Long Island Surnames. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e "The Creig Flessel Interview". The Comics Journal. August 22, 2001. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2013. My older brother was very mechanical. ... I have two older sisters.
  5. ^ "Frank John Flessel". Long Island Surnames. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Creig Flessel 1912-". National Cartoonists Society. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  7. ^ a b c d "The Creig Flessel Interview" (2001), p. 2. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c Creig Flessel at the Grand Comics Database
  9. ^ The Shining Knight at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011.
  10. ^ Action Comics #1 Ashcan Sells For $204,000 At Auction at Bleeding Cool. April 19, 2021 by Rich Johnston.
  11. Bert Christman
    .
  12. ^ Sandman[permanent dead link] at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011.
  13. ^ a b c Spurgeon, Tom (July 21, 2008). "Creig Flessel, 1912–2008". The Comics Reporter. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2008..
  14. ^ "Religion: Comic Cleric". Time. March 12, 1956. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  15. ^ Shaw, Scott (August 3, 2008). "Refreshment Through the Ages". Oddball Comics. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012.
  16. ^ a b c Evanier, Mark (July 19, 2008). "Creig Flessel, R.I.P." P.O.V. Online. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  17. ^ "Eugenie Fernandes". Annick Press. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  18. ^ On page 144 of the first printing, the quote reads "These guys aren't trying to draw bad, Joe. Some of what they do is okay. There's a guy, Craig Flessel, he's really pretty good. Try to keep an open mind."
  19. San Diego Comic-Con International. Archived from the original
    on May 15, 2012.


Further reading

External links

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