France Herron
| France Herron | |
|---|---|
| Born | Francis Edward Herron Bill Finger Award 2020 posthumously[2] |
Francis Edward Herron (July 23, 1917 – September 2, 1966)Tomahawk.
Biography
Early life and career
Herron was born in 1917[3] in Ohio farm country.[5] Claiming to be of partial Cherokee descent, he grew up in West Virginia.[6]
Herron got his start in comics while still a teenager, with the
Fox Features Syndicate, where he first met Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.[6] In 1940–1941, Simon and Kirby hired Herron to write stories for their new creation Captain America, published by the Marvel Comics forerunner Timely Comics. Herron and artists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby co-created the Red Skull in Captain America Comics #1 (Mar. 1941).[9][10]
Beginning in 1940 and continuing throughout the decade, Herron wrote various features for the publisher
Chicago Sun Syndicate.[7]
Fawcett Comics
Herron joined
Pinky the Whiz Kid in Wow Comics #4 (Spring 1942).[12] It was in the Mr. Scarlet story in Wow Comics #1 that the name "Gotham City" first appeared in the comics. Comics historian Greg Theakston notes that this pre-dates its name as such in DC Comics' Batman #4.[13] During this period, Herron wrote for such Fawcett titles as Captain Marvel Adventures
and Captain Marvel Jr..
World War II
Herron joined the U.S. Army in 1942, where he wrote for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes during his tour of duty. While at Stars and Stripes, Herron met artist Curt Swan, who later became the definitive Superman artist. According to Swan, it was Herron who first directed him to DC Comics.[14][15]
DC Comics
Herron began writing for
All-American Men of War, Our Army at War, Our Fighting Forces, and Star Spangled War Stories; returning to such work in 1963–1964.[7]
With artist Dick Sprang, Herron co-created Firefly in Detective Comics #184 (June 1952) and the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh in Batman #113 (Aug. 1958).[17] Artist Lee Elias and Herron co-created the Clock King in World's Finest Comics #111 (Aug. 1960). With artist Bruno Premiani, Herron co-created Cave Carson in The Brave and the Bold #31 (Aug. 1960).[18]
Harvey Comics
In 1966 Herron moved to Harvey Comics, hired by his old associate Joe Simon. During that year, Herron was the lead writer for the publisher's short-lived Harvey Thriller superhero line,[8] working on characters such as Dynamite Joe, Glowing Gladiator, Jack Q. Frost, and Lone Tiger, in the titles Robot Parade and Spyman.[7]
Syndicated newspaper strips
In addition to his work in the comic book field, Herron wrote syndicated
newspaper comic strips for Columbia Features. Beginning in 1955, he wrote the daily strips Davy Crockett, Frontiersman and Nero Wolfe—staying on the Davy Crocket strip until 1959,[19] when he became the writer of the Bat Masterson and Rip Tide strips, which he wrote until his death in 1966.[7]
Death
Herron died in September 1966.[4]
Bibliography
Centaur Publications
- The Arrow#3 (1941)
- Detective Eye #2 (1940)
- Masked Marvel #3 (1940)
DC Comics
- Vigilante) (1949–1950)
- Adventure Comics #118, 152, 174–175, 221, 248, 256 (Green Arrow) (1947–1959)
- All-American Men of War #7, 9, 11, 13–17, 20–25, 27–29, 41, 47–48, 51–52, 54, 57, 68–69, 71, 103 (1953–1964)
- All-Star Western #73–75, 80–89, 91, 93, 96, 99 (1953–1958)
- Batman #86, 105, 113, 164–166, 168–169, 174 (1954–1965)
- Big Town #1–2, 24–27, 31–32, 40 (1951–1956)
- Blackhawk #181, 196, 200, 212, 218–221, 223–227 (1963–1966)
- Boy Commandos #11, 20, 22, 24–25, 29, 32, 34–35 (1945–1949)
- The Brave and the Bold #1 (Golden Gladiator); #31–33 (Cave Carson) (1955–1960)
- Challengers of the Unknown #11, 14, 29, 34, 37–38, 40–43, 47, 50, 52–54 (1959–1967)
- Danger Trail #1–2 (1950)
- Detective Comics #184, 208–209 (1952–1954)
- G.I. Combat #47, 49–53, 59, 72, 103 (1957–1963)
- Hopalong Cassidy #97–111, 113, 115–116, 118, 122 (1955–1957)
- House of Secrets #19, 59 (1959–1963)
- My Greatest Adventure #61, 70, 76 (1961–1963)
- Mystery in Space #23–24, 27, 32, 36, 38, 41–42 (1954–1958)
- Our Army at War #16–17, 20, 22, 24–32, 35–39, 41–43, 57, 61, 63–65, 67–69, 74–75, 134, 138 (1953–1964)
- Our Fighting Forces #1–5, 15, 18, 23–25, 27–32, 37–38, 83 (1954–1964)
- Robin Hood Tales #12–13 (1957–1958)
- Sea Devils #12–15 (1963–1964)
- Star-Spangled Comics#60, 123–126, 128 (1946–1952)
- Star Spangled War Stories #14–25, 27–28, 30–37, 39–42, 45–46, 51, 58–59, 62–64, 67, 74 (1953–1958)
- Strange Adventures #49, 51, 53, 59–61, 78–79, 81–84, 87–89, 154, 157, 160–163, 182, 189 (1954–1966)
- Superboy #1, 22 (1949–1952)
- Superman #98 (1955)
- Tales of the Unexpected #13, 84, 103 (1957–1967)
- Tomahawk#81, 83–103, 106–108, 111, 118–119 (1962–1968)
- Western Comics #43–60 (1954–1956)
- World's Finest Comics #28–29, 36, 71–72, 91, 95, 97–98, 100–102, 104–112, 114–116, 120, 124–125, 129, 131–134, 136, 138 (Green Arrow); #39 (Boy Commandos); #72, 79 (Tomahawk); #126, 129 (Superman and Batman) (1947–1963)
Fawcett Comics
- Whiz Comics #25 (1941)
- Wow Comics #1 (1940)
Harvey Comics
- Double-Dare Adventures #1–2 (1966–1967)
- Spyman #2–3 (1966–1967)
Timely Comics
- Captain America Comics #1, 7 (1941)
- Mystic Comics #2 (1940)
References
- ^ Virginia, Birth Records, 1912-2016, Delayed Birth Records, 1854-1911
- ^ Six Posthumous Recipients to Receive 2020 Bill Finger Award
- ^ a b "France Herron, September 1966". United States Social Security Death Index. n.d. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1604732672.
- ^ Boltinoff, Murray, ed. (June 1964). "Biographies of Arnold Drake and France Herron". Blackhawk (197). DC Comics. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013.
Raised in Ohio farm country, he likes animals, 'even field mice.'
- ^ ISBN 978-1845769307.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bails, Jerry (n.d.). "Herron, Ed". Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f France Herron at the Grand Comics Database
- Rocket's Blast ComiCollector#81 (1971).
- ISBN 978-1476666723.
- ^ Markstein, Don (2010). "Captain Marvel Jr". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016.
The first few stories were scripted by editor France Herron, who later spent decades at DC Comics. In the 1940s, Herron scripted Vigilante, in the '50s he did Batman and Tomahawk, and in the '60s he co-created Animal Man.
- ^ Markstein, Don (2010). "Mr. Scarlet and Pinky". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016.
This origin story was written by France Herron...and drawn by no less a personage than Jack Kirby
- ISBN 978-1566850070.
- ISBN 978-1887591409.
- ^ Hughes, Bob (January 2, 2010). "Who inked Curt Swan on Superman?". DCComicsartists.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1401207724.
- ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.)
In Batman #113's lead story 'Batman - Superman of Planet X' by writer Ed Herron and artist Dick Sprang, the Caped Crusader found himself transported to Zur-En-Arrh.
{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Markstein, Don (2007). "Cave Carson". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017.
In that initial outing, the writer was France Herron...and the artist was Bruno Premiani.
- ^ Leiffer, Paul; Ware, Hames (n.d.). "Herron, Ed". Who's Who of American Comic Strip Producers. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
External links
- France Herron at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- France Herron at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- France Herron at IMDb
- France Herron at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
- France Edward Herron at Find a Grave