Frank Robbins
Encyclopedia
Franklin "Frank" Robbins (September 9, 1917 – November 28, 1994) was a notable American comic book
and comic strip
artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art
, where one of his paintings was featured in the 1955 Whitney Annual Exhibition of American Painting.
Born in Boston, Robbins was in his teens when he received a Rockefeller grant and scholarships to the Boston Museum and the National Academy of Design in New York. His early career included work as an assistant to Edward Trumbull on his NBC building murals, and creating promotional materials for RKO Pictures.
to the character's gothic roots, such as his story "One Bullet Too Many". In addition to Batman, Robbins' comic book work appeared in Captain America
, Daredevil
, Detective Comics
, Flash
, Ghost Rider
, House of Mystery
, House of Secrets, Human Fly
, Invaders
, Weird War Tales
, and Power Man
, as well as comic-book adaptations of Man from Atlantis and The Shadow
.
which he drew until 1944. Robbins created his Johnny Hazard
strip in 1944 and did the strip for more than three decades until it ended in 1977. Robbins' Johnny Hazard comic book was published by Standard from August 1948 to May 1949. The Sunday strips were reprinted in a full-color volume published by the Pacific Comics Club. Other reprints were published by Pioneer Comics and Dragon Lady Press.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
and comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, where one of his paintings was featured in the 1955 Whitney Annual Exhibition of American Painting.
Born in Boston, Robbins was in his teens when he received a Rockefeller grant and scholarships to the Boston Museum and the National Academy of Design in New York. His early career included work as an assistant to Edward Trumbull on his NBC building murals, and creating promotional materials for RKO Pictures.
Comic books
As a writer/editor, Robbins was instrumental in returning BatmanBatman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
to the character's gothic roots, such as his story "One Bullet Too Many". In addition to Batman, Robbins' comic book work appeared in Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
, Detective Comics
Detective Comics
Detective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
, Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
, Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
, House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
, House of Secrets, Human Fly
Human Fly (comics)
The Human Fly is the name of two comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe, one a super-villain that was an occasional antagonist of Spider-Man, and the other a superhero. Additionally, Human Fly was the title of a short-lived series in the late 1950s reprinting some of Fox's Blue Beetle...
, Invaders
Invaders (comics)
The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams in the . The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in The Avengers #71 . A present-day incarnation was introduced by writer Chuck Austen and artist Scott Kolins in The Avengers vol...
, Weird War Tales
Weird War Tales
Weird War Tales was a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics which ran from September 1971 to June 1983.-Background:...
, and Power Man
Power Man
Power Man, in comics, may refer to:* Luke Cage, a Marvel Comics superhero, who adopted the name Power Man for a time* Erik Josten, a Marvel supervillain later known as Smuggler, Goliath and Atlas...
, as well as comic-book adaptations of Man from Atlantis and The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
.
Comic strips
In 1939, the Associated Press hired Robbins to take over the aviation strip Scorchy SmithScorchy Smith
Scorchy Smith was an American adventure comic strip created by artist John Terry that ran from 1930 to 1961.Scorchy Smith was a pilot-for-hire whose initial adventures took him across America, fighting criminals and aiding damsels in distress...
which he drew until 1944. Robbins created his Johnny Hazard
Johnny Hazard
Johnny Hazard was an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Frank Robbins for King Features Syndicate. It was published from 1944 until 1977 with separate storylines for the daily strip and the Sunday strip.-Day before D-Day:...
strip in 1944 and did the strip for more than three decades until it ended in 1977. Robbins' Johnny Hazard comic book was published by Standard from August 1948 to May 1949. The Sunday strips were reprinted in a full-color volume published by the Pacific Comics Club. Other reprints were published by Pioneer Comics and Dragon Lady Press.
Archives
The Frank Robbins collection at Syracuse University has 1090 original Johnny Hazard strips, consisting of 934 daily strips and 156 Sunday strips.External links
- Lambiek: Frank Robbins
- Art & Artifice
- The Neverending Battle
- http://www.comics.org/search/advanced/process/?target=sequence&method=icontains&logic=False&order1=date&order2=date&order3=&title=&feature=&job_number=&pages=&script=&pencils=Frank+Robbins&inks=&colors=&letters=&story_editor=&genre=&characters=&synopsis=&reprints=¬es=&start_date=&end_date=&pub_name=&pub_notes=&series=&series_notes=&tracking_notes=&publication_notes=&issues=&issue_date=&price=&issue_pages=&format=&issue_editor=&issue_notes=&issue_reprints=Grand Comics Database: Frank Robbins]