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Jack Binder (comics)
Encyclopedia
Jack Binder was a Golden Age comics
creator and art packager. A fine artist by education, Binder had a prolific comics career that lasted from 1937–1946, then continued from "semi-retirement" until 1953. He was the creator of the original comic book Daredevil, for Lev Gleason Publications
. One of Binder's younger brothers was comic book writer Otto Binder
.
.
Moving to New York, Binder worked for three years for the Harry "A" Chesler comic shop, one the early comic-book "packagers" who would supply complete comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium. Binder left the Chesler Studio in 1940 as the firm's art director.
In the early 1940s Binder drew for Fawcett Comics
, Lev Gleason Publications
, and Timely Comics
; during this period he created the Golden Age
character Daredevil (not to be confused with the Marvel
character of the same name
) for an eight-page backup feature in Lev Gleason Publications' Silver Streak #6 (Sept. 1940), and along with Stan Lee
, co-created the Destroyer in Timely's Mystic Comics
#6 (Oct. 1941).
loft. Later, Binder moved his studio to Englewood, New Jersey
, to the upstairs loft of a barn, where it produced material for publishers like Fawcett, Nedor Comics
, and Lev Gleason Publications. Features the studio worked on included the Fighting Yank
, Mister Scarlet and Pinky, Bulletman, Ibis the Invincible
, Captain Battle
, the Black Owl, and the adapted pulp magazine
features Doc Savage
and The Shadow
. In addition to running the studio, Binder drew layouts for Fawcett Comics
stories which other artists finished for him.
Artists employed by Jack Binder Studios included Ken Bald
, Carmine Infantino
, Gil Kane
, Pete Riss, Kurt Schaffenberger
, and Bill Ward
. Bald eventually became the studio art director.
After closing his studio in 1946, Binder continued to work casually in the industry until he fully retired in 1953 and returned to fine and commercial art.
: "Binder had a loft on Fifth Avenue and it just looked like an internment camp. There must have been 50 or 60 guys up there, all at drawing tables. You had to account for the paper that you took."
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
creator and art packager. A fine artist by education, Binder had a prolific comics career that lasted from 1937–1946, then continued from "semi-retirement" until 1953. He was the creator of the original comic book Daredevil, for Lev Gleason Publications
Lev Gleason Publications
Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Gleason, was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including Daredevil, Crime Does Not Pay, and Boy Comics....
. One of Binder's younger brothers was comic book writer Otto Binder
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books...
.
Biography
Born in Austria-Hungary, Binder emigrated to America in 1910, where he settled with his parents and five siblings in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Moving to New York, Binder worked for three years for the Harry "A" Chesler comic shop, one the early comic-book "packagers" who would supply complete comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium. Binder left the Chesler Studio in 1940 as the firm's art director.
In the early 1940s Binder drew for Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
, Lev Gleason Publications
Lev Gleason Publications
Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Gleason, was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including Daredevil, Crime Does Not Pay, and Boy Comics....
, and Timely Comics
Timely Comics
Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....
; during this period he created the Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
character Daredevil (not to be confused with the Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character of the same name
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...
) for an eight-page backup feature in Lev Gleason Publications' Silver Streak #6 (Sept. 1940), and along with Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, co-created the Destroyer in Timely's Mystic Comics
Mystic Comics
Mystic Comics is the name of four comic book series published by the company that would eventually become Marvel Comics. The first two series were superhero anthologies published by Marvel's 1930-1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, during what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books...
#6 (Oct. 1941).
Jack Binder Studio
By 1942 Binder had formed his own studio, with over fifty artists, in a Fifth Avenue ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
loft. Later, Binder moved his studio to Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
, to the upstairs loft of a barn, where it produced material for publishers like Fawcett, Nedor Comics
Nedor Comics
Nedor Publishing was a comic book imprint of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics...
, and Lev Gleason Publications. Features the studio worked on included the Fighting Yank
Fighting Yank
-Publication history:The initial comic-book character called Fighting Yank first appeared in Nedor Comics' Startling Comics #10 , during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books. He was created by writer Richard E. Hughes and artist Jon L. Blummer...
, Mister Scarlet and Pinky, Bulletman, Ibis the Invincible
Ibis the Invincible
Ibis the Invincible is a fictional character, a comic book superhero originally published by Fawcett Comics in the 1940s and then by DC Comics beginning in the 1970s. Like many magician superheroes introduced in the Golden Age of Comics, Ibis owes much to the popular comic strip character Mandrake...
, Captain Battle
Captain Battle
Captain Battle was a Golden Age comic book hero and one of the features in Lev Gleason's Silver Streak Comics. His first appearance was Silver Streak Comics #10, and his final appearance was Silver Streak Comics #23, when that series was cancelled....
, the Black Owl, and the adapted pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
features Doc Savage
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character originally published in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L...
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"...
. In addition to running the studio, Binder drew layouts for Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
stories which other artists finished for him.
Artists employed by Jack Binder Studios included Ken Bald
Ken Bald
Kenneth Bruce Bald is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for the Judd Saxon, Dr. Kildare and Dark Shadows newspaper comic strips. Due to contractual obligations, he is credited as "K...
, Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
, Gil Kane
Gil Kane
Eli Katz who worked under the name Gil Kane and in one instance Scott Edward, was a comic book artist whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, and...
, Pete Riss, Kurt Schaffenberger
Kurt Schaffenberger
Kurt Schaffenberger was an American comic book artist. Schaffenberger was best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family , as well as his work on the title Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane during the 1950s and 1960s.-Early career:Schaffenberger was born on a farm in the...
, and Bill Ward
Bill Ward (comics)
William Hess Ward , known as Bill Ward, was an American cartoonist notable as a good girl artist and creator of the risqué comics character Torchy.-Early life and career:...
. Bald eventually became the studio art director.
After closing his studio in 1946, Binder continued to work casually in the industry until he fully retired in 1953 and returned to fine and commercial art.
Quotes
Gil KaneGil Kane
Eli Katz who worked under the name Gil Kane and in one instance Scott Edward, was a comic book artist whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, and...
: "Binder had a loft on Fifth Avenue and it just looked like an internment camp. There must have been 50 or 60 guys up there, all at drawing tables. You had to account for the paper that you took."