Louis Cazeneuve
Encyclopedia
Luis "Louis" Cazeneuve was an Argentine
-born American
comic-book artist best-known for co-creating the Marvel Comics
character Red Raven
and for his prolific work on the DC Comics
characters Aquaman
, Shining Knight
, the Boy Commandos
and others during the 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books
.
His brother, Arturo "Arthur" Cazeneuve (1919–1992), was also a Golden Age comic-book artist, and became an illustrator and assistant art director
for the overseas edition of Time magazine in the 1970s and early 1980s.
and under his given name Luis Cazeneuve, drew one of his country's first adventure
comic strips, Quique, el Niño Pirata ("Quique, the Pirate Boy"), which appeared both daily and Sunday in the newspaper
El Mundo, beginning in 1931 or 1934 (accounts differ). Cazeneuve also drew the adventure strips Aventuras de Caza del Pibe Palito ("Pibe Palito's Hunting Adventures") and Aventuras de Dos Argentinos en un País Salvaje ("Adventures of Two Argentines in a Wild Country") before emigrating to the United States in 1939.
He worked briefly at Eisner & Iger
, one of the primary comic-book "packagers" that supplied outsourced comics on demand for publishers at the dawn of the new medium
. Shortly thereafter, Cazeneuve, with his artist brother Arthur and Eisner & Iger colleague Pierce Rice, formed a studio that produced freelance art for a number of comics companies.
Cazeneuve's earliest work includes Fox Feature Syndicate
's 1940 comic strip Blue Beetle
, succeeding Jack Kirby
under the house name Charles Nicholas. With writer Joe Simon
, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics
predecessor Timely Comics
, he co-created the character Red Raven
— the first Timely/Marvel character to star in his own self-titled series, predating by several months Captain America Comics
#1 (March 1941).
From 1940 to 1942, Cazeneuve contributed to a number of Fox titles, drawing the stories introducing the superheroic characters Samson
(Samson #1, Fall 1940); the Eagle (Weird Comics #8, Nov. 1940); the Banshee (Fantastic Comics
#21, Aug. 1941); and U.S. Jones (Wonderworld Comics #28, Aug. 1941), as well as the villainous protagonist Nagana, Queen of Evil (Fantastic Comics #22, Sept. 1941). Other Fox features for which he either supplied full art or did inking over penciler Pierce Rice, include "Captain Savage, Sea Rover", "Chen Chang" (in Mystery Men Comics), "D-13", "The Flame", "The Green Mask" (under the house name Walter Frame), and "Marga the Panther Woman".
Also during this time he did occasional work for Centaur Publications
(the feature "Man of War"), Fawcett Comics
("Atom Blake"), Holyoke Publications ("Blue Beetle"), Lev Gleason Publications
("Dickie Dean"), and Harvey Comics
, ( "Dr. Miracle", "Duke O'Dowd", "Robin Hood
", and, in Pocket Comics, "Phantom Sphinx").
One source attributes the Fox character Spider Queen
to the Cazeneuve brothers under the joint pseudonym
Elsa Lesau.
It was at National Comics
, the future DC Comics
, that Cazeneuve did his most popular and prolific work during the Golden Age of Comics. He began on minor features, including "Bart Regan, Spy", in Detective Comics
#61-63, 65-66, (March–May, July-Aug. 1942); "Three Aces", in Action Comics
#47-63 (April 1942 - Aug. 1943); "TNT and Dyna-Mite", in Star Spangled Comics #10-23 (July 1942 - Aug. 1943); and "Radio Squad", in More Fun Comics
#81-82 (July - Aug. 1942).
Cazeneuve then began the two features for which he became best known. He succeed creator Creig Flessel
on the modern-day Arthurian feature "Shining Knight
", drawing the feature for nearly three years in Adventure Comics
#73-101 (April 1942 - Jan. 1945). More prominently, he became the second artist of the enduring character Aquaman
, succeeding artist co-creator Paul Norris
to become the longest-running artist of the undersea hero's Golden Age adventures. Cazeneuve debuted on "Aquaman" in More Fun Comics #82 (Aug. 1942), and continued with the feature through issue #107 (Feb. 1946), and its subsequent move to Adventure Comics #103-117, 119-120, 124 (April 1946 - June 1947, Aug.-Sept. 1947, Jan. 1948).
He additionally drew the wartime "kid gang" feature "Boy Commandos
" in World's Finest Comics
#14-20 (Summer 1944 - Winter 1945/46), and penciled it in #24 (inked by George Klein
). He inked two of their stories by co-creator and writer-penciler Jack Kirby
in #21 (June 1947), and inked Curt Swan
in #31 (Feb. 1949).
Other DC characters on which Cazeneuve worked during the Golden Age include the Crimson Avenger
, Green Arrow
, the Seven Soldiers of Victory
, and the Old West
gunslinger Vigilante
. One generally authoritative source states that Cazeneuve was ghost-artist
for Jack Kirby
on some stories in Boy Commandos #6-7 (Spring-Summer 1944). Cazeneuve's other mid- to late Golden Age work included Feature Comics
' "Yank and Doodle", and Harvey Comics
' "Boy Heroes", "Captain Freedom", and "Shock Gibson
".
His last known credited DC Comics work is penciling and inking the six-page Aquaman story "The Sea Serpent" in Adventure Comics #124 (Jan. 1948). He then worked primarily for Fawcett Comics
, starting with Whiz Comics
#103 (Nov. 1948). Cazeneuve's last known credited comics work is penciling and inking the seven-page Western
feature "Golden Arrow" in Whiz Comics #107 (March 1949).
neighborhood of the New York City
borough of Queens.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic-book artist best-known for co-creating the Marvel Comics
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 Red Raven
Red Raven
Red Raven is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Joe Simon and Louis Cazeneuve in Red Raven Comics #1 Red Raven is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Joe Simon and Louis Cazeneuve in Red Raven Comics #1 Red Raven is a...
and for his prolific work on the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
characters Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
, Shining Knight
Shining Knight
Shining Knight is the name of three comic book superheroes that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The original Shining Knight, Sir Justin, was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in Adventure Comics #66 .-Sir Justin:...
, the Boy Commandos
Boy Commandos
Boy Commandos was a 1940s comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for DC Comics. A combination of "kid gang" comics and war comics, the title starred an international cast of little tough guys fighting the Nazis — or in their own parlance, "the Ratzies".-Creation:Simon & Kirby, hired...
and others during the 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books
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...
.
His brother, Arturo "Arthur" Cazeneuve (1919–1992), was also a Golden Age comic-book artist, and became an illustrator and assistant art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
for the overseas edition of Time magazine in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Early life and career
Louis Cazeneuve, in his native ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and under his given name Luis Cazeneuve, drew one of his country's first adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
comic strips, Quique, el Niño Pirata ("Quique, the Pirate Boy"), which appeared both daily and Sunday in the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
El Mundo, beginning in 1931 or 1934 (accounts differ). Cazeneuve also drew the adventure strips Aventuras de Caza del Pibe Palito ("Pibe Palito's Hunting Adventures") and Aventuras de Dos Argentinos en un País Salvaje ("Adventures of Two Argentines in a Wild Country") before emigrating to the United States in 1939.
He worked briefly at Eisner & Iger
Eisner & Iger
Eisner & Iger was a comic book "packager" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books...
, one of the primary comic-book "packagers" that supplied outsourced comics on demand for publishers at the dawn of the new medium
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. Shortly thereafter, Cazeneuve, with his artist brother Arthur and Eisner & Iger colleague Pierce Rice, formed a studio that produced freelance art for a number of comics companies.
Cazeneuve's earliest work includes Fox Feature Syndicate
Fox Feature Syndicate
Fox Feature Syndicate was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S...
's 1940 comic strip Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
, succeeding Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
under the house name Charles Nicholas. With writer Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics
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...
predecessor 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....
, he co-created the character Red Raven
Red Raven
Red Raven is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Joe Simon and Louis Cazeneuve in Red Raven Comics #1 Red Raven is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Joe Simon and Louis Cazeneuve in Red Raven Comics #1 Red Raven is a...
— the first Timely/Marvel character to star in his own self-titled series, predating by several months Captain America Comics
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...
#1 (March 1941).
From 1940 to 1942, Cazeneuve contributed to a number of Fox titles, drawing the stories introducing the superheroic characters Samson
Samson (Fox Feature Syndicate)
Samson was a fictional superhero that appeared in comic books published by Fox Feature Syndicate. He first appeared in Fantastic Comics #1...
(Samson #1, Fall 1940); the Eagle (Weird Comics #8, Nov. 1940); the Banshee (Fantastic Comics
Fantastic Comics
Fantastic Comics was a comic book superhero anthology title published by Fox Feature Syndicate during the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title is notable for having introduced the characters Banshee, Black Fury , Nagana, Queen of Evil, Samson, and Stardust the Super Wizard.-Publication history:The...
#21, Aug. 1941); and U.S. Jones (Wonderworld Comics #28, Aug. 1941), as well as the villainous protagonist Nagana, Queen of Evil (Fantastic Comics #22, Sept. 1941). Other Fox features for which he either supplied full art or did inking over penciler Pierce Rice, include "Captain Savage, Sea Rover", "Chen Chang" (in Mystery Men Comics), "D-13", "The Flame", "The Green Mask" (under the house name Walter Frame), and "Marga the Panther Woman".
Also during this time he did occasional work for Centaur Publications
Centaur Publications
Centaur Publications was one of the earliest American comic book publishers. During their short existence, they created several colorful characters, including Bill Everett's Amazing Man....
(the feature "Man of War"), 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...
("Atom Blake"), Holyoke Publications ("Blue Beetle"), 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....
("Dickie Dean"), and Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
, ( "Dr. Miracle", "Duke O'Dowd", "Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
", and, in Pocket Comics, "Phantom Sphinx").
One source attributes the Fox character Spider Queen
Spider Queen
Spider Queen was a fictional Golden Age comic book character. She first appeared in Fox Feature Syndicate's The Eagle #2 . The character was later revived by writer Roy Thomas for Marvel Comics' 1993 Invaders mini-series....
to the Cazeneuve brothers under the joint pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Elsa Lesau.
DC Comics and Aquaman
National Comics
National Comics may refer to:* National Comics: An early name for the comic book publisher known later as DC Comics.* National Comics : a 1940's comic book series published by Quality Comics....
, the future DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, that Cazeneuve did his most popular and prolific work during the Golden Age of Comics. He began on minor features, including "Bart Regan, Spy", in 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...
#61-63, 65-66, (March–May, July-Aug. 1942); "Three Aces", in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#47-63 (April 1942 - Aug. 1943); "TNT and Dyna-Mite", in Star Spangled Comics #10-23 (July 1942 - Aug. 1943); and "Radio Squad", in More Fun Comics
More Fun Comics
More Fun Comics, originally titled New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine a.k.a. New Fun Comics, was a 1935-1947 American comic book anthology that introduced several major superhero characters and was the first American comic-book series to feature solely original material rather than reprints of...
#81-82 (July - Aug. 1942).
Cazeneuve then began the two features for which he became best known. He succeed creator Creig Flessel
Creig Flessel
Creig Valentine Flessel was an American comic book artist and an illustrator and cartoonist for magazines ranging from Boys' Life to Playboy...
on the modern-day Arthurian feature "Shining Knight
Shining Knight
Shining Knight is the name of three comic book superheroes that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The original Shining Knight, Sir Justin, was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in Adventure Comics #66 .-Sir Justin:...
", drawing the feature for nearly three years in Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
#73-101 (April 1942 - Jan. 1945). More prominently, he became the second artist of the enduring character Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
, succeeding artist co-creator Paul Norris
Paul Norris
Paul Leroy Norris was an American comic book artist best known as co-creator of the DC Comics superhero Aquaman, and for a 35-year run as artist of the newspaper comic strip Brick Bradford.-Early life and career:...
to become the longest-running artist of the undersea hero's Golden Age adventures. Cazeneuve debuted on "Aquaman" in More Fun Comics #82 (Aug. 1942), and continued with the feature through issue #107 (Feb. 1946), and its subsequent move to Adventure Comics #103-117, 119-120, 124 (April 1946 - June 1947, Aug.-Sept. 1947, Jan. 1948).
He additionally drew the wartime "kid gang" feature "Boy Commandos
Boy Commandos
Boy Commandos was a 1940s comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for DC Comics. A combination of "kid gang" comics and war comics, the title starred an international cast of little tough guys fighting the Nazis — or in their own parlance, "the Ratzies".-Creation:Simon & Kirby, hired...
" in World's Finest Comics
World's Finest Comics
World's Finest Comics was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled World's Best Comics for its first issue; issue #2 switched to the more familiar name...
#14-20 (Summer 1944 - Winter 1945/46), and penciled it in #24 (inked by George Klein
George Klein (comics)
George D. Klein was an American comic book artist and cartoonist whose career stretched from the 1930s and 1940s' Golden Age of comic books...
). He inked two of their stories by co-creator and writer-penciler Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
in #21 (June 1947), and inked Curt Swan
Curt Swan
Douglas Curtis Swan was an American comic book artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 1950s through the 1980s.-Early life and career:Curt Swan, whose Swedish...
in #31 (Feb. 1949).
Other DC characters on which Cazeneuve worked during the Golden Age include the Crimson Avenger
Crimson Avenger
The Crimson Avenger is the name of three separate fictional characters, superheroes who exist in the DC Comics universe.-Lee Walter Travis:The original Crimson Avenger made his first published appearance in Detective Comics #20...
, Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
, the Seven Soldiers of Victory
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Seven Soldiers of Victory is a fictional team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe...
, and the Old West
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
gunslinger Vigilante
Vigilante (comics)
Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics. The original character was one of the first DC Comics characters adapted for live-action film, beating Superman by one year.-Greg Saunders:...
. One generally authoritative source states that Cazeneuve was ghost-artist
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
for Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
on some stories in Boy Commandos #6-7 (Spring-Summer 1944). Cazeneuve's other mid- to late Golden Age work included Feature Comics
Feature Comics
Feature Comics was a comic book anthology title published in the United States by Quality Comics from 1939 until 1950, that featured short stories in the superhero and humor genres. The series was a continuation of Feature Funnies, a reprint collection of newspaper comic strips that was published...
' "Yank and Doodle", and Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
' "Boy Heroes", "Captain Freedom", and "Shock Gibson
Shock Gibson
Shock Gibson is a fictional comic book superhero who first appeared in Speed Comics #1 , from Brookwood Publications, a company later absorbed by Harvey Comics). He was created by artist Maurice Scott, who drew it through issue #11, and an unknown writer...
".
His last known credited DC Comics work is penciling and inking the six-page Aquaman story "The Sea Serpent" in Adventure Comics #124 (Jan. 1948). He then worked primarily 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...
, starting with Whiz Comics
Whiz Comics
Whiz Comics was a monthly ongoing comic book anthology series, which was published by Fawcett Comics from February 1940 with issue #2 and stopping at issue #155 in June 1953, best known for introducing Captain Marvel. The first issue published of Whiz Comics was issue #2...
#103 (Nov. 1948). Cazeneuve's last known credited comics work is penciling and inking the seven-page Western
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
feature "Golden Arrow" in Whiz Comics #107 (March 1949).
Later life
At the time of his death he was living in the Jackson HeightsJackson Heights, Queens
Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the Northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York, New York, United States. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 3...
neighborhood of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough of Queens.