from Fifty Who Made DC Great one-shot (DC, 1985)
Mort appears in comic books fairly early along, as an editor at left in the dark blue suit (along with Whitney Ellsworth (light blue suit) and Murray Boltinoff (green; hey, where does he...) gobsmacked by the comics success of a thinly disguised Li'l Abner parody!
from "A Goof Named Tiny Rufe" in Action Comics (1938 series) #55 (DC, December 1942), script by Jerry Siegel, pencils by John Sikela, inks by Ed Dobrotka
Here he smirks (along with blonde Curt Swan) as Clark Kent takes off his clothes in the famous Superman April Fool's Day story. Please, gentlemen, do not stuff dollar bills into his belt!
from "The Night of March 31st!" from Superman (1939 series) #145 (May 1961), script by Jerry Siegel, pencils by Curt Swan
Much later, he was a standby in the Earth-1 Pre-Crisis Superman comics — as a bust that Clark Kent kept in his apartment!
from Superman (1939 series) #411 (DC, September 1985), script by Elliot S! Maggin, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Murphy Anderson, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by John Costanza
Not every portrayal of Weisinger in the comics was complimentary, of course. Marvel skewers him (and E. Nelson Bridwell!) in their Superman spoof:
from "The Origin of...Stuporman" in Not Brand Echh #7 (Marvel, April 19688); script by Roy Thomas; pencils and inks (and colors?) by Marie Severin, letters by Artie Simek
Jack Kirby was apparently not a fan, as related in Tom Scioli's comics biography:
from Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (Ten Speed, July 2020), script and art by Tom Scioli
And Fred van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey reduce this ultimate company man to a caricature of its flagship character itself:
from The Comic Book History of Animation #4 (IDW, February 2021), script by Fred van Lente; pencils, inks, and letters by Ryan Dunlavey; colors by Adam Guzowski
But one of the most savage caricatures of Weisinger comes from inside DC itself, in an "I can't believe they got away with publishing this story" drawn by Mike Sekwoski. I generally don't use panels from this story because they're pretty mean-spirited, but in Morty's case, I'll make an exception!
from "How to Make a Bomb!" in Inferior Five (1967 series) #6 (January 1968), script by E. Nelson Bridwell, pencils by Mike Sekowsky, inks by Mi,e Esposito, letters by Ira Schnapp
You should read Tom Brevoort's piece on just how nasty this story really was — it's an eye-opener.
L-R at table: Robert Kanigher, Mort Weisinger, Jack Schiff, Julius Schwartz, George Kashdan, Murray Boltinoff, E. Nelson Bridwell
Colin Smith has a really incisive take on Weisinger that was extremely illuminating to me:
Under editor Mort Weisinger, Superboy's covers often played on childhood fears: uncaring parents, cruel peers, and lost/unfaithful pets. Weisinger wasn't, shall we say, the nicest fellow. Perhaps that was something of where his gift for unsettling/intriguing young readers came from. [June 17, 2021]
Whatever you think about him, give Mort Weisinger a tip of the hat for his enormous influence on comics history and on the Superman family magazines.
Happy birthday, Morty!
from "Blind Date!" in Superman (1939 series) #273 (DC, March 1974), script by Elliot S! Maggin, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Dick Giordano
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