Today in Comics History, May 1: Happy birthday, Ogden Whitney!

Born on this day in 1919, one of the greatest cartoonists in the field of comic books (and yet he never seems to get the modern acclaim I think he deserves): Ogden Whitney, co-creator of Skyman and Comic's Greatest Hero, Herbie Popnecker! His combination of mundane characters in weird and bizarre compositions or against oddball happenings is a highlight of his work on Big Shot Comics (a run interrupted by his stint in the Army in WWII)...



cover of Big Shot #67 (Columbia, July 1946), artist ubcredited nd unknown, although the Skyman insert is by Whitney
...Adventure Comics, Manhunt, Magazine Enterprises's Joan of Arc, Marvel and Atlas's Spellbound, Marvel Tales, Adventures into Terror, Two-Gun Kid, Millie the Model, Tower's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and NoMan, and just about a gazillion tales for American Comics Group (ACG), including Adventures into the Unknown, Forbidden Worlds, Midnight Mystery, Unknown Worlds, Herbie (of course), and many more.

In several of the ACG one-shot mystery/SF tales he got to draw himself in the comic introducing the story, generally along with the many pseudonyms/pen names/personalities of writer Richard Hughes (as Shane O'Shea, Lafcadio Lee, Pierre Alonzo, Zev Zimmer, and others). Here's a few of 'em that I've found. Say hi, Ogden to the many little heads of Whitney!:


from "Underneath the Quietest Exterior!" in Midnight Mystery #1 (ACG, January 1961), script by Richard Hughes as Shane O'Shea, pencils and inks by Ogden Whitney


from "The Sky Beast" in Midnight Mystery #4 (ACG, July 1961), script by Richard Hughes as Zev Zimmer, pencils by and inks Ogden Whitney


from "The Earth Froze at Noon!" in Unknown Worlds #4 (ACG, December 1960), script by Richard Hughes as Pierre Alonzo, pencils and inks by Ogden Whitney


from "So Long, Fellas!" in Midnight Mystery #5 (ACG, August 1961), script by Richard Hughes as Shane O'Shea, pencils and inks by Ogden Whitney, letters by Ed Hamilton


from "Clem Never Does Anything Big!" in Midnight Mystery #6 (ACH, September 1961), script by Richard Hughes as Shane O'Shea, pencils and inks by Ogden Whitney, letters by Ed Hamilton
Here's another Whitney head. I've left off Hughes's portrayal in this panel because that's fodder for another post (soon, I hope!).


from "Spacemen Against the Supernatural!" Midnight Mystery #2 (ACG, March), pencils and inks by Ogden Whitney
Happy birthday, Ogden Whitney! And remember, even when doesn't let you get your picture in the header of the story...you're still truly among the stars.


from "The Juda Goat" in Adventures into the Unknown #131 (ACG, March 1962), script by Richard Hughes as Lafcadio Lee, pencils and inks by Ogden Whitney, letters by Ed Hamilton