Bob Oksner
Encyclopedia
Bob Oksner was an American
comics
artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero
and humor comic books, primarily at DC Comics
.
in 1943 for Timely Comics
, the 1930s-'40s predecessor of Marvel Comics
. He went on to write and draw the syndicated
newspaper
comic strip Miss Cairo Jones (1945–1947), after which DC editor Sheldon Mayer
hired him as an artist on comics adapted from other media. There, he moved from adventure strips to teen-oriented strips. Oksner's work in this field included Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
and its successor, Adventures of Jerry Lewis; Adventures of Bob Hope
; The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
; Sgt. Bilko
; Pat Boone
; and Welcome Back, Kotter
; and, for the King Features syndicate, the newspaper comic-strip spin-off of the 1950s TV sitcom I Love Lucy
. Other work includes drawing the original humor comics Angel and the Ape
and Stanley and His Monster
.
When the demand for that type of humor comics fell off by the 1970s, Oksner began drawing such DC superhero
series as Superman
,Supergirl
, Wonder Woman
, Shazam!
, Black Orchid
, Lois Lane
, Ambush Bug
, and others.
Oksner's other work in comic strips included succeeding Gus Edson
as writer of artist-creator Irwin Hasen
's Dondi
for a time beginning in 1965; and drawing and co-creating Soozi (1967), with Don Weldon. He retired from comics in 1986.
Award for the Comic Book Division in 1960 and 1961, and in 1970 the Shazam Award for Best Pencil Artist (Humor Division) for his work on Adventure Comics
and other DC titles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
and humor comic books, primarily at 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...
.
Biography
Oksner's early work includes creating the second version of Marvel BoyMarvel Boy
Marvel Boy is the name of several fictional comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe, including predecessor companies Timely Comics and Atlas Comics.-Martin Burns:...
in 1943 for 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....
, the 1930s-'40s predecessor 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...
. He went on to write and draw the syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
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...
comic strip Miss Cairo Jones (1945–1947), after which DC editor Sheldon Mayer
Sheldon Mayer
Sheldon Mayer was an American comic book writer, artist and editor. One of the earliest employees of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, Mayer produced almost all of his comics work for the company that would become known as DC Comics.He is credited with rescuing the...
hired him as an artist on comics adapted from other media. There, he moved from adventure strips to teen-oriented strips. Oksner's work in this field included Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis is the title of a comic book published by DC Comics featuring the popular team of comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The series ran for 40 issues from 1952 through 1957, at which time the title was renamed because of the real life breakup of the team...
and its successor, Adventures of Jerry Lewis; Adventures of Bob Hope
Adventures of Bob Hope
The Adventures of Bob Hope is a comic book series that was published by National Periodical Publications . The series featured stories based on comedian Bob Hope, as well as assorted other humorous stories...
; The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
; Sgt. Bilko
The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
; Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
; and Welcome Back, Kotter
Welcome Back, Kotter
Welcome Back, Kotter was an American television sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan and featuring a young John Travolta.It originally aired on the ABC network from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979.-Premise:...
; and, for the King Features syndicate, the newspaper comic-strip spin-off of the 1950s TV sitcom I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
. Other work includes drawing the original humor comics Angel and the Ape
Angel and the Ape
Angel and the Ape was a humor comic book created by E. Nelson Bridwell published by DC Comics. The characters first appeared in 1968 in Showcase #77 then graduated to their own title, with art by comic artist Bob Oksner, most often inked by Wally Wood...
and Stanley and His Monster
Stanley and His Monster
Stanley and His Monster was an American comic-book humor feature and later series from DC Comics, about a boy who has a monster as his companion instead of a dog. Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Winslow Mortimer as a backup feature the funny-animal comic The Fox and the Crow #95 Stanley...
.
When the demand for that type of humor comics fell off by the 1970s, Oksner began drawing such DC superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
series as Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
,Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
, Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
, Shazam!
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
, Black Orchid
Black Orchid
Black Orchid is the name of three fictional superheroines published by DC Comics. The original version of the character first appeared in Adventure Comics #428 .-Susan Linden-Thorne:...
, Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
, Ambush Bug
Ambush Bug
Ambush Bug is a fictional character who has appeared in several comic books published by DC Comics.His real name is supposedly Irwin Schwab, but he has mental problems that prevent him from truly understanding reality around him, so even his true identity might be no more than a delusion on his part...
, and others.
Oksner's other work in comic strips included succeeding Gus Edson
Gus Edson
Gus Edson was an American cartoonist known for two popular, long running comic strips, The Gumps and Dondi....
as writer of artist-creator Irwin Hasen
Irwin Hasen
Irwin Hasen is an American cartoonist, best known as the co-creator of the Dondi comic strip.-Early life:...
's Dondi
Dondi
Dondi was a daily comic strip about a large-eyed war orphan of the same name. Created by Gus Edson and Irwin Hasen, it ran in more than 100 newspapers for three decades .-Interview:...
for a time beginning in 1965; and drawing and co-creating Soozi (1967), with Don Weldon. He retired from comics in 1986.
Awards
Oksner won the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
Award for the Comic Book Division in 1960 and 1961, and in 1970 the Shazam Award for Best Pencil Artist (Humor Division) for his work on 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...
and other DC titles.
DC
- Adventure ComicsAdventure ComicsAdventure 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...
(SupergirlSupergirl (Kara Zor-El)Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
) #410-411, 414-415, 417 (1971–72) - Adventures of Bob HopeBob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
- Adventures of Jerry LewisJerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
- Angel and the ApeAngel and the ApeAngel and the Ape was a humor comic book created by E. Nelson Bridwell published by DC Comics. The characters first appeared in 1968 in Showcase #77 then graduated to their own title, with art by comic artist Bob Oksner, most often inked by Wally Wood...
#1-7 (1968–69) - Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective 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...
(Batgirl) #483-484 (1979); (Tales of Gotham) #492 (1980) - House of MysteryHouse of MysteryThe House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
#199 (1972) - Lois LaneLois LaneLois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
#119 (1972) - Shazam! #10-13, 15, 16, 18, 19 (1974–75)
- ShowcaseShowcase (comics)Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
#77, 81 (1968–69) - Stanley and His MonsterStanley and His MonsterStanley and His Monster was an American comic-book humor feature and later series from DC Comics, about a boy who has a monster as his companion instead of a dog. Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Winslow Mortimer as a backup feature the funny-animal comic The Fox and the Crow #95 Stanley...
#109, 111 (1968) - SupergirlSupergirl (Kara Zor-El)Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
, vol. 2 (Lois LaneLois LaneLois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
) #2-12 (1982–83) - Superman FamilySuperman FamilySuperman Family was a DC Comics comic book series which ran from 1974 to 1982 featuring stories starring supporting characters in the Superman comics...
(Lois Lane) #196-200, 202-204, 206-222 (1979–82) - Welcome Back, KotterWelcome Back, KotterWelcome Back, Kotter was an American television sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan and featuring a young John Travolta.It originally aired on the ABC network from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979.-Premise:...
#3, 8-10 (1977–78) - Windy and Willy #1-4 (1969)