Creig Flessel
Encyclopedia
Creig Valentine Flessel (February 2, 1912 – July 17, 2008) was an American
comic book artist
and an illustrator
and cartoonist
for magazines ranging from Boys' Life
to Playboy
. One of the earliest comic book illustrators, he was a 2006 nominee for induction into the comics industry's Will Eisner Hall of Fame.
, Flessel was born in Huntington
, Long Island
, New York
. He attended the Grand Central Art School in Manhattan, where he worked as a bouncer and a janitor in exchange for art lessons. One of his classmates at the Grand Central Art School was cartoonist Charles Addams
. Flessel's wife, Marie Marino, attended Alfred University
in Alfred
, New York
, and graduated in 1936.
Flessel broke into comics as an assistant on cartoonist John H. Striebel
's newspaper
comic strip
Dixie Dugan. Flessel also assisted Streibel with advertising art featuring the humorous radio program characters Vic and Sade, who appeared in Farina Wheat
cereal print ads. Flessel next found work with the major advertising agency
Johnstone and Cushing, illustrating ads for Nestle
Toll House cookies, General Foods
, Raisin Bran
, Eveready
batteries, the Nehi
Beverage Company's R.C. Cola
(with the characters R.C. and Quickie) and other brands and products.
Detective Comics
#2-19 (April 1937 - Sept. 1938). He had debuted in comics the year before with stories in the seminal More Fun Comics
#10 (May 1936), penciling and inking
the two-page sword-and-sorcery feature "Don Drake" and the two-page humor strip "Fishy Frolics".
Flessel both wrote and drew the two-page "Steve Conrad, Adventurer", premiering in New Comics #5 (June 1936); the two-page sports feature "Pep Morgan", premiering More Fun #12 (Aug. 1936); "Bret Lawton" and "Speed Saunders" (the latter with writer E. C. Stoner and later Gardner Fox
), both premiering Detective #1; "Bradley Boys", premiering More Fun #13; "Hanko the Cowhand", premiering "More Fun" #25, Oct. 1937; "Buzz Brown", premiering More Fun #30, March 1938; and at least drew and possibly wrote "Red Coat Patrol" also known as "Sgt. O'Malley", premiering "More Fun" #39, Jan. 1939. As writer-artist, Flessel created the DC character the Shining Knight
, in Adventure Comics #66 (Sept. 1941).
Flessel, who drew many early adventures of the Golden Age Sandman
and is closely associated with that character, has sometimes been credited as the character's co-creator. While Flessel drew the Sandman cover of Adventure Comics
#40, generally considered the character's first appearance, the character was created by writer Gardner Fox
and artist Bert Christman.
When DC Comics editor Vin Sullivan
left the company in 1940 to work for Columbia Comics
, Flessel, Fox and others freelanced for his Big Shot Comics. In 1943, when Sullivan formed his own comic book publishing company, Magazine Enterprises
, Flessel signed on as associate editor. Among its other publications, the firm produced at least three issues of the highly violent, wartime propaganda
comic The United States Marines, which presented "Authentic U.S. Marine Corps
Picture Stories" as well as graphic government photographs of such subjects as burned and bayoneted Japanese soldiers.
Flessel drew illustrations for several issues of the pulp magazine
Clues Detective Stories in 1939 and 1940. During the late 1950s he also provided uncredited artwork for Al Capp
's Li'l Abner
comic strip.
stories in both that character's namesake title and in Adventure Comics; and anthological mystery
and suspense tales in American Comics Group
(AGC's) Adventures into the Unknown. Flessel's final regular comic-book work was penciling and inking the 6 2/3-page story "The Flying Girl of Smallville" in Superboy #72 (April 1959). He returned in the 1970s to do occasional inking for writer-penciler Joe Simon
, as on Prez
#4 (March 1973).
Beginning in 1960, Flessel drew a Publishers-Hall Syndicate
comic strip about a young minister
, David Crane, created by Ed Dodd
in 1956 and originally produced by artist Win Mortimer
and writer Hart Spence. In 1993, Flessel donated the original art for 2,677 strips to the Ohio State University
Cartoon, Graphic and Photographic Arts Research Library. After David Crane ceased publication in 1971, Flessel unsuccessfully attempted several other strips, including Cy Poppins, about the owner of a country store; Willie Wildwood, an environmentally aware strip; and The Other Foot.
Like his friend Jack Cole
, creator of Plastic Man
, Flessel also regularly contributed cartoons to Playboy magazine, including a series titled "The Adventures of Baron Furstinbed". Many of these cartoons were reprinted in the one-shot Sex and Other Late Night Laughs (1990), collecting the work of 26 Playboy cartoonists.
In 2000, Flessel and his wife Marie moved from the East Coast to Mill Valley
, California
, where he continued to create art for local events and talent shows. Their son, Peter Flessel, is an environmental engineer, and daughter Eugenie Fernandes is a book illustrator and author in Ontario.
In his final years, Flessel was rediscovered by comic fandom and was the recipient of many honors. He was a guest of honor at the fan convention
Wondercon in San Francisco
, California
, in February 2005, speaking on the Golden/Silver Age Panel. Flessel is also mentioned in Michael Chabon
's 2000 novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
(though his name is misspelled "Craig" in early editions).
Flessel suffered a stroke
on July 11, 2008 that left him paralyzed on his right side. He died at his home in Mill Valley, California
on July 17, 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book artist
Comic Book Artist
Comic Book Artist was an American magazine founded by Jon B. Cooke devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published since the 1960s...
and an illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
for magazines ranging from Boys' Life
Boys' Life
Boys' Life is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America . Its targeted readership is young American males between the ages of 6 and 18.Boys' Life is published in two demographic editions...
to Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. One of the earliest comic book illustrators, he was a 2006 nominee for induction into the comics industry's Will Eisner Hall of Fame.
Early life and career
The son of a blacksmithBlacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
, Flessel was born in Huntington
Huntington, New York
The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan...
, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He attended the Grand Central Art School in Manhattan, where he worked as a bouncer and a janitor in exchange for art lessons. One of his classmates at the Grand Central Art School was cartoonist Charles Addams
Charles Addams
Charles "Chas" Samuel Addams was an American cartoonist known for his particularly black humor and macabre characters...
. Flessel's wife, Marie Marino, attended Alfred University
Alfred University
Alfred University is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in Western New York, USA, an hour and a half south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students...
in Alfred
Alfred (village), New York
Alfred is a village located in the Town of Alfred in Allegany County, New York, USA. The population was 3,954 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Alfred the Great....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and graduated in 1936.
Flessel broke into comics as an assistant on cartoonist John H. Striebel
John H. Striebel
John H. Striebel was an American illustrator and comic strip artist who was best known for the newspaper strip Dixie Dugan, which was scripted by J. P. McEvoy...
's 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
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Dixie Dugan. Flessel also assisted Streibel with advertising art featuring the humorous radio program characters Vic and Sade, who appeared in Farina Wheat
Farina (food)
Farina is a cereal food, frequently described as mild-tasting, usually served warm, made from cereal grains. In contemporary American English use, the word usually refers to Cream of Wheat made from soft wheat. Wheat farina is a carbohydrate-rich food, often cooked in boiling water and served warm...
cereal print ads. Flessel next found work with the major advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
Johnstone and Cushing, illustrating ads for Nestle
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
Toll House cookies, General Foods
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...
, Raisin Bran
Raisin Bran
Raisin bran is a breakfast cereal manufactured by several companies under a variety of brand names, including Kellogg's Raisin Bran; General Mills' Total Raisin Bran, a variant by General Mills called Raisin Nut Bran; and Ralcorp's Post Raisin Bran.-History:Skinner's Raisin Bran was the first...
, Eveready
Eveready
Eveready or Ever Ready may refer to:In companies and organizations:* Eveready Battery Company, a U.S. battery manufacturer which became Energizer Holdings...
batteries, the Nehi
Nehi
Nehi is a flavored soft drink that originated in America. It was introduced in 1924 by Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works. The "Nehi Corporation" name was adopted in 1928 after the Nehi fruit-flavored sodas became popular. In 1955, the company changed its name to Royal Crown Company, after its RC...
Beverage Company's R.C. Cola
R.C. Cola
RC Cola is a soft drink developed in 1905 by Claude A. Hatcher, a pharmacist in Columbus, Georgia, United States.- History :...
(with the characters R.C. and Quickie) and other brands and products.
Golden Age of comic books
Shifting his attention to the fledgling comics medium, Flessel drew the covers of many of the first American comic books, including the pre-BatmanBatman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
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...
#2-19 (April 1937 - Sept. 1938). He had debuted in comics the year before with stories in the seminal 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...
#10 (May 1936), penciling and inking
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
the two-page sword-and-sorcery feature "Don Drake" and the two-page humor strip "Fishy Frolics".
Flessel both wrote and drew the two-page "Steve Conrad, Adventurer", premiering in New Comics #5 (June 1936); the two-page sports feature "Pep Morgan", premiering More Fun #12 (Aug. 1936); "Bret Lawton" and "Speed Saunders" (the latter with writer E. C. Stoner and later Gardner Fox
Gardner Fox
Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer best known for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic-book historians estimate that he wrote over 4,000 comics stories....
), both premiering Detective #1; "Bradley Boys", premiering More Fun #13; "Hanko the Cowhand", premiering "More Fun" #25, Oct. 1937; "Buzz Brown", premiering More Fun #30, March 1938; and at least drew and possibly wrote "Red Coat Patrol" also known as "Sgt. O'Malley", premiering "More Fun" #39, Jan. 1939. As writer-artist, Flessel created the DC character the 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:...
, in Adventure Comics #66 (Sept. 1941).
Flessel, who drew many early adventures of the Golden Age Sandman
Sandman (Wesley Dodds)
Sandman , is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first of several DC characters to bear the name, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman....
and is closely associated with that character, has sometimes been credited as the character's co-creator. While Flessel drew the Sandman cover of 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...
#40, generally considered the character's first appearance, the character was created by writer Gardner Fox
Gardner Fox
Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer best known for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic-book historians estimate that he wrote over 4,000 comics stories....
and artist Bert Christman.
When DC Comics editor Vin Sullivan
Vin Sullivan
Vincent "Vin" Sullivan was a pioneering American comic book editor, artist and publisher.As an editor for National Allied Publications, the future DC Comics, he was responsible for buying Superman from creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and edited that archetypcal superhero in his first...
left the company in 1940 to work for Columbia Comics
Columbia Comics
The Columbia Comics Corporation was formed in 1940 as a partnership between Vin Sullivan and the McNaught Newspaper Syndicate. The idea was to publish comics featuring a mix of McNaught-owned comic strip reprints like Joe Palooka and Charlie Chan as well as original features.The first title...
, Flessel, Fox and others freelanced for his Big Shot Comics. In 1943, when Sullivan formed his own comic book publishing company, Magazine Enterprises
Magazine Enterprises
Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western, humor, crime, adventure, and children's comics, with virtually no superheroes...
, Flessel signed on as associate editor. Among its other publications, the firm produced at least three issues of the highly violent, wartime propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
comic The United States Marines, which presented "Authentic U.S. Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
Picture Stories" as well as graphic government photographs of such subjects as burned and bayoneted Japanese soldiers.
Flessel drew illustrations for several issues of the 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...
Clues Detective Stories in 1939 and 1940. During the late 1950s he also provided uncredited artwork for Al Capp
Al Capp
Alfred Gerald Caplin , better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner. He also wrote the comic strips Abbie an' Slats and Long Sam...
's Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
comic strip.
Later life and career
Flessel continued to draw comics, often uncredited, through the 1950s, including SuperboySuperboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
stories in both that character's namesake title and in Adventure Comics; and anthological mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
and suspense tales in American Comics Group
American Comics Group
American Comics Group was a New York City-based comic book publisher which operated during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books. ACG published one of the first horror comics titles, Adventures into the Unknown. Another of ACG's claims to fame was the character of Herbie Popnecker, who starred...
(AGC's) Adventures into the Unknown. Flessel's final regular comic-book work was penciling and inking the 6 2/3-page story "The Flying Girl of Smallville" in Superboy #72 (April 1959). He returned in the 1970s to do occasional inking for writer-penciler 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...
, as on Prez
Prez (DC Comics)
Prez: First Teen President was a four issue comic series by writer Joe Simon and artist Jerry Grandenetti, released by DC Comics in 1973 and 1974...
#4 (March 1973).
Beginning in 1960, Flessel drew a Publishers-Hall Syndicate
Publishers-Hall Syndicate
Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded in 1944 by Robert M. Hall, the company's president and general manager.Hall had worked for The Providence Journal during high school, followed by three years at Northeastern Law School and four years at Brown University...
comic strip about a young minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
, David Crane, created by Ed Dodd
Ed Dodd
Edward Benton Dodd was a 20th century American cartoonist known for his Mark Trail comic strip.-Early years:...
in 1956 and originally produced by artist Win Mortimer
Win Mortimer
James Winslow "Win" Mortimer was a comic book and comic strip artist best known as one of the major illustrators of the DC Comics superhero Superman...
and writer Hart Spence. In 1993, Flessel donated the original art for 2,677 strips to the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
Cartoon, Graphic and Photographic Arts Research Library. After David Crane ceased publication in 1971, Flessel unsuccessfully attempted several other strips, including Cy Poppins, about the owner of a country store; Willie Wildwood, an environmentally aware strip; and The Other Foot.
Like his friend Jack Cole
Jack Cole (artist)
Jack Ralph Cole was an American comic book artist and Playboy magazine cartoonist best known for creating the comedic superhero Plastic Man....
, creator of Plastic Man
Plastic Man
Plastic Man is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Cole, he first appeared in Police Comics #1 ....
, Flessel also regularly contributed cartoons to Playboy magazine, including a series titled "The Adventures of Baron Furstinbed". Many of these cartoons were reprinted in the one-shot Sex and Other Late Night Laughs (1990), collecting the work of 26 Playboy cartoonists.
In 2000, Flessel and his wife Marie moved from the East Coast to Mill Valley
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he continued to create art for local events and talent shows. Their son, Peter Flessel, is an environmental engineer, and daughter Eugenie Fernandes is a book illustrator and author in Ontario.
In his final years, Flessel was rediscovered by comic fandom and was the recipient of many honors. He was a guest of honor at the fan convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
Wondercon in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in February 2005, speaking on the Golden/Silver Age Panel. Flessel is also mentioned in Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
's 2000 novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a 2000 novel by American author Michael Chabon that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001. The novel follows the lives of two Jewish cousins before, during, and after World War II. They are a Czech artist named Joe Kavalier and a Brooklyn-born...
(though his name is misspelled "Craig" in early editions).
Flessel suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
on July 11, 2008 that left him paralyzed on his right side. He died at his home in Mill Valley, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on July 17, 2008.
Awards
- 1991 Comic-Con InternationalComic-Con InternationalSan Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as... - 1992 National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists SocietyThe 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...
Silver T-Square Extraordinary Service Award - 2007 The Sparky Award given by Jeannie Schulz and the Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco
Books
- Along the Shore by Elizabeth F. Weidner, illustrated by Creig Flessel (Behrman House, 1985) ISBN 0-682-40239-7
- Draw 50 People by Lee J. Ames with Creig Flessel (Doubleday, 1993; Sagebrush reissue, 1994) ISBN 0-613-51071-2 (reissue)
External links
- National Cartoonists Society mini-autobiography
- Creig Flessel at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics database
- Creig Flessel at The FictionMags Index. WebCitation archive.
- Creig Flessel entry, The Comic Strip Project, "Who's Who of Comic Strip Producers", F-Part 1. WebCitation archive.
- Interview with Creig Flessel, The Comics Journal #244 (Aug. 2002) pp. 54–75. Archive of additional interview material place online. Retrieved October 28, 2010. Original site.
- "Mr. Sandman: Creig Flessel, Golden Age Legend", by Charlie Roberts, Comic Book Marketplace #15 (July 1992) pp. 28–33
- "Flessel on Flessel", pp. 36–39
- The Redwoods Review (Fall 2004): "The Amazing Adventures of...Creig Flessel!" (community newspaper; link opens PDF). WebCitation archive.
- Heintjes, Tom. "Funny Business: The Rise and Fall of Johnstone and Cushing", Hogan's Alley, n.d. WebCitation archive.
- Comic-Book Superstars, by Don & Maggie Thompson (Krause Publications, Iola, Wis., 1993) Entry, pp. 70–71
- The Great Comic Book Artists, Vol. 2, by Ron Goulart (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1989) Entry pp. 36–37
External links
- The Sandman (Archived October 25, 2011) and The Shining Knight ( Archived October 25, 2011) at Don Markstein's ToonopediaDon Markstein's ToonopediaDon Markstein's Toonopedia was a web encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation. Don D...
- The Comics Archives: JSA Members - The Sandman (fan site)
- Archive of NCS Long Island Chapter "The Berndt Toast Gang" News (newsletter); includes handwritten Flessel letter. Original page.