Posted in: Comics | Tagged: adam strange, Comics, dc, dc comics, entertainment, Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson, Creator Of Zatanna, Dies At 89
Another great comic book artist of the past has left us. Murphy Anderson has died at the age of 89. No details as to the cause but he'd been in poor health and declining convention invites for some time now.
R.I.P. MURPHY ANDERSON: one of the greatest artists in the DC Comics pantheon, Anderson, like fellow Hall-of-Famer Wally Wood, excelled as both a penciller/inker and an inker, embellishing the pencils of so many great DC artists, most especially the late, great Carmine Infantino; I consider the Infantino/Anderson team a soulmate combination for the ages, ranking along others like Colan/Palmer, Swan/Klein and Kirby/Sinnott. Of all the characters Anderson delineated with his distinctive look, I'll always consider The Spectre his definitive body of work, as he seemed to stretch artistically on that character more than any other. On a personal level, Anderson influenced my own inking the most of any artist, and I'm sure I spark for others of my generation as well. And he was as nice a person, and as gentlemanly, as his Raymond-school feathered brush strokes were strong and confident.
Beginning his career in the forties, he drew the Buck Rogers comic book series before working for all the major publishers in the fifties. Well known for his work on Captain Comet and Hawkman, for whom he co-created Zatanna with Gardner Fox as well as bringing back The Spectre.
He designed Adam Strange's costume and earned the portmanteau sobriquet of "Swanderson" for his work on Superman with Curt Swan.
He also created the industry standard art size of 10" x 15" which would allo two pages to be photostatted ast the same time, saving time, money and energry. This was adopted across the US comics publishing industry.
He also created Murphy Anderson Visual Concepts in the seventies to provide colour separation and lettering services.
In the nineties, he was entered into the Jack Kirby Hall Of Fame and the Will Eisner Hall Of Fame, topping off a career full of awards.