Bob Oksner (October 14, 1916 in Paterson, New Jersey â€" February 18, 2007) was an American comics artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero and humor comic books, primarily at DC Comics.
Biography
Oksner's early work includes creating the second version of Marvel Boy in 1943 for Timely Comics, the predecessor of Marvel Comics. He went on to write with Jerry Albert and draw the syndicated newspaper comic strip Miss Cairo Jones (1945â€"1947), after which DC editor Sheldon Mayer hired him as an artist on comics adapted from other media. Oksner drew a few Justice Society of America stories in All Star Comics during his early years at DC. He moved from adventure strips to teen-oriented strips such as Leave It to Binky which debuted in February 1948. 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, Shazam!, Superman's Girl Friend, 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.
Awards
Oksner won the National Cartoonists Society 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.
Bibliography
DC Comics
- Action Comics #429, 438-441, 446-449, 459, 560, 563, 565-566, 572-573, 577, 579 (1973-1986)
- Adventure Comics (Supergirl) #389, 410-415, 417-424 (1970â€"1972)
- The Adventures of Bob Hope #6-10, 13-17, 19-21, 23-24, 28, 67-77, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92-102, 105 (1950-1967)
- Adventures of Jerry Lewis #2, 4, 25, 36, 52, 73-74, 78, 83-98, 100, 105, 115, 120-122, 124 (1952-1971)
- All-American Comics #102 (1948)
- All-American Men of War #3 (1953)
- All Star Comics #38, 43-48 (1947-1949)
- Ambush Bug #1-4 (1985)
- Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer #1 (1986)
- Angel and the Ape #1-7 (1968â€"1969)
- Binky #73, 75 (1970)
- Buzzy #23-26 (1949)
- Comic Cavalcade #29 (1948)
- Danger Trail #4-5 (1951)
- Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1-13 (1982-1983)
- Date With Debbi #13-14 (1971)
- DC Comics Presents #81 (1985)
- Detective Comics (Batgirl) #483-484 (1979); ("Tales of Gotham") #492 (1980)
- Elvira's House of Mystery #1-2 (1986)
- Everything Happens to Harvey #1 (1953)
- Flash Comics #87-92, 94-95, 97-100 (1947-1948)
- The Fox and the Crow #96 (1966)
- Girls' Love Stories #21, 104, 108-110 (1953-1965)
- Girls' Romances #100, 108, 119 (1964-1966)
- Green Lantern #27, 34, 36, 38 (1947-1949)
- House of Mystery #199 (1972)
- Leave It to Binky #1, 4, 7-9, 12-13, 15, 17-18, 20-21, 23-28, 32-35, 37, 39, 41, 43-45, 47, 50, 54 (1948-1956)
- Limited Collectors' Edition #C-34 (1975)
- The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis #2, 5-7, 9, 15-20, 25-26 (1960-1964)
- Meet Angel #7 (1969)
- Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood #2-4, 7 (1949-1950)
- Miss Melody Lane of Broadway #1-3 (1950)
- Mystery in Space #3, 5-6, 8, 10-12 (1951-1953)
- Our Army at War #2, 5 (1952)
- Pat Boone #3 (1960)
- Plop! #6 (1974)
- Romance Trail #1-2 (1949)
- Secret Hearts #8, 94 (1952-1964)
- Secret Origins #12 (1987)
- Sensation Comics #84-87, 106 (1948-1951)
- Sensation Mystery #113 (1953)
- Sergeant Bilko #5, 9, 11, 13 (1958-1959)
- Sgt. Bilko's Pvt. Doberman #6 (1959)
- Shazam! #10-13, 15-16, 18-19 (1974â€"75)
- Showcase #70, 77, 81 (1967â€"1969)
- Son of Ambush Bug #1-6 (1986)
- Stanley and His Monster #109-111 (1968)
- Strange Adventures #6-9, 13-14, 16, 18, 21-28 (1951-1953)
- Strange Sports Stories #1 (1973)
- Suicide Squad Annual #1 (1988)
- Super Friends #38, 41, 46 (1980-1981)
- Supergirl vol. 2 #14-20, 22-23 (1983-1984)
- Superman #267-268, 271, 276, 278, 280-281, 283-287, 289, 291-293, 295-306, 376, 399, 401-404 (1973-1985)
- The Superman Family #183, 193, 196-200, 202-222 (1977-1982)
- Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #149-152 (1972)
- Swing with Scooter #12, 17, 31 (1968-1970)
- Welcome Back, Kotter #1, 3-5, 8-10 (1976â€"78)
- Wonder Woman #205 (1973)
- Windy and Willy #1-4 (1969)
- Young Romance #173 (1971)
Marvel Comics
- All Winners Comics #9-11, 13 (1943-1944)
- Captain America Comics #65, 67 (1948)
- Kid Komics #1 (1943)
- Marvel Mystery Comics #10-46, 50-57, 72-75, 91 (1940-1949)
- Mystic Comics #2 (1944)
- U.S.A. Comics #7 (1943)
References
External links
- Atlas Comics (retailer) Presents the Top 100 Artists of American Comic Books: #98 â€" Bob Oksner accessed June 28, 2006
- "DC Profiles #79: Bob Oksner" at the Grand Comics Database
- Bob Oksner at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
- Robert Oksner entry, The Comic Strip Project, "Who's Who of Comic Strip Producers", O. WebCitation archive. Accessed January 16, 2011.
- Who Drew Superman in the Bronze Age?
