Biography Sol Brodsky

1 biography

1.1 life , career
1.2 atlas comics
1.3 marvel comics

biography
early life , career

brodsky inked 1 of penciler jack kirby s significant comics, fantastic 4 #3 (march 1962).

born in brooklyn, new york city, new york, son of abraham , dora brodsky, sol brodsky eldest among siblings leonard, ted, , faye. determined in life pursue cartooning, took job sweeping floors @ archie comics in order break industry. 1985 tribute feature in marvel promotional magazine marvel age (pictured above) cites comic-art debut @ age 17 in 1940 in comic v-man (sic; comic titled v •••—, using morse code, , in event, 2 issues of fox comics title starring superhero v-man cover-dated january , march 1942). brodsky s earliest confirmed comics credit inking six-page volton story in holyoke publishing s cat-man comics vol. 3, #2, a.k.a. #12 (july 1942).

that year brodsky began long, if intermittent, association marvel, writing , drawing 4 one-page inky dinky gag strips in mystic comics #10 (aug. 1942) , additional 1 in comedy comics #11 (sept. 1952), company s 1940s predecessor, timely comics. earliest known cover art fox comics blue beetle #17 (dec. 1942).

brodsky served in u.s. army signal corps during world war ii, advancing rank of corporal. marvel age article reports stationed on uss fairfax, destroyer decommissioned become british royal navy ship hms richmond on november 26, 1940, more year before entered war.

upon return military service, brodsky created feature red cross in holyoke s aviation series captain aero comics, ran backup issues #21-25 (dec. 1944 - feb. 1946).

fellow comics artist allen bellman recalled in 2005, sol , close friends. both lived in brooklyn , married. ... when roz , married, moved jersey shore area of asbury park, , sol , wife visited often. warm, good-natured person. brodsky married selma cohen on november 28, 1948. first child, janice, born august 7, 1952, , son gary on march 18, 1957.

atlas comics

never star , described journeyman penciler without recognizable style, brodsky in late 1950 or 1951 — exact date uncertain due work going unsigned, in manner of times — began penciling , inking marvel s 1950s forerunner, atlas comics. tentatively credited cover artist of marvel boy #1-2 (dec. 1950 - feb.1951), , confirmably credited through 50s covers , occasional stories in issues of atlas horror/suspense titles adventures weird worlds, strange tales, , uncanny tales; westerns kid colt, outlaw, gunsmoke western, western outlaws, , wild western; satiric crazy; , such miscellaneous genre titles sports action , spy fighters. drew cover of sub-mariner comics #34 (june 1954).

after atlas reorganization circa 1954, publisher martin goodman eliminated comics-division staff except editor-in-chief stan lee. freelance cartoonist , later longtime marvel colorist , millie model artist stan goldberg recalled, needed on production handle things since there no real staff. come in couple of days week out, had lot of own freelance stuff, couldn t much. stan got in touch sol. stan one-man department, , sol became two-man department. lee elaborated, sol , whole staff of atlas comics. bought art , scripts , sol did production. job talking artists , writers , telling them wanted stuff done. sol did ... corrections, making sure looked right, making sure things went engraver , talked printer. production manager. , little little built things again.

during 1957 economic entrenchment @ company, goodman again fired staff, except lee. brodsky teamed friend , fellow comic artist mike esposito attempt launching publishing company. neither brodsky s magazine prototypes, included rock , roll fan magazine, nor travel kits children, containing things draw, play, , stay amused during trips, found investor.

brodsky had more success series of promotional comic books created , produced big boy restaurant chain. lee script majority of these. brodsky produced promotional comics bird s eye frozen foods, featuring talking vegetables. in 1958, brodsky became founding editor of satirical magazine cracked.

marvel comics

until leaving cracked in 1964 become marvel s production manager, brodsky concurrently freelancing marvel, inking fantastic 4 #3 (the issue introduced team s costumes , other mythos sui generis) , #4 (the return of golden age antihero sub-mariner), among other covers/interiors. marvel began expand success of fantastic four, amazing spider-man , other titles, brodsky s organizational skills , easygoing manner led lee, friend several years, offer him newly created, formal position of production manager in 1964. when artist bill everett, on return marvel after many years in commercial art, turned in daredevil #1 (april 1964) extremely late, brodsky , spider-man artist steve ditko inked lot of backgrounds , secondary figures on fly [and] cobbled cover , splash page kirby s original concept drawing.

roy thomas described marvel offices in 1965 3 or 4 little rooms. stan s office big else put together, , sol brodsky, [secretary/receptionist] flo steinberg, , [artist/colorist/production person] marie severin crowded 2 other little rooms.

some marvel humor comics art credited brodsky may not have been work. comics historian mark evanier notes:

...there quite few issues of millie model , other teen comics signed sol brodsky or solly b. brodsky firm s production manager , occasional inker, , did ink few of millie stories bear credit. @ least pencilled stan goldberg. @ time, stan doing occasional work archie comics people, , didn t see artists drawing in style other publishers. when stan drew teen comics marvel, put brodsky s name on them in hope archie editors wouldn t know him.

tales astonish #40 (feb. 1963), rare interior occasional cover-art team of penciler jack kirby , inker sol brodsky. ant-man stars.

brodsky spent few months away marvel in 1970s, when , israel waldman co-founded skywald publications — company name composed of truncated versions of last names. sometime before may 19, 1978 — date of letter, put auction years later, had sent marvel fan — title had become vice president, operations. later, vice president, special projects, oversaw marvel uk, marvel books, , other brand expansions. one-time marvel editor-in-chief jim shooter recalled in 2011 after skywald went defunct, sol needed job, , approached stan [lee], new production manager had been hired in sol’s absence — john verpoorten. stan convinced [then-parent company] cadence [industries] board create new position sol, v.p. of operations . essentially, stan s right-hand man again. al hewetson, succeeded brodsky editor of skywald, disputes this, recalling in 2004 brodsky had told him, marvel has made me offer go , develop overseas syndication, , m going it. big opportunity. brodsky s last credited issues editor , hewetson s first cover-dated august 1972; skywald s final magazines cover-dated october 1974.

a fictionalized brodsky among beachgoers gathered round unconscious namor in penciler marie severin s splash page sub-mariner #19 (nov. 1969). in-joke, severin had drawn marvel staff (as 3 personal friends) onlookers. brodsky man in hawaiian shirt @ lower right, gesturing police (and standing in front of cigar-smoking mike esposito). fictionalized brodsky appeared alongside lee, kirby , steinberg — transformed marvel bullpen version of fantastic 4 — in alternate-reality comic if vol. 1, #11 (oct. 1978). written , drawn kirby, odd tale featured brodsky human torch.

brodsky s son gary founded short-lived, 1980s independent-comics company solson publications, published issue of t.h.u.n.d.e.r. agents update t.h.u.n.d.e.r., writer michael sawyer , artist james e. lyle, plus short-lived super-president spoof series reagan s raiders. brodsky s daughter, janice cohen, has been marvel colorist.

occasional 1970s marvel writer allyn brodsky, served assistant editor-in-chief stan lee, following al hewetson, not related.