ARTIST: John Severin (New York, 1921 - 2012)
NAME: Retired Playboy
YEAR: 1978
MEDIUM: ink on paper
CONDITION: Minor age toning.
SIGHT SIZE: 20 x 14 inches / 50 x 35 cm
FRAME SIZE: unframed (In-House framing available)
SIGNATURE: unsigned
PROVENANCE: Illustration for Cracked Magazine #154 October 1978 page 21 (signed by the artist on page 20). Comes with that issue of magazine.
CATEGORY: antique vintage painting
SKU#: 115952
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John Severin (New York, born 1921)
John Severin was born in 1921. His first work in the comics field was for Crestwood, under editors Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, drawing a variety of western features. In 1953 he began working for the prestigious EC Comics, under noted writer/editor Harvey Kurtzman, Severin soon became acclaimed for his attention to detail and authenticity on the many war and western features in titles such as Frontline Combat and Two Fisted Tales.
After EC comics closed up shop, Severin continued on their sole title, doing satire in the pages of Mad Comics, which soon transformed into Mad Magazine. In the mid-1950s Severin also began a long association with Stan Lee's line of comics, drawing war, western and crime features and excelling on many dramatic cover images on titles such as Kid Colt, Rawhide Kid, Justice and Battle. Also in the late 1950s, Severin began a long association with Cracked magazine, becoming their primary cover artist and penciling many interior stories.
Severin continued into the 1960s and 1970s working for a variety of publishers and features including DC (the Losers) and notable stories in the black and white magazines for Warren Publications (Creepy, Eerie) as well as continuing to work for Marvel, occasionally penciling stories such as Sgt. Fury, but usually inking other artists such as Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Dick Ayers and Herb Trimpe. He eventually got an opportunity to team up with his sister Marie's, inking her pencils on the Sword and Sorcery strip Kull. His lush, polished inked added another facet to his resume, as Severin maintained a hand in the Super-Hero line, even though he rarely drew them on his own and didn't find the genre particularly appealing.
John Severin continued drawing comics in the 1980s, 1990s and into the 21st century. While he was a perennial in Cracked, his work continued to appear in assignments for DC and Marvel. Most recently, he worked on a Rawhide Kid mini-series. His detailed linework, authenticity in drawing uniforms and weaponry and ability to caricature and satirize has made him both a versatile artist and a true original in the comic art field.