Recent from talks
Kurt Schaffenberger
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Kurt Schaffenberger
Kurt Schaffenberger (December 15, 1920 – January 24, 2002) was an American comics artist. He was best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during both the Golden Age and Bronze Age of comics, as well as his work on the title Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane during the 1950s and 1960s. Schaffenberger used the alias "Lou Wahl" on certain comics, when he was moonlighting from his main job of drawing Lois Lane at DC Comics.
Schaffenberger was born on a farm in the Thuringian Forest, Germany, where, as a boy, he ". . . tended geese, herded goats, and hoed potatoes." Emigrating to America as a 7-year-old, first to Hartford, Connecticut, and then to New York City, he eventually won a scholarship to the Pratt Institute. After graduation, he joined Jack Binder's studio in 1941, where he worked on key Fawcett Comics titles including Captain Marvel, Bulletman, and Ibis the Invincible.
While working for Binder's studio, which was located in Englewood, New Jersey, Schaffenberger took over an apartment from the local high school football coach, Vince Lombardi, who had yet to achieve success in the National Football League.
During this time, Schaffenberger's work was also published by Prize, Street & Smith, and Pines.
Schaffenberger served in the U.S. military during World War II, including a stint with the Office of Strategic Services, leaving the military with the rank of Master Sergeant. His knowledge of German allowed him to translate information from Allied spies behind Nazi lines for the OSS.
Schaffenberger returned to the world of professional sequential art soon after war's end. He resumed his work for the Captain Marvel family of titles, and expanded his reach to an even more diverse group of publishing houses, including EC Comics, Gilberton, Premier Magazines, American Comics Group, and Marvel Comics. At Gilberton, Schaffenberger provided the interior art for Classics Illustrated No. 119, Soldiers of Fortune (May 1954).
In 1957 Otto Binder recruited Schaffenberger to DC Comics to work on the Superman family. He stayed at DC for the next 30 years, making an especially large contribution to the development of Lois Lane. In this capacity, he was the lead artist on the Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane series for the entirety of its first decade. Indeed, Schaffenberger's rendition of Lane became cited by many as the "definitive" version of the character, and Schaffenberger was often asked by DC editor Mort Weisinger to redraw other artists' depictions of Lois Lane in other DC titles where she appeared. Catwoman made her first appearance in the Silver Age of Comic Books in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #70 (Nov. 1966) in a story drawn by Schaffenberger. In issue #80 (Jan. 1968), Schaffenberger updated the character's fashions to a then-more contemporary look.
He was essentially fired from DC in 1970 for helping to organize other artists to protest bad working conditions. He then briefly freelanced and worked for Marvel, but returned to DC in 1972.
Hub AI
Kurt Schaffenberger AI simulator
(@Kurt Schaffenberger_simulator)
Kurt Schaffenberger
Kurt Schaffenberger (December 15, 1920 – January 24, 2002) was an American comics artist. He was best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during both the Golden Age and Bronze Age of comics, as well as his work on the title Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane during the 1950s and 1960s. Schaffenberger used the alias "Lou Wahl" on certain comics, when he was moonlighting from his main job of drawing Lois Lane at DC Comics.
Schaffenberger was born on a farm in the Thuringian Forest, Germany, where, as a boy, he ". . . tended geese, herded goats, and hoed potatoes." Emigrating to America as a 7-year-old, first to Hartford, Connecticut, and then to New York City, he eventually won a scholarship to the Pratt Institute. After graduation, he joined Jack Binder's studio in 1941, where he worked on key Fawcett Comics titles including Captain Marvel, Bulletman, and Ibis the Invincible.
While working for Binder's studio, which was located in Englewood, New Jersey, Schaffenberger took over an apartment from the local high school football coach, Vince Lombardi, who had yet to achieve success in the National Football League.
During this time, Schaffenberger's work was also published by Prize, Street & Smith, and Pines.
Schaffenberger served in the U.S. military during World War II, including a stint with the Office of Strategic Services, leaving the military with the rank of Master Sergeant. His knowledge of German allowed him to translate information from Allied spies behind Nazi lines for the OSS.
Schaffenberger returned to the world of professional sequential art soon after war's end. He resumed his work for the Captain Marvel family of titles, and expanded his reach to an even more diverse group of publishing houses, including EC Comics, Gilberton, Premier Magazines, American Comics Group, and Marvel Comics. At Gilberton, Schaffenberger provided the interior art for Classics Illustrated No. 119, Soldiers of Fortune (May 1954).
In 1957 Otto Binder recruited Schaffenberger to DC Comics to work on the Superman family. He stayed at DC for the next 30 years, making an especially large contribution to the development of Lois Lane. In this capacity, he was the lead artist on the Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane series for the entirety of its first decade. Indeed, Schaffenberger's rendition of Lane became cited by many as the "definitive" version of the character, and Schaffenberger was often asked by DC editor Mort Weisinger to redraw other artists' depictions of Lois Lane in other DC titles where she appeared. Catwoman made her first appearance in the Silver Age of Comic Books in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #70 (Nov. 1966) in a story drawn by Schaffenberger. In issue #80 (Jan. 1968), Schaffenberger updated the character's fashions to a then-more contemporary look.
He was essentially fired from DC in 1970 for helping to organize other artists to protest bad working conditions. He then briefly freelanced and worked for Marvel, but returned to DC in 1972.