Sunday, February 11, 2007

Bob Oksner



Special thanks to Steven Rowe and Sam Kujava for verifying my tentative but sleep-deprived identification of Bob Oksner as the artist on the previous Bob Hope PSA. It actually got me thinking about Oksner and realizing I knew little or nothing about him even though he has long been a favorite artist. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that nobody from the best PLAYBOY cartoonists to Jazzy Johnny Romita (Senior) or even my revered and admired Wally Wood could draw prettier, sexier girls than Bob Oksner! Here are just a very few examples from the man who won the National Cartoonists Society Award for best comic book cartoonist at least twice in the early sixties along with a one-page bio that appeared in THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:08 PM

    Bob Oksner's Supergirl, drawn for,
    I think, Adventure Comics in the
    early '70's, was the cutest,
    sweetest and sexist incarnation of
    the girl hero. I think he did
    a Mary Marvel story or two during
    this time as well, with equally
    delightful results.
    As a long-time inker for Curt Swan's Superman in subsequent years, he was not my favorite
    embellisher. But DC was giving one
    of their stalwarts steady work,
    and the days of JERRY LEWIS and
    BOB HOPE were long gone.
    Even later, Bob Oksner became an
    instuctor at the Joe Kubert School,
    after my time there, darn it!
    From what his bio offers, he sounds
    like he would be a most interesting
    person to get to know!

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  2. Sam Kujava is right about Oksner drawing several Mary Marvel stories in the 70s (not to mention this Who's Who entry from the 80s), and he made her look so damn cute that the new Shazam! Showcase volume is almost worth picking up just for those stories alone.

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  3. Anonymous11:08 AM

    Bob Oksner passed away yesterday 2/19/07.

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  4. Anonymous11:11 AM

    I just knew there was a reason
    we had been sharing the love for
    the work of Bob Oksner. Rest in
    Peace, Mr. O.

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  5. Anonymous8:48 PM

    The family of Bob Oksner thanks all of you for your kind thoughts. We know that Bob would cherish each and every post.

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  6. Anonymous8:05 PM

    Comics have never seen cutest girls than Supergirl and Mary Marvel drawn by the great Bob Oskner. In this age of ugly comics I really miss him.

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