Paul Gustavson née Karl Paul Gustafson (born August 16, 1916, Åland, Finland; died 1977) was an American-immigrant comic-book writer and artist. Events 1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Events 1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating His most notable creations during the Golden Age of Comic Books were The Human Bomb for Quality Comics, and the Angel, who debuted in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books generally thought as lasting from the 1930s until late 1940s during which Comic books The Human Bomb is a Fictional Superhero published by DC Comics. Quality Comics was an American comic book Publishing company that operated from 1939 to 1956 and was an influential creative force in what historians and fans call The Angel ( Thomas Halloway) is a fictional Superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, created by writer-artist Paul Gustavson Marvel Mystery Comics (first issue titled simply Marvel Comics) is an American Comic book series published during the 1930s-1940s period known 1939), the first publication of Marvel Comics forerunner Timely Comics. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Timely Comics is the 1940s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into first Atlas Comics, and then Marvel Comics The Angel would star in more than 100 stories in the 1940s. The Human Bomb would later be acquired by DC Comics and make sporadic appearances as late as 2005. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company

Early life and career

Centaur Publications' Amazing Man Comics #22 (May 1941), cover art by Paul Gustavson

Emigrating to the U. S. with his family at age five, Gustavson (who modified his name when he entered comics) graduated from Quentin High School in New York City, and studied civil engineering at Manhattan's Cooper Union. The City of New York Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (commonly referred to simply as The Cooper Union or Cooper Union) is a privately-funded college in Seguing to art at about age 17, he spent two to three years apprenticing under cartoonist Frank Owen, the husband of one of Gustavson's childhood friends in Finland. Apprenticeship is a system of Training a new generation of practitioners of a skill A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing Cartoons Traditionally much of this work was and still is humorous and is intended primarily for entertainment purposes For the writer on The Day Will Dawn, Triple Cross, Yellow Caesar, The Big Blockade and other 1940s films see Frank Owen (writer Gustavson assisted on Owen's Collier's Magazine humor spot, "Filbert". Collier's Weekly was an American Magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957

Gustavson began working in the studio of the quirkily named Harry "A" Chesler, a "packager" of comic books for publishers testing the waters of the emerging medium. Harry Chesler Jr was the Entrepreneur behind what is often credited as the first Comic book "packager" (shop of the late-1930s to 1940s Golden Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" "I started at $12 a week", he told historian Jim Steranko, who interviewed him in the early 1970s. James Steranko (born 5 November, 1938, Reading Pennsylvania, United States) is an American Graphic artist, Comic "It wasn't much but in those days it was enough for me. I stayed with Chesler for about two years and, during that time, worked with people like Jack Cole, Mort Meskin, Gill Fox, Fred Guardineer, Charlie Biro, and Bob Wood"¹. Jack Cole may refer to Jack Cole (choreographer (1911&ndash1974 Jack Cole (artist (1914&ndash1958 Jack Cole (businessman Morton "Mort" Meskin (born May 30 1916, Brooklyn, New York City; died April 1995 was a prolific American Comic Gilbert T "Gill" Fox ( November 29, 1915 - May 15, 2004) was an American political cartoonist, Comic book Fred Guardineer (October 3 1913 Albany, New York – 2002 was an American Illustrator and Comic book Writer - Charles Biro (May 12 1911 – March 4 1972 was an American Comic book creator and Cartoonist.

Creating characters

After getting married and beginning a family, Gustavson began working for another comics packager, Funnies, Inc., which supplied publisher Martin Goodman with the contents of Marvel Comics #1. Funnies Inc is an influential American Comic book packager of the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of comic books. Martin Goodman (born January 18, 1908; died June 6, 1992, Palm Beach Florida) was an American Publisher of The packager also supplied Centaur Publications, for which Gustavson created A-Man, the The Arrow, Fantom of the Fair, and Man of War. Centaur Publications (1938–1942 was one of the earliest American Comic book Publishers Centaur developed primarily from the Comics Magazine Company The Arrow is a Fictional character, a Superhero originally published by Centaur Publications. The Fantom of the Fair was one of the earliest published Golden Age heroes Other notable work includes humor features in five early issues of DC's Action Comics, starting with issue #5 (Oct. Action Comics is an American Comic book series which introduced Superman, the first major Superhero character as the term 1938), and the two-page humor piece "Major Bigsbee an' Botts" in the oft-reprinted Batman #1 (Spring 1940). Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a fictional Comic book Superhero co-created

He later joined Quality Comics, one of DC's predecessors, where publisher "Busy" Arnold offered $25 a page. Everett M Arnold ( May 20 1899, Providence Rhode Island &ndash December 1974 also known as Busy Arnold, was an early Comic books There Gustavson created the Human Bomb (premiering in Police Comics #1, Aug. 1941), aigning the earliest episodes with the pseudonym 'Paul Carroll. A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) He wrote and drew the feature through September 1946. Gustavson also wrote/drew characters including Magno (premiering in Smash Comics #13, 1940); the Spider (premiering in Crack Comics #1, 1940); the Jester (in Smash Comics); and Rusty Ryan (in Feature Comics), whose uniform strongly evoked that of Captain America. Magno is a fictional superhero originally published by Quality Comics.

Gustavson, whose delicate, fine-line art resembles that of fellow Golden Age cartoonist Lou Fine, also worked on Blackhawk, Kid Eternity, Uncle Sam and other characters. Louis Kenneth Fine ( November 26, 1914 - July 24, 1971) was an American Comic book Artist known for his work Blackhawk, a long-running Comic book series was also a Film serial, a radio series and a Novel. Kid Eternity is a Comic book Superhero who first premiered in Hit Comics #25 published by Quality Comics in December 1942. Uncle Sam is a Fictional character, a DC Comics Superhero based on National personification of the United States, Uncle

From 1942 to 1945, Gustavson did his World War II military service in the Air Tech Training Command, concurrently studying aerodynamics at Rutgers University. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Military service in its simplest sense is service by an individual or group in an Army or other military organization whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary Rutgers The State University of New Jersey (also known as Rutgers University) is the largest institution for higher education in the state of New Jersey He returned to work for Quality afterward, and in early 1950s for the American Comics Group (AGC), doing humor features. American Comics Group (ACG was a small publisher during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books that published several well-remembered characters and titles Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement Later that decade, he left the field to become a surveyor and civil engineer for New York State. Surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space Position of points and the distances and angles between New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous

His brother Nils collaborated with him on Centaur's Man of War.

Footnotes

• Note 1: The Steranko History of Comics 2 by Jim Steranko (Supergraphics, 1972), p. 99

References

• Lambiek Comiclopedia: Paul Gustafson (Paul Gustavson, Paul Earrol)
• Don Markestein's Toonpedia: The Angel
• Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection: "Gus" to "Guvreaux"
• Alias the Spider
• The Grand Comics Database