Carl Wessler

Carroll O. "Carl" Wessler (May 25, 1913 - April 9, 1989) was an American animator of the 1930s and a comic book writer from the 1940s though the 1970s for such companies as DC Comics, EC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing.

Wessler was one of at least five staff writers (officially titled editors) under editor-in-chief Stan Lee at Marvel's 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics.

Biography

Early life and career

Carl Wessler began as an animator in the 1930s, working on theatrical cartoon shorts for the Fleischer Studio in New York City, New York. The studio fired him on March 30, 1937, for labor union organizing; after a subsequent strike by studio staff, lasing from May 7 to October 13 of that year, the studio settled and Wessler and others were rehired. Wessler followed Flesicher when it relocated to Florida the following year. [http://atlastales.com/cr/186 Atlas Tales: "Carl Wessler", by Steven Rowe] ]

While continuing to work as an animator, Wessler began doing freelance art for comic books in 1943, through the studio Sangor-Hughes, a "packager" that would produce outsourced comics for publishers entering the then-new medium. Wessler returned to New York City when Flesicher relocated, as Famous Studios, and segued full-time into comics during this 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Due to much of his work going unsigned, in the manner of the times, comprehensive credits are difficult to ascertain; Wessler's earliest confirmed credits are as a cartoonist writing and drawing such funny animal features such as "Snazzy Rabbit" and "Senorita Juanita McMouse" in Croydon Publishing's "Laffy-Daffy Comics" #1 (Feb.l 1945). He also wrote and drew the humor feature "Happy Daze" in at least two issues of Lev Gleason Publications' "Daredevil" in 1951.

Atlas and EC

Wessler began writing for Atlas Comics in November 1950, when he turned in the six-page story "The Mad Monk", about the historical figure Grigori Rasputin, published in "Amazing Detective Cases" #6 (May 1951). He soon became Atlas' primary crime fiction writer, often scripting entire issues of "All-True Crime", "Amazing Detective Cases", "Crime Can't Win", "Crime Exposed", "Crime Must Lose", "Justice", and "Kent Blake of the Secret Service". [ [http://www.comicartville.com/jackkeller.htm Comicartvile Library: "Jack Keller Remembered", by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo] ] Going on staff in 1952, he became a member of the Atlas "bullpen" with fellow writers Hank Chapman, Ernie Hart, Paul S. Newman, Don Rico, and, on teen-humor comics, future "Mad Magazine" cartoonist Al Jaffee. Wessler wrote horror/fantasy stories for such titles as "Adventures into Terror", "Adventures into Weird Worlds", "Astonishing", "Mystic", and "Suspense", later adding to his body of work such war comics as "Battle", "Battle Action", "Battlefield", "Combat", and "Men's Adventures".

In 1953, EC Comics — which in the 1950s produced a number of horror and dramatic titles later considered to be classics of the field — recruited Wessler, Jack Oleck, Daniel Keyes and other writers to its staff. Wessler contributed a large number of stories to EC's famed horror titles "Tales from the Crypt" and "The Vault of Horror" — writing the entirety of "Tales from the Crypt" #45 (Jan. 1955), for instance, with the artists including such luminaries as Graham Ingels, Jack Davis, Jack Kamen, Bernie Krigstein — and wrote as well for EC's "Aces High", "Crime SuspenStories", "Impact", "Piracy", "Shock SuspenStories", and "Weird Science-Fantasy".

Following the demise of EC in the wake of the newly formed Comics Code Authority's crackdown on graphically violent comic books, Wessler returned to Atlas in late 1955 as a freelance writer. There he scripted science fiction/fantasy stories for "Mystic" and, prolifically, "World of Fantasy". His last Atlas work appeared in issue #15 of the latter, cover-dated December 1958.

Later career

Wessler next wrote for Harvey Comics, home of Casper the Friendly Ghost and other children's characters, remaining there through the early 1970s. As well, in the 1960s, his work appears in a range of titles including Charlton Comics' "Billy the Kid", DC Comics' Revolutionary War-era adventure series "Tomahawk", and Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror-comics magazines "Creepy", "Eerie" and "Vampirella".

In the early 1970s, for editor Murray Boltinoff, Wessler wrote for DC Comics' supernatural-fantasy anthologies, including "Ghosts", "House of Mystery", "The Unexpected", and "Witching Hour". He also contributed additional stories to "Eerie", and returned to his old home at Atlas, now Marvel Comics, with work appearing in "Giant-Size Chillers" vol. 2, #1 (Feb. 1975), and in the black-and-white horror-comics magazine "Tales of the Zombie" #7 & 10 (Sept. 1974 & March 1975).

Wessler's last recorded credit is a story in "Mystery In Space" #114 (Dec. 1980)

Wessler was living in Miami, Florida at the time of his death.

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]
* [http://www.comics.org/ Grand Comic Book Database]
* [http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=4160 The Comic Book Database]
* [http://www.comicartville.com/esotericatlas.htm Comicartville Library: "Esoteric Atlas: "Bible Tales for Young Folk" by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo]
* [http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Social Security Death Index]

Further reading

*Wessler, Mary, "In Memorium Carroll O. Wessler", "Robin Snyder's History of the Comics" vol. 2, #5 (May 1991), p. 1
*Wessler, Mary, "Stories Written by Carl Wessler for Timely Comics, 1956", "Robin Snyder's History of the Comics" vol. 2, #11 (Nov. 1991), pp. 117-122
*Wessler, Mary, "Carl Wessler's Work for Simon and Kirby in 1954 and 1955", "Robin Snyder's History of the Comics" vol. 4, #2 (Feb. 1993), p. 32