Showcase #77 Cover - Angel and the Ape - Bob Oksner

Bob Oksner drew the newspaper strip 'Miss Cairo Jones' in the 1940s, but when this feature folded in 1947, Sheldon Mayer hired him at DC Comics. There, he moved from adventure strips to teen-oriented strips. When DC took on publishing comics based on TV sitcoms, Oksner became one of the main artists in this genre. He drew 'Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis', 'Bob Hope', 'Dobie Gillis', 'Sgt. Bilko', 'Pat Boone', 'Welcome Back Kotter', 'Elvira' and, for King Features, the newspaper comic 'I Love Lucy'. At the same time, Oksner produced romance comics, 'Stanley and His Monster' and the newspaper comic 'Soozie'. Oksner also wrote 'Dondi' for artist Irwin Hasen, from 1967 to 1986. When juvenile comics came to an end at DC in the 1970s, Oksner turned over to superhero comics. He started out doing 'Supergirl' and some covers for 'Wonder Woman' and 'Superman'. He then took over the 'Shazam' feature from C.C. Beck, where he illustrated stories with 'Captain Marvel' and 'Mary Marvel'. Until his retirement in 1986, Oksner worked on such titles as 'Black Orchid', 'Lois Lane', 'Supergirl' and 'Ambush Bug'. Text (c) Lambiek