COMIC BOOK PROFESSIONALS WHO ONCE WORKED FOR FLEISCHER STUDIOS

From 1929 to 1942, the legendary Fleischer Studios produced a plethora of animated cartoons that once rivaled their main competitor, Walt Disney Productions. Founded by the brothers, Max and Dave Fleischer, this American animation studio developed many popular cartoons starring characters such as Betty Boop, Popeye, and even Superman. Well, that's until problems in the family led the studio to be acquired by Paramount Pictures and then integrated into their business structure. But before that happened, the Fleischer brothers were astute enough to hire a number of talented artists and writers who then went on to become notable comic book professionals. This includes...

Name: John Stanley / Born: March 22, 1914, in Harlem, New York, USA / Died: November 11, 1993, in Sleepy Hollow, New York, USA (aged 79)

Comic book claim to fame: John is known for writing 'Marge's Little Lulu' comic book series for Dell Publishing, as well as several stories featuring some of their licensed characters, such as Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker / What we know about his time working at Fleischer Studios: John worked for Fleischer Studios for a short period in the 1930s, mainly as an opaquer, which involves the coloring of animation cels, and an inbetweener, which involves the creation of intermediate frames between two keyframes, resulting in the illusion of movement.

Name: Woody Gelman / Born: June 8, 1915, in Brooklyn, New York, USA / Died: February 9, 1978, in Valley Stream, New York, USA (aged 62)

Comic book claim to fame: Woody co-created 'The Dodo and the Frog' comic book series for DC Comics, and he penned stories for some of their talking animal characters, such as Nutsy Squirrel, who he created himself / What we know about his time working at Fleischer Studios: Woody joined Fleischer Studios in 1939, and while there, worked as an assistant animator, an inbetweener, and a scripter, sometimes for their popular 'Popeye' series of cartoons.

Name: Bob Kane / Born: October 24, 1915, in New York, New York, USA / Died: November 3, 1998, in Los Angeles, California, USA (aged 83)

Comic book claim to fame: Bob co-created Batman for DC Comics, along with many of his allies and enemies, including Robin, Jim Gordon, Catwoman, and Scarecrow / What we know about his time working at Fleischer Studios: In 1934, after studying art at a private college that's still located in New York, Cooper Union, Bob joined Fleischer Studios as a trainee animator and predominantly worked on their 'Betty Boop' series of cartoons.

Name: Gill Fox / Born: November 29, 1915, in Brooklyn, New York, USA / Died: May 15, 2004, in Redding Ridge, Connecticut, USA (aged 88)

Comic book claim to fame: Gill wrote, illustrated, and edited many comic books published by Quality Comics, some of which starred characters ranging from Doll Man all the way to Plastic Man / What we know about his time working at Fleischer Studios: Gill worked for Fleischer Studios from 1936 until the labor strike in 1937. But when he was there, he was an opaquer who worked on their 'Betty Boop' and 'Popeye' series of cartoons.

Name: Jack Kirby / Born: August 28, 1917, in Manhattan, New York, USA / Died: February 6, 1994, in Thousand Oaks, California, USA (aged 76)

Comic book claim to fame: Jack co-created many characters published by Marvel Comics, such as Captain America, Ant-Man, Hulk, and Iron Man / What we know about his time working at Fleischer Studios: According to Jack, he didn't like working at Fleischer Studios. In fact, he disliked working there so much, that he left after two years and once called the studio a 'factory' that 'manufactured pictures'. From what we know, while there, he was an inbetweener who largely worked on their 'Popeye' series of cartoons.

In closing, I'd like to acknowledge two other comic book professionals who also worked at the legendary Fleischer Studios. The first name I want to mention belongs to the American writer and artist, Harry Lampert, who's probably best known for co-creating the original version of the Flash for DC Comics, Jay Garrick, whereas the second name I want to mention belongs to the American artist, writer, and editor, Sheldon Mayer, who likewise co-created/created characters for DC Comics, Black Orchid, along with Sugar and Spike. Out of curiosity, have you heard about Fleischer Studios and their range of cartoons? And if you have, did you know about the people listed who once worked there? Either way, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.