Post-war Powell
Following his discharge, Powell formed his own studio and drew for numerous comic-book publishers. His work in the 1950s included features and covers for Street and Smith's Shadow Comics; Magazine Enterprises' Bobby Benson's B-Bar-B Riders, based on the children's television series, and all four issues of that publisher's Strong Man; and, for Harvey Comics, many war, romance, and horror stories, as well as work for the comics Man in Black, Adventures in 3-D and True 3-D.[4]
Howard Nostrand, who joined as one of Powell's assistants in 1948, recalled working alongside fellow assistants "George Siefringer, who [drew] backgrounds [and] Martin Epp, who inked, lettered and helped George on backgrounds. I started out inking and then got into doing backgrounds ... and then penciling."[12] Features on which they worked during this period included "Red Hawk" in Magazine Enterprises' Straight Arrow; and, for Fawcett Comics, work in Hot Rod Comics, an adaptation of the film The Red Badge of Courage, and "a couple of Westerns" including the movie-spinoff feature "Lash LaRue".[12]
In 1961, Powell became art director for the satirical magazine Sick, working there until his death. On a freelance basis, he worked on Topps' 1962 Mars Attacks trading cards, doing the final pencil art based on early pencils roughs by Wally Wood; Norman Saunders then did the final painted art. Powell had previously worked with Saunders and others on Topps' 1961 Civil War News series of cards.[13]
During this 1960s period that fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books, Powell also drew a handful of stories for Marvel Comics featuring the superheroes Daredevil, Giant-Man, the Hulk and the Human Torch.[4]
As commentator and columnist Fred Hembeck described Powell's brief tenure at Marvel, "Powell bowed with what was then only the latest — but not last — Giant-Man revamp in Tales to Astonish #65 (March 1965), and was in charge of the exceedingly disappointing meeting between the Human Torch, the Thing, and the Beatles (Strange Tales #130, also March 1965). In all, the former Eisner associate would pencil the final five [Giant-Man] plots (working over [Jack] Kirby's layouts on the last four), also pencil the last five Torch/Thing duo deals ... did layouts for Wally Wood's last three Daredevil issues ... and would wind up his days at Marvel pencilling two Hulk stories (Tales To Astonish #73 and #74, November and December 1965, both over Kirby breakdowns — one inked by himself, and the second by Mike Esposito).[14]"
In comic strips, Powell drew writer Bessie Little's short-lived Teena-a-Go-Go (1966)[15] and the similarly short-lived Bat Masterson strip (1959–1960).[16]
Sources differ on the date of Powell's death. The Social Security Death Index confirms his birth date as October 2, 1916, but gives his death date only as December 1967.[2] A standard reference source, the Lambiek Comiclopedia, gives a birth date (October 6, 1916) at odds with the U.S. government record, and a death date of October 1, 1967.[6]
