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Jack Schiff

Jack Schiff (1909[1] – April 30, 1999)[2] was an American comic book writer and editor best known for his work editing various Batman comic book series for DC Comics from 1942 to 1964. He was the co-creator of Starman, Tommy Tomorrow, and the Wyoming Kid.

Biography

Jack Schiff entered the comics industry after attending Cornell University.[1] He got his start at Standard Magazines, editing various pulps.[3] At DC Comics, he co-created the original Starman with artist Jack Burnley and editors Whitney Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer[4] in Adventure Comics #61 (April 1941). DC hired Schiff as an editor in 1942 and he oversaw the various Batman and Superman comic book titles[5] after Weisinger was drafted into military service during World War II.[6][7] He wrote the story "Case of the Costume-Clad Killers" in Detective Comics #60 (Feb. 1942) which introduced the Bat-Signal into the Batman mythos.[8] In addition, he edited and wrote the Batman comic strip for the McClure Newspaper Syndicate[1] and wrote The Vigilante (1947) and Batman and Robin (1949) serials for Columbia Pictures.[1] He developed a series of public service announcements which ran throughout DC's entire publishing line[9] from 1949 to the mid-1960s[10] and scripted the "Johnny Everyman" feature which had been created by Nobel Prize laureate Pearl S. Buck.[11] He launched comic book titles which were licensed from the popular radio programs A Date with Judy,[12] Gang Busters,[13] and Mr. District Attorney[14] and co-created new characters such as Tommy Tomorrow[15][16] and the Wyoming Kid.[17] His introduction of science fiction concepts into the Batman stories met with mixed results.[18][19] In 1958, he became involved in a legal dispute with artist Jack Kirby over the "Sky Masters" newspaper comic strip and Schiff won the resulting lawsuit.[20] The following year, he and Dick Dillin created Lady Blackhawk in Blackhawk #133 (Feb. 1959).[21] DC's upper management removed Schiff as editor of Batman and Detective Comics due to low sales and replaced him with Julius Schwartz in 1964.[22][23] Mystery in Space and Strange Adventures were given to Schiff as replacements to edit.[5][24] He retired from DC after 25 years with the company[1] and his final editing credit appeared in Strange Adventures #203 (Aug. 1967).[5]

Awards

Jack Schiff received citations and commendations from such organizations as the Anti-Defamation League (1948), the National Conference of Christians and Jews (1953), the United States Office of War Information (1945), and the United States Department of the Treasury (1945).[1]

Bibliography

As writer

DC Comics

  • Batman #10, 13, 15, 21, 26 (1942–1944)
  • Detective Comics #60 (1942)
  • World's Finest Comics #8, 15–26, 28, 30, 37, 39 (1942–1949)

DC Comics

  • Batman #10, 13, 15, 21, 26 (1942–1944)
  • Detective Comics #60 (1942)
  • World's Finest Comics #8, 15–26, 28, 30, 37, 39 (1942–1949)

As editor

DC Comics

DC Comics

External links

References

  1. Jerry Bails. Schiff, Jack Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999, n.d.^
  2. Deaths: Schiff, Jack The New York Times, May 1, 1999^
  3. A. S. Salinas. The World According to Kane: and Other Stories iUniverse, February 2001^
  4. Jack Burnley. The Golden Age Starman Archives Volume 1 DC Comics, May 2000^
  5. {{gcdb|type=editor|search= Jack+Schiff|title= Jack Schiff}}^
  6. Les Daniels. DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes Bulfinch Press, 1995^
  7. Martin Pasko. The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the DC Universe Running Press, 2008^
  8. Matthew K. Manning. Batman: A Visual History Dorling Kindersley, 2014^
  9. Daniels, p. 92: "Jack Schiff enjoyed more success, however, with an even more idealistic experiment. This was a series of single-page public service announcements that he created and wrote for publication in all DC titles."^
  10. Paul Levitz. 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking Taschen, 2010^
  11. Brian Bingaman. Comic Books Unmasked uncovers Pearl S. Buck's role in changing the comics industry 21st Century Media, March 31, 2016^
  12. Daniel Wallace. DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle Dorling Kindersley, 2010^
  13. Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 57: "Edited by Jack Schiff, the Gang Busters comic focused on FBI cases and standalone crime stories."^
  14. Pasko, p. 88: "For extra insurance that it would be done in good taste, the book [Gang Busters] was assigned to public service page writer Jack Schiff. Other crime-related titles from radio quickly followed, including Mr. District Attorney."^
  15. Don Markstein. Tommy Tomorrow Don Markstein's Toonopedia, 2010^
  16. Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 54: "Tomorrow's inaugural tale...was a fanciful dramatization of what writer Jack Schiff claimed to be a future vision of human space travel."^
  17. Don Markstein. The Wyoming Kid Don Markstein's Toonopedia, 2009^
  18. Robert Greenberger, Matthew K. Manning. The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave Running Press, 2009^
  19. Colin Smith. On the Batman of Three Worlds, by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff (1963) Sequart Organization, August 7, 2012^
  20. Mark Evanier. Kirby: King of Comics Abrams, 2008^
  21. Irvine, Alex "1950s" in Dolan, p. 92: "With Blackhawk #133, the Blackhawk Squadron finally welcomed a woman to their ranks – Zinda Blake – courtesy of editor Jack Schiff and artist Dick Dillin."^
  22. McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 110: "The Dark Knight received a much-needed face lift from new Batman editor Julius Schwartz, writer John Broome, and artist Carmine Infantino. With sales at an all-time low and threatening the cancellation of one of DC's flagship titles, their overhaul was a lifesaving success for DC and its beloved Batman."^
  23. Ronin Ro. Tales To Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, And The American Comic Book Revolution Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004^
  24. Jim Amash, Eric Nolen-Weathington. Carmine Infantino: Penciler, Publisher, Provocateur TwoMorrows Publishing, 2010^