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Sol Harrison

Sol Harrison (1917 – November 19, 1989)[1] was an American comic book colorist, production manager, and executive whose career spanned nearly 50 years in the industry.

Career

Sol Harrison attended high school with Jack Adler, and the two men often worked together doing engraving work.[2] In 1933, Harrison did the color separations on Famous Funnies for Eastern Color Printing,[3] one of the earliest modern American comic books.[4] Writer Martin Pasko noted in 2008 that Harrison was the "guy who helped Charlie Gaines figure out how to produce the modern comics format."[5]

Harrison became production manager for All-American Publications in 1942.[6] When All-American became part of National Comics (later known as DC Comics), Harrison continued to work for the newly merged publisher. He was the colorist for the company's covers for 15 years.[7] In 1972, he suggested publishing comics in an oversized format stating that "We could create a tabloid size comic that would stand out on the newsstand."[8] This led to the launch of the Limited Collectors' Edition series later that year. He developed an internship program at DC which was later nicknamed the "Junior Woodchucks" by Bob Rozakis.[9] In 1973, Harrison became DC's Vice-President in Charge of Operations[1] and developed the idea of the DC Comicmobile, a van which sold comic books "like the ice cream man did".[10] Harrison and Adler were featured on the cover of DC's self-produced fan magazine The Amazing World of DC Comics #10 (Jan. 1976).[11] Harrison was promoted to president of the company in 1976 just as Jenette Kahn became publisher.[12] Kahn stated in a 2012 interview that "I can't really say that Sol and I had much of a working relationship. He, more than anybody, resented my being hired because he felt that the job was rightfully his."[13] Harrison served as president of the Comics Magazine Association of America from 1979 to 1980.[14] He retired from DC Comics at the end of February 1981[15] and moved to Florida.[3]

Awards

In 1985, Harrison was named as one of the honorees by DC Comics in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.[16]

External links

References

  1. Thom Powers. Sol Harrison Dead The Comics Journal, Fantagraphics, February 1990^
  2. Todd Klein. The DC Comics Offices 1930s-1950s Part 5 (final) Kleinletters.com, July 12, 2013, retrieved July 15, 2013^
  3. Paul Levitz. 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking Taschen America, 2010^
  4. John Petty. A Brief History of Comic Books Heritage Auctions, 2006, retrieved January 30, 2023^
  5. Martin Pasko. The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the DC Universe Running Press, 2008^
  6. Levitz "The Golden Age 1938-1956" p. 60^
  7. Kiki Bochi. Superman Artist Comes To Young Man's Rescue Sun-Sentinel, April 11, 1988, retrieved July 15, 2013^
  8. John Wells. The Perils of the DC/Marvel Tabloid Era Back Issue!, TwoMorrows Publishing, December 2012^
  9. Bob Rozakis. A Day at the New York Comic-Con Anything Goes, October 17, 2011, retrieved July 15, 2013^
  10. Brad Hamlin. Mystery Island Interviews DC Comics Super Alumni Bob Rozakis August 2011, retrieved March 27, 2012^
  11. {{Gcdb issue|id= 112317|title= ''The Amazing World of DC Comics'' #10}}^
  12. Levitz "The Bronze Age 1970-1984" p. 452: "Replacing [Carmine] Infantino in 1976 was a balance of experience and the improbable: 55-year-old production exec Sol Harrison, who had worked on National's very first comics as a color separator before being moved up to president. He was teamed with an unlikely equal partner as publisher, a 28-year-old woman from outside comics, Jenette Kahn."^
  13. Robert Greenberger. The Path of Kahn Back Issue!, TwoMorrows Publishing, July 2012^
  14. Jerry Bails. Harrison, Sol Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999, 2006, retrieved July 19, 2013^
  15. Michael Catron. Harrison Retires From DC Presidency Amazing Heroes, Fantagraphics, June 1981^
  16. Fifty Who Made DC Great DC Comics, 1985^