Bill Draut (August 14, 1921–March 3, 1993)[1] was an American comic book artist best known for his work at Harvey Comics and DC Comics from the 1940s to the 1970s.

Bill Draut
BornBill Draut
(1921-08-14)August 14, 1921
DiedMarch 3, 1993(1993-03-03) (aged 71)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Penciller, Inker
Notable works
Abel
Phantom Stranger

Biography edit

Bill Draut began his career as an artist in the 1940s by drawing the "Sergeant Stony Craig" comic strip for the Bell Syndicate.[1] After service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, he then moved into the comic book industry with his earliest confirmed credit appearing in Harvey Comics' Stuntman Comics #1 (April–May 1946).[2] He worked with Joe Simon and Jack Kirby at Crestwood Publications.[3]

In 1956, Draut began drawing romance stories for DC Comics.[2] He later did extensive work on that publisher's mystery titles including House of Mystery, House of Secrets, The Unexpected, and Weird War Tales.[1] In 1966, Draut co-created Bee-Man with writer Otto Binder for Harvey Comics' Double-Dare Adventures.[4] Draut drew Teen Titans #18 (Nov.–Dec. 1968) which was writer Marv Wolfman's first Teen Titans story and introduced the character originally called Starfire and later renamed Red Star.[5] Draut inked the revival of the Phantom Stranger in Showcase #80 (Feb. 1969)[2] and then drew the first four issues of the Phantom Stranger ongoing series.[6] He and Mark Hanerfeld created Abel in DC Special #4 (July–Sept. 1969) and the character soon became the "host" of the House of Secrets series.[7] Draut was to have drawn the first appearance of Marvel Comics' Scarecrow character but did not complete the assignment.[8] He was a character designer on the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero animated series for Sunbow Entertainment.[9] Draut's final published work in comics was inking Steve Ditko's pencilled artwork in the story "Who Is The Monster?" in The Fly #3 (Oct. 1983).[2]

Bibliography edit

Archie Comics edit

Charlton Comics edit

  • Cody of the Pony Express #8 (1955)
  • Crazy, Man, Crazy #v2#2 (1956)
  • Fox Hole #5–6 (1955)
  • From Here to Insanity #11 (1955)
  • In Love #6 (1955)
  • Police Trap #5 (1955)

Crestwood Publications/Prize Comics edit

  • All for Love #1 (1957)
  • Black Magic #1–4, 6–7, 9, 12–15, 17, 20–24, 32 (1950–1954)
  • Headline Comics #27–31, 74–77 (1947–1956)
  • Strange World of Your Dreams #1, 3 (1952)
  • Young Brides #1 (1952)
  • Young Love #1 (1949)
  • Young Romance #1 (1947)

DC Comics edit

Marvel Comics edit

  • Journey into Mystery #40 (1956)
  • Spellbound #29 (1956)
  • Strange Stories of Suspense #11 (1956)
  • Western Outlaws #16 (1956)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Bill Draut". Lambiek Comiclopedia. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Bill Draut at the Grand Comics Database
  3. ^ Simon, Joe (2011). Joe Simon: My Life in Comics. London, United Kingdom: Titan Books. ISBN 978-1845769307. Bill Draut had been in the Marines...Draut did a little of everything for us – war, horror, detective, westerns, and especially romance.
  4. ^ Markstein, Don (2009). "Bee-Man". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Bee-Man's creators were writer Otto Binder...and artist Bill Draut.
  5. ^ Cadigan, Glen (2005). "Marv Wolfman From Comic Reader to Titanic Writer". Titans Companion. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 38–39. ISBN 9781893905504.
  6. ^ McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1960s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
  7. ^ McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 134: "Writer Mark Hanerfeld and artist Bill Draut introduced readers to Abel."
  8. ^ Edelman, Scott (April 18, 2015). "In which a trip to Hell's Kitchen reveals who was supposed to draw The Scarecrow first". ScottEdelman.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016.
  9. ^ Bails, Jerry (n.d.). "Draut, Bill". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016.

External links edit

Preceded by
n/a
Phantom Stranger vol. 2 artist
1969
Succeeded by
Preceded by Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes
inker

1975–1976
Succeeded by
Mike Grell