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A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE to the late, ace colorist and production man, born 107 years ago…
Born April 16, 1918 (not July 1, 1917, per some online listings), Jack Adler may be best known for the great wash covers he did at DC Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but he was a brilliant colorist in his own right. His career started at the Strauss Engraving Company where he worked as a color separator on various comic books, as well as a period doing so on the Prince Valiant newspaper strip. His involvement with DC Comics began around that same time (possibly even on Action Comics #1, the introduction of Superman, but there are other opinions whether that is correct).
After several years of having the work done over at the Strauss outfit, it was decided that time could be saved by having Adler and a few others colorists from the other company work right in the DC offices. That led to a job there for 30 years, during which time Adler worked his way up to production manager.
Amazing World of DC Comics #10 (Jan. 1976). Jack Adler is on the right, Sol Harrison on the left. Artwork by Murphy Anderson.
He also introduced a number of technological advances over his career that helped speed up printing without losing any quality, and in the early 1950s invented a 3-D technique for DC that Joe Kubert said in an interview with Roy Thomas (Alter Ego #56, Feb. 2006, TwoMorrows): “When Norm (Maurer) and I came out with the 3D comics (for St. John Comics, in 1953) – the guy that came out with the best kind of 3D, and really tossed us in the ashcan with how good he was doing, was Jack.”
Many consider the outstanding period of Adler’s career at DC to be the years he transformed a number of comic-book covers from regular drawings to an almost painterly quality, with the use of a wash he developed.
Here are 13 of those covers, including a couple of photo covers (in chronological order):
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Movie Comics #1 (Apr. 1939). Photo from the film Gunga Din (1939) with Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
The Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog #31 (Jan-Feb. 1957). Pencils by Gil Kane.
Western Comics #69 (May-June 1958). Art by Kane.
The Brave and the Bold #23 (Apr.-May 1959). Art by Joe Kubert.
House of Mystery #92 (Nov. 1959). Pencils by Dick Dillin.
Mystery in Space #55 (Nov. 1959). Pencils by Kane.
Showcase #27 (Aug.-Sept. 1960). Art by Russ Heath.
Western Comics #82 (July-Aug. 1960). Pencils by Kane.
Green Lantern #8 (Sept.-Oct. 1961). Pencils by Kane.
G.I. Combat #91 (Dec. 1961-Jan. 1962). Art by Heath.
The Brave and the Bold #44 (Oct.-Nov. 1962). Art by Kubert.
Adler was also an accomplished photographer and in the ’70s mixed art and photos on several covers, including for Superman, The Flash, Shazam!, and Plop!
The Flash #203 (Feb. 1971). Art by Neal Adams. Photo by Adler.
Shazam! #2 (Apr. 1973). Art by C.C. Beck. Photo by Adler.
Jack Adler retired in 1981 and died Sept. 18, 2011, at the age of 93. In his day, he colored several hundred DC comic covers — and inspired a new generation of colorists, including Anthony Tollin and Tatjana Wood.
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MORE
— When SUPERMAN Got Busted for Being… a TAX DEADBEAT. Click here.
— The Singularly Inventive EC COMICS Art of BERNIE KRIGSTEIN. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is due in 2025. (You can pre-order here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
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