|
Walter B. Gibson [1897 - 1985]
a.k.a. "Maxwell Grant" [1931 - 1949]
 
Born Walter Brown Gibson on September 12, 1897, at 2pm in Germantown, PA.
Died on December 6, 1985
First published work -- A word puzzle published in the October 1905 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine.
Since a lot of information about the life and times of Walter Gibson and his connection with The Shadow can easily be found in books and elsewhere on the InterNet, I've chosen to focus on the quantity of his prodigious output.
The following is an accounting of the number of works written, adapted, edited, abridged, revised, and/or ghosted by Gibson under his real name or one of his pseudonyms --
Non-Shadow books & pamphlets: 157
Magazine (fiction including The Shadow 'novels' & non-fiction): 900+
Forwards / Introductions: 5
Contributions to anthologies: 7
Syndicated newspaper features (number of articles/items are close approximations) -
Magic: 3,260
Brain Teasers: 3,770
Crossword Puzzles: 2,000+
Paranormal: 40
Science: 60+
Misc.: 125
Comic books (including The Shadow): 364
Comic strips (including The Shadow): 624+ dailies
Radio shows (never did a Shadow script!): 118
Revisions of Nick Carter stories for book form: 6
Misc. publications: 23
Approximate total number of works from 1905 to 1984: 11,500
Known uncompleted works: 2 - an autobiography & new Shadow novel
Number of people he ghost wrote for: 32
Number of pseudonyms used: 46
Ledger Syndicate [1915 - ? ]
a.k.a. Philadelphia Public Ledger Syndicate / Ledger Syndicate of Philadelphia
In the newspaper industry, a "syndicate" (or "press syndicate") is an agency that sells special writings, articles, artwork, and other features that are not news items to the newspapers.
The Philadelphia Public Ledger Syndicate was formed in 1915 to sell and distribute features that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal.
Vernon Greene [1908 - 1965]
a.k.a. Vern Greene
Born Vernon Van Atta Green on September 12, 1908, in Battle Ground, WA.
Died on June ??, 1965.
According to Green family genealogical history, Vernon added the third "e" to "Green" to distinguish himself from other Greens. And since there is very little information available on Vernon Greene anywhere, I've taken the liberty of reproducing his entry (typos, errors, and all) by Richard Marschall found on page 292 of the 1976 edition of The World Encyclopedia of Comics edited by Maurice Horn.
entry
Vernon Greene grew up in Battle Ground, and attended the University of Toledo. He studied art with Dong Kingman and Henry G. Keler. His first work in cartooning was for the Portland, Oregon Telegram doing sports cartoons from 1927 to 1929; he also drew sports cartoons for the Toledo Blade, (1930 to 1932) and the New York Mirror (1934-1936).
Green drew editorial cartoons for Hearst's Central Press from 1932 to 1942, for the New York Mirror (1935 to 1937) and for the Portland Oregonian (1945 to 1950).
Greene broke into the pulp and comic book field in 1940, illustrating the Shadow and Masked Lady for Street and Smith; Perry Mason for McKay in 1946; various titles for Western in the 1940's and 1950's; and a good deal of freelance work from 1938 to 1954.
The versatile Green--he worked, at different times in his career, in every branch of cartooning except animation--from 1935 onward illustrating children's books, magazine stories, medical articles, and advertising comics, including Dentyne, Chiclets, Woolworth's, etc.
In the Air Force in World War II, he graduated from medical photography to cartooning; two-service related features were Charlie Conscript for Pic Magazine, 1941 to 1944, and Mac the Med, a comic strip. His first work in comic strips consisted of a few ghost panels for Bringing Up Father in 1935, six masterful years ghosting Polly and Her Pals (1935 to 1940), the Shadow from 1938 to 1942 for the Ledger Syndicate, and Bible Bee, a panel for the Register and Tribune Syndicate from 1946 to 1954.
Upon the death of George McManus in 1954, Greene was engaged by King Features to pick up Bringing Up Father when negotiations with McManus' assistant Zeke Zekely fell through. He continued with Jiggs and Maggie until his death in 1965.
Vern Greene was one of the warmest and friendliest men in the cartooning profession. His services to the NCS, other groups, and his young fans were remarkable. He did a creditable job with Jiggs, very conscious of McManus' style and conventions. He was an officer in the National Cartoonists Society, organized major comic strip exhibits in 1942 and at the 1964 World's Fair and won the prestigious Silver T-Square from the NCS in 1964. He was the host of the syndicated radio show, "The Cartoonist's Art", during which he proved to be a knowledgeable, sympathetic and polished interviewer.
Greene adapted well to any genre he tackled; certainly the style of Sterrett's Polly and the Shadow were at opposite ends of the artistic pole, but he handled both splendidly and simultaneously. The ever-active Greene seemed always engaged in half a dozen projects; in his last years he was drawing, attending to NCS duties, doing USO shows, hosting his radio program, and earning a degree in philosophy from Columbia University. He was a talented and unselfish lover of his profession and is sorely missed.
entry ends
Maxwell Grant [1931 - 1949 / 1964 - 1967]
Name created April 1931.
Last time name used by Walter B. Gibson was Summer 1949.
Last time name used for a Shadow novel was March 1967.
The pseudonym of "Maxwell Grant" was created by Walter B. Gibson by combining the names of two magic dealers that Gibson personally knew. "Maxwell" came from Maxwell Holden, and "Grant" came from U. F. Grant.
In all, there were 6 to 8 other writers who wrote Shadow works under the Maxwell Grant name.
|
