Carl Burgos (; born Max Finkelstein ; April 18, 1916 – March 1, 1984) was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating the original Human Torch in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), during the period historians and fans call the Golden Age of comic books.
He was inducted into comic books' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1996.
Biography
Early life
Carl Burgos was born as Max Finkelstein in New York City, the child of Jewish parents. He studied at the National Academy of Design in Manhattan, where, he recalled in the late 1960s, "I quit after one year because I couldn't learn enough".
Early career
Burgos took a job with the Franklin Engraving Company, which engraved the printing plates for comic books produced by Harry "A" Chesler, founder of one of that era's comic-book "packagers" that created comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium. Joining Chesler's studio himself in 1938, Burgos apprenticed by drawing backgrounds and panel borders, and inking the work of comics pencilers. His earliest works include penciling and inking the six-page story "The Last Pirate", starring Count Rocco and his ship the Emerald Queen, in Centaur Publications' Star Comics vol. 2, #2 (March 1939); creating the features "Air-Sub DX", in Centaur's Amazing Mystery Funnies vol. 2, #4 (April 1939), and "Rocky Dawson"; and creating the robot hero the Iron Skull in Centaur's Amazing-Man Comics #5 (Sept. 1939).
Burgos and others, including Centaur Publications writer-artist Bill Everett, then followed Centaur art director Lloyd Jacquet to Jacquet's own newly formed packager, Funnies, Inc. As Everett later described, "Lloyd... had an idea that he wanted to start his own art service — to start a small organization to supply artwork and editorial material to publishers. ... He asked me to join him. He also asked Carl Burgos. So we were the nucleus ..." He added, "I don't know how to explain it, but I was still on a freelance basis. That was the agreement we had. The artists, including myself, at Funnies, worked on a freelance basis".
Following an unsuccessful attempt at a promotional comic to be given away in movie theaters, Funnies, Inc.'s first sale was to publisher Martin Goodman's equally new Timely Comics, the predecessor of Marvel Comics, supplying the contents of Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939). That landmark issue included not only writer-artist Burgos' Human Torch but also Everett's hit character the Sub-Mariner. A painted cover by veteran science-fiction pulp artist Frank R. Paul featured the Torch.
Burgos' character proved a hit, and quickly went on to headline one of comics' first single-character titles, The Human Torch (premiering fall 1940 with no cover date and as issue #2, having taken over the numbering from the single-issue Red Raven). He next created the superhero character the White Streak in Novelty Press' Target Comics #1 (Feb. 1940), and, with writer John Compton, the superhero the Thunderer in Timely's Daring Mystery Comics #7 (April 1941).
Burgos left for World War II military service in 1942, starting in the U.S. Army Air Corps, for which he took infantry ranger training and was sent overseas as a rifleman before being transferred to the Signal Corps and then to an engineer division.
Atlas and the 1950s
Following his return from the war, Burgos attended City College of New York to study advertising, and drew a small number of stories for Timely, including anthological crime dramas in Official True Crime Cases Comics #24 (Fall 1947), and Complete Mystery #3-4 (Dec. 1948 – Feb. 1949). Other work included penciling a Captain America story in Marvel Mystery Comics #92 (June 1949), and inking fellow Timely mainstays Mike Sekowsky and Syd Shores on, respectively, at least one story each starring Sun Girl and the Blonde Phantom (both in Marvel Mystery Comics #89, Dec. 1948). Segueing out of full-time comics work, Burgos eased into a career in advertising and commercial art while freelancing frequently for Atlas Comics, the 1950s iteration of Marvel, primarily as a cover artist across all genres from jungle-girl to war comics, though fellow Atlas artist Stan Goldberg, who joined the company in 1949, recalled in 2002 that "Burgos was on staff most of the time I was there".
