Mike Sekowsky
| Mike Sekowsky | |
|---|---|
Sekowsky with model Joyce Miller (1969).
DC Comics publicity photo promoting Wonder Woman |
|
| Born | Michael Sekowsky November 19, 1923 Lansford, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 30, 1989 (aged 65) Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, Penciller |
| Awards |
Alley Award, 1963 Inkpot Award, 1981 |
Michael Sekowsky (November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comic book artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' Justice League of America during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on Wonder Woman during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Sekowsky was born in Lansford, Pennsylvania, and began working in the comics medium in 1941, as an artist at Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics, in New York City. There he worked as both a cartoonist on such humor features as "Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal", and as a superhero artist on such star characters as Captain America and the Sub-Mariner in issues of All Winners Comics, Daring Comics, Marvel Mystery Comics, USA Comics, and Young Allies Comics. Sekowsky developed a reputation as one of the fastest artists in the comics field. Fellow Timely artist Gene Colan commented on his work: "His pencils were something to behold. Very loose, but so beautifully done. At the time, there was no one like him."
During the 1940s, Sekowsky married his first wife, Joanne Latta. Concurrently, he began a complicated relationship with artist Valerie (a.k.a. Violet) Barclay, who was working at the Manhattan restaurant Cafe Rouge. As Barclay recalled in a 2004 interview, "I was 17, and ... was making $18 a week as a hostess. Mike said, 'I'll get you a job making $35 a week as a [staff] inker, and you can [additionally] freelance over the weekend. I'll let you ink my stuff'. He went to editor Stan Lee and got me the job. I didn't know anything about inking. [Staff artist] Dave Gantz taught me — just by watching him". Sekowsky bestowed expensive gifts on her even after his marriage to Latta, causing friction in the Timely bullpen, which she left in 1949. She later described the office environment,
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