Sheldon Moldoff

Sheldon Moldoff
Moldoff at a convention in his later years.
Born	April 14, 1920 New York City, New York
Died	February 29, 2012(2012-02-29) (aged 91) Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Penciller
Pseudonym(s)	Shelly
Notable works	Batman, Poison Ivy, Hawkman
Awards	Inkpot Award
Signature

Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff (April 14, 1920 – February 29, 2012) was an American comic book artist best known for his early work on the DC Comics characters Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and as one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists" (uncredited collaborators) on the superhero Batman. He co-created the Batman supervillains Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, the second Clayface, and Bat-Mite, as well as the original heroes Bat-Girl, Batwoman, and Ace the Bat-Hound. Moldoff is the sole creator of the Black Pirate. Moldoff is not to be confused with fellow Golden Age comics professional Sheldon Mayer.

Born in Manhattan, New York City but mostly raised in The Bronx, he was introduced to cartooning by future comics artist Bernard Baily, who lived in the same apartment house as Moldoff. "I was drawing in chalk on the sidewalk—Popeye and Betty Boop and other popular cartoons of the day—and he came by and looked at it and said, 'Hey, do you want to learn how to draw cartoons?' I said, 'Yes!' He said, 'Come on, I'll show you how to draw.'"

Moldoff sold his first cartoon drawing at age 17. "My first work in comic books was doing filler pages for Vincent Sullivan, who was the editor at National Periodicals", one of the three companies, with Detective Comics Inc. and All-American Publications, that eventually merged to form the modern-day DC Comics. Moldoff's debut was a sports filler that appeared on the inside back cover of the landmark Action Comics #1 (June 1938), the comic book that introduced Superman.