Violet Barclay
| Violet Barclay | |
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Barclay as depicted by uncredited artist in Secrets Behind the Comics by Stan Lee (1947)
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| Born | Violet Barclay November 5, 1922 New York City, New York |
| Died | February 26, 2010 (aged 87) New York City, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Artist |
| Pseudonym(s) | Valerie Barclay Valerie Smith |
Violet A. Barclay (November 5, 1922 – February 26, 2010), who also worked under the name Valerie Barclay and the married name Valerie Smith, was an American illustrator best known as one of the pioneering female comic-book artists, having started in the field during the 1930s and 1940s period historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books.
Born Violet Barclay, she adopted "Valerie" in adulthood, after actress Valerie Hobson, though without filing for legal change of name.
Barclay was born and raised in Manhattan, New York City, New York, with a sister, two younger brothers, and a single mother who had left her husband when Barclay was a minor. Barclay attended the School of Industrial Art high school, where her classmates included future comic-book professional Allen Bellman, and the School of Visual Arts. She obtained her first job in comics after Mike Sekowsky — a fellow Industrial Art alumnus and a penciler for Marvel Comics predecessor Timely Comics — met her while she was working at the restaurant Cafe Rouge. She 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".
Initially using the name Violet Barclay, she went on staff at Timely in January 1942, when the company moved from its first location, the McGraw-Hill Building, to its home of the next several years, the Empire State Building. Due to her work going unsigned and uncredited, in the general manner of the times, comprehensive credits are difficult if not impossible to ascertain. The Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 credits Barclay as having inked stories for the Timely funny animal features "Super Rabbit" (1942–48) and "Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal" (1943–47), as well as stories in the teen-humor titles Jeanie, Rusty, Willie (all 1947-48), and Georgie (1949), and the career-girl humor series Nellie the Nurse (1949).
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