Superman's Godfather

Whether you realize it or not every single artist who draws Superman today is influenced by the late great Curt Swan, who was the lead artist on the character for nearly thirty years. But it was Wayne Boring who would define the look of Superman from the late 40’s and through the 1950s’ In fact it was Boring who created the look of the entire Superman galaxy, including Metropolis and Krypton as envisioned by Mort Weisenger (Editor and DC’s Keeper of The Superman Mythos). Boring’s work still influences artists today. Together Boring and Weisinger defined the Man of Steel through a renaissance that lasted for over a decade.

In 1937, he began "ghosting" (drawing for hire without credit) on such comic-book features as Slam Bradley for the Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster . In 1938, Siegel and Shuster's character Superman was published in Action #1 and Boring became a ghost on the soon spun off Superman newspaper strip eventually becoming the credited artist.
Boring became the primary Superman artist through the 1950s. Swan succeeded him the following decade, though Boring returned for sporadic guest appearances in the early 1960s and then again in late 1966 and early 1967.

Where Swan created a sleeker, more athletic, more realistic looking Superman, Boring’s man Of Steel was barrel chested, chiseled of jaw and bursting with power. During the Boring years Superman would regularly be seen knocking whole planets around like so many billiard balls. Superman was never more powerful than when drawn by Boring.
By the mid 60’s Wayne’s role with Superman was diminished and he was let go from DC in 1967. Though he did make the occasional guest appearances in the mid 1980’s .
Boring died of a heart attack in 1987 at age 81.

That’s 30!

Mitch