Al Hartley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Al Hartley |
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| Born | Henry Allan Hartley October 25, 1921 Kearny, New Jersey |
| Died | May 27, 2003 (aged 81) Fort Myers, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, Artist |
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Notable works
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Patsy Walker |
| Awards | Inkpot Award, 1980 |
| Spouse(s) | Hermine |
Henry Allan Hartley (born October 25, 1921 – died May 27, 2003), known as Al Hartley, was an American comic book artist and writer. He was famous for his work on comics like Archie Comics and Marvel Comics. He also created many Christian comics. In 1980, he received an Inkpot Award at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Al Hartley's father was Frederick Allan Hartley, Jr.. He was a Congressman from New Jersey. His father is remembered for helping create a law called the Taft-Hartley Act.
Contents
About Al Hartley
His Early Life and Art Career
Al Hartley was born in Kearny, New Jersey. His parents were Hazel and Frederick Allan Hartley, Jr. His father was a Republican Congressman from New Jersey. He helped write the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947.
Al's father encouraged his drawing talent. Al said his dad knew he wanted to draw since he was very young. His father wanted him to follow his dreams. Al drew for his local newspaper while still in high school. He also studied art at the Art Students League of New York.
Before World War II, he sold funny drawings to magazines. He also drew a Western comic story for a publisher called Street & Smith. When the U.S. joined World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. He flew 20 missions as a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber pilot in Europe.
After the war, he became a commercial artist. He started working for comic book publishers. He quickly found work with Ned Pines' Standard Comics. His first known work was a comic called "Roger Dodger." He also drew for other comics like America's Best Comics and The Fighting Yank.
He also drew for other publishers. These included Michel Publications and ACG. His art appeared in comics like Cookie, The Funniest Kid in Town and The Kilroys.
Drawing for Timely and Atlas Comics
In 1949, Hartley started working for Timely Comics. This company later became Marvel Comics. Al Hartley said it was easy to get a job there because his work was known. Stan Lee, a famous writer and editor, hired him.
At first, Stan Lee wrote most of Al's stories. Later, Al wrote all of his own stories. They worked on many types of comics. These included war, Westerns, detective, and science-fiction stories. Stan Lee would give Al a basic plot idea. Al would then draw the story to make it exciting. After Al finished the drawings, Stan Lee would write the words for the characters. This way of working was later called the "Marvel Method."
The World of Patsy Walker
As Timely Comics changed into Atlas Comics in the 1950s, Al Hartley became well-known. He drew the Patsy Walker teen-girl comics for over ten years. He worked with Stan Lee to tell the funny stories of Patsy, a red-haired high schooler.
He drew her adventures in her main comic series, which ran until 1964. He also drew for its spin-off, Patsy and Hedy, which ran until 1967. He also drew a special comic called A Date with Patsy.
For Atlas, Hartley also helped create a character called Leopard Girl. He drew other features like "The Black Rider" and "Cliff Mason, White Hunter." He also drew for scary and suspense comics. These included Mystic, Spellbound, and Strange Tales.
Working in the Silver Age
In the 1960s, for Marvel Comics, Al Hartley drew one superhero comic. It was an episode of the Norse god superhero "Thor" in Journey into Mystery #90. He said that superheroes were not really his best work. He preferred drawing teen and humor stories.
Al Hartley also wrote two Marvel stories. He wrote for the "Iron Man" feature in Tales of Suspense #68. He also wrote the last "Giant-Man" feature in Tales to Astonish #69.
Among other Marvel projects, Hartley drew the series Linda Carter, Student Nurse. This comic started as a humor comic. It then became a romance comic. After another artist, Joe Maneely, passed away, Hartley took over drawing the comic strip Mrs. Lyon's Cubs.
For about two months in the early 1960s, Al Hartley was Stan Lee's assistant. He said he did not feel comfortable in that role. So, he went back to working as a freelancer. As an assistant, he helped edit and write stories.
Creating Christian Comics
In 1967, Al Hartley became a Christian. His wife, Hermine, also became a Christian. They had a daughter named Alana and two sons, one named Fred. At that time, Al was drawing for some magazines published by Martin Goodman. He told the publisher he could not continue drawing those types of comics.
He then started writing and drawing for Archie Comics. He began to add his Christian beliefs into some of the stories. At one point, he was asked to reduce this. He respected his publisher's wishes and followed them.
Later, he got a call from a publisher named Fleming H. Revell. For them, he drew a comic book version of a book called The Cross and the Switchblade in 1972. He then adapted other books like God's Smuggler and The Hiding Place.
Inspired by this, Hartley helped start the Spire Christian Comics line. He asked the president of Archie Comics, John L. Goldwater, if he could use the Archie characters. Goldwater agreed. Spire Christian Comics released many comics. At least 19 of them were Archie titles. They also made Bible stories, biographies, and other book adaptations.
Comics writer Kathleen Webb praised Al Hartley's work. She especially liked his "Betty's Diary" stories. She said he wrote them with great understanding, humor, and care. He never "preached" in those stories. Instead, Betty would share her feelings, both good and bad. His other stories about Betty and Archie were also well-written. He showed Betty as a girl who never gave up.
Writing Books
Al Hartley also wrote books. In 1977, he wrote a memoir called Come Meet My Friend! (New Life Ventures). A memoir is a book about a person's own life experiences. In 1997, he wrote an inspirational book called It Takes a Family: How to Create Hope and Celebrate Your Future.
His Family Life
Al Hartley and his wife, Hermine, were married for 61 years. They had two children, Fred and Alana. Al Hartley passed away on May 27, 2003. He was 81 years old. He died at Health Park Medical Center in Fort Myers, Florida.
