I was intrigued, on September 17, to learn that it was the birthday of Jack Byrne (1902-1972). Not that I’d ever heard of him before, but he interested me because: he was a prominent figure in early comic books; he was born in Corning; and he was the brother of Olive Byrne, who also played a role in the “Golden Age” of comics.

Jack Byrne wrote action and adventure stories, largely for “pulp” magazines, and often for Fiction House. Fiction expanded into comic books in 1938, just months after Supermen first appeared in Action Comics # 1. They were never giants in the comics world, though they had a major hit with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and also brought out the first science fiction comic book. Jack became an editor, in charge of the comics line from 1945 until they gave it up nine years later.

Besides Sheena, women took the lead in a great many other Fiction House comics, which might tie in with the fact that Jack’s Corning-born mother (Edith Byrne) and aunt (Margaret Sanger) were two of the most prominent and aggressive feminists in the first half of the century.

So how about sister Olive, also born in Corning? She became the not-quite bigamous partner of Dr. William Moulton Marston, who would later create Wonder Woman. The two lived with Marston’s legal wife, all bringing up the children of both mothers, all writing for income. In place of a wedding ring, Olive wore two broad flat bracelets, which Marston worked into Wonder Woman’s appearance. He created the strong dynamic woman with inspiration from Edith, Olive, Sanger, and his own wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston. (He died young, by the way, in 1947, but the two women lived together until Olive’s death more than forty years later.)

The Finger Lakes have other comic book connections too. Dick Ayers lived in Pulteney and attended Hammondsport High School for a couple of years in the 1930s… film critic Charles Champlin remembered him as “a skinny kid with glasses, red hair, and a magic pencil.” Teacher Stan Smith got him his first paid commission, illustrating a menu for the Pied Piper Restaurant on Keuka Lake. After World War II Dick created tens of thousands of pages of comic book art, working on such characters as Sergeant Fury, Fantastic Four, the original Ghost Rider, and far too many cowboys to count.

Frank Kelly Freas was born in Hornell, but his art career was mostly in science fiction. He did do a few comic books, including one for Fiction House (I wonder if he and Jack Byrne ever knew they were both from Steuben?), plus four years at MAD magazine.

Then there’s Joe Simon… born (1913) and brought up in Rochester, schooled there, did artwork for newspapers both there and in Syracuse. He gravitated to New York City, doing art for newspapers, magazines, and… soon… the brand-new comic books. One day in 1940 he sketched a brand-new hero and, after experimenting with several unsatisfying names, called him – Captain America. He went on to many other comics firsts (often in partnership with Jack Kirby… their dads were both tailors), but “Cap” is perhaps his most enduring legacy.

Since Captain America is so closely tied to World War II, publishers continually struggle
for semi-plausible days to get him into our own time. In a 2011 “reboot,” the Captain finds himself a man out of time, having leapt from 1945 to the Obama era. In need of guidance, Captain America searches out the elderly “General Simon,” who had been present when weedy Steve Rogers drank the super-soldier serum to embark on his new life. After doing the best he could to help, General Simon passed away. Joe died the same year, at the age of 98.