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Harry Frank Sahle (April 18, 1912 – September 22, 1950) was an American comic book artist who drew for such publishers as Archie Comics—helping create the defined look of Archie Comics' breakout character, Archie Andrews—Quality Comics and the Marvel Comics precursor company Timely Comics during the 1930s-1940s period historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books.
In 1940, with writer George Kapitan, Sahle co-created the Timely character the Black Widow, comics' first costumed, superpowered female protagonist. Sahle also created the long-running, early teen-humor character Candy, writing and drawing her comic misadventures for most of the character's 1944 to 1956 run in Quality Comics' Police Comics and in her own solo title, as well as in a newspaper comic strip.
Sahle drew gag cartoons for Boys' Life magazine between 1938 and 1939, before entering the fledgling medium of comic books via the Harry "A" Chesler Studio and Funnies Inc., two Manhattan-based "packagers" that provided complete, outsourced comics for early publishers testing the medium. Harry Sahle at the Lambiek Comiclopedia Among his earliest comics work is a cover for the only issue of Pelican Publications' Green Giant Comics (Jan. 1940). Comic Book Database: Green Giant Comics #1 Accessed September 7, 2008. .
His earliest-known interior credit is inker the seven-page Fiery Mask superhero story "The Jelly of Doom", over George Kapitan's penciler, in Timely Comics' Daring Mystery Comics #5 (June 1940). Harry Sahle at the Grand Comics Database With Kapitan writing and himself penciling and inking, Sahle co-created the Black Widow in Mystic Comics #4 (Aug. 1940). Not to be confused with the superhero Black Widow introduced in the 1960s by Timely's descendant Marvel Comics, this character — comics' first costumed, superpowered female protagonist — was a supernatural antihero who gathered deserving souls for Satan. The Black Widow (1940) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Archived from the original October 25, 2011.
Other early work includes co-creating the winged superhero the Air Man in Centaur Publications' Keen Detective Funnies #23 (Aug. 1940); and creating or co-creating the Timely superheroine the Silver Scorpion, in Daring Mystery Comics #7 (April 1941), for which he signed his art with the pen name Jewell, which comics historian Michael J. Vassallo believes marked a collaboration with another, unknown artist. "The Silver Scorpion", Daring Mystery Comics #7 at the Grand Comics Database Sahle also worked as an assistant to Carl Burgos, creator-artist of Timely star the Human Torch. Per fellow artist and Golden Age contemporary Gil Kane, Sahle was also occasionally a ghost writer on work credited to Burgos in issues of Marvel Mystery Comics, Captain America Comics, and the eponymous character's own title, Human Torch.
With the departure of Montana, Archie's signature early developer, Sahle drew "what became the new Archie character.... His work was based on Montana, but with adaptation and interpretation", Kane recalled. Sahle drew some of the earliest stories featuring what would become the company's namesake character, beginning by at least Archie Comics #3 (Summer 1943).
Thanks to his work, "Sahle became the center point of, and Novick went into the Army", recalled Kane, who believes Sahle worked for MLJ for a year-and-a-half before joining the Army himself. At some point, Sahle was hired away from MLJ by "Busy" Arnold and his Quality Comics.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Archived from the original October 25, 2011. Her supporting cast included her boyfriend, Ted Dawson; her rival, Cornelia Clyde; and gal-pals Tina and Trish. Debuting as a backup feature in Police Comics #37 (Dec. 1944), "Candy" appeared in the comic until issue #102 (Oct. 1950), when the regular line-up of characters (including Candy, Will Eisner's The Spirit, etc.) were dropped and the title became a "regular crime comics."Miller, J. J., Maggie Thompson, Peter Bickford & Frankenhoff, Brent, The Comic Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books, 4th Edition (KP Books, 2005) - "Police Comics", p. 1063 Candy continued to star in her own title, Candy, which ran 64 issues (Fall 1947 - July 1956).Miller, et al., pp. 279-280 Six months after the title ceased publication, Quality Comics as a whole closed its doors.
In addition to Candy's comic-book adventures, Sahle and writer Elmer Groggin produced a Candy newspaper comic strip syndicated by the Chicago Times Syndicate from October 2, 1944. Sometime during 1945, Sahle's strip was then taken over by Tom Dorr, who continued it for a further 25 years (mostly syndicated by the Field Newspaper Syndicate, which succeeded the Chicago Times Syndicate).
Much of Sahle's work was produced in the teen-humor genre, and during the 1940s he also drew another feature, "Ezra," for Quality's Military Comics and Modern Comics titles.
Sahle died in New York City 1950, aged 38. Kane blamed his death on a "broken heart" at a young age.
Sahle and Spillance had earlier collaborated on the eponymous feature "Mike Lancer", starring a Mike Hammer prototype,Collins, Max Allan, Green Hornet Comics #10 (Dec. 1942) at the Grand Comics Database. published in Harvey Comics' Green Hornet Comics #10 (Dec. 1942).
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