Carl Pfeufer

Carl T. Pfeufer (September 29, 1910 – May 5, 1980 ) was an American comic-book artist, magazine illustrator, painter, and sculptor. He was an early contributor to American comic books; one of the primary early artists of the Marvel Comics superhero the Sub-Mariner; and the longtime artist of Western hero Tom Mix's comic books.

Biography

Early life and career Though raised in New York City, New York, Carl Pfeufer was born in Mexico, as were his three older brothers, Herbert J., Alfred E., and Emil F. Pfeufer, while younger brothers James F. and William G. Pfeufer were born in Texas and New Jersey, respectively, and sister Ethel M. Pfeufer, the youngest child, and mother Anna (Mongold) Pfeufer, were born in New York State. The family returned to the United States in 1913. His father, Alfred Pfeufer, born in Comfort, Texas, died in 1919 after the family settled in New York, where his mother had been born.

Sources differ as to Pfeufer's later education. Either he attended the college Cooper Union directly after high school, or he attended Cooper Union at age 16 after attending a two-year vocational school for commercial art. William Starkweather. or The two comic strips ran through 1942.

When work dissipated at Timely in 1946, Pfeufer began drawing for Fawcett Comics, illustrating such features as "Mr. Scarlet" and "Commando Yank" in Wow Comics. Then, with inker John Jordan, Pfeufer began a four-and-a-half-year stint penciling the licensed Western character Tom Mix in Master Comics #97-122 and 124–133, the final issue (Nov. 1948 - April 1953), as well as very occasionally in other Fawcett titles.

During this time, Pfeufer also drew four syndicated comic strips: for the Smith-Mann Syndicate made the Western The Chisholm Kid, the first comic strip about a Black cowboy (1950-1956); and the science fiction strip Neil Knight (1950–1955), both published in Pittsburgh Courier; Alan O'Dare (1951–1954); for the New York Herald-Tribune, the daily and Sunday Bantam Prince (1951–1954). in Jigsaw #2; "Robolink", in Spyman #2; "Alien Boy" in Thrill-O-Rama #3 (all cover-dated Dec. 1966); and "Campy Champ" in Spyman #3 (Feb. 1967). He also drew a pair of two-page science-fiction humor pieces in Unearthly Spectaculars #2-3 (Dec. 1966 - March 1967).

Again with Binder, Pfeufer co-created the military superhero character Super Green Beret, which appeared in the two issues published of the namesake series (April–June 1967) from the short-lived Lightning Comics. He also drew romance comics in 1967 for DC Comics' Girls' Love Stories and Secret Hearts.

These were Pfeufer's last new comic-book works, although an evidently inventoried, five-page standalone horror story, "The House on Brook Street", appeared in Marvel Comics' Giant-Size Chillers #2 (May 1975), with no known previous publication. He also did a set of four GI Joe comics as text for Peter Pan's Book and Record series in 1973.

His book-cover art includes the Bantam Books paperbacks Tales from the Twilight Zone (1977) and Stories from the Twilight Zone (1979).

Late in Pfeufer's life, the artist devoted himself to painting and sculpture. He was a resident of Kerr County, Texas, at the time of his death at age 69.