France Herron

Francis Edward Herron (July 23, 1917 – September 2, 1966) was an American comic book writer and editor active in the 1940s–1960s, mainly for DC Comics. He is credited with co-creating Captain Marvel Jr. and the Red Skull, as well as such characters as Cave Carson, Nighthawk, and Mr. Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid. Herron spent the bulk of his time in the comics industry writing for such characters as Green Arrow, Superman, and the Western character Tomahawk.

Biography Early life and career Herron was born in 1917 Claiming to be of partial Cherokee descent, he grew up in West Virginia.

Herron got his start in comics while still a teenager, with the Harry "A" Chesler "packaging" studio in 1937, writing and editing for such Centaur Comics' titles as Star Comics and Star Ranger Funnies. In 1939, Herron joined Fox Features Syndicate, where he first met Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Beginning in 1940 and continuing throughout the decade, Herron wrote various features for the publisher Quality Comics. and with Jack Kirby he created Mr. Scarlet in Wow Comics #1 (Winter 1940–1941) and Pinky the Whiz Kid in Wow Comics #4 (Spring 1942). It was in the Mr. Scarlet story in Wow Comics #1 that the name "Gotham City" first appeared in the comics. Comics historian Greg Theakston notes that this pre-dates its name as such in DC Comics' Batman #4. During this period, Herron wrote for such Fawcett titles as Captain Marvel Adventures and Captain Marvel Jr..

World War II Herron joined the U.S. Army in 1942, where he wrote for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes during his tour of duty. While at Stars and Stripes, Herron met artist Curt Swan, who later became the definitive Superman artist. According to Swan, it was Herron who first directed him to DC Comics.

DC Comics Herron began writing for DC Comics in 1945, Throughout the 1950s and the 1960s, Herron partnered with artist Fred Ray as the creative team on DC's Tomahawk and the Tomahawk stories which appeared in World's Finest Comics during this period. In the mid-1950s, Herron wrote the features Pow Wow Smith and Nighthawk for DC's Western Comics omnibus; he continued to write spot stories for the title until 1961. Artist Lee Elias and Herron co-created the Clock King in World's Finest Comics #111 (Aug. 1960). With artist Bruno Premiani, Herron co-created Cave Carson in The Brave and the Bold #31 (Aug. 1960).

Harvey Comics In 1966 Herron moved to Harvey Comics, hired by his old associate Joe Simon. During that year, Herron was the lead writer for the publisher's short-lived Harvey Thriller superhero line, when he became the writer of the Bat Masterson and Rip Tide strips, which he wrote until his death in 1966.

Awards Herrin was posthumously awarded the Bill Finger Award in 2020 along with fellow honorees Virginia Hubbell, Nicola Cuti, Leo Dorfman, Gaylord DuBois, and Joe Gill.