Jack Keller

Jack R. Keller was an American comic book artist best known for his 1950s and 1960s work on the Marvel Comics Western character Kid Colt, and for his later hot rod and racecar series at Charlton Comics.

Biography Early life and career The self-taught Keller broke into comics in 1941, a year after graduating from West Reading High School, creating a single-appearance feature called "The Whistler" (no relation to the radio-show character) in Dell Comics' War Stories #5 (1942; no cover date). This led to work the following year with Quality Comics, where he worked in lesser or greater capacities on such comic-book series as Blackhawk and such features as "Man Hunter" and "Spin Shaw". As well, Keller drew backgrounds for Will Eisner's eight-page newspaper Sunday-supplement comic The Spirit, working with serviceman Eisner's World War II fill-in artist, Lou Fine. Keller additionally drew for the publisher Fiction House, including the feature "Suicide Smith" in the aviation-themed Wings Comics. Original artwork for a Jack Keller splash page: Kid Colt, Outlaw #92 (Sept. 1960)

In 1950, Keller became a staff artist at Atlas, publisher Martin Goodman's 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. The dependable, unflashy Keller drew Western, horror and, working with writer Carl Wessler, crime stories.

Later career and death Keller returned to selling cars at Marshall Chevrolet in Reading, Pennsylvania