Howard Purcell

American comics artist and writer

Howard Purcell (November 10, 1918 – April 24, 1981) was an American comics artist and writer active from the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books through the 1960s Silver Age. A longtime penciler and cover artist for DC Comics, one of the field's two largest firms, he co created the Golden Age characters Sargon the Sorcerer and the Gay Ghost (renamed in the 1970s the Grim Ghost) for All American Publications, one of the companies, with National Comics and Detective Comics, that merged to form DC. Purcell also drew the famous cover of Green Lantern #1 (Fall 1941).

Howard Purcell, whose early influences included the adventure comic strip artists Hal Foster and Alex Raymond, as well as illustrators Harvey Dunn and Dean Cornwell, took art classes at the Art Students League of New York. He worked as an animator in New York City studios The titular adventurer's exploits with subterranean races and other science fiction conceits ran through issue #62. By that time Purcell had drawn the cover of All American Publications' All Star Comics #2 (Fall 1940) – reprinted as the cover of DC Comics' quirkily numbered, 2006 hardcover collection All Star Archives #0 – as well as the feature "Lando, Man of Magic" in World's Best Comics #1 (Spring 1941), and both the Green Lantern cover of, and the humorous adventure feature "Red, White and Blue" in, All American Comics #25 (April 1941). A minor character in what would become the DC Universe, Sargon was John Sargent, whose exposure to the "Ruby of Life" during infancy granted him magical powers that he used in adulthood to fight crime, keeping his supernatural abilities camouflaged in his guise as a stage magician. Purcell and Wentworth continued with the character through All American Comics #50 (June 1943). The character, renamed the Grim Ghost in the 1970s, The Enchantress appears in the 2016 live action movie Suicide Squad, portrayed by Cara Delevingne. Purcell did a smattering for Marvel Comics, including two "Nick Fury, Agent of S. H. I. E. L. D." stories, over Jack Kirby layouts, in Strange Tales #143–144 (April–May 1966); a Black Knight solo feature in Marvel Super Heroes #17 (Nov. 1968); and three 10 page, semi anthological backup stories featuring the Watcher, in Silver Surfer #4–5 and #7 (Feb.–April 1969 and Aug. 1969). Purcell was additionally a teacher at a high school in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania Purcell died April 24, 1981, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.