Harvey Kurtzman Totally Explained

Everything about Harvey Kurtzman totally explained

Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York - February 21, 1993) was a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. In 1952, he was the founding editor of the comic book Mad.
Kurtzman was equally well known for the long-running Little Annie Fanny stories in Playboy (pornographic magazine)(1962-88), parodying the very attitudes that Playboy promoted. Because Mad had a considerable impact on popular culture, Kurtzman was later described by the New York Times as having been "one of the most important figures in postwar America." Kurtzman also spent several years drawing comics for the Daily Worker.

Biography

As a child he drew "Ikey and Mikey," a regular comic strip done in chalk on sidewalks. In 1939, Kurtzman won a contest in Tip Top Comics, the prize for which was the publication of a drawing and one dollar. As a freelance writer-artist during his early years in the comic book industry, his most notable output was a series of humorous one-page fillers called "Hey Look!" Kurtzman often signed his name "H. Kurtz [malestick figure]" (for example, "H. Kurtz-Man"). Kurtzman found his niche at Bill Gaines' EC Comics, editing the war comics Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales. Kurtzman was known for a painstaking attention to detail, typically sketching full layouts and breakdowns for the stories he assigned to artists and insisting they not deviate from his instructions. Despite (or because of) his autocratic ways, Kurtzman's early 1950s work is still considered among the medium's finest.
   The evolution of Mad was marked by Kurtzman's recognition of his own value and talents. The comic book owed its existence to Kurtzman's complaint to publisher Gaines that EC's two editors — himself and Al Feldstein — were being paid substantially different salaries. Gaines pointed out that Feldstein produced more titles for EC and did so more swiftly. The men then agreed that if Kurtzman could create a humor publication, Gaines would raise his pay substantially.
   Four years later, amid an industry crackdown on the comic books that EC was producing, Kurtzman received an offer to join the staff of Pageant. When Gaines agreed to expand Mad from a ten-cent comic book to a 25-cent magazine, Kurtzman stayed with EC. Although retaining Kurtzman was Gaines' prime motivation, this revamp completely removed Mad from the Comics Code Authority's censorious overview, thereby assuring its survival.
   Kurtzman remained at the helm of the magazine for only a few issues, but it was long enough to introduce the image soon named Alfred E. Neuman, the publication's famous mascot. The character had appeared, unidentified, in one of the comic book issues. He was also responsible, in 1955, for turning the publication from a comic book into a full-size magazine.
   During the 1950s, Kurtzman was also one of the writers for the relaunched Flash Gordon daily comic strip which had previously been one of Kurtzman's Mad targets, when he created the "Flesh Garden!" parody, illustrated by Wally Wood in 1954.

Departure from Mad

In April 1956, with Mad sales increasing and all of EC's other titles cancelled, Kurtzman demanded a 51% share of Gaines' business. Gaines balked and hired Feldstein to replace Kurtzman as editor. The incident has been a source of controversy ever since.
   Kurtzman was also the editor of Trump, published by Hugh Hefner in 1957. It presented Kurtzman's Mad sensibilities in a glossy, upscale magazine format. Trump only lasted for two issues. They reportedly sold well, but were expensive to produce, and publisher Hugh Hefner shut down the project during a costcutting crunch. Kurtzman later led an artists' collective of himself, Will Elder, Jack Davis, Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth in publishing Humbug. Despite their efforts, and those of business manager Harry Chester, Humbug failed to overcome distribution and financial problems. It folded after 11 issues.
   Kurtzman's last regular editorial position of note was at the helm of Warren Publishing's Help! from 1962 to 1966. Though relying heavily on photography, Help! gave the first national exposure to certain artists and writers who would dominate underground comix later on, such as Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, Jay Lynch and Skip Williamson. The magazine also provided a brief forum for John Cleese and Terry Gilliam, who first worked together under Kurtzman's direction, years before Monty Python. The most notorious article to appear in Help! was "Goodman Beaver Goes Playboy!", a ribald parody of Archie Comics that resulted in a lawsuit from Archie's publisher. Despite a talented roster of friends and contributors including Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Gloria Steinem and Gahan Wilson, along with the above names, the magazine folded after 26 issues.
   In his later years, Kurtzman continued to work on anthologies and various other projects, as well as teaching a cartooning class at the School of Visual Arts. Beginning in 1988, the Harvey Awards, named for Kurtzman, were first given to the year's outstanding comics and creators. In the years before his death, Kurtzman returned to Mad for a brief stint, along with long-time collaborator Will Elder. Their pages were simply signed "WEHK".
   In the end, Kurtzman's critical reputation has outlasted his career valleys and the formulaic or disappointing projects. He is routinely celebrated for his visual verve and artistic successes and is often cited as a key influence by many leading cartoonists. In its much-critiqued 2000 list of the century's Top 100 comics, The Comics Journal awarded Kurtzman five of the slots:

8. Mad comics by Harvey Kurtzman and various
12. EC's "New Trend" war comics by Harvey Kurtzman and various
26. The Jungle Book by Harvey Kurtzman
63. "Hey Look!" by Harvey Kurtzman
64. "Goodman Beaver" by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder

Awards and honors

Along with Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Robert Crumb, Gary Panter and Chris Ware, Kurtzman was among the artists honored in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in Manhattan from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007.

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