FIRST GHOST ARTIST OF THE COMICS RECEIVES INTERNET ACCLAIM IN LATE RETIREMENT.
Paul H. Cassidy, the first ghost artist of the comics, who streamlined Superman's look in the early years, passed away at age 94, on May 15 at a senior care facility in Milwaukee.
The artist joined the Joe Shuster studio in 1938, first inking over Shuster's layouts and then penciling and finishing his own stories. He left the Superman chores in 1940 due to the poor income the work brought, and returned to teaching in Milwaukee.
Paul Cassidy is credited with streamlining and cleaning Shuster's rough drawing style and bringing the "S" symbol closer to the one we know today. He was also the first to add the symbol to Superman's cape. Cassidy's layouts were dynamic and set the tone for the heroic appeal that Superman had garnered over the decades.
In recent years his children and grandchildren discovered a vast presence for the artist on the web, crediting Paul with his significant contributions to Superman. The Milwaukee Journal sentinel Online tells of their discovery and how the artist was comforted and moved by being remembered in his retirement years.
The SupermanArtists.com web site has more details of Paul's Superman work and Tom Spurgeon gives a nice mention at The Comics Reporter.
Have peace, Superhero maker.
