John Severin was an excellent and underappreciated comics artist whose career spanned a good part of the 20th century and into the 21st.
Severin was prolific during his long career, and though he never developed the devoted following of flashier artists (except among a discerning few), he produced consistently high-level work for a variety of publications.
He held his own among comics legends like Wally Wood, Will Elder and Jack Davis as part of the core group of artists working with Harvey Kurtzman on the original, insanely terrific Mad comics (which eventually devolved into the pale shadow Mad Magazine as we know it).
He worked on other EC titles, notably for the western and war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, where his solid draftsmanship and superb command of texture served the stories well.
He worked for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Warren and other publishers, as well as Mad Magazine competitor Cracked.
He is particularly known for his work, often in collaboration with his sister Marie Severin, on the Marvel sword and sorcery title King Kull.
John Severin died on February 12, 2012 at the age on 90. I’ve listed some obits and tributes below, many of which have artwork.
There is a 1999 interview with Severin on The Comics Journal.
