A Schaffenberger Bio
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After drawing a tryout model sheet featuring Superman and Lois — which was auctioned off at Sotheby's in the 1990s and is now owned by musician Graham Nash — Kurt was chosen to be the main artist on the Silver Age classic comic Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane. [Another model sheet that I acquired on eBay is at left; DC occasionally ran features such as this for its young readers who wanted to draw like their favorite artist, and Schaffenberger was chosen for this rare instructive piece.]Kurt ran with the Lois Lane assignment and in more than 80 issues spanning a decade (roughly 1958-1968) created the most real (i.e., human) universe inside all of D.C. Sure, Lois could be petty, grasping, even obnoxious as she hammered away at Superman’s secret identity, fought off yet another rival for his affections, or tried to forget her Man of Steel by leaving town or dating a new beau. But most of all Lois was a person, and so she humanized Superman, and made him that much more real to all of us.
Drawing Lois from the first issue of her magazine until issue #81, when DC decided Lois needed to become a "modern woman" — and when I stopped reading the comic — Schaffenberger was moved by DC editorial to work on Supergirl. There was a brief falling out with DC over working conditions and pay, during which time Schaffenberger found himself drawing romance comics for Marvel, as well as doing freelance illustration work.
Eventually, though, he was brought back to DC in the 1970s to draw Superman and the entire Superman Family in the comic of that name; the revived Captain Marvel Family in Shazam! ; the campy Super-Friends; the occasional extra such as Wonder Woman (issue #218), an Action Comics or Detective Comics cover or story; and the entire New Adventures of Superboy series in the early to mid 1980s. He helped put the final stamp on the Golden/Silver Age Superman mythos as part of the team on Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? with fellow Curt, and classic Silver Age artist, Curt Swan.
Schaffenberger remained an active artist through the 1980s and early 1990s, and even later than that could still be found happily greeting fans and signing autographs at local conventions in and around the Jersey shore, where he lived with his wife. He was always happy at the attention given his work. I only met him once, at such a convention in Southern New Jersey. He was signing pages unobtrusively at a booth, and from his humble behavior you'd never guess there sat a man who was a great influence on Baby Boomers everywhere. He seemed surprised that I wanted him to sign everything in sight, but went about it studiously, smiling. That's how I'll remember him.
Schaffenberger often put himself into his comics, and his self portrait looked suspiciously like one of Lois' acquaintances, Clark Kent. (That's the artist hoping for inspiration, above.) To many comic fans, Kurt is the epitome of the Silver and Golden Age comic artist. Though others (like Swan) have received greater public acclaim, Kurt’s clean lines and magnificent senses of humor and fantasy will remain forever etched in the minds of many whose childhoods were made that much brighter by exposure to his fabulous pen and ink creations.
We celebrate the man and his art here, and, thanks to all those who have responded, we know we are not alone. Now he belongs to the ages, but his art will live on, and continue to inspire. RIP, KS, and know that you are missed.
Hero Gets Girl! The Schaffenberger Bio Et Cetera
Hero Gets Girl!, a large-format paperback biography of DC artist Kurt Schaffenberger, is a 128-page paperback delight, filled with examples of Schaffenberger's unique, wonderful art, for such comcis as Captain Marvel, Superman, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane, and many others. The long-overdue tribute was written by Mark Voger and is available at Amazon or in your local comics shop. Schaffenburger fans — and you know who you are — waited a long time for this, and we weren't disappointed!
Click here to discover how this book brought me to an understanding of two of the greatest obsessions of my life: Lois and Lucille Ball. While you're there, check out my Lucille Ball website, and the 2008 Fourth Edition of my bestselling biography, Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia.
Don't forget to visit the extensive Schaffenberger Art Gallery. This, too will be added to as time permits. Enjoy!
Take me home.
