Frederic E. Ray is best known as the artist of many 1940s 'Superman' covers. Ray came from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He began pencilling 'Superman' covers in 1940 and started doing the regular book later that year. His only complete Superman story appeared in Superman 25 of December 1943, 'I Sustain the Wings', a story scripted by Mort Weisinger directly for the US Military as a piece of war propaganda.
Ray's major contribution to Superman was a new design for the 'S' symbol which has become synonymous with the "Golden Age Superman". Ray also drew a feature of his own, called 'Congo Bill'. He worked for DC until the early 1970s, contributing mainly to war titles. Fred Ray is also the author of several history booklets, and has done illustrations for publications about uniforms.
