'Dr. Guy Bennett' (12 September 1955).
Jim Seed was an American illustrator and cartoonist, who worked on several newspaper comics in the 1940s and 1950s, most notably 'Dr. Guy Bennett' (1955-1956) and 'Jane Arden' (1955-1960).
Early life and career
James Edward Seed was born in 1927 in Toledo, Ohio. His parents were both immigrants from Syria. Seed's art talent was recognized at his elementary school, and by 1940 he enrolled in an art course for illustrations and cartooning. He continued to stand an excellent chance with his art talent while in high school during the 1940s, especially with his poster 'Fire Is a Dangerous Playmate' (October 1941), which won the first prize in a contest sponsored by the Toledo Chamber of Commerce for Fire Prevention Week.
Seed's contribution to his 1945 yearbook, the Saga-Tattler.
While a senior in high school, Seed began his professional career as a background inker. Among his first jobs was inking Toledo cartoonist Don Dean's 'Cranberry Boggs' (1945-1949) for the McNaught Syndicate. The strip began on 8 January 1945 and ended on 30 July 1949. It was in many ways a rip-off of Al Capp's 'Li'l Abner', dealing with a family of local yokels, only now set on a New England sea coast. Seed then collaborated with Bill Scott on a 1950 comic strip about a chaplain. This work ended when he joined the Army for two years, during the Korean War.
'Dr. Guy Bennett', 16 September 1955.
Dr. Guy Bennett
In the mid-1950s, Seed drew the medical drama series 'Dr. Guy Bennett', written by Dr. B.C. Douglas. It started on 11 April 1955 in the Long Island Star-Journal and was distributed by Lafave Newspaper Features. Seed's involvement ended on 19 January 1956. Frank Thorne succeeded him until 1963.
Jane Arden
Between 1955 and 1960, Seed drew the newspaper comic series 'Jane Arden', about a spunky girl reporter, for the Register and Tribune Syndicate. The feature was started by artist Frank Ellis and writer Monte Barret in 1928, and had later been taken over by Jack W. McGuire (1932-1935) and Russell Ross (1933-1955) for the art part. By the time Seed took over, Walt Graham was writing the feature. From September 1960 on, Jim Seed was succeeded by William G. Hargis (1960-1964) and Bob Schoenke (1964-1968).
Ghost work
Seed possibly also ghosted on 'Judge Parker' by Dan Heilman and Nicholas P. Dallis and 'Steve Roper' by Allen Saunders and either Elmer Woggon or William Overgard.
'Jane Arden', 26 August 1956.
Final years and death
During the 1960s, Seed worked as a studio illustrator and photo retoucher, and taught illustration for two years. In the mid-1970s, he returned to teaching, first at the Toledo Museum of Art from 1976 to 1979, then at Whitmer High School from 1977 to 1999. In 1985-1986, he penciled and lettered three stories for the comic book 'Tales of Terror' by Eclipse Comics. He retired from drawing because of arthritis. In 2010, Jim Seed passed away at the age of 83.
'The Cubicle' (Tales of Terror #9, 1986).