'Marlin Keel' Sunday strip of 21 February 1954.
George Shedd was an American watercolor painter, who worked as a comic artist during the 1950s. He assisted on series like 'Captain America' and 'Li'l Abner', and created his own newspaper comic, the nautical feature 'Marlin Keel' (1953-1954). He should not be confused with the U.S. writer George Clifford Shedd (1877-1937).
Early life and career
George Joel Shedd was born in 1922 in Yonkers, New York. As his father was a marine engineer, the boy spent a lot of time on the shores of New York and New England. When he was ten years old, his family moved to Waltham, Massachusetts. At Waltham High School, George was editor of the school newspaper. Later, he studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and the Museum School of Fine Arts, both in Boston. When in late 1941 the USA entered World War II, Shedd enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force. Between 1942 and 1945, he was a B-29 bomber pilot stationed on the island Guam. He took part in the last combat mission on Japan, the night before the U.S. bombed Hiroshima. After the war was over, Shedd spent an additional six months in Guam before he was allowed to return home. During his stay, he made cartoons for the local military newspaper. Back in the USA, Shedd finished his education at the Museum School of Art. For a while, he worked as a greeting card designer for Rust Craft in New York City, before moving to Cape Cod and later Atlanta, Georgia.
Comic assistance
In the late 1940s, George Shedd met Al Capp, creator of the successful humorous newspaper comic 'Li'l Abner'. Capp offered Shedd a job assisting Raeburn Van Buren, who at the time drew Capp's other comic, 'Abby 'n' Slats'. Later, after moving to New York, Shedd worked for the still unknown editor Stan Lee at Timely Periodicals (nowadays Marvel) for a while. As assistant, he inked a couple stories with Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's superhero creation 'Captain America'. When Shedd left "the city that never sleeps" again, he submitted gag ideas to Al Capp's 'Li'l Abner', and additionally inked some of the episodes.
'Marlin Keel'.
Marlin Keel
Between 14 September 1953 and 21 November 1954, George Shedd had his own newspaper comic 'Marlin Keel', syndicated by the Post-Hall Syndicate. The realistically-drawn stories feature the adventures of skipper Marlin Keel, who traveled the seas in a fishing boat named Vagabond, accompanied by his pet monkey Barney. In the creation of his comic, Shedd received advice from Ed Dodd, the creator of 'Mark Trail', who may have worked on the feature as a writer. Much like the 'Mark Trail' strip, Shedd's 'Marlin Keel' was a straightforward daily adventure series, with the Sunday page dedicated to an educational corner about wildlife. Originally, Shedd drew 'Marlin Keel' mostly on his own, although later in its run he worked with assistants like Bob Bolling and Alvin C. Hollingsworth. Although some adventures were published in book format by Atlas, the 'Marlin Keel' comic never caught on, so the title character eventually went ashore again. The series debuted on the same day as another nautical comic, Keats Petree's 'Nick Haliday' (1953-1956), which enjoyed a longer run in the papers.
Later years, recognition and death
Shedd spent most of his later years making paintings. He was a member of the American Watercolor Society, Allied Artists of America, the New England Watercolor Society and the Guild of Boston Artists. Some of his paintings appeared on the cover of Yankee Magazine. For his work as a painter, George Shedd received the Sharon Orslip Award (1987), the Watercolor Award (1988) and the Philip Isenberg Award (1992), all handed out by the Salmagundi Club. For over 40 years, he taught watercolor painting at Lexington Arts and Crafts Society. George Shedd passed away in 2006 at age 83.
"Fourth of July in Rockport", watercolor painting by George Shedd, appearing on the July 1983 cover of Yankee Magazine.