Severin 90 home-John Powers Severin was a comic-book artist whose work ranged from the anarchistic satire of Mad and Cracked magazines to the gritty heroics of "Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos." Severin, who died Feb. 12 at age 90 in his Denver home, worked until he was 89, when he drew an issue of "Witchfinder Lost and Gone Forever" for Dark Horse Comics that was published this year. During a career of more than 60 years, he gained a reputation for attention to detail and historical knowlege that made his work a resource for other artists striving to capture period costumes and arcana, said comic-book and television writer Mark Evanier. "Jack used to always say if you ask Johnny Severin what a soldier's belt buckle looks like, he draws you an army," said Evanier, who wrote "Kirby: King of Comics," a biography of comic-book creator Jack Kirby.
Severin's six children knew that their father's work routine — and attitude toward his kids — bore little resemblance to those of other fathers in the Long Island neighborhood where they grew up, said daughter Michelina Van Gemert, 56. "He was always home, and he always had discussions with us. There was no subject we wouldn't discuss," she said. "Other kids didn't see their fathers until they came home from work. They didn't have conversations with their fathers. I would come home from school and say, 'I need to do a paper on the Peloponnesian War,' and my father would say, 'I have three books on it.' "
Severin was born in 1921 in Jersey City, N.J., and moved to Long Island as a child. He attended High School of Music and Art, a Manhattan alternative public school now known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. original article read click here
Severin's six children knew that their father's work routine — and attitude toward his kids — bore little resemblance to those of other fathers in the Long Island neighborhood where they grew up, said daughter Michelina Van Gemert, 56. "He was always home, and he always had discussions with us. There was no subject we wouldn't discuss," she said. "Other kids didn't see their fathers until they came home from work. They didn't have conversations with their fathers. I would come home from school and say, 'I need to do a paper on the Peloponnesian War,' and my father would say, 'I have three books on it.' "
Severin was born in 1921 in Jersey City, N.J., and moved to Long Island as a child. He attended High School of Music and Art, a Manhattan alternative public school now known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. original article read click here
