RUSS MANNING!!!

A friend of mine once called Russ Manning "the Ernie Bushmiller of comic books", and he meant this in a derogatory way!!! I think my buddy was very misguided, as I am a BIG fan of the work of both Bushmiller, the creator of the NANCY strip, and of that of Russ Manning, the cartoonist behind one of the best futuristic comic books ever, MAGNUS: ROBOT FIGHTER 4000 A.D.
Manning produced only 21 issues of this series for GOLD KEY COMICS, over 40 years ago, in the early 1960's, but it stands as one of the truly unique and great science fction premise comic books of all time.
Manning's sleek drawings, combining both believably depicted robots and idealized human characters, is definitely linked in the John F. Kennedy era. Like Carmine Infantino's drawing on DC COMICS' "Adam Strange" feature, there is a very "clean cut" look to the characters, both male and female, that makes me think of JFK and his Camelot, when heroic young men stood up for things they believed in, and their distaff partners stood with them.
I do not mean to imply that I believe Manning's Leeja Clane or Adam Strange's Alanna were secondary to their male mates, or that they should have been, or that Jackie Kennedy should have been an accessory of Jack's, _or_ that women should EVER be considered less important than men, but I want to keep things in perspective.
The era of MAGNUS, that is, the era in which MAGNUS first appeared, was one in which women were often "stay at home moms", and Magnus' paramour. Leeja Clane, was a forerunner of more adventurous women of the real world, who would soon be abandoning their kitchen counters and oven mitts and seeking something much more rewarding, and, rightfully so.
The MAGNUS comic book stories, which happened in a world where human beings were to be slowly subjugated by rebellious robots, are told in a very compelling fashion, that makes us cheer as MAGNUS karate chops his way through the machinery, which is rendered on it's own unique way, a way that is at once similar to, and different from, the machinery drawn by Jack Kirby, or the machinery drawn by Wallace Wood, though it is closer in style to that. We can practically believe that humankind could one day be enslaved by robots.
Russ also drew another series, THE ALIENS, that ran as a featurette in MAGNUS, this was yet another beautifullt delineated Manning project.
Later MAGNUS works would be produced by the likes of Mike Royer, a former assistant of Manning's and well-known as an inker of Jack Kirby's comic book work, plus a top-notch cartoonist for THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, and other MAGNUS issues, by cartoonists such as the great Dan Spiegle, and others, are good, but they do not resonate with me the same way that Manning's MAGNUS works do.
We can root for MAGNUS in a very special way, that only true heroes can bring out in us.
Russ Manning also drew the syndicated TARZAN newspaper feature for a long time, and worked on the series BROTHERS OF THE SPEAR, and even drew such one-shot comic books as RICKY NELSON IN HONG KONG, but Manning also drew several issues of SEA HUNT, derived from the television series that starred Lloyd Bridges. Manning's research and exquisite drawing of underwater locales really paid off for him here.
Russ also drew some lovely issues of the tv series based comic book 77 SUNSET STRIP, and a long run of the TARZAN comic book, from 1965 through 1972.
Perhaps even more famous than some of the above, but not as much linked to them, Russ Manning also drew the newspaper adaptation of STAR WARS, early on in it's lifetime. Russ' version of the George Lucas movie is not as well-known as that of Al Williamson, who took over later, but it is no less lovely to behold. Russ had a gift for drawing nifty likenesses of real people, and this, combined with his elegant science-fiction backgrounds and flowing drapery, makes his STAR WARS stand out.
More recently, DARK HORSE COMICS has re-issued some of Russ' TARZAN work, by arrangement with the copyright holder, EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS, INC.
Russ Manning passed away in 1981, leaving not only a wonderful legacy for present and future comic book readers to enjoy, but also, "The Russ Manning Award", which is given annually to new cartoonist discoveries who show great promise.

Thanks to Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia, which I used to doublecheck some historical facts!!!