Otto_Binder

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Otto Binder

Otto Oscar Binder (1911 - 1974) was a writer of American science fiction, non-fiction UFO, and comic books.

Biography

Otto Binder was born on August 26, 1911 in Bessemer, Michigan, the youngest of six children born into a family who had emigrated from Austria a year earlier. The family "settled in Chicago in 1922, during a period rich with science fiction, which "enthralled Otto and his brother Earl." The two began writing in partnership, and sold their first story, "The First Martian" to Amazing Stories in 1930; it saw publication in 1932 under the pen-name "Eando Binder" ("E" and "O" Binder).

Writing

Not earning enough to live on, Binder and his brother "worked at many jobs" in addition to their writing work, Earl ultimately finding work at an iron works, after which Otto took over "most of the writing," although keeping the nom de plume for his science fiction writings throughout his life. In 1935, Binder was hired by author Otis Adelbert Kline "as an agent in charge of his New York literary office," although business was bad enough that "they called it quits two years later." At the same time, however, Binder was writing for Mort Weisinger (then editor of Thrilling Wonder Stories and Ray Palmer (editor of Amazing), for whom he created the Adam Link series, and particularly the short story "I, Robot" which inspired Isaac Asimov's positronic robot Robbie.

Fawcett Comics

Binder is best known for his comic book work, an area he entered in 1939 thanks to another brother, Jack, who moved to New York to "join the Harry "A" Chesler shop as an artist." Shortly thereafter, (in 1940) Fawcett Comics began its comics line, and Binder started writing features including Captain Venture, Golden Arrow, Bulletman and El Carim. After working on such titles for around a year, editor Ed Herron felt Binder ready to tackle Fawcett's most notable character: Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel

Binder is best known for his 12-year stint on Fawcett Comics's Captain Marvel (1941 to 1953), writing "986 stories... out of 1,743 - over half the entire Marvel Family saga." During this time, he co-created, with Marc Swayze and C. C. Beck, such characters as Mary Marvel, Uncle Dudley, Mr. Tawky Tawny, Black Adam, and Mr. Mind, as well as Dr. Sivana's "evil progeny, Sivana Jr. and George Sivana."

His first script for Capt. Marvel was "Captain Marvel Saves the King" in Captain Marvel Adventures no.9 (April 1942); he had previously written a text novel (called a Dime Action Book) starring the character called Return of the Scorpion featuring the villain from the 1941 Republic serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel. .

Other comics work

Despite such voluminous output, Binder continued to write for, in the words of E. Nelson Bridwell "virtually all the other Fawcett features," including creating some of the text features that were then a requirement for comics, in order to "fulfill postal regulations" and be eligible for cheap shipping rates. Binder, under the "Eando" pseudonym wrote a series of science fiction text stories for Captain Marvel Adventures starring Lieutenant Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol. Binder left Fawcett, when the company shut down its comic book franchise in 1953, but found no shortage of work, having by this time already worked for a number of other comics companies.

Timely (Marvel)

Binder also wrote and created characters for other publishers, including Timely Comics (the fledgling Marvel Comics), for whom "he [co-]created Captain Wonder, The Young Allies, Tommy Tyme and Miss America," (a female version of Captain America) and also wrote for Captain America, the Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Destroyer, Whizzer, All-Winners Squad and others.

Quality & MLJ Comics

For Quality Comics, Binder co-created Kid Eternity, and wrote for Blackhawk, Doll Man, Uncle Sam and the Black Condor, and for MLJ Comics (subsequently known as Archie Comics), he wrote for Steel Sterling, The Shield, The Hangman and The Black Hood. Binder also produced work for Gold Key.

DC Comics

In 1948, Binder began working for National Periodical Publications (DC Comics), swiftly creating "Merry, Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks in the Star-Spangled Kid strip", whose place Merry soon took in Star-Spangled Comics, before moving on to his best-known DC work on the Superman titles. In addition to writing the first Legion of Super-Heroes story, Binder "introduced Jimmy Olsen's signal-watch in the pages of the first issue of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. In issue 31 Binder also introduced Jimmy's Elatic Lad identity. He also wrote the first tales featuring the supporting Superman characters Lucy Lane, Beppo, the Super Monkey, Titano, the Super Ape and \"most important of all - Supergirl\" with artist Al Plastino. He also created Brainiac, the Phantom Zone -- highlighted regularly on the Smallville television show -- and Krypto the Superdog, recently featured in an animated series of the same name.

Bridwell credits Binder as creating the first \"Imaginary Tale, for Lois Lane,\" and of writing \"most of the early\" Bizarro stories including (at least) the first Tales of the Bizarro World feature. Binder also scripted the \"classic [storyline] \"Superman's Return to Krypton.\"

Other work

Binder briefly quit comics in late 1960, to become editor of Space World magazine, returning to comics in 1964 for a further five years, before leaving again in 1969, devoting the rest of his life to science fiction. He was also merge the two areas by adapting (in 1973) some classic science-fiction stories into comics form for a \"paper-back publisher.\" Titles included \"Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and The Mysterious Island\".

Binder was also a biographer of Ted Owens, and wrote many articles and several books about the subject of UFOs.

He died in Chestertown, New York on October 13, 1974, leaving behind him \"a wealth of fine writing\" in the form of several classic science fiction works, and \"almost 50,000 pages of comics,\" comprising \"over 1,300 scripts for Fawcett [and] more than 2,000 for 20 other publishers\" including \"some 93 heroes in 198 magazines.\") . Binder's name was pronounced with a short "i" sound.

Awards

He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.

Works

Lords of Creation (1949)
Adam Link—Robot (1965)
Anton York, Immortal (1965)
Enslaved Brains (1965)
The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker (1967)
What We Really Know About Flying Saucers (1967)

for further reading

Words of Wonder: The Life and Times of Otto Binder By Bill Schelly (Seattle, WA: Hamster Press, 2003)
Tuck, Donald H. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. ISBN 0-911682-20-1.
"A Real-Life 'Marvel Family': A 1973 Talk with Golden Age Artisans Jack & Otto Binder". Interview conducted by Richard Kyle, transcribed by Brian K. Morris. Alter Ego no.55 (Dec. 2005) pp.58-67.