Ray Herman
Encyclopedia
Ray Hermann was a publisher, editor, writer, penciller, and inker whose career spanned fron 1940 to 1955. Her company, Orbit Publications was a founding member of the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers
, for which she served as Secretary and Board Director.
She started her career as an assistant to publisher Frank Temerson, publisher for Holyoke and other, loosely-affiliated companies. From 1943 to 1944, she was managing editor and co-owner (with Esther Temerson) of Continental Magazines, publishers of Cat-Man Comics and Terrific Comics. In 1945 she wrote for the syndicated comic "Hep Cats", before taking over as publisher, business manager, and co-owner (with Marjorie May) of Orbit Publications in 1946.
Orbit's titles included The Westerner (featuring Wild Bill Pecos), Love Diary, Patches and Wanted Comics, and contributing artists included Syd Shores
, Bernard Krigstein
and Mort Leav
. She wrote for their Western comics, as well as Love Diary and another romance comic, Love Journal (both published under the "Our Publishing" imprint). She was also the rare actually-female writer of a romance comic advice columnist; most advice columnists for other romance comics were male staff members under a female pseudonym. In 1948, she also pencilled and inked crime comics for D.S. Publishing.
Also in 1948, she helped found the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers in response to the rising anti-comics sentiment in the United States. They created the first Publication Code for policing the content in comics, but comics were not subject to formal review to use their seal of approval, and it was largely ignored. By 1950, the ACMP was virtually defunct, though a few publishers continued to use the seal. However, its Publication Code formed the backbone of the later Comics Code
.
Association of Comics Magazine Publishers
The Association of Comics Magazine Publishers was an American industry trade group formed in May 1947 and publicly announced on July 1, 1948, to regulate the content of comic books in the face of public criticism during this time...
, for which she served as Secretary and Board Director.
She started her career as an assistant to publisher Frank Temerson, publisher for Holyoke and other, loosely-affiliated companies. From 1943 to 1944, she was managing editor and co-owner (with Esther Temerson) of Continental Magazines, publishers of Cat-Man Comics and Terrific Comics. In 1945 she wrote for the syndicated comic "Hep Cats", before taking over as publisher, business manager, and co-owner (with Marjorie May) of Orbit Publications in 1946.
Orbit's titles included The Westerner (featuring Wild Bill Pecos), Love Diary, Patches and Wanted Comics, and contributing artists included Syd Shores
Syd Shores
Sydney Shores was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books....
, Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein , was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. He was known as Bernie Krigstein, and his artwork usually displayed the signature B...
and Mort Leav
Mort Leav
Mortimer Leav is an American artist best known as co-creator of the influential comic-book character the Heap, and for his advertising art, which included some of the earliest TV commercial storyboards — among them, for Procter & Gamble's venerable Charmin bathroom-tissue character, the...
. She wrote for their Western comics, as well as Love Diary and another romance comic, Love Journal (both published under the "Our Publishing" imprint). She was also the rare actually-female writer of a romance comic advice columnist; most advice columnists for other romance comics were male staff members under a female pseudonym. In 1948, she also pencilled and inked crime comics for D.S. Publishing.
Also in 1948, she helped found the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers in response to the rising anti-comics sentiment in the United States. They created the first Publication Code for policing the content in comics, but comics were not subject to formal review to use their seal of approval, and it was largely ignored. By 1950, the ACMP was virtually defunct, though a few publishers continued to use the seal. However, its Publication Code formed the backbone of the later Comics Code
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
.