Legendary Cartoonist Paul Norris Remembered
By Charlie Roberts


Paul Norris, 93, passed away Monday, November 5, 2007 at 10:30 PM at Tri-City Medical Center near his home in Oceanside, California. Paul's sons Reed and Mike were at his bedside.

Paul was born in Greenville, Ohio in 1914. He grew up with a love of cartooning and acting, and attended Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Nebraska from 1934-1935. He left in his sophomore year to work for a small newspaper syndicate in Ohio which eventually folded. Finding himself out of college and out of work, Paul began attending the Dayton Art Institute, where he met and began dating his future bride Ann, who coincidentally worked in an Ohio department store with Milton Caniff's mother. Paul married Ann, his wife of 61 years, in 1939 and also had early success with the comic strip Scoop Lens in The Dayton Daily News newspaper the same year. He headed for the bright lights of New York City in 1940, landing a job at Prize Comics, where he created Power Nelson, Futureman, and Yank and Doodle. By 1941, he was at DC Comics working for Mort Weisinger and Whitney Ellsworth. He created Aquaman whose first appearance was in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. During this period, Paul was also under contract working for the newspaper PM on the Vic Jordan comic strip, which he took over when creator Elmer Wexler went into the Marines.

Paul was drafted in 1943, and wound up doing cartoon propaganda leaflets for the Allied effort which were dropped on Okinawa, leading to the surrender of many Japanese. After the war Paul went to work for King Features Syndicate. He did the art chores on Jungle Jim and Secret Agent X-9, and also did Flash Gordon, Tarzan, and The Jungle Twins for Dell Comics. Clarence Grey retired, and Paul took over the Brick Bradford comic strip which he drew for 35 years between 1952 and 1987. The last daily strip ran on April 25, 1987 and Paul retired with it.

Paul and Ann moved to Oceanside, California in 1967. In 1986, he and cartoonist and long time friend Jim Whiting organized the Southern California Cartoonist's Society (S.C.C.S). The group, now led by Karyl Miller, brings together San Diego County cartoonists and writers for informal monthly meetings. Past presidents of the S.C.C.S. have included Jim Whiting, Matt Lorentz, and Dean LeCrone.

David Siegel, San Diego Comic-Con Golden Age Panel organizer, was responsible for getting Paul to the 1993 Comic-Con where he won the prestigious Inkpot Award. Midland College honored Paul on February 10, 2006 and the "S.C.C.S." celebrated his 93rd birthday with a large party on April 26, 2007.

It's been my great pleasure to have shared many weekly lunches and monthly dinners with Paul Norris and friends over the last six years. I can't recall him ever saying an unkind word about anyone. The phrase "Gentleman's Gentleman" surely applied with Paul. A true Class Act with a smile and a gentle laugh, Paul was easy to be friends with and he will be greatly missed.