Monday, July 25, 2016

Renaldo C. Epworth, comic book agent

Renaldo C. Epworth
13 April 1897 to 17 June 1989

"Art Representative: If You Can't Find The Right Art, Call Us!"

Renaldo Epworth is known in the comic book culture for one thing:  As the man who helped place Wally Wood into comics.  His exact "title" while doing this is unclear, he's been called both an agent and a broker,
An agent would get a percent of the price once it was sold, but a broker often would buy the artwork outright and then sell it for as much as he could later on.  It's possible he did both.
  As best that can be established, he did this from 1949 to 1954.  In 1950, he stated that he was producing 1000s  of illustrations per month.  If we go with a six to nine panel grid, that would still be an impressive number.
Artists that he  agented include Wally Wood, Harry Harrison, Martin Rose,and Mike Esposito
and publishers include  ACG (American Comics Group), Fawcett, and Fox.  In 1954, his office was in the same building as ACG's office.

He had been a commercial artist from  at least 1921 and  prior the Great Depression, he had some major clients for his own art,  including drawing covers for Better Homes and Gardens.  He operated a studio by himself and with Grace Uebel (Epworth and Uebel).

In the late 1950s, he patented a method for placing labels on fabrics.

books include:
Fundamentals of Layout for Advertising 1945, 1948 revision
Gifts Children Can Draw And Make

paperback covers 1941 to 1946







written 2011, published 2016