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{{Infobox comics creator
| image         = 
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = Harry Frank Sahle
| birth_date    = April 18, 1912<ref>''Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964''</ref><ref name="1920census">''1920 United States Federal Census''</ref>
| birth_place   = [[Cleveland]], Ohio, U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1950|09|22|1912|04|18}}<ref name="death">''New York, New York, Death Index, 1949-1965''</ref>
| death_place   = New York, New York, U.S.
| nationality   = American
| area          = Penciler, inker, editor, cartoonist
| alias         = 
| signature     = 
| notable works = [[Archie Comics]]' [[Archie Comics|Archie]] <br/> [[Timely Comics]]' [[Black Widow (Claire Voyant)|Black Widow]]<br/>[[Quality Comics]]' "Candy"
| awards        = 
}}
'''Harry Frank Sahle''' (April 18, 1912 – September 22, 1950)<ref name="Who" /> was an American [[comic book]] artist who drew for such publishers as [[Archie Comics]]—helping create the defined look of Archie Comics' breakout character, [[Archie Andrews (comics)|Archie Andrews]]—[[Quality Comics]] and the [[Marvel Comics]] precursor company [[Timely Comics]] during the 1930s-1940s period historians and fans call the [[Golden Age of Comic Books]].

In 1940, with writer [[George Kapitan]], Sahle co-created the Timely character the [[Black Widow (Claire Voyant)|Black Widow]], comics' first costumed, superpowered female protagonist. Sahle also created the long-running, early teen-humor character Candy, writing and drawing her comic misadventures for most of the character's 1944 to 1956 run in Quality Comics' ''[[Police Comics]]'' and in her own solo title, as well as in a newspaper [[comic strip]].

==Biography==
===Early career===
Harry Sahle was born in [[Cleveland]] to Edward Sahle and Sarah Jewell.<ref>''Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973''</ref> His mother died when he was young and he grew up in Cleveland with his father and his father's parents, who were both born in Switzerland.<ref name="1920census"/><ref>''1930 United States Federal Census''</ref>

Sahle drew gag cartoons for ''[[Boys' Life]]'' magazine between 1938 and 1939,<ref name="Who">{{cite news|authorlink=Jerry Bails|last1=Bails|first1=Jerry|first2= Hames|last2= Ware|url=http://www.bailsprojects.com/(S(4pszsy20oexeeq55fizzo4ym))/bio.aspx?Name=Sahle%2c+Harry| title=Sahle, Harry |publisher= (entry), [[Jerry Bails#...Of American Comic Books|Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999]]|access-date= September 5, 2008|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110727190412/http://www.bailsprojects.com/(S(4pszsy20oexeeq55fizzo4ym))/bio.aspx?Name=Sahle,+Harry | archive-date=July 27, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> before entering the fledgling medium of comic books via the [[Harry "A" Chesler]] Studio and [[Funnies Inc.]], two [[Manhattan]]-based "packagers" that provided complete, outsourced comics for early publishers testing the medium.<ref name=lambiek>[http://lambiek.net/artists/s/sahle_harry.htm Harry Sahle] at the [[Lambiek Comiclopedia]]</ref> Among his earliest comics work is a cover for the only issue of [[Pelican Publications]]' ''Green Giant Comics'' (Jan. 1940).<ref>[http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=119026 Comic Book Database: ''Green Giant Comics'' #1] Accessed September 7, 2008. <!--Unable to archive at WebCitation.org-->.</ref><ref>{{cite book| authorlink=John Jackson Miller | last1= Miller | first1= J. J. | authorlink2= Maggie Thompson| last2=Thompson | first2=Maggie | first3= Peter |last3=Bickford| authorlink4=Brent Frankenhoff|last4=Frankenhoff|first4=Brent | title=The [[Comics Buyer's Guide]] Standard Catalog of Comic Books, 4th Edition | publisher = KP Books | year= 2005 | chapter=Green Giant Comics | page= 635}}</ref>

His earliest-known interior credit is [[inker|inking]] the seven-page [[Fiery Mask]] superhero story "The Jelly of Doom", over [[George Kapitan]]'s [[penciler|pencil art]], in [[Timely Comics]]' ''[[Daring Mystery Comics]]'' #5 (June 1940).<ref name=gcd>[http://www.comics.org/search.lasso?type=credit&query=sahle&sort=chrono&Submit=Search Harry Sahle] at the [[Grand Comics Database]]</ref> With Kapitan writing and himself penciling and inking, Sahle co-created the [[Black Widow (Claire Voyant)|Black Widow]] in ''[[Mystic Comics]]'' #4 (Aug. 1940). Not to be confused with the superhero [[Black Widow (Natalia Romanova)|Black Widow]] introduced in the 1960s by Timely's descendant [[Marvel Comics]], this character &mdash; comics' first costumed, superpowered female protagonist &mdash; was a [[supernatural]] [[antihero]] who gathered deserving souls for [[Satan]].<ref name=blackwidow>[http://www.toonopedia.com/blwidow1.htm The Black Widow (1940)] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20240525215953/https://www.webcitation.org/66vunFgcm?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/clvoyant.htm |date=2024-05-25 }} at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://archive.today/20240525135007/https://www.webcitation.org/62hcqPxl3?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/blwidow1.htm Archived] from the original October 25, 2011.</ref>

Other early work includes co-creating the winged superhero the Air Man in [[Centaur Publications]]' ''Keen Detective Funnies'' #23 (Aug. 1940);<ref name=gcd /> and creating or co-creating the Timely superheroine the [[Silver Scorpion]], in ''[[Daring Mystery Comics]]'' #7 (April 1941), for which he signed his art with the [[pen name]] '''Jewell''', which comics historian Michael J. Vassallo believes marked a collaboration with another, unknown artist.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/1362/#19443 "The Silver Scorpion", ''Daring Mystery Comics'' #7] at the Grand Comics Database</ref> Sahle also worked as an assistant to [[Carl Burgos]],<ref name="Mick" /> creator-artist of Timely star the [[Human Torch (Jim Hammond)|Human Torch]]. Per fellow artist and Golden Age contemporary [[Gil Kane]], Sahle was also occasionally a [[ghost writer|ghost artist]] on work credited to Burgos<ref name=kane /> in issues of ''[[Marvel Mystery Comics]]'', ''[[Captain America Comics]]'', and the eponymous character's own title, ''Human Torch''.<ref name="Mick">{{cite magazine|url=http://twomorrows.com/alterego/articles/11spillane.html |title='Comics Were Great!' A Colorful Conversation with Mickey Spillane| magazine=[[Alter Ego (magazine)|Alter Ego]]| volume= 3| number=11 |date=November 2001| access-date=September 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519090009/http://twomorrows.com/alterego/articles/11spillane.html | archive-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref>

===MLJ Comics===
Artist [[Gil Kane]] recalled that after the writers and artists [[Charles Biro]], [[Bob Wood (comics)|Bob Wood]], [[Bob Montana]] and several others left [[Archie Comics|MLJ Comics]] to move to [[Lev Gleason Publications]], it fell largely to [[Irv Novick]] to steer MLJs stable of superhero characters.<ref name=kane /> Shortly afterward, Sahle joined the company, working on characters including [[The Black Hood]], [[Steel Sterling]], and the [[The Shield (comics)|Shield]] between 1942 and 1943, and soon thereafter working on the character that was to become MLJ's breakout success: [[Archie Andrews (comics)|Archie Andrews]].<ref name="Who"/>

With the departure of Montana, Archie's signature early developer, Sahle drew "what became the new Archie character.... [H]is work was based on Montana, but with adaptation and interpretation", Kane recalled.<ref name=kane>{{cite book |chapter='There Was Nothing We Couldn't Do!|author=[[Gil Kane]] interview|author2=in [[Roy Thomas|Thomas, Roy]], ed.|title=Alter Ego: The Comic Book Artist Collection|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|year=2001|isbn=1-893905-06-3|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=LfgGmF3aoigC&dq=%22Harry+Sahle%22&pg=PA151 151]}}</ref> Sahle drew some of the earliest stories featuring what would become the company's namesake character, beginning by at least ''Archie Comics'' #3 (Summer 1943).

Thanks to his work, "Sahle became the center point [of MLJ/Archie], and Novick went into the [[United States Army|Army]]", recalled Kane, who believes Sahle worked for MLJ for a year-and-a-half before joining the Army himself.<ref name=kane /> At some point, Sahle was hired away from MLJ by [[Everett M. "Busy" Arnold|"Busy" Arnold]] and his [[Quality Comics]].<ref name=kane />

==="Candy"===
Sahle went on to create the [[Quality Comics]] teen-humor feature "Candy," starring typical small-town American girl Candace O'Connor of Hartwick, USA.<ref name=candy>[http://www.toonopedia.com/candy.htm Candy] at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. [https://archive.today/20240525135047/https://www.webcitation.org/62hctMC3A?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/candy.htm Archived] from the original October 25, 2011.</ref> Her supporting cast included her boyfriend, Ted Dawson; her rival, Cornelia Clyde; and gal-pals Tina and Trish.<ref name=candy /> Debuting as a backup feature in ''[[Police Comics]]'' #37 (Dec. 1944), "Candy" appeared in the comic until issue #102 (Oct. 1950), when the regular line-up of characters (including Candy, [[Will Eisner]]'s [[Spirit (comics character)|The Spirit]], etc.) were dropped and the title became a "regular [[crime comics|crime comic]]."<ref>[[John Jackson Miller|Miller, J. J.]], [[Maggie Thompson|Thompson, Maggie]], [[Peter Bickford|Bickford, Peter]] & [[Brent Frankenhoff|Frankenhoff, Brent]], ''The Comic Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books'', 4th Edition (KP Books, 2005) - "Police Comics", p. 1063</ref> Candy continued to star in her own title, ''Candy'', which ran 64 issues (Fall 1947 - July 1956).<ref>Miller, et al., pp. 279-280</ref> Six months after the title ceased publication, Quality Comics as a whole closed its doors.<ref name=candy />

In addition to Candy's comic-book adventures, Sahle and writer Elmer Groggin produced a ''Candy'' [[newspaper]] [[comic strip]] [[print syndication|syndicated]] by the [[Chicago Times Syndicate]] from October 2, 1944.<ref name=candy /> Sometime during 1945, Sahle's strip was then taken over by [[Tom Dorr (comics)|Tom Dorr]], who continued it for a further 25 years<ref name=lambiek /> (mostly syndicated by the [[Field Newspaper Syndicate]], which succeeded the Chicago Times Syndicate).

Much of Sahle's work was produced in the teen-humor genre, and during the 1940s he also drew another feature, "Ezra," for Quality's ''[[Military Comics]]'' and ''Modern Comics'' titles.<ref name="Who" />

Sahle died in New York City 1950, aged 38.<ref name="death"/> Kane blamed his death on a "broken heart" at a young age.<ref name=kane />

===Mike Hammer===
[[File:Mike_Lancer_in_Green_Hornet_Comics_10.jpg|thumb|Mike Lancer in ''Green Hornet Comics'' #10 (December 1942) art by [[Harry Sahle]]]]
Crime novelist [[Mickey Spillane]], who worked for [[Lloyd Jacquet]]'s [[Funnies Inc.]] packager during the 1930s and 1940s, teamed with Sahle on a number of occasions, including on the character "Mike Danger", which Spillane described as "the original concept of [[Mike Hammer (character)|Mike Hammer]]", the archetypal [[hardboiled detective]] of mid-20th century [[mass market paperback|paperback novels]].<ref name="Mick" /> After Spillane's novels were successful, some "Mike Danger" stories saw print in issues of ''Crime Detector'' in 1954, and new stories featuring the character were published by [[Tekno Comics|Big Entertainment]] four decades later.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/character/name/mike%20danger/sort/chrono/ Mike Danger (character)] at the Grand Comics Database.</ref>

Sahle and Spillance had earlier collaborated on the eponymous feature "Mike Lancer", starring a Mike Hammer prototype,<ref>[[Max Allan Collins|Collins, Max Allan]], [http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=2570 ''Green Hornet Comics'' #10 (Dec. 1942)] at the Grand Comics Database.</ref> published in [[Harvey Comics]]' ''[[Green Hornet]] Comics'' #10 (Dec. 1942).<ref name="Who"/>

===Reprints===
Several issues of Sahle's ''Candy'' were reprinted, in the late 1950s/early 1960s by [[Israel Waldman]]'s [[I. W. Publications|Super Comics]] imprint, but her adventures have otherwise remained out of print.<ref name=candy /> In the late 1980s, [[Eclipse Comics]] reprinted Sahle's 1940s aviator feature "Bald Eagle" in ''Air Fighters Classics'' #1-2 (Nov. 1987 - Dec. 1988).<ref name=gcd />  Some Sahle work appears in the anthology ''[[Marvel Mystery Comics]]'' #1 (Dec. 1999). and the [[hardcover]] collections ''[[Marvel Masterworks]]: Golden Age [[Sub-Mariner]], Vol. 1'' and ''Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age [[Human Torch (Jim Hammond)|Human Torch]], Vol. 1'' (both 2005).

==References==
{{reflist | 2}}

==External links==
*{{cite magazine| url=http://cbgxtra.com/columnists/george-hagenauer-original-art/mickey-spillane-s-first-private-eye-comic-harry-sahle-art|last= Hagenauer|first= George|magazine=[[Comics Buyer's Guide|CBGXtra.com]]|title=Mickey Spillane's First Private Eye Comic - Harry Sahle Art|date= August 29, 2006|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101126034208/http://cbgxtra.com/columnists/george-hagenauer-original-art/mickey-spillane-s-first-private-eye-comic-harry-sahle-art|archive-date=November 26, 2010|url-status=live}} Note: Item identifies "Mike Lancer" art as from ''Green Hornet Comics'' #9. However, the [[Grand Comics Database]] lists no "Mike Lancer" feature in that issue, and the comic's cover-listing of features does not mention it. "Mike Lancer" does appear in issue #10.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahle, Harry}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1950 deaths]]
[[Category:Golden Age comics creators]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
[[Category:American people of Swiss descent]]
[[Category:Artists from Cleveland]]