Sid Jacobson was a veteran comics writer and editor who guided him from the gorgeous, fantastical world of Richie Rich to the real-life terrorist attacks of 9/11.
His death in hospice was caused by a stroke following a coronavirus case, his family said in a statement.
From 1952 until the company’s bankruptcy in 1982, Mr. Jacobson was a writer and editor at Harvey Comics in New York, publishing adventure novels such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich and Wendy the Good Little Witch. Crime, horror, romance comics.
At Harvey, he met artist Ernie Colon, with whom he became a frequent collaborator. “Whenever I worked as an editor, I always had him,” Jacobson said in an interview after Colon’s death in 2019. we were like brothers. ”
The two worked together to deliver the graphic novel version of the 9/11 Commission’s report investigating the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The report, the result of a government investigation led by former New Jersey governor Thomas H. Keene, became a bestseller in 2004. Jacobson called the effort “graphic journalism.”
This adaptation “packs a great deal of information into a vibrant and accessible format,” says Julia Keller. Chicago Tribune review.
“I was particularly struck by how the authors created a series of pages in a horizontal grid that traced the fate of all four dimensions moment by moment. suddenly becomes understandable.”
Jacobson and Colon continued to create other graphic non-fiction books. Biography of Che Guevara (2009) and Anne Frank (2010). And in 2017, in “The Torture Report: A Graphic Adaptation”, Senate Select Committee Investigation To the torture of terrorist suspects by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Sidney Jacobson was born in Brooklyn on October 20, 1929, one of two children of Ruben and Beatrice (Edelman) Jacobson. His father worked in Manhattan’s clothing district and his mother was a stay-at-home mom.
He is survived by his son Seth. his daughter, Kathy Batat; and three grandchildren.
Mr. Jacobson studied journalism at New York University, graduating in 1950. Two years after her, his sister Shirley was dating a person who worked for Harvey in her comics. He used that connection to get his foot in the door and eventually became the company’s editor-in-chief.
Writer and artist Angelo DeCesare, who started his career at the company in 1978, said of Jacobson: “Everything flowed through him.”
Mr. Jacobson was involved in plotting and writing the story of Richie Rich at the peak of the character’s popularity when he appeared in several different books.
“They came out with Richie Richie to print money,” said Johnny Harvey, grandson of Leon Harvey. (Their older brother, Leon Robert, became an officer there.) He added: Sid went back and forth working with the writers. He was very supportive. (Jonny Harvey is the director of the upcoming documentary Ghost Empire about Harvey Comics.)
After the dissolution of Harvey Comics, Mr. Jacobson found work at Marvel and became the editor of Star Comics, an imprint aimed at young readers that began in 1984. Like Planet His Terry, Space Adventures where a boy tries to reunite with his parents, and Royal His Roy about a wealthy prince. However, Harvey Comics felt that Royal Roy was too close to the theme of Richie Rich and filed a lawsuit (Royal Roy ended with his sixth issue and the lawsuit was dropped).
In addition to writing and editing comics, Mr. Jacobson wrote novels and songs. “Streets of Gold,” a fictionalized version of his family’s Russian-Jewish immigrant story, was published in 1985. Another Time, a novel set during the Great Depression, was published in 1989.pete riser: The Rough and Tumble Career of the Perfect Ballplayer” (2004) is the biography of the frequently injured Major League Baseball outfielder who was known for playing with reckless abandon during the 1940s and 50s.
Mr. Jacobson’s songwriting held a special place in his heart. “He was very proud of the hit he called.”endsaid DeCesare. Jacobson told him about being on a cruise ship when some passengers learned he had written the lyrics to a song released as a single by Earl Grant in 1958. did.
“They all treated him like royalty,” DeCesare said.
Mr. Jacobson’s children said he has written about 100 published songs. Most of them are love songs, butstill yen– It reminds me fondly of what I heard on the “Captain Kangaroo” TV show.
