Russ Manning

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Russell Manning (born 1929, California, United States; died 1981) was an American comic book artist who created the series Magnus, Robot Fighter and illustrated such newspaper comic strips as Tarzan and Star Wars.

Manning studied at the Los Angeles Art Institute, and later, during his Army service in Japan, drew cartoons for the newspaper at his military base.

In 1953, he went to work for Western Publishing and illustrated stories for the wide variety of comics published by Dell Comics fpr Western, and later for Western's own Gold Key Comics line. He created Gold Key's Magnus Robot Fighter in 1963. and drew the first 21 issues, through 1968.

From 1965 to 1972, Manning also drew Gold Key's Tarzan series, and later did the Tarzan daily newspaper strip. He also did artwork for the "Brothers of the Spear" backup feature in the Tarzan comic book.

Magnus, his and Gold Key's best-known heroic-adventure series, was set in the year 4000, which Manning depicted as clean, airy cityscapes populated by shiny robots and well-rendered human characters. In an era when many science fiction illustrations showed interstellar spaceships with antique-looking fins reminiscent of V-2 rockets of World War II, Manning offered exotic craft with a strange sheen on them, and limited numbers of intriguing protrusions.

In his later years, he drew the illustrations for the Star Wars newspaper strips and comics.

The Russ Manning Award is named for him.