BILL EVERETTBILL EVERETT
Real Name: William Blake Everett
Identity/Class: Human (World War I era to
modern era-see comments)
Occupation: Comic book artist;
Former US Army soldier, assistant art director, art
editor, draftsman, newspaper artist
Group Membership: Marvel/Timely Comics (Sol
Brodsky, Carl
Burgos, Mike Esposito, Gary Friedrich, Frank Giacoia, Don Heck,
Morrie Kuramoto, Stan Lee,
Larry Lieber, Tony Mortellaro, John Romita, Sr., Stu Schwartzberg, Marie Severin, Flo
Steinberg, Roy Thomas, Herb Trimpe, John Verpoorten, others);
formerly Funnies, Inc. (Carl Burgos, Lloyd Jacquet,
Max, others), Centaur Publications (Lloyd Jacquet, others)
Affiliations: Captain America (Steve Rogers),
Walter Holze, Human Torch ("Jim Hammond"), Walter
"Old Man" Jameson, Marvel/Timely Comics (Sol
Brodsky, Carl Burgos,
Mike Esposito, Gary Friedrich, Frank Giacoia, Don Heck, Morrie
Kuramoto, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Tony Mortellaro, John Romita, Sr.,
Marie Severin, Stu Schwartzberg, Flo Steinberg, Roy Thomas, Herb
Trimpe, John Verpoorten, others), Sub-Mariner
(Namor McKenzie), Toro (Thomas Raymond);
formerly Herm Bollin, Centaur Publications (Lloyd
Jacquet, others), Funnies, Inc. (Lloyd Jacquet, Max, others)
Enemies: Nazis (Gustav, Fritz
Klein-Schmidt, others)
Known Relatives: Gwenn Randall (wife), Wendy
Everett (daughter), Robert Maxwell Everett (father, deceased), Elaine
Grace Brown Everett (mother), Elizabeth (sister), unidentified
great-uncle, Edward Everett, William Everett, William Blake
(unspecified relatives)
Aliases: Willie Bee, Bill Roman
Base of Operations: Fairbury, Nebraska, USA;
formerly New York City, New York, USA; Chicago,
Illinois, USA; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix, Arizona, USA;
Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Wickerburg, Arizona, USA; Prescott,
Arizona, USA; Watertown, Massachusetts, USA; Cambridge, Massachusetts,
USA
First Appearance: (in a Marvel comic): Marvel
Mystery Comics I#34 (August, 1942)
Powers/Abilities: Bill Everett was a talented
artist and writer, as well as a skilled editor.
Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Red
History: (real life
history) - William Blake "Bill" Everett was born on May 18, 1917 in
Cambridge, Massachusetts to Robert Maxwell and Elaine Grace Brown
Everett. Bill's artistic talents were encouraged by his parents but
Bill contracted tuberculosis at age twelve and was pulled from school
to recover in Arizona for four months. When the disease recurred some
time later, Bill returned to Arizona, where he took his first drink.
Returning home to Massachusetts, Bill became a teenage alcoholic by age
sixteen and was taken out of high school to the Vesper George School of
Art in Boston, dropping out after a year and a half in 1935. His father
died later that same year and Bill, feeling as if his father had always
wanted him to be a cartoonist, became a professional newspaper artist
for the Boston Herald-Traveler newspaper. Soon leaving to become a
draftsman for the Brooks System engineering firm, Bill ultimately
pursued work in Phoenix, Arizona and Los Angeles, California before
traveling to New York City, New York, where he returned to advertising
art jobs. After being fired from Teck Publications' Radio News magazine, Bill was
talked into taking work in the comic book field by his former colleague
Walter Holze, soon taking freelance comic book work at Centaur
Publications, co-creating their comic book character Amazing-Man.
Leaving Centaur for his co-worker Lloyd Jacquet's new company Funnies,
Inc., Bill worked with fellow artist Carl Burgos and created a comic
book based on the aquatic Namor the Sub-Mariner. When Funnies, Inc.'s
planned promotional comic Motion Picture Funnies Weekly
comic book failed, Everett joined Timely Comics, where he continued his
comic book based on Namor the Sub-Mariner.
(Captain America & the Invaders: The Bahamas
Triangle#1) - On March 18, 1941, Bill Everett was walking down the
streets in Manhattan with Carl Burgos when the duo spotted new hero
Captain America chasing the Nazi Fritz Klein-Schmidt. Carl immediately
asked Bill if he had saw the Nazi and Bill replied by asking if Carl
saw Captain America giving chase. The Daily Bugle's Walter "Old Man"
Jameson then butted in, claiming that he definitely saw Captain America
before rushing off after the star-spangled hero in an attempt to get a
photo for the Bugle.
(Marvel Mystery Comics I#34
(fb) - BTS) - In early 1942, Bill Everett made plans to meet his
co-worker Carl Burgos at a
local drug store for sodas with the heroes Human Torch and Toro.
(Marvel Mystery Comics I#34) - Bill arrived at the drug store early and Carl arrived soon after, asking Bill if he had seen the Human Torch or Toro. Informing Carl that the heroes would be there later, the two talked about Carl's recent idea to create a propaganda comic against the Nazis when Carl suddenly passed out. The Human Torch and Toro arrived moments later and Bill informed them about what had happened to Carl. Human Torch deduced that Carl had been poisoned and ordered Toro to call an ambulance as Bill stood in shock. When Human Torch noticed the soda jerk missing, Bill explained that the jerk had been there moments earlier. After the Human Torch and Toro defeated a small group of Nazis who had posed as soda jerks to poison Carl because of his propaganda comic, Bill visited Carl in the hospital alongside the Torch and Toro, remarking that the Nazis couldn't poison a man with a cast-iron stomach.
(real life history) - In February 1942, Bill Everett
joined the US Army to fight in World War II. While in the service, Bill
met Ordinance Department worker Gwenn Randall and the two married in
1944 during a period in which Bill returned home from the European
theater. Bill was able to see the birth of his daughter before he was
shipped out to the Philippines, eventually returning home in 1946.
Following a brief period of travel using money inherited from a
great-uncle, Bill and Gwenn settled in Fairbury, Nebraska and Bill
returned to drawing comics for Timely Comics by mail. Bill continued
working for the company as it transitioned to Atlas Comics and,
eventually, Marvel Comics.
(Sub-Mariner I#19) - Bill Everett was on the Coney Island beach with many other Marvel Comics (formerly Timely Comics) co-workers when Namor the Sub-Mariner washed ashore.
(real life history) - Bill Everett continued working
for Marvel Comics until his death on February 27, 1973.
Comments: Adapted into Marvel Comics by Carl Burgos.
Bill Everett appears sitting next to Stan Lee at Karen Page's funeral in Daredevil II#8 (1999) but Bill had long passed away before 1999 so while it is a nice homage to include him as one of Karen Page's creators, in terms of Marvel continuity, this character could not actually be Bill Everett unless Earth-616's Bill Everett had some of slowed or nonexistent aging. Given that other Marvel characters have this power, I suppose it's possible but for the purposes of this profile, I chose not to include this appearance in Bill Everett's 616 History since it likely couldn't be the actual Bill.
Similarly, Bill's appearance (albeit unidentified
alongside the other Marvel staff at the time) in Sub-Mariner I#19 may
end up not being the actual Bill due to Marvel's sliding time scale.
The real Bill was still alive at the time Sub-Mariner I#19 was
published in 1969 so it is an appearance of the actual Bill (hence it's
inclusion in this profile) but given that the real Bill died in 1973,
his appearance in Sub-Mariner I#19 is now topical. The sliding time
scale has made this appearance impossible, especially if Earth-616's
Bill also died in Marvel's 1973. I'll let you guys decide how Bill's
Sub-Mariner I#19 appearance fits in continuity....
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Bill Everett has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Captain America & the Invaders: The Bahamas Triangle#1, p3, pan1
(Bill Everett walking down the street, main image)
Captain America & the Invaders: The Bahamas Triangle#1, p3, pan2
(Bill Everett headshot)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#34, p10, pan7 (Bill Everett, in shock at Carl
Burgos' poisoning)
Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics I#34 (August, 1942) - "Human Torch" story - Carl
Burgos (writer, art), Vince Fago (editor-in-chief)
Sub-Mariner I#19 (November, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), Marie Severin
(pencils), Johnny Craig (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Captain America & the Invaders: The Bahamas Triangle#1 (September,
2019) - Roy Thomas (writer), Jerry Ordway (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
First Posted: 10/25/2019
Last updated: 10/25/2019
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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