SILVER AGE MYSTERY ARTIST by Dave Goode

As a preteen during the Silver Age of Comics there was this one artist at DC who really caught my eye. But I had no idea what his name was. I only saw his work in back - up stories. Reprints from the 1940s and 1950s. Or at least that's what I surmised by the archaic clothing and hairstyles the characters sported. And at time credits were rarely given on stories. The stories were different as well. No superheroes. They were crime dramas , mysteries and tales of suspense. Sometimes with science fiction or supernatural overtones. I would later find out this mystery artist was Ruben Morira also known as Rubimor.

Ruben Moreira ( 1922 -1984 ) was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York City with his mother when he was four. Artistically gifted he began working for Fiction House where among other things he drew the adventures of Kaanga , an ersatz Tarzan. This would serve as an excellent training ground. From 1945 to 1947 he would take over the art chores on King Features' Tarzan comic strip from legendary illustrator Burne Hogarth. And illustrated it under the name Rubimor while continuing to work in comics of the Golden Age.

It's hard to describe Moreira's work. Except to say it's reminiscent of Reed Crandall's. Or to say it looks like Curt Swan's. But with more detail. Like Swan he was a master of facial expressions. Something that helped make him a great story teller. And that's what being a comic book / strip artist is all about. Being able to tell a story. Not just drawing pretty pictures.