L. B. Cole (Leonard Brandt Cole) was born on August 28, 1918, and died December 5, 1995. A vital figure of the Golden Age of Comic Books, he is best remembered for his strikingly bold covers, which he painted in what he called "poster colors"—vivid primary hues set against deep black backgrounds. This signature style made his work instantly recognizable on newsstands.
Cole began his career in the 1940s, working as an editor and interior artist for Holyoke Publications. He later contributed to Gilberton (notably on *Illustrierte Klassiker*, the German-language *Classics Illustrated*) and Ajax/Farrell. His catalog of 137 credited issues spans 1944 to 2024, with his most frequent titles including *Gwandanaland Comics*, *Popular Teen-Agers*, *Suspense Comics*, *Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror*, and *4Most*. While he worked across genres—horror, crime, teen humor—his covers for *Suspense Comics* and *Blue Bolt* remain his most celebrated.
Cole’s legacy rests on his uncompromising visual sense and his role as a publisher who championed affordable, eye-catching comics. Though he never received major industry awards during his lifetime, his work has been rediscovered by collectors and historians as a high point of Golden Age cover design.
True-to-Life Romances (1949) · 22
Top Love Stories (1951) · 16
Popular Teen-Agers (1950) · 14
Frisky Animals (1951) · 14
Startling Terror Tales (1952) · 14
Contact Comics (1944) · 12
Terrors of the Jungle (1952) · 12
All-Famous Police Cases (1952) · 11
Classics Illustrated Junior (1953) · 11
Eventyrserien (1957) · 11
Junior Eventyrbladet [Eventyrbladet] (1957) · 11
Suspense Comics (1943) · 10
Target Comics (1940) · 10
Shocking Mystery Cases (1952) · 10
Crime Fighting Detective (1950) · 9
Thrilling Crime Cases (1950) · 9
Criminals on the Run (1948) · 8
Holiday Comics (1951) · 8
Captain Aero Comics (1941) · 7
Cat-Man Comics (1941) · 7
Guns Against Gangsters (1948) · 7
Confessions of Love (1952) · 7
Sprookjes in beeld (1957) · 7
Ghostly Weird Stories (1953) · 6
Illustrerede Klassikere (1956) · 6
Illustrerte Klassikere [Classics Illustrated] (1957) · 6
All-Famous Crime (1951) · 5
Terrifying Tales (1953) · 5
Confessions of Romance (1953) · 5
Classics Illustrated (1947) · 5
Captain Flight Comics (1944) · 4
School-Day Romances (1949) · 4
White Rider and Super Horse (1950) · 4
Indian Warriors (1951) · 4
Blue Bolt Weird Tales (1951) · 4
Kuvitettuja Klassikkoja (1956) · 4
Young King Cole (1945) · 3
Law Against Crime (1948) · 3
Illustrerade klassiker (1956) · 3
Illustrierte Klassiker [Classics Illustrated] (1956) · 3
Super-Mystery Comics (1940) · 2
Terrific Comics (1944) · 2
Toytown Comics (1945) · 2
Target Western Romances (1949) · 2
Jungle Thrills (1952) · 2
Shock Detective Cases (1952) · 2
Intimate Secrets of Romance (1953) · 2
Four Favorites (1941) · 1
Tailspin Comics (1944) · 1
Remarkable Adventures (1948) · 1
Northwest Mounties (1948) · 1
Surprising Adventures (1948) · 1
Outstanding Adventure (1949) · 1
Smash Hit Sports Comics (1949) · 1
Film Stars Romances (1950) · 1
Indian Warriors Super-Bumper Streamline Comic (1950) · 1
Flaming Western Romances (1950) · 1
March of Crime (1950) · 1
Indian Warriors A Streamline Bumper Comic (1951) · 1
Slam Bang Comics (1946) · 1
Western Crime Cases (1951) · 1
Wonderful Adventures (1951) · 1
Astounding Comic (1953) · 1
Jungle Thrills 3-D (1953) · 1
Western Fighters 3-D (1953) · 1
Glamorous Romances (1949) · 1
My Secret Marriage (1958) · 1
Realistic Romances (1958) · 1
The World Around Us (1958) · 1
Clasicos Infantiles (1955) · 1
Illustrated Classics (1956) · 1
Wereld in beeld (1960) · 1
World Illustrated (1960) · 1
Universal Pictures Presents Dracula - the Mummy & Other Stories (1963) · 1
Original biography and editorial content © comicbooks.com™.
Information drawn in part from Wikipedia and the Grand Comics Database. Portrait by L. B. Cole / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
