Leon Lazarus

Leon Lazarus was an American writer and editor whose work for Martin Goodman’s publishing empire helped shape the early Marvel Comics universe, though he labored for decades without public recognition. Born on August 22, 1919, in the United States, Lazarus wrote countless uncredited comic-book stories from 1947 through at least 1965 for Goodman’s Timely and Atlas companies, the direct predecessors of Marvel. His name appeared so rarely that historians long suspected it might be a pseudonym. In 2005, at age 85, Lazarus was located by researchers who began documenting his contributions.

Beyond comics, Lazarus wrote paperback novels, including two entries in the “Nick Carter” detective series, and children’s books for Little Golden Books. His magazine work appeared in men’s adventure titles like *Saga*, *Stag*, and *Blue Book*, as well as the general-interest *Coronet*. In our catalog, he is credited as a writer on 54 issues from 1948 to 1968, with his most frequent credits on western titles such as *Kid Colt Outlaw*, *Wild Western*, *Two Gun Western*, *Wild Western Roundup*, and *Kid Cowboy*, as well as the short-lived *Terrific!*.

Lazarus died on November 28, 2008. He is not to be confused with the science fiction reviewer Dr. Henry Leon Lazarus. His legacy is that of a prolific journeyman whose uncredited work filled crucial gaps in the early history of American comics.