Mort Leav

Mortimer Leav was born on July 9, 1916, in the United States, and died on September 21, 2005. He is best remembered as the co-creator of the Heap, a swamp-creature that became an influential comic-book character. Leav’s career, however, extended well beyond comics into advertising, where he produced some of the earliest storyboards for television commercials. His most famous ad work was for Procter & Gamble’s Charmin bathroom tissue, helping to develop the grocer Mr. Whipple.

Leav entered comics in the 1940s, working as an artist and inker on dozens of issues for various publishers. His credits include work on *Wanted Comics*, *Love Diary*, *Love Journal*, *The Westerner Comics*, *Crack Comics*, and *Feature Comics*. His style was clean and narrative-driven, suited to both the adventure and romance genres that dominated the era. While the Heap remains his signature creation, Leav’s later life saw him shift focus to commercial art, where he found steady work and left a lasting mark on American advertising. His legacy is that of a versatile draftsman who helped shape two distinct visual mediums.