Lebeck, Oskar
Entry updated 27 April 2026. Tagged: Artist, Author.
(1903-1966) German-born stage, textile and furniture designer, illustrator, author and editor, in the USA from 1930. He produced cover and interior artwork for a 1939 abridged edition of L Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900; vt The New Wizard of Oz 1903), and as art director/managing editor was an important figure in the establishment of Dell Comics during the 1930s-1940s "Golden Age" of Comics. His stories for children include the Fantasy Clementina the Flying Pig (1939 chap), whose title character grows wings and enjoys absurd aerial adventures; but in the traditional Cliché, it was all a (porcine) dream. Of sf interest are two children's novels written in collaboration with Gaylord Du Bois: The Hurricane Kids on the Lost Islands (1941), set in an Island environment in which Dinosaurs have survived; and Stratosphere Jim and His Flying Fortress (1941), which is centred on the titular advanced Transportation. Lebeck also created and scripted the newspaper comic Twin Earths (1951-1954), a Counter-Earth story illustrated by Alden McWilliams (1916-1993).
For his Comics work, Lebeck entered the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2024. [DRL]
Oskar Lebeck
born Mannheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire: 30 August 1903
died La Jolla, California: 20 December 1966
works (selected)
- Clementina the Flying Pig (New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1939) [chap: illus/hb/Oskar Lebeck]
- The Hurricane Kids on the Lost Islands (New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1941) with Gaylord Du Bois [hb/]
- Stratosphere Jim and His Flying Fortress (New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1941) with Gaylord Du Bois [hb/Alden McWilliams]
links
previous versions of this entry