View source for Marc Swayze

{{Short description|American comic book artist}}
{{Infobox comics creator

| image         = 
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = Marcus Desha Swayze
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1913|7|17|mf=yes}}
| birth_place   = [[Monroe, Louisiana]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2012|10|14|1913|7|17|mf=yes}}
| death_place   = Monroe, Louisiana, U.S.
| nationality   = American
| writer        = y
| penciller     = y
| artist        = y
| inker         = y
| colorist      = y
| notable works = [[Captain Marvel (DC Comics)|Captain Marvel]]<br />[[Mary Marvel]]
| alma_mater    = [[Louisiana Tech University]]<br />[[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]
| spouse        = June Bloomer Swayze
| children      = 5
| religion      = [[United Methodist]]
}}

'''Marcus Desha Swayze''', known as '''Marc Swayze''' (July 17, 1913 – October 14, 2012), was an American [[comic book artist]] from 1941 to 1953 for [[Fawcett Comics]] of [[New York City]].<ref name="mns" />

He is best known for his work on [[Captain Marvel (DC Comics)|Captain Marvel]] and the [[Marvel Family]] during the [[Golden Age of comic books]] for Fawcett Comics. He was the co-creator of [[Mary Marvel]], along with writer [[Otto Binder]]. The first Mary Marvel character sketches came from Swayze's drawing table, and he illustrated her earliest adventures, including the classic origin story, "Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel" (''[[Captain Marvel Adventures]]'' #18, Dec. 1942).

==Biography==
Swayze was born to Louis Herbert and Mildred (née Turner) Swayze. He graduated from Neville High School in his native [[Monroe, Louisiana]]. He attended the Northeast Center of LSU (now [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]) before receiving his degree from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]]. He subsequently procured a [[Master of Fine Arts]] degree from Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM) where he also taught art.<ref name="obit">{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?n=marcus-desha-swayze&pid=160485727#fbLoggedOut|title=Marcus Desha Swayze|newspaper=Monroe News Star|access-date=October 17, 2012}}</ref>

Swayze was hired primarily by Fawcett to illustrate Captain Marvel stories and covers for ''[[Whiz Comics]]'' and ''[[Captain Marvel Adventures]]''. He wrote many Captain Marvel scripts and continued to do so while he served in the [[United States Army]], which he entered at [[Fort Oglethorpe (Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia)|Fort Oglethorpe]] in north [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] during [[World War II]]. He played guitar and performed twice with [[Bing Crosby]] entertaining troops.<ref name="mns" />

After leaving the military in 1944, he made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories on a freelance basis from his home in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], where he created both art and storylines for ''[[The Phantom Eagle]]'' ([[Wow Comics]]), as well as drawing the "[[Flyin' Jenny]]" newspaper strip for [[Bell Syndicate]] (created by [[Russell Keaton]]). After Wow Comics ceased publication, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett's top-selling line of romance comics, including ''[[Sweethearts (comics)|Sweethearts]]'' and ''[[Life Story (comics)|Life Story]]''. After the company ceased publishing comics, Swayze switched to [[Charlton Publications]], from which he ended his comics career in the middle 1950s. He was then hired by [[Olin Corporation|Olin Mathieson]] to establish the art department for the company's packaging division.<ref name="obit" />

In an interview in 2000 with the ''[[Monroe News Star]]'', Swayze describes his philosophy of developing comics as the utilization of "art in storytelling so that even a child who couldn't yet read could get a story out of it."<ref name="mns">{{cite news|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20121015/NEWS01/210150309/Monroe-s-Captain-Marvel-artist-Marcus-Swayze-dies|title="Captain Marvel" artist Marcus Swayze dies|newspaper=[[Monroe News Star]]|access-date=October 15, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130921075915/http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20121015/NEWS01/210150309/Monroe-s-Captain-Marvel-artist-Marcus-Swayze-dies|archive-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref> An oil painter and former semi-professional league baseball player, Swayze wrote a column containing his memoirs, carried in ''[[Alter Ego (magazine)|Alter Ego]]'' magazine, from 1996 until his death, under the title, ''We Didn't Know It Was the Golden Age!''<ref name="mns" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Swayze |first=Marc |date=January 2008 |title=We Didn't Know... It Was the Golden Age! |url=https://issuu.com/twomorrows/docs/alterego75preview |journal=[[Alter Ego (magazine)|Alter Ego]] |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]] |issue=75 |pages=67–68}}</ref>

==Family and death==
Swayze and his wife, the former June Bloomer, reared five children in Monroe. He was elected to the [[Ouachita Parish School Board]], and was vice commander of the [[American Legion]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hamerlinck |first=P.C. |date=August 2016 |title=Hometown Hero |url=https://issuu.com/presspad/docs/i18055 |journal=Alter Ego |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |issue=141 |pages=72–73}}</ref>

He died October 14, 2012, in Monroe at age 99. In addition to his wife of 66 years, he was survived by his three daughters, a son, and four grandchildren. The fifth child is not mentioned by name in the obituary, presumably having predeceased his or her parents. Services were held on October 17, 2012, at the First [[United Methodist]] Church of Monroe. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery in Monroe.<ref name="obit" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{gcdb|type=credit|search=Marc+Swayze|title=Marc Swayze}}
* {{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=933|title=Marc Swayze}}
{{Shazam}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swayze, Marc}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American painters]]
[[Category:20th-century Methodists]]
[[Category:21st-century American painters]]
[[Category:21st-century American male artists]]
[[Category:21st-century Methodists]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
[[Category:American male painters]]
[[Category:American pop guitarists]]
[[Category:American United Methodists]]
[[Category:Artists from Louisiana]]
[[Category:Louisiana Tech University alumni]]
[[Category:Painters from New York City]]
[[Category:People from Monroe, Louisiana]]
[[Category:School board members in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Semi-professional baseball players]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:University of Louisiana at Monroe alumni]]
[[Category:University of Louisiana at Monroe faculty]]
[[Category:Writers from Louisiana]]