Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Mac Raboy

Emanuel “Mac” Raboy was born on April 9, 1914, in Manhattan, New York City, according to his World War II draft card. 

The 1915 New York state census said “Max Raboy” was the only child of Isidor and Sarah. They were Manhattan residents at 319 East 13th Street. His father was a hat-maker.

In the 1920 census, “Maxie Raboy” and his parents lived in the Bronx at 618 Prospect Avenue. 

According to the 1925 New York state census, “Emanuel Raboy” and his parents remained in the Bronx at a new address, 1823 Michigan Avenue. 

The Raboy family resided in the Bronx at 3451 Giles Place as recorded in the 1930 census. 

Raboy graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1931. (Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 said Raboy attended New York City’s School of Industrial Art, a high school started in 1936.) Raboy had a work in the 1932 Scholastic National High School Art Exhibition. The New York Times, December 24, 1967, said Raboy studied at Pratt Institute and Cooper Union. 

The 1940 census, enumerated on April 12, said Raboy and his wife, Lulu (Morris), lived in the Bronx at 3605 Sedgwick Avenue. He was a commercial artist and she a theatrical dancer. According to the New York, New York Marriage License Index, at Ancestry.com, the couple obtained a Bronx marriage license on July 24, 1940. 

On October 16, 1940, Raboy signed his World War II draft card. His address was 2857 Sedgwick Avenue, in the Bronx. Later it was updated to 1848 Guerlain Street in the Bronx. He worked for Harry A Chessler. Raboy’s description was five feet nine inches, 160 pounds, with brown eyes and hair. 

Raboy contributed to Look magazine issues October 19, 1943; November 2, 1943; and April 18, 1944. He illustrated a series of Philadelphia Inquirer advertisements, some of which appeared in Fortune, May 1946 and Advertising Age, October 21, 1946. 

Most of Raboy’s comic book work was produced for Fawcett from 1940 to 1948. The Grand Comics Database has a checklist. He left Fawcett for a syndicate opportunity. A King Features advertisement spread in Editor and Publisher, April 24, 1948, said 

A New and Better “Flash Gordon” Will Be Released in the Near Future

Since 1933, Flash Gordon has set the pace for adventure pages. It has always boasted the most vivid drawing, the most imaginative setting, the most pulsating, futuristic continuity. Now, under the facile pen of Mac Raboy, Flash Gordon will soar through boundless solar space on new adventure that promises to grip every reader’s imagination.

According to American Newspaper Comics (2012), Raboy’s Flash Gordon Sunday page ran from August 1, 1948 to December 17, 1967. He was one of several people to work on the strip. 

The 1950 census said Raboy, his wife, son, David, and daughter Miriam, lived in Lewisboro, New York at 375 Goldens Bridge Colony. Raboy was a self-employed commercial artist. 

Raboy passed away on December 22, 1967, in Mount Kisco, New York. 

Further Reading and Viewing

Comics, Between the Panels (1998)

Scoop: Mac Raboy: The Greatest (Comic Book) Art Ever Created

The Steranko History of Comics 2 (1970) 

Biographical Sketches of Cartoonists & Illustrators in the Swann Collection of the Library of Congress (2012)

13th Dimension: Mac Raboy: Master of the Comics

The Federal Art Project: American Prints from the 1930s in the Collection of the University of Michigan Museum of Art (1985)

Art Institute of Chicago: Barricade; Old Man; Tilling the Soil

Queens Public Library: Pitching Hay

Syracuse University Art Museum: Gathering and cutting chestnuts; Interior; neighbors in conversation; Migratory Workers