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Off-White to White pages
classic Alex Schomburg WWII Nazi cover


The startling cover of Marvel Mystery Comics #47 is also unusually specific, featuring the Human Torch and Toro taking out the German dam in Ruhr Valley. According to CHROMA — the Art of Alex Schomburg, this issue's cover art inadvertently blew the whistle on a planned military operation, forcing a publication delay of Schomburg’s masterful work as the Allies made their actual Dambusters raids along the area. Schomburg's penchant for using real locations in his covers almost backfired this time.

It isn't just the setting that's realistic, though. The heroes are seen soaring amidst the hyper-detailed imagery that Alex Schomburg conjured up on a monthly basis for multiple titles. ("Despite the quantity of work we gave him," said Stan Lee, "despite the care and effort that went into every Schomburg cover, I cannot remember Alex ever being late with any illustration.") Over eight decades later, collectors of both vintage comics and wartime memorabilia are drawn to the legendary illustrator’s impassioned patriotism.
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Artist Information

Known for his dizzying, bustling war covers, bondage covers and airbrush Sci-Fi covers! Truly one of the most highly collected artists of the Golden Age. Alex Schomburg was born on May 10, 1905, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Schomburg freelanced primarily for Timely Comics, the 1940s forerunner of Marvel, displaying his talent for action tableaux in covers featuring Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, and other superheroes. He also provided covers for Pines Publications, for titles including Exciting Comics and America's Best Comics, featuring such superheroes as the Black Terror and the Fighting Yank, as well as for Harvey Comics. Stan Lee said the following about Schomburg "I've always felt that Alex Schomburg was to comic books what Norman Rockwell was to The Saturday Evening Post. He was totally unique, with an amazing distinctive style. You could never mistake a Schomburg cover for any other artist's. ... I remember hearing Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman tell me time and again how great a cover illustrator Alex was, and how he wished we had more like him. Despite the quantity of work we gave him, despite the care and effort that went into every Schomburg cover, I cannot remember Alex ever being late with any illustration."