Ralph Carlson

Ralph Carlson (March 9, 1907 – January 1986) was an American visual artist of pulp fiction publications. He also went by his nickname "Hamlet" because of his moody nature.

Ralph Carlson was born Ralph Ellef Carlson on March 9, 1907, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Gustave C. Carlson, a Swedish immigrant, and his wife Tonettie "Nettie" Bramby, of Norwegian ancestry. His parents met in Minneapolis and married in 1902. He had an older brother Clifton (born 1904) and a younger sister Doris (born 1910).

Carlson attended South High School of Minneapolis, graduating in June 1925. He then studied correspondence art courses at The Federal Schools of Minneapolis, receiving his diploma in 1928.

From 1930 to 1934, he also attended college courses at Minnesota State in Minneapolis, but he did not earn a degree.

After completing his art education at The Federal Schools, Carlson began working at Fawcett Publications in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, where he came in contact with fellow pulp artists Norman Saunders, Allen Anderson, and Carl Buettner.

Around that time, he joined the Communist Party like many other Americans who were concerned by the hardships of workers during the Great Depression, as well as the fascist tendencies of American industrialists.

In 1934, Carlson moved to New York City to work as a pen and ink artist of interior story illustrations for Harry Donenfeld's spicy pulps, such as Saucy Movie Tales and Spicy Detective. He also worked for Harry Steeger's Popular Publications, such as Terror Tales, Horror Stories, Operator #5, and Dr. Yen Sin. He also drew story illustrations for Street & Smith's Clues magazine.

From 1940 to 1942, Carlson drew for Camp Comics, Popular Comics, and Future Comics, for which he created an original adventure feature series, Rush Newton of the Newsreels.

On February 3, 1943, he was drafted and served in the Army during the Second World Wat. In 1944, he worked for YANK Magazine on the Paris edition.

After the war, he went back to work for Fawcett Publications, but instead of interior pen & ink illustrations, he drew some of their new comic books, including Rocky Lane Comics.

In 1953, he was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee to testify as a cartoonist about his connection with the Communist Party. He refused to cooperate and consequently was jailed and blacklisted, which ended his career in comic books and publishing in general.

In 1955, he returned to Minneapolis, where his earlier art instructor Walt Wilwerding hired him as an art instructor at the correspondence school he had attended from 1926 to 1928.

Carlson never married and had no children. In 1972, he moved to a retirement community in Phoenix, Arizona.

Carlson died in January 1986 in Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of 78.