Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff (/ˈmoʊldɒf/;[1] April 14, 1920 – February 29, 2012)[2] was an American comics artist best known for his early work on the DC Comics characters Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and as one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists" (uncredited collaborators) on the superhero Batman.

Freeze, the second Clayface, and Bat-Mite, as well as the original heroes Bat-Girl, Batwoman, and Ace the Bat-Hound.

Born in Manhattan, New York City[3] but mostly raised in The Bronx, he was introduced to cartooning by future comics artist Bernard Baily, who lived in the same apartment house as Moldoff.

[7] Moldoff created the character Black Pirate (Jon Valor) in Action Comics #23 (April 1940),[7] and became one of the earliest artists for the character Hawkman (created by Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville,[7] though sometimes misattributed to Moldoff).

Beginning with Flash Comics #4 (April 1940), Moldoff became the regular Hawkman artist, following Neville's departure from the feature the issue before.

[7] He drew the Hawkman portions of the Justice Society of America stories published in All Star Comics as well.

I [had] saved [Raymond Flash Gordon] Sunday [comic strip] pages and the daily papers for years!

When he picked up the Sunday papers, he saw Flash Gordon, Prince Valiant, Terry and the Pirates.

[4]Drafted into World War II military service in 1944, Moldoff returned to civilian life in 1946, drawing for Standard, Fawcett, Marvel and Max Gaines' EC Comics.

[4] Moldoff then did approach Gaines with the package, signing a contract stipulating that he would be paid a royalty percentage if the books were successful.

[6]Moldoff and various writers created several new characters for the Batman franchise including the Batmen of All Nations,[12] Ace the Bat-Hound,[13] the original Batwoman,[14] the Calendar Man,[15] Mr.

[22] Moldoff was let go by DC in 1967, along with many other prominent writers and artists who had made demands for health and retirement benefits.

[7] He turned to animation, doing storyboards for such animated TV series as Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse, and wrote and drew promotional comic books given away to children at the Burger King, Big Boy, Red Lobster, and Captain D's[24] restaurant and fast-food chains, as well as through the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball team.

[25] When Moldoff illustrated a chapter of the Evan Dorkin project Superman and Batman: World's Funnest in 2000, it was his first work for DC Comics in over 30 years.