Russell Heath Jr., was an American artist best known for his comic book work, particularly his DC Comics war stories and his 1960s art for Playboy magazine's "Little Annie Fanny" feature. He also produced commercial art, two pieces of which, depicting Roman and Revolutionary War battle scenes for toy soldier sets, became familiar pieces of Americana after gracing the back covers of countless comic books from the early 1960s to early 1970s.
Heath at the November 2008 Big Apple Comic Con
One version of Heath's "Roman Soldiers" ad that appeared for years on the backs of 1960s and 1970s comic books
Little Annie Fanny is a comics series by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder. It appeared in 107 two- to seven-page episodes in Playboy magazine from October 1962 to September 1988. Little Annie Fanny is a humorous satire of contemporary American society and its sexual mores. Annie Fanny, the title character, is a statuesque, buxom young blonde woman who innocently finds herself nude in every episode. The series is notable for its painted, luminous color artwork and for being the first full-scale, multi-page comics feature in a major American publication.
Little Annie Fanny Volume 1, Dark Horse Comics, 2000
Hugh Hefner in 1966
According to Denis Kitchen, "Most Kurtzman devotees would not consider Little Annie Fanny genius work".
