MUSKEGO, Wis., Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Martin Nodell, who created the popular superhero character Green Lantern, has died in a Wisconsin nursing home at 91.
The illustrator -- whose creation of the famed superhero in 1940 broke from the norm -- died Saturday after suffering through a brief illness, New York Newsday reported.
"Comics were a forbidden literature, culturally unacceptable," Nodell once said of the product he created under the name Mart Dellon. "It wasn't something you were proud of."
In addition to his comic creation, Nodell was also known as the creative force behind one of the most familiar advertising icons in history, the Pillsbury Doughboy.
Nodell created the image at the Leo Burnett agency in 1965. Its doughy form remains at the heart of the company's promotions.
Nodell is survived by two sons, Mitchell and Spencer; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, the newspaper said.
