Howard Nostrand
Encyclopedia
Howard Nostrand was an American cartoonist and illustrator best known for his 1950s comic book
stories and his 1959-60 syndicated
comic strip
Bat Masterson
, based on the television series.
. In 1932, his family moved to Hempstead
, New York
, where he graduated from high school in 1946. After working for his father's furniture construction and restoration business, painting gold leaf, scroll work and other embellishments, he attended the Art Career School. "It didn't teach very much of anything," Nostrand recalled in 1974, so "I left after one semester."
, who drew for Harvey Comics
and Fiction House
. Nostrand recalled working alongside his fellow assistants, background artist George Siefringer and "Martin Epp, who inked
, lettered
and helped George on backgrounds. I started out inking and then got into doing backgrounds... and then penciling." Nostrand worked for Powell on features that included "Red Hawk" in Magazine Enterprises
' Straight Arrow
and "Bobby Benson's B-Bar-B Riders", based on the children's television series, in the same publisher's comic book of that title. For Fawcett Comics
, he did work in Hot Rod
Comics, an adaptation of the 1951 John Huston
film The Red Badge of Courage
and "a couple of Westerns", including the movie spin-off feature "Lash LaRue". Writer and artist credits were not routinely given in comics during this time; historians cite as Nostand's first confirmed full inking work the seven-page Powell-penciled horror story "Servants of the Tomb" in Harvey's Witches Tales #6 (Nov. 1961).
Nostrand left Powell in March 1952 and found work with Harvey Comics editor Sid Jacobson
. "I think the first job I did for Harvey was a story called 'Man Germ', written by a fellow named Nat Barnett... about a trip through the interior of a person's body. Turns out this fellow as a germ, though, and the body expires. Cute." Nostrand also worked on Harvey's short-lived 3-D
comics, as well as on such horror titles as Black Cat, Chamber of Chills, Tomb of Terror and Witches Tales.
With the mid-1950s slump in comic books that followed the Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency
and the creation of the Comics Code. Nostrand turned to commercial art. In a 1974 autobiographical magazine article, he recalled:
He eventually found a staff position at the New York commercial art firm Penthouse Studios (no relation to Penthouse
magazine) at Eighth Avenue and West 58th Street.
comic strip
Bat Masterson
, based on the television series, on which he was assisted by artist Neal Adams
.
In 1975, he returned to comic books with stories for Seaboard (Targitt), and Marvel (Vampire Tales
), followed by more than a dozen contributions to Cracked. His last recorded comics work was the back-cover gag, "Great Moments in Technology: Marcus Bulovas Invents the Wristwatch", of Cracked #172 (October 1980).
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
stories and his 1959-60 syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Bat Masterson
Bat Masterson (TV series)
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961...
, based on the television series.
Early life
Howard Nostrand was born in Hoboken, New JerseyHoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
. In 1932, his family moved to Hempstead
Hempstead (village), New York
Hempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he graduated from high school in 1946. After working for his father's furniture construction and restoration business, painting gold leaf, scroll work and other embellishments, he attended the Art Career School. "It didn't teach very much of anything," Nostrand recalled in 1974, so "I left after one semester."
Comic books
In 1948, through one of his father's friends, Nostrand found work as an assistant to comic book artist Bob PowellBob Powell
Bob Powell né Stanislav Robert Pawlowski was an American comic book artist known for his work during the 1930-40s Golden Age of comic books, including on the features "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" and "Mr. Mystic". He received a belated credit in 1999 for co-writing the debut of the popular...
, who drew for Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
and Fiction House
Fiction House
Fiction House is an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. Its comics division was best known for its pinup-style good girl art, as epitomized by the company's most popular character, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.-History:-Jumbo and Jack...
. Nostrand recalled working alongside his fellow assistants, background artist George Siefringer and "Martin Epp, who inked
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
, lettered
Letterer
A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comic's "display lettering": the story title lettering and...
and helped George on backgrounds. I started out inking and then got into doing backgrounds... and then penciling." Nostrand worked for Powell on features that included "Red Hawk" in Magazine Enterprises
Magazine Enterprises
Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western, humor, crime, adventure, and children's comics, with virtually no superheroes...
' Straight Arrow
Howard Culver
Howard Culver was an American radio and television actor, best known as hotel clerk Howie Uzzell during the entire run of TV's Gunsmoke...
and "Bobby Benson's B-Bar-B Riders", based on the children's television series, in the same publisher's comic book of that title. For Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
, he did work in Hot Rod
Hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...
Comics, an adaptation of the 1951 John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
film The Red Badge of Courage
The Red Badge of Courage (film)
The Red Badge of Courage is a 1951 war film made by MGM. It was directed by John Huston and produced by Gottfried Reinhardt with Dore Schary as executive producer. The screenplay is by John Huston, adapted by Albert Band from the Stephen Crane novel of the same name. The cinematography is by...
and "a couple of Westerns", including the movie spin-off feature "Lash LaRue". Writer and artist credits were not routinely given in comics during this time; historians cite as Nostand's first confirmed full inking work the seven-page Powell-penciled horror story "Servants of the Tomb" in Harvey's Witches Tales #6 (Nov. 1961).
Nostrand left Powell in March 1952 and found work with Harvey Comics editor Sid Jacobson
Sid Jacobson
Sid Jacobson is an American writer, having worked in the fields of children's comic books, popular music, fiction, biography, and non-fiction comics. He was managing editor and editor in chief for Harvey Comics, where he created the comics Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, and Casper the Friendly Ghost...
. "I think the first job I did for Harvey was a story called 'Man Germ', written by a fellow named Nat Barnett... about a trip through the interior of a person's body. Turns out this fellow as a germ, though, and the body expires. Cute." Nostrand also worked on Harvey's short-lived 3-D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
comics, as well as on such horror titles as Black Cat, Chamber of Chills, Tomb of Terror and Witches Tales.
With the mid-1950s slump in comic books that followed the Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
and the creation of the Comics Code. Nostrand turned to commercial art. In a 1974 autobiographical magazine article, he recalled:
He eventually found a staff position at the New York commercial art firm Penthouse Studios (no relation to Penthouse
Penthouse (magazine)
Penthouse, a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictorials that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore. Penthouse is owned by FriendFinder Network. formerly known as General Media, Inc. whose parent company was Penthouse International...
magazine) at Eighth Avenue and West 58th Street.
Comic strip
With writer Ed Herron, he produced the 1959-60 syndicatedPrint syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Bat Masterson
Bat Masterson (TV series)
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961...
, based on the television series, on which he was assisted by artist Neal Adams
Neal Adams
Neal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who...
.
In 1975, he returned to comic books with stories for Seaboard (Targitt), and Marvel (Vampire Tales
Vampire Tales
Vampire Tales was a black-and-white horror-comics magazine series published by Curtis Magazines in the 1970s, featuring vampires as both protagonists and antagonists....
), followed by more than a dozen contributions to Cracked. His last recorded comics work was the back-cover gag, "Great Moments in Technology: Marcus Bulovas Invents the Wristwatch", of Cracked #172 (October 1980).
External links
- "Potrzebie" (blog of comics historian and book editor Bhob StewartBhob StewartBhob Stewart is an American writer, editor, artist and film maker who has written for a variety of publications over a span of five decades. His articles and reviews have appeared in TV Guide, Publishers Weekly and other publications, along with online contributions to Allmovie, the Collecting...
), "Four Color Fear", September 26, 2010 - The Best of the Harveyville Fun Times! by Mark Arnold