Noel Sickles
Encyclopedia
Noel Douglas Sickles was an American
commercial illustrator and cartoonist
, best known for the comic strip
Scorchy Smith
.
Sickles was born in Chillicothe, Ohio
. Largely self-taught, his career began as a political cartoonist for the Ohio State Journal in the late 1920s. At that time he met and shared a studio with cartoonist Milton Caniff
, then working for the Columbus Dispatch. Sickles followed Caniff, creator of the Terry and the Pirates
comic strip, to New York City in 1933, where both men initially worked as staff artists for the Associated Press
.
. Loosely modeled on Charles Lindbergh
, Scorchy was a pilot-for-hire who flew into numerous high-octane globe-trotting adventures. The series, which started in 1930, was heavily influenced by Roy Crane
’s adventure strip, Wash Tubbs
. Sickles initially illustrated the strip as a ghost artist, but he signed his own name after Terry's 1934 death.
Sickles' artwork was much admired and proved highly influential to other comic strip artists. His compositions were cinematic in style, and he had a brisk, impressionistic style of inking that he referred to as “chiaroscuro
.” Sickles also was adept in his application of the shading medium Zipatone. Sickles and Caniff worked together for two years, sometimes writing and drawing each other's strips. Caniff acknowledged being heavily influenced by Sickles.
, but otherwise the rest of his career was devoted to magazine illustration. For Life
, he illustrated the original publications of The Old Man and the Sea
and The Bridges at Toko-Ri
.
's Advertising and Illustration Award for 1960 and 1962. His Scorchy Smith strips were reprinted in Famous Funnies and in two collections published by Nostalgia Press
in the 1970s. The end of his run was reprinted in Big Fun Comics (published by American Comic Archive) which also published Bert Christman's run on the strip. In 2008 IDW Publishing
published Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles, which reprints the complete 1933-36 run of Scorchy Smith by Sickles. ISBN 1600102069
Sickles died in Tucson, Arizona
October 3, 1982. Sickles was interred in Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
commercial illustrator and cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, best known for the 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....
Scorchy Smith
Scorchy Smith
Scorchy Smith was an American adventure comic strip created by artist John Terry that ran from 1930 to 1961.Scorchy Smith was a pilot-for-hire whose initial adventures took him across America, fighting criminals and aiding damsels in distress...
.
Sickles was born in Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
. Largely self-taught, his career began as a political cartoonist for the Ohio State Journal in the late 1920s. At that time he met and shared a studio with cartoonist Milton Caniff
Milton Caniff
Milton Arthur Paul Caniff was an American cartoonist famous for the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips.-Biography:...
, then working for the Columbus Dispatch. Sickles followed Caniff, creator of the Terry and the Pirates
Terry and the Pirates
Terry and the Pirates is the title of:* Terry and the Pirates , the comic strip created by Milton Caniff* Terry and the Pirates , a radio serial based on the comic strip...
comic strip, to New York City in 1933, where both men initially worked as staff artists for the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
.
Scorchy Smith
Sickles was assigned to the action/adventure comic Scorchy Smith, whose creator, John Terry, was suffering from tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Loosely modeled on Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, Scorchy was a pilot-for-hire who flew into numerous high-octane globe-trotting adventures. The series, which started in 1930, was heavily influenced by Roy Crane
Roy Crane
Royston Campbell Crane , who signed his work Roy Crane, was an influential American cartoonist who created the comic strip characters Wash Tubbs, Captain Easy and Buz Sawyer. He pioneered the adventure comic strip, establishing the conventions and artistic approach of that genre. Comics historian...
’s adventure strip, Wash Tubbs
Wash Tubbs
Wash Tubbs was a comic strip created by Roy Crane that ran from April 14, 1924 to January 10, 1988.Initially titled Washington Tubbs II, it originally was a gag-a-day strip which focused on the mundane misadventures of the title character, a bespectacled bumbler who ran a store. However, Crane soon...
. Sickles initially illustrated the strip as a ghost artist, but he signed his own name after Terry's 1934 death.
Sickles' artwork was much admired and proved highly influential to other comic strip artists. His compositions were cinematic in style, and he had a brisk, impressionistic style of inking that he referred to as “chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
.” Sickles also was adept in his application of the shading medium Zipatone. Sickles and Caniff worked together for two years, sometimes writing and drawing each other's strips. Caniff acknowledged being heavily influenced by Sickles.
Magazine illustration
Sickles asked the newspaper syndicate for a salary raise in 1936, and when he was turned down, he quit, becoming a successful commercial illustrator. He also ghosted the daily strip The Adventures of PatsyThe Adventures of Patsy
The Adventures of Patsy is a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1935 to 1954. Created by Mel Graff, it was syndicated by AP Newsfeatures....
, but otherwise the rest of his career was devoted to magazine illustration. For Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, he illustrated the original publications of The Old Man and the Sea
The Old Man and the Sea
The Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction to be produced by Hemingway and published in his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it centers upon Santiago, an aging fisherman who...
and The Bridges at Toko-Ri
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (novel)
The Bridges at Toko-Ri is a novella by American author James A. Michener. The book details the experiences of American fighter pilots in the Korean War as they undertake a mission to destroy heavily protected supply bridges in enemy territory...
.
Awards and reprints
He received the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
's Advertising and Illustration Award for 1960 and 1962. His Scorchy Smith strips were reprinted in Famous Funnies and in two collections published by Nostalgia Press
Woody Gelman
Woodrow Gelman , better known as Woody Gelman, was a publisher, a cartoonist, a novelist and an artist-writer for animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcovers and trade paperbacks...
in the 1970s. The end of his run was reprinted in Big Fun Comics (published by American Comic Archive) which also published Bert Christman's run on the strip. In 2008 IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
published Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles, which reprints the complete 1933-36 run of Scorchy Smith by Sickles. ISBN 1600102069
Sickles died in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
October 3, 1982. Sickles was interred in Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio
Ross County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,345 people, 27,136 households, and 19,185 families residing in the county. The population density was 106 people per square mile . There were 29,461 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...
.