Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles

I've spent three posts taking a close look at the comic strip art of Noel Sickles. But the three years he spent drawing "Scorchy Smith" only represents a small part of his career.

Sickles was first and foremost an illustrator, and he could readily adapt his style to the assignment at hand -- yet approach the subject in an original manner that raised the artwork beyond the conventional.

The best source for finding out more -- and appreciating the work of -- this extraordinary artist, is the Fantagraphics book "Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles," by Bruce Canwell and Dean Mullaney. In addition to containing Sickles' complete run of "Scorchy Smith," the book also has excellent examples of his later work.

One such is his work for the United States Postal Service. In 1962, Sickles did the art for the Battle of Shiloh commemorative stamp. Notice the economy of line (click on the image to enlarge). It's really a simple stamp -- just one soldier in combat. We can't see his face, and it's not clear which side he's on. This one soldier represents the over 109,000 men who were involved in the struggle.

Sickles wanted to emulate combat sketches of the period. While he captures the essence of a hastily drawn image by an eyewitness, it still has a contemporary look. The stamp successfully combines the styles of two centuries -- appropriate for such a commemorative.

Scorchy Smith wasn't a fluke -- almost everything Sickles drew professionally worked on multiple levels. If you're interested in illustrative art at all, "Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles" is a worthy investment. - Ralph

Noel Sickles and the Art of Sequential Art - Epilogue

Back in September I did a series of posts on the art of Noel Sickles. I did have one final post on the subject, though. In light of the new trend of newspapers dropping comics altogether, it might be worth while to look at what's been lost.

Current newspaper comics are much smaller than they were in the 1930's and 1940's. And smaller space means smaller panels, which means less detail in the drawings. it also means fewer panels, which decreases the pacing of the story. It also limits the area for word balloons, which means shorter, simpler dialog.

In other words, Noel Sickles' artwork would be impossible to print in a modern newspaper's comics section.

Take a close look at the panel below. It sets the scene for the action sequence to follow. Notice how Sickles lays everything out. There's the train, waiting on the siding, puffing smoke and ready to roll. You can see the trainmen in conversation next to the telegraph pole, and down near the corner, Scorchy and Spike furtively moving towards them. The scene is gray, as it takes place at night, but judicious placement of black shadows through everything in relief, and give you a sense of depth.

If you had to fit it into a standard panel size today, it would look like mud.

(click on image to enlarge)

In the story, Scorchy and his pals are embroiled in a Central American civil war. They've hijacked a train to escape rebel bombers, and are currently holed up in a tunnel. Notice in the two sequences below, how Sickles tells his story.

There's his signature use of dramatic lighting, especially on the faces. But look carefully at the three panels with long shots. They're all consistent. The telegraph station, although shown from three different angles, is clearly the same structure. The switch is in the same relative position, and there are two telegraph poles (no more, no less) between it and the building.

Many artists wouldn't sweat such details. After all, this was meant to be read once and forgotten. Getting the details approximately right would serve -- but not for Sickles. And that careful attention makes the sequence more believable, and more engaging.

Finally, look at the smoke coming out of the locomotive in the last panel. It puffs out in a realistic fashion consistent with the movement of the engine. Motion in a static panel.

(click on image to enlarge)

To many, comics are superfluous -- which is why they continue to be treated so shabbily by newspaper editors.

And that's too bad. Noel Sickles and the golden age of adventure comics might be a thing of the past. But there are plenty of talented artists and writers who can tell engaging stories through comics given a chance. I wish they had it.

- Ralph

Noel Sickles and Art of Sequential Art, Part 2

In part one we looked at one aspect of the remarkable work Noel Sickles in an essentially disposable medium. As I said then, this series isn't necessarily for the hardcore comics fan, but rather for anyone interested in creative work that's better than it has to be.

Noel Sickles had a long and distinguished career as a commercial artist. He only spent three of them as a comic strip artist - but his work on "Scorchy Smith" set the standard for many artists since.

One of the reasons has to do with his mastery of light and shadow, such as the panel at left. The scene takes place in the early afternoon somewhere in the southwest.

How bright is the sun? Bright enough to wash out some details. Sickles doesn't draw in the door panel, nor does he completely line out the undercarriage seam. And that sun's bright enough to cast some long, deep shadows! Note the shadow of the rear view mirror. Sickles also uses negative space effectively to depict the mirror by only showing its shadow. The line from the top of car door is interrupted by the mirror, but the object itself isn't outlined.

And speaking of negative space, look closely at the radiator. A single black blot would work, but Sickles uses it to also show the composition of the radiator. The irregular edging suggests grille composed of vertical rods (and of course the black shadows stop to outline the shape of the car horns).

The front bumper is also primarily depicted by negative space created by the shadows around it. And same with the wheels -- instead of an oval outline, they're shown where their white spaces intersect the black underside of fenders, and the shadow cast by the car itself.

Below is the original sequence the panel comes from (click on image to enlarge).


It's pretty dialogue-heavy, which tends to crowd the art a little. Even so, Sickles manages to keep things moving. In the top sequence, he places the caption at the bottom of the panel to break up the eye motion (otherwise the reader could hjust skim across the top of the comic and never really see the art). What prevents skimming on the bottom sequence? The placement of the word balloons. In the second panel Ann's response is underneath Scorchy's balloon, so the eye enters the next panel about three-quarters of the way up, leading straight to Scorchy's balloon -- but not before being lead past the courthouse and the car, setting the scene.

While there's a lot of virtuoso artistry going on here, you can also see where Sickles took a little time-saving shortcut. Four of the panels has Ann looking over her shoulder with the same light source -- Sickles essentially draws the same image four times.

But considering the pressures of producing a comic strip six days a week, 52 weeks a year, it's a small concession. And really -- considering the quality of the artwork, how many readers would actually notice?

- Ralph

Noel Sickles and Art of Sequential Art, Part 1

This series of posts is about finding beauty in ephemera. And few things are as ephemeral as a daily comic strip. It's something that takes but a moment to read. There's enjoyment, but it's fleeting -- usually forgotten by the time the reader's moved on to the next item.

Which is why I admire the artists and writers who do more than they have to. Mediocre art abounds in comic strips. And why not? What's the reward?

With Noel Sickles (1910-1982), it was the sheer joy of drawing, and pushing himself to become a better artist.

Sickles was a remarkable illustrator who did ground-breaking work in a number of media. But he's best remembered for his three-year stint (1933-1936) on "Scorchy Smith," a now-forgotten adventure strip. Forgotten, that is, save for Sickles' contributions.

His sequences were reprinted in the 1940's and greatly influenced the following two generations of comic strip and comic book artists. Here's part of the reason why.

Sickles was a master of negative space. That is, letting the shadows define the object, rather than lining out the surfaces. In the panel above, it's obvious that the scene takes place at night (click on the image to enlarge).

Notice that the figures are mostly blobs of black. This serves to show how bright the searchlight is, and also how dark the night is. And look carefully at the shading -- each one of those lines is hand-drawn. They cast a gray pall over the panel without obscuring the details of the figures.

And, of course, the absence of those lines make the searchlight's beam white-hot. And even the beam is a product of negative space. Most of us would draw two lines out from the searchlight to represent the beam. Sickles doesn't -- he simply stops the gray lines representing night and lets their collective endpoints define the beam's edges.

I also don't think it's an accident that those gray lines are slanted, either. The beam pulls the eye upward to the right, and the lines contribute to that motion. They're slanted just enough to hit the beam at angle, which helps provide contrast at their meeting point.

Now all of this is very fine, but consider this: Sickles didn't agonize for weeks over this drawing the way a fine artist might. It was one of four panels he drew for that day's sequence. And he was required to produce six such sequences a week, 52 weeks a year.

Below are two daily strips that put our panel in context. Don't be put off by the moire pattern -- if you click on the image you'll see the strip at proper size and the shading will display correctly.

In the two panels, notice the heavy reliance on negative space. The final image shows a rescue ship pulling close to island, with an amazing economy of line. The ship itself is mainly a black blog with small white circle suggesting a life preserver and an other white space suggesting the outline of the hull. A few small black blots behind it indicate the boat's wake as it moves. A large black blob to the right represents the island, with some white highlights that show depth.

Sickles was better than he had to be -- which is why his comic art has become the subject of serious study for working professionals. And why his run of "Scorchy Smith" is still a joy to read today.

So here's the question: think about the comic strips (either in dead-tree or online editions) you read. What function does the art serve to tell the story or deliver the gag? And are the artists you admire really working at the top of their game, or just marking time?

- Ralph

Noel Sickles and the Art of Sequential Art, Part 3

It doesn't matter if you're a student of sequential art or not -- just take a moment and let your eyes revel in the masterful images below. And as you do, remember this. Noel Sickles churned out such images every day, six days a week for three years.

Part one I talked about Sickle's depiction of night. In part two, I looked at his mastery of negative space. This time, it's all about location.

One of the problems with modern comic strips is their small panels. Most strips have little more than talking heads with the merest hint of scenery. But even in the 1930's when comic strips had more real estate, not everyone took advantage of it.

In the panel below (click to enlarge), Scorchy Smith visits Colonel Patterson, who wants to use the aviator to crop dust his Louisiana plantation. In this one image, Sickles conveys everything we need to know -- including a strong sense of place.

The plantation house in the background has the columned porch typical of Southern architecture (at least in popular imagination). It's also large, an appropriate home for a rich and successful planter.

And check out that stand of pine trees. Very typical for the area, which also adds to the sense of place. The trees also help establish depth to the scene. And their shadows show the time to be late afternoon.

The figures are on the extreme left, and Patterson's word balloon pulls the eye forward, first to the house, and then on across the scene on its way to the next panel. That long journey also gives the impression of spaciousness -- this is a big plantation.

Below is the sequence the panel comes from (click on image to enlarge).

Patterson's daughter gazes wistfully in the first panel of the bottom sequence. And if you look carefully, you'll see her in the second as well. She's not that hard to find, as her silhouette is just below Patterson's last word.

The final panel has a lot of exposition, so Sickles just draws the figures. But that's OK -- with the richness of the panel before it, that white space makes a nice balance.

Take another look at that image at the top, and think about drawing in all those trees and shadows. Who would go to that much work for something that was only read once and forgotten? Only a master craftsman such as Noel Sickles.

And I'm glad he did.

- Ralph

Scorchy Smith and the Limits of Search

The Internet's a great resource for information -- but it's not the only resource. Sometimes we forget that unless something's been digitized it isn't on the web.

And while there's a lot of highly specialized websites, blogs and forums that provide a wealth of information on some pretty obscure and/or tightly focused topics, there's still a lot missing.

Case in point: I just finished a four-part series on a very obscure comic strip, "Scorchy Smith" and Noel Sickles, one of the artists who worked on it.

Although Sickles only drew the strip from 1933-1936, his work continues to be a major influence in the field of comics to this day. Because Sickles is an important figure (even in a highly specialised field), a fair amount of information was available online.

I decided to continue with a series on the artists who followed Sickles and look at how each one's vision changed the strip. That's when I ran into trouble.

A 1950s sequence by Rodlow Willard, man of mystery
(as far as online references go).

Bert Christman took over in 1936. He joined the Flying Tigers and was killed in action. There's a little information available, but not a lot about his art work.

Frank Robbins, who also drew Scorchy Smith in the 1940's, was an important artist to both the newspaper comic strip and comic book genres with a long, successful career. It's easy to find information about Robbins, although very little about his work on Scorchy Smith.

As for the other artists who worked on the strip, some have only one or two citations -- others are just cyphers (at least online).

Robert Farrell, Ed Good, Rodlow Willard, Milt Morris. Occasionaly mentioned, seldom linked to.

That's not to say there's no information about these artists somewhere in the world. Old comic strip collections, newspaper archives, AP business records -- just nothing online.

So I've hit the edge of the Internet. And it's an important lesson to remember.

Yes, you can call up all kinds of information online. But you can only dig so deep. And sometime you can't dig at all.

- Ralph