NCS Luminaries: George Evans

Continuing, with the generous assistance of Dave Karlen, this week's look at some of the luminaries of the National Cartoonists Society. Today we 'reprint' Dave's post on NCS member, George Evans. Here's his bio from Dave's blog:

"By the wee hours of the 5th of February 1920 a blizzard had buried tiny Harwood Mines, Pennsylvania up to the clothesline. It stopped the doctor, but with an assist from a midwife, I got through. Harwood's only "literature" was the newspaper, and by the age of four, driven to know what those wonderful cartoon character's were up to, I learned to read -- and have been hooked on comics ever since."


"A depression kid, I worked any/every kind of job I could find to buy an art correspond ence school course. I began (modestly!) sending stuff to the "pulp" mags, and my first sale was at age fourteen. After three WWII years in the Air Force, I got staff job at "Fiction House" in New York. Took courses at Art Student's League but stupidly quit for work offers. I did nearly every kind of illustration work, and much comics. Ghosted bits for many "name" strips, including the "Terry and the Pirates" dailies for George Wunder that lasted thirteen years. Past fourteen years writing/drawing "Secret Ag ent Corrigan" for King Features Syndicate, plus commissioned paintings (especially aviation)."


* Thanks to Dave Karlen for providing the scans and text above!

I wanted to just add that some of my favourite George Evans artwork is from the mid-50's EC 'Picto-Fiction' magazines like Shock Illustrated and Crime Illustrated. Here are a few examples from the Gemstone Publishing hardcover collections of the EC Comics Library.





* For those interested in learning more about the tremendously talented George Evans, I encourage you take a look at Jim Keefe's excellent George Evans website. There you'll find a much longer biography of the artist as well as an extremely interesting interview with Evans conducted by Keefe. I'll mention one quote: Keefe asked Evans which illustrators he admired, and Evans replied, "Andrew Loomis, von Schmidt and Edwin Georgi."

*ALSO* Be sure to check out this week's CAWS, just posted over on Charlie Allen's Blog!