Noel Sickles

Commercial illustrator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Scorchy Smith

What is Noel Sickles known for?

Noel Douglas Sickles, an American commercial illustrator and cartoonist, was born on January 24, 1910, in Chillicothe, Ohio. He was best known for creating the comic strip Scorchy Smith. Although largely self-taught, Sickles began his career as a political cartoonist for the Ohio State Journal in the late 1920s. Following his fellow cartoonist Milton Caniff's move to New York City in 1933, Sickles also relocated and they both worked as staff artists for the Associated Press.

When John Terry, the original creator of the action/adventure comic Scorchy Smith, fell ill with tuberculosis, Sickles was assigned to take over. Scorchy Smith, a pilot-for-hire modeled after Charles Lindbergh, became known for his thrilling global adventures. Sickles' unique and greatly admired artwork proved to be influential to other comic strip artists. His compositions were cinematically styled, and his technique of inking, referred to as chiaroscuro, was impressively executed.

In 1936, after being denied a salary raise from the Associated Press, Sickles quit his job to become a successful commercial illustrator. He also ghosted the daily strip The Adventures of Patsy, but the majority of his career was devoted to magazine illustration. His works were even featured in Life Magazine, illustrating original publications of The Old Man and the Sea and The Bridges at Toko-Ri.

Sickles received recognition for his talent, earning the National Cartoonists Society's Advertising and Illustration Award in 1960 and 1962. His Scorchy Smith strips were reprinted in various mediums over subsequent years - notably in two collections published by Nostalgia Press in the 1970s, and a complete run by IDW Publishing in 2008. In 1976, Sickles was honored with the Inkpot Award, and after his death, he was posthumously inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1983.

Noel Sickles, notable alumnus of Chillicothe High School in Ohio, passed away in Tucson, Arizona, on October 3, 1982.