Ann Brewster
Ann Brewster | |
---|---|
Born | Shirley Sonya Zweifach November 20, 1918 New York, U.S. |
Died | July 9, 2005 New York City | (aged 86)
Nationality | American |
Area(s) | Cartoonist, Penciller, Inker |
Notable works | Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Romance comics |
Ann Brewster (November 20, 1918 – July 9, 2005) was an American cartoonist and illustrator during the
Personal life
Ann Brewster was born Shirley Sonya Zweifach to Abraham Marks Zweifach and Anna Silverman on November 20, 1918. She spent part of her life in the
Family influence
Brewster's father, Abraham, owned a women's coats manufacturing factory. Brewster's brother, Ira Stanley Zweifach, collected rare books. He was also interested in the publishing industry. Ira went on to become a magazine photographer, followed by a career in publishing.[1]
Career
Ann Brewster spent forty years as an artist for comic books, magazines, and novels.[1][2]
Comics
Throughout her career as a cartoonist, Brewster worked on many different comics for a variety of publishing houses. Her career began in Jack Binder's "Binder Comic Shop" in 1941.[1] The Binder Comic Shop was responsible for supplying artwork to comic book publishers. It was while working at Binder Comic Shop where Brewster received her first credit as an artist in Samar for Quality Comics in 1941.[2] In March 1942, Brewster created her first comic art for Fiction House's Sheena comics. She was the artist for 15 Sheena comics between 1942 and 1946.[3]
In 1944, Brewster joined
Brewster moved on to Ace Magazines in 1948.[1] This comic book publisher's longest running series are made up of the romance comics created under their imprint Ace Periodicals.[6] Among these lasting titles, Ann Brewster created art for Glamorous Romances, Love at First Sight, Love Experiences, and Real Love. In her seven years at Ace (1948-1955), Brewster was the artist behind 59 issues of Ace's romance comics.[3]
In 1955, she was featured as the artist for several Young Romance comics.[3] Young Romance, originally created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon in 1947, is credited as the first romance comic.[7] Brewster's art was used to create a number of covers for Kirby and Simon through the Prize Group, an imprint of Feature Publications, including Young Romance #77 and #79.[3][8]
The 1950s was also spent creating comics for Timely/Atlas Comics romances. Between September 1949 and July 1958, Brewster was the artist for 74 issues of Atlas, now Marvel, Comics. Some of these titles include Love Tales and My Own Romance. In addition to romance, Brewster dabbled in Atlas' other genres, including sci-fi/horror comic Journey into Mystery and crime drama All-True Crime Cases.[3] Journey into Mystery would become an important comic to Atlas, as it later introduced the Norse mythological god turned superhero, Thor.[9] Brewster's comic art for "Foster's Fate!", part of Journey into Mystery issue #25, was reprinted in 2010 for Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery #3, both the Regular and Limited Variant Edition.[3]
Brewster's final collection of comic publications was for Gilberton's The World Around Us series in 1961.[1][2][3]
Other publications
The last two decades of Brewster's career featured her as an illustrator for various novels and magazines. Bible Stories to Read Aloud (1962), curated by Oscar Weigle, was Brewster's first children's novel illustration.
Brewster retired from artistry in 1980.[1][2]
Critical reception
World War II called for women to enter the job force and resulted in an increase of women in the comic book industry. The art of romance comics was often stylish and elegant. Women artists drew graceful, dramatic portrayals and close-ups of a woman's face. Among these artists was Ann Brewster.[11]
Ann Brewster contributed to 36 comics for Fiction House,[3] most while an artist for Jerry Iger's studio.[2] Fiction House was more inclined to publishing comics about heroic women[12] who are both strong in character and depicted in the popular "good girl" art style.[4] The Iger Studio became synonymous with this "Good Girl Art", and Brewster's work depicted that of the sexy heroine.[13] Brewster's work for Fiction House includes art for: Jane Martin, The Hawk, Rip Carson, Sheena, and ZX-5 Spies in Action.[3]
In his novel commenting on the Classics Illustrated series, William B. Jones Jr. regarded Brewster's work in various Gilberton comics as clean yet detailed.[13]
The 1973 New York Times article "Wolves Named Silver" comments on Brewster's work in Paige Dixon's Silver Wolf. The article discusses the wolf's rise in popularity and pop culture, including reviews of three novels published for young readers. Writer Jean Craighead George describes Silver Wolf as a dramatic rise-to-power adventure story featuring the clean-lined illustrations of Ann Brewster.[14]
In his 1974 issue of Who's Who of American Comics, historian Hames Ware recorded artist Lou Cameron's account of Ann Brewster and her work. Cameron said that Brewster was hard working, dedicated, and faithful to her art. He described her style as being similar to "Hollywood actress Ann Miller ... if she had shopped at Klein's and if she wore her hair like ten years out of style". Cameron continues on to mention that Brewster was considered an excellent children's novel illustrator.[1][15] The Who's Who of American Comics was a four part publication created in collaboration with Jerry Bails. Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library now houses the notes curated by Ware in his efforts to record the biographies of various artists.[16]
Notable works
Frankenstein (1945)
Gilberton reprinted Frankenstein for Classics Illustrated nineteen times between 1945 and 1971.[13] The cover was redesigned and repainted by artist Norman Saunders in 1957. The interior remained unchanged.[1] The comic was originally printed under Classic Comics, but the title changed to Classics Illustrated in March 1947.[13] Comic book writer Donald F. Glut identified Brewster's and Webb's adaptation of Frankenstein's monster as having dark gray coloring and bare feet to differentiate from Boris Karloff's version of the monster. Glut also notes that Brewster and Webb dressed the characters in clothing more closely related to the Regency style of the early 19th century, as opposed to remaining true to the original novel's 18th century style. This Classics Illustrated edition was more risqué, featuring sex and violence that was usually required to be rewritten or redrawn by censorship laws of the time. Brewster and Webb remained true to the "Good Girl" style of artists in Jerry Iger's employment.[13] The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has a copy of Classic Comics No. 26: Frankenstein, though it is not currently on display.[17]
Fiction House Comics
Trina Robbins, feminist comic historian and artist, applauds Fiction House for featuring a variety of female characters in numerous professions, from Jane Martin as war nurse turned aviatrix to sexy jungle queen Sheena. The women are always in charge and unafraid of conflict, never in need of a rescuer.[18]
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle quickly became Fiction House's lead heroine[4] and is credited as the first female super-heroine with her own titular comic.[19] Though considered an important milestone for women in comics, Sheena's character is also largely problematic for her depictions of nonwhite characters. More recent versions of the character aim to rectify the character's past by avoiding the "jungle girl" stereotypes and focusing on environmental issues.[4] Brewster was a featured artist in 15 issues of Sheena, the most she contributed for any one comic book title.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Saunders, David. "Ann Brewster". www.pulpartists.com. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Ann Brewster". lambiek.net. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "GCD :: Story :: Ann Brewster". www.comics.org. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
- ^ )
- OCLC 28183236.
- ^ "GCD :: Publisher :: Ace Magazines". www.comics.org. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
- OCLC 53097225.
- ^ "Ann Brewster, Not One of the Guys". Simon and Kirby. 2006-08-02. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
- )
- OCLC 642693042.
- OCLC 47018429.
- .
- ^ OCLC 712591150.
- ^ George, Jean Craighead (July 29, 1973). "Wolves Named Silver". The New York Times. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^ Ware, Hames; Bails, Jerry (1974). The Who's Who of American Comic Books, Volume II. Jerry Bails.
- ^ "Remembering Hames Ware". Arkansas Online. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
- ^ "Classic Comics No. 26: Frankenstein". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2018-12-02.
- )
- ^ Markstein, Donald D. "Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Sheena, Queen of the Jungle". www.toonopedia.com. Retrieved 2018-12-02.