Charles Nicholas

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(Redirected from
Chuck Cuidera
)
For the former football player, see Charlie Nicholas.

"Charles Nicholas" is the pseudonymous house name of three early creators of American

Golden Age of comic books
. The three creators are listed in order of birth year, below.

Origin of name

Golden Age of comic books
, and himself a comics creator, recalled in 1999 that at his company,

We had a whole bunch of phony names like Chuck's. We just handed them out with the salary. There was a period in comics beginning with the middle- to late-'30s when none of the artists owned their own drawings. They were hired by the publishers ... [who] used what the

pulp magazines used – a thing called a house name. A fake name. So the publishers not only owned the comic strip, they owned the name [of the creator], therefore the guy working for them couldn't lay a claim. That's how the name 'Charles Nicholas' started.[1]

Chuck Cuidera

Chuck Cuidera
BornCharles Nicholas Cuidera
(1915-09-23)September 23, 1915
DiedAugust 25, 2001(2001-08-25) (aged 85)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Artist
Notable works
Blackhawk

Charles Nicholas Cuidera,

Charles Wojtkowski, who also used the Charles Nicholas pseudonym.[4]

Cuidera grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and after earning art scholarships graduated from Pratt Institute in 1939. Breaking into comic books at Fox Feature Syndicate, where he drew Blue Beetle stories, he shortly afterward migrated to the Eisner & Iger shop.

There he drew the first 11 stories of Blackhawk, the creation of which is also vaguely recorded from the early days of comics, when proper writer-artist credits were not a standard feature. Though reference sources list Eisner as scripter of the first four Blackhawk stories and Dick French beginning with issue #5, Cuidera said he created the character, and that

Bob Powell scripted the debut story before turning the feature over to him: "I never drew a script by French. Powell wrote the first one and I wrote the rest until I went into the service".[2] Eisner, who has also said he was involved in Blackhawk's initial writing, hedged the issue, saying, "Whether or not Chuck Cuidera created or thought of Blackhawk to begin with is unimportant [and] the fact that Chuck Cuidera made Blackhawk what it was is the important thing, and therefore, he should get the credit".[2]
As the debut artist who designed the characters, Cuidera is confirmably at least the co-creator.

During Cuidera's absence,

penciler by then, Dick Dillin, and inker Cuidera continued to work on the character for the new owner. Cuidera became the regular inker on a number of DC features and series, including Hawkman and The Brave and the Bold
, before leaving comics in 1970.

Cuidera, an avid

Comic-Con International.[5]

Jack Kirby

Main article: Jack Kirby

Future industry legend Jack Kirby (1917–1994) used the name Charles Nicholas during his fledgling days, in 1940, adopting that house pseudonym during his three-month run as artist of the Fox Feature Syndicate comic strip version of the Blue Beetle.

Charles Wojtkoski

Charles Wojtkoski
BornCharles Nicholas Wojtkoski
(1921-12-06)December 6, 1921
DiedJune 21, 1985(1985-06-21) (aged 63)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, Artist
Pseudonym(s)Charles Nicholas
Notable works
Blue Beetle

Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski (December 6, 1921 – June 21, 1985) was an American comic book writer-artist best known as the credited creator of the

Fox Comics character Blue Beetle
, which in various incarnations has continued through three comics companies and into the 21st century.

The Blue Beetle

first appeared in Fox Comics' superhero anthology series Mystery Men Comics #1 (Aug. 1939), with art by Wojtkoski (as Charles Nicholas), though the Grand Comics Database tentatively credits Will Eisner as the scripter.[6]
His family has said Wojtkowski "decided in the late 1930s to sell the rights to the character to raise money".

Sub-Mariner Comics (where he drew the backup feature "Blonde Phantom"), and the landmark All Winners Comics #21 (Winter 1946/47), featuring Timely/Marvel's first superhero team, the (hyphenated) All-Winners Squad; Nicholas penciled the cover and the Miss America chapter, and inked penciler Al Avison
's lead chapter.

Wojtkoski later worked on the

Nyoka, and spent the remainder of his career in-house at Charlton Comics in Derby, Connecticut. There he enjoyed a remarkable 23-year run as penciler on a single creative team, with inker Vince Alascia (another Timely veteran) and writer Joe Gill
. The art team would sometimes sign its work Nicholas & Alascia, as in the panel at left.

In 1978–79, Wojtkoski drew comics for editor

The Diary of Anne Frank, and Lost Horizon; as well as a rough adaptation of Star Wars.[7]

After Charlton went defunct in the mid-1980s, Wojtkoski drew for the satiric magazine Cracked and for Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk comic strip,[8] as well as for the first Transformers hardcover children's books and coloring books.[8]

References

  1. Chuck Cuidera
    and Will Eisner), "P.O.V. Online" (column), September 1, 2000.
  2. ^ a b c Evanier, "POV Online", included full name.
  3. FamilySearch.org
    .
  4. Lambiek Comiclopedia
    with documentation to support the Wojtkowski credit.
  5. ^ a b Evanier, "P.O.V. Online", August 26, 2001
  6. ^ Grand Comics Database: Mystery Men Comics #1 (Aug. 1939)
  7. ^ Hartsfeld, Lee (January 20, 2015). "Charles Nicholas Stayed Busy After Charlton, Part 2 — Star Wars (1978)!". Lee's Comic Rack. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Charles Nicholas (Charles Wojtkoski) at the Lambiek Comiclopedia

External links

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