Irv Novick - Biography

Biography

A graduate of the National Academy of Design, Novick got his start in the workshop of Harry "A" Chesler. From about 1939 to 1946, Novick was working for MLJ Comics, the company that would later be known as Archie Comics. He became the primary artist for their superhero comics, including the characters The Shield (the first patriotic superhero), Bob Phantom, The Hangman, and Steel Sterling, until MLJ cut back on these titles to focus more on their Archie comics.

From 1946 to 1951, Novick worked in advertising and for the largely unsuccessful comic strips Cynthia and The Scarlet Avenger. His long association with DC Comics began when he was hired by editor Robert Kanigher, who had previously written Novick-illustrated comics for MLJ. Novick and Kanigher would be friends and colleagues for many years. Initially, Novick was primarily artist on war comics like Our Army at War and occasionally romance titles.

Novick left DC for the Johnstone and Cushing advertising agency in the 1960s, but was unhappy in advertising and was lured back to DC by Kanigher with a freelance contract, a guarantee of steady work and certain perks (which was at the time unprecedented). After editorial and management changes in 1968, Novick began drawing superhero titles like Batman, Lois Lane, and The Flash. He continued to work, still under contract, until failing eyesight prompted his retirement in the late 1990s.

A panel Novick drew in All-American Men at War #89 of a U.S. Air Force plane shooting down an enemy plane with the onomatopoeia "WHAAM!" was the basis of Roy Lichtenstein's painting of that name.