Ric Estrada (February 26, 1928 – May 1, 2009) was a
Cuban American
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...
comics artist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...
who worked for companies including the major American publisher
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. He also worked in
comic strips
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...
,
political cartoons
A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...
,
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...
.
Biography
Early life and career
Ric Estrada was born in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, Cuba. He made his first professional sale, an illustration used on the cover of the Cuban magazine ''Bohemia'', at the age of 13. Estrada attended the
University of Havana
The University of Havana or (UH, ''Universidad de La Habana'') is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5, 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first ...
. Through his uncle, Sergio Carbo, Estrada met writer
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
; the two men facilitated Estrada's move to New York City in 1947 to further his artistic studies and start a career. Estrada there attended the New York Art Students League,
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
, and the
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
. Estrada's first New York home was in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
Sy Barry
Seymour "Sy" Barry (born March 12, 1928) at the
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He is ...
Mort Meskin
Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an American comic book artist best known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age.
Early ...
,
Pete Morisi
Peter A. Morisi (January 7, 1928 – October 12, 2003),Peter A. Morisi Social Security Number 076-20-5 ...
,
Don Perlin
Don Perlin (; born August 27, 1929) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for Marvel Comics' ''Werewolf by Night'', ''Moon Knight'' (a character he co-created), '' The Defenders'', and ''Ghost Rider''. In the 1990s ...
, and
George Roussos
George Roussos (; August 20, 1915 – February 19, 2000), also known under the pseudonym George Bell, was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age inkers, including on landmark early issues of Marvel Comics' ''Fa ...
.
Comic books
In the 1950s, Estrada penciled and inked "Bunker", the first comic-book story to feature an African-American hero, and "Rough Riders". Both stories were for the
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-195 ...
series ''
Two-Fisted Tales
''Two-Fisted Tales'' is an anthology war comic published bi-monthly by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title originated in 1950 when Harvey Kurtzman suggested to William Gaines that they publish an adventure comic. Kurtzman became the editor o ...
''. He drew for
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
,
Hillman Periodicals
Hillman Periodicals, Inc., was an American magazine and comic book publishing company founded in 1938 by Alex L. Hillman, a former New York City book publisher. It is best known for its true confession and true crime magazines; for the long-runni ...
,
St. John Publications
St. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During the 1947-1958 existence of its comic-book division, St. John established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer St. John, the firm was located in Manhattan a ...
, and
Ziff-Davis
Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. First founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology-oriented media websites, online shopping-related services, an ...
. In the late fifties he drew almost half the satirical articles of the first two issues of the '' Mad'' magazine imitator ''Frantic''. After that he moved to Germany, where he stayed for three years. He did political cartoons for the '' Spandauer Volksblatt'' in the morning and did storyboards for the advertising company Deutschen Documentar in the afternoons.
In 1967 and 1968, he drew stories for
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...
's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''
Eerie
''Eerie'' was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like '' Mad'', it was a black-and-white magazine intended for newsstand distribution and did not submit its stories to the comic book industry's volunta ...
''. Much of Estrada's comic book career after returning from Germany was spent working for
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. Though
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
es were not his preference Estrada worked on
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
,
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
,
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
,
Wonder Girl
Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple list of superheroines, superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in ''The Brave and the ...
, and
Richard Dragon
Richard Dragon (or simply Dragon) is the alias of two fictional, comic book characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Although both incarnation differ in alignment, they're portrayed as extremely accomplished martial arti ...
, and he co-created
Lady Shiva
Lady Shiva (real name Sandra San or more recently Sandra Wu-San) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was co-created by Dennis O'Neil and Ric Estrada, and first appeared in ''Richard Dra ...
and
Power Girl
Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L and Karen Starr, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in ''All_Star_Comics#1976_revival_series, All Star Comics'' #58 (January/February 1976). Power Girl ...
. Estrada drew
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
comics,
romance comics
Romance comics is a comics genre depicting strong and close romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published t ...
,
war comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.
History American war comics
Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...
and a few horror stories for DC. In 1976, Estrada's work was in such high demand from DC that he illustrated the premiere issues of ''six'' separate titles that year: ''
All Star Comics
''All Star Comics'' is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All St ...
'', ''
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
'', ''
Karate Kid
''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the '' Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and ...
'', and ''
Super Friends
''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...
''.
Estrada's preference was for the war stories. Among the war titles he worked on for DC Comics was ''
G.I. Combat
''G.I. Combat'' was an American comics anthology featuring war stories. It was published from 1952 until 1956 by Quality Comics, followed by DC Comics until its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived.
Publication history
The focu ...
'', for which he illustrated a number of stories in the ongoing features "Blitzkrieg" and "Robert Kanigher's Gallery of War", both written by
Robert Kanigher
Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...
.
While working on ''G.I. Combat'' #169 (Feb. 1974), Estrada filled a page shortage with an account from the ''
Book of Ether
The Book of Ether () is one of the books of the Book of Mormon. It describes the Jaredites, descendants of Jared and his companions, who were led by God to the Americas shortly after the confusion of tongues and the destruction of the Tower of Ba ...
'', a short book of scripture contained in the
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...
. That story came to the attention of Hugh W. Pinnock, who was in charge of creating a comic-style adaptation of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
, and in 1980 Estrada drew all the pictures for that book.
Comic strips and animation
Estrada drew the ''
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
in sporadic stints from the 1950s to the 1970s. In the 1980s, he collaborated on the
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
''
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anima ...
The New Adventures of Jonny Quest
''The New Adventures of Jonny Quest'' is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and a continuation of the 1964–65 television series ''Jonny Quest''. Debuting in 1986 as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' ...
'', and ''
Bionic Six
is a 1987 animated television series. It was produced by Universal Television and animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now TMS Entertainment) and distributed, through first-run syndication, by MCA TV, years before the latter company became NBCUniver ...
''.
Death
Estrada died May 1, 2009, at 81, after a lengthy battle with
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
.
Awards
Ric Estrada received an
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual c ...