Sydney Shores (1916 – June 3, 1973) was an American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...

known for his work on

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1 ( cover dated March 1941) from T ...

both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the

Golden Age of comic books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known cha ...

, and during the 1960s

Silver Age of comic books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an int ...

Biography

Early life and career

Syd Shores began drawing in childhood, fascinated by the

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 c ...

art of

Alex Raymond Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into many ...

's ''

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'' ad ...

'' and

Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship a ...

's ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stret ...

''. He went to graduate from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...

, where he had met his wife-to-be, Selma. After working seven years at his uncle's

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

bottling plant A bottling company is a commercial enterprise whose output is the bottling of beverages for distribution. Many bottling companies are franchisees of corporations such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo who distribute the beverage in a specific geographic ...

until it closed in 1940, he became an assistant at the studio of Selma's cousin, the comic book packager

Harry "A" Chesler Harry Chesler (January 12, 1897, or January 12, 1898 (sources differ) – December 1981),Harr ...

, working under comics artists Mac Raboy and Phil Sturm. "For months I was just a joe-boy, watching and learning and helping wherever I could. I studied Mac Raboy for hours on end — he was slow and meticulous about everything, doing maybe only a single panel of artwork a day, but it was truly beautiful work. After four months I tried my own hand at work, doing a seven-page piece called '

The Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

'. I was proud of it then, of course, but in looking back it really ''was'' a terror!" Additional created September 26, 2010. "The Terror" still held enough promise that it saw print in ''

Mystic Comics ''Mystic Comics'' is the name of three comic book series published by the company that eventually became Marvel Comics. The first two series were superhero anthologies published by Marvel's 1930-1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, during what fans ...

'' #5 (March 1941) from

Timely Comics Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...

, the 1940s precursor of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

, and went on to make other appearances. Timely

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

hired Shores as the fledgling company's third employee.

Golden Age of comics

Shores initially worked as an

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a penc ...

, embellishing some of the earliest pencil work of industry legend

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential c ...

, including the covers of the Simon & Kirby-created ''Captain America Comics'' #5, 7 and 9 in 1941.Syd Shores
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

After the Simon & Kirby team moved on following ''Captain America Comics'' #10 (Jan. 1942), Shores and

Al Avison Alfred Dean Avison (July 7, 1920 – December 1984) was an American comic book artist known for his work on the Marvel Comics characters the Whizzer, which he co-created, and Captain America during the 1930–1940s period known to fans and ...

became regular pencilers of the hit title, with one generally inking over the other, both working with writer

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which w ...

. At that point, Shores received a promotion, he recalled in 1973: "When Simon and Kirby left in 1942 Stan did all the writing and was given the position of editorial director, while I was the art director, although I got called 'associate editor' in the books that were put out around then." Shores took over as regular penciller on ''Captain America Comics'', inked by

Vince Alascia Vincent Alascia (January 14, 1914 – September 3, 1998),
at the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft ( conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) requ ...

. "For the time that I worked on staff for Marvel from 1940 to 1948, I worked in close association with Vince Alascia, who did practically all the inking on my pencils," Shores said in 1970. "He was used to my style and worked very well with it." Shores also inked two of Kirby's Golden Age

Vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

stories, in ''

Marvel Mystery Comics ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' (first issue titled simply ''Marvel Comics'') is an American comic book series published during the 1930s–1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. It was the first publication of Mar ...

'' #21-22 (July-Aug. 1941); and the cover and splash page of ''

Young Allies Young Allies, in comics, may refer to one of the following superhero teams: * Young Allies (DC Comics), a team made up of young heroes from the Allies and featured in a story arc in ''Young All-Stars'' published by DC Comics. * Young Allies (Marvel ...

'' #1 (July 1941). Shores said, "Jack Kirby influenced my sense of dramatics. Jack Kirby influences everybody in comics, though: Before I got really started in the field it was

and

, they were my gods back then, but Kirby was the most immediate influence." Shores penciled stories of the Vision and the Patriot in ''Marvel Mystery Comics'', Major Liberty in '' U.S.A. Comics'', and the Captain America portions of the

All-Winners Squad The All-Winners Squad is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company's first such team, it first appeared in '' All Winners Comics'' #19 (Fall 1946), published by Marvel predecessor Timely ...

stories in the (unhyphenated) ''All Winners Comics'' #19 and 21 (Fall and Winter 1946; there was no issue #20). Shores was inducted into the U.S. Army in early 1944, seeing action as part of

General Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

's Third Army in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, and receiving a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

for being wounded in France on 16 December 1944. After four months at a convalescent hospital in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, he was reassigned to an

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

outfit and became part of the occupation forces in Germany. He recalled in 1970 that "after Al visonleft, I started pencilling aptain America storiesfrom then on until the Army decided it could use my services to help win World War II. It seemed they needed a lot of men for the infantry at the time. I was called up, and so my artistic eye was used to qualify me as an expert marksman in an infantry regiment. Curiously it was the same regiment that Jack Kirby was in. We never saw each other in combat, and only recently did we find that we were in the same outfit!" Comic-book artist

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the After his military discharge in January 1946, Shores returned to Timely as art director. Future Comic Book Hall of Famer

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, and sometimes I'd try to feel him out about it. He never wanted to talk about it. Very quiet fellow, but a sweet, sweet guy, and very helpful; very unassuming". At postwar Timely and at the company's 1950s successor,

Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to * Atlas Comics (1950s), one of the two comic publishing companies that would be the forerunner of Marvel Comics * Seaboard Periodicals Atlas/Seaboard is the term comic book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1 ...

, Shores was among the artists on the company's superhero stars the

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a ...

and the Sub-Mariner, the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

titles ''The Black Rider'' and ''

Kid Colt, Outlaw ''Kid Colt, Outlaw'' is a comic book title featuring the character Kid Colt originally published by Atlas Comics beginning in 1948 and later Marvel Comics. Publication history Kid Colt and his horse Steel first appeared in ''Kid Colt'' #1 (Au ...

'', the jungle series ''

Jann of the Jungle ''Jungle Tales'' (later called ''Jann of the Jungle'') was an American comic book title published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. It was an anthology title of stories set in an African jungle. Publication history Jungle ...

'' and ''

Jungle Action ''Jungle Action'' is the name of two American comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The Marvel version contained the first series starring the Black Panther, the first black superhero in mainstream ...

'', the war comics ''Battle Action'' and ''Battle Brady'', and many others including '' Blonde Phantom''. Going freelance in 1948, when virtually all of Timely's staff positions were eliminated, Shores drew for Atlas,

Avon Avon may refer to: * River Avon (disambiguation), several rivers Organisations *Avon Buses, a bus operating company in Wirral, England *Avon Coachworks, a car body builder established in 1919 at Warwick, England, relaunched in 1922, following ...

, and

Orbit Publications Orbit Publications, also known as Orbit-Wanted, was an American comic book publishing house operated by the female publisher, editor, and cartoonist Ray Herman during the Golden Age of Comic Books.

. With Mort Lawrence, who succeeded

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was allege ...

on ''The Sub-Mariner'', and

Norman Steinberg Norman Steinberg (born June 6, 1939) is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Steinberg was a lawyer before starting writing. He wrote several projects with former dentist Alan Uger before the pair were hired by Mel Brooks Mel ...

, another Atlas artist, Shores co-founded a comic-art studioSyd Shores
at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

in 1952, first in Hempstead, Long Island, and later in nearby Freeport. But with Steinberg's death in the mid-1950s and Lawrence's decision to leave the field, Shores returned to individual freelancing, adding magazine illustration to his repertoire. He said in a 1970 interview that, "In 1957, there was a recession in the comic book industry and I was forced to look elsewhere for work. I entered the magazine illustration field. I did illustrations for the men's adventure-type magazines until 1967. After things picked up again in the comic field I hastened back again to my first love, comics!" Additional . His men's-adventure work includes the covers of publisher Martin Goodman's magazines ''Escape to Adventure'' (Sept. 1964), ''All Man'' (May 1964; reprinted as cover of ''Man's Adventure'', May 1967, and Sept. 1965); and ''Man's Prime'' (Aug. 1966).

Silver Age of Comics

In the 1960s, Shores found a new audience at Marvel Comics, where he again inked

when the character once more received a full-length title. Shores inked the premiere issue, ''Captain America'' #100 (April 1968), continuing the numbering from ''

Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such art ...

''), inking Kirby on seven of the first 10. He also inked a run of

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Daredevil'', among other Colan work, and inked both

Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on s ...

and

Don Heck Donald L. Heckic; actually Comic Media/nowiki>, in 1952," Heck recalled in 1993, Hardy “called me up and asked me to join."Heck, ''Comics Scene'' #37, p. 55 Heck's first known comics work appeared in two Comic Media titles both cover-dated Septe ...

on the

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 inc ...

title ''Captain Savage and His Leatherneck Raiders'' (later titled ''Capt. Savage and His Battlefield Raiders''), among other work. In a rare return to penciling at Marvel, Shores drew and self-inked five anthological horror stories from 1969 to 1971 in '' Chamber of Darkness'', '' Tower of Shadows'', '' Creatures on the Loose'' and '' Monsters on the Prowl'', as well as

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis ConwayThomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

's adaptation of

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of ''Psycho'', ...

's "Delusions for a Dragon Slayer" in ''

Chamber of Chills ''Chamber of Chills'' is the name of two anthology horror comic books, one published by Harvey Publications in the early 1950s, the other by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Harvey Publications The first ''Chamber of Chills'' was a 10-cent horror anth ...

'' #1 (Nov. 1972). Additionally, Shores penciled and occasionally self-inked several

stories, including the premiere of the feature "Tales of Fort Rango" in ''

Western Gunfighters ''Western Gunfighters'' is the name of two American Western-anthology comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics. That initial Atlas series ran eight issues, from 1956 to 1957, and featured artists includi ...

'' #1 (Aug. 1970); ''

The Gunhawks ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

'' #1-2 & 4-5 (Oct.-Dec.1972, April–June 1973); and the Native American hero

Red Wolf The red wolf (''Canis rufus'') is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (''Canis latrans'') and gray wolf (''Canis lupus''). The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate ...

in ''

Marvel Spotlight ''Marvel Spotlight'' is a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book. It stood out from Marvel's other try-out books in that most of the featured characters made their first appearance in the series. The series origin ...

'' #1 (Nov. 1971) and ''Red Wolf'' #1-8 (May 1972 - July 1973). Shores also penciled the Skywald Publications Western ''The Bravados'' #1 (Aug. 1971). He likewise penciled a handful of black-and-white

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction ** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction *Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing on ...

-comics magazine stories, such as "Blood Thirst!" in

Major Publications Major Publications, also known as Major Magazines, was the publisher of the satirical magazine ''Cracked'', the most durable imitator of ''Mad'' magazine. Founded by Robert C. Sproul in 1958, the company generally imitated other publishers' succes ...

' ''Web of Horror'' #1 (Dec. 1969) and "Strangers!" in #3 (April 1970); and for

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include '' After Hours'', '' Creepy'', '' Eerie'', '' F ...

, "Army of the Walking Dead" in '' Creepy'' #35 (Sept. 1970) and "King Keller" in #37 (Jan. 1971).

Later life and death

Some of Shores' last comics work was inking

Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyoming. Later, stationed at Itam ...

and

Jim Mooney James Noel Mooney (August 13, 1919 – March 30, 2008) was an American comics artist best known for his long tenure at DC Comics and as the signature artist of Supergirl, as well as a Marvel Comics inker and Spider-Man artist, both during ...

on, respectively Marvel's ''

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

'' #1-2 (Sept.-Oct. 1973). He additionally penciled part of the eight-page story "Voodoo War" for Marvel's black-and-white horror-comics magazine '' Tales of the Zombie'' #5 (May 1974) before dying of a heart seizure. He was survived by his wife and their two daughters.

Legacy

The survey "The 20 Greatest Inkers of American Comic Books" placed Shores at #11, saying he "evidenced a unique and singular inking style, one perhaps only vaguely approximated by the great Bill Everett. Both had bold but rough-hewn lines and illustrative, photorealistic brushwork which gave the pages a beautiful, organic look. . . ."

References

External links

The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
* * Nevins, Jess
"The Timely Comics Story"
* Stiles, Steve
"The Star-Spangled Avenger: Timely Declares War Against The Axis"
SteveStiles.com, n.d

*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shores, Syd 1916 births 1973 deaths Golden Age comics creators Silver Age comics creators Marvel Comics people People from Hempstead (town), New York United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers