John Prentice (cartoonist)
Encyclopedia
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
who took over the comic strip Rip Kirby
Rip Kirby
Rip Kirby was a popular comic strip featuring the adventures of the eponymous lead character, a private detective created by Alex Raymond in 1946...
upon the death of the strip's creator, Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond
Alexander Gillespie "Alex" Raymond was an American cartoonist, best known for creating Flash Gordon for King Features in 1934...
.
Prentice was born in Whitney, Texas
Whitney, Texas
Whitney is a town in Hill County in Central Texas. The population was 1,833 at the 2000 census.Whitney is a rural lakeside community, and site of the very first bass fishing tournament...
. From 1940-1946 he served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. After briefly attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh
Art Institute of Pittsburgh
The Art Institute of Pittsburgh is a private, for-profit, higher education institute located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that emphasizes design education and career preparation for the creative job market. It was founded in 1921.-History:...
, he moved to New York City and worked in a variety of illustrator jobs before being tapped to replace Alex Raymond. Prentice drew the strip for the next 43 years.
Prentice worked occassionaly for DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
in the 50s, providing artwork for the first first issue of Showcase
Showcase (comics)
Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
comics' story, "Fireman Farrell
Fireman Farrell
Fireman Farrell is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Showcase vol. 1, #1 . Farrell was created by writer Arnold Drake and artist John Prentice.-Fictional character background:...
".
Prentice received the National Cartoonist Society Story Comic Strip Award for the series in 1966, 1967, and 1986.