Ann Brewster

Ann Brewster (November 20, 1918 – July 9, 2005) was an American cartoonist and illustrator during the Golden Age of comics. She provided art for many different publishers, including Ace Magazines, Fiction House, and Atlas Comics (later to become Marvel Comics). Brewster is most notable for illustrating romance comics. After a career as penciller and inker for comics, she transitioned to illustrating novels and children's magazines before retiring in 1980.

Personal life Ann Brewster was born Shirley Sonya Zweifach to Abraham Marks Zweifach and Anna Silverman on November 20, 1918. She spent part of her life in the Bronx borough of New York City before moving to Mount Vernon, in 1927. After graduating from Lincoln Elementary School of Mount Vernon, Brewster developed an interest in fashion design while a student at the Wilson Junior High School of Mount Vernon. Though she originally pursued a career in fashion design, her time at the Cooper Union art school ultimately led to a career in illustration. Her career spanned from 1941 to 1980. She never married nor had children. Ann Brewster died on July 9, 2005, in New York City.

In 1944, Brewster joined Jerry Iger's S. M. Iger Studio. The Iger Studio supplied work for larger publishing houses like Quality Comics, Holyoke and Gilberton. While working for Iger, Brewster created art for Bulletman and Mr. Scarlet comics published by Fawcett. While part of the Iger Studio, Brewster was the artist for Gilberton's Classics Illustrated series. She worked with Robert Hayward Webb to produce the issue retelling Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, which was adapted for comics by Ruth A. Roche. Among these lasting titles, Ann Brewster created art for Glamorous Romances, Love at First Sight, Love Experiences, and Real Love. In her seven years at Ace (1948-1955), Brewster was the artist behind 59 issues of Ace's romance comics. Brewster's art was used to create a number of covers for Kirby and Simon through the Prize Group, an imprint of Feature Publications, including Young Romance #77 and #79.

The 1950s was also spent creating comics for Timely/Atlas Comics romances. Between September 1949 and July 1958, Brewster was the artist for 74 issues of Atlas, now Marvel, Comics. Some of these titles include Love Tales and My Own Romance. In addition to romance, Brewster dabbled in Atlas' other genres, including sci-fi/horror comic Journey into Mystery and crime drama All-True Crime Cases. Brewster's comic art for "Foster's Fate!", part of Journey into Mystery issue #25, was reprinted in 2010 for Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery #3, both the Regular and Limited Variant Edition. Brewster also illustrated Animal Atlas of the World (1969) written by E.L. Jordan and published by the Hammond Map Company and The Dell Encyclopedia of Dogs (1974) distributed by Delacorte Press. Silver Wolf (1973) by Paige Dixon has a cover and illustrations by Brewster. Humpty Dumpty's Magazine for Little Children featured "The Nighthawks" by Helen Hoover and "The Nest Builders" by Hal Borland, both illustrated by Ann Brewster. What is a Mammal? (1975) published by Golden Look-Look Books and written by Jennifer W. Day was illustrated by Brewster as well.

Ann Brewster contributed to 36 comics for Fiction House, who were both strong in character and depicted in the popular "good girl" art style.

The 1973 New York Times article "Wolves Named Silver" comments on Brewster's work in Paige Dixon's Silver Wolf. The article discusses the wolf's rise in popularity and pop culture, including reviews of three novels published for young readers. Writer Jean Craighead George describes Silver Wolf as a dramatic rise-to-power adventure story featuring the clean-lined illustrations of Ann Brewster.

In his 1974 issue of Who's Who of American Comics, historian Hames Ware recorded artist Lou Cameron's account of Ann Brewster and her work. Cameron said that Brewster was hard working, dedicated, and faithful to her art. He described her style as being similar to "Hollywood actress Ann Miller ... if she had shopped at Klein's and if she wore her hair like ten years out of style". Cameron continues on to mention that Brewster was considered an excellent children's novel illustrator. The Who's Who of American Comics was a four part publication created in collaboration with Jerry Bails. Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscript Library now houses the notes curated by Ware in his efforts to record the biographies of various artists.

Notable works Frankenstein (1945) Classic Comics No. 26: Frankenstein cover art and illustrations by Ann Brewster and Robert Hayward WebbGilberton reprinted Frankenstein for Classics Illustrated nineteen times between 1945 and 1971.

Fiction House Comics Trina Robbins, feminist comic historian and artist, applauds Fiction House for featuring a variety of female characters in numerous professions, from Jane Martin as war nurse turned aviatrix to sexy jungle queen Sheena. The women are always in charge and unafraid of conflict, never in need of a rescuer.

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle quickly became Fiction House's lead heroine Though considered an important milestone for women in comics, Sheena's character is also largely problematic for her depictions of nonwhite characters. More recent versions of the character aim to rectify the character's past by avoiding the "jungle girl" stereotypes and focusing on environmental issues. Brewster was a featured artist in 15 issues of Sheena, the most she contributed for any one comic book title.