Artist Profile: James Hill (1930 — 2004)


Hailing for Ontario, the illustrator James Hill was the first Canadian artist to be honored with membership in the American Illustrators Association.  Though he may be best remembered for his magazine work, he was also a prolific paperback cover artist.  His work, some of which is sampled below, adorned everything from pulp paperbacks to reprints of classic novels by Faulkner and Hawthorne.  When I looked at his work, I was surprised to see how many of his covers I’ve owned over the years.  Regardless of the book’s subject matter, Hill’s expressionistic work always makes an impression!

Here’s just a few examples:

The Covers of The Avenger


Long before Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, Richard Henry Benson was The Avenger.  Benson was a globe-trotting adventurer and millionaire who, with his team of assistants, battled evil wherever he found it.  From 1939 to 1942, his adventures were detailed in The Avenger Magazine.  The majority were written by Paul Ernst under the pen named Kenneth Robeson.

There were 24 issues of The Avenger.  The majority of them featured covers by artist Harold Winfield Scott.  Have a look at a few of them below:

by Harold Winfield Scott

by Harold Winfield Scott

by Harold Winfield Scott

by Harold Winfield Scott

by Harold Winfield Scott

by Harold Winfield Scott

by Harold Winfield Scott

Artist Unknown

Artist Unknown

Artist Unknown