A BIRTHDAY SALUTE to the late comics stalwart, who was born 108 years ago, on April 11, 1916…
Pretty much every time I mention Irv Novick, it’s in the context of Batman. That makes sense, of course, but it’s not fair to the late Mr. Novick, who had a long career well outside of Gotham.
It’s also not fair to Bronze Age Flash fans, who also claim the artist as their own.
So for his birthday — he was born 108 years ago, on April 11, 1916 — here are 13 REASONS IRV NOVICK’S FLASH WAS SO GROOVY — a collection of pages and panels from the early 1970s:
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/203-580x227.png)
The Flash #203
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/207-580x734.png)
The Flash #207
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/209-Bates-Novick-Giordano-580x872.png)
The Flash #209, by Cary Bates, Novick and Dick Giordano
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/220-580x756.png)
The Flash #220
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/219-580x768.png)
The Flash #219
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/215-580x868.png)
The Flash #215
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/211-580x766.png)
The Flash #211
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/210-Bates-Novick-Giordano-580x865.png)
The Flash #210, by Bates, Novick and Giordano
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/223-580x765.png)
The Flash #223
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/223A-580x873.png)
The Flash #223
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/202-580x765.png)
The Flash #202
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/217-Wein-Novick-McLaughlin-580x872.png)
The Flash #217, by Len Wein, Novick and Frank McLaughlin
![](https://13thdimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/217A-Wein-Novick-McLaughlin-580x869.png)
The Flash #217
—
MORE
— THE FLASH #204: IRV NOVICK and One of the Grooviest Pages of the Bronze Age. Click here.
— 13 COVERS: An IRV NOVICK Birthday Celebration — 2023 EDITION. Click here.
April 11, 2024
Irv was on FLASH when I first started reading comics. When I think of Barry, Jay and classic takes on the Rogues, his work on the characters always come to mind first.
April 11, 2024
A great talent…. Partnered with Bates and that’s my Flash I grew up reading.
April 12, 2024
Same! This is my favorite version of the Flash, after growing up on all those great Bates/Novick stories. I’d buy an omnibus and/or artist’s edition of this stuff in a heartbeat! My first issue was #248, with Master Villain.
April 11, 2024
My very first comic I bought was Flash 229 with the Ragdoll tripping the Flash on the cover. Great issue.
April 12, 2024
I remember Novick! He was the artist in a bunch of new and used Flash issues I got in the 70s! Wonderful! (I’ll have to look up “Death Of An Immortal,” I don’t think I read that one!
April 12, 2024
I liked Novick’s Flash art, too. Another facet of that era I enjoyed were the “pointing hand” captions. I assume that was a contribution by the letterer. Anyone remember who that was?
April 12, 2024
The pointing hands was a Silver Age tool. I believe it was Carmine that started with them.
April 12, 2024
As a kid, I always saw Irv Novick’s art as more “modern” and illustrative, i.e. along the lines of Neal Adams, Giordano, etc. I bought a book with a lot of golden age art, and was floored to discover he was a golden age artist, working in the 40’s, not a young whippersnapper!