Noel Cook Explained

Noel Cook
Birth Date:	1896
Birth Name:	Wilfred Noel Uppadine Cook
Death Date:	1981
Death Place:	London, England
Occupation:	Cartoonist, comics artist, artist
Nationality:	New Zealand

Wilfred Noel Uppadine Cook (1896–1981) was a New Zealand artist, illustrator, cartoonist and comics artist and a pioneer of science fiction comics. He worked in New Zealand, Australia and England.

Biography

Cook was born in Foxton, of English and Māori descent; his great-grandfather was Te Rauparaha.^[1] He worked as a commercial artist and drew cartoons in his spare time for the Sydney Bulletin, while working in clerical positions and as an assistant town clerk in Tauranga.^{[2] [3] [4]} During World War 1 he served in France with the 15th Reinforcement and was wounded at Messines. He moved to Australia in the early 1920s. During World War II he served in the Australian Camouflage Unit.

Career

Cook trained under Trevor Lloyd at the Auckland Weekly News and New Zealand Herald, and was cartoonist for the New Zealand Observer.^[5] He moved to Australia along with other New Zealand cartoonists George Finey, and Cecil 'Unk' White;^[6] there he worked as a freelance illustrator for Smith's Weekly and the Sydney Bulletin. He created a number of comics and comic strips:

• Roving Peter - one of the first sci-fi comic strips depicting space exploration. It was published in the 1920s in The Sunday Times^{[7] [8]}
• Lost in Space
• Planet of Fear
• Adrift in Space
• Cosmic Calamity
• Bobby and Betty - published from 1933 in The Daily Telegraph
• Kokey Koala - a superhero comic published between 1947 and 1955
• Pirate Planet and Peril Planet - sci-fi comics in the 1940s
• The Blue Ray (1946)

He was also known as an Australian cartoonist and artist.^[9] During his time in Australia he was art editor at the Daily Telegraph and magazines Bachelor Girl and Australian Women's Weekly.

After moving to England in 1950 he became art editor for Amalgamated Press, the largest publisher of comics in the UK. In later life he turned to painting exhibiting 24 works at New Zealand House in London in 1969, followed by other exhibitions. An exhibition of his comic artwork was held at the Auckland Art Gallery in 1979.^[10] He died in London in 1981, survived by his wife Irene and son Peter, named after his comic character.

Cook is notable for creating early science fiction comics. His Māori heritage had less influence on his career than for another Māori cartoonist Harry Dansey.

External links

• Noel Cook. Lambiek Comiclopedia
• See Noel Cook's work on DigitalNZ
• NZ cartoonist/illustrator Noel Cook in World War 1. Peter Cook recalls his father's experiences in World War 1

Notes and References

1. Hansell. Jessica 'Coco'. 2015. Pikitea Perfect. Mana. 121. February/March. 56–59. 1172-0425.
2. News: Local and general. 10 August 1915. Bay of Plenty Times. 23 March 2019. 6157. XLIII. 3 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190403205309/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/BOPT19150810.2.5?query=noel. live.
3. Web site: Cook, Wilfred Noel Uppadine 1896-1981. ATL: Unpublished Collections. tiaki.natlib.govt.nz. 2019-03-23. 4 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160204000402/https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ethesaurus.139822. live.
4. Book: Kinnaird, Adrian. From Earth's end : the best of New Zealand comics. Godwit. 2013. 9781869799953. Auckland, New Zealand. 16–19. 945230461.
5. Book: Diamond, Paul. Savaged to suit : Māori and cartooning in New Zealand. New Zealand Cartoon Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library. 2018. 9780992247706. Wellington. 161. 1053803863. 25 March 2019. 9 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191209041945/https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1053803863. live.
6. Web site: Comics and graphic novels – Early years of comics, 1900s to 1940s. Bollinger. Tim. 2014. teara.govt.nz. en. 2019-03-25.
7. Web site: Cook, Noel (1896-1981). 2012. Trove. en. 2019-03-23.
8. News: New Zealand ink. Whelan. Arthur. 10 November 2013. Sunday Star Times. E31.
9. News: Temuka Drill Hall. 2 August 1924. Temuka Leader. 23 March 2019. 10651.
10. Web site: Noel Cook. Veteran comic illustrator. An 'International Year of the Child' Exhibition, Auckland City Art Gallery, May 5 – June 17, 1979. Auckland City Art Gallery. 153652150. https://web.archive.org/web/20180206144748/https://assets.aucklandartgallery.com//assets/media/1979-noel-cook-veteran-comic-illustrator-catalogue.pdf. 2018-02-06. dead. 23 March 2019.