Everett Raymond Kinstler, known as a painter of illustrational portraits, though he also works in landscape, was born in 1926 in New York City. He was drawing for comic books by age sixteen. He studied with Frank DuMond at the Art Students League in New York City. In the 1950s, he worked primarily for Stan Lee's Atlas publications, drawing for mystery, war and western stories. He drew Zorro for Dell Publishing, as well as Kit Carson, The Shadow, and Hawkman for other venues.

Eventually, over the course of fifteen years, Kinstler made hundreds of pulp, magazine, and book illustrations, as well as book covers. During his early years, Kinstler was helped in his career in illustration by James Montgomery Fl...