Redartz: A little over five years ago, my first guest post appeared over at the great Bronze Age Babies blog. Little did I know where that single post would lead! Anyway, the subject of that post was a review of an Archie comic;today's topic is a long-delayed follow up to it.
Like some of you, I've been a fan of Archie comics for many years. And for most of that time, I had no inkling of the people behind those comics- Archie Comics generally didn't credit the creators until the 1980's. And with the 'house style' intended to keep the Riverdale gang looking consistent througouht the years, determining who did what could be challenging.
That said, there are definite differences in style among Archie's illustrators. I'm still learning about them, and thought you might enjoy a look as well. Here's a few I most enjoy.
Oh, and a few notes: we're looking at pencillers today, some of whom did their own inks. And the list isn't comprehensive, but at least it's a start. Also, credit must be given to Wikipedia and the Grand Comic Book Database, without which much of this page would be empty.
Harry Lucey
I found his work recognizable long before I knew his name. Clean lines, flawless comic timing, and a great talent for drawing physical action. Look below at Archie's reverberating jalopy, Betty and Veronica having a tug-of-war, and the gang whaling on Archie in a snowbank. Anyone who read Archie comics in the 60's and 70's will find Lucey's work familiar; he was highly prolific. As comparison, perhaps he could be considered the Jack Kirby of Archie comics.
Incidentally, I rather like his somewhat unorthodox rendition of Sabrina, What think you?
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| Harry Lucey pencils, Marty Epp inks |
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| Harry Lucey pencils, Chic Stone inks |
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| Harry Lucey pencils, Marty Epp inks |
Bob White
Bob White's work was commonly seen on covers and interiors of Archie comics of the 50's and into the mid 60's. Quite the illustrator, I like the detail his artwork displays. Check out the look of Veronica "Elizabeth Taylor" on the cover below. And the other covers, with the robotic jukebox and a dinosaur, feature another facet of White's work: a fondness for science fiction and fantasy. Often using aliens, monsters, robots and such, his art illustrated some of Archie's wildest adventures.
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| Bob White |
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| Bob White |
Stan Goldberg
Now here's a fellow with a resume. He was all over the industry. While researching this post, I learned that Stan (Goldberg, not Lee) helped design the original color schemes for Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and other Marvel giants. Often seen credited as a colorist, Goldberg also pencilled and inked, working for Atlas and Marvel. Some years later, he moved over to Archie comics and drew a huge number of stories from the late 60's on into the 90's. His style was warm, comfortable and familiar to Bronze age readers everywhere.
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| Stan Goldberg |
Samm Schwartz
Samm was known as the "Jughead" artist, handling Juggie's book for years. But he worked on other titles as well, from the 50's to the 80's. He did take a few years off from Archie to work at Tower Comics and DC in the mid to late 60's.
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| Samm Schwartz |
Dan Parent
Dan may not be known to some of you; he started for Archie in the 90's and continues to this day. He has a style well-fit to the traditional look of the Archie gang, yet also brings a more contemporary feel. He was credited with creating the first gay character in Archie comics: Kevin Keller, and has produced many fine stories (recently the fun "Archie Meets Batman 66).
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| Dan Parent pencils, Dan DeCarlo inks |
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| Dan Parent pencils, Mike Esposito inks |
Hartley is another artist who has 'made the rounds'. Working for Timely /Atlas in the 50's, he illustrated Patsy Walker, and did stories for some of early Marvel's horror books. He even did an issue of Thor. In the later 60's Al left Marvel and went to Archie, where he did stories for many titles.His style had a ...sweetness...almost a sparkle; lots of emotion and sentiment. This sentimentality, and his personal conviction, led him to work at Spire Christian comics by the mid 70's. You might remember seeing "Archie's One Way" and other such books, on stands at the time.
Two points of interest: on the "Subject Matter" page, Veronica mentions the names of several boys, much to Miss Grundy's annoyance. Those names refer to some of Archie Comics' big guns: George (George Gladir), Al (Al Hartley), Marty (Marty Epp), Vince (Vince DeCarlo), Bob (Bob Bolling) and Frankie (Frank Doyle).
Then on the Archie /Veronica page, note the inks by Joltin' Joe Sinnott. Very nice.
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| Al Hartley pencils, Jon D'Agostino inks |
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| Al Hartley pencils, Joe Sinnott inks |
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| Al Hartley |
Bob Montana was Archie's creator, back in the 40's at MLJ comics. Although he didn't do any comic book work within our Bronze age, he did the Archie newspaper strip until 1975, and some of those strips were reprinted in the Archie comics of our day...
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| Bob Montana |
Bob Bolling
Bob started working at Archie in the 50's, most notably on "Little Archie". His stories were adventurous, touching, wild, and very clever. Some have compared Bolling's "Little Archie" to Carl Barks' work on the Disney ducks.
Bolling has said that his favorite story is one called "The Long Walk" from Little Archie 20. I discovered this tale in one of the "Best of Archie" collections a couple of years ago, and it was instantly one of my favorite comic book stories of all time.
By the way, Bob is still active today, doing work for the Archie digests....
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| Bob Bolling |
Dan DeCarlo
Dan is perhaps my favorite Archie illustrator. He started out with Atlas Comics, illustrating Millie the Model, among others. He also did a fair bit of magazine illustration, of the fashion and pin-up variety. You can see that influence on the work he did at Archie, from the 50's to the 90's. Absolutely gorgeous illustration, DeCarlo essentially defined the look for the Archie crowd for decades. DeCarlo also created Josie (as in Josie and the Pussycats), and also Sabrina, the Teen age Witch.
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| Dan DeCarlo pencils, Rudy Lapick inks |
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| Dan DeCarlo pencils, Rudy Lapick inks |
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| Dan DeCarlo pencils, Rudy Lapick inks |
