Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Archie Comics

Dan Parent — The Amazing Transformations Of… Archie Andrews?

Original Art and The Artists

Commission, October 2019, Based on Brian Rolland’s TPB cover, The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen

As a kid, I loved the goofy adventures of Jimmy Olsen. 

As an adult, I love Brian Bolland’s art. I wish I had the good sense to acquire a cover years ago, when the price was in a lower level of the stratosphere. But of course, hindsight is 20/20, etc.

So naturally, I get a kick out of Brian’s cover for The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen. Peanut Butter and Chocolate, yes?

Well, mostly. I think Bolland’s interpretation of Jimmy is a just a bit too “adult” — despite the bizarre themes and eccentric characterizations.

Enter Archie All-Star Artist Dan Parent: Turn Jimmy Olsen into Archie Andrews, and presto, you have the goofiness and joy this treatment deserves.

My pal Dan knocked it out of the park, and he is kind enough to show appreciation for my wacky commission ideas.

And let’s face it, the 60s Jimmy Olsen is pretty much a Pete Costanza or Curt Swan version of Archie anyway. Wait a minute — now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the two of them in the same place at the same time. Hmmmm…

Happy Halloween!

My first two issues of Jimmy Olsen (#104 and 105, 1967) obviously shaped my Olsen worldview forever.

Dan DeCarlo — Iconic (Part 3)

Original Art and The Artists

Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica #58, October 1960, “Happy Hallucination”

Our final Dan DeCarlo entry this week is a story filled with irony, pathos and self-sacrifice… and infused with trademark humor.

Wait — that sounds like I’m in English literature class again. And even 40 years later, I’m pretty sure I’m not ready for that.

So let’s simplify: Here’s a complete DeCarlo story that’s an absolute classic. Don’t take my word for it: The full story here is included below — in original art form, and published version too.

As Rod Serling would have would have intoned in his own hallucinogenic tales on Twilight Zone at at about the same time, this complete tale is officially  “submitted for your approval.”

Happy 80th, Archie. You occasionally look very different, but definitely not much older.

“Happy Hallucination” is also featured IDW’s Dan DeCarlo collection. (Volume 4, specifically — but let’s face it, you need to own them all.)

Dan DeCarlo — Iconic (Part 2)

Original Art and The Artists

Pep #148, August 1961

One of my first DeCarlo pages is sill one of my favorites.

To say Dan infused the storytelling and character personality here with pizazz is an understatement. In fact, this page is a typical DeCarlo classic: Simple, clear, fun — and completely engaging.

The third panel (Archie’s close-up) is a classic summation of the dizzying nature of the character’s life overall, not just in this story.

I like that headshot so much I use the published version as my icon for this blog, as well as in other places too.

Dazed and confused? I’m pretty sure I can relate.

Dan DeCarlo — Iconic (Part 1)

Original Art and The Artists

Archie Giant Series #153, Original Pin-up, reworked for cover, June 1968

Archie and his gang fully hit their stride with the baby boom generation, and no one was more responsible for that than cartoonist Dan DeCarlo.

Bob Montana created the original appearance of the gang, and DeCarlo modernized it — and never stopped tweaking the appearance (he had a very keen eye for fashion) and the personalities of the beloved characters for more than forty years. 

I loved Montana’s work — I even edited a hardcover collection of Montana strips — but DeCarlo’s clear and expressive art fully imprinted on my young reading eyes in the 60s and 70s.

So… to continue Archie’s 80thcelebration, we’ll feature just the tip of the iceberg of Dan’s great work this week.

And we will start with a fun anomaly: A gag that was redesigned — and rewritten — before it morphed from a pin-up page to a full cover.

Which one works better? I think I can come up with pros and cons for each, although from a comics code perspective, it’s possible the published cover might be slightly more acceptable than the original. It’s a bit more open to the imagination as to whether Archie is painting Veronica’s shirt — or her actual body.

In the unpublished version, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.

Dan Parent — Three On A Bat-Shake

Original Art and The Artists

Commission, 2019

I asked my pal Dan Parent for this commission in 2019, shortly after he completed art chores on the actual Batman / Archie crossover.

I love this piece, but shortly after I returned home with it, the first thought that occurred to me was: “Shouldn’t this be Robin?” Duh.

Well, there’s always next time. Meanwhile, in addition to the 80th anniversary of Archie, it’s the 55th anniversary of the Batman television show as well.

Holy dual celebration!

Dan Parent — Three On A Soda

Original Art and The Artists

Archie #647, October 2013

“Three on a soda” is likely the most iconic image in the Archie universe. Bob Montana, Harry Lucey, and Dan DeCarlo all created their own versions, and Dan Parent introduces his version in 2013. 

That’s the four most influential creators in the company’s history.

Nuff said.

The three previous versions of “three on a soda” by Bob Montana, Harry Lucey, and Decarlo. Decarlo’s version made it as a postage stamp. The Riverdale television show recreated the image as well.

Dexter Taylor — See The Stars

Original Art and The Artists

Little Archie #54, July 1969

Dexter Taylor creates a sweet (literally AND figuratively) page of the Little Archie gang from a 1969 issue. Archie comics hit my radar from time to time as a youngster when I couldn’t find any new comics from Marvel or DC, and the is likely one of my earliest encounters with the younger versions of the Riverdale crew.

Many of the Archie stories from this period, especially the one-pagers like this one, are unsigned. And although, some are easily identifiable, some are not.I’m grateful to my pal, the late, great Archie Editor Victor Gorelick, who could identify pretty much any classic Archie artist and story, for always helping me sort it out. Victor, who worked at Archie fore more than 60(!) years, passed away just about a year ago, and he is sorely missed.

Superboy set the standard for “the younger version” comic, and eventually Archie caught up. As a side note Little Archie #1 is one of the rarest comics of the 1950s.

Dan DeCarlo — Cover Girls

Original Art and The Artists

Archie’s Joke Book #132, July 1969

Many consider Dan DeCarlo THE quintessential Archie artist. A generation of Boomers would probably find little argument with that. 

As part of the Archie 80th anniversary celebration in 2021, we will have a special tribute to Dan later in the year. In the meantime, here’s a great DeCarlo cover featuring Betty, Veronica, Mr. Lodge, and… Archie… sort of. 

It’s a typical fashion gag from the era, and this original is a nicely rebuilt and restored “large-art” cover. (The penny-wise folks at Archie reused the nameplate boards as templates over and over again, simply removing the art, and pasting the new art and issue dates in place. I’ve owned another one where the original art was actually pasted over the previous issue’s original art. Ouch.)

Interlude — Planet Money Podcast

Original Art and The Artists

Who wants to sell these guys a superhero?

https://www.npr.org/2021/02/12/967425295/we-buy-a-superhero-origins

Doorman? Yep, he and the rest of these oddball characters launched in Marvel’s West Coast Avengers #46, courtesy of our pal John Byrne.

Planet Money is our favorite economics podcast (Freakonomics is a close second) and we were pleasantly surprised to see the most recent episode (likely part one of a two-parter) discuss superhero economics. Or at least the part that deals with the intellectual property valuation of superhero ownership. 

We’re extra delighted that our old pal Alex Segura, co-president of Archie Comics is the featured interview.

And yes, the hosts do get it in their head to try to buy Doorman, an especially — and purposely — lame character, from Marvel. 

Listen… and subscribe. 

Bob Montana — Just Joking

Original Art and The Artists

Archie’s Joke Book #2, January 1954

Although the newspaper strip kept Archie co-creator Bob Montana busy, he did manage to continue to find time to provide comic book pages as well, setting (and ultimately evolving) the house style for the Archie family.

Archie’s Joke Book used a similar formula to the newspaper strips: Short gags, either a half page or full page in length, possibly even recycling or amplifying some of the same gags from those strips.

IDW collected one small volume of these “jokes” from that era to minimal success. The format didn’t appeal to collectors, and the joke themselves in all fairness, don’t appeal all that much to a contemporary audience.