Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery
Panels and Pages… Art and Artists… Creators and Conventions… Musings and Memories…
Archie Sunday Strip, October 30, 1949
The earliest Archie Sunday I’ve ever owned. Also the best.
The whole gang shows up in the opening panel, and everyone gets a turn in the spooky silliness. Bob Montana clearly had some fun with this one.
I stumbled across this early Sunday at SDCC this year and bought it on impulse. Or, to be more accurate, overpaid on impulse.
But you can’t overpay for quality, can you?
Can you?
Happy Halloween!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.)
Who wants to sell these guys a superhero?
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/12/967425295/we-buy-a-superhero-origins
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.