Dan DeCarlo – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Dan DeCarlo — Iconic (Part 3)

November 20, 2021 Greg Goldstein 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 80^th, 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)

November 18, 2021 Greg Goldstein 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)

November 16, 2021 Greg Goldstein 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 80^thcelebration, 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 Soda

February 23, 2021 Greg Goldstein 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.

Dan DeCarlo — Cover Girls

February 18, 2021 Greg Goldstein 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.)