Dick Giordano: Changing Comics One Day At A Time by TwoMorrows Publishing

CHANGING COMICS, ONE DAY AT A TIME

Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern TM & ©2003 DC Comics. Deathmask and Freemind TM & ©2003 Future Comics. Stephanie Starr TM & ©2003 Mike Friedrich and Dick Giordano. The Smooth TM & ©2003 Mary Skrenes and Dick Giordano.

by Michael Eury

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CHANGING COMICS, ONE DAY AT A TIME by Michael Eury

DICK GIORDANO Changing Comics, One Day at a Time DEDICATION

To Pat Bastienne, the sometimes unsung but indispensable “right arm” to Dick Giordano during much of his illustrious career.

Hot Wheels is a trademark of Mattel Toys.

Modesty Blaise is a trademark of Peter O’Donnell.

Book design by Pamela Morrow. Production assistance by John Morrow and Eric Nolen-Weathington.

Aurora is a trademark of Aurora Products Corporation.

Cover illustration by Dick Giordano. Cover colors by Tom Ziuko. Copy editing by Dick Giordano. Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Batgirl, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Brainiac, Captain Atom, Catwoman, Captain Marvel (Shazam), Creeper, Dr. Light, Elongated Man, Flash, Hawk and Dove, Hawkgirl, Human Target, Joker, Jonni Thunder, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Man-Bat, Mary Marvel, Mera, Nightshade, Oracle, Peacemaker, Penguin, Plastic Man, Question, Riddler, Robin, Rose and the Thorn, Sarge Steel, Supergirl, Superman, and all other DC Comics characters and logos are trademarks of DC Comics. Deathmask and Freemind are trademarks of Future Comics. Stephanie Starr is a trademark of Mike Friedrich and Dick Giordano. The Smooth is a trademark of Mary Skrenes and Dick Giordano. Kym is a trademark of William E. Pearson and Dick Giordano. Sheena is a trademark of Paul Aratow/Columbia Pictures. Peter Cannon—Thunderbolt is a trademark of Peter A. Morisi.

The Electric Company and Sesame Street are trademarks of The Children’s Television Workshop. Popular Mechanics is a trademark of Hearst Communications, Inc. Post Cereals is a trademark of Kraft Food Holdings. View-Master is a trademark of Fisher-Price. Star Trek is a trademark of Paramount Pictures Corporation. Space: 1999 is a trademark of ATV Licensing, Ltd. Emergency! is a trademark of Universal Studios and Mark VII Productions. The Comics Journal is a trademark of Fantagraphics. Atari Force and Swordquest are trademarks of Atari, Inc. Transmetropolitan is a trademark of Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. The Dreaming is a trademark of Neil Gaiman. American Century is a trademark of Howard Chaykin, Inc. Bloodshot is a trademark of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. Solar, Man of the Atom is a trademark of Golden Books.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dick Giordano is one of comics’ most valuable team players, so fittingly this biography is the result of a team effort of Dick’s colleagues, collaborators, friends, and admirers, whose contributions are sincerely appreciated: Jason Adams, Neal Adams, Mike Ambrose, Jim Aparo, Terry Austin, Pat Bastienne, Spencer Beck, Karen Berger, Richard Bruning, Howard Chaykin, John L. Coker, III, Jon B. Cooke, John Eury, Rich Fowlks, Bob Frongillo, Dave Gibbons, Joe Gill, Robert Greenberger, Tim Hamilton, Bob Kahan, Jenette Kahn, Joe Kubert, Bob Layton, Paul Levitz, John Lustig, Scott McCullar, John Morrow, Dennis O’Neil, Jerry Ordway, Rose Rummel-Eury, Ramon Schenk, Julius Schwartz, Mark Thelosen, Roy Thomas, Ryan P. Udelhoven, Len Wein, and Marv Wolfman. Research for this biography took place largely from a series of personal interviews conducted by the author in Dick Giordano’s Florida home between September 26 and October 1, 2002 (abetted on several occasions by the incomparable Pat Bastienne), and through subsequent communications. Additional information was contributed through telephone conversations and/or correspondence with Neal Adams, Terry Austin, Robert Greenberger, Paul Levitz, Dennis O’Neil, and Marv Wolfman; and gleaned from earlier interviews with Dick published in The Comics Journal, Comic Book Artist, and Last Kiss. The manuscript, or parts thereof, was reviewed for accuracy by Dick Giordano, Pat Bastienne, Neal Adams, Paul Levitz, and Robert Greenberger, to whom the author remains indebted. Artwork and photographs are courtesy Dick Giordano, Pat Bastienne, Terry Austin, TwoMorrows Publishing, Mike Ambrose, John Lustig, Bob Frongillo, John Eury, Tim Hamilton, Bob Beerbohm, Roy Thomas, Future Comics, Bob Layton, John L. Coker, III, and the author.

The Mighty Thor, Hercules, Firelord, SpiderMan, Doctor Octopus, the Incredible Hulk, and all other Marvel Comics characters and logos are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc.

The Phantom is a trademark of King Features Syndicate.

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 www.twomorrows.com e-mail: twomorrow@aol.com

Conan the Barbarian and Red Sonja are trademarks of Conan Properties.

San Francisco Giants is a trademark of MLB Advanced Media.

First Printing • October 2003 • Printed in Canada ISBN 1-893905-27-6

Makeshift is a trademark of Broadway Comics.

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Neal Adams

Introduction

Chapter One: Learning the Rules

Chapter Two: Breaking the Rules

105

Chapter Three: Making the Rules

133

Chapter Four: Reinventing the Rules

158

Afterword by Paul Levitz

159

Comic-Book Index: The Published Works of Dick Giordano

TwoMorrows Publishing Raleigh, North Carolina

167

Online Resources

168

Bonus Giordano Art Gallery

176

About the Author

foreword pages, so I’ll lighten up here about all that and give you the dark side of Dick Giordano. Hmmm. Well, so much for that! Oooooooookay. So, the “darker” side. Okay. Look, Dick’s not so darn nice that he’s not interesting. Certainly he looks like a thug. He’d fit right in the Mob…except for the twinkle in his eye and that cute way he has of saying, “Huh, sorry, I didn’t hear a word you said.” He plays a mean game of ping-pong and he’s very competitive and he tries to win. How nice is that? Not very, I’ll say. And…and he lets less-talented people ink his backgrounds. Huh?…and, well, “more” talented people, too…and, well, he’s let a lot of people ink his backgrounds…many of whom have gone on to have careers in comics. So…I guess that’s pretty nice…after all. So anyway…on page 22 of the Helgrammite Brave and the Bold story, bottom left-hand panel, I don’t think that inking was so damn sincere, y’know…. ’Course, I kinda rushed the pencils on that…and Dick did pull it together…I…guess. Fact is, my relationship with Dick has been one of the most pleasant and easygoing and personally satisfying I’ve had with anyone in the comics biz outside of my family. Hell, Dick is family…and he’s extremely talented besides all that. In fact, on consideration I believe that makes me a pretty nice guy after all too, simply because Dick likes me. Wait, did I mention Pat Bastienne…? Pat…are you lucky enough to have met Pat? Pat’s worked with Dick for many years. Pat is much loved by everyone who knows Dick. Lucky guy Dick. Lucky gal Pat. Love and Kisses. (I think I’m going to throw up.)

☞ A s k A nyo n e Ask anyone who the two nicest people in comics are (or were, in the case of Archie) and they’ll say Archie Goodwin and Dick Giordano. (Sometimes you’ll hear Joe Kubert’s name there, too. And okay, Eisner, yes, too.) If you asked which of the two, Archie or Dick, was their fave, some would say Archie, some would say Dick, some would resent the question, ’cause it’s not fair to pick. Nor would either man wish to be chosen over the other. That’s a mark of their niceness. A number of folks I know wouldn’t feel that being thought of as “nice” was necessarily a good thing or a goal of theirs. But I think, certainly in the case of Dick, that almost anyone would like to say that Dick “liked” them. Such is the quality of niceness that we at least want to feel worthy to be reflected in another’s niceness. Dick Giordano is my friend. If he needs my help, I’ll give it. If I need his help, he’ll give it. It’s as simple as that. He was my partner in our studio, Continuity, for several years, until he went off to become creative director of DC Comics. You’ll hear a lot about Dick’s niceness in the following

Neal Adams March 2003

introduction It was his sideburns. I wish I could say that the first thing I noticed about Dick Giordano was the mastery of his inking line, or his knack for drawing sexy women, or even his editorial run on Aquaman. My appreciation of those and countless other Giordano attributes came later. The first thing I noticed about Dick Giordano was his really groovy sideburns.

It would be many years before I’d have the pleasure of meeting the legendary Mr. Giordano, but in 1970, at age 12, I saw Neal Adams’ penciled portrait of Dick (as well as of himself, Carmine Infantino, and Joe Kubert) in a DC Comics house ad celebrating the Comic Art Convention’s “Alley Award” honors presented that year to those talented gentlemen. Dick, who won in the “Best Comic Editor” category for his superlative work on Teen Titans, Aquaman, Beware the Creeper, The Witching Hour, and other groundbreaking DC titles, was depicted with monstrous muttonchops by Neal, his friend and partner. Since those sideburns were a fashion rage at the time, I thought that Dick Giordano was about the coolest guy in the universe, and wished that my dad would lose his flattop and grow ’chops like Dick’s. It wasn’t long thereafter that I began to notice more than Dick Giordano’s hairstyle. This was the period when DC finally started crediting its creative staff, after decades of mostly anonymous stories, and I soon spotted the name “Dick Giordano” in many of my favorite DC titles: as an inker, paired with pencilers Neal Adams on Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Irv Novick on Batman, and Dick Dillin on Justice League of America; and as the solo illustrator of numerous memorable Batman stories, plus Human Target, Green Arrow, and other backups in Action Comics. As my tastes matured and I grew to appreciate comics for their artistic value, Giordano became one of my favorites. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Dick Giordano’s stature in the comic-book business was unparalleled. So imagine, when I departed the staff of Comico the Comic Book Company in 1989 to become an associate editor at DC Comics, how exciting it was to work under editorial director Dick Giordano—even though by that time he had shaved the really groovy sideburns. After a year at DC, I received the unique opportunity to work closely with Dick as “assistant to the VP/editorial director,” and became friends with one of the most talented and affable figures in the comics business.

Working by his side, I learned his secret: Dick Giordano is a mutant. He was Dig Dick’s mega-muttonchops! born with the ©2003 DC Comics. power of unbridled optimism. He’s always smiling, and, while he’s had a few creative disagreements with folks over the years, just about everyone in the comics business genuinely likes him. This has led to his ability—as an artist, an editor, a teacher, and an editorial administrator—to encourage the best from creators, guiding innovative series including, but by no means limited to, Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo’s Aquaman and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen. Some comics folk are known as much for their selfpromotion as for their published product, but rarely has Dick Giordano beaten his own drum. His career can, however, be best assessed by his relationships with his collaborators and coworkers, and with the characters to whom he’s helped breathe life. By those measures, Dick is one of the industry’s giants, and I am privileged to share his life, his achievements, and his recollections with you. Michael Eury Lake Oswego, Oregon April 2003

chapter one

learning the rules Illustrator. Inker. Innovator. Throughout a career spanning over 50 years, Dick Giordano has made a definitive mark upon the comic-book industry. His many laudable attributes—his love of the comics medium, eagerness to experiment, ability to collaborate, equity toward others, and prodigious professional discipline—were largely shaped during his childhood by his parents.

GIORDANO GENESIS Richard Joseph Giordano was born on July 20, 1932, at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital. By his own admission, he was a “honeymoon baby,” as his mother and father, who had known each other since childhood, were married in the fall of 1931. Nicknamed by relatives “Dickie” after the comic strip Dickie Dare, Dick Giordano, during his formative years, received frequent exposure to the arts. His mother, Josephine Labruzzi Giordano, known to and loved by all as Pina, at age ten immigrated with Dick’s grandmother to the United States from their native Italy. Dick’s maternal grandfather chose to stay behind in his beloved homeland. A seamstress by trade, Pina was an amateur illustrator, indelibly imprinting Dick’s future career path. “My mother drew quite a bit, and drew very well,” he recalls. Some of her illustrations, mostly figure and fashion studies, remain Giordano’s most cherished possessions.

(left and above) Pina Giordano’s drawings, from the 1920s and 1930s. Courtesy of Dick Giordano.

giOrDanO learning the rules

She also had a passion for Italian opera. A Saturday afternoon ritual at the Giordano residence was to gather around the radio to listen to operas broadcast live from the Met, with Pina singing along with the heroines. The expressive melodies and dramatic orchestrations of Giacomo Puccini made that composer a household favorite. Young Dickie Giordano’s eagerness to draw stories is attributed to the vivid musical narratives of Italian operas. Graziano “Jack” Giordano, Dick’s father, was also no stranger to the creative arts. A clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, he aspired to play full-time. In the early 1930s he bought a taxi license for $10, and began supporting his family as a New York cabbie while pursuing his musicianship. The Great Depression derailed Jack from his musical path, limiting him to weekend gigs with a local band. His weekly take-home pay as a cabbie averaged $6, and the family survived on a very strict budget. Early in Dick’s life, the economically challenged Giordanos moved from Manhattan’s Lower East Side to Queens, from their $12-a-month apartment to a repossessed large house, sharing expenses with nine other family members. At age four, Dick Giordano was diagnosed with asthma and a variety of allergies, and was bedridden during much of his early childhood. His medical bills and the financial restraints of the era led his parents to the decision of limiting the family to one child.

RECYCLING BROWN-PAPER BAGS

More of Pina Giordano’s extraordinary artwork. Courtesy of Dick Giordano.

With no siblings, “Dickie” was afforded ample individual attention from his parents. His father read the Sunday funnies to him, piquing the lad’s imagination. Dick was so enchanted by the newspaper comics that he grew impatient toward the end of each week, in anticipation of next Sunday’s installments. Before long, Giordano was reading autonomously, and soon voraciously. Since his illnesses prohibited his ability to engage in physical activities, there was little for him to do other than seek solace in words and comics. When Dick was seven, Jack Giordano bought for him an issue of Famous Funnies, an anthology that collected a month’s worth of Sunday newspaper series in a comic-book format. At this point young Dick began to draw, inspired by his mother’s artistic fluency, perhaps even being genetically predisposed toward illustration, copying the images from his favorite strips. “The Little King caught my eye because he was drawn so simply. He was my first comics drawing,” remembers the artist. But certainly not his last. Regularly confined to bed or indoors, he occupied much of his non-class time with drawing. The youngster displayed a remarkable aptitude toward illustration, taking it very seriously, evolving past mimicry into scene composition. Giordano recollects that his first sequential drawing was a battle scene consisting of three layers: planes at top, parachutists in midair, and ground combat with soldiers and parachutists who had landed. “It was all in profile — I couldn’t draw very Famous Funnies unlocked the well then,” he chuckles. imagination of young “Dickie” Giordano. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

His mother encouraged his budding talent. With the scarcity of paper during the Depression, Pina Giordano cut panels from used brown-paper shopping bags to create drawing tablets for her son.

SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL ARTS

Another early supporter of Giordano’s was his eighth grade art teacher, Mrs. Helle, whom he fondly recalls as a “gray-haired, little old lady with glasses.” Recognizing his developing skill, Mrs. Helle recommended that Dick enroll in New York City’s School of Industrial Arts, a vocational high school whose curricula funneled the slant of different Famous Funnies introduced Dick Giordano to another subjects into the context of the student’s major. world: comic books. “New York had—still does, for that matter—a tremendous It was now the late 1930s, and super-heroes began to system for their high schools,” Giordano elucidates. The dominate the newsstands. “Dickie” was there, enthralled School of Industrial Arts—which later became known as by their colorful adventures. the School of Art & Design—is widely recognized in comics In young Giordano’s mind, one character stood out and cartooning circles as a premier training ground, its above the rest: Batman. He recognized that Batman’s heroics alumni including Neal Adams, Angelo Torres, the late Joe stemmed from bravery, motivation, and prowess, not from Orlando, and Anthony Benedetto (who ultimately abansuper-powers, and found this admirable. It was actually the doned his drawing career to Joker, however, that initially attracted become a singer—Tony his attention to Batman. During the “Batman was the character Bennett). Its sister institution, villain’s first appearance in Batman the School of Performing #1, Dick confesses that “with his that made me think seriously Arts, was popularized in the white skin and red lips, the Joker about finding a way to make 1970s and 1980s as the setscared the hell out of me.” ting for the movie Fame and comics my life’s work.” Or at least shocked him into a its TV spinoff. vocation: “Batman was In 1946, at age 14, Dick the character that made Giordano began his studies me think seriously about at the School of Industrial Arts, determined to hone his craft finding a way to make and become a professional comics artist. But his advisors comics my life’s work.” were vehemently opposed and talked him out of taking the Other comics he cartooning class. They warned, “you’ll never make a living favored during his youth at that,” laughs Dick. So Giordano majored in illustration include Blackhawk, and advertising art, but continued to draw comics under Captain America — the cloak of night. “although the character Each week, teen-age Dick would spend hours after became passé when the class poring over comics at Mr. Brown’s, a Bronx mom & war ended,” he asides— pop’s newsstand/lunch counter. He became such a regular and World’s Finest fixture that he made a lasting impression upon the staff Comics, a bargain there. Giordano recollects an experience he calls “mind“because it had twice as boggling”: “Flash forward 35 years—I was going to work at ©2003 DC Comics many pages for only a DC, and had accidentally left a package of artwork behind nickel more.” Giordano on the train. When I went back to get it, I encountered an often listened to radio programs while reading comic older gentleman working with clean-up crew who asked, books, citing The Lone Ranger; Jack Armstrong, the All‘Didn’t you used to buy comics at Mr. Brown’s years ago?’ American Boy; and Inner Sanctum as personal favorites. This was the same guy who worked the newsstand counter!” Inspired by comic-strip and comic-book art, young Dick responded to the gentleman, “I can’t believe you Dick Giordano continued to draw. “My father bought me remembered me!” a drawing board and a lamp,” Dick explains, “which was The robust wonderland of comic books was in marked cramped into my claustrophobic 2' x 4' bedroom in our contrast to the puritanical atmosphere of the School of very small apartment.” But in that humble environment Industrial Arts, whose no-nonsense policies were evidenced he rigorously practiced his sketching, with “all of the by its rigid shirt-and-tie, sweater-or-jacket dress code. encouragement I needed from my parents,” smiles Giordano. Giordano remembers a particularly embarrassing but “I never had a discouraging word.” valuable experience involving Stanley Rose—a diminutive,

THOSE FRIGHTENING RED LIPS!

giOrDanO learning the rules

demanding art instructor—that taught him the importance of meeting deadlines: Mr. Rose required weekly assignments, due each Friday, In late 1950 Giordano graduated from the School of Industrial from students in his illustration class. One week the theme Arts…with some trepidation. Insulated by this nurturing was “landmarks of New York.” Giordano chose to draw the environment for four and one-half years (his medical problems Third Avenue El (elevated train) but hadn’t completed the kept him from completing school in the traditional four picture by class time. Rose was insulted that one of his students years’ time), “I felt like I was being cut from the umbilical dared enter his class with an incomplete assignment and cord and cast out into the world—which isn’t far from the chided Dick before his classmates, assigning him two illustruth,” Dick admits. trations due that Monday. Giordano was forced to abandon Armed with his advertising portfolio—a versatile mix of his weekend social plans to fulfill the obligation, but admits line and wash drawings of sofas, in a 2000 Comic Book Artist interview shirts, dresses, and handbags— that “I learned that if something’s due on Dick Giordano, illustrator, hit the As a nameless individual Friday, it’s due on Friday.” He also began pavement, visiting advertising to comprehend that deadlines can only escorted Billy Batson agencies on a quest for employbe accomplished through discipline. ment. Secreted inside his portfolio into a subway and was his artistic mistress, his comictoward his destiny to book samples. After three months of presentations, Giordano’s search Jack Giordano’s regimented lifestyle tacitly become Captain Marvel, proved fruitless. Be it from a lack helped his son absorb this important life Dick Giordano was of enthusiasm or the preordination lesson. Dick’s father, who had by this time of fate, advertising work was relocated his family to the Bronx, drove similiarly steered to his denied him. And he was not alone. his cab on a consistent schedule and own future by an Murray Tinkleman, with whom pulled extra shifts when necessary. The Giordano became good friends senior Giordano’s discipline “was a anonymous benefactor. during their mutual art studies at lesson that he didn’t articulate,” recalls the School of Industrial Arts, someGiordano, “but it struck me personally at times accompanied Dick. During the time.” the winter of 1951 the young artists sought out a particular Conversely, Jack and Pina Giordano gave their teen-age agency, portfolios in tow, but were disappointed to discover son tremendous latitude with his social life, grooming his that the company had just moved. All that remained was a sense of responsibility by trusting him to make his own typewriter on a single desk, at which sat a man, whose decisions. During his teens, Dick didn’t have a curfew. name Giordano does not know, who professed to be a When he left the house at night, his father would tell him, comic-book writer. After Dick and Murray showed the “you tell me when you’re coming home, and you’d better be author their comics samples, he recommended that they home by that time,” says Dick. “If something happens, visit comics packager Jerry Iger. As a nameless individual you’ve got to call.” Giordano also recalls his father telling escorted Billy Batson into a subway and toward his destiny him about sex, “which was unheard of at the time.” Dick’s to become Captain Marvel, Dick Giordano was similarly friends sometimes scoffed at his revelations about his parents’ steered to his own future by an anonymous benefactor. liberal attitudes.

GUIDED BY A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER

PARENTAL EXAMPLE

One detrimental example set for Dick by his parents was smoking. Both his mom and dad smoked, but warned their son against it because of his asthma. Since his role models smoked, however, so did Dick. His mother, in response, amended the restriction, stipulating, “If you’re going to smoke, we’d rather you’d smoke in front of us,” remembers Dick. And so he did. He continued the habit for 18 years, finally kicking it in 1968, his lungs ravaged. “I’m paying for it now,” states Giordano, who regularly seeks relief each day with inhalers: “They tell you lies when they say your lungs go back to normal in six months after you quit. Mine never did.”

IGER STUDIOS Samuel Maxwell “Jerry” Iger had launched his comic-book publishing firm with the legendary Will Eisner in 1937, but their partnership ended in 1941 when Eisner was drafted into WWII (although the cost-conscious company was still using Iger-Eisner letterhead in the early 1950s). Headquartered in what Giordano remembers as “a very casual setting, a small, two-story building” sandwiched between clusters of Manhattan high-rises, Iger Studios was largely a packaging firm, contracted by other publishers to letter and ink

volumes of comic-book pages. Among their Golden Age clients were stalwarts Quality Comics, Standard Comics, and Victor Fox. By the 1950s Iger was producing material for Fiction House, whose superbly rendered Sheena, Jungle Comics, Planet Comics, Sheena was an artistic training ground and Wings Comics for young Dick Giordano. titles were fan Sheena ©2003 Paul Aratow/ favorites and the Columbia Pictures. cream of the crop of the studio; Farrell Publishing, with its mystery and action/adventure anthologies; and Superior Comics, a Canadian outfit producing relatively lackluster horror and crime magazines. The Iger Studios’ lingering legacy, Giordano stresses, is its sweatshop-like operation. Jerry Iger, categorized (and often lampooned) by colleagues and staff as a scrappy curmudgeon, and an assistant ran the operation from their bottom-floor office, communicating with clients and brokering new publishing deals. The top floor was a claustrophobic art studio, housing an assembly line of one letterer and five inkers. The inkers each had an individual specialty—heads, hands, females, figures, and backgrounds—and upon the delivery of new penciled pages (usually drawn off-site), the inkers quickly performed their particular task and passed their pages down the chain. This frantic, thankless pace engineered by Iger, who Giordano categorizes as “quite hard-nosed,” had as its goal quantity, not quality, with the exception of the Fiction House titles, which proportionately received more attention. This enslaving environment did not intimidate young Giordano and Tinkleman. Jerry Iger, after reviewing their samples, hired Dick to work three days a week and Murray to work the other two, to start the following week. Forget the advertising portfolio, these young men were about to become comic-book artists! It was Iger who forced 19-year-old Dick Giordano into an uncomfortable position that tested the young man’s diplomacy and his relationship with Murray Tinkleman. Just before Dick’s first day on the job, he

received by phone an ultimatum from his new boss: “Call up your friend and tell him to stay home—I’d rather work with you for the whole week.” Breaking this news to Tinkleman did not come easy, but their friendship endured. As the youngest of the staff artists, Giordano was initially the house errand boy, erasing pages and making deliveries to Fiction House and other vendors. Before long he graduated to inking blacks and some backgrounds. He closely analyzed the methods of the senior artists, questioning them about their technique (“In those days, most, if not all, cartoonists worked in brush and ink—very few used pens”) and practicing to improve his craft. Dick remembers picking up a few penciling tips from Ken Battefield, a quick-draw penciler who’d occasionally drop by the studio; and being impressed by Chet Martin, an “opinionated, avant-garde artist” who had an “interesting way of working that made me reevaluate my inking style: he put in blacks first, which eliminated the need to add some outlining.” While Giordano didn’t adopt that specific M.O., he appropriated its objective: “I learned to plan the blacks first,” visualizing the finished page before applying any inks. All the while, Dick felt the pressure of the bossman’s watchful eye: “Jerry wanted things done his way all of the time. He’d look over my shoulder while I was correcting Fiction House books at his desk.” While this scrutiny helped Giordano better hone his craft, it came with a price: “Iger didn’t have the best breath in the world.”

FASTEST BRUSH IN THE EAST Giordano continued to improve his inking fluency, becoming so speedy that his efficiency was cutting into the extra income of his coworkers. He explains: “I was implored by some of the inkers, ‘don’t ink so fast, because when we take pages home (during work overloads) we charge by the hour based on how long it takes to ink in-house.’” This was the only time in his 50-plus-year career that Dick Giordano was asked to slow down his inking pace. Several months into his tenure at Iger, Giordano was reunited with his school chum as Murray Tinkleman was hired during a peak period at the company. Recalls Dick: “By this time, I had graduated to inking figures, and Murray was doing backgrounds and cleaning up.” Soon Murray was drafted into the Korean Conflict, leading Giordano on another rite of passage: public drunkenness. At a farewell party for Tinkleman, Dick, only 19 and an inexperienced drinker, became utterly inebriated. After the party he staggered onto the subway to head home. Feeling nauseous, Giordano’s addled mind fixated on chocolate as the only cure for his sickness. He bought and devoured a Hershey bar but still could barely maintain consciousness, gripping onto a rail

giOrDanO learning the rules

for support: “I dared not let go.” At the train’s last stop, the conductor, concerned about this unsteady young man, offered his help. Dick returned the favor by vomiting on the man’s shoes. “I remember I felt a lot better after throwing up.” Another valuable life lesson learned, courtesy of the Iger Studio! At Iger Dick was earning 75 cents per hour, $35–40 a week (with overtime). He supplemented that income by working part-time on the weekends as a soda jerk in an ice-cream parlor. “That was a fun job,” he beams. “It didn’t have anything to do with my career, but it made me conscious of the many different types of people in the world, and I learned to enjoy their company.”

AL FAGO, ROVING EDITOR By December 1951 Iger Studios figure-inker Dick Giordano had reached the company’s glass ceiling. But he was about to be led to the next leg of his professional journey as a result of networking—within New York’s taxi business. Dick’s father Jack was friends with a fellow cabbie

They came from outer space—to raid our kitchens! Dick Giordano re-teamed with writer Bruce Crandall to illustrate the prose tale “Spidermen and the Cakes” in December 1952’s Fantastic Science Fiction #2. Courtesy of Mike Ambrose. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

Giordano’s fascination with the female form is pointedly apparent in this text illo of author Bruce Crandall’s “Secret of the Locked Laboratory” from August 1952’s Fantastic Science Fiction #1, a pulp magazine edited by Walter Gibson published by Charlton. Courtesy of Mike Ambrose. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

named Harold Phillips, whose brother-in-law was Al Fago, managing editor at Charlton Comics and the cover-credited creator of Charlton’s Atomic Mouse. Phillips was planning a New Year’s Day 1952 party where his brother-in-law would be in attendance, and, knowing that Jack’s son was a comicbook artist, invited him and Dick to the party so that the junior Giordano could show his samples to Fago. Fago was impressed with Dick’s work and promised to assign him some trial freelance inking, adding the disclaimer, “don’t give up your day job yet.” Satisfactorily completing his first few Charlton jobs, Giordano within weeks had ample work from the company and resigned from his position at the Iger Studio: “I learned a lot in the nine months I was there,” he acknowledges. Dick’s replacement on Iger’s staff was Sal Trapani, with whom Giordano’s life would soon be forever linked. Dick Giordano, now 20, was a full-time freelance comic-book artist…who had no studio. He continued to live at home in the Bronx with his parents, paying his mother rent, but lacked the space there for a suitable working environment—plus, he didn’t wish to encroach upon his parents’ home or wear out his welcome by conducting a business there.

A comics penciler/inker named Albert Tyler—a reliable journeyman who also was freelancing for Charlton—rented a two-room office on the second floor of a Bronx supermarket. Giordano discovered that Tyler had just lost his studio-mate, so Dick signed a lease and took up shop there. Before long, Tyler himself vacated the site, and Giordano absorbed full rent and took over the space in its entirety. Much of Dick Al Fago was a mobile editor. Operating from his home Giordano’s in Great Neck, Long Island, he drove his Chrysler each earliest work week to the studios of his various artists, picking up the appeared in Charlton’s Racket previous week’s assignment while delivering the current Squad in Action. job. Giordano started with Fago by inking, then often This page from penciling, 5–7-page tales for Charlton crime and scienceissue #1 was fiction anthologies like Racket Squad in Action and Space penciled by Adventures. Charlton’s pay rate for artists was $20 per Al Tyler and inked by Giordano. page, “which put me in the category of making 140 bucks Courtesy of Mike a week, which in 1952 was two or three times what my Ambrose. ©2003 contemporaries were earning at conventional jobs.” the Respective Giordano recalls other local Charlton Comics artists he copyright holder. calls the “Bronx Contingent,” who were included in Fago’s weekly assignment stopovers: John Belfi, a penciler and inker who ultimately became an instructor at the Kubert School; Dick’s first studio-mate Al Tyler; penciler/inker Vince Alascia, “whose name you probably saw on a lot of Charlton comics from that era”; Alascia’s nextdoor neighbor Art Cappello, “a funny guy who did a lot of sciencefiction stuff”; artist Sal Trapani, who, like Giordano, jumped ship from Iger to the greener pastures of Charlton; plus colorist Pat Masulli, penciler Frank Frollo, and artist/letterer Jon D’Agostino.

THE HOUSE OF BORROWED IDEAS Charlton Comics may have afforded Dick Giordano more pay and the ability to break the shackles of assembly line inking, but the company’s early to mid-1950s lineup was generally mediocre fare milking genres popularized by other publishers—mystery, crime, western, war, hot rod, and science fiction, in titles issued quarterly or bimonthly. It is ironic that this outfit whose comic-book line included numerous crime series began with a crime. Its founder, an Italian immigrant named John Santangelo, was a New York bricklayer with big

A 1958 aerial view of the Charlton plant in Derby, Connecticut. Photo courtesy of Bob Beerbohm.

additional Charlton periodicals including Song Hits, Country Song Round-Up, and Rock & Soul. Virtually everyone who knew Santangelo remembers him as a shrewd and persuasive businessman who always looked for ways to save a buck. “He was a great gambler, a numbers man,” according to Giordano. “If he wanted to buy a car priced at six thousand, he’d say, ‘I’ve got five thousand in my pocket’—and they’d take it!” This penny-pinching philosophy hampered the creative potential and quality of Charlton’s magazines, but afforded the company its most unique characteristic: under its official name of the Capital Distributing Company, Charlton’s editorial, production, distribution, and printing wings were all housed under one roof at a seven-and-one-half-acre plant. For a while, the company even owned its own paper mill. Giordano illustrated this inside-front-cover filler from Space Adventures #4, January 1953, noteworthy as a showcase for Charlton Comics’ less-than-stellar production values: paper clips that fell onto the negative are clearly visible in the middle panels. Courtesy of Mike Ambrose. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

dreams. In the early 1930s “John met and fell in love with a woman,” explains Giordano, “who said to him that she had to buy sheet music to get the lyrics for her favorite songs,” prompting Santangelo to embark upon a publishing venture. Ignorant of copyright laws, he printed and sold inexpensively produced and blatantly unauthorized magazines that pirated song lyrics. Santangelo was convicted of copyright infringement and spent a year in confinement, where he met and partnered with disbarred attorney Edward Levy, also behind bars. Upon their release the pair formed Charlton Publishing, the name supposedly derived from their young sons, both of whom were named Charles (although an alternate theory is that their first office was on Charles Street). In 1945 the company, headquartered in Derby, Connecticut, launched the magazine Hit Parader, which legally printed song lyrics, with Levy procuring the publication rights. Hit Parader was such a sensation, it inspired

Jack Davis, and Alex Raymond are apparent. While his inking style was still two decades from the refinement that ultimately made him a comics master, some hints of his future greatness would occasionally appear, mainly through expertly placed blacks that offered stark contrast. Giordano recalls this period of his life with great fondness. He was establishing himself as a professional artist by day, and enjoying life after hours, “doing whatever it is 20something-year-old guys do,” he grins. Inspired by illustrating cars in Charlton’s hot rod titles, Dick developed an appreciation of automobiles, rendering them on the comics page and driving them in real life. He bought for himself a 1953 Dodge, and with the help of a few friends customized it into a dual-exhausted noisemaker, worthy of the pages of Hot Rods and Racing Cars. Life was good for the young artist, and his natural friendliness made him well liked among peers. Al Fago was impressed with the young artist, as well. The middle-aged editor had two daughters roughly Dick’s

The artist signed his In 1945 Charlton also started its work “Richi” Giordano comics division with Zoo in many of his earliest Funnies, but released very few published stories, like titles through that decade. these from June 1953’s Occasionally an original Hot Rods and Racing concept like Atomic Mouse and Cars #10. Courtesy of Mike Ambrose. Nature Boy—or a brazen ©2003 the respective attempt to push the boundaries copyright holder. of graphic violence, such as The Thing!—would surface from among the mundane anthologies, but as a rule Charlton cared very little about its comic books. Dick Giordano cared, however, taking his work seriously. During this freelance stint with Charlton, which lasted from 1952–1955, young “Richi” Giordano (as he often signed his work) began a long journey of artistic maturation. His efforts were, like those of so many other illustrators, influenced by his favorite artist du jour—examine Giordano’s covers and pages during his professional infancy and homages to Wally Wood,

The handsome young ladykiller, at age 20, in a portrait taken by his father, Jack Giordano. Photo courtesy of Dick Giordano.

age, and considered Giordano prime husband material, although at the time he never mentioned it—Fago’s wife revealed her spouse’s plan to Dick years later. While this comic-book-family marriage would never occur, another union was about to unfold.

Senate hearings led many parents to forbid their children from reading comics. Industry sales nose-dived and many smaller publishers became extinct. Charlton’s already meager lineup was trimmed, and the company absorbed the inventory of Fawcett Comics, the publisher that had made Captain Marvel the best-selling hero of the 1940s until being sued out of business by DC Comics over copyright-infringement charges of the hero’s similarity to Superman. As a result of these changes, Giordano received fewer original story assignments and occupied much of his schedule with art corrections of Fawcett material (like Gabby Hayes Western and Lash LaRue Western) to ensure Comics Code conformity.

June 1954’s Space Adventures #11 featured the world’s finest duo of former Superman artist Joe Shuster, penciler, and future Batman artist Dick Giordano, inker. Courtesy of Mike Ambrose. ©2003 the respective copyright holder. Marie Trapani and her mother, on graduation day. From the early 1950s. Photo courtesy of Dick Giordano.

HERE COMES THE BRIDE— AND THE CODE! In 1954 artist Sal Trapani announced his marriage to an old classmate of Giordano’s and asked Dick to be in the wedding. At the ceremony, usher Dick Giordano was paired with bridesmaid Marie Trapani, the sister of the groom, and was instantly enchanted by her striking beauty. In a scene that played out of a romance-comic story (minus the heartache), Marie caught the bride’s bouquet and Dick, her garter. The two began dating and very quickly fell in love, becoming engaged shortly thereafter. That was the high point of 1954 for Giordano. Professionally, he and all of his comics contemporaries were facing hard times. The comic-book industry was under siege, as the publication of psychiatrist Fredric Wertham’s 397-page Seduction of the Innocent—a scathing indictment against comic books and their creators as purveyors of violence, drug use, smut, and sexuality—placed the entire industry on trial before the U.S. Senate. The end result was the implementation of the Comics Code Authority, an industry-funded board of censors whose stringent “moral” guidelines sanitized comic-book content. The negative publicity generated by the

Dick Giordano’s talent expanded as the comics market contracted in the mid-1950s. The hot wheels on this September 1954 cover of Hot Rods and Racing Cars #18 were penciled by Giordano and inked by Charlton mainstay Vince Alascia. Courtesy of Mike Ambrose. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

On a few occasions, Giordano also freelanced for Charles Biro, writer/artist for comics publisher Lev Gleason, whose Boy Comics, Crime Does Not Pay, and Daredevil titles had, prior to the Code, pushed the limits of graphic depiction of gore. The belligerent Biro was extremely difficult to work for, Dick claims, while recalling his illustration of a Crimebuster adventure for Boy Comics: in the story, Giordano consistently drew one of several gunmen as left-handed, for variety’s sake, but was ordered by Biro to redraw him as right-handed solely because the script did not specify that the gunman was a southpaw. But art corrections and arbitrary revisions still paid the bills, and he and Marie planned an April 1955 wedding. In March 1955 the Bronx Contingent was caught blindsided when Charlton owner John Santangelo unexpectedly announced a dramatic plan to restructure his company: he offered With Charlton’s unexpected restructuring, Dick Giordano’s prothe freelancers continued employment, but only by fessional dilemma mirrored the title of this story he illustrated: their joining the staff in Derby, with the caveat of a “Moment of Decision.” From Strange Suspense Stories #20. page-rate reduction from $20 to $13 per page. “He Courtesy of Mike Ambrose. ©2003 the respective copyright holder. guaranteed all the work we could do, weekly paychecks, and mentioned a profit-share plan and hospitalization,” recalls Giordano. This proclamation sent shockwaves through the group. “Most of the Bronx Contingent bolted,” Dick remarks. Faced with the reality of a pay cut and a 130-mile round trip daily commute, Giordano received pressure from his parents to postpone his wedding “because it looked like it was going to be harder for me to make a living, or certainly not the kind of living I was making before.” His fiancée had just accepted a position at County Trust Bank in Westchester County, fronting its new “Special Checking” department, and had a promising career in banking. According to Dick, “we had more than enough to get by,” making Charlton’s offer more palatable. Still, he hesitated, reluctant to commit to exclusivity and to forego his freelancing freedom, but since the playing field had dramatically diminished and since “my samples weren’t good enough for the majors,” he consented, concluding his first foray into freelancing and becoming a Charlton staff artist. Before he could begin his new job, there was one piece of unfinished business….

(right) “Wholesome” material like Western shoot’em-ups largely avoided the scrutiny of the comics witch hunt forged by Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent. Giordano penciled and Vince Alascia inked this cover to October 1954’s Cowboy Western Comics #51. Courtesy of Mike Ambrose. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

Here comes the bride—and the rice! Photo courtesy of Dick Giordano.

From left to right: Newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Richard Giordano, and Pina and Jack Giordano, the groom’s parents. Photo courtesy of Dick Giordano.

Honeymoon-bound newlyweds. Photo courtesy of Dick Giordano.

Dick Giordano and Marie Trapani were married on April 17, 1955. While on their one-week honeymoon in Miami Beach, Florida, the newlyweds received an unexpected wedding gift from Dick’s new boss: John Santangelo offered to let the couple stay for free for two extra weeks at a property he owned in Florida. The ecstatic Giordanos appreciatively accepted Santangelo’s offer. With Santangelo’s reputation of manipulative persuasion, however, one wonders if this was more a ploy to ensure Dick’s loyalty than a gift of generosity. Upon their return to their new Bronx apartment in early May, Marie Giordano started her new position, and Dick began what would become a lengthy stay at Charlton Comics.

giOrDanO learning the rules

THE FLOOD OF ’55 Mere months into Giordano’s tenure at Charlton, the company was beset by disaster. On August 18, 1955, Hurricane Diane pummeled the East Coast with destructive, torrential rains. Hundreds of people fell victim to the storm. Derby, Connecticut, was assaulted by eleven inches of rain in one day, imperiling the Charlton headquarters with an unexpected flash flood of Biblical proportions. Many of the company’s employees valiantly liberated some of the printing-press machinery, but the rapidly rising waters forced them to evacuate the premises. Some narrowly escaped, plucked from the rooftop by Navy helicopters.

The flood-ravaged Charlton plant. Photo courtesy of Bob Beerbohm.

Giordano recalls Hurricane Diane’s devastating effect upon the Charlton facility: “The plant was at sea level. The nearby river overflowed and hit the first floor of Charlton. All of the comic books were turned into papier-mâché.” More than just comics were destroyed: as-yet-unpublished original artwork, printing plates and machinery, paper, office equipment, and files were just some of the materials destroyed by the 18 feet of water that eventually filled the building. Once the waters receded, the cleanup began—and John Santangelo recruited the staff to help with the dirty work. “John was one of those charismatic characters who could talk you into anything,” remarks Giordano. Evoking sympathy with a tale of economic woe, Santangelo implored his staff— and many other well-meaning volunteers in the community— to assist with digging and pick-hoeing through tons of sludge. Once cleaned and refurbished, most of the presses were operable and Charlton quickly resumed operation. An urban legend contends that the restoration took only one week, but Giordano remembers it lasting several weeks longer than that. Beyond the back-breaking labor in the wake of the flood’s damage, the staff suffered financially, as Santangelo used his

loss as leverage to lower artists’ page rates 50 percent from $13.00 to $6.50. This salary reduction, coming only months on the heels of the initial pay cut required to join staff, posed economic hardships for the newlywed Giordanos: “Our finances were very tight. At this time we didn’t know that John had full flood insurance—and had collected on it,” Dick comments. Within months, page rates inched up to $10, ultimately being restored to the pre-flood $13.

CARPOOLING TO CHARLTON The former Bronx Contingent had now become the Commuting Quintet. Five members of the group—Giordano, Vince Alascia, Sal Trapani, Jon D’Agostino, and Pat Masulli— drove to and from Derby each day for their Charlton staff positions. Each owned cars large enough for five and began carpooling. Since I-95 didn’t yet exist, their commute was a laborious 90-minute one-way drive on the Merritt Parkway. Most of their drives were routine, but Giordano recalls a particularly chilling ride during the winter of 1955. On a particular Friday, the five actually took two cars, as Sal Trapani decided to drive by himself because of an outside commitment that afternoon. A freak snowstorm, however, forced the five to leave Charlton early to make it home to the Bronx safely. Giordano rode home with Trapani in the lead car, the pair assuming they’d have time to get Dick home without delaying Sal’s appointment. The snow had so crippled traffic flow that Trapani’s meeting was jeopardized, so Dick volunteered to get out and walk back past the traffic jam to join the car with the other three. He soon discovered that his friends had exited on a side road, leaving Dick stranded on foot in a blinding snowstorm. Fortunately, Charlton house artist Rocco “Rocke” Mastroserio was nearby in the traffic jam and spotted Giordano, rescuing him from the cold and giving him a ride home. The amiable 23-year-old Giordano quickly adapted to working on Charlton’s staff and had the pleasure of making new acquaintances, most of whom were in their 30s and 40s: “There was Bill Molno, a really funny guy—the ‘wise guy’ is what we called him”—plus Charles Nicholas, a penciler often paired with Dick’s fellow commuter, Vince Alascia, more because they sat side by side at Charlton rather than because of how their styles meshed. Dick also remembers Mark Swayze (a Fawcett Comics contributor, Swayze was the original artist of Mary Marvel and, as of this writing, a columnist for Alter Ego magazine), Chic Stone, Stan Campbell, the aforementioned Rocke Mastroserio, and the prolific scriptwriter Joe Gill— largely acknowledged as having written more comic-book script pages than anyone in the medium—being there. Giordano also became friendly with Steve Ditko, Charlton’s star artist, who lived in New York but commuted by train to Derby: “He came up on Monday, stayed the week, and went home on Friday for the weekend,” Dick remembers.

Giordano was dazzled by the speed of the more seasoned staff artists. “They took John (Santangelo) at his word,” he states, “with no curtailment on the amount of pages they did. I remember Bill Molno penciling eight pages a day, which wasn’t bad money, especially compared to what I could do. I still could only pencil two pages a day, no matter what I did to cut corners, or I’d ink two pages a day.” Giordano’s “only” two penciled or two inked pages a day is, by most standards, a remarkable output. The cost-cutting measures employed by Santangelo helped the company rapidly expand its line, with mostly pedestrian entries like Scotland Yard, Wyatt Earp, and Frank Merriwell at Yale, and Giordano contributed interior pencils (and occasionally inks) to those and other titles including Wild Frontier. During this period, Giordano’s strengths as a cover artist were exploited by Charlton, as he drew numerous covers (including the covers for 1955’s brief revival of Blue Beetle, his earliest super-hero work), many earmarked by bold images of striking foreground/background contrasts. While he is mostly known in comics today as an extraordinary inker, Dick discloses that throughout his career “I’ve actually penciled more pages than I’ve inked,” a tally augmented by the overwhelming volume of work he contributed to Charlton throughout the 1950s.

Charlton’s Frank Merriwell at Yale was Dick Giordano’s first time at bat drawing sports comics. Giordano suited up again in 1974 for Strange Sports Stories, in 1978 on Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, and in 2002 on a San Francisco Giants giveaway comic. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 John Lustig.

Firmly ensconced in the trenches of Charlton, Dick Giordano absorbed as much as he could about comic-book production and about improving his illustrations. As his talent grew, so did his ambitions.

JOE GILL on GIORDANO I was a writer living in Brooklyn when my friend, Al Fago, called and offered me work at Charlton Comics in Derby, Connecticut. The rate would be four dollars a page. I was getting twice that from publishers in the city. I took the job because Charlton paid a week after delivery, there’d be no bickering about corrections, no long delays between assignments. I’m sure that was one of the reasons why Dick Giordano made the move to Charlton. Mr. Fago, a fine man, multitalented, brought up a group of artists from the New York area. Dick Giordano was the

most talented and focused in the group. Although young, he was the natural leader. Dick knew Charlton was only his first stop but he always turned out excellent work. Despite the low rates we all received, his standards were big. Several artists in the original group did less than their best because they had to work faster to put food on the table, but Dick’s talent enabled him to be fast and still do great work. We were friends in those early days and remained friends for many years. Dick was too good to stay at

Charlton so he moved down to DC Comics where his talents were recognized and rewarded. He worked hard and achieved a lot. He deserves what life has given him. He was willing to pay the price for success, long sleepless nights at the drawing board, long boring rides on the train, and the constant struggle to be the Last Man Standing in the DC office. I always admired Dick and what he achieved. I never envied him. Joe Gill December 2002

chapter two

breaking the rules

“A worthy editor has one primary directive: to make the creative people look good.” Dennis O’Neil, The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics

Dick and Marie Giordano had their first child, Lisa, in 1956. During the latter months of her pregnancy, Marie was ousted from her job, since employers in the 1950s did not offer prenatal benefits or leaves of absence, forcing the young family onto an even stricter budget. Dick was tiring of the daily commute, and in early 1957 relocated his family from the Bronx to a less expensive apartment in Derby, Connecticut, less than ten minutes from the Charlton offices. Now in his second year in the Charlton bullpen, Giordano continued to improve his artistic skills and, to some degree, his speed on covers and short stories for newer series like Davy Crockett and Badge of Justice, while maintaining his contributions to Racket Squad in Action and Space Adventures. He found the work unchallenging, and laments that “I was never really fast enough to make a good living.” For his creative advancement and for the financial stability of his family, Dick Giordano needed a change.

GIORDANO’S STRIP SEARCH Even though he was earning a living as a comic-book artist, Giordano aspired to draw a newspaper comic strip, a goal fomented during his childhood from his love of Famous Funnies and from his appreciation for Ray Gotto’s 1945–1958 strip Ozark Ike, which he describes as “Li’l Abner as an athlete.” To that end, he developed two prospective comic strips. The first was The Life and Loves of Lisa St. Clair, starring a fun-loving playgirl (named after his newborn daughter) beneath whose frivolous exterior lurked unwavering business acumen. Remembered by the creator as “Grace Kelly meets James Bond,” Lisa romanced men, gambled, and hopped around the world. Inheriting numerous businesses when her industrialist father passed away, Lisa

giOrDanO breaking the rules

preferred jet-setting to corporate board rooms and harbored, says Giordano, “a father complex,” a paternal specter looming over her. Regarding the strip’s title, the focus was on “more of her loves than her lives, more of her romances.” Giordano storyboarded almost six months of The Life and Loves of Lisa St. Clair continuity, but located no syndicator interest. The concept eventually found a publishing home, however: during his late-1960s editorial stint at DC Comics, while editing the romance title Young Love, Dick shared the storyboards with writer Jack Miller, who loved the strip and signed on to script it. Veteran romance artist Scott Pike (known among Silver Age super-hero fans as the creator of Dolphin in Showcase #79, an issue edited by…Dick Giordano) illustrated the series, converting Giordano’s storyboards into comic-book format, and it ran for several issues of Young Love, beginning with issue #68. Dick’s second stab at newspaper syndication was Lili Galop, a circus strip pitched to him by writer Frank Braden,

“I’ve always wanted to have female characters as my protagonists, not only because they are sexy, but because I believe that women have a better role in the world.” who was an employee of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. “I took it because it had a female lead,” he admits. After illustrating several weeks of continuity Giordano realized that “the circus, not the characters, had become star of strip and it went nowhere. Still, I had some fun with it.” It’s no coincidence that both of Giordano’s prospective comic strips starred female leads. “My mother taught me, in subtle ways, about the superiority of women,” he reveals. “I’ve always wanted to have female characters as my protagonists, not only because they’re sexy, but because I believe that women have a better role in the world. Men are more emotional than women; women learn to control their emotions, but men hold them in, and therefore, they’re more emotional because they won’t let them out—they won’t cry, they won’t yell, they won’t do anything but hit.” Dick had yet another idea for a strip that never made it to the drawing board. Fondly recalling the 1953–1957 television series Omnibus, hosted by Alistair Cooke, Giordano wanted to use Omnibus—“which means ‘something for everyone’”—as a strip title, in a series about a writer who imagined himself in a boundless variety of roles—“as a tennis player, a mountain climber, etc.” Knowing Giordano, if Omnibus had made it to paper, that writer probably would have been a woman.

After the failure of finding a syndication home for Lili Galop, Giordano reassessed his goal of becoming a comicstrip illustrator. He found inspiration from the artistic renaissance unfolding in comic books of the 1950s, particularly in EC Comics’ titles, and was particularly impressed with the work of EC luminaries Wally Wood and Al Williamson: “If comic books can be that good,” surmised Giordano, “maybe I should think more seriously about them.” Thus, Dick Giordano chose the world of comic books as his home.

CHANGES AT CHARLTON Al Fago, however, was about to leave that home. Embroiled in a labor dispute with John Santangelo, Fago resigned from Charlton and started his own line of magazines. “Unfortunately, he lost money,” recollects Giordano, “then he opened a small typesetting and photostatting business that he ran until time of this death.” Colorist Pat Masulli was appointed by Santangelo to replace Al Fago as the managing editor of Charlton’s comics division. Recognizing Giordano’s artistic and production capacity, Masulli hired Dick as his assistant and put him on salary, eliminating his need to churn out pages for pay. Dick jokes that he got this promotion “partially because Pat was interested in my welfare, and partially because he thought, ‘this guy’s dangerous because he knows as much as I do and could take over the job.’” A year into his position under Masulli, Giordano grew disenchanted after several disagreements over editorial content and voiced his desire to leave. Wanting to keep Dick in the Charlton stable, Masulli offered him what Giordano calls “a sweetheart deal I couldn’t turn down,” a freelance commitment to “package books for Charlton under several noms de plume.” His payments were veiled behind the pseudonyms since “John Santangelo didn’t like seeing any one person making a lot of money.” From his downtown Derby studio, Giordano assembled a legion of pencilers from New York including Jack Abel, Pete Morisi, and Don Sherwood. Later, after the studio relocated to Ansonia, writer Joe Gill and letterer Jon D’Agostino came on board from Charlton’s staff. Abetted by his assistant Frank McLaughlin, Dick was inking 20–30 pages a week, earning his inking rate plus doling out a percentage for recruiting the pencilers. When a Charlton bookkeeper inadvertently discovered that Dick was working under aliases, “they held up my checks for a while until they determined that I wasn’t doing anything illegal.” (right) Laaaa-dies and gentlemen, preee-senting, for the first time anywhere, Lily Galop, the previously unpublished newspaper strip, lushly rendered by Dick Giordano and written by Frank Braden. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 Frank Braden and Dick Giordano.

giOrDanO breaking the rules

In 1959 Dick and Marie Giordano bought their first home, and the next year, their second daughter, Dawn, was born. The family was growing, and so was Dick’s business. By the early 1960s Giordano had ascended to the role of Charlton’s busiest cover artist. Covers were Charlton’s most lucrative assignment—“they never paid less than $25 for a cover”—and Dick’s flair for bold composition and his stature with the company sent the majority of Charlton’s covers his way, to the tune of four or five each week. Giordano also wrote the cover copy and specified the font type. Regarding his copious contributions, the artist reflects, “the covers weren’t brilliant, but they were the backbone of my income. I was back to making good money again, just from keeping at it. I probably did more covers than any other artist in this business.” He also found Masulli’s method of cover assignments quite unorthodox: “He’d send me the actual (interior) pages from the books needing covers.” Under the radar of Charlton’s management, in the early to mid1960s Giordano brokered freelance assignments from other publishers. He illustrated several unpublished monster stories for Stan Lee at Atlas Comics, before the company became Marvel Comics, and for the Catholic comic book Treasure Chest and its Protestant equivalent Junior Life (which later changed its title to Jet Cadet “for no discernable reason,” Dick jokes; “it was not about jets or cadets”). In 1963, the year Giordano’s son Richard was born, Dick’s brother-in-law Sal Trapani returned to Connecticut after having worked in Hollywood on the animated TV series Clutch Cargo and Dick Giordano’s crisp pencils, ably inked by brotherSpace Angel. “He had lost contact with the comic publishers,” in-law Sal Trapani, first graced a DC Comics superGiordano recalls, “and asked me to draw pencil samples which he hero series in this Flash/Doom Patrol team-up in The inked and took around to them. Our deal was, he’d do all the legBrave and the Bold #65. ©2003 DC Comics. work, and as his silent partner, I’d get half the page rate. Sal got us accounts with Dell, DC, and ACG. I was paid but uncredited…which was fine with me.” Dick’s uncredited efforts saw print in several issues of Movie Classic (including comics versions of Beach Blanket Bingo, Dr. Who and the Daleks, and The Battle of the Bulge) and in TV-inspired titles Camp Runamuck, Get Smart, Twelve O’Clock High, and Hogan’s Heroes. “I even ghost-penciled a chapter of a Beatles book for Joe Sinnott,” he recalls, that comic being Dell’s The Beatles #1 (and only), published in September 1964. “I also drew covers and penciled interiors for Dell’s Nukla, a super-hero created by Joe Gill, myself, and Sal Trapani.” Giordano did his first work for DC Comics during this period: a Flash/Doom Patrol team-up for The Brave and the Bold #65.

“GIGOLO” GIORDANO FINDS ROMANCE IN COMIC BOOKS Neurotic newlyweds, lovesick nurses, and brokenhearted debutantes share one common thread (or is that heartstring?): Dick Giordano. Giordano found ample work in the 1960s drawing stories and covers for Charlton’s and DC’s burgeoning lines of romance comics. This genre, launched in 1947 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Young Romance #1 (originally published by Prize Comics but later acquired by DC), was, by that very cover’s banner under its logo, “designed for the more adult readers of comics.” While the “adult” claim is

debatable because of their central characters—immature, self-indulgent young women whining through 6–8 pages until finding true love by story’s end— romance comics were targeted toward young girls and became an industry staple through the 1950s, enjoying an explosion of popularity in the 1960s until finally breathing their last gasp in the mid-1970s. By the mid-1960s Giordano’s illustration style had matured to a stage that fans would recognize today. After years of cutting his teeth on western, crime, sci-fi, and hot rod tales, and from his early training in illustration and advertising art, Dick’s clean, realistic rendering and concise storytelling— plus his finesse for drawing beautiful women— made him perfect for romance comics. The artist, however, recalls that he originally found these stories a challenge: “The reason they’re harder is that they’re emotionally based,” Giordano explains in a 2001 interview in Last Kiss #2. “The subtle hand movements and body language are very hard to do from memory, so photo reference was something I used quite a bit.” Dick remembers taking extensive series of photographs of friends to use as models in his romance-comic work.

LOVE, Giordano Style From the 1950s through the early 1970s, Dick Giordano artwork was as common in Charlton and DC romance comics as were tears on a pillow. The artist’s clean, realistic rendering and concise storytelling—plus his finesse for drawing beautiful women— made him perfect for this genre.

(above) Open the door for your…cheating boyfriend?! Another Giordano classic from 1971. Courtesy of Terry Austin. ©2003 DC Comics. (left) A dozen years before the promo poster for the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only used a woman’s legs to frame a background image, Giordano effectively employed the technique for this 1969 cover. Nobody does it better than Dick! Courtesy of Terry Austin. ©2003 DC Comics.

(left) Two Dick Giordano hallmarks—a sexy gal and cool cars—highlight this 1971 Young Romance cover, the original of which is displayed over the drawing table of artist and former Giordano protégé Terry Austin. Courtesy of Terry Austin. ©2003 DC Comics. (right) Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, man-stealer. Giordano inked the pencils of Don Heck on this 1971 cover. Courtesy of Terry Austin. ©2003 DC Comics.

(above) This page from an unpublished early 1970s romance story was penciled by Ric Estrada and inked by Dick Giordano. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 DC Comics. (right) Love is one “game” that doesn’t come with a manual, or else these two sharply dressed but cloudy-headed teens might realize that they’d be in each other’s arms if they’d simply talk to each other. From an 11-page 1967 story rendered by Dick Giordano for an unspecified Charlton romance title. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

Writer John Lustig is not only fooling with love, he’s also fooling with dialogue, and the results are sidesplitting. First Kiss #7’s “Fooling With Love,” illustrated by Dick Giordano, was published in 1969, and riotously revised in 2001 by Lustig as “Royal Romance.” Courtesy of John Lustig. ©2003 John Lustig.

As a solo illustrator or in tandem with Trapani, Vince Colletta, or others, Giordano’s art graced titles like Charlton’s Romantic Story, Three Nurses, and Secrets of Young Brides, and DC’s Girls’ Love Stories and Young Love. At this writing, his body of romance work at Charlton is regularly showcased in John Lustig’s Last Kiss, published by Shanda Fantasy Arts. In 2000 Lustig, a Disney comics writer and fan of the romance genre, procured the rights to Charlton’s romance series First Kiss and launched a comic book reprinting those fairy tales, albeit with contemporary, and quite hilarious, rewritten dialogue. Last Kiss features Giordano cover art (although with copy you’d never find on a classic Charlton comic, such as with Last Kiss #3’s weepy gal bawling to her postman, “B-but you must have at least one valentine for me! I’ve slept with every man in town!”), and Lustig and Giordano collaborated on an all-new story, “Widow Miss Muffet,” for 2001’s Last Kiss #2.

RETURNING TO CHARLTON By 1965 there was no shortage of work at Dick Giordano’s studio—nor was there in Pat Masulli’s Charlton office. Charles Santangelo, John’s son, had taken over the business from his father. His general manager, Burt Levey, promoted Pat Masulli to supervise the magazine division, in addition to maintaining his responsibilities of managing the company’s comics line. Charlton’s comic-book-sized magazine output had recently expanded with more music titles, plus horoscope and crossword puzzle periodicals (Giordano reveals that Charlton was “buying the puzzles from prisoners, paying them five bucks a piece,” truly epitomizing founder John Santangelo’s frugality). This fleet of magazines was also art directed by Masulli, since, says Giordano, “he had more skills at that than the people he

This mid-1960s Newsdealer magazine ad touts Charlton’s successful “teen song lyric” publications. Courtesy of Bob Beerbohm.

had on staff doing that for him.” From his freelance perch, Dick observed how overburdened Masulli had become after noticing that Charlton’s comics were becoming creatively stagnant. Giordano was content with the money he had been making during his half-decade of freelancing, but longed for a new challenge. Editing Charlton’s comic-book line was just that. So he passionately lobbied Charles Santangelo, who had replaced his father John in the day-to-day supervision of the operation, for the position and received an offer. Dick Giordano was now the managing editor of Charlton Comics. With his experience as a comics artist, in production, and as a storyteller, the creative direction of the line came easy to Dick. By contrast, Giordano was a neophyte at the supplemental duties now within his purview. He knew

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nothing about printing, scheduling, or engraving, and bought a production primer book from which he learned the basics: “I had to schedule books through the printing plant and play the numbers-crunching game to figure out how to manage cover printing, since Charlton’s presses ran 24 hours a day and printed nine covers at a time.” Some of the seasoned production staffers questioned and even challenged Giordano’s authority, and on a few occasions, he “had to establish that I was the guy in charge with comments like, ‘Do you want to still be working here tomorrow?’” His creative staff immediately embraced him in the Charlton editorial position. Masulli had paid minimal attention to Charlton’s writers and artists, and when he did interface with them, it was in a disciplinary role. Giordano, on the other hand, established a quick rapport with the creators, contacting them regularly, showing a sincere interest in their efforts and motivating them to do their best, despite Charlton’s notoriously low rates (for artists, $20 per page; DC’s lowest rate at that time was $45). He cemented his friendships with those with whom he’d once collaborated at Charlton, like Steve Ditko—now an industry superstar, having risen to acclaim as the original artist on The Amazing Spider-Man, a title he had just quit due to a dispute over authorship with Marvel Comics—and Joe Gill. Talented newcomers, lured by the buzz of this dynamic new Charlton editor, began knocking on Giordano’s door.

NEW TALENT SHOWCASES Writer Dennis O’Neil recalls his first encounter with Dick Giordano: “Someone—I’ve forgotten who—told me about an editor from Connecticut who visited Manhattan once a

Abbott & Costello #2 (1968) and The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves #13 (April 1969), Giordano-edited books that featured early work by Steve Skeates.

week to talk with comics freelancers. This phantom someone must have given me a phone number. I made an appointment with Dick, kept it, and left with an assignment.” That “phantom” was Roy Thomas, and the assignment was “Wander,” a backup feature in Charlton’s Cheyenne Kid, which led to other scripting work for Giordano including the critically acclaimed “Children of Doom” for 1967’s Charlton Premiere #2—and began what would become one of the longest and most successful collaborations ever witnessed in comic books. Steve Skeates was another young writer whose talents were recognized by editor Giordano. Charles Santangelo was interested in adding licensed television properties to Charlton’s

Howard Chaykin on GIORDANO Comics has always had a seedy, not to say sleazy reputation. That said, there have always been men who, by their very presence, raise the bar, sometimes professionally, occasionally ethically, rarely morally. I’ve been lucky to work with two men who personify the very definition of the best the field has to offer. One was the late Archie Goodwin—a wonderful writer, artist, and editor we lost far too soon. The other is Dick Giordano— who remains the very incarnation

of decency in a frequently unpleasant profession. I met Dick for the first time when I was 15. I was convinced I was ready to work for him at Charlton. Needless to say, he threw me out of his office—not unkindly, but firmly—leaving me with a single remark. To paraphrase, “Your work is too timid—be brave.” Dick has no memory of this meeting, and hey, why should he? But a day doesn’t go by that, as I sit at my drawing table, I don’t

recall that remark and try a little harder to be a little braver. Like an awful lot of my peers, I owe Dick Giordano a huge debt— both for the professional advice and direction he gave freely and with love—but more importantly, for the example he set and continues to set as a man among men and a worker among workers. The guy’s a prince, for God’s sake. Howard Chaykin January 2003

comics line, and brought two possibilities to Dick: the animated version of Abbott & Costello and a brand-new ABC-TV sitcom called The Flying Nun. Convinced that Abbott & Costello would make a better comic book, Giordano selected that series (although discovering soon thereafter that The Flying Nun would score high in the ratings) and offered it to new discovery Skeates, “one of the funniest people in the From a comics con circa 1966–1967, world.” Skeates storyboarded his A&C Dennis O’Neil, Steve Skeates, and Dick scripts, so riotous they left the editor “rolling on the floor.” Giordano regrets that Giordano light up a Charlton panel. the illustrator he assigned to the project, “competent humor artist” Henry Scarpelli, provided an interpretation that wasn’t as funny as Skeates’ storyboards. But on the merit of that early work, Skeates soon found regular assignments from Dick on the horror anthology The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves and on other Charlton features. Giordano recruited the multitalented Pat Boyette, a radio and television announcer by trade, after uncovering his art samples and correspondence in a pile of Pat Masulli’s unanswered mail. The editor was in a deadline pinch on a war series and, intrigued by Boyette’s quirky Dick Giordano? What can I say about Dick Giordano? rendering style, gave the neophyte artist a chance. Soon, Plenty! Pat Boyette was a Charlton regular, while maintaining his Dick got me started in the comic book business in broadcasting career and indulging yet another sideline as 1966 when he made an appointment for me to see him a writer/director/producer of B-movies (The Weird Ones, in his office at Charlton Comics in Derby, Connecticut. Dungeons of Horror, No Man’s Land, and The Girls from He observed the samples of comic pages that I Thunder Strip). Dick recalls, “Pat had this deep, wonderful created and was very interested. Out of his desk drawer voice. He really enjoyed comics, even though they paid came a seven-page script that he offered to me to less than his other work.” illustrate. Jim Aparo caught wind of Giordano’s openness to new I was quite pleased. I accepted the script with talent and timidly showed his wares to the editor in 1966. thanks and headed home. After I drew the first page I Dick recognized Aparo’s talent and assigned him a backup decided to make the trip back to Charlton to seek his story. Before long, Jim Aparo emerged as one of Charlton’s approval. I was thrilled, I had broken into the comicpremier artists, and ultimately jumped ship to DC Comics book field. where he became renowned for his Batman and Aquaman The script I drew was “The Wild Life and work.

Jim Aparo on GIORDANO

17 BOOKS A MONTH! Giordano edited Charlton’s entire line of 34 bimonthly titles, without the support of an assistant. “Can you imagine that I was editing 17 books a month?” he comments. “When I think of that now, I can’t believe it.” He acknowledges that his role with many of the series was as traffic manager, merely making assignments and shepherding pages through production, but he remained in “a state of constant motion,” even laying out the covers for all the books. “I was young enough to handle stress,” says Dick, “although at the time I didn’t look at that as stress.” In retrospect, Giordano chuckles, “I gotta tell you, that was a job and a half.”

Adventures of Miss Bikini Luv,” which appeared in Go-Go Comics #5, February 1967. As time moved on, Dick was offered editorship at DC Comics. He asked if I, as well as others, was interested in following. Were we? You bet we were! Aquaman was the book they wanted me to illustrate. Other scripts also followed. Then the big one: The Brave and the Bold with Batman and other DC stars. Dick, it all started with you and Charlton Comics. I can’t thank you enough. It’s been great! Jim Aparo January 2003

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Giordano developed a trio of methods to avoid succumbing to the pressures of his burdensome workload. His most cherished diversion was his family. Dick’s adherence to a stringent schedule helped him separate the demanding components of his life, affording each its due time. Punctually clocking out each day at five, he’d promptly return home to spend time with his wife and his children. Dick and Marie Giordano set a positive example of an affectionate relationship: “My kids grew up watching me give my wife a big hug and a kiss, and a loving swat on the butt. We were always kissing and hugging and holding hands.” When disciplining their children, Marie and Dick “would teach lessons by example, showing or telling them why they shouldn’t do something rather than just saying, ‘Do as I say.’” Secondly, Giordano learned that leaving the office for his lunch hour helped alleviate the stress of each day. He has maintained this pattern for decades, even when working from a home studio, and is stymied by his anxiety-ridden colleagues intent at eating lunch at their desks: “I don’t understand why more people don’t understand that you’ve got to get away from things.” Dick discovered his third pressure release shortly into his editorial stint: “That’s when I started drinking Rob Roys,” he smiles, referencing the libation that has become his trademark to anyone who’s ever had the pleasure of dining with him. Giordano acquired a taste for Sweet Rob Roys during executive lunches with Pat Masulli, and to this day continues to enjoy the drink as his relaxant of choice.

ACTION HEROES While the Sweet Rob Roy may have been Dick Giordano’s signature drink, the Action Heroes became his signature project at Charlton. Prior to Giordano’s return to staff, John Santangelo, noting the growing popularity of superheroes with DC’s Silver Age relaunchings and with the emergence of Marvel Comics, mandated to Pat Masulli that Charlton milk this trend. Only a handful of efforts were initially produced under Masulli’s watch, the first two of which listed below, coincidentally, featured artwork by then-freelancer Dick Giordano: a short-lived Blue Beetle

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series in 1964; five issues of Sarge Steel; Son of Vulcan, a hybrid of the Mighty Thor and the original Captain Marvel, in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds; and Steve Ditko’s Captain Atom. There was no direction, no ambition, just random product. Editor Giordano had a vision: heroes without powers. Action heroes. “That name was not an accident,” maintains Dick. “I chose that term. Superman never did anything for me. Batman did. I always preferred heroes who could do things that we supposedly would be able to do.” Beyond his personal tastes, Giordano also believed that emphasizing the “man” instead of the “super” would differentiate his line from those published by DC and Marvel Comics. Only one of the Action Heroes defied Dick’s dictate: Captain Atom, a supercharged champion whose introduction pre-dated Giordano’s editorial tenure. But the editor immediately “changed his costume and weakened him.” The remaining Action Heroes launched (or, in the case of Blue Beetle, revived) by Giordano used abilities and weapons, One of Giordano’s first not super powers, in their adventures. forays into illustrating There was Blue Beetle, retooled by super-heroes: the cover to 1964’s Blue Beetle #3. Amazing Spider-Man expatriate Steve His stint as Blue Beetle Ditko into a high-tech quipster who cover artist used “gadgets like a stun gun,” observes foreshadowed his Giordano; “The Question,” the backup lengthy involvement feature in Blue Beetle, starring a facewith this and Charlton’s less mysteryman who provided creator other “Action Heroes.” Blue Beetle Ditko a venue to espouse his views on ©2003 DC Comics. morality; Peter Cannon—Thunderbolt, by Pete “PAM” Morisi, a hero with, according to the editor, “the power of

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE Giordano was able to orchestrate his comics symphony without the interference of management. “I was left absolutely alone,” he asserts, and this encouraged the young editor and his writers and artists to take liberties with their material—Sarge Steel and Peacemaker, for example, were edgier than standard DC or Marvel super-hero fare. No one did this in a more daring fashion than Steve Ditko. In a 1967 Question story appearing in Blue Beetle #4, Ditko ventured into territory deemed taboo by other publishers: the hero purposely allowed his enemy to die by refusing to rescue him from drowning. Reflects Giordano: “That was over the top for the time. I thought, ‘We’re trying to be different, we’re trying to be bold,’ so it didn’t bother me.” This controversial story gave birth to the modern antihero, and decades later, the idea that heroes were capable of killing their adversaries became commonplace. Giordano contends that this Question tale marked a turning point in the life and career of Steve Ditko. Ditko’s adherence to author Ayn Rand’s philosophies—“that there are two kinds of people in the world, good guys and bad guys, and that bad guys don’t deserve redemption”—began Charlton’s Action Heroes, as rendered in 2000 by their former editor, Dick Giordano, for the cover of Comic Book Artist #9. On ground level, left to right: Nightshade, Tiger, Peter Cannon— Thunderbolt, Judomaster, The Question, and Sarge Steel. In middle ground, flying: Peacemaker. In the air: Blue Beetle (swinging) and Captain Atom (flying). All characters ©2003 DC Comics, except for Peter Cannon— Thunderbolt. ©2003 Peter A. Morisi.

the mind: ‘I must, I can, I will’”; Judomaster (with his partner Tiger), a martial artist created by Charlton art director and frequent Giordano collaborator Frank McLaughlin; Joe Gill and Pat Boyette’s Peacemaker, who waged war for peace with his arsenal; Captain Atom’s backup series “Nightshade, the Darling of Darkness,” by writer David A. Kaler and artist Jim Aparo, working from character designs by Ditko; and Giordano’s own Sarge Steel, the secret agent with an iron hand. Son of Vulcan, who had graduated to his own title (the latter issues featuring the first professionally published work by writer Roy Thomas), ended at roughly the same time of the Action Heroes launch. Fightin’ Five, a preexisting war series, even adopted the flavor of the Action Heroes line: “they were a SWAT team before SWAT teams were invented,” Dick observes. Charlton’s Fightin’ Five, livin’ up to their name. Art by Dick Giordano. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

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to dominate the artist’s work and his relationships with others. “I know two Steve Ditkos,” Giordano explains. “When first I met him up at Charlton, he was a lot of fun with a great sense of humor.” Dick fondly remembers how “that” Steve Ditko amused the Charlton staff for a two-month period one year by posting in a hallway weekly installments of a full-color comic strip, a horror parody with Santa Claus as an evil being. But beginning in the mid-1960s, recalls Giordano, Ditko grew gravely serious as his interest in Rand intensified. Nonetheless, Giordano thoroughly took great pleasure in working with Steve Ditko on Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, and the Question, and would soon continue his collaboration with Ditko elsewhere.

through story credits. Not only were Marvel Comics’ creative teams—from writer/editor Lee down the line to the colorists and letterers—recognized in print for their work, but they each bore comical nicknames: Stan “The Man” Lee, Jack “King” Kirby, etc. This was in total contrast to competitor DC Comics, whose personnel was faceless, rarely receiving story credits. Stan Lee’s mirthful monikers “personalized the people who were creating comics,” Dick contends. While Giordano never adopted creator nicknames in print, his teams were always credited on splash or titles pages. Giordano even had fun promoting his titles, citing a house ad he wrote touting, “Buy Charlton’s Action Heroes—we need the money!”

EDITORIAL GOODWILL It was during his Action Heroes tenure that Dick Giordano honed his editorial style. He became a mentor, a cheerleader, and a caring friend, having the time of his life producing comic books. His artists and writers found his enthusiasm infectious and labored hard for Dick, despite the mediocre page rates offered by Charlton. Giordano did not dictate storylines to his writers or force his artists to draw in a particular style—he encouraged his teams to indulge themselves. If, as editor, he felt a creator was veering off course, he’d diplomatically suggest that they rethink their direction in a manner that seemed more a loving nudge from a brother than a directive from a boss, and his writers and artists blossomed under this hands-off method. “I don’t think I ever had a mandate to do things differently, it just became natural,” he admits. Dick Giordano made producing comic books fun: it was quite common for him to hold story conferences with his freelancers over a game of table tennis on the ping-pong table downstairs in the Charlton building. Giordano’s light-heartedness was not solely confined to behind the scenes: “My attitude was, I’ve got to let the readers know that I’m having fun,” he discloses. “That’s what attracted me most to Stan Lee’s Marvel books, compared to DC’s, because Stan was obviously having a good time. That reached the reader in a way that had never been done before.” One way Lee conveyed that conviviality was

Nowhere was Giordano’s passion for comics and their readers more apparent than in his letters columns. Dick’s personable responses to fans’ letters were informative and respectful—“like I was writing a letter to my mother,” he grins—yet bubbled with verve, humor, An interview with Charlton editor Giordano ran in the seventh issue and honesty. He even of this fanzine, as did his Sarge praised his competiSteel cover. Champion © the tors’ publications in respective copyright holder. Sarge Charlton’s letters Steel ©2003 DC Comics. pages, and sometimes personally answered readers’ by responding on the letters themselves and returning them by mail. Giordano coined his trademark valediction, “Thank you and good afternoon,” in his Charlton lettercols as his answer to Stan Lee’s sign-off “Excelsior.” “I robbed that from one of the people at Charlton, with his permission.” Giordano helped distinguish Charlton as the only comics publisher running letters referencing the previous issue, a benefit allowed him by the titles’ bimonthly schedules and the company’s editorial offices and printing presses being under the same roof. “Two-page letters columns went onto press with no type,” remembers Dick, “and I waited until the last minute to squeeze them into books.” This 11th-hour insertion sometimes made the pace frantic at the Charlton plant, but the end result was an immediacy of communication that could not be matched by other companies.

This montage of Sarge Steel, a character Giordano confesses is “one of the loves of my life, one that’s very close to me,” was illustrated for the 1974 Charlton Portfolio. Courtesy of Bob Layton and CPL/Gang Productions. Sarge Steel ©2003 DC Comics.

Dick Giordano further reveals his connection to his readers when reflecting on the demise of the Sarge Steel series: “Sarge Steel had become a backup in Judomaster. That book was cancelled with the second of two-part Steve Skeateswritten Sarge Steel story left undone. I felt bad for readers that they were left hanging, and over a weekend wrote and drew a new eight-page story that replaced part one and ended the series on a completed note.” Dick also concedes that Sarge Steel’s cancellation was emotional for him, as well: the character is “one of the loves of my life, one that’s very close to me.”

GOING SOUTH Giordano often enticed creators to Charlton by promising, “You won’t make any money, but you’ll have fun.” Into his editorial stint, however, he concocted a plan to pay higher rates to his top talent. “I calculated the budget for all 34 titles, looking for ways to save money on some of them on the proviso that I could pay the Steve Ditkos, the Jim Aparos, the Denny O’Neils of the world a little bit more,” he states. Giordano located a studio in Argentina that charged $8 per page and hired them for the “cannon fodder books, the war books, romance books,” offering them $8–10 per page, reallocating the difference for his bigger names. Charlton consented to his proposal, although John Santangelo frequently pressured Dick to “put some of the savings in the pot” instead of investing it into higher rates. Working with South American artists posed an intriguing challenge: scripts had to be written in “pure English” so that they could easily be translated into Spanish. American colloquialisms were easily misinterpreted by the illustrators, who spoke little or no English. José Luis Garcia-Lopez, who would, in the late 1970s and through the 1980s, become one of DC Comics’ most respected artists, got his start in the business working for Charlton from this studio. Dick sought other means of cutting costs on the “cannon fodder” series, including photostatting splash pages as covers and reprinting filler text pages from previous issues. Despite Giordano’s Herculean efforts, an unexpected opposing force was working against the Action Heroes.

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DISTRIBUTION DISASTERS A vociferous readership took notice of Charlton’s Action Heroes. “The mail came flooding in,” declares Giordano, “and it was overwhelmingly positive.” With his stable of talented writers and artists, it seemed there’d be no stopping the editor’s Action Hero line. Until the sales figures came in. The titles were commercial failures, to no fault of Giordano’s or the creators. “The figures showed we had sold only 18 percent of the print run,” Dick divulges, “which meant that only 25 percent of the print run saw the light of day.” Upon further investigation, the editor learned that the remaining 75 percent of the comics remained bundled and unopened, stored in warehouses until being returned for credit. In the network of 1960s newsstand distribution, vendors filled their delivery trucks with the most popular newspapers and magazines, then, “if there was still room, threw in some comic books,” explains Giordano. This selection process favored DC’s and Marvel’s more recognizable titles like Superman, Batman, and The Amazing Spider-Man, but often kept Charlton’s books from even making it out of the gate. Giordano’s discovery of bundled and ignored Charlton comics “was painful,” he confesses. “I had been having so much fun, but that sort of ruined it for me.” Capital Distributing, Charlton Comics’ distribution arm, lacked the muscle and the interest to ensure that their products would survive in the marketplace. In the 1960s DC Comics employed roughly 150 “roadmen”—traveling salesmen who canvassed the country finding new venues for their comic books—while Charlton had a total of five roadmen charged with covering the entire continental U.S.A. Giordano discounts a conspiracy theory behind Charlton’s poor distribution that industry professionals have shared with him over the years: “Some people have suggested that either DC or Marvel did something to prevent those books from reaching the stands. I’m not convinced of that. We weren’t important enough for them to do that.” More likely, the foremost obstacle limiting the distribution of Charlton’s comic books was the company’s tightfistedness. Dick bemoans, “the prevailing culture of the company became, ‘how can we save five dollars,’ not ‘how can we make five dollars,’” noting that Charlton would rather take the easy way out and collect a token sum for product returns than push its product toward profit maximization. “Charlton’s complete production facility and its low overhead gave them such a tremendous edge,” contends Giordano, “but they only published comic books to keep the

presses running ’round the clock.” The nickel-and-diming sensibility fostered by owner John Santangelo made Charlton “garbage dealers—they even chose to wait for the price of scrap metal to go up before disposing of engraving plates that were stacked throughout the facility and in the way!” In retrospect, Giordano is convinced that had Charlton given his titles marketing and production support, the Action Heroes line could have done to Marvel what Marvel had previously done to DC—challenge the top dog. “If they had taken the few extra steps,” he laments, “they could have ruled the world.” In summation of his Action Heroes line, Dick Giordano sighs a Marlon Brando impression: “I coulda been a contender!”

DC COMICS : NUMBER TWO WITH A BULLET 1967 was a year of change for DC Comics, officially known at the time as National Periodical Publications. Marvel Comics snuck onto the scene in 1961 as an eager upstart with Fantastic Four, but within a span of six years had risen to marketplace dominance. Outside of the Batman titles, propped up by the immense popularity of the Batman live-action ABC-TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, DC had waffled from being the industry leader to the runner-up. Carmine Infantino, a regular DC artist since the 1940s and the company’s chief Batman artist during the mid-1960s, was appointed as the company’s art director in 1967 by DC’s publisher, Irwin Donenfeld, a logical career progression for the artist given his exemplary flair for energetic cover designs. That year, Kinney National Services acquired DC Comics. Positioning itself to challenge Marvel to regain its industry stature, DC was ready to shake up the biz. Art director Infantino, emphasizing that comics is a visual medium, convinced Donenfeld to recruit editors with art backgrounds to replace some editors who were regarded by DC management as “stodgy, pipe-smoking guys wearing tweed jackets with patches,” according to Giordano. Joe Orlando, best known as one of the progenitors of MAD magazine, was hired as a result of this new direction. Thanks to Steve Ditko, Dick Giordano also got a call. Giordano acknowledges that Ditko, aware of these changes, “came to my Charlton office to ask me if I had any interest in working for DC. I said yes, so Steve set up an appointment for me with Carmine and Irwin Donenfeld.” That meeting—and a few follow-ups—were scheduled after hours at DC’s Manhattan office, or in Westport, Connecticut,

Always affable, Dick Giordano announced his departure from Charlton’s staff and mentioned his successor in this late-1967 letter to a fan and aspiring pro. Courtesy of Mike Ambrose.

where Donenfeld lived. Little did Giordano realize at the time that he was being courted to replace long-time editor George Kashdan. A cabal of DC Comics writers, including Bob Haney, John Broome, Arnold Drake, Gardner Fox, Otto Binder, and others, had recently made a power play for pay hikes, medical benefits, royalties, and limited character ownership. Kashdan’s relationship with Bob Haney had intensified to the point where the author was writing most of the editor’s books, a perceived stranglehold. DC management believed that the hiring of new editors would weaken the writers’ power, and countered the writers’ requests by raising their page rates as a panacea. Since Haney was regarded by management as an instigator in this movement, DC decided that his editor, Kashdan, was expendable. Nor was he the only one: some of the writers involved in the dispute found themselves blackballed at DC. At the time of his recruitment, Giordano

knew nothing of this writers’ movement or of the perception of Kashdan: “I didn’t realize that someone was losing a job for me to get one.” Dick Giordano accepted the position, and in 1968 joined the staff of DC Comics. Sal Gentile replaced Dick as editor at Charlton, packaging some of Giordano’s material and continuing to oversee the post-Action Heroes line. Glowing over his recruitment into comics’ big leagues, Dick mentioned to Irwin Donenfeld that he’d like to bring over some of his creative people from Charlton. Replied Donenfield: “Of course. Why do you think we’re hiring you?” Dick laughs, “That sort of deflated me right away. They were hiring my guys, not me.” George Kashdan was gone once Giordano arrived on staff. “He came into the office two or three times after I was there,” Giordano remembers. “He acknowledged my presence, but never indicated that we should go somewhere and talk. I would have welcomed that, actually,” a gesture of atonement for his unwitting displacement of a DC staffer.

PRODUCTION JUNCTION, WHAT’S YOUR FUNCTION? Giordano was assigned a slate of eight bimonthly titles— Aquaman, Beware the Creeper, Blackhawk, Bomba the Jungle Boy, The Hawk and the Dove, The Secret Six, Teen Titans, and Young Love—a far cry from the 34 he managed at Charlton. “I had lots of support and a full production department with a proofreader,” he says. Quoting Paul Levitz, who was then a DC Comics fan but would later join the staff and ultimately rise to its top post, “I had a ‘country club schedule.’” As he did at Charlton, Dick exploited the letters pages of his titles as his direct pipeline to the fans. His arrival at DC was trumpeted by a lettercol blurb that included a caricature of the young, clean-shaven editor penciled by Joe

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came back the third or fourth time, I knew they were serious.” Agents of change Giordano and Orlando were dissatisfied with DC’s production department, and decided to take on its personnel. At that time, production was handing out inking, lettering, and coloring assignments; editors selected the writers and pencilers and only trafficked the efforts of the other contributors. Dick and Joe’s first strike was to usurp the responsibility of making inking assignments on their titles, DC’s coolest then the lettering assignments. new editor announced This was not well received. DC’s production department, his arrival in the letters columns of DC’s under the leadership of Sol Harrison and his second-incoolest titles. ©2003 DC Comics. command, colorist Jack Adler, was a well-oiled machine that Orlando and inked by Giordano himself (although Dick had operated in the same orderly fashion for many years. recalls that shortly thereafter, he grew a moustache, which Schedules were maintained and deadlines were met, but he’d keep for the rest of his life). there was no artistic sentience. Shortly after Giordano’s hiring, Irwin Donenfeld With the gentle smile of a lamb but the tenacity of a ram, announced his retirement and art director Carmine Infantino editor Giordano constantly took chances. One of his favorite ascended into the role of the company’s editorial director. stories involves his inclusion of the word “FLICKER” in a Giordano and Orlando were later joined by artist/editors caption in Beware the Creeper. Dick laughs, “Production Mike Sekowsky, former penciler of DC’s Justice League of argued, ‘You can’t use that word! The L and I will close up,’” America, and veteran illustrator Joe Kubert, who inherited potentially forming an obscenity that was unthinkable in the war books from writer/editor Robert Kanigher. comic books of the late 1960s. Giordano countered: “You’re DC Comics was then headquartered at 575 Lexington production. Avenue in Manhattan. It’s your job Giordano began his to make sure editorial watch by they don’t sharing an office with close up.” Joe Orlando and In all the years that I’ve known Dick as a fellow artist, fellow editor, and The young long-time DC editor master of the pen and brush, he has always been the consummate editor soon Murray Boltinoff. The professional. It is an accolade well deserved. discovered “young Turks” of Joe Kubert that some DC’s staff, Joe and December 2002 innovations Dick immediately hit had not taken it off: “Joe was complace because ing off of a very difficult time in his life then,” Giordano of cost limitations, but because no one ever asked for reveals. “He had recently suffered a heart attack, and his changes. When both Giordano and Orlando submitted books wife had visited him in the hospital to tell him she was with two-page spreads, the production department scoffed that divorcing him.” Existing on medication to maintain his spreads were technically impossible. Dick retorted, “there’s cholesterol level, “Joe was living for his work,” says Dick. no reason why the pages can’t line up. If I did it at Charlton “His wife was gone, his health was gone.” you can certainly do it here,” instructing production staffers Drawing from their artistic experience, Giordano and on how spreads could be produced. Orlando spoke candidly about comic books, discussing Another production restriction involved the use of the ways to improve their titles. Officemate Murray Boltinoff, an color yellow. “We were only allowed to use solid yellow, no old-school editor whose background was in journalism tints,” explains Giordano. “I asked Sol, ‘Why?’, and he said, rather than graphics, listened intently. And he got an earful. ‘To save money.’ ‘How much would it cost?’ I asked. Sol Dick and Joe were DC’s first editors to make themselves said, ‘I don’t know but I’ll check.’ Later, a shame-faced Sol available to examine portfolios of artists and writers visiting Harrison told me, ‘It doesn’t cost anything more…we just the office. “We found Gerry Conway that way,” Giordano never asked for it.’” With the incorporation of gradations of remembers. Boltinoff overheard Dick praising the budding yellow, subtle but appreciated color differences took place, author’s promise and gave Conway his first DC assignment. including, says Giordano, “Batman’s outfit going from purple Giordano was happy to offer the artists encouragement and to gray, and pink faces changing to (Caucasian) flesh tones.” direction, but had a litmus test for dedication: “When they

Joe Kubert on GIORDANO

Despite initial resistance, Harrison and Adler began to cooperate with these new editors once they understood that the changes they were implementing were for the betterment of the comics. “Joe and I worked with production, keeping them involved, demonstrating that we cared about our projects and that we knew what we were doing,” states Giordano. “Any ruffled feathers were soon smoothed over. Sol Harrison, Jack Adler, and I became very fast friends.” It soon became evident to others on staff that from his experiences at Charlton, Giordano knew what he was doing. Adler, who still maintained control over coloring assignments, frequently consulted Dick, asking his preferences for color to establish mood, “Which made me feel so good. I felt like somebody cared about these books besides me.” With Giordano, Orlando, and editors Kubert and Sekowsky insisting on their books reflecting their artistic preferences, production began working with them to implement improvements. Observes Giordano: “They really began caring about what the books looked like, which I thought then, and still believe, was a quantum leap between what DC Comics had been and what it became.” Under Carmine Infantino’s editorial (and artistic) direction, DC Comics began revolutionizing the medium with challenging new types of material and dynamic visuals. Creator credits finally became the norm. The atmosphere around the offices grew less corporate; impromptu hallway conferences became commonplace, and were often more productive than structured boardroom meetings. The artist/editors’ understanding of storytelling helped reinvigorate DC scripts, and Infantino—lauded as one of comics’ most innovative graphic designers—made the exterior of DC’s comics more lively by laying out all of the line’s covers. In awe of Infantino’s cover designs, Giordano attests, “Carmine did covers that asked questions that could only be answered by reading the book.”

MAKING COMICS, MAKING FRIENDS When DC moved to 909 Third Avenue, Giordano shared an office with Julius Schwartz, the legendary editor responsible for resuscitating the super-hero genre in the late 1950s by reinventing the Flash, Green Lantern, and other characters. Schwartz, a former agent for science-fiction authors, was intimately involved with his writers in the plotting of stories, which took place in his DC office. “Watching Julie was a real pleasure,” smiles Giordano. “When his writers pitched plots, Julie would discuss the main story points, then act out the plot, doing the voices of the characters.”

Julius Schwartz on GIORDANO Dick Giordano! Penciler — Peerless! Inker — Inspired! Editor — Extraordinary! Friend — Fabulous! Julius Schwartz December 2000

Dick found Schwartz’s daily lunchtime “theoretical bridge” matches with letterer Milt Snappin equally amusing. While Schwartz’s heavy-handed editorial style was in direct contrast to Giordano’s hands-off method, Dick acknowledges that his officemate knew when to back off: “Julie got out of the way of Green Lantern/Green Arrow,” referencing the influential late 1960s/early 1970s series by writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams. “I’m not saying he didn’t have any input,” Giordano is quick to add, “but he knew that Denny and Neal were producing something groundbreaking. Julie was a very wise man in that respect.” Giordano, who, as a freelancer, inked a handful of those GL/GA stories, admits that sharing an office with the wise comics sage Julius Schwartz was an educational experience. But the master could also learn a trick or two from the apprentice. Dick remembers one day in the fall of 1970 when Schwartz frantically paced DC’s hallways. Julie was stumped, unable to come up with cover copy for issue #82 of Green Lantern/Green Arrow. The illustration featured the heroes being menaced from vicious harpies, divebombing from above. Giordano walked past him, eyed the cover, and without a moment’s hesitation remarked, “The Harpies are Coming, The Harpies are Coming!” (a takeoff of the thenA hallway encounter between Dick current movie, The Russians are Giordano and Julie Schwartz gave Coming, The Russians are Coming!). birth to this issue’s cover copy. Julie exclaimed, “That’s it!” And the ©2003 DC Comics.

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DC’s offices had small rooms available for visitors’ and artists’ use. Adams set up shop in one of those rooms, across from the Schwartz/Giordano office. “Neal was charismatic,” says Giordano. “He wore a tie and jacket and came in every day, even though he wasn’t officially on staff. Neal was doing a million different things at that time, and always had something cooking.” Neal Adams recalls his first encounter with Dick Giordano: “I remember that he looked like a little gangster, like part of the Italian mafia. But he had a twinkle in his eye, and was very friendly and very open.” It was only natural that these talented young multitaskers gravitate toward each other. They were both dedicated to elevating comics as an art form, both breathing down the necks of DC’s production staffers to challenge them to implement changes, and both interested in cultivating new talent. When new artists came to DC with portfolios in tow, Adams was as involved as Giordano with the review of their work. “Sometimes Dick couldn’t help them out, because he But it was the fellow across the hall who made the biggest had a given number of books,” Adams explains, “so I’d take impression upon Dick: Neal Adams. The comics world had an artist who was worthy down to another editor, like Murray first noticed Adams in 1964 from his photo-realistic work on Boltinoff. And so we’d get guys moving through the system.” the Ben Casey newspaper strip. A few years later, the artist As their camaraderie was working at DC, illustrating deepened, Dick and Neal Neal Adams recalls his first encounter developed a method of stories and covers for the Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope series, then with Dick Giordano: “I remember communicating with facial segueing into war titles and hand gestures. “Our that he looked like a little gangster, before distinguishing relationship was very rare,” like part of the Italian mafia. But he himself on the Giordano says. “Visual landmark had a twinkle in his eye, and was very signals like raised eyebrows Deadman meant something, indicating friendly and very open.” feature in we needed to go off and talk Strange Adventures and on about things.” “We thumbed and winked, and communicatThe Spectre. His ed pretty well by made-up hand signals,” adds Adams. “And challenging layouts we pretty much had the same general point of view about and commercial-art things. We’d wrinkle our nose if some suit was coming by. If techniques reinvigoa new artist came by, we’d arch an eyebrow.” rated comic books, In 1968 Giordano became Adams’ and by 1968 editor, inheriting Strange Adventures with Neal Adams, in issue #212, featuring the eighth his mid-20s, was the field’s Deadman story, and by hiring him to “It” boy. draw covers for

cover copy dilemma was solved. Giordano also found Schwartz’s devotion to his marriage inspirational. “Julie was very much in love with his wife,” Dick attests. “He called her twice a day at specific times. One day, she didn’t answer, and he knew something was wrong: he grabbed his hat and went home, and found her ill, unconscious, and got her to the hospital.” Schwartz’s romantic bond and intuition saved his wife’s life that day. “Julie is a wonderful guy,” believes Giordano. His opinion of Mort Weisinger, then the Superman editor, is quite the opposite. “He used to insult writers who came in with story ideas,” Dick frowns. “Mort would say to them, ‘I have to go to the bathroom. Do you mind if I use your script to wipe myself?’ He had absolutely no respect for the creative community.”

THE LENNON AND MCCARTNEY OF COMICS

Neal Adams, at right, seems indifferent to his friend Dick Giordano’s “made-up hand signal.” Actually, they’re just hamming it up for a 1972 fumetti titled “The Great American Dream,” which ran in the first issue of Marvel’s MAD magazine clone, Crazy. ©1972 Marvel Entertainment.

The

they’re telling me, ‘People inking your work is the way we do things—that way we get more work out of you.’” Adams explained to Giordano his artistic intentions, and offered some technical recommendations to make their styles better mesh. “Suddenly, Dick’s work became more sparkling, and he put more into it,” Neal reveals. Giordano was producing inks that made the penciler admit, “that almost looks like I did it.” The synthesis of the Adams/Giordano approaches defined a look that “essentially became my comic-book style, unless I inked it myself,” notes Adams. “It wasn’t until I went over to Marvel that people started to realize that maybe my stuff isn’t the same all the time, once they saw Tom Palmer ink my work.”

Witching Hour. Dick declares, “Neal and I had a nearperfect relationship at DC, when I was an editor and he was an artist.” Their first artistic pairing was far from near-perfect, however. Giordano had brokered a deal with Carmine Infantino to supplement his editorial salary with freelance art assignments, and took on inking work—faster for the artist to complete than penciling jobs—to maximize his earnings. Editor Mort Weisinger tapped Dick to ink 1968’s World’s Finest Comics #175, a Superman/ Batman tale penciled by Neal. “I remember getting the pencils,” says Giordano. “They were the best pages I’d ever gotten to handle. And it was the weakest job I ever did with Neal.” Neal Adams concurs: “When Dick first inked my work, I hated it. But I didn’t hate it as much as other peoples’ inks over my work. I wasn’t used to the idea of someone else inking my work. I was an artist who’d practically had his way for all of his career, then at DC

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offered him the art assignment for the series’ final two issues (#242–243). Long retired from comics, Crandall was hesitant Many of the DC titles edited by Dick Giordano are to accept the assignment, but, swayed by Giordano’s renowned decades later for their pioneering content. Two of enthusiasm, “hemmed and hawed then asked for a script.” his books, Blackhawk and Bomba the Jungle Boy, were slated Giordano immediately sent Crandall the Wolfman script and for cancellation when they were assigned to him. While he the appropriate amount of artboard, believing that all was admits to having little interest in Bomba, a licensed title based well. In this particular instance, Giordano’s hands-off editorial on a TV show starring a Tarzan-like teen-ager, his enthusiasm style backfired. Leaving Crandall to his own devices, Dick inspired artist Jack Sparling to provide what Dick calls a called him two weeks before the art was due for a status “gorgeous job” on the last two issues. report. Reed Crandall confessed that he hadn’t started the job and admitted he “couldn’t do this anymore.” Now in a crucial deadline bind, Dick lined up Charlton crony Dick’s editing was different from a lot of people’s because he didn’t tell you Pat Boyette to illustrate the last two what to do; he didn’t sit with you and work out the intricacies with you. issues of Blackhawk. “They were Dick edited through inspiration. He appealed on a more human level to you, dynamite issues, great Pat Boyette and got you to want to work harder because of that. Dick was enjoying stuff,” beams Giordano, “even though himself. It wasn’t just a job to him—it was a calling. he was working under the gun.” Marv Wolfman The final issue was scripted by February 2003 another Charlton crossover, Joe Gill. Giordano reveals another occurrence where his soft editorial touch created a problem. Secret Six featured a sextet of adventurers Blackhawk, the venerable title that had been running who answered to a mysterious leader called Mockingbird, consistently since WWII, posed a problem for the editor, who, the reader was told, was actually one of the Six. Dick even on the chopping block. The series’ characters, an interhired Joe Gill to write an issue, but didn’t watch him closely, national band of freedom fighters, were anachronisms by being comfortable with Gill’s professionalism. “In thought the 1960s, and the title had just concluded an embarrassing balloon comments, Gill eliminated two of the Six from run with the Blackhawks in the roles of ridiculously bizarre being Mockingbird,” notes Giordano, thereby weakening super-heroes. “Blackhawk was one of my favorite comics the series’ mystique and ongoing potential. when I was a kid,” Dick professes, presenting Giordano with

MOPPING UP MESSES

Marv Wolfman on GIORDANO

an emotional and professional challenge: he hoped to resuscitate the series in these last two issues and receive a stay of execution—or at least he wanted the book to go out with a bang. In an instance of history repeating itself, Giordano discovered another talented newcomer simply by reviewing his predecessor’s unopened mail. Recalls Marv Wolfman, who was then in his late teens and active in comics fandom: “I had sent in a spec script for Blackhawk, which was being edited by George Kashdan at the time. I didn’t like the direction of the series. They had changed the Blackhawks into something called the ‘JunkHeap Heroes’—which they were.” Wolfman’s treatment restored the Blackhawks to their former glory, and Giordano, having met Marv at several conventions, called the teen and offered to print his story (although it was dialogued by Bob Haney). “This was my first published work for DC,” says Wolfman. Remembering his admiration of the art of Blackhawk creator Reed Crandall, Giordano phoned Crandall and

GIORDANO AND DITKO REUNITED Two of Giordano’s assignments, Beware the Creeper and The Hawk and the Dove, were created by his friend and Charlton co-conspirator, Steve Ditko. Although they were costumed heroes with super-powers, capricious Creeper and the contemporary Hawk and Dove were certainly cut from a different cloth than the traditional super-heroes in DC’s stable. The Creeper was actually Jack Ryder, an acerbic TV news journalist who transformed into a green-haired, yellowskinned crime-fighter with a maniacal laugh. Crouching on rooftops like a grinning gargoyle, the Creeper ferreted out gangsters by pretending to be on the wrong side of the law. The series had already been developed when Giordano came on board: “My first DC work was the final copy edit on the Creeper issue of Showcase” (issue #73 of DC’s legendary tryout title).

“I started with page one of Hawk and Dove,” says Giordano, and the letters column of Showcase #75, their first appearance, includes the new editor’s introduction—although, curiously, the page-one indicia credits Carmine Infantino as editor. Borrowing its title from the aggressor vs. pacifist clashes resulting from the Vietnam War, The Hawk and the Dove starred teen-age brothers Hank and Don Hall, who, by uttering their avian names, became feathered figures of justice. Giordano recruited Steve Skeates from Charlton to dialogue the title. Hawk and Dove’s abilities—enhanced strength and stamina, and athletic prowess—had an unexplained origin. “During the series’ development,” Giordano relates, “Ditko was unsure of the source of Hawk and Dove’s powers. I said flippantly, ‘just have a voice give them their powers’—and that’s what we did.” In their origin sequence, the Hall brothers are trapped in a locked room but must alert their father, a district court judge, of an impending mob hit. They appeal to the heavens, wishing for the power to escape. A thundering voice grants them their abilities and their guises for their mission. “We just called it ‘the voice,’” Giordano states, “but it could’ve been God, or it could’ve been an alien being. Defining it would have taken the mystery away.” Writer Steve Skeates’ contribution to the origin was the boys’ recitation of their character names to trigger their change into super-heroes. In and out of costume, Hawk and Dove clashed—impulsive Hank/Hawk was quick to respond to crises with violence, where passive Don/Dove resisted conflict, often endangering himself in the process. Giordano observes that the brothers’ opposing ideals “reflected Ditko’s right vs. wrong sensibilities, with their father, the judge, in the middle of their extremes, not to take sides, but to make the sons think over their views.” As Steve Ditko’s Ayn Rand-influenced socio-political philosophy deepened, “he started having problems with his writers,” Dick contends: “O’Neil and Skeates were left-wing radicals compared to Ditko,” and clashes became common. On Beware the Creeper, Giordano recalls that the dissension “came to a head when Denny described a character as a ‘reformed criminal,’ and Ditko reportedly rebutted, ‘there’s no such thing, you can’t reform criminals.’” Political differences eventually split up the teams, causing Creeper and Hawk and Dove to lose their momentum. Both titles were soon cancelled.

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KING OF THE SEVEN SEAS Aquaman was the highest-profile series on Giordano’s editorial plate. The hero, DC’s sea king who lived in the undersea city of Atlantis, splashed through a variety of super-hero anthologies for decades before finally being rewarded his own title in 1962. By the time Giordano inherited the series, the hero had become the star of a CBS-TV animated cartoon program. Giordano felt that Aquaman’s comic-book potential had become diluted by overly cute supporting cast members: “I wanted to get Aquaman away from the silly Aquababy stories and the TV show’s fun characters that you could make soft toys of.” Veteran illustrator Nick Cardy, who had drawn the title and its covers since its inception, was revered as “the” Aquaman artist. Swimming against the tide of tradition and popular opinion, Giordano believed that Aquaman needed a new look: “I love Nick Cardy’s art,” Dick emphatically stresses, “but if you want to make the statement, ‘we’re changing this,’ then you have to change the art. I wanted to start with a clean slate, a new writer, new artist, and new approach.” While maintained as cover artist, Cardy was replaced on the interiors by Charlton recruit Jim Aparo. Giordano hired another Charlton compatriot, Steve Skeates, to write Aquaman, with the goal of turning the series into underwater science fiction. “We wanted to explore unknown worlds under the sea,” Dick reveals. “If Atlantis could exist, why couldn’t there be someplace else?” The editor also drew inspiration from The Fugitive, at the time a successful weekly TV series featuring a nomadic protagonist: “I wanted Aquaman to wander from undersea city to undersea city, solving whatever problem was there and moving on.” The

Giordano’s recruitment of writer Steve Skeates and artist Jim Aparo from Charlton resuscitated Aquaman’s waterlogged adventures and took the hero into bold new directions. From Aquaman #52. ©2003 DC Comics.

catalyst for Aquaman’s travels was the abduction of his wife, Mera, and the hero’s search for her, in a long-running storyline that began in issue #40, courtesy of the “S.A.G.” (Skeates/Aparo/Giordano) team. Steve Skeates visited Giordano’s New York office every six months, and together the pair brainstormed three bimonthly issues of material at a time. The editor afforded his author tremendous latitude, although “sometimes I had to cut Steve’s excessive dialogue,” he recalls. Into the second year of their collaboration and the “Search for Mera” epic, Giordano and Skeates recognized that Aquaman’s undersea odyssey lacked a resolution. It was revealed that Mera had been transported to a microscopic world inside a ring, but the creators were clueless on how to rescue her. Over lunch, Dick shared his dilemma with his confidant Neal Adams, who, according to Giordano, mused, “‘Let me think about this… ’. Before long, Neal comes in with a rough script”—and with the answer to Giordano’s problem. Adams proposed using Deadman as a conduit to return Mera to Atlantis, and wrote and illustrated a three-issue Deadman sequence as the backup to issues #50–52. Readers of this classic series assumed that the inclusion of Deadman was coordinated from the inception of the Mera storyline, but Giordano confesses, “it was totally unplanned.” While a few fans voiced initial displeasure over the replacement of Nick Cardy on the series, Aquaman’s new creative team and direction were extremely well received. The editor was routinely criticized by fans for misleading cover art, for which he is innocent. Dick explains, “Those Aquaman covers were designed by Nick and Carmine in the office after I had gone home. Sometimes I inherited covers that had little or nothing to do with the story.” On a few occasions the editor complained to Infantino about this misrepresentation, to no avail. Ultimately Giordano conceded and remains quite fond of Cardy’s cover work, despite their diversion from the story content: “How can you not like a Nick Cardy cover?” For an unknown reason that still befuddles Giordano, he was informed by DC management that Aquaman wasn’t selling well, even though fan mail indicated that it was a success. It was many years later, long after a DC regime change, that Paul Levitz found the original sales figures for those Aquaman issues and told Dick that the series was actually quite profitable. Decades later, Giordano’s editorial guidance on Aquaman is regarded as one of the, if not the, most successful treatments of the character. Dick is quick to attribute the book’s achievements to his harmonious creative team: “I hired the right people, and we were all on the same page.”

KISSING, CARS, CREEPS, AND COWBOYS Shortly into Carmine Infantino’s tenure as editorial director, comic books began to explore “relevant” themes—realistic looks at somber issues like drug abuse, poverty, and racism. Infantino encouraged his editors to infuse more relevance into their titles. Giordano cooperated—and resisted. Giordano had been assigned Teen Titans, DC’s title starring its junior super-heroes. Infantino mandated to the new editor that Robin, Kid Flash, and the other Titans forsake their super-powers and costumes. Under Dick’s watch, the young heroes found themselves indirectly responsible for an assassination, and in reparation hung up their capes. Dick’s most profound “relevant” statement was one that caught him by surprise. An African-American youth named Mal Duncan had joined the Teen Titans, and through him was ignited one of the most volatile controversies of Giordano’s career. An issue of Titans depicted a harmless good-bye kiss given to Mal by a Caucasian character named Lilith. The editor thought the gesture to be innocuous,

remarking, “I’ve always been colorblind. This was a superhero group, and Mal and Lilith were friendly—why wouldn’t she kiss him good-bye?” Giordano recalls that when Carmine Infantino saw a pre-publication black-and-white proof of that issue, he sternly objected, fearing that the readership was not ready for an interracial kiss. Dick elected to keep the kiss but to call less attention to it by “coloring the whole thing blue” as a night scene. Regardless of its hue, it made some readers see red. Giordano received hate mail, and even a death threat that read, he recalls, “the next time you go out of your office, you’d better look around. I might be there with a gun.” This venomous bluster was countered by volumes of mail supporting the courageous depiction of Mal and Lilith’s kiss. While Giordano pushed the relevance envelope with Teen Titans, he fought the trend toothand-nail on his romance titles. Shaped by the 1950s tales he illustrated in Charlton titles like Sweethearts and First Kiss, the editor commissioned traditional love stories for DC’s Young Love and a second romance book assigned to him, Secret Hearts. Fellow editor Joe Orlando, in Young Romance, “was doing stories with social workers and their love problems, but I was doing fairy tales,” recalls Dick. One of Giordano’s later editorial assignments reflected

his love affair with cars that began in the early 1950s during his work on Charlton’s Hot Rods and Racing Cars series: Hot Wheels, a licensed title adapting the TV cartoon based on Mattel’s new toy line. Dick gave the book’s art assignment to Alex Toth, knowing that Toth “was also a car guy, having drawn for the magazine CARtoons.” In an admittedly self-indulgent move that also produced some gloriously stunning finished art, Giordano handled most of the series’ inking chores, with Joe Gill scripting the book.

Just as the editor received Gill’s script for Hot Wheels #6, a memo was handed down from DC management announcing the cancellation of the title with that very issue. Alex Toth had recently attended a car show and told Giordano of his desire to do a story about a Cord, so Dick canned the final Gill script (for which the writer had been paid) and let Toth write and illustrate the story he had in mind. “He was very happy that I let him do what he wanted,” Dick grins. “With no disrespect to Joe Gill, Toth’s issue convinced me that the best stories are ones written and drawn by one person, reflecting a single vision.” With June 1968’s House of Mystery #174, editor Joe Orlando revamped the series from a showcase for also-ran super-heroes into an anthology of horror stories, each hosted by the caretaker of the House, Cain (whose appearance was based on neo-DC writer Len Wein). The relaunch was instantly successful. During a 1968 lunch meeting, Carmine Infantino, Dick Giordano, and Joe Orlando brainstormed a similar remodel of House of Secrets, which had been cancelled in September 1966, with Dick as the editorial landlord. But rather than mimic Orlando’s book, Giordano constructed something compatible, yet different. Hosting House of Secrets was Cain’s portly, meek brother Abel (modeled after DC staffer Mark Hanerfeld). For comic relief, Dick made Abel afraid of the House, because it was always trying to attack him: “Abel would lift the window, and the window would come down on his hand.” Dick also added Goldie, Abel’s invisible friend, inspired by his son Richard’s invisible companion of the same name.

“I quickly fell into a format with House of Secrets that was different from Joe’s approach,” Giordano maintains. “To give the impression that the book was designed as a unit rather than separate stories, I wrote bridges between stories, or the bridges were written by newcomer Gerry Conway. I bought the Giordano’s House of Secrets stories from various was no House of Mystery writers, then would think clone. ©2003 DC Comics. of something thematic to link them together via the bridges.” Artist Bill Draut, a long-time DC journeyman, illustrated most of the bridges and many of the series’ covers. Giordano’s House of Secrets opened its doors in September 1969 with issue #81. The Witching Hour was a brand-new horror anthology developed by editor Giordano, launching in March 1969 with issue #1. Hosting the series were a trio of witch sisters who, like Abel in House of Secrets, appeared in bridges that linked the stories. Gerry Conway wrote those linking sequences, and drawing the bridges and some of the covers was Alex Toth. The multiple story format in DC’s mystery titles offered Dick Giordano (as well as Joe Orlando) the opportunity to

Len Wein on GIORDANO We all know about Dick Giordano, penciler, inker, editor supreme. Here’s one you probably never heard of: Dick Giordano, referee. Very early in our careers as professional comics writers, my lifelong buddy Marv Wolfman and I got into one of our very few (and, thankfully, very far between) “disagreements.” It was a doozy (though, for the life of me now, I can’t remember what it was about and neither, I would imagine, can Marv). Anyway, we simply couldn’t be in one another’s presence for a while without going to war. Since we were both working for Dick at the time, you can imagine this might cause a problem. Not for Dick, however. He simply set down the law. If I was coming into the office for a story conference on any given day, Marv wasn’t allowed in the building.

And vice versa. Dick wouldn’t allow us in the same room until we grew up enough to apologize to one another. Which, eventually, we did. Months later, when a bizarre set of circumstances led to Marv and me briefly being “blackballed” by DC’s then Powers-That-Be, Dick ignored the orders of his higher-ups and continued to give us work and encouragement. That’s just the kind of guy he is. I’ve worked for Dick and with Dick for many years since then (most notably on The Human Target) but I’ve never forgotten Dick’s generosity. Or his humanity. On the off-chance I’ve never said it before, Boss, thanks. For everything. Len Wein February 2003

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recruit new talent and allow them to hone their craft on stories of shorter duration. “At DC, Dick and Joe, in their thirties, were seasoned pros, and were interested in trying out and working with new talent,” notes Marv Wolfman. “They gave us all a break and worked with us. Dick and Joe had the room to try people out on two- and three-page stories.” Sometimes abetting editor Giordano was Neal Adams, who would often send a promising new artist to Dick for a House of Secrets or Witching Hour tryout. Energized by the series’ versatility and changing creative teams, Giordano confesses, “I enjoyed House of Secrets and Witching Hour more than Creeper and Hawk and Dove when I was doing them. They were fun. I was never wildly enthusiastic about super-heroes.” Reprint titles, assigned to editors on a rotating basis, were the closest thing to drudge work for Dick at DC. When launching All-Star Western, Giordano recalls spending long hours in the DC library laboriously wading through old comics to find decently written and drawn stories worth

reprinting. Then it dawned on him how to make repackaging these old Westerns fun: as with his mystery series, he linked the tales with bridging pages. This simple trick made stories written and drawn years apart appear to be bonded by a similar theme. Giordano rounded up reprints to round out All-Star Western. ©2003 DC Comics.

4:00 AM WAKEUP CALL Balancing his full-time editing job with a consistent slate of freelance inking assignments led Giordano to budget each minute of his day. “I had a very busy schedule,” he recalls. “I’d get up at four in the morning, got a cup of tea, worked at the drawing board till seven, hopped in the shower, then raced to the train,” arriving at the DC office between nine and ten. To maintain this pace he clocked out at five “so that I could get home early, spend some time with my family, and get enough sleep to get up at 4 AM the next day.” Giordano was adamant about drawing a distinct line of demarcation between his freelance and staff responsibilities. “I was very careful not to take a day off from DC when I had a freelance deadline,” he says. “I separated my two jobs: I learned to ‘turn the switch’ between them. Quite frankly, I had the best of two worlds.” It was during the late 1960s that Dick Giordano began to emerge as the industry’s foremost inker. In addition to delineating the work of Alex Toth in Hot Wheels and on random romance stories, Giordano soon landed a regular assignment: Wonder Woman. In l968 Carmine Infantino The Witching Hour gave Giordano the opportunity to work with a variety of creators, new and established. ©2003 DC Comics.

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Sekowsky’s inconsistent anatomical renderings. And rebounding from a less-than-stellar initial pairing on World’s Finest Comics, inker Dick Giordano and penciler Neal Adams continued to work together on random issues of Batman, Detective Comics, The Brave and the Bold, and Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and even dabbled in some freelance commercial work. Having developed confidence with a brush, Giordano adapted his crisp lines and solidly spotted blacks to a variety of styles, bringing out the best in their work. “Dick’s inking pretty much set the standard,” notes Neal Adams, “and I think it set the standard for DC: the professionalism, the approach to the work, the sense of darks and lights, had only been seen by the better people up at DC, like Russ Heath and Joe Kubert.”

ordered editor Jack Miller to revamp DC’s flagship super-heroine. Beginning with issue #178, the character lost her powers, abandoned her star-spangled togs for a white jumpsuit, miraculously gained martial-arts expertise, and began a series of adventures by writer Denny O’Neil, penciler Mike Sekowsky (who later replaced O’Neil as the book’s scribe), and inker Giordano. The Sekowsky/Giordano Wonder Woman art team lasted for four years, and is fondly remembered by many fans: their styles meshed perfectly, and Dick’s ability to redraw improved upon

FIGHTING FOR CREATORS’ RIGHTS In the late 1960s, the ACBA—The Academy of Comic Book Arts—was formed. The organization, known primarily to comics fandom of the 1970s from its presentation of the annual “Shazam” Awards, was initially a forum for industry professionals to discuss the craft. Meeting monthly at Manhattan’s Society of Illustrators, the ACBA’s first president was Marvel Comics’ chief Stan Lee, with Dick Giordano as vice-president. Giordano and Neal Adams served on the board of governors, and both served terms as presidents— although Adams recalls being tricked into a lengthier term by his pal Dick. “Dick encouraged me to run for president, and once I was elected, he put a motion on the floor for a president’s term to be two years instead of one!” Neal laughs. At the time, comic-book artists were exclusively workfor-hire. Their character creations were not their own, they had no leverage to obtain page-rate increases, they were deprived of medical benefits, and their original artwork— “their property, not the publishers’” adds Neal Adams—was not returned to them. In fact, it was stockpiled in closets and files, and often shredded or cut into tiers of three then thrown in the garbage or given away during office tours. “The artwork wasn’t considered to be of any particular value,” Giordano explains; “it’s not that it was being intentionally destroyed, but no one thought to ask for it back.” Adams lobbied the Academy to bring creators’ rights to the floor, and the ACBA began to discuss these issues. But the group couldn’t agree on how to implement changes to benefit artists, so Giordano and Adams personally marched forward on their quest, empowered, from the publishers’ perspective, by the Academy itself. “What the Academy did,” Giordano notes, “was frighten the publishers just enough to know that we were there,” offering an implied threat of possible union solidarity. Both Dick and Neal networked behind the scenes, with Adams discovering, “if we could get DC or Marvel to make a change, then the other company would be forced to go along.” Adams remembers how he and Dick frequently petitioned Sol Harrison, contending that “the better your creators are treated, the more benefits they get that don’t hurt you as a company, the more they’re going to produce for you and make you more money. The better artists will be able to get more money from selling their pages, and in return they’ll want to put more effort into their pages, which will mean more for you—the publisher— without you having to pay more for it.” Harrison got the message: by 1974 he was asking the ACBA to help return volumes of DC’s original artwork to their owners. Stan Lee at Marvel and Carmine Infantino at

DC began offering better page rates to top artists. “It was up to a very small number of people—Dick and me—to have these conversations with publishers to get them to make these changes,” Adams attests. Their efforts laid the foundation for better treatment of comic-book artists, although it wasn’t until the 1980s that some of Dick and Neal’s other desires for rights became policy.

END OF THE EDITORIAL TRAIL When Dick Giordano was hired as a DC editor in 1968, Carmine Infantino was art director. Their positions were of comparable stature. Shortly thereafter, Infantino’s promotion to editorial director upset their working dynamic: Carmine was now Dick’s boss. “I came in one day and the whole thing had changed,” Giordano relates. “Now I was dealing with him on a different level. He could tell me what to do with my storylines.” From that moment, their different editorial methods would begin to clash, a chasm deepening between them. The writers and artists in Dick Giordano’s bullpen treasured the liberalness of his “hands-off” editorial style. The editor hired the people he thought were best suited for the material then let them do their jobs, adhering to his personal credo, “Too much structure is the opposite of creativity.” According to Giordano, Infantino did not share his creators’ appreciation of Dick’s methods. “Carmine preferred Joe Orlando’s approach to comics over mine. He liked what Joey did (he called Joe ‘Joey,’ and called me ‘Richie’). I thought Joe’s approach to comics was perfectly valid, and it worked for him. I thought mine was valid, too, and it worked for me.” Occasionally Infantino would implement editorial directives that Giordano resisted. One particularly damaging disagreement was rooted in Neal Adams’ experimental panel layouts in several issues of The Spectre. “Maybe Neal went a little too far in trying something new, to the point of making sequential panel flow hard to follow,” admits Giordano, himself a risk taker, “but then Carmine created panel charts to make clearer storytelling, and required the editors to send them to our artists.” Giordano never circulated the documents. “I agreed with Carmine’s goal, but wanted to achieve it through different means,” says Dick, who later came under fire when Infantino discovered that the editor continued to ignore his orders to distribute the panel charts. Giordano again locked horns with his boss when a handful of newer writers found themselves blacklisted by DC management due to political and policy disagreements. Dick paid no attention to the directive and continued to work with those authors. A seemingly minor but recurring stumbling block in

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Giordano’s relationship with Infantino was Dick’s daily five o’clock exodus. “He didn’t like me running off at that time,” The “retired” editor found no shortage of freelance inking says the editor, “but I didn’t feel I was leaving anything work, while the remaining DC titles he had edited months undone.” prior trickled into print. Most of his assignments came from These disagreements, plus the controversies spawned by Julius Schwartz. “Julie was a saint,” beams Dick. “He would some of the editor’s gutsy innovations, led Giordano and almost customize jobs for me. Julie would often call me Infantino to “drift apart to where it became difficult for asking if I had enough work, enough money. ‘I’ll write you a either of us to give in,” Dick remembers. “There are ten check if you need it!’ he’d say.” Schwartz kept Giordano different ways to solve a problem, and I felt uncomfortable busy with Neal Adams on Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and with Carmine’s adherence to his methods as house policy. inking pencilers Adams, Irv Novick, Frank Robbins, and Bob Maybe I shouldn’t have been so stubborn, but I wouldn’t Brown on Batman and Detective Comics. have been as happy.” Giordano also continued to ink penciler Mike Sekowsky Giordano occasionally sought consolation through private on Wonder Woman and on the Supergirl strip in Adventure chats with his friend Neal Adams, who commiserated Comics. DC editors recognized his facility in illustrating because “I was too much a pain in the ass to Carmine, too,” beautiful women, and the artist was assigned frequent covers chuckles Adams. “Dick implied to me that his days were for romance titles and for Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane. numbered there, because he was getting a little too much He also handled solo art chores on several installments of attention for his books,” Neal reveals. “He indicated that if I writer Robert Kanigher’s Lois Lane backup “Rose and the had found something else that he’d be interested in joining Thorn,” which explored the alternate personality of the me at a studio.” aggressive Thorn as the meek Rose’s means of dealing with The proverbial last straw in the DC staff relationship of personal tragedy. “I think this was the best thing that Kanigher Dick Giordano and Carmine Infantino came on a morning ever wrote,” he believes, suggesting, “I always thought that in early October 1970 when, as Giordano recalls, Infantino Rose should have more multiple personalities, to create ordered him to fire artist Gray Morrow over his objection to more storylines.” a story Morrow drew. Giordano refused, stormed out of his Operating from his studio in the basement of his boss’ office, and, after giving the situation a few moments’ Connecticut home, 80 miles away from the hustle-bustle of thought, returned and tendered his resignation, giving one DC’s Manhattan offices, Giordano acknowledges that he was month’s notice. Flushed with anger, a rarity with the “a hermit” for a year, even-tempered editor, Dick approached Neal Adams almost chained to and implored, “Let’s go to lunch.” Dick remembers his drawing table. Neal replying, “It’s too early for lunch,” but Giordano’s Dick’s only regular raised eyebrows punctuated by a desperate “Neal…!” visitor was his divorced the artist from his drawing board. long-time friend and In a nearby restaurant, Dick, quivering with associate Frank uncharacteristic emotion, confided to his friend about McLaughlin, who his resignation. Adams suggested that it was time to assisted him on pursue more commercial work together in their own background inks. studio, and the two began to lay the groundwork for such a venture. Although intrigued, Giordano was tentative about the timing of such a commitment: “I was (right) This Sekowsky/Giordano definitely interested,” notes Giordano, “but tabled the cover, intended for idea to give me some time to lick my wounds.” 1971’s Adventure After fulfilling the terms of his notice, Dick Comics #407, was Giordano left the staff of DC Comics on November 4, rejected by DC. 1970. Creative differences had made it impossible to Note the published for him continue his editorial position, but Giordano version in the inset. Courtesy of Terry emphatically proclaims, “I stand first in line when it Austin. ©2003 DC comes to praising Carmine Infantino as an artist. I love Comics. his work, his cover designs. Another super-heroine sumptuously “I respect Carmine greatly.”

HOLING UP IN THE BASEMENT

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AN “UP-AND - COMING” WORD In 1971 Neal Adams began acquiring studio space at 9 East 48th Street from I.F. (Imagination in Film), an advertising animatics (moving storyboards) producer whose outfit was systematically vacating the multiroomed Manhattan complex and relocating to a different space. Neal had moved into the first empty room, then expanded into a second, and planned on taking over the entire area once the other business had phased itself out. But this was too big a space for him alone. Adams phoned Dick Giordano with news of this acquisition, proposing that it was now time to launch their studio. Swayed by Neal’s enthusiasm, Dick agreed to join him, but initially only a couple of days a week, as he still commanded a large freelance workload. “Unlike most partnerships, I knew this one was going to

work out because of our ability to communicate,” says Giordano. Adams pitched the name “Continuity” for their enterprise, and recalls that Giordano hesitated, believing that the public might not understand its meaning. “Trust me,” smiled Neal, “before long everyone will know what ‘continuity’ means. It’s an up-and-coming word.” And thus, Continuity Graphics Associates, Inc. was founded, a studio devoted, by Dick’s description, to producing “comic art as advertising.” While part-time at Continuity, Dick Giordano continued to work consistently on DC titles, gaining in 1972 another monthly commitment: Justice League of America, inking Dick Dillin’s pencils. Additionally, Mike Sekowsky departed Wonder Woman, and Giordano replaced him on full art chores, becoming, in the minds of many fans, one of the classic Wonder Woman artists of all time. Other odds and ends would come his way, including issues of Strange Sports Stories and random Batman tales for Julie Schwartz.

Neal Adams on GIORDANO Dick has become the mother and father of a kind of inking style that’s a basic foundation to a tremendous amount of work that’s done in comics. Our work together was very salutatory, very friendly, very positive. Pretty much terrific.

Neal Adams January 2003

THE DICK GIORDANO ADVERTISING GALLERY

So, you call yourself an expert on Dick Giordano’s artwork, do you? Well, you don’t know Dick! Here’s a look at just some of the multitalented Mr. Giordano’s contributions to the world of advertising (some showing traces of Neal Adams in the rendering), and you won’t find a single DC Comics super-hero in the batch. Courtesy of the artist.

(above) “Blaxploitation” films were also the rage in the 1970s. Chances are, this one won’t be available in a director’s cut DVD, but Giordano’s poster image is definitely high voltage. ©2003 New Line Cinema. (left) Everybody was kung-fu fightin’ in the 1970s, and movie houses saw no shortage of low-budget martial-arts flicks, including this one, featuring Dick Giordano poster art. ©2003 New Line Cinema.

The Electric Company was a popular educational TV show in the 1970s, spawning, beginning in 1973, The Electric Company Guide, a black-and-white children’s magazine featuring puzzles, games, and comics. Each issue corresponded with a grouping of ten episodes. Giordano illustrated the cover (right) for this unspecified issue, along with these other pages. ©2003 The Children’s Television Workshop.

(above) It’s Sesame Street meets The Electric Company in this Giordanorendered 1970s holiday card for the Children’s Television Workshop. Betcha didn’t know that Dick drew Big Bird! ©2003 The Children’s Television Workshop. (left) Giordano was fronting his own studio, Dik-Art, when he illustrated this coach’s guide for the Special Olympics. ©2003 Special Olympics.

Giordano illustrated this comic-book-inspired February 1976 cover for Popular Mechanics, modeling the gushing passenger in the bikini after his friend and colleague Pat Bastienne, working from a snapshot. Upon submitting his cover rough for editorial approval, Dick was amused when the editor approved the design, but commented that the woman was “too busty.” Laughs the cover subject, “The client couldn’t believe that anyone could have breasts like that and wanted Dick to make them smaller.” When Giordano showed the photo from which he worked, the editor still requested that Dick “make them smaller,” Pat reveals, “but he asked for my name.” ©2003 Hearst Communications, Inc.

The cover Dick drew for the August 1980 issue of Institutional Investor is probably not mylar-bagged in most Giordano fans’ collections, so here’s a look at a rarity from the versatile artist’s portfolio. ©2003 the respective copyright holder.

Dick got another taste of advertising’s higher rates when he was commissioned to complete six illustrations in comicbook style for a Navy Officers recruitment campaign. “The art director for the campaign was a comic-book fan and fan of mine,” says Giordano. ©2003 U.S. Navy.

Dick Giordano Meets Peter Pan In the mid- to late 1970s Peter Pan Records licensed numerous popular heroes and monsters from comics and TV—including Conan, the Fantastic Four, Plastic Man, the Flash, Aquaman, Dracula, Man-Thing, and Planet of the Apes—for a series of audio adventures as part of the company’s “Power Records” imprint. Some were issued in “Book & Record” sets, featuring 20-page comic books with a 45 rpm record inserted into the inside back cover flap. Continuity illustrated many of these comics, with Dick Giordano, Neal Adams, Mike Nasser, Ross Andru, Gray Morrow, and other associates providing art for these releases:

Giordano’s art for this Power Records back-cover promo features the artist’s rare renditions of two of Marvel’s mightiest. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman ©2003 DC Comics. Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk ©2003 Marvel Characters.

Dick Giordano Super-Hero Merchandise and Ad Gallery In the 1970s and 1980s Dick Giordano’s artistic style, either solo or in tandem with Neal Adams, José Luis Garcia-Lopez, or Ross Andru, became the house style for DC’s licensing department, as seen in these colorful examples:

Dick Giordano inked Neal Adams on the Superman, Batman, Shazam!, and Flash packet art for Celebrity Stamps Inc.’s “Super Hero Stamps” from 1976. Giordano inked an unidentified penciler on the Super-Villains packet. A sixth entry starring Wonder Woman was also released, and a DC Super-Hero Stamp Album completed the set. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. Characters ©2003 DC Comics.

Disaster movies were box-office hits in the mid-1970s, and DC milked the trend with its 1978 Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters. Leading off the year is this stunning pinup of Batman tangling with Dr. Light as Gotham City is imperiled by a power failure. Giordano also illustrated the border and date art for the January page. Courtesy of John Eury. ©2003 DC Comics.

Giordano drew 30 DC super-hero and super-villain cards, 14 of which are pictured here, which were inserted into loaves of Sunbeam Bread in 1978. Cards stained by bread oil are regularly found in the collector market. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. Characters ©2003 DC Comics.

“Holy Themed Promotions, Superman!”??? Robin had long since abandoned the “Holy!”s in DC’s comic books by the time this Grocery Merchandisers of America campaign was launched, but it’s still a classic Dick Giordano piece. Courtesy of the artist. Characters ©2003 DC Comics. Post Cereals ©2003 Kraft Food Holdings.

By the time his 1979 Post Cereals grocery catalog was produced, Continuity’s vision of “comic books as advertising” was clearly a reality. Great Giordano artwork! Characters ©2003 DC Comics. View-Master ©2003 Fisher-Price. Post Cereals, Super Sugar Crisp, Honey Comb, Alpha-Bits, and Pebbles ©2003 Kraft Food Holdings.

(left) Penciler Joe Orlando and inker Dick Giordano won a Clio advertising award for this three-page illustrated ad appearing in the Thursday, March 17, 1988, edition of the New York Times. Says Dick: “It’s probably the only time the Times ever had a comic strip in the paper!” Courtesy of Dick Giordano. Characters ©2003 DC Comics.

Re his cover art for 1984’s Super Powers Good Health Activity Book, Giordano remarks, “I’m doing my Adams riff” on the figure of Superman, which reprises an earlier Neal Adams-rendered public service announcement, “Justice For All Includes Children.” Courtesy of Dick Giordano. Characters ©2003 DC Comics.

During the massive merchandising blitz connected to the 1989 theatrical release of Tim Burton’s Batman, Giordano illustrated this Batman art for a series of stickers. Note the corrections to and note on the Joker piece. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. Characters ©2003 DC Comics.

Cleo Wrap produced this tabloid-sized 1980 Super Friends Action Valentine Playbook, mostly filled with all-new Dick Giordano artwork (and also containing a few pieces of pickup art by other artists). Courtesy of Dick Giordano. Characters ©2003 DC Comics. This sample page from the Valentine Playbook features Dick’s renditions of several DC heroes. Note that Batgirl is erroneously named “Batwoman.” Characters ©2003 DC Comics.

CHANCE ENCOUNTER Action Comics, under the editorship of Julius Schwartz, featured a variety of rotating, 8–10-page backup features supporting the lead Superman story. Most of the backups showcased super-heroes who did not headline their own titles. The Atom and Green Arrow were regulars in Action, and the Elongated Man often slinked into Detective Comics’ back pages, and Giordano illustrated many of these adventures. “I always liked shorter stories,” says the artist who cut his professional teeth on short stories at Charlton, “and really enjoyed drawing the Elongated Man. I always drew him as a rubber band. He’s not a shape changer. He’s not Plastic Man. All he can do is stretch.”

Penciler/inker Giordano’s contrast between lights and darks, concise layouts, and a drop-dead gorgeous Diana Prince make this page from Wonder Woman #201 a standout. And to top it off, a Dick-drawn cover from WW’s “Women’s Lib Issue.” Courtesy of Terry Austin. ©2003 DC Comics.

Dick Giordano “really enjoyed drawing the Elongated Man,” and his enthusiasm shows. From 1975’s Detective Comics #449. Courtesy of Terry Austin, who provided background inking assists. ©2003 DC Comics.

Original Appearances of the Human Target ACTION COMICS #419 (12/72): “The Assassin-Express Contract” #420 (1/73): “The King of the Jungle Contract” #422 (3/73): “The Shadows-of-Yesterday Contract” #423 (4/73): “The Deadly Dancer Contract” #425 (7/73): “The Short-Walk-to-Disaster Contract,” Clause1: “I Have a Cousin in the Business” #426 (8/73): “The Short-Walk-to-Disaster Contract,” Clause 2: “The Shortest Distance Between Two Points” #429 (11/73): “The Rodeo Riddle Contract” #432 (2/74): “The Million Dollar Methuselah Contract” THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #143 (9/78): “The Cat and the Canary Contract” #144 (11/78): “The Symphony for the Devil Contract”

In December 1972 writer Len Wein debuted an all-new character in Action #419: the Human Target. The Human Target was Christopher Chance, a master of disguise who, for a fee, impersonated people targeted for murder. Penciling the first Human Target tale was editorial director Carmine Infantino, with Dick Giordano on inks. Giordano assumed the full art on the remainder of the original series, with the exceptions of two stories penciled by Neal Adams and Howard Chaykin, respectively, and one that Dick penciled with Steve Mitchell inks.

DETECTIVE COMICS #483 (5/79): “The ‘Lights! Camera! Murder!’ Contract” #484 (7/79): “The ‘Who Is Floyd Fenderman Anyway?’ Contract” #486 (11/79): “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Contract” #493 (8/80): “The 18-Wheel War Contract”

The Human Target remains one of Giordano’s all-time favorite series, as it involved several of his passions: “I’ve always preferred private eye stuff, even though the Human Target wasn’t a private eye in the strictest sense” Dick says. “Christopher Chance drove a Cord, so I had an opportunity to draw cars.” And the multiple identities adopted by Chance energized the artist: “He could become anything he needed to be—at one time he was a really old geezer, and another time, a young chick,” Giordano grins. “I got emotionally involved with Human Target.”

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GETTING THINGS DOWN PAT Partners Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, two of the most talented artists in the comics field, agree that at first they had no specific business plan. “We sort of bumbled along,” Neal reveals. “We got clients, we lost clients.” But Dick and Neal’s camaraderie, mutual respect, and the balance of their strengths kept the Continuity machine rolling. Dick maintained a heavy workload of comics gigs, often inking pages throughout the day while keeping a fatherly eye on the activities transpiring around him. Adams acknowledges that Giordano’s intuition helped anticipate and avoid problems, and in the event of discord among clients or among artists contracted by the studio, his fluency at negotiation and equity always prevailed: “If anything turned into a problem,” states Neal, “Dick would say, ‘Just sit down, let’s talk about it, let’s get it taken care of.’” Before long, Giordano slipped into familiar territory: management. His adeptness at coordinating deadlines and dealing with myriad variables placed him in the position of running the business, interfacing with lawyers, editors, ad executives, and accountants—“I was the outside man,” he explains, “going to many five-star ad agencies and meeting interesting people”—while Adams provided the artistic momentum. Many artists, new

and old, were recruited for freelance comics and ad work. “Neal had no clue about numbers, except for money,” Dick says, adding that due to his partner’s myopic focus on his art, “his life didn’t include things like calendars.” With an ear-to-ear grin, Giordano recalls an instance when writer/editor Roy Thomas called to offer Neal a Marvel freelance assignment, which Adams accepted. “Neal turned to me and asked, ‘What’s today’s date?’” “The 20th,” answered Dick. Giordano laughs that Neal paused to process this information, then said, in all seriousness, “No, what month?” “Dick was a stabilizing force at Continuity to me and the randy bastards at the studio,” Adams chuckles. “He acted as a studio manager, supervisor, and efficiency expert, keeping things on deadline, making sure that nothing got

In Her Own Words: Pat Bastienne’s Favorite Continuity Memories 1. The fake “ink spill” the guys left on Neal’s drawing board that almost gave him a heart attack. 2. The day Larry Hama came running out of the back room with a Japanese sword because someone yelled “rats.” 3. The time one of the colorists spilled a whole quart of Dr. Martin’s Red on the floor next to Neal’s drawing table and it looked like blood. 4. The day most of the artists dropped their pencils/brushes and ran to the clinic after hearing a certain female acquaintance of theirs announce that she had just gotten a penicillin shot.

screwed up… while I was busy screwing everything up.” Regardless of his abilities to wear multiple hats at Continuity, Giordano realized that he could use some assistance running the business. And an old acquaintance was about to provide that service. During Giordano’s editorial tenure at Charlton in the 1960s, Pat Bastienne was a student employed part-time in the company’s distribution wing and resided on the same Dick smiles to an angry artist, “Just sit down, let’s talk about it, let’s get it taken care of.” No, not really. Actually, it’s another photo from the 1972 Crazy fumetti. ©1972 Marvel Entertainment.

ker for those illustrators, “the income from all parties went into the pot,” Giordano explains, freelancers being paid 75 percent of their rate, with Continuity charging the remaining quarter. Neal Adams adds, “Pat was a great bookkeeper.” It soon become obvious that Bastienne’s potential was not limited to balancing the books and ordering supplies. Her convivial manner and brown, sparkling eyes warmed the hearts of the freelance artists, making them feel welcomed at Continuity. She also became Giordano’s auxiliary ears. Due to a progressive hearing loss, Dick was sometimes challenged by missing or mishearing pieces of conversations, and Pat assisted him in filling in the gaps. “She’s been helpful in so many ways,” testifies Giordano.

MODEL CLIENTS

Derby, Connecticut, street as Dick. She and Giordano were, at best, casual acquaintances—“I remember that he was a nice guy, even then,” she says—and lost touch once she departed home for college. In late 1972, however, while crossing a main street in Derby, she and Dick ran into each other and struck up a conversation. Upon discovering that Pat, newly married, was looking for a part-time job, Giordano offered her a one-day-a-week position at Continuity, and soon she was entrenched in the studio as its office manager and bookkeeper. In early 1973 Bastienne joined Adams and Giordano as the third paid staff employee at Continuity. Since Continuity was acting as a booking bro-

One of Continuity’s earliest major contracts was with Aurora, the premier manufacturer of plastic model kits. For its reissue of super-hero model kits from the 1960s, Aurora commissioned from Continuity new artwork for the packaging, as well as an eight-page comic-book insert that included assembly instructions. Dick Giordano illustrated the Batman and Robin package illos and comics (sealed boxes of these model kits are displayed in Dick’s studio as of this writing), with Neal Adams handling the Tarzan model box/comic art. Dealing with Aurora in their Queens headquarters provided Giordano with a crash course in the world of advertising: “This was an eye-opener for me,” Dick remembers. “We signed an agreement that we wouldn’t disclose anything we saw.” For what ultimately amounted to a minimal amount of work, by comic-book page-rate standards “it paid mind-boggling money,” the artist says. By mid-1973 Giordano had segued into a five-day-a-

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week routine at Continuity, lured to full-time status by the lucrative advertising rates and his comfortable relationship with Adams. Similarly, Pat Bastienne found her hours at the company increasing as well. Dick supplemented his true love, comic-book illustration, with a variety of jobs for comics-inspired The box/comic cover art for Aurora’s Robin the Teen Wonder model kit, merchandising. While much of the studio’s output from a stat of Giordano’s original artwork. Courtesy of Bob Frongillo. reflected Neal Adams’ work as the house style, Dick’s Robin ©2003 DC Comics. solo rendering was regularly evidenced on products. Continuity began to enjoy remarkable growth, those animated bubbles,” Dick adds), a variety of cereal thanks to the artistic credibility of the founding partners and manufacturers, and Lancer Wines, plus regional campaigns to Adams’ drive to obtain new clients. The such as the Connecticut State Lottery. “As a studio was commissioned to storyboard artist,” Giordano recalls, “my biggest illustrate storyboards and motion claim to fame at Continuity was a Breck Shampoo boards for numerous television ad, featuring a girl with flowing hair riding a commercials. “Advertising was horse,” an ad that was heavily played on televivery different from comic books,” sion in the mid-1970s. Print ads, movie posters, reflects Giordano. “When producmagazine art (including National Lampoon), and ing animatics, we often worked even theater character designs (for the sci-fi stage with soundtracks, and with complay Warp, which in the 1980s spawned a mercial actors and actresses on comic-book series at First Comics) kept the voiceovers.” Just some of studio hopping, as did consistent comic-book Continuity’s many clients included work. national accounts like Rollo Candy, Aurora got extra mileage out of Giordano’s Popov Vodka, Scrubbing Bubbles Batman art with this 1974 giant poster-puzzle. bathroom cleaner (“Neal created Courtesy of Bob Frongillo. Batman ©2003 DC Comics.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS 24/7 “I worked in an office opposite of Neal at his drawing board,” Dick recollects, “but our schedules rarely overlapped.” “Dick started fairly early in the morning and quit at the end of the day, so he opened up the place,” says Neal, “and I’d get in later and would stay until four in the morning.” Adams’ propensity for working late-night hours and his and Giordano’s desire to cultivate new artistic talent made Continuity akin to an art commune. “Continuity was open almost 24/7,” Dick states, “closing, at best, for only a few hours on Sunday. There was always somebody around. Neal was genuinely interested in surrounding himself with talented people.” The pace of the studio and its revolving-door accessibility kept it a full house: “They weren’t all there at once, but there were always 10–12 regulars in the office,” says Dick. “People would sleep on the floor or even in the hall by the elevator.” As he opened shop each day, Dick would usually have to step over an obstacle course of sleeping artists to get to this office. “Since so many people came and went, my policy became, ‘If he’s here a month from now I’ll ask him what his name is,’” Giordano jokes. This constant infusion of veteran and new artists helped Giordano and Adams maintain and expand their output. The partners were always on the lookout for fresh talent, continuing the accessibility they started at DC, and for Giordano, at Charlton. Among some in the comics industry, Adams had a reputation for brutal critiques of newcomers’ portfolios, but Dick is quick to add, “Neal offered specifics on how they could improve and prodded them to take their work seriously. He encouraged them to work harder and sent them away. Neal would then say to me, ‘If they don’t come back the next time, they’re not interested.’” The young artists who made the cut received their trial by fire as one of the “Crusty Bunkers,” a comic-book credit given to a “jam” inking effort by a variety of hands, with Neal and Dick handling the main figures. From Continuity’s procession of comic-art wannabes, Giordano sometimes recruited protégés with whom he spent a tremendous amount of time patiently mentoring. Steve Mitchell, Bob Wiacek, and Klaus Janson got their starts in comics working for Dick, and sharpened their abilities by assisting him on backgrounds, while benefiting from oneon-one instruction. Giordano’s role as teacher was not limited to his education of fledgling Continuity associates. In 1973 Dick began teaching a class in story-telling at Parsons School of Design in Greenwich Village. At the highly lauded institution, founded in 1896 by Frank Alvah Parsons, Giordano’s curriculum focused on the fundamentals of illustration, basics often ignored in the 1970s as artists ventured into experimental and even psychedelic realms. Giordano’s teaching

Just Some of Continuity’s Associates In the 1970s, Continuity Associates became a training ground for new artists and an employment office for seasoned professionals. Continuity artists, writers, associates, and friends during this period include: Jack Abel Vicente Alcazar Sal Amendola Sergio Aragonés Terry Austin Cary Bates Howard Chaykin Frank Cirocco Ed Davis Joe Deposito Bill Draut José Luis Garcia-Lopez Michael Golden Al Gordon Larry Hama Russ Heath Mike Hinge Klaus Janson Alan Kupperberg Polly Law Steve Leialoha Bob MacLeod

Frank McLaughlin Frank Miller Steve Mitchell Gray Morrow Scott Pike Carl Potts Ralph Reese Mark Rice Trina Robbins Marshall Rogers Joe Rubinstein Bill Sienkiewicz Walt Simonson Bob Smith Lynn Varley Trevor Von Eeden Bob Wiacek Gary Winnick Wally Wood John Workman Bernie Wrightson

(Note from copy-checker Neal Adams: “To all the guys (Alan Weiss) we overlooked, I’m just going over this list (Pat Broderick) and, hell, I’ll be writing forever. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so damn sorry if I didn’t put down your (Brent Anderson) name. Oh, God! (Stan Kelly, Bobby London) Hold me…oh, crap…I’m dead…”)

tenure at Parsons continued through 1976. Although immensely likable and friendly, Pat Bastienne could, when necessary, provide a matronly voice of authority—Continuity’s “mom” to Giordano’s “dad.” When artists were loitering instead of laboring, or simply got too rowdy, Pat would scold or even eject the bad boys. She recalls a morning in mid-1974 when, upon arriving to work from Connecticut, she and Dick Giordano noticed a new face, and a rather nervous one. A tousle-haired lad in his early 20s, fresh out of college, was inking some backgrounds on some comic-book pages when Pat, charged with trafficking artists for payment records, boldly marched up to

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him and asked his name. Nearly jumping out of his skin, the young man stammered, “T-T-Terry Austin.” Tentative about his abilities, this newcomer nodded toward his pages and meekly whispered, “Uh, Neal gave me this to do…”. Giordano eyed Austin’s work and immediately recognized his potential, taking him under his wing as his inking assistant, although Austin remarks self-deprecatingly, “I’d like to claim I got the gig as a result of my nascent talent, but the truth is, I happened to be the guy sitting closest to Dick when his previous assistant, Klaus Janson, left for greener pastures.” Terry Austin had been rejected by Marvel and DC Comics, but DC’s Sol Harrison rec-

ognized enough promise in his work to steer him toward Continuity. As a fan, Austin had appreciated Giordano’s approachable editorial voice in his letters columns and was awestruck over the prospect of learning from Dick. Terry started his apprenticeship by inking “shrubbery, watch fobs, paving stones, plow shares, and assorted debris,” he jokes, but over the course of two years honed his abilities under Dick’s guidance and assumed more responsibilities, even inking figures, graduating to co-credit status on several projects before “Dick finally decided it was time to kick the young dodo out of the nest.” A rare Terry Austin-penciled, Dick Giordano-inked piece, courtesy of the penciler. ©2003 Terry Austin.

Terry Austin on GIORDANO Let me say up front that Dick Giordano is my hero. A consummate (I think that means he enjoys soup) professional, over the years he has proven to be a generous boss, a sagacious mentor, a loyal friend, and even a bit of a role model (except sartorially; I’d never be able to pull off wearing those wild shirts he favors…). At Continuity, poor, saintly Dick found himself saddled with me, undoubtedly the most thickheaded helper he ever attempted to whip into shape. To wit: Dick attempted to teach me to ink with a brush. Dick is the closest equivalent we have to a Japanese brushmaster. He can do literally anything with a brush, including tip a ruler up on edge and rule perfectly even straight lines on buildings. I arrived in Dick’s tutelage inking everything with a Rapidograph, which is the antithesis of the brush, as it is only capable of making one width of line with no variation. Taking advantage of the teaching component that Dick had said was part of the covenant between artist and assistant, about once a week I’d approach his desk and ask for a brush lesson from the master. After the first few futile attempts, my request would inevitably be met with a heavy sigh, followed in short order by Dick rolling his eyes heavenward, undoubtedly asking the Almighty for the strength to continue, after which he’d flip over the page he was working on and say, “Do some straight lines like this, then some curved lines like so…” at

which point I’d attempt to imitate him, applying my ink-loaded brush to the paper with all the flourish and gusto of a bored custodian who is being paid minimum wage to swab the floor of a dentist’s office at four o’clock in the morning. After a few months, moved by the tears of pain coursing down Dick’s cheeks at having to witness this debacle, I gave up this pursuit and began to search for more flexible pen points that might allow me to more closely approximate a brush, thereby alleviating the hideous suffering of one of God’s noblest creatures. About six years ago, before Dick and Pat moved to Florida, I had a dental appointment in Westport and they drove down to meet me for lunch. At some point during the meal Dick said to me, “I’ve been looking at your work on Superman Adventures. Congratulations. You finally learned how to ink with a brush!” No, I had to admit, I’d just gotten good at using a pen to fake using a brush, and we all laughed at that. In hindsight, that compliment from Dick, my old boss, friend, guru, and guide, meant more to me than all the Eagle, Saturn, Alley, and CBG Awards I’ve been privileged to receive over the years. I figure that if I could fool the master, then maybe I wasn’t so bad after all. Terry Austin February 2003

CROSSING OVER TO MARVEL AND BEYOND Comic-book fans mostly associate Dick Giordano with DC Comics. During the mid-1970s, however, Giordano was, like his Continuity partner Neal Adams, extremely in demand, and lacking the shackles of company allegiance found ample inking and illustrating work from a variety of publishers, including DC’s competitor Marvel Comics. Giordano illustrated the martial-arts series “Sons of the Tiger” for the black-and-white title The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu; and delineated the pencils of John Buscema on Marvel’s The Mighty Thor, Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan, Gil Kane on the first installment of “Iron Fist” in Marvel Premiere, Gene Colan on “Brother Voodoo” in Strange Tales, and Frank Brunner’s “Doctor Strange” in Marvel Premiere. Abetted by Terry Austin, he also inked penciler Ross Andru on the landmark second crossover between DC and Marvel (the first being The Wizard of Oz, a joint adaptation remembered mostly for its

Yet another heroine who’s been enhanced by the brush of Dick Giordano: Red Sonja. J. Buscema pencils/Giordano figure inks/Austin background inks, from a backup in Conan the Barbarian #48. Courtesy of Terry Austin. Artwork ©2003 Marvel Characters. Red Sonja ©2003 Conan Properties.

novelty of pulling together the two publishers), 1976’s Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man. Giordano’s most celebrated Marvel masterpiece is his comics version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, authored by Roy Thomas and appearing in the blackand-white magazines Dracula Lives! The dynamic pencils issues #5 (3/74) - #11 (3/75) and of John Buscema Legion of Monsters #1 (9/75). This were delineated by Dick Giordano (abetlushly rendered, multichaptered ted by background adaptation, distinguished by the bitinker Terry Austin) in ing contrast of Giordano’s hallmark 1975’s Thor #232. light/dark discriminations, is the Courtesy of Terry artist’s unfinished symphony. “Marvel Austin. ©2003 Marvel Characters. published it serially in Dracula Lives!

More Buscema pencils/Giordano/Austin excitement (with script by Roy Thomas), from 1975’s Conan the Barbarian #50. Courtesy of Terry Austin. Artwork ©2003 Marvel Characters. Conan ©2003 Conan Properties.

Two pages from one of the coolest comics of all time: the tabloid-sized Superman vs. the Amazing SpiderMan! Pencils by Ross Andru, with inks by Giordano and Austin. Courtesy of Terry Austin. Superman and Lex Luthor ©2003 DC Comics. Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus ©2003 Marvel Characters.

(previous page) Dick Giordano teamed with writer Roy Thomas on this black-and-white comics adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This title page is from the first chapter of their opus, as printed in Marvel’s Dracula Lives! v.2 #1, March 1974. Courtesy of the artist. ©2003 Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano. Lettering ©2003 Marvel.

We did over 100 pages, then the book was cancelled,” Dick laments, “and we had no place to put it and couldn’t finish it.” Giordano and Thomas’ fervent hope is to one day complete their oeuvre and publish it in its entirety. Other publishers came knocking on Dick’s (and Continuity’s) door, including Atlas Comics, a division of Seaboard Periodicals. Atlas exploded onto the newsstands in the mid-1970s with an ambitious but derivative line of comics including Ironjaw, The Phoenix, Planet of the Vampires, and Savage Combat Tales (featuring Sgt. Stryker and his Death Squad), and similarly imploded within months, but not before employing industry stalwarts and newcomers like Michael Fleisher, Pat Broderick, and Mike Sekowsky. Giordano provided covers for Atlas’ Weird Suspense (featuring the Tarantula), Targitt, and The Brute, among others. And Giordano occasionally did work for his

Giordano nailed the actor likenesses in his inking of an unknown penciler from this 1976 issue of Charlton’s Emergency! magazine. Courtesy of background inker Terry Austin. ©2003 Universal Studios and Mark VII Productions.

former employer, Charlton Comics, in their black-andwhite magazines inspired by TV’s Six Million Dollar Man, Emergency!, and Space: 1999 series. Giordano again journeyed into previously uncharted territory by illustrating for then-emerging “alternative” comic books, black-and-white publications intended for older, more discerning readers. His first foray into alternatives appeared in 1975 in the second issue of Star*Reach, Mike Friedrich’s gutsy anthology series that helped reshape comics’ potential by giving its creators ownership in their characters and by publishing material with content unrestricted by the Comics Code. Friedrich, as writer, and Dick co-created Stephanie Starr, a

shapely, sharp-shooting sci-fi adventuress who, in a not-sosubtle homage to Barbarella, was often topless while toppling her adversaries (when this story was later reprinted by another publisher, Giordano was required to cover Stephanie’s breasts by inking in a bra). As Starr confronted her adversary on the tale’s final page, she called him a “demented, paranoid, self-centered asshole” while kicking him in the groin, certainly not the customary 1970s comics resolution. The following year, Dick Giordano illustrated the eightpage “Lost in a Dream!” for another alternative black-andwhite magazine, Witzend Annual #10. This story, written by Bill Pearson and starring a female protagonist named Kym, contained no captions or dialogue, relying solely upon the artist’s pithy storytelling. For “Dracula,” “Stephanie Starr,” and “Kym,” Giordano’s command of contrasts between lights and darks worked perfectly in the black-and-white medium, enhanced by his use of gray tones through zip-atones and cross hatching. Nowhere were these methods better realized than in the “Kym” story, as Witzend was published on a higher grade of paper than the newsprint used

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on Dracula Lives! and Star*Reach, making the effects more clearly appreciable. Also in 1976 Dick Giordano was recruited by his former DC editorial colleague Joe Kubert to teach one day a week in Dover, New Jersey, at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, which was just opening. As one of the Kubert School’s founding instructors, Giordano’s unquestionable mastery of inking and his fascination with the progress of new artists made him a natural in this forum. Some of his students who later embarked upon comics careers included Tom Yeates, Rick Veitch, Steve Bissette, Tom Mandrake, Jan Duursema, Rick Taylor, and Lee Weeks. Dick taught at the Kubert School for roughly four years, driving from Connecticut to New Jersey, a commute he recalls being quite treacherous during the winter months. While instructing at the school, Giordano contributed two published (and part of a third unpublished) tales for Sojourn, a 1977 anthology published by Kubert, featuring a futuristic femme fatale, The Smooth, written by Mary Skrenes. While stretching his wings at other publishers, Giordano remained a regular DC contributor, illustrating a host of mid-1970s covers for the company, as well as short stories, random assignments, and inking jobs. Giordano continued to draw comics-related merchandising during this time, from records to calendars to puzzles. Mego Toys, the manufacturer that dominated the mid-1970s action-figure market with poseable dolls based on super-heroes, TV and movie characters, and heroes of legend and history, hired Continuity to produce some of its package art. Dick illustrated a group shot of DC’s Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl, and Speedy for Mego’s blister-carded Teen Titans 8-inch figure line, and several action poses of the Amazon Princess for their series of 12inch dolls based on the Wonder Woman television series. Giordano’s rendition of Wonder Woman became identified with the character during the marketing blitz that followed the show’s success, and he was soon drawing artwork for everything from Wonder Woman puzzles to mirrors.

Pages 1–5 of the 20-page “In the Light of Future Days…” from Star*Reach #2, introducing Stephanie Starr. Giordano’s storytelling is beyond compare here. Note, as examples, page 3 (if you can take your eyes off of gorgeous Stephanie to do so, that is): the gun in panel 1 draws the eye to panel 2, and the pointed gun in panel 3 leads the reader to panel 4 on the lower tier; subtle, but highly effective. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 Mike Friedrich and Dick Giordano.

The Amazon Princess is twotimed by Chronos on the cover to 1975’s Wonder Woman #220, illustrated by Giordano with Terry Austin background inks (note the artist’s inscription to his assistant). Courtesy of Terry Austin. ©2003 DC Comics.

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MOB MENTALITY Meanwhile, Continuity was faced with a financial dilemma. A client for whom the company produced The Jimmy Carter Coloring Book, a lampoon of the newly elected president, refused to pay Neal Adams and associates. Adams decided to trade on his partner’s distinctive Italian-American features and recruited Dick Giordano, one of the nicest guys in comics (“Dick is, from my point of view, one of those people you can’t help but love,” says Neal), as a make-believe Mafioso. Giordano was minding his business, inking pages, when Adams requested, “Dick, come in

MAN OF THE HOUR Dick Giordano was the guest of honor at the 1976 Fireball Convention in New York, and many of his Continuity associates chose to roast him (the contents of this convention booklet are courtesy of Terry Austin; thanks, Terry!):

“Tell him I’m here for the money.” tomorrow wearing that tan suit of yours.” The next day, Adams, decked out in his sharpest blue blazer, and Giordano, looking like an extra from The Godfather, visited the delinquent company. As Adams recounts, “Dick asked, ‘Should I say anything?’ I said, ‘No, Dick, just look angry.’” The partners approached the receptionist, with Giordano keeping one step behind Adams. Neal asked the receptionist to summon the project manager, glanced for a moment at his silent, stone-faced companion, then uttered, “Tell him I’m here for the money.” Dick scowled. The partners’ “victim” peeked through a conference room window but was too frightened to exit. The receptionist, equally intimidated, stalled, lying that the boss was away. “We’ll wait,” Adams replied. “Dick doesn’t say a word,” cackles Neal. “He just glowers!” Shortly, Adams vigorously stressed, “Look, I’m here for the money, and we’re not going to leave without it.” Soon, the project manager emerged, sweat dripping down his face. Forcing a strained smile, he greeted Adams and his mute enforcer, and within minutes, the Continuity associates had their check—and a good laugh. Genial Giordano was often ribbed by his associates for his resemblance to a gangster. At 1976’s Fireball Convention in New York City, Dick was the guest of honor, with the Continuity crew parodying him through a number of cartoons depicting Giordano as a mobster.

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A BEE Dick continued to command a healthy amount of inking, illustration, and cover work from DC Comics, including occasional pairings with Neal Adams. A milestone for the partners—as well as for comics fans—was the tabloid-sized Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, published in the spring of 1978 as All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-56. Readers remember this sumptuously illustrated one-shot, penciled by Adams and inked by Giordano, for its unusual team-up of comics’ Man of Steel with reality’s prizefighter supreme, where the pair was forced into interstellar conflict with Earth’s fate hanging in the balance. This book was, at least at that time, the magnum opus for the Adams/Giordano art team, and a mere glimpse at any page will certainly convey painstaking but overwhelmingly awe-inspiring layouts and photo-perfect likenesses. Superman vs. Muhammad Ali is also renowned for its celebrity-laden cover, depicting dozens of celebrities— including President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn, Cher, former President Gerald Ford and his wife Betty, Lucille Ball, Raquel Welch, Donny and Marie Osmond, Johnny Carson, and even MAD’s Alfred E. Neuman, plus numerous DC comics characters, DC staff members, and even Neal and Dick themselves—ringside at this battle of the century. “Every one of those people had to sign a model release,” notes Giordano.

Dick Giordano loaned this photograph of legendary Harvey Kurtzman (at left) cartoonist In March 1977 Dick Giordano was growing weary at Continuity. While comfortable and himself (at right) from a with his own working methods, Giordano admits, “I always felt a little bit guilty going Steeplechase Park fundraising home for the day at five when a four o’clock ad job appeared that was due the next benefit for handicapped children, morning. Ad agencies had a different timeline, more in tune with Neal’s later hours.” from, according to Dick, His resistance to complacency also contributed to Giordano’s wanderlust: he was ready “a long time ago” (presumably in the late 1970s). for a new challenge. Seated in the center background Adams comments, “After a while, Dick felt he wasn’t being fulfilled here, so we are Bob Layton and Joe Staton.

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parted ways, and he sold me his half of the company…for a dollar.” “We made a deal,” says Giordano, “and I took some office furniture, flat files, and some clients.” The pair separated on the best of terms. “I enjoyed my time at Continuity,” Giordano reminisces. “It was fun working with Neal, and I learned a great deal.” Adams holds his former partner in the highest regard: “I’ve got a lot of love and affection for Dick. I think he’s one of the better people in the world.” Pat Bastienne, who observed their relationship from the trenches, observes, “They really cared about each other, and had a similar approach to the art.” Setting up shop first in Stamford and later in Stratford, Connecticut, Dick Giordano launched a new studio. Incorporating his business as Dik-Art, Inc., a name inspired by a former Continuity client Cel-Art, Dick was joined in his venture by frequent collaborator Frank McLaughlin. As a sideline, Giordano and McLaughlin conducted a comics-illustration workshop from a meeting room in a local hotel, a nighttime venture they continued sporadically through the late 1970s and early 1980s. Through the workshop Giordano discovered two future comics pros, inkers Mike DeCarlo and Steve Montana. In the summer of 1977 Pat Bastienne was offered a position by Giordano and jumped ship from Continuity to officemanage Dik-Art. Assisting Dick as background inkers were protégés

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Mike DeCarlo, recruited from the aforementioned workshop, and Bill Collins. Admitting that advertising was not his “cup of tea,” Giordano nevertheless maintained a steady stream of ad assignments, as their rates were too lucrative to ignore.

Mego Toys was one of the clients he absorbed from Continuity, and he continued to provide package art for the company. “They paid well,” the artist recalls, “but never gave enough time to do the work.” After completing a variety of jobs for Mego, Dick detected warning signs that the company was having financial difficulties: “All of a sudden there was a new editor and a new art director. The payment The cover to Wonder Woman #275, cover-dated January 1981. for some of the jobs came Penciled by Rich Buckler and inked by Dick Giordano. Courtesy of Ryan P. Udelhoven. ©2003 DC Comics. much, much later than their due dates.” Mego limped along for a few more years before going bankrupt and closing its doors in 1982. A Dik-Art project of which Giordano is extremely proud is a coaches’ guide for the Special Olympics. “It was an instructional manual, in comic-book form, to teach coaches how to work with children with mental handicaps,” Dick explains. The Special Olympics guide took over a year to complete, and remains one of Giordano’s most satisfying non-comics assignments. Comic-book assignments were the bread and butter of Dik-Art, Inc. Giordano remained in demand as an inker, particularly with editor Julie Schwartz on Batman and Detective Comics, where he delineated the work of John Calnan, Marshall Rogers, and Walt Simonson, among others. In 1977 Dick accepted a few inking jobs for Marvel, mostly over the Buscema brothers John and Sal, and was even reunited with his former DC boss Carmine Infantino as Carmine’s inker on several Creepy and Vampirella stories for Warren Publications’ horror magazines. One of Dik-Art’s most unusual—and embarrassing—

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contracts involved the company’s packaging of HannaBarbera comic books for the European market. At the licensor’s suggestion, Giordano phoned the previous packager to request character reference. That party was writer/editor Mark Evanier, who had yet to be informed by his employer that he was losing the Hanna-Barbera contract. “I got suckered into getting involved into this situation that Mark Evanier had no knowledge of,” recalls Dick. “I always felt bad about that.” Throughout 1977 DC Comics rapidly expanded its line, with dozens of additional projects—spinoffs of popular titles, brand-new series, and a line of reprint magazines—in the pipeline as part of its trumpeted “DC Explosion.” Giordano (and his contemporaries) found no shortage of comics work. The next year, the market buckled under the burden of this product over-saturation, and the dreaded “DC Implosion” occurred, resulting in the cancellation of numerous comics and the abortion of as-yet-unreleased titles. Akin to a stockmarket crash, this catastrophic event left many writers, artists, and editors unemployed, scrambling for work that no

longer existed. Giordano’s prominence and talent insulated him from the fallout of the Implosion. In fact, he benefited from DC’s upheaval, becoming even more in demand at the company. His 1978 comics output was exclusively comprised of DC assignments. Dick was often paired with penciler José Luis Garcia-Lopez, one of his South American discoveries during his earlier editorial stint at Charlton. Giordano was also frequently partnered with penciler Ross Andru, and for several years, the duo illustrated virtually every Superman cover published, and a host of other covers. Dick also received frequent assignments from the new editor of the Batman titles, Paul Levitz, a former fanzine editor who a few years prior was Joe Orlando’s assistant. While Dik-Art’s comic-book workload was plentiful, its commercial assignments were eroding. Giordano comments, “The office overhead became too high to be supported by comic books alone.” By 1979 Dick struggled with his next step, pondering how he could afford to keep studio solvent

Jenette Kahn on GIORDANO I heard about Dick Giordano before I met him. No one makes your pencils look better, an artist would say. Or an editor would add, no one draws such great-looking women, because beautiful females were indeed a specialty of Dick’s and he understood better than anyone how to give them breathless sexuality. In 1976, the year I joined DC, everyone in the comic-book industry extolled Dick’s talent as an artist, most particularly an inker. Dick was Neal Adams’ inker as well as his partner. And while Neal was no longer forging the thrilling contributions to comics that had made him a legend, his achievements were still fresh in the minds of other artists and awestruck fans. If Neal chose Dick to ink his work, then Dick was something of a legend, too. Continuity, Dick and Neal’s company, was only a few blocks away from the DC offices, and Dick would walk over on a regular basis to deliver work or discuss an assignment with an editor. He seemed uniquely at ease with himself, confident but unaffected, forthright but soft-spoken, solid, experienced, generous with writers and other artists, always open-minded. Despite Dick’s prodigious artistic gifts, it was these other qualities that convinced me to try to lure him back to DC as the eventual overseer of all our publications. In Dick I saw the key to building the brave new world of comics.

As I embraced my role as DC’s publisher, and later its president and editor in chief, it became clear that comics had vast but unrealized potential. I wanted to turn them on their head, to expand the definitions of what we would publish, to take risks with ideas and aesthetics, content and formats. Dick was just the person to shepherd this vision of unlimited possibilities. His openness and flexibility were, like his optimism, already hardwired in his DNA. By 1976 it was easy to speak of Dick’s talents as an artist. Thousands of comic-book pages made visible his excellence for anyone to see. But in the years that followed, it was what couldn’t be seen that truly secured his legendary status, even if it was more often than not an unsung one. Dick’s door was as open as his mind, and it seemed there was no one he wouldn’t nurture, nothing he wouldn’t try. One cannot number DC’s triumphs, whether Dark Knight or Watchmen or Sandman or myriad other landmark comics, without also counting Dick’s extraordinary role. It was Dick who fostered the fecund environment in which new ideas took root, Dick who was their champion and catalyst, Dick who ushered in comics’ second Golden Age. Jenette Kahn February 2003

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production. This was an entirely new DC Comics, one that and the staff paid. shared Giordano’s vision. Paul Levitz, who by then was on the fast track into manAfter the Boston convention, Paul Levitz regularly stayed agement at DC Comics, reveals, “We were on a quest to in touch with Dick, as did Jenette Kahn. Neal Adams beef up the editorial staff as we recovered from the observes, “They were courting him over at DC Comics, out Implosion of ’78, and in particular as I was about to move of tremendous respect for his abilities, his comics sense, and out of editing titles into a more editorial/ business role, his quiet efficiency.” which meant giving As it became more up the Batman books. difficult for Dick was close with Giordano to supall of us who were port his Dik-Art running DC (Jenette staff, the offer Kahn, Joe Orlando, became more and Levitz in editorienticing. Dick’s al, and Sol Harrison interest in returning in production), and to DC intensified, was probably the best but he maintained editor then not one reservation: behind an editor’s Says Paul Levitz: desk.” Levitz and “My most vivid Giordano had become memory of this is friends through annual Dick’s incredible meetings at comics gentlemanly conventions in behavior: he was Boston, Massachusetts, being hired to and while the two replace my old were walking along spot, but was Boston Commons in offered a higher 1979, Paul, according salary than I’d been to Dick, commented, getting—higher, in “we’re going to get fact, than any line you behind an editor’s editor had received desk yet.” Giordano in the company’s confesses that he history, with the didn’t respond at first, possible exception allowing Levitz’s of Mort Weisinger, overture to evaporate years before in into thin air. Superman’s heyday. But not from his This Giordano Batman sketch is thought to have been drawn at a comics He wouldn’t consideration. At both convention sometime in the 1970s. Courtesy of Mark Thelosen. accept without Continuity and Dik-Art, Batman ©2003 DC Comics. asking me if the Giordano cultivated a salary situation bothered me, which of course it didn’t, since healthy working relationship with DC publisher Jenette Kahn. he had decades more experience and skill.” “She was easy for me to deal with because she had a creAnd so, Dick Giordano agreed to become a DC Comics ative soul, an idea of what would work and what wouldn’t,” editor once again—but with his good fortune came a heavy he notes. Kahn embraced creative people as the lifeblood of burden. the industry, as did Dick. The diametric opposition he had to the previous editorial regime no longer existed. His former officemate Joe Orlando was now a vice president and edito(right) From the Batman/Black Canary team-up rial director, he and Kahn answering to another of his old from The Brave and the Bold #166, penciled by friends, Sol Harrison, who had risen to company presidency Dick Giordano and inked by Terry Austin. from his roots in Courtesy of Terry Austin. ©2003 DC Comics.

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making the rules DIPLOMACY The Ability to Tell A Person to “Go to Hell” In Such a Way That He Actually Looks Forward to the Trip. —a plaque in the studio of Dick Giordano.

Gary Groth’s in-depth interview with Dick Giordano was the cover feature in March 1981’s The Comics Journal #62, also featuring this classic Batman cover art by Dick. The Comics Journal ©2003 Fantagraphics, Inc. Batman ©2003 DC Comics.

To begin his new position, Dick Giordano, one of the most magnanimous personalities in comics, was faced with the unsavory responsibility of terminating the Dik-Art staff. Fate made the chore easier: Bill Collins continued to assist Dick with his freelance inking jobs, although he eventually drifted out of comics, and Mike DeCarlo, like Dick’s assistants who preceded him, had graduated into the big leagues as a solo inker. Frank McLaughlin kept busy with a number of regular assignments, including Justice League of America, where he succeeded Giordano as Dick Dillin’s inker. Only Pat Bastienne found herself unemployed, a condition that would prove short-lived. On October 27, 1980, Dick Giordano returned to an editor’s desk at DC Comics, inheriting from Paul Levitz the Batman franchise: the

monthly titles Batman, Detective Comics, and The Brave and the Bold. While he hit the ground running, Giordano did so with an inventory on

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This issue of The Brave and the Bold hand. “When I took over the Batman ignored continuity, and few readers books, I had three issues of each series seemed to mind. ©2003 DC Comics. in the drawer. Paul would order three issues at once. The first one that came in was the next issue scheduled. He “Time, See What’s Become of Me…”. never shipped late.” This tale, scripted by TV writer Alan Giordano had no editorial Brennert and illustrated by Jim Aparo, mandate, only the desire, in his own depicted the former teen-age superwords, “to produce good Batman heroes as adults, having allowed them stories.” Under the new editor’s guidto age naturally from their previous ance, the titles shifted away from appearance a decade prior—and self-contained stories-of-the-month to thereby making them older than their more sophisticated, multilayered tales Teen Titans contemporaries, who, like often examining the dichotomy Batman and most other comics charbetween the hero’s two identities, the acters, aged at a much slower pace. grim Batman and the gregarious “As Denny O’Neil often said, Bruce Wayne. Batman and Detective continuity is a tool,” Giordano asserts. shipped two weeks apart, and this “When you need it, you use it. When frequency, coupled with interwoven you don’t need it, you put it away. I subplots, vested reader interest and was never going to turn down a good created the impression of a bi-weekly story to satisfy continuity.” comic book. A critically lauded story“Continuity is a tool. Giordano was assigned a fourth line during this period involved a When you need it, you use monthly title in addition to the Batman hauntingly seductive new villainous, books: Arak, Son of Thunder. From DC’s Nocturna, and Batman suffering from it. When you don’t need it, publishing perspective, Arak was the vampirism. Gerry Conway and Doug company’s answer to Marvel’s Conan you put it away. I was Moench were the series’ scribes, and the Barbarian, the popular sword-andDon Newton and Gene Colan were never going to turn down sorcery series that was beginning its the regular Bat-artists under Giordano’s a good story to satisfy second decade of publication. Daring editorial tenure. to be different, however, Dick delivered continuity.” The Brave and the Bold (B&B), an editorial edict—a rarity for the the team-up title pairing Batman with “hands-off” editor—that this new series would be nothing other DC characters, is also remembered by Giordano as a like Conan, an intriguing challenge for Arak’s author, Roy delightful assignment. “We foreshadowed the next issue’s Thomas, also the writer for Marvel’s barbarian. Rooted in guest star with some drawing that would show who the guest Native-American mythology, Arak, Son of Thunder, initially was,” he beams. These visual hints included the silhouetted illustrated by Ernie Colón, was a modest success for DC, Creeper lurking on a rooftop, and Robin’s insignia inconwith fifty monthly issues and one annual published. spicuously plastered on the side of a passing trolley car. As he did as a Charlton and DC editor in the 1960s, Dick afforded his writers enormous creative freedom, sometimes jettisoning continuity for the sake of a good story. “I Most DC Comics readers are not aware that Dick Giordano’s remember one of my first bouts with continuity,” says rehiring was predicated on a double mandate: in addition to Giordano. “We got Vicki Vale into a love affair with Bruce his line-editing chores, he was also the company’s “special Wayne. One of the continuity freaks at DC protested, projects editor.” because Vale was married, according to one line of copy in By 1980 newsstands, traditionally the venue for comica Batman summer special. Should I throw out this whole book sales, had grown disenchanted with comics’ low profit storyline because of one line of dialogue that somebody— margin and began eliminating them from their racks. Filling who probably should have checked with someone in the the void were specialty shops that catered exclusively to the first place—had written five or six years earlier?” Another comics (and sci-fi) audience. The industry was evolving. case in point: a December 1981 team-up of Batman and the Evolving, too, were new trends in youth culture. Video Hawk and the Dove in The Brave and the Bold #181’s games, which slowly surfaced in the mid- to late 1970s with

PAC -MAN FEVER

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Roy Thomas on GIORDANO I met Dick Giordano a few weeks, maybe a month or three, after I moved to New York in 1965. He had just become Charlton’s editor, and since I’d been written a couple of scripts for Charlton before going on staff first for DC, then for Marvel, I thought I should meet this guy who’s taken over. We hit it off over lunch, I recall, and would keep in touch after that. I respected Dick’s attempts to make Charlton’s super-heroes something a bit different, with their own integrity, and I was happy to recommend a few people to him—Dave Kaler, Gary Friedrich, Denny O’Neil, Steve Skeates. A couple of years later, when Dick moved over to DC, I wasn’t all that surprised, although without him Charlton pretty much floundered. Dick helmed some of the most imaginative books up at DC over the next few years, including mystery books, Aquaman, etc. He had a theory that you got together the best writer and artist for a job, gave them a bit of encouragement, and then got out of their way. Since I was coming increasingly around to that point of view myself, I appreciated his accomplishments at DC. We continued to get together from time to time over the years. And anytime Dick was available as a freelancer, I (and others after me) would always try to tie him up at Marvel. In between his stints as an editor at DC, he inked a number of issues of John Buscema’s Conan the Barbarian, a nice combination. But my favorite of all his Marvel work—his, too, I suspect—was the approximately 100 pages of an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula which we did, mostly over numerous issues of the black-and-white mag Dracula Lives! He and I were totally on the same page about how the book should be adapted—pacing, method, etc.—and we got about halfway through the novel before the plug got pulled on us. We’ve been looking for someplace, Marvel or elsewhere, to finish it, ever since. To my mind, Dick gave the book’s characters just the right look, just the right combination of comic book and illustration. Later, a line editor again at DC, Dick was tapped as editor of one of my first titles there: Arak, Son of Thunder. He was encouraging and supportive, and I loved working with him. Later, as DC’s de facto editorin-chief, he stunned me when he made people like Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, and myself writer/editors of the comics we had developed for DC, like

Firestorm, The New Teen Titans, and All-Star Squadron. His reasoning was simple: he said he felt we had showed we could handle both chores by our work for Marvel, then DC. We three agreed...but we hadn’t figured that was likely to make a difference to anyone at DC. But Dick was a common-sense kind of guy. If something wasn’t broken, he didn’t feel a need, as some do, to take a hammer to it so that he can have the glory of fixing it. Sure, Dick and I have had our differences. He even hung up on me once back in the 1980s when I was giving him a hard time about something. But a couple of days later it was all smoothed over—and I no longer have the slightest idea what it was that seemed so important to me then, and probably neither does he. We haven’t let anything get in the way for very long of what has been a lasting if not close friendship, and we’ve always enjoyed each other’s company. A final anecdote: Back in the mid-1980s Dick used to come out to Los Angeles once every few weeks for a day or so, to talk with the various DC freelancers and contractual people who were on the West Coast—and there were quite a few of us. One day we were just heading out the door to lunch from the Warner Building that was across the street from the Burbank Studios when a young artist came waltzing in. He was a good artist, very promising, but had already made something of a reputation for himself of being undependable. But, because he was good, he figured he could get away with it. “I’m here for our lunch,” he announced to Dick. Dick looked at him: “But you’re one day late. Our appointment was for yesterday.” “Yeah, but I couldn’t make it then,” said the artist, glibly. “Well, then, if you want to wait around, maybe we can talk when I get back.” And we left the artist standing there, his jaw agape. And I thought, “That’s cool. You can’t let people get away with that.” Dick was lenient and understanding when he could be, and firm when he had to be. That’s my kind of editor. Roy Thomas February 2003

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The cover to the first issue of DC’s 7" x 5" Atari Force #1 in-pack comic, distributed inside video cartridges. Note the logo’s drop-shadow, obviously inspired by the opening credits of 1978’s Superman: The Movie. Art by Ross Andru and Giordano. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©1982 Atari, Inc.

primitive entries like the table-tennis TV game “Pong,” were now ubiquitous, and kids were spending hours at local convenience stores and video arcades playing “Pac-Man,” “Space Invaders,” and “Asteroids.” Manufacturer Atari, a sister division to Warner Communications, catapulted to prominence with their home versions of popular arcade games and with all-new creations, and sales of their gaming systems and cartridges were experiencing remarkable growth. DC Comics chose to aggressively exploit this mushrooming craze, and Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz targeted a creative merger between video games and comic books. Editorial director Joe Orlando was given a mandate of making this a reality, and everyone agreed that the hands-on man for the job was the hands-off Dick Giordano. From her Manhattan apartment or sometimes her DC

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office, Kahn hosted regular “core meetings” with Orlando and Levitz, where the trio analyzed the business and brainstormed new concepts. “To help establish a relationship with Atari,” Dick explains, “I was invited to join those meetings as ‘special projects editor.’ After several meetings with Atari in the Silicon Valley, we decided that DC, under my direction, would produce ‘in-pack’ (miniature) comic books to give a personality and a ‘look’ to the screen ‘blips’ that represented characters during this infancy of video games.” Months of design development took place, with Giordano working, as editor and artist, alongside Ross Andru and Mike DeCarlo. Atari Force, a five-installment series of custom DC comics, was packaged with video cartridges in 1982, each issue being released with a different game. Shortly after the release of Atari Force, the collaboration between DC and Atari continued with Swordquest, a game envisioned to be sold in four serialized installments. Each Swordquest cartridge would include “a custom comic book containing clues helping players solve the mystery of the game and win a valuable jewel-encrusted sword,” remembers Giordano. Only two of the four cartridges and comics were produced, as Atari hemorrhaged from over-aggressive expansion. Before the company’s bankruptcy, however, a handful of their properties were adapted into traditional comic-book and graphic-novel form by DC, most notably the ambitious and beautifully rendered Atari Force monthly series by scribe Gerry Conway and artist José Luis Garcia-Lopez.

A CLIMATE OF CHANGE 1981 was a year of dizzying change at DC Comics, including publisher Jenette Kahn’s ascendancy to the company’s presidency upon the retirement of Sol Harrison. Pat Bastienne, like her former boss Dick Giordano, had during her Continuity and Dik-Art tenure become friendly with Jenette. In a phone conversation shortly after Dik-Art’s demise, Kahn, after conferring with Paul Levitz, offered Bastienne the position of librarian. Pat joined DC’s staff in February 1981 and began a career path that would, before long, link her again to Giordano. A few months later Giordano accompanied Joe Orlando on a scouting mission to London, England. British comic books, including 2000 A.D., were trickling into the United States’ distribution network, introducing Americans to a host of talent across the Atlantic—talent that DC was determined to recruit. A rumor permeated the British comics scene that DC’s quest was to build new stable of writers and artists to buttress the company against another creator coup like the one staged by writers in the late 1960s. From Giordano’s perspective, he was simply doing what he George Pérez and Dick Giordano illustrated this simple but striking cover to Swordquest #1. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©1982 Atari, Inc.

always had done: allying himself with creative souls and encouraging them to do their best. Illustrator Dave Gibbons was among the finds (above) The on this British expedition, and DC strengthened Swordquest its relationship with Judge Dredd artist Brian creative Bolland, who had recently started drawing team, from covers for the company. the inside front cover While core meetings were limited to execof issue #1. utives, DC’s entire editorial staff occasionally ©1982 held off-site “retreats,” think tanks where Atari, Inc. every editor’s input was encouraged. A 1981 retreat attended by Warner Publishing’s Bill Sarnoff helped chart the company’s course for the decade. Evaluating DC’s poor sales figures but appreciating the vast merchandising potential of the company’s characters, Giordano recalls that Sarnoff asked, quite earnestly, “‘Do we have to publish Superman to license Superman?’ He wanted to eliminate our comic books!” DC elected to explore the possibilities of direct-sales distribution, publishing comics specifically sold to comics shops on a non-returnable basis. Giordano recommended that DC should endeavor to find new ways of producing comics, in content and format. In July 1981 DC tested the waters of the direct sales with Madame Xanadu

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Dave Gibbons on GIORDANO I’d admired Dick Giordano’s work for a long time before I finally met him. He was in London, with Joe Orlando, recruiting Brits to work for DC. “We have something in common,” he told me. “Um, our initials?” “No! We’ve both drawn Dr. Who,” he laughed. From then on, I felt we were colleagues, fellow workers, rather than editor and freelancer. Before long, it seemed, I found myself in Chicago, telling Dick that I wanted to draw the new series, Watchmen, that my friend Alan Moore was preparing. “Does Alan want you to draw it?” he asked. “Yes.” “Okay, it’s yours.”

#1, featuring the art of Marshall Rogers and Brian Bolland, fronted by a stunningly gorgeous Michael Kaluta cover. Madame Xanadu was favorably received, and healthy sales motivated DC to plan another, larger profile direct-only title. Giordano continued to attend executive core meetings after developing the Atari project. He asides, “Once they invited me, they never un-invited me!” It was at a summer 1981 core meeting that Giordano received an unexpected promotion. “A Warner Publishing (then the parent company of DC Comics) efficiency expert was there,” Dick recalls, “and pointed to me and asked Jenette, ‘Why is he at this meeting? He shouldn’t be at the core meeting unless he’s an executive.’ So Jenette promoted me right then and there.” Dick became managing editor, and was now officially involved with decision-making discussions. DC’s triumvirate had become a fantastic four. The dust had barely settled on Dick’s appointment to managing editor before a crisis arose that required his executive muscle. Throughout 1981 brouhaha roiled the comics fan press as vociferous critics lambasted DC for denying writer Bill Finger, tacitly acknowledged as the co-creator of Batman, a shared creator’s credit (and related compensation) with artist Bob Kane. Mike W. Barr, one of DC’s newest editors, publicly remarked to the fan press that DC should give Finger his due. “Mike Barr the freelancer could say that, but Mike Barr the editor couldn’t,” remarks Giordano about the embarrassment caused DC by Barr’s comments. At the urging of his fellow executives, Giordano fired the editor. Barr remained in the DC fold, however, as a freelance writer. In the fall of 1981 upper management decided to implement a royalty plan to benefit writers and artists.

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As simple as that. And, a year or so later, I was supposed to be working on the series whilst bouncing between conventions. Dick arrived in San Diego to find me snoozing on a sun lounger at the hotel pool. “I didn’t get the script, Dick,” I shrugged. He grinned that toothy, moustachioed grin. “Then you better relax and enjoy the sun while you can, Dave!” he replied. So, for the many opportunities and the friendship, not to mention the pleasure your work’s always given me, thanks, Dick! Dave Gibbons December 2002

“There were no real precedents to follow—other parts of publishing don’t work collaboratively in the same way as comics,” states Paul Levitz. While he, Kahn, and Orlando debated the structure of the royalty program, Levitz recalls that the group was swayed by Giordano’s “profound respect for the crafts in inverse proportion to the time he’d spent doing them: he’d argue for writers to get more, for the pencilers’ stake, but never inkers...he knew it too well to feel there was a magic to the brush and pen, even as well as he did it.” The implementation of DC’s royalty program, which became effective on January 1, 1982, clearly signaled the company’s appreciation of creative talent.

DICK GIORDANO, VICE PRESIDENT In late 1982 DC’s editorial department was split into two: special projects, fronted by Joe Orlando, maintaining the title VP-editorial director (although ultimately having his title changed to VP-creative director), and editorial, with Dick Giordano being appointed VP-executive editor. Unencumbered by the day-to-day of line management, Orlando, whose masterful, experimental touch had earlier brought DC new and radically unique titles like House of Mystery and Swamp Thing, over the ensuing decade transformed special projects into mini-publisher-within-a-publisher, creating graphic novels, books, custom comics, trading cards, and a host of other offshoots starring the DC characters. Len Wein took the helm of the Batman books from Giordano with the October and November 1982 cover-dated issues. Through the early 1980s Giordano recruited a number

of editors who came from non-comics backgrounds, particularly book publishing, in an effort to bring different tastes and sensibilities to DC’s titles. This experiment garnered mixed results, but it resulted in the cultivation of the talent of editorial superstar Karen Berger. Berger was on staff in 1980 upon Giordano’s return to the company, in the position of editorial coordinator. During the early 1980s she inched her way up the ranks until becoming an editor, working on Legion of Super-Heroes, Saga of the Swamp Thing, and other titles. Meanwhile, Pat Bastienne, similarly climbing the DC ladder, moved into the position of editorial coordinator upon Berger’s promotion, placing her alongside Giordano once again. Under Giordano’s direction, DC launched a host of new titles, ranging from familiar ground—the reintroduction of DC’s Golden Age characters in All-Star Squadron and its spinoff Infinity, Inc., plus revivals of old favorites in The Fury of Firestorm and The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl— to bold new territory—the fantastical Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld; the frightening Night Force; the farcical Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew and ’Mazing Man. Most of these efforts pleased DC’s existing readership, but only The New Teen Titans and Legion of Super-Heroes were bestsellers. Marvel Comics continued to trounce DC. Regarding Marvel’s market dominance, Giordano commented to his staff, “I don’t want us to be Marvel II, I want

us to be DC. Let’s not compete with Marvel. They’ve got a lock on what they do. Let’s find something that we have a lock on.” A series proposal from Mike W. Barr was different enough—and “dangerous,” by Dick’s estimation—to be the flagship experiment: Camelot 3000, a twelve-issue, monthly “maxi-series” by author Barr and artist Brian Bolland, launching with a December 1982 coverdated first issue. Barr and Bolland’s futuristic interpretation

Karen Berger on GIORDANO I worked for Dick directly for about half of my editorial career at DC Comics. It’s hard to put into words just how influential and special he was in my life during those years, but I’ll try. Professionally, Dick led DC’s editorial division during what are probably the company’s greatest creative and commercial achievements. He provided a perfect environment for creativity and new ideas to foster, and he championed and supported the “growing up” of the medium, something that has always been very close to my heart. We were sort of a wacky editorial crew in the 1980s, and for a lot of us, Dick was a cool father figure, who gave us a relaxed atmosphere to work in, and the emotional support when we needed it. A talented artist himself, Dick always taught us to have the utmost respect for the creative process and for the people who write and draw our books. He also gave us the freedom to pursue our creative goals and experiments—always being there to help navigate

when times got tough, but whether we succeeded or failed, it was ultimately up to us—as it should be. Dick is the one of the most centered, sensible, relaxed, and genuinely kind people I’ve ever known. He was a wonderful person to work for, guiding, teaching and supporting me during my formative creative years. I don’t think I’ll ever be as calm and even-keeled as Dick, but out of the many things I learned from him, it was how to put things in perspective and take things in stride, and to not bounce off walls when I got upset (which I did fairly regularly in our weekly oneon-one meetings.) They don’t come any finer than Dick Giordano—I consider it a true honor to have worked closely with him for so many years, and to bear the same company title as him. Karen Berger VP-Executive Editor February 2003

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of the legend of King Arthur was DC’s first creator-generated project, and, like Madame Xanadu the previous year, was sold exclusively to comics specialty shops on a nonreturnable basis. Published with offset printing on upscale Baxter paper stock, Camelot 3000 was an immediate success, although its final three issues were impeded by artistic delays—almost nine months passed between issues #11 and 12. Buoyed by the success of Camelot 3000, Giordano inspired his editorial team to take chances, to produce material that was different from the norm. “DC focused on cultivating an audience that was distinctly different from Marvel Comics,” Dick says. “We were providing something for the readers who had gotten tired of reading Marvel.” Many of these titles were published in upscale formats with a higher price tag, luring top talent by the promise of a superior product and a wider profit margin. 1983 witnessed the birth of Frank Miller’s ninja epic Ronin, Marv Wolfman’s

hard-hitting Vigilante, and Keith Giffen and Roger Slifer’s space opera The Omega Men sold to the direct market. Even newsstand-distributed DC titles began to break away from traditional roots: the cancellation of The Brave and the Bold pried Batman away from his Justice League affiliation and into a new team in Batman and the Outsiders, and Dave Gibbons’ awe-inspiring artwork elevated the atrophied Green Lantern to new horizons.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Dick Giordano was never one to maintain a pedestrian schedule. In DC’s top editorial chair, he continued to work as a freelance illustrator, mostly as a cover inker or on special projects. “I was a favorite of Joe Orlando’s for commercial work,” he smiles. Throughout the 1980s Giordano’s solo illustrations, or his inks over penciler José Luis Garcia-Lopez, became the house style for DC Comics. Dick or Dick and José produced a plethora of toy packaging artwork as well as model sheets for all of DC’s characters. “Working for Joe Orlando was glorious,” states Giordano. “He was so good to me. He respected my work. Joe was always the perfect editor.” Describing his typical morning, Dick recounts, “I’d rise at 4:00 AM, do my freelance art until 7:00, hop in the shower then leave at 7:30 for the office.” Many freelance artists, notorious for working through the night, have regarded Giordano’s earlyriser regimen with dismay or awe. “4:00 o’clock was the best time to work,” contends Dick. “There were no distractions or interruptions, my brain was still Wonder Woman lassos a runaway spy in this Giordanoinked piece commissioned for an unspecified 1982 project. Pencils by Ross Andru. Courtesy of Ryan P. Udelhoven. ©2003 DC Comics. (right) Another early 1980s DC illo assigned to Giordano by Joe Orlando. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 DC Comics.

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“I don’t wait for inspiration to strike —I sit down and start working. Don’t wait for the muse: commercial artists aren’t Michelangelo, they’re work-for-hire stumblebums who have to deliver what their clients want.” his teaching sidelines, including his sporadically scheduled workshops with Frank McLaughlin. Giordano and McLaughlin managed to co-produce two instructional books: The Illustrated Comic Book Workshop v.1 (1982, Garco Systems) and v.2 (1984, Skymarc Publications). “Both publishing companies were the same person, Gary Brodsky, son of (Marvel Comics vet) Sol Brodsky,” Dick Advice for drawing hands, from Volume One. ©1982 Garco Systems and the Comic Art Workshop.

The cover for Giordano and McLaughlin’s The Illustrated Comic Art Workshop, which remains, over 20 years later, a valuable resource for illustrators. Two volumes were published. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©1982 Garco Systems and the Comic Art Workshop.

waking up, and it was easy to focus on the work at hand.” To maintain this pace, he often power-napped during his daily commute from his Connecticut home to Manhattan. As friendly advice to those who marvel at Giordano’s discipline, Dick offers, “I don’t wait for inspiration to strike—I sit down and start working. Don’t wait for the muse: commercial artists aren’t Michelangelo, they’re work-for-hire stumblebums who have to deliver what their clients want.” Giordano conducted a ten-week comic-book illustration class at Syracuse University in 1982, flying once a week to upstate New York for the duration of the semester. By the end of that year the demands of overseeing DC’s editorial department led him to discontinue

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reveals. Giordano was never paid for the second volume, and after several negotiations via a middleman, the publisher verbally consented to relinquish the art, film, and rights. “The material was almost literally thrown out of a moving cab to my intermediary,” laughs Dick. “He said he was afraid I would kill him because I was Italian!”

In the page on the left, Dick applies the basics of one-point perspective in this Gotham City backdrop. On the right, Giordano’s fully penciled page. From v. 2 of the Workshop. ©1984 Skymarc Publications and the Comic Art Workshop. Batman and the Joker ©2003 DC Comics.

THE ACTION HEROES COME TO PAPA In 1983 Paul Levitz purchased the Action Heroes from Charlton Comics for the sum of $5,000 per character, as a gift to Giordano. Paul encouraged Dick to use the characters as he pleased, and Giordano’s first inclination was, in his own words, “to publish reprints of old Charlton stories as flashbacks to launch new DC stories with the characters, and use the original creators for the new stories.” DC’s marketing department nixed that idea, contending, according to Giordano, “We don’t want to do old stuff, we’ve got to come up with something new.” They said they couldn’t sell Ditko, etc., to the market. Giordano began thinking in different directions, and concocted a way to combine the nostalgic with the new: presenting the Action Heroes in a weekly anthology. Blockbuster Weekly (later titled Comics Cavalcade Weekly) chugged into development, but Dick soon realized he was too busy with his execThe aborted Comics Cavalcade Weekly #1’s utive responcover, by Dave Gibbons. ©2003 DC Comics. sibilities to fully edit the title and tapped recently hired associate editor Robert Greenberger to oversee much of the work. Planned as a 32page newsstand-distributed comic book, Blockbuster was to be anchored by reprints of the then-current Superman newspaper strip, and supported by new 2–4-page stories featuring Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and company. Pete Morisi and Frank McLaughlin returned to their creations, Peter Cannon—Thunderbolt and Judomaster, respectively, and either established or new DC talent signed on for the other characters. The artwork delivered by some of the newcomers was not up to DC’s standards and offered no reinforcement to the little-known Charlton heroes in the untested weekly format, so the series never saw the light of day.

The Action Heroes Revival That Never Was The creative teams chosen for the aborted weekly DC comic book starring their recently acquired Charlton heroes were: BLUE BEETLE Writer: Steve Englehart; Penciler: David Ross; Inker: Alex Niño CAPTAIN ATOM Writer: Paul Kupperberg; Penciler: Paul Chadwick, replaced by Denys Cowan JUDOMASTER Writer/Artist: Frank McLaughlin THE PEACEMAKER Writer/Penciler: Keith Giffen; Inker: Gary Martin PETER CANNON—THUNDERBOLT Writer/Artist: Pete Morisi THE QUESTION Writer: Mike W. Barr; Penciler: Stan Woch; Inker: Rick Magyar SARGE STEEL Writer: Andrew Helfer; Penciler: Trevor Von Eeden; Inker: Dick Giordano

MEANWHILE… With DC Comics gaining creative ground and more clout in the marketplace, Mike Flynn, at that time the company’s public-relations spokesperson, conceived in 1983 a DC counterpart to Marvel’s “Bullpen Bulletins Page.” Giordano remembers, “we wanted the column to provide an insider’s look at DC’s operations,” sparking editor Julius Schwartz to suggest the title “Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch.” That title was shortened to “Meanwhile…”, and the feature, written by Flynn, appeared monthly in most of DC’s titles. Shortly after its launch, Paul Levitz realized that Dick Giordano should be the company’s spokesperson and asked Dick to take over “Meanwhile…” Giordano wrote the columns longhand, then reviewed his material and made changes in the borders or by crossing out lines, passing the sloppy document to his executive assistant Alyce Raeford to type. “Meanwhile…” is fondly remembered by DC readers for its insight and revelations of new projects, but was also embraced for its charismatic tone. Jokes Giordano, “My syntax was poor, but that’s how I talk. I sound like Yogi Berra.” His “Day in the Life” installment, which chronicled a

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THE WRITER/EDITOR PROGRAM By 1983 “DC’s material had become more creatordriven,” says Giordano. Dick recalls, “Gerry Conway had written Justice League for years, and survived several editorial changes, so he lobbied that he was qualified to edit as well as write the book.” Conway’s argument led Giordano to consider reviving the concept of writer/editors, not seen at DC since Carmine Infantino’s 1970s tenure on books like Joe Kubert’s Tarzan, Mike Sekowsky’s Wonder Woman, Jack Kirby’s The New Gods (and Kirby’s other titles), and Conway’s own All-Star Comics. Marv Wolfman, then DC’s top-selling author and a former editor in chief at Marvel Comics, similarly petitioned the sympathetic executive editor for full control of The New Teen Titans. Giordano discussed the concept with his fellow executives, who did not share his support. The major concern was deadline management, with additional apprehension over lack of editorial objectivity. “I was convinced that the writer/editor system wasn’t a good one for comics, despite the occasions when excellent work had been done under it,” explicates Paul Levitz. “Dick wanted to try it again, so we debated it out with Joe and Jenette, and Dick got his shot.” But Conway didn’t, at least not on Justice League. Wolfman became writer/editor of Titans and Vigilante, and soon other DC writers clamored for the same privilege. A select group of authors with editorial experience were given the opportunity to shepherd the books that they had created: Roy Thomas, also at one This “Meanwhile…” column from time the Marvel editor in chief, on All-Star the July 1983 cover-dated DC titles allowed readers to experience a Squadron and its spinoffs, Mike W. Barr day in the life of DC’s executive editor. ©2003 DC Comics. on Outsiders, and Conway, yet another former Marvel head honcho, on Firestorm. Before long, some of the writer/editors’ typical day for the busy executive editor, was one of his series began to suffer: “There were deadline problems, and most popular columns, but two decades after its publication, books were cancelled,” Wolfman remembers, adding that Giordano feels compelled to admit, “I telescoped events his relocation from DC’s home of New York City to the West from several different days into one day,” quickly and Coast and Giordano’s dwindling support of the program emphatically adding, with a chortle, “but those were the caused it to “die of inertia.” Roy Thomas’ Young All-Stars only lies I ever told!” By 1987 “Meanwhile…” had become allowed the writer/editor concept to limp along until its final difficult for Giordano to produce. “I didn’t run out of things issue, #31, cover-dated November 1989. to say, but I eventually ran out of time,” he accounts, and Reflects Paul Levitz, “The writer/editor program is one after substitute and ghost writers filled in, with varying of the rare cases where I earned a ‘You told me so’ from results, Dick decided to retire the column from publication. Dick. We tried to make it work, but the inherent conflicts of

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interest or the circumstances of the time made it not work out.” Yet Dick Giordano has no qualms about his bold experiment: “I don’t regret having started it and don’t regret having killed it.”

THINKING MAN’S COMICS By the January 1984 cover-dated Saga of the Swamp Thing #20, the first issue to feature the literate, challenging scripting of British import Alan Moore, it became apparent that DC was excelling at producing comics for the more discerning reader. “I started calling them ‘thinking man’s comics,’” notes Giordano. Karen Berger soon assumed the editorial reins of Swamp Thing from Len Wein, and throughout the 1980s she distinguished herself as DC’s most cutting-edge editor. Moore’s Swamp Thing delved deep into matters formerly taboo in comics, and as a result soon bore a “recommended for mature readers” cover advisory. Giordano continued to recruit new blood to DC’s editorial and design staff. Many were young professionals who had proved themselves at smaller publishing companies but were ready to make their mark in the “majors,” not unlike Dick’s own roots. Others were wide-eyed newcomers, some of whom had distinguished themselves among the fan press, who were dedicated to making comics, and to changing comics. Amid the youngbloods resuscitating DC’s staff, an industry giant was brought on board as editor by Dick Giordano: Dennis O’Neil, with whom Giordano had

worked since his days at Charlton Comics. O’Neil’s appointment was not without controversy: some cautioned Dick that Denny— DC’s undisputed #1 writer of the 1970s— was past his prime. Following his instinct of hiring the best people to do their best work, Giordano ignored the critics and placed O’Neil in charge of the Batman franchise. His choice was sound: for nearly a decade, Denny O’Neil led the Batman titles through best-selling “mini-series within a series,” and mentored a cadre of junior editors and fledgling writers. DC Comics became the place to go for writers and artists wishing to flex their creative muscle. “Jenette Kahn realized, and focused on, strengthening creator relations,”

Richard Bruning on GIORDANO The highest compliment Dick ever paid me was also my greatest challenge. When he and Joe Orlando hired me to head DC’s nascent design department in 1985, I knew I was in over my head. I had previously been the editor and art director of a very small independent publishing company (Capital Comics) and was overwhelmed by the task now before me. I had learned a lot in the preceding years but nothing, I felt, to prepare me for the challenge here at THE comic publishing company—the one that had defined my early childhood. The first week I was there I went to Dick’s office, one of the messiest, most comforting places I’ve ever had the pleasure to spend time in, to ask him for guidance. I explained I had been given no specific set of responsibilities when I signed on. I asked him what my

job was exactly. He just sat back, gave me one of those wonderful Dick smiles and just said: “You’ll figure it out.” And, of course, he was right. With his wind at my back and all the support I could have ever asked for, I got to do everything: learn, create, innovate, play, change. Few people know how to lead creative people to their best work. I just hope I, in my current job, do half as well at that as Dick. Thank you, sir, for being the best boss and teacher I ever had. Richard Bruning VP-Creative Director DC Comics January 2003

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Dennis O’Neil on GIORDANO I know of no way I can begin to pay the debt of gratitude I owe Dick Giordano. Dick is responsible for much, if not most, of what’s been good in what I’ve done for the past quarter-century. As an artist, he has embellished, amplified and enhanced my writing. As an editor, he has prompted me to some of my best efforts in an eerie fashion I don’t understand and wish I could imitate. And as a boss...Dick hired me to edit comics when I was one of the worst prospects in publishing—“washed up” and “has-been” were, I believe, some of the epithets applied to me at the time—and he did so against the advice of at least some of his managerial colleagues. No one has ever, ever believed in me like that. Such faith is a gift beyond valuing. He is, in his quiet, self-effacing fashion, truly remarkable. I’ve begun to think of him as a Zen-mas-

Giordano emphasizes, “sometimes catering to the talent, understanding that they are the backbone of the company.” Continuity contracts were implemented, paying creators a bonus upon the successful completion of a year’s worth of issues, and contracted freelancers also became eligible for health insurance through DC. Pat Bastienne’s reputation as an advocate to creative people’s needs led to her appointment as manager-talent coordinator. Beginning in the mid-1980s the pair frequently traveled together across the country and to other countries, meeting with established professionals and recruiting newcomers to DC. Pat became the liaison between dozens of writers and artists and DC’s editorial staff. When DC was developing a new, square-bound publishing format for its most prominent projects, it was Bastienne who coined its name: “Prestige Format.” “I wanted to call it ‘Premiere Format,” an homage to Charlton Premiere,” reveals Giordano, but he abandoned his nostalgic preference and selected Pat’s suggestion. Bastienne also named Shop Talk, DC’s freelancer newsletter of the 1980s and early 1990s.

A CRISIS AT DC Despite the buzz DC was attracting in the creative community and on the stands, Marvel Comics remained number one. The perception among Marvel readers was that DC was impenetrable, with nearly fifty years of history and continuity prohibiting safe passageway into their universe. Marv

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ter-without-portfolio, a man who sits inside his own skin and observes without judging, who can become deeply involved in work and yet remain detached enough to know that it’s not the most important thing in the world, who keeps his ego on a very short leash indeed, who seems utterly incapable of malice. He’s not good at everything, however. He has little gift for self-promotion, which may be why he is not as renowned as he ought to be. That’s a shame because it means that young artists and editors don’t profit from his good example. Somebody ought to do something about that. Dennis O’Neil February 2003

Wolfman had a flash of inspiration about how to make DC a player among those readers—while waiting for a train. “I was waiting for Len Wein, Joe Staton, and (former DC editor) Laurie Sutton at Penn Station to go to a (1983) Pittsburgh convention,” Wolfman relates. “They were fairly late and I was fairly early. I literally brainstormed Crisis while waiting for Len and Joe and Laurie.” Since the advent of DC’s Silver Age in the late 1950s, DC’s characters had resided on two worlds: Earth-One, home of the then-current versions of Superman, Batman, and their super friends, and Earth-Two, where the heroes from the Golden Age of the 1940s lived. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, more parallel worlds were introduced, including Earth-Three, home of the Crime Syndicate; Earth-S (as in “Shazam”), where you found Captain Marvel and the other characters DC acquired from defunct publisher Fawcett Comics; Earth-X, residence of Uncle Sam, the Phantom Lady, and the remaining freedom fighters once published by Quality Comics. These multiple worlds, coupled with hundreds of issues published on many of DC’s titles, attracted few readers. So Wolfman envisioned a means to wipe the slate clean, allowing every series, every character, a new starting point. Crisis on Infinite Earths positioned a catastrophic disaster that threatened to eradicate the entire multiverse, forcing heroes and villains to band together for survival. The climax would culminate in a DC continuity streamlined into one world. Wolfman made his pitch to his friends during their weekend train ride, and they were utterly wowed. The next step: selling executive editor Dick Giordano on the concept.

prospect of killing the Girl of Steel. Eventually, they signed First thing Monday morning, Wolfman enthusiastically Supergirl’s death warrant. And she was not alone on the pitched the concept to Giordano. The author relates, “He executioner’s block. loved it. There was no question. We immediately got up and With the help of went into Jenette Kahn’s Len Wein and associate office and pitched it to editor Robert Greenher, and she loved it.” Paul berger, Marv Wolfman Levitz was summoned into prepared a DC “death Kahn’s office for an list” of characters he impromptu confab. Upon felt should be expunged the recapitulation of the from the mythos. Many concept for Levitz’s benefit, were second bananas more details came to the or ridiculously out of fore. Giordano says, “To date—Aquagirl, Dove, give Crisis resonance, Prince Ra-Man, and somebody had to die.” Bug-Eyed Bandit, to The principal target, sugname a few—who progested by Wolfman, was vided little value to, or Supergirl. “I brought that even detracted from, in to Paul and Jenette,” the overall line. HowDick remembers. “They ever, Wolfman and turned white,” especially Giordano were shocked since the 1984 motion by one character’s picture Supergirl was a demise decreed by few months away from its Jenette Kahn: the Flash. release. But Giordano The sales on DC’s Flash argued, “Let’s be realistic. monthly were seriously Supergirl is Superman with impaired by a lengthy, boobs. She has no reason seemingly never-ending for being here. This is a storyline featuring the dramatic story to offer.” Fastest Man Alive on Wolfman continued the trial for murder. Readers pitch: “If Superman were were bored and rapidly revamped, he should be defecting from the title, the only survivor of and resuscitation was Krypton. Plus, by that in order. “Flash was also point, the Supergirl selected for his weight character bore no resemas a character and for blance to anything that his role in DC’s history,” made her interesting. She “This is a dramatic story to offer,” argued Dick Giordano when lobbyDick recalls, “and to was hurting Superman, ing for the death of Supergirl. He was right. ©2003 DC Comics. make it clear to the and nobody was buying readers that we were making changes.” Adds Marv, “Jenette her book. The idea was to do something major to say to the suggested killing Flash, which I found as a surprise. She also DC readers that everything had changed. Supergirl’s death wanted Hawkman dead, but I fought against that one.” Amid would help the Superman books, it would indicate to the this talk of massacre, Dick Giordano smiled: this creative Marvel readers that these are not your father’s DC books.” In exchange signaled a new era for DC. an aside, Wolfman confesses, “Of course, I always thought Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe that in a few years, they’d was Len Wein’s (abetted by Bob Greenberger) contribution create a new Supergirl. I never assumed otherwise. But for to this massive renovation of DC’s characters. A 26-issue the moment, everything would be revitalized with Crisis.” encyclopedia series, Who’s Who debuted with the March While Crisis, the series, quickly got the green light, 1985 issue, followed one month later by the Crisis on Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz spent weeks mulling over the

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Infinite Earths #1, a 12-issue maxi-series written by Wolfman and illustrated by penciler George Pérez and inker (and editorial sage) Dick Giordano (and later, inker Jerry Ordway). And as predicted by Wolfman and suspected by Giordano, the series set the comics world on its collective (and collecting) ear, selling phenomenally and attracting many Marvel fans who had never before read DC comic books. Into Crisis’ run, Marv Wolfman made a shocking proposition to Dick Giordano. Marv explains, “I saw Crisis as a two-fold process. The first thing was to prove to Marvel readers that DC was worth reading. My second thought was, ‘We have to do this not only with Crisis, but two years in a row,’ since Marvel’s 25th anniversary was the next year.” Wolfman’s idea for the Crisis follow-up: rebooting the entire DC line with first issues, starting with origins and enticing new readers into the fold. Dick vividly recalls that he was aghast at yet intrigued by the suggestion: “Oh, my God, I don’t think we have enough creative people to do it,” he muttered. As he continued to explore the idea with Wolfman, Giordano suggested reaping enormous marketing potential by discontinuing the entire DC line for one month after the last issue of Crisis, then introducing the books anew the following month. But the overwhelming prospect once again gave him pause: “I knew it was the right thing to do, but didn’t have the staff or the lead time to pull it off,” he bemoans. He also acknowledged that his softer editorial style wasn’t tough enough to dictate a company-wide rebirth. After mulling over the prospect, Giordano decided against proposing this radical concept to Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz, admitting, in retrospect, “That’s one of the few decisions I made that I really regret.” Overall, however, Giordano is satisfied with the end results

of Crisis: “By and large, it accomplished what it set out to do.” Another benefit of Crisis, from Giordano’s personal perspective, was its absorption of the Charlton Action Heroes into the DC universe.

BATMAN BEYOND Imagine a near-future Gotham City so corrupt that Batman, now a middle-aged recluse, emerges from retirement on an anti-crime vendetta that reaches such violent extremes that the U.S. President orders Superman to take him down. Dick Giordano imagined it—and mega-sales—after hearing Frank Miller’s revolutionary 1984 pitch for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Writer/artist Miller had struck gold with his 1979–1982 run on Marvel’s Daredevil, but his 1983-1984 DC mini-series Ronin failed to generate much reader interest. Would his proposed reenergizing of Batman restore Miller to his former glory? Giordano thought so, and believed it would also do the same for Batman. Taking the concept to Paul Levitz, Dick remembers that “at first, Paul wasn’t keen on the project,” but soon came around. Jenette Kahn signed on immediately. Giordano was so mesmerized by this new take on Batman that he insisted on editing it, but met some opposition: “Paul didn’t want me to edit it because he Paul Levitz, was concerned it would interfere Giordano’s friend and with my doing my job supervising former colleague. the other books.” Dick enthusiasti-

Robert Greenberger on GIORDANO He may have been the boss, but to me, he was more like the teacher. Dick knew how to make freelancers feel comfortable and wanted, while at the same time he showed them when they were off-course. Most of the lessons I learned about artwork came from sitting at Dick’s elbow as he showed me and the artist what needed improving. His nurturing approach to talent is something I have tried to emulate. Working for him made me want to work harder, better and smarter and he was happy to teach me along the way. After a time, we hit a great working relationship and I hope it showed in the finished product. There’s little doubt that those were hard but

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heady days as we launched Crisis and Who’s Who, things that had never been attempted; followed by Watchmen and our coordinated outreach to the British talent. He let us experiment, succeed or fail; encouraged us to think big and gave us the tools to try. A fellow Mets fan, we could talk about movies, baseball and comics. He turned me on to Robert B. Parker’s novels and showed me comics could be about much more than colorful adventurers. Robert Greenberger Senior Editor—DC Comics February 2003

cally persisted until getting his way, his case bolstered by his comfortable relationship with Frank Miller. In developmental meetings with Miller at Giordano’s favorite lunch spot Pastrami ’n’ Things, located in the lower level of 666 Fifth Avenue, then DC’s headquarters, Dick was intimately involved with the Giordano was the editorial force first of Dark behind Frank Miller’s landmark Dark Knight’s four issues. Knight series. ©2003 DC Comics. Throughout the series Miller depicted TV commentators to convey vital story information. In his first visual draft, he had drawn the newscasters in a square of the center of the page, making panel flow difficult. “Where do I go next, Frank?” asked Dick, so Miller “realized that was too complicated and redesigned the layout. He evolved the script, adding things to make it interesting and throwing away things that didn’t work.” Crisis on Infinite Earths had fostered a climate of recreation from which Miller’s series benefited: Crisis #12 and Dark Knight #1 were released, coincidentally, in the same month. Reaction to the release of Miller’s four-issue, squarebound, Prestige Format series was phenomenal, and it sold out quickly, prompting multiple reprintings. Halfway through the development of Dark Knight, Giordano’s dual roles of editor and executive editor collided. According to the editor, Frank Miller, behind schedule, professed a plan to ship issue #3 late, expecting that fan and retailer anticipation would be heightened by the delay. “Paul was opposed, and Jenette was also upset,” reveals Dick. Giordano was in Miller’s home state of California on business at the time and was preparing to meet with him to discuss the last issue’s plot. “Paul called me to tell me how bad Frank’s attitude was,” says Giordano. “Paul read me the riot act, and I read it to Frank,” wedging a rift between Frank and Dick. Acknowledging that Miller knew that Giordano was “only doing my job, I realized I couldn’t be the editor on Dark Knight anymore.” Denny O’Neil, Miller’s editor on Daredevil, was tapped to take over the series with the third issue, and Richard Bruning acted as the liaison on the last issue. Fortunately, says Giordano, he and Miller eventually put this incident behind them.

DC Titles Starring Charlton Comics BLUE BEETLE #1 (6/86) – 24 (5/88) CAPTAIN ATOM #1 (1/87) – 57 (9/91) THE QUESTION #1 (2/87) – 36 (4/90), with two Annuals (1988 and 1989) and THE QUESTION QUARTERLY #1 (Autumn/90) – 5 (Spring/92) Nightshade, as a charter member of THE SUICIDE SQUAD #1 (5/87) – #66 (6/92) THE PEACEMAKER #1 (1/88) – 4 (4/88) PETER CANNON–THUNDERBOLT #1 (9/92) – 12 (8/93) THE L.A.W. (LIVING ASSAULT WEAPONS) #1 (9/99) – 6 (2/00)

ACTION HEROES BACK IN ACTION With Titans, Swamp Thing, Crisis, Who’s Who, and Dark Knight, DC had reinvented itself. “I saw that when we started to do things better, we’d getter better sales,” Giordano remarks. Those books and their creators were also garnering industry awards and fan accolades. And DC was only getting started. In the wake of Crisis, Giordano and his editors were refurbishing a host of DC icons, albeit in a more random fashion that Marv Wolfman had proposed. Next out the gate was a character close to Dick’s heart: Charlton transplant Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle #1, by Len Wein and Paris Cullins, debuted in June 1986, spinning out of the character’s rein-

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murder of a super-hero, and evolved into an arresting portrait of power, deception, and super-heroes’ lives in the “real” world. And it starred Dick’s beloved Charlton Action Heroes. Giordano was captivated by the concept, but felt strongly against the use of the Charlton characters. Phoning Moore in London, Dick appealed, “Alan, we just bought the characters, and you want to kill one of them off. Besides that, what you’re doing is playing in somebody else’s garden Dick Giordano met author Alan Moore in 1981 during his instead of your own. What you want to do with these charfirst talent junket to Moore’s native England. “He was so acters is very exciting, but what you’re going to end up with brilliant, such a captivating speaker,” Dick recalls of Moore. is something where nobody else can play in that garden. “He had so many interesting things to say.” Four years later, Why don’t you create something that we can say belongs to Giordano was once again fascinated by Moore’s words Alan Moore, something that’s brand new, a different setting. when reading his unsolicited proposal for a 12-issue limited At first he was a little hesitant, because he wanted to do the series called Watchmen. The treatment began with the Charlton characters,” but eventually Moore agreed and made the appropriate revisions. Giordano enthusiastically pushed the Watchmen proposal through DC management, now with Dave Gibbons, Moore’s choice as artist, attached. Len Wein was tapped as editor, with Giordano staying on board as an overseer to this important project, but both stood back and let the creators work their wonders. Remarks Dick, “Who copyedits Alan Moore, for God’s sake? This team had a vision Rorschach / The Question Dr. Manhattan / Captain Atom and I got out of their way.” Moore and Gibbons produced Watchmen in England, and each time pages arrived in New York, Giordano recalls his colleagues on staff hovering around for a peek. The final few issues were so involved for the creators that they shipped late, Nite-Owl / Blue Beetle The Silk Spectre / Nightshade but fan anticipation had so climaxed that few complained. “I was absolutely delighted with that project,” Giordano smiles. “After the fact, when I read all the issues, I realized that I was right in leaving them alone. There’s nothing I would have changed.” troduction in Crisis. More Charlton revamps would quickly follow, most notably Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan’s provocative take on the Question, but if Alan Moore had gotten his way, the Action Heroes’ return would have been dramatically different.

HE WATCHES THE WATCHMEN

Who’s Who: The Watchmen/Charlton Connection

Adrian Veidt / Peter Cannon—Thunderbolt

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The Comedian / The Peacemaker

LATE SHIPPING

SUPERMAN REBORN

The usually harmonious executive “family” of Jenette Kahn, Paul Levitz, and Dick Giordano occasionally disagreed. When Paul Levitz circulated an interoffice memo applauding DC’s line for being published “on time” after several titles had routinely shipped late, Dick remarked aloud, “We should be more concerned with the content of our books than shipping on time. I borrowed a phrase from John Byrne that really burned Paul the wrong way. I said, ‘Paul, nobody ever picked up a comic book and said, ‘This book is really on time.’” Giordano relates that Levitz took umbrage with his assertion: “Paul took that as a personal insult. He went into his office and lay down with a

While Giordano won’t hesitate to mention his preference of Batman over Superman, as DC’s executive editor he was chagrined that the Dark Knight outsold the Man of Steel. Superman was, after all, the company icon, so Giordano, Kahn, and Levitz launched plans to repopularize their flagship hero, a campaign of reinvention that started during the development of Crisis and its elimination of Supergirl. DC’s top brass was approached by a handful of writers excited about revitalizing the character, including, from Paul Levitz’s recollections, long-time Superman scribe Cary Bates, Frank Miller, and Howard the Duck creator Steve Gerber. Marv Wolfman also made his love of

headache, and Jenette said to me, ‘You’ve insulted him terribly.’” To atone for his inadvertent blunder, Dick immediately went to Paul to apologize, and to explain his rationale. “In the business we’re in, you can’t be obsessed with being on time,” Giordano said to Levitz. Acknowledging the importance of timely shipping from the business perspective, Dick continued, “I don’t think we should make all of our decisions based on that. There are other considerations that have to be taken into account. Yes, we want it good and we want it on Thursday, but the reality is, sometimes it doesn’t happen that way, and you have to figure out what’s next.” Giordano’s attitude of nurturing the art of comics first, the business second, set the pace for the company throughout the decade: it fostered radically different series that made the marketplace take notice, but it also created late-shipping woes that would occasionally tarnish the company’s reputation.

Superman no secret. But it was John Byrne, their competitor’s hottest writer/artist who rose to acclaim by penciling X-Men and later as Marvel’s “Mr. Fix-It” by rescuing sagging titles like Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk, who got the nod to chart Superman’s course. Due to the development time invested into this reconstruction of Superman, seven months transpired between Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 and the Man of Steel’s rebirth. The three monthly Superman titles, all helmed by editor Julius Schwartz, remained in publication during this

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someone to talk to, and rooted him in America’s heartland.” Giordano felt that those were more important concepts than maintaining the hero’s youthful Superboy connection from the previous continuity. He was adamant that Superman needed this motivation, or else he could have become a villain, or purely self-motivated. The Man of Steel was another triumph for DC Comics, and in its wake John Byrne piloted a renumbered Superman series and Action Comics, the latter of which temporarily became a Superman team-up book inked by Giordano.

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON ROLLING

transition and featured old-style material in a brave new world, well-intentioned efforts that unfortunately undermined the company’s much-touted overhaul. All was forgiven and forgotten, however, with Schwartz’s editorial swan song: the celebrated two-part “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” by Alan Moore and Curt Swan, published in the September 1986 cover-dated Superman #423 and Action #583. In October 1986 The Man of Steel, written and penciled by John Byrne and inked by Dick Giordano, burst onto newsstands and into comics shops in dual editions. The sixissue biweekly series best utilized the promise of Crisis by discarding everything you knew about Superman and starting from scratch. With the origin sequence in issue #1, which depicted a cold, antiseptic planet Krypton not wholly removed from the 1978 film version in Superman: The Movie, The Man of Steel “was designed to be as different from the old version as possible,” Giordano contends, “to show everyone that we were indeed making a change, that we weren’t just retelling the old origin.” Dick’s propensity toward tossing out tradition for the sake of a good story helped guide Byrne into exciting new terrain. While the adult Clark Kent was an orphan in the earlier continuity, the new Superman’s earthly parents were very much alive, Giordano’s favorite aspect of the renovation: “We had to give Superman a reason for being a nice guy,” explains Dick. “Keeping his parents alive gave him

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In the mid-1980s a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths called Crisis of the Soul was bandied about the DC offices, but it sputtered out of steam due to lack of editorial support. Crisis on Infinite Earths’ success did, however, convince DC of the importance of annual crossover events. During this new DC explosion of the mid-1980s, Giordano hired another high-profile editor: Mike Gold, formerly the editor in chief of the Chicago-based publisher First Comics. Gold was handed the mandate to create DC’s next super-hero event, and with writer John Ostrander, another First transplant, and artist John Byrne, Gold produced Legends, a six-issue mini-series that reintroduced the This relaunch of Wonder Woman was yet another impressive super-hero makeover under Giordano’s editorial watch. ©2003 DC Comics.

original Captain Marvel (Shazam!) and Wonder Woman, plus new versions of the Justice League and the Suicide Squad. Over the next two years, almost every DC superstar was overhauled, including Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Newer characters like an updated Guy Gardner (the substitute Green Lantern) and Lobo became fan favorites, and Giordano recruited Frank Miller to return to Batman, joined by artist David Mazzucchelli, in “Batman: Year One,” a flashback story which revised the Dark Knight’s roots. While there may have been no singular company-wide relaunch in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths, there was certainly the impression of such. Two late-1980s events at DC remain close to Giordano’s heart. The first was Green Arrow’s resurgence of popularity, beginning with Mike Grell’s landmark Prestige Format miniseries, 1987’s Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, and the subsequent monthly series. “I was the constant on most of Grell’s Green Arrow issues,” states Giordano, “inking them and penciling part of an Annual. Even Grell didn’t write them all.” Intimate with the character since the 1970s, Dick contends, “With Grell’s version, Ollie Queen’s (Green Arrow’s alter ego) personality was clearly there: he was a hawk, he would kill if he had to. Grell took the opportunity to share some of his hawkish views with us, but he did so through the character.” Giordano is also proud that his creative direction contributed to the birth of DC’s “mature readers” line. “Karen Berger had been editing DC titles with a twist,” Dick remarks: her Saga of the Swamp Thing generated a spinoff, Hellblazer, and Berger’s mark was noticeably evident on eccentric overhauls of old DC series like Shade the Changing Man and Animal Man. Doom Patrol, which had recently experienced an atypical reworking under editor Bob Greenberger, also fell into Karen’s camp. Allying herself with a cadre of British creators and a stable of eager editors, Berger’s line grew, as did their cult following and her editorial clout. Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, launched in June 1989, garnered tremendous press in fantasy and literary circles and Berger’s best sales to date. By 1993 these “thinking man’s comics” had evolved into their own imprint—Vertigo. Karen Berger best exemplified the potential of Dick Giordano’s editorial challenge, “Let’s find something that we have a lock on.”

NO HEIR APPARENT With this dizzying string of successes throughout the 1980s, Giordano, who had reached his late fifties by the end of the decade, was planning toward retirement. The daunting dilemma plaguing Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz was, who would replace him?

While a variety of candidates were approached by Giordano for DC editorial positions, Paul Levitz was concerned that the industry lacked available editors with experience comparable to Dick’s. Thus, Paul constructed the “group editor” program, where select individuals would become managers of specific groupings of Giordano never lost his illustration chops while leading DC’s editorial division, titles. Denny dabbling in pre-dawn freelance work. O’Neil was Photo by Marie Giordano. appointed the Batman group editor; Mike Carlin, the Superman group editor; Mike Gold oversaw a handful of super-hero and licensed titles; Karen Berger found herself officially in charge of her “mature readers” realm; and in 1989 legendary comics writer and editor Archie Goodwin was recruited to the fold to supervise miscellaneous and create new DC series. Soon, Andrew Helfer was promoted to Justice League group editor. Levitz and Giordano planned an exit scenario for Dick: over the course of several years, Dick would phase himself out of office through the terms of his new contract to four days the first year, three days the next, etc., with the group editors assuming more management responsibilities.

GOOD -BYE YELLOW-DOT WALLS In 1989 Time-Life and Warner Communications became Time-Warner, and with that merger entertainment empire Warner Bros. replaced Warner Publishing as DC’s parent company. Radical changes trickled, and in some cases flooded, into DC’s operations. DC’s management paradigm was altered to mirror Warner Bros.’ Hollywood policies. Dick Giordano’s title was changed to Vice PresidentEditorial Director, and his and other directors’ pay scales increased substantially, matching California salaries. “We even got car allowances,” Dick adds, joking, “This was New York. Who drives a car?” Some changes did not sit well with Giordano. Regarding the cavernous salary discrepancy between executives and staff, he admits, “It was painful for me to see this disparity.” Additionally, under Warner Bros., the physical look of DC Comics became more corporate. Through the 1980s the company’s headquarters at 666 Fifth Avenue was unmistakably the home of a comic-book publisher: the hallways

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were wallpapered with the same yellow-dot pattern used as background images in Who’s Who, office name plates were shaped like word balloons, and office walls were adorned with posters and cartoons. When DC moved to a Sixth Avenue high-rise in 1991, hallways became more sterile and only office décor sanctioned by Warner Bros. was permitted. “DC even had to fight Warner Bros. for flat files, for comic-book artwork,” Giordano reveals, since those storage drawers were “not on their list of official furniture.” Disbelieving Dick scoffs that Warner Bros. even refused to acquire for him a subscription to the industry trade Comics Buyer’s Guide: “Only Variety and Hollywood Reporter were approved subscriptions!” Giordano thanks CBG publisher Maggie Thompson for her sympathy to his plight: “She gave me a free subscription for life.”

“Before Warner Bros., I always looked at DC as extended family,” Giordano reflects. “That feeling changed when they took over.” Despite his corporate dissatisfaction, Giordano remained the consummate professional. His position placed him on a precarious perch between management and creative disciplines, and very often in heated no-win scenarios, but he always maintained his resolve. Dick recalls, “Mike Gold once wrote me a memo saying that my job was ‘walking between a crossfire of creators and management, and managing to come out unscathed.’ The part that Mike missed was, I really enjoyed being there.” Giordano continued to work closely with new talent and his editorial staff, with his advancing age elevating him from “seasoned mentor” to “father figure” status. “When reviewing DC’s editors, I asked that they show me their mistakes, not the things they did well,” he states, emphasizing to them, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not taking chances, and you’re not doing your job.”

(top) This Sarge Steel pinup was one of several Giordano drew for the 1990 revival of Who’s Who, for issue #6. This version of Who’s Who was produced in the looseleaf format and edited by the author of this biography. Courtesy of the artist. ©2003 DC Comics. (bottom) From Who’s Who #10 comes Giordano’s reprisal of a character he illustrated in a 1985 four-issue mini-series: Jonni Thunder. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 DC Comics.

WB’S GARDEN OF GOOD GUYS Giordano is quick to recognize the principal benefit DC’s characters enjoyed under Warner Bros.: media exposure. “Warner Bros. didn’t care about what DC did, so long as we returned a certain amount on their investment,” says Giordano. Their new parent company considered DC a garden from which to pick new projects, with Batman the first to be harvested. “I was one of several DC executives consulted by Warner Bros. and (director) Tim Burton to provide input into the first Batman movie,” says Giordano. Batman was the summer blockbuster of 1989 and put DC and comic-book heroes on the media map. “The first Batman movie was as close to the original concept as they’ve come with a DC character,” Dick contends. The next year, CBS-TV’s The Flash debuted at 8:00 on Thursday nights, but had no legs in the ratings against seasoned champ The Cosby Show and unexpected hit The Simpsons. Before long, however, Warner Bros.’ cultivation of DC properties was successfully evi-

denced through the theatrical sequel Batman Returns and on the small screen with Batman: The Animated Series and Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. By 1992 profits reaped from direct sales “were making DC a player,” beams Giordano. “Paul Levitz came to me and proclaimed, ‘We finally did it. This year our publishing

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revenue is higher than our licensing revenue—by $1 million!’” Giordano adds, “This was a welcome change from the days when Bill Sarnoff would ask if we had to publish Superman to license Superman.”

NO MORE “GRAY HAIRS” Giordano would be fully vested in his DC pension plan in 1995, and was working toward retirement, coveting the prospect of enjoying more time with his wife and family. Come Christmas of 1992, his plans and his life were derailed. Late in 1992 Dick’s beloved wife of 37 years, Marie, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. After two painful months of treatment, Marie Giordano passed away in February 1993. “When Marie died,” Giordano admits, “I realized, ‘there’s no reason to do this (job at DC) anymore,’ and announced my retirement.” Paul Levitz remembers, “We’d worked out a several-year transition for Dick originally, but Marie’s illness and death seemed to take the starch out of him. Dick’s hearing was getting worse, and that limited the situations in which he felt comfortable contributing. And the financial goals he’d been working for no longer seemed very important. So he chose to leave earlier. Jenette and I were both sad about it, and his whole team was rather apprehensive, because we had no single successor in training, but were slowly shifting to a new structure reflecting the company’s more diverse editorial efforts.” Dick Giordano retired from DC Comics in June 1993, at the conclusion of his then-current contract but two years short of obtaining his retirement package. Paul Levitz rallied to his rescue, adding the time from Dick’s 1960s editorial stint to Dick’s tenure, thereby making him fully vested, a gesture for which Giordano is extremely grateful. According to Giordano, Levitz told him, “There are no ‘gray hairs’ to take your place,” regretting that the younger editors could no longer learn from experience. The pair brokered a consulting deal for Dick, to allow him to work on a limited basis as an editorial “teacher” to DC’s staff. That arrangement proved awkward for Giordano, as some of

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the editors were no longer receptive to his participation or instruction, and was discontinued shortly thereafter. Paul also offered Dick an exclusive freelance art contract. After careful consideration, Giordano declined. The agony of Marie’s death had been compounded by the passing of several other family members, and Dick needed a change: “I was really broken up and didn’t want to be tied down any more.” While the corporate environment of DC under Warner Bros. no longer felt like family to Giordano, he departed the fold carrying the utmost respect, admiration, and love for Paul Levitz and Jenette Kahn. In evaluating Dick Giordano’s long career at DC Comics, Paul Levitz assesses, “If there was a consistent theme to Dick’s successes and failures, it was that they

stemmed from his belief in creative people, and their ability to grow. Some of it goes back to how he viewed his life—that his own creative work was less inspiration or native genius than sheer perspiration and learned technique. Some of it comes from his optimist’s belief that the best outcome is the likeliest. And some was the gift of being a great coach, knowing that if you believe in a person, it makes it easier for him to believe in himself. Whether this came out in Dick’s work with his legion of young artist protégés, or the support he gave to the young editors developing on his As a young comic reader, my first exposure to the staff, or the aspirations he supported for creative work of Dick Giordano was in the pages of Green projects, in all the situations Dick sincerely believed that Lantern/Green Arrow, inking the pencils of Neal with the right effort almost any creative mark could be Adams. I wasn’t a DC fan at the time, but the work achieved.” was so visually powerful, it led me to track down Sometimes that creative mark was missed: there other comics by these gents. I found Dick’s terrific were editors, writers, artists, and projects sheprun on Wonder Woman, first as inker over Mike herded by Giordano that failed to live Sekowsky’s pencils, then later as the sole artist. up to their potential, or to Truly memorable stuff, and a primer on how to Dick’s or DC’s expectarender the female form. Dick’s technique for inking tions. But when balhair was imprinted on me from that work. anced against the overFlash-forward many years, when I began my whelming creative and comics career at DC Comics. Dick was at that time commercial victories that an executive at the company, more or less in charge took place under Giordano’s of the creative side of things. I’ve never felt more like administration, this champ from Charlton remains one of family, at any company, than I did at DC under DC’s all-time MVPs. Dick’s watch. He, along with Pat Bastienne, truly Dick Giordano seems looked after me. A more accessible executive I’ve somewhat bemused by never met. The mark he made in comics is generally his success as an thought to be his terrific pen and brushwork, but I’d editor and editosay the time he spent behind a desk was pretty rial director:

Jerry Ordway on GIORDANO

“At least half of my career has been spent behind a desk, but I still think of myself as an artist who sometimes does some thing else.” After decades of succeeding at “something else,” Giordano stood ready to return to his roots as a freelance artist.

significant. During his watch, creators were given unheard-of freedom to create, he implemented a royalty system, and most of all, fostered the feeling that we, as freelancers, mattered to DC Comics. That’s the main reason I spent so many of my years drawing and writing for DC. After Dick retired his lunch-stained ties to return to the art trenches, he and I finally got the opportunity to work together, on The Power of Shazam comic series from DC. It was a thrill for me to see Dick apply that brush and pen to my own pencils. Hope to do that again some day. Jerry Ordway December 2002

“This drawing patterned after the Sistine Chapel, along with an accompanying Wonder Woman drawing, was on Jenette Kahn’s door at 666 Fifth Avenue,” comments the artist of his handiwork. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. Superman ©2003 DC Comics.

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reinventing the rules The first thing Dick Giordano did after leaving his DC Comics staff position was to shed his necktie. “I’ve worn a tie three times since then,” he says. “Once was a funeral, the other two times were at weddings.” The second thing he did after retirement was to get to work.

Giordano returned to his first love, his drawing board (starting later in the morning than 4:00 AM, however). For the next three years he steadily commanded assignments from DC Comics, including inking a new Catwoman monthly series, Vertigo fill-ins (“Karen Berger calls me on fill-ins, because she knows I can imitate the style of the person who usually does the job,” the artist explains), full art on the occasional Batman job (like 1995’s Nightwing: Alfred’s Return one-shot), and random interior- and cover-inking assignments. Dick is ardently proud of Modesty Blaise, a 1994 graphic novel he illustrated, adapting the novel of the same name by Peter O’Donnell. Modesty Blaise is indisputably one of the most revered newspaper comic strips of all time, and its gorgeous, highkicking heroine and the exotic locales of her adventures were perfectly captured in comic-book form by Giordano. As a free agent, the artist began cultivating relationships with companies other than DC Comics. Giordano was approached by a potential publisher to serve as editorial supervisor for a venture called Totalvision, which would produce upscale illustrated novels for the bookstore market. Dick courted writer/artists Frank Miller, Howard Chaykin, and Bill Sienkiewicz for the series, but the project never reached fruition due to lack of financial backing.

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Terry Austin commissioned this Modesty Blaise piece from his mentor in 2002. Pencils and inks by Dick Giordano, working from Terry’s layout. Courtesy of Terry Austin. Modesty Blaise ©2003 Peter O’Donnell.

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Topps Comics hired Giordano to illustrate the first three issues of its 1994 Cadillacs and Dinosaurs title, a continuation of the critically acclaimed and lushly rendered series by writer/artist Mark Schultz. Dick accepted the assignment with

(left) Dick’s most recent (as of this writing) Vertigo fill-in was in 2001 for American Century #7, where, he says, “I’m imitating someone else.” The brushmaster is also the master of mimicry! ©2003 Howard Chaykin, Inc. and DC Comics. (right) Giordano inks over Steve Parkhouse’s pencils, from January 1999’s The Dreaming #32. ©2003 Neil Gaiman and DC Comics.

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his patented enthusiasm, excited that he would, at last in his long career, be able to illustrate a dinosaur story. Instead of a T-Rex, he got T-bones, as the script featured an ambulatory dinosaur skeleton rather than an actual flesh-and-blood dinosaur. “I’ve got all these dinosaur reference books with thousands and thousands of images of dinosaurs,” he laughs, “and I get to draw bones!” Knowing that readers expected Cadillacs and Dinosaurs to look like Schultz’s work, he mimicked the creator’s style, sparking the posting of online criticism Giordano found irritating: “What did they expect me to do, draw Popeye?” he exasperates. “I had his characters (model sheets) in front of me, so I copied them—that way it looked like Mark Schultz did it instead of Dick Giordano. If I had drawn them my way, it wouldn’t have looked like the characters, because I don’t draw girls like he does, and I don’t draw heroes like he does. It wouldn’t have been what readers expected.” Giordano adamantly argues that “swiping”—parroting another artist’s style—is a legitimate practice when filling in for a regular artist, and has employed the process off and on throughout his career. Some editors appreciate Dick’s chameleon-like ability to simulate other styles. DC’s Karen Berger has recruited Giordano to sub on issues of Sandman, Transmetropolitan, The Invisibles, and American Century, and Giordano says she is enamored by his ability to keep the art consistent with its established style. “I always thought I did that well,” offers Dick.

NEW PARTNERSHIPS, OLD FRIENDS Dick Giordano also found ample work from comic-book publisher Valiant Comics. Valiant, fronted by former Marvel Comics editor in chief Jim Shooter, got its start in 1991 by publishing comic books based on the video game “Super Mario Brothers” and on former Gold Key Comics titles Magnus Robot Fighter; Solar, Man of the Atom; and Turok, Son of Stone. Before long, Shooter was no longer with the company and Bob Layton was its editor in chief. The Super Marios were long since forgotten and the company’s line had expanded with new super-hero comics. January 1996’s Solar, Man of the Atom #55. Pencils by Aaron Lopresti, inks by Dick Giordano. Solar ©2003 Golden Books.

Giordano began his relationship with the company on one title a month, but soon, with Valiant’s explosive growth, was hired to package four monthly books, including new releases Bloodshot and Psi-Lords. To handle such an output, he reorganized his Dik-Art, Inc. studio, signing on former associates Bob Smith and Mike DeCarlo as inkers, and newcomer Steve George as background inker. Before long, Pat Bastienne resigned from DC Comics to be a part of the studio. Reflecting on her lengthy professional link to Dick Giordano, Bastienne comments, “The most important thing that kept us working together has been a real love of the medium and regard for each other. We may disagree at times, but always discuss each other’s opinion and come to a compromise most of the times. When comparing Giordano’s finished page to Sean Chen’s pencils, you’ll note that Dick added sunglasses in panels 5 and 6. From Bloodshot #28, May 1995. © Acclaim Entertainment, Inc.

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Dick and Pat are joined by some of Dick’s former assistants at a 1994 gathering at New York’s Society of Illustrators. Front row, left to right: Pat Bastienne, Dick Giordano, and Joe Rubinstein. Back row, left to right: Bob Wiacek, Terry Austin, and Klaus Janson. Photo courtesy of Pat Bastienne.

We feel equal in our approach to business and it carries through. And we like each other’s sense of humor.” Just a few months into his arrangement with Valiant, Giordano noticed the warning signs of impending doom: their once-lucrative page rates began to shrink, and there were demands for Dick to ink all the figures rather than assign work through the studio. As time passed, payments came slower and organizational problems were apparent. Valiant was soon acquired by gaming company Acclaim as part of a short-lived reorganization. Dik-Art, Inc.’s Valiant/Acclaim jobs eventually trickled to a halt.

HEADED FOR WARMER CLIMES In 1995 Dick Giordano fully relocated from his long-time home in Stratford, Connecticut, and moved to sunny Palm Coast, Florida. He had been enchanted by Florida since his honeymoon, and after decades of retreating to a condo there, finally bought a canal-front house. Pat Bastienne, similarly enthralled by Florida, moved to a nearby coastal community. With their mutual southern relocation, Giordano and Bastienne established Dik-Art Too, Inc. Dick’s son Rich assumed the Connecticut homestead, and as of this writing his daughter Lisa, her husband, and her two children from a previous marriage now reside in Dick’s Palm Coast home with “Grandpa” Giordano. No longer working with inking New Floridian Dick Giordano at a 1995 assistants, Giordano’s final Acclaim MegaCon appearance in comics were published in 1996, save Orlando. Photo courtesy of John L. Coker, III.

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(above & below) For the first time anywhere: a page from Broadway Comics’ Makeshift, a series that never saw print. Layouts by Jim Shooter, pencils by Tim Hamilton, and inks by Dick Giordano. Courtesy of Tim Hamilton. ©2003 Broadway Comics.

for two issues of Doctor Tomorrow he produced in 1998. From his affiliation with Valiant/Acclaim, however, Dick had become good friends with Bob Layton, whom he had met in the 1970s while working at Continuity. The two remained in contact, and were determined to work together again. The newly transplanted Giordano also inked one-and-a-half unpublished issues of a series called Makeshift for Jim Shooter’s newest company, Broadway Comics. Broadway, owned by Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, went belly up with its first series, Fatale, barely out the gate. Through the mid- to late 1990s, Dick also inked random jobs for Marvel and DC Comics. Previously distracted by the volume of work from Valiant, and from intermittent assignments from other publishers, including Marvel, by 1997 it dawned upon Giordano that he had been displaced from the DC family. The company had been pushing toward fresher, younger artists to revitalize the look of their books, and Giordano, who once epitomized DC’s house style, had been quietly evicted. He maintained one regular inking assignment at DC between 1997 and 1998: The Power of Shazam, which intentionally catered to readers who appreciated a more “classic” look. Dick Giordano was reunited with Black Canary in 1999’s Birds of Prey #11. Pencils by Giordano, inks by Mark Propst. Courtesy of the artist. ©2003 DC Comics.

The former Aquaman editor monkeyed around in Atlantis again in the “JLApe” story in 2000’s Aquaman Annual #5 (yes, that furry fellow in the first two panels is Aquaman!). Pencils by M.D. Bright, inks by Giordano. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 DC Comics.

LAYING DOWN THE L.A.W. By the late 1990s The Power of Shazam had been cancelled and Giordano found himself a stranger at DC, with the exception of the random fill-in or custom-comics assignment. When discussing with Paul Levitz by phone his ouster from DC, Giordano recalls that Levitz recommended, “You’ve got to generate your own projects…”. And that he did. Bob Layton had recently relocated to Florida, so Giordano approached him about collaborating. The end result was a Batman series, 1999’s two-issue Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table, an “Elseworlds” merging of the legends of Batman and King Arthur. From Giordano’s perspective, Round Table was weakened by poor editorial direction and no promotional support. Next, Giordano and Layton pitched the ambitious Charlton Project, assembling Dick’s beloved Action Heroes into one storyline. Layton was also no stranger to those

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characters, having worked on 1970s versions of them for the black-and-white fan magazine Charlton Bullseye. Giordano recounts that their series was mired by interference from its conception: DC wouldn’t allow use of the name “Charlton” on the covers, earning Dick’s protest, “There’s no copyright to infringe. Charlton didn’t copyright or trademark anything.” He also reveals that 50 proposed series titles were rejected by DC, who ultimately offered the name The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons), “which doesn’t say anything about the book or what it was about,” he contends. Another bump in the road was the exclusion of Peter Cannon—Thunderbolt, the rights to which were acquired by creator Pete Morisi, who declined to license the character to DC. (right) The Action Heroes returned to action in DC Comics’ The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons), a six-issue series published in 1999 and 2000. Pencils by Dick Giordano and inks by Bob Layton. Courtesy of Roy Thomas and Comic Book Artist. ©2003 DC Comics.

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The six issues of The L.A.W. were published between September 1999 and February 2000. Writer/inker Layton and penciler/co-plotter Giordano were disappointed by the lack of promotion the covers received: Giordano designed all six covers as individual images that interlocked into one large image, and remains stymied why DC “never mentioned that in advertising.” With The L.A.W., Dick wistfully concludes, “We worked hard but didn’t get to do anything we wanted.” The duo tried again with 2001’s Batman: Hollywood Knight, an Elseworlds tale involving a cinematic version of the hero. Despite its moody atmosphere and the inclusion of a battle on a giant typewriter— fight scenes on giant typewriters and other oversized props became staples of the Batman mythos in the 1950s—Hollywood Knight received minimal press, repines Giordano, and scored very little box office.

AN EYE TOWARD THE FUTURE “Bob was livid, I was a little ticked” over how their series fizzled at DC, Giordano reveals. During their co-plotting of Batman: Hollywood Knight in early 2000, Dick, dazzled by Layton’s unending story concepts, made a casual comment that ignited a spark in his partner: he encouraged Layton to self-publish his material rather than “give away” his ideas to a publisher who would then own them. After mulling this over for a few months, Layton proposed to Giordano that they start their own comics company. Dick gulped, offering an appeasing “Sure, Bob,” but secretly dismissing the notion—he was “retired,” after all, and his innocent suggestion that Bob self-publish wasn’t an intimation of business partnership. Also, given the precipitous decline in the comics market since the mid-1990s, Giordano knew that a new start-up seemed risky at best, preposterous at (left) From Batman Chronicles #21, June 2000. Pencils by Giordano, inks by Joe Rubinstein. Courtesy of Dick Giordano. ©2003 DC Comics.

worst. He shrugged off the proposal, assuming that Layton would soon forget this folly. But Bob Layton didn’t drop the idea. He called Giordano repeatedly, more excited about the concept with each conversation. Face-to-face exchanges at an Orlando restaurant soon occurred, and before long, Dick found himself swayed by Bob’s perseverance. They committed to a publishing venture, and Giordano became, once again, part of the decision-making braintrust behind a comic-book publishing company. Layton brought in writer David Michelinie, with whom he collaborated in the 1980s on Marvel’s Iron Man, and the new partners at first considered publishing comics based on licensed characters, bandying about Modesty Blaise, Barbarella, and GI Joe as possibilities. Modesty Blaise creator Peter O’Donnell declined, their investigation into the Barbarella rights went nowhere, and they were beaten out on GI Joe by another publisher. Reevaluating their efforts, Giordano, Layton, and Michelinie agreed that launching their line with established characters would force preconceptions upon retailers and readers, and elected to start from scratch with wholly original heroes. Inspired by their plan to market via the Web, it dawned on the partners that their line should look forward. And thus, Future Comics was born.

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The trio constructed a small line of four vastly different titles, their characters all linked by a common thread: “Technology is the basis of all Future characters,” Giordano explains. In the fall of 2002, Future Comics released its first series: Freemind, featuring McKinsey Flint, “a brilliant man in a useless body,” according to Future’s promotional website. Quadriplegic Flint “has technology at his fingertips,” says Giordano. “He created a device that puts his brain into (the super-heroic) Freemind.” This brain transference works under a strict time limit, with lethal results if not followed. Metallix, Future’s second book, premiered in late 2002. It’s the story of the programmable Metal X, an artificial substance that is apparently sentient, and the cybernetic armor it shares with a team of corporate-based heroes. Title three was Deathmask, which began its run in early 2003. Behind the vizard is Seneca St. Synn, an illusionist

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who manipulates quantum science into a mission of vengeance. Not surprisingly, this is Giordano’s favorite of the Future titles: “He’s our Batman—he wears a dark mask, and is a creature of the night.” The final Future monthly, which launched during the summer of 2003, was Peacekeeper, starring a paramilitary crimefighter named John Law. In evaluating the demands of starting a new company, Giordano admits that creating the characters was the easy (and the fun) part. Future Comics has faced, and as of this writing is slowly overcoming, tremendous hurdles to get its product into stores. Their original method of distributing exclusively through Internet was met with opposition: “Retailers don’t think that way,” observes Dick. “They’re used to printed order forms in catalogs.” In early 2003 Future struck a deal with Diamond, the comics industry’s distribution powerhouse, to help their books reach readers. The collective clout of Giordano, Layton, and Michelinie has persuaded many retailers to order Future titles, but Dick admits that their battle is uphill: “Retailers prioritize publishers from the perspective of the money they’ll make,” he states, “showing preference to Marvel, DC, then Image and Dark Horse, while others get little or no thought.” The partners, however, are encouraged by sales that exceeded their expectations, and plan to expand their line. While Giordano has spent many hours on the convention trail in 2002 and 2003 promoting

Deathmask and the other Future titles, he readily contends, “If Future works, it’ll be because of Bob Layton’s attitude.”

SEEING BEYOND THE FUTURE Dick Giordano, the world’s busiest retiree, keeps a full plate outside of his commitments to Future Comics. As he did decades prior with the Academy of Comic Book Arts, Dick, at this writing, works to assist his colleagues through his membership in ACTOR (A Commitment To Our Roots). This organization is devoted to raising money, through comic-art auctions, to aid industry professionals “who have

fallen on hard times,” he says, rallying together to lend a hand with catastrophic expenses. “The people on our disbursement committee were picked because their reputations are beyond reproach: Roy Thomas, Joe Kubert, George Pérez, Denny O’Neil, John Romita, Sr.” and, of course, Giordano himself. (ACTOR founder Kubert resigned from the committee in early 2003.) For Swedish comic-book publisher Egmont, Giordano has illustrated a handful of stories starring the Phantom. When first inquiring about working for the company, Dick offered to submit artistic examples but was promptly informed, “We know your work over here. You don’t need to send samples.” Giordano’s panache for realistic renderings and his fluency with contrasts between lights and darks are expertly suited for the moody jungle environment of the “Ghost Who Walks.” Instead of scripts with specific panel breakdowns, Phantom writers construct a linear list of panel descriptions, allowing Dick (and other artists) enormous freedom in page layouts. Giordano laughs that “there are fan club pages and lettercols in the Swedish editions that I can’t read.” Egmont’s version of The Phantom is reprinted in English in both Australia and New Zealand.

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Bob Layton on GIORDANO For my entire career, all Dick Giordano has done is criticize me. Thirty years ago, when I was a snotty-nosed fan publisher, Dick would contribute a drawing or two to my fanzines. Whenever we talked, he would complain about my humble productions, saying stuff like, “You have to spend money to make money,” or “If you were smart, you’d talk to Phil Seuling about distributing your ’zines.” In the mid-1970s, after those ’zines had made a sufficient enough splash to land me a career in comics, I moved to a town in Connecticut near where Dickie G. resided. I was foolishly hoping to get a job as his assistant, but as it turned out, he already had another snotty-nosed kid working for him named Terry Austin. Damn his curly head! As time passed, I “settled” for an assistant job with Wally Wood. Weekly, I would take the train into New York City to deliver art pages for Woody. Dick was always on that train, making his daily journey to the Continuity Associates offices, so I would find a seat next to him and pick his brain for the two-hour ride. I used to have issues of Dickie’s classic Wonder Woman taped to my drawing board, desperately trying to emulate his distinctive style in the naïve hope of appealing to his ego. One day on the train, when showing him the latest batch of inking samples, Dickie offered yet another criticism, “Y’know—you’ll get good the day you quit trying to be someone else.” Years passed. That train (and time) rolled on. I’d exclaim that all I wanted was to be a successful inker. However, Dickie complained about that mindset, saying that “The guy that learns the business of comics is the guy that continues to get work when things get tough.” NOT what I wanted to hear. Eventually, I took his critique to heart and proceeded to bug everyone I met in the industry—asking them about their jobs and how the business of comics worked. In the 1980s I proceeded (with writer David Michelinie) to revitalize Marvel’s Iron Man, became the first writer/inker in the history of the industry, as well as the creator of the first mini-series in the history of comics, Hercules, Prince of Power. At the same time, Dick had

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become the head honcho at DC Comics. It was at a convention in Chicago when I next hooked up with Dick for a dinner and the typical industry banter. After explaining to him what I’ve been doing with my career since I last saw him, he proceed to criticize my satisfaction with myself, saying something like, “You should think about doing something that would free you from being a ‘wage slave.’” Since his hearing was less than it once was, I presume that he didn’t hear the epithets I was muttering under my breath. Feeling that I, once again, failed to conform to “The Giordano Standards,” I waited for yet another opportunity to present itself. In 1989 I was offered a management position at a start-up comics company—Valiant. During the years that I was at Valiant, I would meet Dick for an annual lunch at a bistro near DC’s offices. There, he would listen to me bitch and moan about the freelancers, budgets, office politics, and the usual crap that comes with the territory. In his typically understated fashion, Dick would criticize my poor attitude, suggesting adjustments that I could make in my approach in dealing with the corporate structure. I would walk back to Valiant’s downtown offices after those lunches, muttering those familiar epithets under my breath like a litany. Eventually I took his words to heart, going on to coarchitect of the Valiant Universe, and then, becoming editor in chief & senior V.P. during the company’s most successful period (1990-1993) where the company’s earnings soared to a record 30 million dollars annually. In 1993 I won the industry’s most coveted award, Editor of the Year, as voted by the readers of Wizard magazine, as well as Publisher of the Year from Diamond Distribution. Shortly thereafter, DG decided to step down at DC and return to his first love—drawing comics. Once again, seeking that elusive approval, I offered him a deal with Valiant. Fearing my temperament, Dick conceded that he would work for me, only if I delivered his first check to him in-person. Valiant was headquartered in New York City and he was living on Florida’s east coast. But, hoping for a glimmer of approval from my long-time critic, I flew to the Sunshine State with his first check in hand. I paid for dinner, by the way.

As the “time train” kept on rolling, I eventually left my position at Valiant and returned to my first love— drawing comics (sound familiar?). It was at that time that Dickie suggested that he and I finally create something together. That worried me, given that I felt that I’d fallen short in his eyes throughout my entire career. I moved to Florida’s west coast (sound familiar?) where I met with Dick regularly at an Orlando bistro (the halfway point between our two cities) to discuss our various creative endeavors. Together, we completed several projects, but I sensed that he was dissatisfied with the final products. Somehow, I knew it had to be my fault. Oddly enough, during one of those Orlando luncheons, Dick complained to me that “You should be selfpublishing, instead of giving all of your ideas away.” Sheesh…after thirty years of Giordano riding my butt, the best suggestion he had was for me to go back to where I came from? But Dickie had a great idea—something that would shake up the comics industry—self-distribution and stories with mass-market appeal. It was at that moment that we became business partners. I could say, “and the rest is history—,” but the truth is that we’re still in the midst of writing our story with the creation of our independent company— —FUTURE COMICS. And the point to my story: Although we’re partners—we’ll never be equals. For my entire career, all Dick Giordano has done is criticize me…thankfully.

Bob Layton January 2003

Dick on the 2003 convention trail, promoting Future Comics. With him is admirer Audrey Raden. Photo courtesy of Dick Giordano.

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Thumbnails

THE GIORDANO METHOD Writes Dick Giordano on March 31, 2003: “This is a start-to-finish on a fairly recent Phantom story for Sweden. This shows my methodology for approaching illustrating a story. I start with the script, then go to thumbnails, then pencils, then inks (with minor variations). I use the same method when doing all my work.”

Pencils

Panel 1. But when one of the henchmen walks up to “Walker”, he becomes suspicious and removes “Walker’s” hat, thus revealing that the second rider is Ben Oakes instead. The Scarecrow is startled. Henchman: MASTER! SOMETHING’S WRONG - THE OTHER MAN IS BEN OAKES! Ben Oakes: (thinks) !! The Scarecrow: WHAT!? WE’VE BEEN FOOLED! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 2. The Scarecrow grabs Lord Trelawney by the collar and shakes him. The Scarecrow: WHERE IS WALKER, THEN!? ANSWER ME, OLD BUFFER!! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 3. At exactly that moment, the Phantom steps out of the cave behind the Scarecrow’s and the henchmen’s backs, pointing his guns at them. They turn around and stare at him in surprise. The Phantom: WALKER IS ON HIS WAY HERE WITH THE SOLDIERS FROM PORTCULLEN! NOW, DROP YOUR GUNS, ALL OF YOU! The Scarecrow: ! ? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 4. The Scarecrow and the Henchmen reluctantly obey. (The Scarecrow still carries a rapier.) The Scarecrow is confused. The Scarecrow: Y-YOU!? THE MASKED MAN FROM THE INN! HOW DID YOU GET HERE? The Phantom: THE GROUND IN THIS AREA IS FULL OF HEADINGS FROM THE TIN MINING ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 5. The Phantom, guns in hands. The Phantom: AND, AS YOU ALREADY KNOW, ONE OF THEM RUNS UNDER THE MANSION! AND EMERGE INTO THIS CAVE! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 6. The Phantom and the furious Scarecrow. (Some of the henchmen figure in this panel as well. Lord Trelawney and Ben Oakes are pointing guns at them.) The Phantom: BUT IT’S TIME WE ARE PROPERLY INTRODUCED! YOU START BY REMOVING YOUR MASK, SCARECROW! OR SHOULD I SAY DR. GULL?

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Inks

Thumbnails

Panel 1. But suddenly the Scarecrow takes another quick step forward and hits the Phantom across the chin with the rapier’s hilt. The Scarecrow: AS YOU WISH - FOOL!! SFX: THUD! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 2. The Scarecrow runs inside the cave on quick feet. The Phantom has fallen to the ground from the blow he received. He puts his hand to his aching chin. Lord Trelawney and Ben Oakes must keep an eye on the henchmen, and cannot intervene. Lord Trelawney: SHE ESCAPES! The Phantom: I’LL GET HER! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 3. The Phantom starts to chase the Scarecrow, who runs straight towards Kit and the cage that is suspended from the cave’s ceiling. The Scarecrow: I LOST MY FATHER - IT’S ONLY FAIR THEN, WHEN WALKER ARRIVES WITH THE SOLDIERS

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 5. The Phantom jumps forward and grabs a hold of the chain somewhere between the crankshaft and the tackle beneath the ceiling. Kit screams from the cage, that now hits the water. Kit: HELP!! The Phantom: (thinks) THE CHAIN’S GOT TO

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 4. The Scarecrow removes the catch, so that the crankshaft starts to revolve and release the chain. The cage, with Kit inside it, start to drop towards the black surface of the pond.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 6. The Phantom stands with his legs firmly planted in the ground and holds back the chain (and thereby the cage) with muscular strength. His face is distorted from the strain. Inside the cage, Kit is standing in water to his calves. The Scarecrow watches with a startled expression.

The Scarecrow: HE WILL NO LONGER HAVE A SON!

The Phantom: HOLD ON!!

The Phantom: NO!!

The Scarecrow: (thinks) !

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Pencils

Inks

Panel 1. The Scarecrow sneaks up on the Phantom, rapier in hand. The Scarecrow: VERY IMPRESSIVE, MASKED MAN!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 4. The Phantom sticks the knife through one of the links of the chain.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 2. The Scarecrow makes a lunge at the Phantom, who just barely manages to avoid the blade and hold on to the chain as well.

The Phantom: TO PLAY THIS GAME! SFX: CHUNK!

The Scarecrow: BUT IT LEAVES YOU WIDE OPEN TO MY ATTACK! The Phantom: (thinks) ! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 3. Holding on to the chain with one hand, the Phantom bends down and grabs the knife that he carries in his boot.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 5. The Scarecrow makes another attack with the rapier, but this time the Phantom just jumps backwards, releasing the chain. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Panel 6. The chain starts to run through the tackle again, until the link with the knife through it reaches the tackle and blocks it.

The Phantom: THERE ARE MORE WAYS THAN ONE SFX: CLAK-CLAK-CLAK-CLAK-THUNK!!

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Thumbnails

Pencils

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In 2001 Giordano added “book illustrator” to his impressive list of credits by joining forces with author Lewis Sayre Schwartz—who worked in Bob Kane’s studio on Golden Age Batman stories, inspiring Dick’s droll remark, “if anything, he’s a bigger dinosaur than me”—in a graphic novel adaptation of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick targeted toward readers ages 9–12, published first by the City of

total of 700–800 copies. Harpooning some of the fat of Melville’s original, dense tale, the Schwartz/Giordano version is sleeker and more action-oriented, for the contemporary reader. “We had to cut to the chase every once and a while,” the artist comments. The book is available in hardand softcover editions. Through his various ventures, Giordano continues to receive professional and personal support from his long-time ally and aide, Pat Bastienne. Since the publication of Moby Dick, Pat has gotten a lot of mileage out of her old nickname for Giordano: “Dicky Mo.” Dik-Art Too, Inc. officially dissolved in 2001, but Bastienne remains loyal to her friend, stopping by his studio on the average once a week to help Dick with whichever task needs an extra pair of eyes or ears.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS For a man who’s almost done it all, Dick Giordano has no regrets, but divulges that the closure to a few unfinished or unrealized projects would make his professional life complete. Dick’s labor of love, his Dracula adaptation with Roy Thomas, still lingers in limbo. “I proposed it to Karen The jacket artwork for Berger, who said, Lewis Sayre Schwartz ‘That’s not Vertigo and Dick Giordano’s enough’” of the Moby Dick. Artwork ©2003 Dick Giordano. strict adaptation of Bram Stoker’s creepy classic. The New Bedford, project is under Massachusetts consideration at (Melville’s birthFuture Comics. place), and currently Giordano adds, by Houghton Mifflin “We’ll have to redo Co. Giordano and some of the art. Schwartz met at a The only thing that Cartoonist’s Society Marvel owns by dinner, where the law is the lettering.” writer asked He also yearns Giordano to particifor another shot at pate, and to “draw in Sarge Steel. “Back a style just like my at DC during the roughs,” remembers Note the unique blend of text and comic panels. Art ©2003 Dick Giordano. 1980s, Denny O’Neil Dick. Giordano’s looser, had the idea to do a liberated Moby Dick art distances itself from the traditional graphic novel about Sarge Steel’s first case for me to draw,“ Classics Illustrated mold in its vacillation between larger Dick reveals. “I hope that it will happen one day.” images juxtaposed with prose and comic-book panels accelO’Neil emphatically concurs that he longs for another erating the story with word balloons. pairing with Giordano. “Dick did the pencils for what some Moby Dick was released at a New Bedford museumthink is my best Batman story, ‘There is No Hope in Crime based commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Herman Alley,’ and he did a brilliant job,” Denny beams. “I also Melville’s birth, where Giordano autographed a “crippling”

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Giordano’s moody interpretation of author Denny O’Neil’s “There is No Hope in Crime Alley” in 1976’s Detective Comics #457 is considered one of the hallmarks of both their distinguished careers, and also one of the best Batman stories of all time. ©2003 DC Comics.

giOrDanO reinventing the rules

Pat Bastienne on GIORDANO When first asked to write a tribute to Dick, it dawned on me that he is something of a celebrity in his field. Through all the years we have been associated with each other, he was always just a neighbor, a coworker, an artist, a partner in business, and most importantly, a friend and confidant. Never occurred to me that he was somewhat famous. Now, when sitting at the computer, putting my thoughts into paragraphs about the man, I find he was all those things and one more: a gentleman. Through all the situations he has been in, all these many years in the comic-book business, he has never been anything less. Even when faced with trials that would alter most, he took the high road. Did not matter if it cost him money or time, just as long as he could keep a clear conscience in his actions. Often he would fight against higher powers, if he thought he was right. At times pushing for the

artists/writers in this business so they could have a better chance of making decent livings. And all the while, keeping comics as his priority. He changed the comic-book business for the better with his ideas and implementations. Quietly railing against injustice where ever he saw it and in so doing put his own reputation on the line. But his reputation has never been tarnished. He was, and is, a gentleman of his word. That is the tribute he deserves. That is the tribute he has…no words from me could ever elevate him more. I feel proud and privileged to personally know and work with him. And knowing Dick as I do, he’ll probably be embarrassed when reading this. That’s the kind of gentle man he is. Pat Bastienne December 2002

A recent, as of this writing, photograph of Pat Bastienne and Dick Giordano. Photo courtesy of John L. Coker, III.

Metahuman Major Leaguers? One of Giordano’s last DC Comics assignments was his inking of penciler M.D. Bright on this 2002 San Francisco Giants comic book, produced as a giveaway for Candlestick Park. Artwork ©2003 DC Comics. San Francisco Giants ©2003 MLB Advanced Media.

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thought his inks were a perfect complement to Neal Adams’ pencils on the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series. A couple of years ago, over dinner, Dick and I promised each other that we’d do at least one more major project together. I’d like to think we will.” In retrospect, Giordano wistfully recalls his severance from DC: “Passing on the DC exclusive contract in 1993 was probably a mistake,” Dick discloses. “I don’t regret it, but it was probably a mistake. But I would’ve been bored, doing the same thing I’d been doing for a while.” As of this writing, Dick Giordano’s last published art job for DC Comics was an eight-page “Batman: Black & White” tale for June 2002’s Batman: Gotham Knights #28. In “Thin Edge of a Dime,” written by Don McGregor, the Dark Knight persuades a

“I’ve enjoyed my life, I’ve pretty much done what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it and was paid well for it. I’ve had a higher level of fun than most people do on their jobs.” desperate older gentleman from taking his own life. On a whim, Dick drew the suicidal character as a caricature of himself, but emphasizes that his melancholy attachment to DC in no way implies that he’s standing on a ledge, ready to jump. Quite the contrary. “I’ve enjoyed my life,” Giordano proclaims. “I’ve pretty much done what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it and was paid well for it. I’ve had a higher level of fun than most people do on their jobs. “Some of my decisions have been blunders, but I don’t regret them. I’ve kept my enthusiasm about this business. I’m satisfied with the way things went.” So are his fans, his colleagues, and the comics medium as a whole. Giordano’s understanding of and devotion to the craft of making comic books, and to the people who produce them, empowered him to change the course of the business simply by doing his job, one day at a time. Hopefully, Dick Giordano will continue to grace comic books for many more years. But when his time comes to meet his maker, he will no doubt do so at his drawing board. With a contented smile, he’ll direct his eyes heavenward, and quietly say… Thank you, and good afternoon. “My last story for DC. Starring me,” says Giordano. Pages from “Batman: Black & White—Thin Edge of a Dime” by Don McGregor and Dick Giordano, printed in Batman: Gotham Knights #28, June 2002. Batman ©2003 DC Comics.

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afterword

Dick Giordano is an enabler. There, it’s out in the open, at last. For over three decades, he’s moved quietly through our field, doing his task while we all sat back watching, quite unable to stop him or even comprehend the consequences of his acts. He’d smile softly, sweetly, pretending he’d done nothing remarkable...indeed, often pretending he’d done nothing at all. The trail of evidence was coincidental, at best, so he kept getting away with it. Dick enabled people to find their calling: drawn to young people, and able to sense the ones with raw talent and the commitment to build upon it, he’d help them forge their skills and infuse them with a fraction of his marathon work habits. Dick enabled talented people to reach for the limits of their gifts: an optimist by nature, his creative courage stood behind writers and artists as they did the finest work of their careers, confident in his support and that the desired result was possible because he said it could be done. Besides his three separate editorial runs that were each great leaps forward for the companies he invaded and transformed, Dick has also been found at the scene of such diverse events as the field’s most notable attempt to organize

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creative talent and the “ground-level” pioneering independents that began to synthesize the creators and styles of mainstream comics with the business and creative experimentation of the underground movement. The trail of coincidence grows too great. On the basis of this evidence, then, submitted that Dick Giordano is not only an enabler, but an unrestrainable one... who has enabled comics to become both a better and more creative field. And made sure we all had a good time in the process. Paul Levitz December 2002

COmiC-bOOk inDex the Published Works of Dick giordano A comics professional for over five decades, Dick Giordano’s prolific résumé as an artist, penciler, inker, editor, and writer is one of the largest ever to grace the medium. Recognizing this attempt to list the works of Dick Giordano, there exists the risk of being incomplete. Any omissions are unintended. This index of Dick Giordano’s comicbook work was compiled from material downloaded on 12/07/02 from the Grand Comics Database Project (www.comics.org), and from research by the author, Mike Ambrose, Ramon Schenk, John Lustig, and Mr. Giordano himself. Mr. Giordano’s work has been frequently reprinted in other nations; those publications do not appear here. How to Use this Index: The works of Dick Giordano are grouped chronologically, then by an alphabetical listing of series or project title under each year. Mr. Giordano’s contribution(s) to each issue are parenthetically notated via the legend below. In the case of a shared art credit, the initials of the fellow contributor are included (example: i/NA means that Dick Giordano provided the inks over the pencils of Neal Adams). Legend: ca = cover art (pencils & inks) cp = cover pencils ci = cover inks p = interior pencils i = interior inks p & i = interior pencils & inks e = editor w = writer t = text rep. = reprint Creator Legend: AA = Arthur Adams AC = Art Cappello ACast = Anthony Castrillo AF = Al Fago AG = Adrian Gonzales AJ = Arvell Jones AK = Alan Kupperberg AL = Aaron Lopresti AM = Al Milgrom AS = Art Saaf ASav = Alex Saviuk AT = Alex Toth ArT = Art Thibert ATy = Al Tyler AW = Alan Weiss BB = Bob Brown BBol = Brian Bolland BC = Bernard Chang BD = Bill Draut BF = Bill Fraccio BH = Bryan Hitch BK = Barry Kraus BL = Bob Layton BO = Bob Oksner BS = Bart Sears BoS = Bob Smith BSch = Bill Schelly BT = Bryan Talbot BW = Bill Willingham CD = Colleen Doran CH = Craig Hamilton CI = Carmine Infantino

CM = Chris Marrinan CN = Charles Nicholas CPat = Chuck Patton CP = Carl Potts CR = Craig Rousseau Crusty Bunkers: including, but not limited to, Dick Giordano, Mike Nasser, Al Milgrom, Jack Abel, Al Weiss, Joe Brozowski, Terry Austin, Neal Adams. CS = Curt Swan CSpr = Chris Sprouse CW = Chris Wozniak DA = Dusty Abell DAW = David A. Williams DC = Dave Cockrum DCow = Denys Cowan DD = Dick Dillin DDay = Dan Day DDorf = Dave Dorfman DGib = Dave Gibbons DH = Don Heck DJ = Dan Jurgens DN = Don Newton DP = Don Perlin DR = David Ross DRob = Darick Robertson DS = Dan Spiegle DT = Dwight Turner DW = David Wong EB = Eduardo Barreto EC = Ernie Chan/Chua ECol = Ernie Colon EH = Ed Hannigan EL = Erik Larsen FB = Frank Brunner FF = Frank Fosco FFred = Fred Fredericks FM = Frank Miller FMcL = Frank McLaughlin GA = Gary Amaro GC = Gene Colan GK = Gil Kane GL = Greg Land GM = Gabriel Morrissette GN = Graham Nolan GP = George Pérez GPur = Gordon Purcell GR = George Roussos GRup = George Rupert GT = George Tuska HB = Howard Bender HC = Howard Chaykin HK = Hannibal King IN = Irv Novick JA = Jim Aparo JB = John Byrne JBal = Jim Balent JBeat = John Beatty JBel = John Belfi JBing = Jerry Bingham JBog = Jon Bogdanove JBro = Joe Brozowski JBurn = Jack Burnley JBus = John Buscema JC = John Calnan JD = José Delbo JD’A = Jon D’Agostino JE = Jordi Ensign JG = Jackson (Butch) Guice JJ = Jim (Jimmy) Janes JaK = Jack Kirby JK = Joe Kubert JLGL = José Luis Garcia-Lopez JM = José Marzan JO = Joe Orlando JP = Jonathan Peterson JR = John Rosenberger JRom = John Romita JRjr = John Romita, Jr. JRub = Joe Rubinstein JSher = James Sherman JShu = Joe Shuster JSin = Joe Sinnott JSta = Joe Staton JStar = Jim Starlin JSto = John Stokes JT = John Tartaglione

JTh = Jill Thompson KG = Keith Giffen KGam = Kerry Gammill KJan = Klaus Janson KJo = Kelley Jones KK = Kelly Krantz KKob = Kevin Kobasic KM = Kevin Maguire KP = Keith Pollard KS = Kurt Schaffenberger KV = Kevin VanHook KW = Kez Wilson LH = Larry Hama LM = Larry Mahlstadt LMan = Lou Manna LMo = Lou Morales LMcD = Luke McDonnell LW = Len Wein MB = Mark Buckingham MBe = Mark Beachum MCar = Mike Carlin MCol = Mike Collins MDB = M(ark). D. Bright MDe = Mike DeCarlo MGol = Michael Golden MGr = Mike Grell ML = Mike Leeke MM = Mike Manley MMig = Mike Mignola MN = Mike Nasser/Netzer MNod = Martin Nodell MP = Mark Propst MR = Marshall Rogers MS = Mike Sekowsky MT = Mark Texiera MV = Mike Vosburg MWil = Mary Wilshire MZu = Michael Zulli NA = Neal Adams NB = Norm Breyfogle NC = Nick Cardy PB = Pat Broderick PC = Paris Cullins PK = Pete Krause PM = Pat Masulli PMar = Pablo Marcos PO = Pat Olliffe PR = Patrick Rolo PRy = Paul Ryan PW = Paul Winslade RA = Ross Andru RB = Rich Buckler RE = Ric Estrada RF = Ron Frenz RH = Rick Hoberg RiH = Richard Howell RoH = Ron Harris RK = Rafael Kayanan RL = Rick Leonardi RM = Rocke Mastroserio RS = Rick Stasi RT = Romeo Tanghal SA = Sal Amendola SBov = Steven Bové SBus = Sal Buscema SC = Sean Chen SCH = S. Clarke Hawbaker SD = Steve Ditko SE = Scot Eaton SEr = Steve Erwin SI = Stuart Immonen SL = Steve Lightle SM = Steve Mitchell SP = Sean Phillips StP = Steve Parkhouse SR = Steve Rude ST = Sal Trapani SW = Stan Woch SY = Steve Yeowell TA = Terry Austin TArt = Tom Artis TB = Teery Beatty TC = Ted Galindo TG = Tom Grindberg TGrum = Tom Grummett TH = Ted Halsted THam = Tim Hamilton TLE = Tommy Lee Edwards

TM = Tom Mandrake TMcF = Todd McFarlane TS = Tod Smith TSut = Tom Sutton TT = Ty Templeton TV = Trevor Von Eeden VA = Vince Alascia VArg = Vince Argondezzi VC = Vince Colletta WB = Wayne Boring WF = Wayne Faucher WM = Win Mortimer WS = Walt Simonson

1952 Crime and Justice #8 (p/ATy) Fantastic Science Fiction #1 (p & i) 2 (p & i) Lawbreakers #6 (i/ATy; p & i) 9 (p & i; p/ATy) Racket Squad in Action #1 (i/ATy) 2 (p & i) 3 (p & i) 4 (p & i) Space Adventures #1 (i/ATy) 2 (p & i) 3 (ca; p & i) 1953 Crime and Justice #16 (p & i) 20 (ca) Hot Rods and Racing Cars #8 (p & i; i/LMo) 9 (p & i) 10 (p & i) Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #13 (ca; p & i) 14 (ca; p & i) Racket Squad in Action #5 (p & i) 6 (p/AF) 7 (p/ST) 9 (i/ST) Space Adventures #4 (ca; p & i; i/AC) 5 (p & i) 6 (p & i; i/AC) 7 (ca; p & i) 8 (ca; p/AC; p & i) 1954 Cowboy Western #49 (cp/VA; p/VA) 51 (cp/VA) 52 (p/VA) Crime and Justice #20 (ca) Hot Rods and Racing Cars #18 (cp/VA) Racket Squad in Action #13 (p/?) Rocky Lane Western #59 (ca; p & i) Six-Gun Heroes #31 (cp/VA) Space Adventures #9 (ca; i/AC; p & i) 10 (p/AC) 11 (i/JShu) 12 (p/VA) 13 (p/AF; p & i) Strange Suspense Stories #16 (ca; p & i) 20 (p & i) 1955 Badge of Justice #4 (cp/VA) 22 (ca; i/ATy) Blue Beetle #18 (ca?) 19 (ca?) 20 (ca?) 21 (ca?) Boy Comics #113 (p/VA) Cowboy Western #55 (ca; p/VA) Danger #13 (cp/VA) Danger and Adventure v3#24 (cp/VA) v3#25 (ca) v3#26 (cp/VA; p/VA) Davy Crockett #2 (ca; p/VA) Frank Merriwell at Yale #1 (cp/VA; p/VA)

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2 (cp/VA; p/VA) 3 (cp/VA; p/VA) 4 (cp/VA; p/VA) Hot Rods and Racing Cars #22 (ca; p/VA) Racket Squad in Action #14 (ca; p & i) 15 (ca; p & i) 16 (cp/VA; p/VA; i/ATy) 17 (cp/VA; p/VA) 18 (ca) 19 (cp/VA) Rocky Lane Western #67 (cp/VA; p & i) Scotland Yard #1 (cp/JBel) 3 (cp/VA) Space Adventures #15 (i/TG) 16 (ca; i/TG) 18 (cp/JD’A; p & i) 19 (ca/VA; p/VA; p & i) This is Suspense #25 (ca; p/VA) Wild Frontier #2 (cp/VA; p/VA) 1956 Black Fury #4 (ca) 7 (cp/VA; p/RM) Frank Merriwell at Yale #4 (cp/VA; i/VA) Mr. Muscles #22 (ca) Racket Squad in Action #20 (cp/VA) 21 (p/ST) 22 (cp/VA) 23 (cp/VA) Space Adventures #21 (cp/VA; p/JD’A) Strange Suspense Stories #29 (cp/VA) Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #1 (cp/VA) Wild Frontier #4 (cp/VA; p & i) Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall #14 (cp/VA) 15 (ca) Young Eagle #3 (ca) Zaza the Mystic #11 (ca) 1957 Cheyenne Kid #8 (cp/VA) Davy Crockett #8 (cp/VA First Kiss #1 (p & i; i/AC) Hot Rods and Racing Cars #30 (cp/VA) Nature Boy #5 (cp/VA) Nyoka the Jungle Girl #19 (i/CN) Outlaws of the West #12 (cp/VA) Racket Squad in Action #26 (cp/VA) Rocky Lane Western #77 (cp/VA) Rookie Cop #33 (cp/VA) Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #2 (cp/VA) Texas Rangers in Action #6 (cp/VA; p/VA; p/ST) Two-Gun Western #11 (p/ST) Western Gunfighters #27 (p/ST) Wild Frontier #6 (cp/VA; p & i) Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall #17 (cp/VA) Young Eagle #5 (ca) 1958 First Kiss #3 (i/unknown) 6 (p & i; i/CN) Masked Raider v2#14 (cp/VA) Sheriff of Tombstone #1 (ca) Space Adventures #25 (ca) Strange Tales #61 (p & i) 62 (i/GR) 1959 Billy the Kid #15 (ca; p& i) Fightin’ Navy v2#89 (i/CN) First Kiss #7 (p & i; i/CN) Romantic Story (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Secrets of Young Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Six-Gun Heroes #54 (p & i) Teen Confessions (miscellaneous covers and interior art)

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1960 First Kiss #12 (i/unknown) 13 (p & i) 14 (i/unknown) Kid Montana #25 (ca) Konga #1 (ca) Romantic Story (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Secrets of Young Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Space War #3 (ca) 7 (ca) Teen Confessions (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Texas Rangers in Action #24 (ca) Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall #33 (ca)

covers and interior art) Teen-Age Love 35 (ca) Three Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art)

1962 Billy the Kid #36 (ca) 37 (ca) Black Fury #39 (ca) Brides in Love #33 (ca) Fightin’ Air Force #35 (ca) First Kiss #25 (i/CN) 26 (i/unknown) 27 (p & i) 29 (ca) Green Planet #nn (ca) Mysteries of Unexplained Worlds #32 (ca) 33 (ca) Romantic Story (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Secrets of Young Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Space Adventures #44 (p/ST) Strange Suspense Stories #62 (ca) Teen Confessions #19 (ca) (plus miscellaneous covers and interior art) Unusual Tales #36 (ca)

1964 The Beatles #1 (p/JSin) Black Fury #47 (ca) 50 (ca) Blue Beetle #3 (ca) Brides in Love (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Fightin’ Five #28 (ca) 29 (ca; p & i) 30 (ca) First Kiss #36 (ca) 37 (ca) 38 (ca) 39 (ca) Gorgo #19 (ca) 20 (ca) Gunmaster #1 (ci/PM) 2 (ci/BF) Just Married (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Kid Montana #48 (ca) Konga #16 (ca) 17 (ca) 19 (ca) 20 (ca) Marine War Heroes #1 (ca) Movie Classic (The Castilian) #110 Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #42 (ca) 43 (ca; p/ST) 44 (ca) Outlaws of the West #47 (ca; p & i) 50 (ca) Romantic Story (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Sarge Steel #1 (ca; p & i) Secrets of Young Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Six-Gun Heroes #78 (ca) Space Adventures #55 (ca) Strange Suspense Stories #69 (ca) 70 (ca) 72 (ca; p/FMcL; p & i) Sweethearts (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Teen Confessions (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Three Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Unusual Tales #47 (ca)

1963 Black Fury #40 (ca) Brides in Love (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Cheyenne Kid #43 (ci/PM) First Kiss #30 (p & i) 31 (p & i) 34 (ca) 35 (ca; p & i) Kid Montana #37 (ca) 39 (ca) Just Married (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Konga #12 (ca) 13 (ca) Movie Classic (Jason and the Argonauts) #376 (i/JT) Nurse Linda Lark #7 (i/JT) Outlaws of the West #43 (ca) 44 (ca) 45 (ca) Romantic Story (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Secrets of Young Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Six-Gun Heroes #72 (ca) 74 (ca) Space War #22 (ca; p/VC) Sweethearts (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Strange Suspense Stories #65 (ca) Teen Confessions (miscellaneous

1965 Blue Beetle #4 (ca) 5 (cp/BF) Brides in Love (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Dr. Kildare #9 (i/JT) Drag-Strip Hotrodders #4 (ca) Fightin’ Five #31 (ca) 32 (ca) First Kiss #40 (ca) Guerilla War #13 (cp/VC; p/VC) Gunmaster #3 (ci/BF) 84 (ca) 85 (ca) Jungle Tales of Tarzan #2 (cp/RM) 3 (cp/RM) Just Married #44 (ca) (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Konga #21 (ca) Movie Classic (Beach Blanket Bingo) #058 (i/JT) (War Gods of the Deep) #900 (i/JT) Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #45 (ca) 46 (ca) Outlaws of the West #52 (ca) Sarge Steel #2 (ca; p & i) 3 (ca; p & i) 4 (ca; p & i) 5 (ca; p & i) Secrets of Young Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art)

1961 First Kiss #21 (ci/unknown; i/unknown) Kid Montana #31 (ca) Romantic Story (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Secrets of Young Brides (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Six Gun Heroes #62 (ca) 69 (ca) Teen Confessions (miscellaneous covers and interior art)

Strange Suspense Stories #74 (ca) Sweethearts (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Teen Confessions (miscellaneous covers and interior art) Unusual Tales #49 (ca) 1966 Army Attack v2 #45 (cp/RM; e) 46 (e) Army War Heroes #12 (e) 13 (e) 14 (e) 15 (e) 16 (e) 17 (cp/MR; e) Attack #3 (e) The Brave and the Bold #65 (p/ST) Camp Runamuck (ghost pencils on an unspecified issue) Captain Atom #82 (e) 83 (e) Career Girl Romances #34 (e) 35 (e) 36 (e) 37 (e) 38 (e) 39 (e) Cheyenne Kid #54 (p/VA; e) 55 (e) 56 (e) 57 (e) 58 (e) 59 (e) D-Day #4 (e) Drag-Strip Hotrodders #6 (e) 7 (e) 8 (e) 9 (e) 10 (e) 11 (e) Fantastic Giants #24 (e) Fightin Air Force #53 (e) Fightin’ Army #62 (e) 63 (e) 64 (e) 65 (e) 66 (e) 67 (e) Fightin’ Five #35 (e) 36 (e) 37 (e) 38 (e) 39 (e) 40 (e) Fightin’ Marines #67 (e) 68 (e) 69 (e) 70 (e) 71 (e) 72 (e) Fight the Enemy #1 (p & i) 2 (p & i) Get Smart (ghost pencils on an unspecified issue) Go-Go #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) The Gunfighers #51 (e) Hogan’s Heroes (ghost pencils on an unspecified issue) Hollywood Romances #46 (e) Hot Rods and Racing Cars #76 (e) 77 (e) 78 (e) 79 (e) 80 (e) 81 (e) I Love You #45 (e) 46 (e) 47 (e) 48 (e) 49 (e) 50 (e) Judomaster #90 (e) 91 (p & i; e) 92 (p & i; e) Just Married #37 (e)

38 (e) 39 (e) 40 (e) 41 (e) 42 (e) Love Diary #37 (e) 38 (e) 39 (e) 40 (e) 41 (e) 42 (e) Movie Classic #056 (The Battle of the Bulge) (p/VC) 190 (Dr. Who and the Daleks) (p/ST) Nukla #2 (cp/ST; p/ST; e) 3 (cp/ST; p/ST; e) Outlaws of the West #55 (e) 56 (e) 57 (e) 58 (ca; e) 59 (e) 60 (e) Peter Cannon—Thunderbolt #53 (e) 54 (e) 55 (e) Romantic Story #83 (e) 84 (e) 85 (e) 86 (e) 87 (e) 88 (e) Sarge Steel #6 (ca; p & i; e) 7 (ca; p & i; e) Secret Agent #9 (ca; p & i; e) Shadows From Beyond #50 (e) Six-Gun Heroes #80 (ci/PM; e) Submarine Attack #54 (e) Summer Fun #54 (e) Summer Love #47 (e) Teen-Age Hotrodders #15 (e) 16 (e) 17 (e) 18 (e) 19 (e) 20 (e) Teen-Age Love #47 (e) 48 (e) 49 (e) 50 (e) 51 (e) 52 (e) Teen Confessions #34 (e) 35 (e) 36 (e) 37 (e) 38 (e) 39 (e) Texas Rangers in Action #53 (e) 54 (e) 55 (e) 56 (e) 57 (e) 58 (e) Twelve O’Clock High (ghost pencils on an unspecified issue) War and Attack #54 (e) 55 (e) 56 (e) 57 (ca; e) War Heroes #16 (e) 17 (e) 18 (e) 19 (e) 20 (e) 21 (e) Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall #61 (e) 62 (e) 63 (e) 64 (e) 65 (e) 66 (e) 1967 Army Attack v2 #47 (e) Army War Heroes #18 (e) 19 (e) 20 (e)

21 (e) 22 (e) 23 (e) All-American Sports #1 (e) Attack #4 (e) Billy the Kid #59 (e) 60 (e) 61 (e) 62 (e) 63 (e) 64 (e) Blue Beetle #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) Captain Atom #84 (e) 85 (e) 86 (e) 87 (e) 88 (e) 89 (e) Career Girl Romances #40 (e) 41 (e) 42 (e) 43 (e) 44 (e) 45 (e) Charlton Premiere v1 #19 (e) v2 #1 (e) v2 #2 (e) Cheyenne Kid #60 (e) D-Day #5 (e) Drag-Strip Hotrodders #12 (e) 13 (e) 14 (e) 15 (e) 16 (e) Fightin’ Army #68 (e) 69 (e) 70 (e) 71 (e) 72 (e) 73 (e) Fightin’ Five #41 (e) Fightin’ Marines #73 (e) 74 (e) 75 (e) 76 (e) 76 (e) 78 (e) Ghostly Tales #62 (e) Go-Go #4 (e) 5 (e) 6 (e) Grand Prix #16 (e) 17 (e) The Gunfighers #51 (e) Gunmaster #89 (e) Hercules #1 (e) 2 (e) Hollywood Romances #47 (e) Hot Rods and Racing Cars #82 (e) 83 (e) 84 (e) 85 (e) 86 (e) 87 (e) I Love You #51 (e) 52 (e) 53 (e) 54 (e) 55 (e) 56 (e) Judomaster #93 (p & i; e) 94 (p & i; e) 95 (p & i; e) 96 (p & i; e) 97 (p & i; e) 98 (p & i; w; e) Just Married #43 (e) 44 (e) 45 (e) 46 (e) 47 (e) 48 (e) Love Diary #43 (e) 44 (e) 45 (e)

46 (e) 47 (e) 48 (e) The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) Marine War Heroes #17 (cp/RM; e) Outlaws of the West #61 (e) 62 (e) 63 (e) 64 (ca; e) 65 (e) 66 (e) Peacemaker #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) 5 (e) Peter Cannon—Thunderbolt #56 (e) 57 (e) 58 (e) 59 (e) 60 (e) Romantic Story #89 (e) 90 (e) 91 (e) 92 (e) 93 (e) 94 (e) Secret Agent #10 (ca; p & i; e) Space Adventures #60 (ca; e) Strange Suspense Stories #1 (e) 2 (e) Teen-Age Hotrodders #21 (e) 22 (e) 23 (e) 24 (e) Teen-Age Love #53 (e) 54 (e) 55 (e) 56 (e) 57 (e) 58 (e) Teen Confessions #40 (e) 41 (e) 42 (e) 43 (e) 44 (e) 45 (e) Texas Rangers in Action #59 (e) 60 (e) 61 (e) 62 (e) 63 (e) 64 (e) Time for Love #1 (e) 2 (e) Timmy the Timid Ghost #1 (e) 2 (e) Top Eliminator #25 (e) 26 (e) War and Attack #58 (ca; e) 59 (e) 60 (e) 61 (e) 62 (e) 63 (e) War Heroes #22 (e) 23 (e) 24 (e) 25 (e) 26 (e) 27 (e) World of Wheels #17 (e) 18 (e) Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall #67 (e) 68 (e) 69 (e) 70 (e) 71 (e) 72 (e) 1968 Abbott and Costello #1 (e) 2 (e)

Aquaman #39 (e) 40 (e) 41 (e) 42 (e) Army War Heroes #23 (e) Beware the Creeper #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) Blackhawk #241 (e) 242 (e) 243 (e) Bomba the Jungle Boy #5 (e) 6 (e) 7 (e) The Brave and the Bold #80 (i/NA) 81 (i/NA) Career Girl Romances #41 (e) 42 (e) Charlton Premiere v2#3 (e) Cheyenne Kid #65 (e) 66 (e) Creepy #20 (i/ST) D-Day #6 (e) Fightin’ Army #74 (e) Fightin’ Marines #79 (e) The Hawk and the Dove #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) Hercules #3 (e) 4 (e) Hollywood Romances #48 (e) Konga’s Revenge v2#1 (ca) The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #5 (e) 6 (e) Secret Six #2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) 5 (e) Showcase #78 (ca, e) 79 (e) Strange Adventures #212 (e) 213 (e) 214 (e) 215 (e) Strange Suspense Stories #3 (e) Teen Titans #15 (e) 16 (e) 17 (e) 18 (e) Wonder Woman #178 (ci/MS, i/MS) 179 (ci/MS, i/MS) World’s Finest Comics #175 (i/NA) 176 (i/NA) Young Love #68 (w) 69 (w) 70 (w) 71 (w) 1969 Aquaman #43 (e) 44 (e) 45 (e) 46 (e) 47 (e) 48 (e) Batman #215 (i/IN) 216 (i/IN) 217 (i/IN) Beware the Creeper #5 (e) 6 (e) The Brave and the Bold #82 (ci/NA) 83 (i/NA) 87 (ci/MS; i/MS) Captain Action #3 (ci/GK) Green Lantern #67 (ci/GK) The Hawk and the Dove #4 (ci/GK; e) 5 (ci/GK; e) 6 (ci/GK; e) House of Secrets #81 (e; w) 82 (e; w) 83 (i/BD; e) Secret Hearts #136 (e) 137 (e) 138 (e) 139 (ca; e)

161

140 (e) The Secret Six #6 (e) 7 (e) Showcase #81 (e) 82 (e) Strange Adventures #216 (e) Teen Titans #19 (e) 20 (e) 21 (e) 22 (e) 23 (e) 24 (e) Windy and Willy #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) The Witching Hour #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) 5 (e) Wonder Woman #180 (ci/MS; i/MS) 181 (ci/MS; i/MS) 182 (ci/MS; i/MS) 183 (ci/MS; i/MS) 184 (ci/MS; i/MS) 185 (ci/MS; i/MS) 1970 Action Comics #395 (ci/CS) Adventure Comics #397 (ci/MS) 398 (ca; i/MS) 399 (ci/MS) 400 (ci/MS) All-Star Western #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) Aquaman #49 (e) 50 (e) 51 (e) 52 (e) 53 (e) 54 (e) Batman #219 (i/IN; i/NA) 220 (i/IN) 221 (i/IN) 222 (i/IN) 224 (i/IN) 225 (i/IN) 226 (i/IN) 227 (i/IN) DC Special #6 (ci/NA) Detective Comics #395 (i/NA) 397 (i/NA) 400 (i/NA) 402 (i/NA) 404 (i/NA) The Flash #202 (ca) Green Lantern/Green Arrow #80 (i/NA) 81 (i/NA) Hot Wheels (ci/AT; i/AT; e) 2 (i/AT; i/RE; e) 3 (i/RE; e) 4 (e) 5 (i/RE; e) House of Secrets #84 (e) 85 (e) 86 (e) 87 (ci/NA; i/DD; e) 88 (e) 89 (e) Secret Hearts #141(e) 142 (e) 143 (e) 144 (i/AT; e) 145 (e) 146 (e) 147 (e) 148 (e) Showcase #88 (ci/MS; i/MS; e) 89 (ci/MS; e) 90 (ci/MS; i/MS; e) 91 (ci/MS; e) 92 (ci/MS; e) 93 (ci/MS; e) Superboy #170 (ci/CI) Super DC Giant #S-14 (e)

162

S-15 (e) S-18 (e) Teen Titans #25 (e) 26 (e) 27 (e) 28 (e) 29 (e) 30 (e) The Unexpected #122 (ca) The Witching Hour #6 (e) 7 (e) 8 (e) 9 (e) 10 (e) 11 (e) Wonder Woman #186 (ci/MS; i/MS) 187 (ci/MS; i/MS) 188 (ci/MS; i/MS) 189 (ci/MS; i/MS) 190 (ci/MS; i/MS) 191 (ci/MS; i/MS) Young Romance #164 (i/AT) 1971 Action Comics #398 (ci/NA) 399 (ci/NA) 400 (ci/NA) 404 (ci/NA) 405 (ci/NA) Adventure Comics #401 (ci/MS) 402 (ci/MS) 404 (ci/MS) 405 (ci/MS; i/MS) 406 (ci/MS) 407 (ci/MS) 408 (ci/MS; i/MS) 409 (ca; i/MS; i/AS) All-Star Western #4 (ci/NA) 5 (i/AW) 7 (i/AW) Aquaman #55 (e) 56 (e) Batman #229 (i/IN) 230 (i/IN) 231 (i/IN) 232 (i/NA) 233 (ca) 234 (i/NA; i/IN) 235 (ci/NA; i/IN) 236 (i/IN) 237 (i/NA) Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies (i/IN rep.; i/NA rep.) The Brave and the Bold #95 (ci/NA) DC Special #15 (ca) Detective Comics #407 (i/NA) 408 (i/NA; i/DH) 409 (i/DH) 410 (i/NA; i/DH) 411 (i/BB; i/DH) 412 (i/BB) 413 (i/BB) 414 (i/IN) 415 (i/BB) 417 (i/BB) 418 (i/IN) 80-Page Giant #G82 (ca) G85 (ca) G87 (ca) G88 (ca) G89 (ci/RA) The Flash #204 (ci/NA) 205 (ca) 206 (p & i) 207 (ci/NA; i/DD) 208 (ci/NA; p & i) 209 (ca; i/IN; i/DD) 210 (i/IN; p & i) 211 (ca; i/IN; i/DD) Girls’ Love Stories #162 (i/GC) Girls’ Romances #156 (ca) Green Lantern/Green Arrow #82 (i/NA) 83 (i/NA) 86 (i/NA) 87 (i/NA) Hot Wheels #6 (i/NA; e) House of Secrets #90 (e)

Justice League of America #93 (ca) 94 (ci/NA) Secret Hearts #149 (ca) 150 (ca) Sugar and Spike #94 (w) Superboy #173 (i/BB) 175 (ci/NA) 177 (ca) 178 (ci/NA) Super DC Giant #S-26 (ca; i/SA) Superman #236 (p & i) 240 (i/CS) 241 (ca/NA) 243 (ci/NA) Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #107 (ca) 108 (ca) 109 (ca) 110 (ca) 111 (ca) 112 (ca; p & i) 113 (ca) 114 (ca) 115 (ca; p & i) 116 (p & i) 117 (i/RB) Teen Titans #31 (e) The Witching Hour #12 (e) 13 (e) Wonder Woman #192 (ci/MS; i/MS) 193 (ci/MS; i/MS) 194 (ci/MS; i/MS) 195 (ci/MS; i/MS) 196 (ci/MS; i/MS) 197 (ca; i/MS) World’s Finest Comics #202 (ci/IN) 203 (ci/NA) 206 (ca) Young Love #170 (c1/DH) Young Romance #170 (ca) 1972 Action Comics #419 (i/CI) Adventure Comics #419 (p & i) Batman #239 (ci/NA; i/IN; i/RB) 240 (ci/NA; i/IN) 241 (i/IN) 242 (i/IN; i/RB) 243 (i/NA) 244 (i/NA; i/IN) 245 (i/NA) 246 (ci/NA; i/IN) The Brave and the Bold #102 (i/NA) DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular #DC-8 (ci/NA) Detective Comics #419 (ci/NA; i/IN) 420 (ci/NA) 421 (ci/NA) 422 (ci/NA; i/BB) 423 (i/BB) 424 (i/BB) 425 (i/IN) 426 (p & i) 427 (i/IN) 428 (i/BB) 430 (p & i) The Flash #212 (ca; i/IN; p & i) 213 (ca) 215 (ci/NA; i/IN) 216 (i/IN; backup: i/DD) 217 (i/NA) 218 (i/NA) 219 (i/NA) Justice League of America #102 (i/DD) 103 (i/DD) Secrets of Sinister House #5 (i/MS) Supergirl #1 (i/JR) Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #118 (ca; i/RB) 119 (i/RB) 120 (ca) Superman #255 (p & i) 257 (i/DD) 258 (i/CS) Weird Worlds #2 (i as one of the Crusty Bunkers/AW) Wonder Woman #198 (ca; i/MS)

199 (i/DH) 200 (p & i) 201 (ca; p & i) 202 (ca; p & i) 203 (ca; p & i) World’s Finest Comics #209 (ci/NA0 210 (ci/NA) 211 (ci/NA) 1973 Action Comics #420 (p & i) 421 (i/SA) 422 (p & i) 423 (p & i) 424 (i/DD) 425 (i/NA) 426 (i/DD; p & i) 427 (i/DD) 428 (p & i) 429 (p & i) 430 (i/DD) Adventure Comics #426 (ca; i/MS) 427 (i/MS) Batman #247 (ca; i/IN; p & i) 248 (i/BB) 249 (i/IN) 251 (i/IN; p & i) 252 (i/IN; i/DD) 253 (i/IN) Chilling Adventures in Sorcery #4 (p & i) Crazy Magazine #1 (fumetti; i/NA) Detective Comics #432 (ca) 433 (ca; i/DD) 434 (i/IN; i/RB) 435 (ca; i/IN) 436 (p & i) Dracula Lives #1 (i/AW) 2 (i/GC) The Flash #220 (cp/NC; p & i) 221 (p & i) 223 (i/IN; p & i) 224 (i/IN; p & i) Justice League of America #104 (i/DD) 105 (ca; i/DD) 106 (i/DD) 107 (i/DD) 108 (i/DD) Strange Sports Stories #1 (i/CS) 2 (i/IN; p & i) Strange Tales #170 (i/GK) Sword of Sorcery #1 (i as one of Crusty Bunkers/HC) War is Hell #5 (p & i) Worlds Unknown #4 (ca; i/JBu) 1974 Action Comics #431 (i/DD) 432 (p & i) 433 (i/DD) 435 (i/DD) Batman #254 (i/IN) 255 (i/NA) 256 (i/IN) 257 (i/IN) 258 (i/IN) 259 (i/IN) Batman Aurora Comic Scenes (interior comic book) (p & i) Children’s Television Workshop (various magazines) (p & i) The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 (p & i) 3 (p/FMcL) Detective Comics #439 (ci/NA; i/SA) 440 (i/SA) Doctor Strange #1 (i/FB) 2 (i/FB) 4 (i/FB) 5 (i/FB) Dracula Lives! #5 (p & i) 6 (p & i) 7 (p & i) 8 (p & i) The Flash #225 (i/IN) 226 (i/NA) 227 (i/DD)

Justice League of America #109 (i/DD) 110 (i/DD) 111 (i/DD) 112 (i/DD) 113 (i/DD) 114 (i/DD) Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-25 (i/IN rep.; i/NA rep.) Marvel Premiere #14 (i/FB) 15 (ci/GK; i/GK) 16 (i/LH) 17 (i/LH) 18 (i/GK) 19 (i/LH) Robin Aurora Comic Scenes (interior comic book) (p & i) The Savage Sword of Conan #2 (i: with Crusty Bunkers/HC) Shazam! #12 (p & i) Strange Sports Stories #3 (i/CS; p & i) 4 (i/IN) Strange Tales #172 (i/GC) 173 (i/GC) 174 (ci/GK) Superman #271 (p & i) 273 (i/CS) 275 (i/CS) Superman Family #165 (i/MS) Vampire Tales #5 (i/AK) 1975 Action Comics #447 (ci/BO) The Amazing World of DC Comics #4 (p & i) Batman #260 (ca) 261 (i/IN) 262 (i/EC) 263 (i/EC) 264 (i/EC) 266 (ca; i/IN) 267 (i/EC) Batman Family #1 (i/NA rep.) Beowulf #5 (ca) The Brute #1 (ca) 2 (ca) Conan the Barbarian #48 (ci/GK; i/JBus) 49 (ci/GK; i/JBus) 50 (i/JBus) 51 (i/JBus) The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #15 (i/LH) Dracula Lives! #10 (p & i) 11 (p & i) Detective Comics #447 448 (i/EC) 449 (p & i) 450 (ci/EC) 451 (ca) The Flash #232 (ca) 233 (ca; i/DD) 234 (i/DD) 235 (ca) Haunt of Horror #5 (ca) The Joker #1 (ca; i/IN) Justice League of America #115 (i/DD) 116 (i/DD) 118 (ca) 119 (ca) Legion of Monsters #1 (p & i) Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-34 (i/IN rep.) Marvel Feature #1 (ci/GK; p & i) Morlock 2001 #1 (ci/AM) Phoenix #1 (ci/SA) 2 (ca) Planet of Vampires #2 (ci/NA) Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #1 (ca) 3 (ca) 4 (ca) 5 (ca) Star*Reach #2 (p & i) Superman #287 (ca) 288 (ca)

291 (ca) Superman Family #174 (i/MS) Super-Team Family #1 (ca) 2 (ci/NA) Targitt #1 (ca) Thor #231 (i/JBus) 232 (i/JBus) 234 (ci/GK) Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #4 (p & i) Weird Suspense #1 (ca) Wonder Woman #219 (ca) 220 (ca; p & i) World’s Finest Comics #233 (ca) 1976 Batman Family #8 (i/NA rep.) Blackhawk #246 (ca) 247 (ca) DC Super Heroes Stamps (i/NA) DC Super Stars #3 (ci/EC) 5 (ca) Detective Comics #457 (ca; p & i) Emergency! Magazine (miscellaneous issues; interior inks over undetermined pencilers) 1st Issue Special #13 (ca) Freedom Fighters #2 (ca) Justice League of America #127 (ca) Kobra #3 (i/KG) Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-43 (i/NA rep.) C-44 (i/NA rep.) Marvel Two-In-One #15 (i/AJ) Metal Men #45 (ca) 46 (ca) Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #6 (ca) 7 (ca) 8 (ca) 9 (ca) 10 (ca) 11 (ca) The Secret Society of Super-Villains #2 (ca) Shazam! #25 (p & i) The Six Million Dollar Man Magazine (miscellaneous issues; interior inks over undetermined pencilers) Sojourn #1 (p & i) 2 (p & i) Space: 1999 Magazine (miscellaneous issues; interior inks over undetermined pencilers) Superman vs. the Amazing SpiderMan (ci/CI; i/RA) Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction Giant-Size Special #1 (i/JBus) Witzend Annual #10 (p & i) 1977 Adventure Comics #454 (i/CP) Batman 1977 paperback (ci/NA rep.; i/NA rep.) Batman Family #10 (ci/JC) Creepy #87 (i/CI) DC Special Series #5 (ci/JLGL) Eerie #81 (i/CI) The Flash #247 (ci/RB) Green Lantern #94 (i/MG) Howard the Duck #16 (part of Cast of Thousands p/Cast of Thousands i) Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-51 (i/NA rep.; i/IN rep.) C-52 (i/NA rep.) Mister Miracle #19 (i as one of the Crusty Bunkers i/MR) Ms. Marvel #1 (ci/JBus) 2 (ci/JBus) Marvel Treasury Edition #15 (p & i) Nova #14 (i/SBus) The Savage Sword of Conan #20 (i/MN) 25 (p & i) Superboy and the Legion of SuperHeroes 1977 paperback (ci/NA rep.) Superman Family #186 (ci/JLGL)

Vampirella #57 (i/CI) 58 (i/CI) 62 (i/CI) World’s Finest Comics #247 (ci/JLGL) 248 (ci/JLGL) 1978 Action Comics #480 (ci/JLGL) 483 (ci/RB) 484 (ci/JLGL) 488 (ci/JLGL) 489 (ci/RA) 490 (ci/RA) Adventure Comics #455 (i/CP) 460 (ci/RA) All New Collectors’ Edition #C-56 (i/NA) C-58 (ci/RB; i/RB) All Star Comics #72 (ci/JSta) 74 (ci/JSta) Batman #298 (i/JC) 299 (i/JC) 300 (ca; i/WS) 302 (i/JC) 303 (i/JC) 304 (i/JC) The Brave and the Bold #143 (partial ca; p & i) 144 (p & i) Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1 (i/AS; i/RA) 2 (i/RA) Challengers of the Unknown #87 (ci/AS) Creepy #94 (p & i) DC Special Series #8 (i/RE) 9 (ci/JLGL) 15 (i/MGol) DC Super-Stars #18 (i/RT) Detective Comics #477 (ci/MR; i/MR; i/NA) 478 (i/MR) 479 (ci/MR; i/MR) Dynamic Classics #1 (ca; i/NA rep.) The Flash #262 266 (ci/RB) 267 (ci/RB) 268 (ci/AM) The House of Mystery #258 (ci/JO; i/GRup) 259 (ci/JO) Isis #4 (ci/MV) Jonah Hex #11 (ci/RB; i/RB) Justice League of America #159 (ci/RB) 160 (ci/DD) Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-59 (p & i rep.; i/IN rep.; i/NA rep.) Secret Society of Super-Villains #15 (ci/RB) Secrets of Haunted House #12 (ci/JO) 13 (ci/JO) Showcase #98 (ci/JSta; i/JSta) 99 (ci/JSta; i/JSta) 100 (ci/JSta) Superboy and the Legion of SuperHeroes #246 (i/JSta) Superman #321 (ci/JLGL) 324 (ci/RB) 328 (ci/JLGL) 329 (ci/RA) 330 (ci/RA) Superman Family #188 (ci/JLGL) 190 (ci/RB) 191 (ci/RB) 192 (ci/RA) Weird Western Tales #48 (ci/JSher) Wonder Woman #240 (ci/JLGL) 241 (ci/JSta; i/JSta) 246 (ci/JSta) 247 (ci/RB) 249 (ci/RB) 250 (ci/RB) 1979 Action Comics #491 (ci/RA) 492 (ci/RA)

493 (ci/RA) 497 (ci/RA) 498 (ci/RA) 499 (ci/RA) 500 (ci/RA) 501 (ci/RA) 502 (ci/RA) Adventure Comics #461 (i/JSta) 462 (i/JSta; i/JLGL) 464 (i/JSta; i/JD) 465 (i/JLGL) Archie’s Super Hero Comics Digest Magazine #2 (i/NA) Batman #307 (i/JC) 308 (i/JC) 310 (i/IN) 312 (ci/WS; i/WS) 315 (ca) 316 (ca) 317 (ca) The Best of DC #1 (ci/RA; i/NA rep.) DC Comics Presents #5 (ci/RA) 6 (ci/RA) 7 (ci/RA) 9 (ci/RA) 10 (ci/RA) 11 (ci/RA) 12 (ci/RA; i/RB) 13 (ci/DD; i/DD) 14 (ci/DD; i/DD) 16 (ci/RA) DC Special Series #19 (ci/RA) Detective Comics #482 (ci/RB; i/MG) 483 (i/HC; p & i) 484 (ci/RA; p & i) 485 (ca) 486 (ca; p & i) 487 (p/SM) Famous First Edition: Limited Collector’s Edition #C-61 (i/JLGL) The Flash #269 (ci/RB) 270 (ci/RB) 273 (ci/RA) 274 (ci/RA) 275 (ca) 276 (ca) 277 (ca) 278 (ca) 279 (ca) 280 (ca) Green Lantern #114 (ci/ASav) 115 (ci/ASav) 116 (ci/ASav) 117 (ci/JSta) 118 (ci/ASav) 119 (ci/ASav) 120 (ca) 121 (ca) 122 (ca) 123 (i/JSta) Gunfighters #57 (ca rep.) House of Mystery #264 (ci/JO) Justice League of America #162 (ci/DD) 163(ci/RB) 164 (ci/RB) 165 (ci/RB) 166 (ci/RA) 167 (ci/DD) 168 (ci/DD) 170 (ci/DD) 171 (ci/DD) 172 (ca) 173 (ci/DD) Superboy and the Legion of SuperHeroes #247 (ci/JSta) 248 (ci/JSta) 249 (ci/JSta) 250 (ci/JSta) 251 (ci/JSta) 252 (ca) 253 (ca) 254 (ca) 255 (ca) 256 (ca) Superman #331 (ci/RA) 332 (ci/RA) 333 (ci/RA)

163

334 (ci/RA) 335 (ci/RA) 336 (ci/RA) 337 (ci/RA) 338 (ci/RA) 339 (ci/RA) 341 (ci/RA) 342 (ci/RA) Superman Family #193 (ci/RA) 194 (ci/RA) 195 (ci/RA) 196 (ci/JLGL) 194 (ci/RA) Time Warp #1 (i/RB; p & i) The Unknown Soldier #234 i/HC & WS) Wonder Woman #251 (ci/RA) 252 (ci/RA) 253 (ci/JD) 254 (ci/RA) 255 (ci/JD) 257 (ci/RA) 258 (ci/JD) 259 (ci/JD) 261 (ca) 262 (ca) The World of Krypton #1 (ci/RA) 2 (ci/RA) 3 (ci/RA) World’s Finest Comics #256 (ci/RA; p & i) 258 (ci/NA; i/JLGL) 259 (ci/RB; i/RB) 260 (ci/RB; i/RB) 256 (ci/RA) 256 (ci/RA) 1980 Action Comics #503 (ci/RA) 504 (ci/RA) 505 (ci/RA) 506 (ci/RA) 507 (ci/RA) 508 (ci/RA) 509 (ci/RA; i/JStar) 510 (ci/RA) 511 (ci/RA) 512 (ci/RA) 513 (ci/RA) 514 (ci/RB) Adventure Comics #467 (ci/SD & DC) 470 (ci/RA) 472 (ci/RA) 473 (ci/RA) 474 (ci/RA) 475 (p & i) 476 (ci/RA; p & i) 477 (ci/RA; p & i) 478 (ci/RB; p/SM) Batman #319 (ci/JK) 321 (i/WS) 323 (ca) 327 (p/SM) 330 (ci/RA) The Best of DC #5 (ci/RA; i/RA rep.; p & i rep.) 6 (ci/RA) 7 (ci/RA) 8 (ci/RA) Blue Beetle (Charlton reprint) #2 (e) The Brave and the Bold #163 (p & i) 166 (p/TA) DC Comics Presents #18 (ci/RA) 19 (ci/RA) 20 (ci/RA) 21 (ci/RA) 23 (ci/RA) 26 (i/GP) DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #1 (ca) 2 (ci/RA) 3 (ci/RA) 4 (ca) 5 (ci/RA) DC Special Series #21 (i/JLGL) Detective Comics #488 (ca) 489 (ci/RA)

164

490 (ci/RA) 491 (ci/RA) 493 (p/SM) The Flash #281 (ca) 282 (ci/RA) 283 (ci/RA) 284 (ci/RA) 285 (ci/DH) 286 (ci/DH) 287 (ci/DH) 288 (ci/DH) 289 (ci/DH) 290 (ci/DH) 291 (ci/RA) 292 (ci/DH) Ghosts #90 (ci/JJ) Green Lantern #124 (ca) 125 (ca) 126 (ca) 128 (ca) 132 (ci/GP) 134 (ca) The House of Mystery #282 (i/JStar) Justice League of America #174 (ci/DD) 175 (ci/RA) 176 (ci/DD) 177 (ci/RB) 181 (ci/RA) 182 (ci/DC) The Legion of Super-Heroes #259 (ca) 260 (ca) 261 (ca) 263 (ca) 264 (ca) 265 (ca; i/JStar) 266 (ca) 267 (ca) 269 (ca) The New Adventures of Superboy #1 (ci/KS) 2 (ci/KS) 7 (i/JStar) The New Teen Titans #1 (ci/GP) Shell Collector Series: Superman #1 (ci/RA; i/DS) Superboy Spectacular #1 (ci/RA) Superman #343 (ci/RA) 345 (ci/RA) 346 (ci/RA) 348 (ci/RA) 349 (ci/RA) 350 (ci/RA) 351 (ci/RA) 352 (ci/RA) 353 (ci/RA) 354 (ci/RA) Superman Family #199 (ci/RA) 200 (ci/RA) 201 (ci/RA) 203 (ci/RA) 204 (ci/RA) Time Warp #3 (p & i) The Unexpected #200 (ci/RA) 201 (ci/JJ) 205 (ci/JJ) The Untold Legend of the Batman #1 (ci/JB) 2 (ci/JLGL) 3 (ci/JB) Wonder Woman #263 (ci/JD) 264 (ci/RA) 265 (ci/RA) 266 (ci/RA) 267 (ci/RA) 268 (ci/RA) 269 (ci/RA) 270 (ci/RA) 271 (ci/RA) 272 (ci/DC) 273 (ci/RA) 274 (ci/RA) World’s Finest Comics #261 (i/RB) 262 (ci/RA; i/JSta) 263 (ci/RA; i/RB) 264 (ci/RA; i/RB) 265 (i/RE)

1981 Action Comics #519 (ci/RA) 520 (ci/RA) 521 (ci/RA) 522 (ci/RB) 523 (ci/RB) 524 (ci/RA) 525 (ci/RA) 526 (ci/RA) Adventure Comics #481 (ci/CI) 482 (ci/CI) 483 (ci/RA) 487 (ci/RA) 488 (ci/RA) 481 (ci/CI) All-Star Squadron #3 (ci/RB) 4 (ci/RB) Arak, Son of Thunder #1 (ci/ECol; e) 2 (ci/ECol; e) 3 (ci/ECol; e) 4 (ci/ECol; e) Batman #337 (e) 338 (e) 339 (ci/RB; e) 340 (e) 341 (e) 342 (ci/DCow; e) The Best of DC #9 (i/EC rep.; i/IN rep.) 10 (ci/RA) 11 (ca/RA; i/WS) 12 (ci/RA) 13 (ci/RA) 14 (ci/RA; i/IN rep.; i/NA rep.; i/DCow rep.; i/EC rep.) 15 (ci/RA) 16 (ci/RB) 17 (ci/GP) 19 (ci/RA) Bizarre Adventures #28 (i/NA) The Brave and the Bold #177 (e) 178 (e) 179 (e) 180 (e) 181 (e) The Comics Journal #62 (ca) DC Comics Presents #31 (ci/RA; i/JLGL) 32 (ci/RA) 33 (ci/RB; i/RB) 34 (ci/RB; i/RB) 35 (ci/RA) 39 (ci/RA) 40 (ci/RA) DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #8 (ca) 9 (ci/RA) 11 (ci/RA; i/DD rep.) 13 (ci/RB; i/IN rep.; p & i rep.; i/CS rep.) 15 (ci/RA) 16 (ci/NA; i/NA rep.) DC Special Series #23 (ci/RA) 24 (ci/RA) 26 (ci/RA) 27 (ci/JLGL; i/JLGL; e; p & i) Detective Comics #500 (ca/jam; p & i; e) 501 (e) 502 (e) 503 (e) 504 (e) 505 (ci/RB; e) 506 (ci/RB; e) 507 (ci/RB; e) 508 (ci/RB; e) 509 (ci/RB; e) Fightin’ Five #42 (ca rep.) 43 (ca rep.) The Flash #294 (ci/DH) 295 (ci/DH) 296 (ci/CI) 297 (ci/CI) 298 (ci/CI) 299 (ci/CI) 300 (ci/CI) 301 (ci/CI) 302 (ci/CI)

Galaxia #1 (ci/RB) Ghosts #99 (ci/RB) 102 (ci/RB) 103 (ci/RB) Green Lantern #138 (ca) 139 (ca) 140 (ca) JCP Features: The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 (i/NA) Justice League of America #187 (i/RA) 188 (i/RA) 191 (i/RA) 193 (i/RB) 196 (i/GP) Krypton Chronicles #1 (ci/RB) 2 (ci/RA) 3 (ci/RA) Legion of Super-Heroes #273 (ci/RB) 276 (ci/RB) Mystery in Space #117 (ci/DC) The New Teen Titans #14 (ci/GP) Secrets of Haunted House #36 (ci/RB) 37 (ci/RB) 38 (ci/RB) 39 (ci/RB) 40 (ci/RB) Secrets of the Legion of SuperHeroes #1 (ci/JJ) 2 (ca) 3 (ca) Super Friends Special #1 (ci/RA) Superman #355 (ci/RA) 356 (ca) 357 (ci/RA) 358 (ci/RA; i/DCow) 359 (i/DC) 361 (ci/RA) 362 (ci/RA) 363 (ci/RB) 364 (ci/GP) 365 (ci/RA) 366 (ci/RA) Superman Family #205 (ci/RA) 206 (ci/RA) 207 (ci/RA) 208 (ci/RA) 209 (ci/RB) 210 (ci/RB) 211 (ci/RA) 212 (ci/RA) 213 (ci/RA) Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) The Unexpected #208 (ci/RB) 209 (ci/RB) 210 (ci/RB) 211 (ci/RB) 213 (ci/RB) 217 (ci/ECol) Weird War Tales #99 (ci/DC) 101 (ci/RA) 102 (ci/RB) Wonder Woman #275 (ci/RB) 276 (ci/RA) 277 (ci/RA) 278 (ci/RA) 279 (ci/RA) 280 (ci/RA) 281 (ci/RA) 282 (ci/RB) 282 (ci/GP) 283 (ci/GP) 284 (ci/GP) 285 (ci/JD) 286 (ci/RA) World’s Finest Comics #267 (ci/RB; i/RB) 268 (ci/RB) 270 (ci/RB) 272 (ca/RA) 272 (ci/RA) 274 (ci/RA)

1982 Action Comics #528 (ci/RB) 529 (ci/GP) 530 (ci/RA) 533 (ci/RB) 534 (ci/RA) 537 (ci/RB) 538 (ci/RB) Adventure Comics #489 (i/RA) 491 (e) 492 (e) 493 (p & i rep.; e) Arak, Son of Thunder #5 (ci/ECol; e) 6 (ci/ECol; e) 7 (ci/ECol; e) 8 (ci/ECol; e) Atari Force #1 (ci/RA; i/RA; e) 2 (ci/RA; i/RA; i/GK; e) 3 (i/GK; e) 4 (ci/RA; i/RA; e) 5 (ci/GK; i/GK; e) Batman #343 (ci/GC; e) 344 (ci/JK; e) 345 (ci/GC; e) 346 (ci/RB; e) 347 (ci/RB; e) 348 (e) 349 (ci/RA; e) 350 (e) 351 (ci/ECol; e) 352 (e) 353 (e) 354 (ci/KG; e) Batman Annual #8 (e) The Best of DC #20 (ci/RA) 22 (ci/RB; i/IN rep.; i/DD rep.) 23 (ci/GP; p & i rep.) 25 (ci/RA) 27 (ci/RA) 30 (i/IN rep.; i/CI rep.) 31 (p & i; i/DD rep.) The Brave and the Bold #182 (e) 183 (e) 184 (e) 185 (e) 186 (e) 187 (e) 188 (e) 189 (e) 190 (e) 191 (e) Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (ci/RB) 2 (ci/RB) DC Comics Presents #41 (ci/RA) 42 (ci/RB) 44 (ci/RA) 49 (ci/RB) 52 (ci/KG) DC Comics Presents Annual #1 (ci/RB) DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #17 (i/NA rep.) 23 (p & i rep.) Detective Comics 510 (ci/GC; e) 511 (ci/RB; e) 512 (ci/GC; e) 513 (ci/RB; e) 514 (ca; e) 515 (ci/RA; e) 516 (ci/RA; e) 518 (e) 519 (e) Fightin’ Five #44 (ca rep.) The Flash #307 (ci/CI) 308 (ci/CI) 309 (ci/CI) 312 (ci/GK) The Fury of Firestorm #1 (ci/PB) 2 (ci/PB) 3 (ci/PB) 4 (ci/PB) 5 (ci/PB; i/PB)

6 (ci/PB) 7 (ci/PB) Ghosts #110 (ci/ECol) Green Lantern #149 (ci/JSta) Jonah Hex #61 (ci/RA) 62 (ci/RA) 63 (ci/RA) 64 (ci/RA) Justice League of America #200 (p & i) 201 (ci/GP) 203 (ci/GP) 204 (ci/GP) Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #1 (ci/KG) Masters of the Universe #1 (ci/GT) The New Adventures of Superboy #36 (ci/RB) The New Teen Titans #23 (ci/GP) Night Force #1 (ci/GC) 2 (ci/CG) 4 (ci/GC) The Phantom Zone #1 (ci/GC) 2 (ci/GC) 3 (ci/GC) 4 (ci/GC) The Savage Sword of Conan #78 (p/TA rep.) Secrets of Haunted House #46 (ci/DCow) Swordquest #1 (ci/GP; i/GP; e) 2 (ci/GP; i/GP; e) Superman #367 (ci/RA) 368 (ci/RB) 369 (ci/RB) 370 (ci/RA) 372 (ci/RA) 373 (ci/RB) 375 (ci/GK) 377 (ci/RA) 378 (ci/RB) Superman Family #214 (ci/RA) 216 (ci/BO) 217 (ci/RB) 220 (ci/RB) The Unexpected #218 (ci/ECol) Wonder Woman #287 (ci/RA) 288 (ci/GC) 289 (ci/GC) 290 (ci/RA) 291 (ci/RA) 292 (ci/RA) 298 (ci/FM) World’s Finest Comics #275 (ci/RA) 285 (ci/FM) 286 (ci/RB) 1983 Action Comics #539 (ci/KG) 542 (ci/EH) 544 (ci/GK) Adventure Comics #495 (ci/RA) 500 (i/MS rep.) Batman #355 (ci/EH) 356 (ci/EH; i/DN) 357 (ci/EH) 358 (ci/EH) 359 (ci/EH; i/DJ) 360 (ci/EH) 361 (ci/EH) 363 (ci/EH) 364 (ci/EH) The Best of DC #35 (ci/EH) 36 (ci/EH) 40 (p & i rep.; i/CS rep.) 42 (ci/RA; i/HB) Camelot 3000 #6 (i/BBol) The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #5 (ci/EH) 7 (ci/PC) 8 (i/BO) 10 (ci/EH) DC Comics Presents #53 (i/RA) 54 (ci/DN) 57 (ci/AS) Detective Comics #523 (ci/EH) 524 (ci/EH; i/DN) 525 (ci/EH; i/DJ)

526 (ci/DN) 528 (ci/GC) 529 (ci/EH; i/GC) 530 (ci/GC; i/GC) 531 (ci/GC) 532 (ci/GC) 533 (ci/GC) Dr. Strange/Silver Dagger Special Edition #1 (i/FB rep.) The Flash #319 (ci/EH) 320 (ci/EH) The Fury of Firestorm #8 (ci/PB) 9 (ci/PB) 10 (ci/PB) 11 (ci/PB) 12 (ci/PB) 13 (ci/PB) 14 (ci/PB) 15 (ci/PB) 16 (ci/PB) 17 (ci/PB) 18 (ci/PB) The Fury of Firestorm Annual #1 (ci/RK) Green Arrow #1 (ci/TV; i/TV) 2 (ci/TV; i/TV) 3 (ci/TV; i/TV) 4 (ci/TV; i/TV) Green Lantern/Green Arrow #2 (w: text) 3 (ci/NA; i/NA rep.) Heavy Metal v6 #11 (p & i) Jonah Hex #68 (ci/AG) 69 (ci/RA) 70 (ci/RA) 71 (ci/RA) 72 (ci/RA) 73 (ci/RA) 74 (ci/RA) 75 (ci/RA) 77 (ci/RA) 79 (ci/RA) Justice League of America #211 (ci/RB) 216 (ci/EH) 217 (ci/EH) 218 (ci/HB) 221 (ci/CPat) Legion of Super-Heroes #300 (i/JSta) The New Adventures of Superboy #40 (ci/HB) The New Teen Titans #27 (i/RA) The New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Special #1 (i/GP) Night Force #12 (ci/GC) Power Lords #1 (ci/MT) Supergirl #13 (ci/EH) Superman #379 (ci/RA) 380 (ci/RA) 383 (ci/PC) Superman From the Thirties to the Eighties (ca) Sword of the Atom #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) Thriller #1 (e) 2 (e) Vampirella #111 (i/CI) The Vigilante #1 (i/KP) The Warlord #71 (ci/DJ) 72 (ci/DJ) 73 (ci/DJ) 76 (ci/DJ) The Warlord Annual #2 (ci/DJ) Wonder Woman #299 (ci/EH) 300 (ci/EH; i/RA; p & i) 301 (ci/EH) 302 (ci/EH) 306 (ci/JLGL) 308 (ci/RA) 309 (ci/RA) 310 (ci/HB) World’s Finest Comics #288 (ci/EH) 2989 (ci/EH) 1984 Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld

Annual #1 (ci/PC) Atari Force #11 (ci/EH) Batman #367 (ci/EH) 368 (ci/EH) 370 (ci/EH) 371 (ci/EH) 372 (ci/EH) 373 (ci/EH) 374 (ci/DN) 377 (ci/EH) 378 (ci/DN) Batman and the Outsiders #12 (i/JA) The Best of DC #46 (ci/EH; i/HB) 48 (ci/HB; p & i rep.) 51 (ci/EH; i/NA rep.) 52 (ci/PC) Blue Ribbon Comics #8 (i/NA rep.) DC Comics Presents #70 (ci/ASav) 72 (ci/ASav) Detective Comics #534 (ci/GC) 535 (ci/GC) 536 (ci/PC) 537 (ci/GC) 538 (ci/GC) 539 (ci/EH) 540 (ci/GC) 541 (ci/GC) 542 (ci/PC) 543 (ci/GC) 544 (ci/GC) 545 (ci/GC) Fightin’ Marines #84 (p & i rep.) The Flash #331 (ci/CI) 332 (ci/CI) 333 (ci/CI) The Fury of Firestorm #19 (ci/RK) 20 (ci/RK) 21 (ci/PB) 22 (ci/RK) 26 (ci/RK) 28 (ci/RK) The Fury of Firestorm Annual #2 (ci/RK) Green Lantern/Green Arrow #4 (i/NA rep.) 6 (i/NA rep.) Jonah Hex #87 (ci/EH) Justice League of America #222 (ci/CPat) 223 (ci/CPat) 224 (ci/CPat; i/CPat) 226 (ci/RA) 228 (ci/CPat) 229 (ci/CPat) 230 (ci/CPat) 231 (ci/CPat) 232 (ci/CPat) 233 (ci/CPat) Man-Bat #1 (i/NA rep.) Nathaniel Dusk #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (ci/GC; e) 4 (ci/GC; e) The Omega Men #18 (ci/TS) 19 (ci/TS) Power Lords #3 (ci/MT) Star*Reach Classics #2 (p & i rep.) Star Trek #7 (ci/DDay) Supergirl #17 (ci/EH) 18 (ci/HB) 20 (ci/CI) Superman #391 (ci/JLGL) 393 (i/IN) 394 (ci/PC) Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #314: (ci/LM) Tales of the Teen Titans #42 (i/GP) 42 (i/GP) 44 (i/GP) Thriller #3 (e) 4 (e) 5 (i/TV; e) 6 (i/TV; e) The Vigilante #5 (ci/EH) 6 (ci/RA) 10 (ci/RA) 11 (ci/RA; i/RA) 12 (ci/RA)

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The Warlord #80 (ci/DJ) 84 (ci/DJ) 86 (ci/DJ) Wonder Woman #311 (ci/RA) 313 (ci/RA) 315 (ci/RA) World’s Finest Comics #300 (ci/EH) 302 (i/NA rep.) 1985 Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld #1 (ci/PC) Atari Force #3 (i/RA) 4 (i/RA) Batman #379 (ci/EH) 380 (ci/RH) 381 (ci/RH) 383 (ci/PC) The Best of DC #66 (i/DD rep.) Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 (i/GP) 2 (i/GP) 3 (i/GP) 7 (i/GP) DC Challenge #1 (e) 2 (e) DC Comics Presents #81 (ci/KG) 88 (ci/KG) Deadman (rep.) #4 (w) 5 (w) Detective Comics #546 (ca) 548 (ci/PB) 555 (ci/PC; i/DD) 556 (ci/GC) 557 (ci/GC) The Fury of Firestorm #31 (ci/RK) 32 (ci/RK) 33 (ci/RK) 40 (ci/RK) 41 (ci/RK) The Fury of Firestorm Annual #3 (ci/RK) Infinity, Inc. Annual #1 (i/RoH) Jonni Thunder #1 (ca; p & i) 2 (ca; p & i) 3 (ca; p & i) 41 (ca; p & i) Justice League of America #234 (ci/CP) 235 (ci/CP) 236 (ci/CP) The New Teen Titans v2#12 (i/GP) The Revengers Featuring Megalith #2 (i/LH) The Shadow War of Hawkman #1 (ci/RiH) 2 (ci/RiH) 3 (ci/RiH) 4 (ci/RiH) Sun Devils #7 (ci/DJ) 8 (ci/DJ) 9 (ci/DJ) Supergirl Movie Special #1 (ci/JLGL) Superman #411 (ca; e) Tales of the Teen Titans #50 (i/GP) 54 (i/RB) 59 (ci/CP; i/GP) 60 (ci/CP) Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #1 (i/CH; i/AS; i/CP) 2 (p & i; p/MDe) 3 (ci/GP) 4 (ci/GP; i/AW) 5 (ci/GP; i/TV) 6 (ci/PC; i/LW; i/MV) 7 (ci/PC; i/MWil; i/JBing; i/CI; i/CP) 8 (ci/PC; i/RK; i/DJ) 9 (ci/PC; i/IN; i/CH) 10 (ci/PC; i/MNod; i/DCow; p & i; i/RiH) Wonder Woman #328 (ci/JBro) 1986 Aquaman #1 (e) 2 (e) 3 (e) 4 (e) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1

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(e) 2 (e) The Best of DC #59 (i/GP) DC Challenge #3 (e) Detective Comics #558 (ci/GC) 560 (ci/GC) 561 (ci/GC) 562 (ci/GC) 563 (ci/GC) 564 (ci/GC) 565 (ci/GC) 566 (ca) Elvira’s House of Mystery #2 (ci/DCow) 3 (ci/DCow; i/SW) 8 (ci/DT; i/DT) 9 (i/DT) 10 (i/DT) The Fury of Firestorm #43 (ci/RK) 44 (ci/DCow) 47 (ci/JBro) 52 (ci/JBro) The Fury of Firestorm Annual #4 (p/SM) Hawkman #1 (ci/RiH) Hawkman Special #1 (ci/RiH) Heroes Against Hunger #1 (ci/NA) Hex #8 (ci/DCow) 11 (ci/DCow) History of the DC Universe Portfolio (Batman lithograph) Infinity, Inc. #24 (ci/DCow; i/RH) 25 (ci/TMcF) 28 (ci/DCow) Justice League of America #251 (ci/LMcD) The Man of Steel #1 (i/JB) 2 (i/JB) 3(i/JB) 4 (i/JB) 5 (i/JB) 6 (i/JB) ’Mazing Man #5 (i/DCow) The New Teen Titans v2#16 (p & i) Secret Origins #6 (p & i) Shadow of the Batman #5 (i/MR rep.) Star Trek #26 (ci/JBro) Superman #420 (ci/DCow) Tales of the Teen Titans #62 (ci/CP) Teen Titans Spotlight #1 (i/DCow) 2 (i/DCow) 3 (ci/DCow) 5 (i/RA) V #17 (i/DCow) 18 (i/DCow) The Vigilante #10 (i/DCow) Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #11 (ci/PC; i/LMcD; i/TSut; i/TV; p & i) 12 (ci/PC) 13 (i/DCow; i/JSta) 14 (ci/GP; i/WB) 15 (i/TV; i/JaK) 16 (ci/GP; i/GC) 17 (i/GP) 18 (ci/GP; i/CI) 19 (i/DJ) 20 (ci/PC; p & i; i/FFred) 22 (i/CI) World’s Finest Comics #323 (ci/DCow) 1987 Action Comics #581 (ci/DCow) 584 (i/JB) 585 (i/JB) 586 (i/JB) 587 (i/JB) 588 (i/JB) 589 (i/JB) 590 (i/JB) Action Comics Annual #1 (ci/AA; i/AA) Batman #403 (ci/DCow) 409 (i/RA) Blue Beetle #19 (ci/MMig) Detective Comics #572 (i/TB) Elvira’s House of Mystery #11 (i/GC)

The Fury of Firestorm #58 (ci/JBro) 59 (ci/JBro) 60 (ci/JBro) 61 (ci/JBro; i/JBro) 62 (ci/JBro) 63 (ci/JBro) Hawkman #17 (ci/EH) Infinity, Inc. #36 (ci/JBro) 41 (ci/VArg) Lords of the Ultra-Realm Special #1 (i/PB) Justice League Annual #1 (i/BW) Secret Origins #15 (ci/EH; i/KM) 20 (i/RL) Superman IV Movie Special #1 (i/CS) Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #348 (ci/RF) 351 (ci/CS) Tales of the Teen Titans #74 (ci/EH) 75 (p & i) 78 (ci/EH) 80 (ci/EH) Teen Titans Spotlight #13 (ci/EH) Watchmen #5 (e) 6 (e) 7 (e) 8 (e) 9 (e) 10 (e) 11 (e) 12 (e) Who’s Who in Star Trek #1 (i/RF; i/JP) 2 (i/RF; i/MCar) Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #23 (i/KM) 24 (i/CI; i/DCow) 25 (ci/KM) 26 (ci/PC; i/RA) Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Update ’87 #1 (ci/JBro) 2 (ci/JBro; i/RS; i/RA) 4 (i/SBov) 5 (p & i) Wild Dog #1 (ci/TB; i/TB) 2 (ci/TB; i/TB) 3 (ci/TB; i/TB) 4 (ci/TB; i/TB) 1988 Action Comics #600 (p/JBeat) 601 (e) 602 (e) 603 (e) 604 (e) 605 (ci/GK; e) 606 (e) 607 (e) 608 (e) 609 (e) 610 (e) 611 (e) 612 (e) Batman #421 (p/JRub) Batman: Tales of the Demon TPB (i/BB rep.; i/NA rep.; i/IN rep.; i/MGol rep.) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns TPB (e rep.) The Best of the Brave and the Bold #2 (i/NA rep.) 3 (i/NA rep.) 4 (i/NA rep.) 5 (i/NA rep.) Blue Beetle #20 (ci/CW) Christmas with the Super-Heroes #1 (i/DD; i/JLGL; i/NA) The Crimson Avenger #2 (ci/RS) 3 (ci/KW) 4 (ci/RS) Detective Comics #584 (ci/NB) The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told (cp/DDorf; w; i/NA rep.; p & i rep.; i/WS rep.) The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (i/NA rep.; i/WS rep.) Green Arrow Annual #1 (ci/EH)

Legion of Super-Heroes #45 (p/MDe) The New Teen Titans #44 (ci/MCol) The New Teen Titans Annual #4 (i/KJan) The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract TPB (i/GP rep.) Power Girl #1 (ci/KGam) 2 (ci/KGam) 3 (ci/KGam) 4 (ci/KGam) The Question #21 (i/DCow) The Saga of Ra’s Al Ghûl #1 (ci/JBing; i/BB rep.; i/NA rep.) 2 (ci/JBing; i/IN rep.; i/NA rep.) 3 (ci/JBing; i/IN rep.; i/NA rep.) 4 (ci/NA rep.) Secret Origins #25 (i/RS) The Spiral Zone #1 (ci/CI; i/CI & PM) 2 (ci/CI; i/CI) 3 (ci/CI; i/CI & DH) 4 (ci/CI; i/CI & DH) Tailgunner Jo #5 (i/TArt) The Vigilante #49 (ci/DF) Who’s Who in the Legion of SuperHeroes #2 (i/SL) Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Update ’88 #1 (i/EH) 3 (i/EH; i/LMan) Wonder Woman #17 (i/GP) 18 (i/GP) The World of Metropolis #1 (ci/JB; i/WM) 2 (ci/JB; i/WM) 3 (ci/JB; i/WM) 4 (ci/JB; i/WM) 1989 Action Comics #636 (ca) 641 (i/CS) Batman vs. the Joker Stickers (p & i) Checkmate #20 (ci/SEr) Christmas With the Super-Heroes #2 (p & i) Detective Comics #598 (i/DCow) 599 (i/DCow) 600 (i/DCow) The Greatest Team-Up Stories Ever Told (i/DD rep.) Green Arrow #1 (i/EH) 2 (i/EH) 3 (i/EH) Green Arrow Annual #2 (ci/EH; i/EH; p/JRub; i/DJ) Invasion #3 (i/BS) Justice League America #27 (i/TT) Secret Origins #38 (ci/TG; i/HK) Secret Origins Annual #3 (p & i) Secret Origins of the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes #1 (p & i; i/JB) Secret Origins Special #1 (i/PB) 1990 Adventures of Superman #466 (i/DJ) Detective Comics #618 (i/NB) Detective Comics Annual #3 (i/DJ) The Flash Special #1 (i/IN) Green Arrow #4 (i/EH) 5 (i/EH) 6 (i/EH) 7 (i/EH) 8 (ci/EH; i/EH) 9 (i/EH) Green Arrow Annual #3 (ci/DJ) Secret Origins #50 (i/AW; i/JSta) Swords of Valor #1 (p & i) Who’s Who in the DC Universe #4 (p & i) 1991 American Heroes #0 (i/GP) 1 (i/GP) Animal Man #39 (ci/TM; i/TM) Armageddon 2001 #1 (i/DJ) 2 (i/DJ) Armageddon: The Alien Agenda #1 (ci/DJ)

2 (ci/DJ) Black Canary #1 (ca; p & i; i/TV) 2 (ca; p & i; i/TV) Crossover Classics: The Marvel/DC Collection #1 (i/RA rep.; i/JLGL rep.) Doctor Fate #34 (ci/SE) Green Arrow #10 (i/EB) 11 (i/PC) 12 (ci/EH; i/EH) 13 (i/EH) 14 (i/EH) 15 (ci/EH; i/EH) Hawk and Dove #25 (p & i) Robin II #1 (p & i; i/KM) 2 (i/CSpr; i/KM) 3 (ci/DJ; i/KM) 4 (i/KM) The Sandman #27 (i/KJo) 29 (i/SW) Superman Annual #3 (i/DA) War of the Gods #4 (i/GP) Who’s Who in the DC Universe #6 (p & i) 7 (i/KM) 9 (p & i) 10 (p & i) 11 (i/CSpr) 12 (i/DAW) 1992 American Heroes #3 (i/GP) Armageddon: The Alien Agenda #3 (ca) 4 (ca; p/SM) Armageddon: Inferno #4 (p/FMcL) The Batman Gallery #1 (i/DN; i/FM; p & i; i/JBurn) Batman: Shadow of the Bat #6 (i/DJ) Black Canary #3 (ca; i/TV) 4 (ca; i/TV) The Comet #16 (i/MN) 17 (ci/MN) The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told v2 (i/IN rep.) Legends of the Dark Knight #28 (p & i) The Sandman #34 (i/CD) Sugar and Spike #99 (w) Who’s Who in the DC Universe #16 (i/DJ) 1993 Batman #497 (i/JA) Catwoman #1 (i/JBal) 2 (i/JBal) 3 (i/JBal) 4 (i/JBal) 1 (i/JBal) The Crucible #3 (ca) 4 (ca) 5 (ca) 6 (ca) Detective Comics #665 (i/GN) Detective Comics Annual #6 (ci/EH) The Hybrids #3 (i/SCH) Justice League America #72 (ci/DJ) 73 (ci/DJ) 74 (ci/DJ) 75 (ci/DJ) Justice League Task Force #4 (i/GM) Robin III: Cry of the Huntress #2 (ci/DJ) 6 (ci/EH) The Sandman #47 (i/JTh) 53 (i/MZu) 56 (i/BT) Sleepwalker #29 (i/KK) 1994 Batman #509 (i/MM) Bloodshot #0 (i/KV) Cadillacs and Dinosaurs #1 (ca; p & i) 2 (ca; p & i) 3 (ca; p & i) Catwoman #6 (i/JBal) 7 (i/JBal) Lois and Clark, the New Adventures

of Superman Special (i/JB; i/DJ) Modesty Blaise #nn (ca; p & i) Psi-Lords #1 (ci/ML; i/ML) 2 (ci/ML; i/ML) 3 (i/ML) 4 (ci/ML; i/ML) Shade, the Changing Man #53 (i/SP) Showcase ’94 #2 (i/PR) 3 (i/PR) 4 (i/PR) Special Collectors’ Edition #1 (p & i) Valor #18 (ci/SI) 1995 Bloodshot #27 (i/SC) 28 (i/SC) 29 (i/SC) 32 (i/SC) 33 (i/SC) 38 (i/SC) 39 (i/SC) Captain Action #0 (ci/BK) Catwoman #25 (i/JBal) Doom Link #nn (i/EB) Eternal Warrior #29 (ci/TH) Magnus Robot Fighter #55 (ci/DR) 56 (ci/DR) 57 (ci/DR) 58 (ci/DR) Nightwing: Alfred’s Return #1 (p & i) Psi-Lords #6 (ca; i/ML) 7 (ci/ML; i/ML) Robin #15 (i/TGrum) Solar, Man of the Atom #46 (i/DJ) 47 (ci/DJ; i/DJ) 48 (ci/DJ; i/DJ) 49 (ci/DJ; i/DJ) 50 (ci/DJ; i/DJ) 51 (ci/TG; i/TG) 52 (ci/TG; i/TG) 53 (ci/TG; i/TG) 54 (ci/TG; i/TG) Superman: The Man of Steel #51 (i/JBog) Visitor vs. the Valiant Universe #1 (ci/BH; i/BH) 2 (ci/BH; i/BH) 1996 Batman: Dark Knight Gallery #1 (p/JBal) Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #79 (ci/SY; i/SY) The Books of Magic: The Summonings #nn (i/GA) Catwoman #31 (p/BoS) 32 (p/BoS) The Dreaming #7 (i/StP) The Invisibles #22 (ci/SY; i/SY) 23 (ci/SY; i/SY) 24 (ci/SY; i/SY) League of Justice #1 (ci/EH; i/EH) 2 (ci/EH; i/EH) Makeshift #1 (i/THam) 2 (i/THam) Robin #30 (i/FF) Superman: The Man of Steel #52 (i/JBog) 53 (i/JBog) 58 (i/various pencilers) Superman: The Wedding Album #1 (p/ArT) Untold Tales of Spider-Man #16 (i/PO) The Original Magnus Robot Fighter #1 (ci/RL) Sliders #1 (p/MDe) 2 (p/MDe) Sliders: Darkest Hour #1 (p/MDe) Sliders: Ultimatum #1 (i/BC) 2 (i/BC) Solar, Man of the Atom #55 (i/AL) 56 (i/AL) 59 (i/AL)

1997 Adventures in the DC Universe Annual #1 (p/TA) Birds of Prey: Wolves #1 (p/WF) The Books of Magic Annual #1 (i/MB) DC Universe Holiday Bash #1 (i/PRy) Explorers #2 (p & i) The Flash Annual #10 (p/JM) Gemini Blood #8 (i/TLE) 9 (i/TLE) The Power of Shazam! #28 (p & i) 29 (i/PK) 30 (i/PK) 31 (i/PK) 32 (i/PK) 33 (i/PK) Spider-Man Team-Up #7 (i/SB) Transmetropolitan #3 (i/DRob) 1998 Adventure Comics 80-Page Giant #1 (p/CR) Celebrate the Century: Super-Heroes Stamp Album (p & i) Doctor Tomorrow #5 (p & i; i/KKob) 6 (p/BL) Legends of the DC Universe #7 (i/GL) 8 (i/GL) 9 (i/GL) Marvel Team-Up #5 (i/TG) Nevada #5 (i/PW) The Power of Shazam! #34 (i/PK) 35 (i/PK) 36 (i/PK) 37 (i/MM) 38 (i/PK) 39 (i/PK) 40 (i/PK) 41 (i/PK) 42 (i/JO) Superman Forever #1 (p & i) Wiz #29 (i/PO) Wonder Woman Secret Files #1 (p/SB) 1999 Aquaman Annual #5 (i/MDB) Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table #1 (cp/BL; p/BL) 2 (cp/BL; i/BL) Batman: Strange Apparations (i/MR rep.) Birds of Prey #11 (p/MP) 12 (p/JE) The Dreaming #32 (i/StP) Fanboy #6 (i/SR) The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #1 (cp/BL; p/BL) 2 (cp/BL; p/BL) 3 (cp/BL; p/BL) 4 (cp/BL; p/BL)

2000 Avengers #24 (i/GP) 29 (i/GP) Batman Chronicles #21 (p/JR) Birds of Prey #18 (p/JG) Comic Book Artist #9 (ca) JLA Showcase 80-Page Giant #1 (i/GPur) The L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons) #5 (cp/BL; p/BL) 6 (cp/BL; p/BL) Millennium Edition: Mysterious Suspense #1 (e; rep.) Silver Age: Showcase #1 (ca; p & i) Silver Age Secret Files #1 (p & i) Superman for the Animals #1 (i/TGrum) Thor #23 (i/JRjr) 24 (ci/JRjr; i/JRjr) 25 (ci/JRjr; i/JRjr) 2001 American Century #7 (p/JSto) Batman: Hollywood Knight #1 (p & i) 2 (p & i) 3 (p & i) Batman: Turning Points #3 (p/BoS) The Brave and the Bold Annual #1, “1969” issue (ca; e rep.) The Defenders #2 (i/EL) The Incredible Hulk #24 (i/JRjr) Just Imagine Stan Lee with Dave Gibbons creating Green Lantern #nn (i/DGib) Last Kiss #1 (ca rep.; p/VA rep.; i/VA rep.) 2 (ca rep.; p & i rep.; i/VA rep.) Sense of Wonder: A Life in Comic Fandom (book) (ci/BSch) 2002 Batman: Gotham Knights #28 (p & i) Freemind #0 (cp/BL; p/BL) 1 (cp/BL; p/BL) Last Kiss #3 (ca rep.; i/CN rep.) Moby Dick (p & i) The Phantom (random issues) (p & i) San Francisco Giants Giveaway Comic (i/MDB) 2003 Deathmask #1 (cp/BL; p/BL) 2 (cp/BL; p/BL) 3 (cp/BL; p/BL) 4 (cp/BL; p/BL) Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day at a Time (ca) Freemind #2 (cp/BL; p/BL) 3 (cp/BL; p/BL) Last Kiss #4 (ca rep.) The Phantom (random issues) (p & i)a

Online resOurCes Information about Dick Giordano’s career and artwork may be obtained online at: Dick Giordano’s Website: www.dickgiordano.com Future Comics: www.futurecomicsonline.com The Artist’s Choice (Giordano artwork for sale): www.theartistschoice.com TwoMorrows Publishing: www.twomorrows.com Charlton Spotlight: www.ramonschenk.nl/charltoncomics/charltonspotlight DC Comics: www.dccomics.com Last Kiss Comics: www.lastkisscomics.com Grand Comics Database Project: www.comics.org Denny O’Neil Observer: www.oneilobserver.com Neal Adams’ Website: www.nealadams.com.

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Photo courtesy of Patricia Lange Consultants.

About the Author Guided into a life of super-hero fandom by his heroic mentor Adam “Batman” West, Michael Eury is a former editor for Comico the Comic Company, DC Comics, and Dark Horse Comics, and has written comic books and cartoon scripts for those publishers as well as Marvel Comics, Archie Comics, The Microsoft Network, Toys R Us, Warner Bros. Worldwide Publishing, and Cracked magazine. He also writes hero histories for the packages of Bowen Designs’ super-hero mini-busts. Michael is the author of the critically acclaimed book Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure (TwoMorrows Publishing) and is currently editing and co-writing TwoMorrows’ bimonthly fan magazine Back Issue.

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IN THE 1960s

(224-page trade paperback) $27.95

MODERN MASTERS

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Covers how Stan Lee went from writer to publisher, Jack Kirby left (and returned), Roy Thomas rose as editor, and a new wave of writers and artists came in!

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Shows step-by-step how to develop a new comic, from script and art, to printing and distribution!

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TwoMorrows—A New Day For Comics Fandom! TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com

Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day at a Time celebrates the achievements of one of comics’ most prominent and affable personalities! Giordano is a rare force in comic books, influential as an illustrator (Batman, Wonder Woman, Modesty Blaise, Deathmask), inker (working with Neal Adams, John Byrne, and George Pérez, among countless others), editor (for Charlton’s legendary “Action Heroes” line, and DC’s groundbreaking series of the late 1960s/early 1970s), and editorial administrator (The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, and more as DC’s editorial director). Written by Michael Eury, this lavishly illustrated biography features rare and never-beforeseen comic-book, merchandising, and advertising artwork; Giordano’s personal reflections on his career milestones; an extensive index of Giordano’s published work; and additional commentary and tributes from a host of creators including Neal Adams, Dennis O’Neil, Terry Austin, Paul Levitz, Marv Wolfman, Pat Bastienne, Jim Aparo, Jerry Ordway, Julius Schwartz, and others! With a Foreword by Neal Adams and Afterword by Paul Levitz, it’s the ultimate biography of one of comics’ most enduring creators! ISBN 1-893905-27-6 $19.95 TwoMorrows Publishing Raleigh, North Carolina