Dan’s Papers August 19, 2011 danshamptons.com Page 41
Who’s Here
Photo by S. Dermont
By Stacy Dermont Comic book artist Stan Goldberg is best known for his work as a flagship artist of Archie Comics. Goldberg has been a visitor to the East End most of his life and he has summered in Hampton Bays since buying a home there in 1988. When he and his wife were raising their family in Jericho, they used to come out east for a day trip or for three days in Montauk. Goldberg is one of 18 accomplished cover artists who will be attending this Saturday’s Dan’s Cover Artist Show & Cocktail Party to benefit the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Southampton Hospital. Dan’s Papers illustrator Mickey Paraskevas, creator of the Green Monkeys strip, will also be on hand at the event to sign autographs and talk to fans. I sat down with Goldberg in the Dan’s Papers offices last Thursday. He signed several original Dan’s covers for the auction AND he told me how his Dan’s cover came about. He said that “there are about 1,000 Riverdales in the U.S.,” hometowns next to bodies of water. When he created his cover for the October 13, 1995 edition of Dan’s Papers, the Hamptons International Film Festival was new. He thought it would be fun to cast Dan Rattiner as a Hollywood star. In addition to images of this cover, Goldberg has also donated a preliminary drawing of the cover to the auction. It’s so fascinating to see how the image evolved, how he works his magic. Much like Archie, Goldberg has survived many changes. Goldberg told me that he still considers Archie a second career because he was doing other comics for 20 years before Archie. He worked at Marvel Comics with comic book legends Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. Goldberg is celebrated as a Marvel Comics’ 1960s colorist, who helped design the original color schemes of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and other major characters. Recently he created the cover for a special four-book issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four. Goldberg says about his long career, “I’m doing what people hope to do when they retire.” He admits that it can sometimes get lonely spending 10-hour days in his studio, but he listens to a lot of blues and “good jazz.” He also loves big band music, though, as he points out, he’s too young for it. He used to sculpt in clay as an exercise, an outlet. He and his wife now spend February and March in their home in Mexico. The work goes with him—he says he can easily take it
Stan Goldberg Illustrator Goldberg is one of 18
superheroes. Comics of yesteryear used to encompass “romance, kiddie, humor, westerns and war as well as superheroes.” Goldberg, like many great working artists, is very practical. He talks about the nuts and bolts and history of comics. But his color-filled imagination is always bubbling right below the surface. He hopes to release a graphic novel in Japan soon. He’s been working on it with another artist for over three years. It pays to be a perfectionist, as Goldberg told me, “Sometimes the execution [of an image] is the easiest part.” Goldberg casually told me about this graphic novel. “It’s about a girl who has a Japanese fairy godmother. Japanese mafia steal an Elvis character’s halo so he can’t get back into heaven. The Japanese market likes lots of pages.” Sounds great! In addition to comic book illustration and coloring, Goldberg has drawn gag cartoons for men’s magazines as well as illustrations for YM and Seventeen. Goldberg has also done some educational books. One of his two sons is a graphic artist for Lindblad Expeditions. Goldberg has visited the Galapagos Islands and Alaska on tours with his son. He was inspired to create an illustrated book on Alaska, which has been used by schools in South America. Little Lin, child explorer, invites kids everywhere to become adventurers and heroes for the planet. He donated his time and talent to this project. He is also active in events in the Jewish community such as a recent panel discussion at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons on “Jews in the Comics.” Goldberg also contributes work to and attends the Annual Box Art Auction. Goldberg has received many Awards and honors over the years. In 1994 he won a Comic-Con International Inkpot Award. He was the subject of the panel discussion “Spotlight on Stan Goldberg,” conducted at Comic-Con in 2003. At Saturday’s event the party’s band, Suzy on the Rocks, plans to honor Goldberg with their rendition of the Archies’ hit “Sugar, Sugar.” Welcome to Riverdale in the Hamptons!
accomplished cover artists who will be attending this Saturday’s show. anywhere. When I asked Goldberg if the audience for comic books has changed over the years, he responded, “It changes constantly.” He told me he’d recently attended a discussion at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton. A group of teenagers read different graphic novels and talked about them. He said he just went “to listen and absorb” and that it was one of the most informative experiences he’s ever had. As he asserts, “The best part about Archie is that it was created by a teenage boy in 1941.” Goldberg is very excited about this new form, the graphic novel, which runs the gamut of subject matter. But as he points out, when he was young there used to be a wider range of comics. Whereas today it’s mainly about
Dan’s Papers Cover Artist Show & Cocktail Party, Saturday, August 20, 6-9 p.m. Seasons of Southampton. 631-725-6216, www. danshamptons.com/artshow. $80. Benefits Ellen Hermanson Breast Center of Southampton Hospital.