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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

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

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Chapter Three: Making the Rules

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Chapter Four: Reinventing the Rules

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Afterword by Paul Levitz

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Comic-Book Index: The Published Works of Dick Giordano

TwoMorrows Publishing Raleigh, North Carolina

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Online Resources

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Bonus Giordano Art Gallery

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About the Author

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.

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

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.

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.

“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.

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chapter three

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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chapter four

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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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

Dick Giordano: Changing Comics One Day At A Time