Nick Cardy: Behind The Art

by Nick Cardy and Eric Nolen-Weathington

All Characters TM & © DC Comics.

Behind the Art

“Mom” (below) After World War II, I did many sketches of my family in many mediums. I liked this pastel of Mom looking out the window. (right) My mom at age 83. I put little, quick slashes of color in the background to create a flowery atmosphere. Anything green that she touched grew. Sadly, none of it rubbed off on me.

“The Governalis” A pencil portrait of my sister, Angie, and her husband, Pete Governali.

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“The Flamenco Dancer” Every now and then I catch myself smiling as I’m doing an illustration, and that was the case with “The Flamenco Dancer.” I have seen children throw temper tantrums with their arms flailing and their feet stamping and their faces starting to turn purple in order to get attention. Suppose that after seeing he had an audience, one of these children decided to make it pay off. Naturally, he would have to control the yelling and the purple face.

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“As a boy, he turned his violent, foot-stamping temper tantrums into a profession.”

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Tarzan ™ and © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

Tarzan (above) When I was first asked to do the Tarzan daily strip in 1950, I envisioned drawing the jungle and all the animals, apes, etc. The first week was set in the jungle, but the following strips were all set in the desert, with Arabs and horses and castles and nothing else. I killed several chained killer lions. Toward the end, some jungle panels finally came along. (left) This commission sketch was done with magic marker. Tarzan’s hair is a lot longer here than it was in the strip I drew. With the strip, I more or less followed the tradition that had been established by the previous artists, but when you look at it, they don’t have barber shops in the trees of the jungle. So I envision his hair as being long.

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Sheena (right) Sheena was one of a series of “Cardy heroines” that I was going to illustrate, along with Black Canary and Wonder Girl, etc. Sheena actually had a pet leopard, but my friend who commissioned the work wanted a lion instead. (below) Pencil rough of a Tarzan illustration I drew to sell at a convention.

Sheena © respective owner. 33

Aquaman Prior to my drawing Aquaman, it was done as six-page stories by others. Then I was asked to do a Showcase issue featuring Aquaman. After that I wet my feet with Aquaman #1 as its own book. I started that in 1962 and drew the series until issue #39 in 1968. After that, I inked the covers for issues #40 through #56, which were penciled by other artists. Initially Carmine Infantino gave me cover layouts, but later on we would bounce ideas back and forth. We respected each other’s talents, and I received great freedom with my covers. (upper left) When you get to the middle of the “Aquaman” title, you get to Mera’s head. The head leads to the hair, which swirls around with Aquaman and Aqualad. It has a very feminine feel to it, which emphasizes Mera and the horror in her face. (upper right) I asked to put the title logo at the bottom, so I could incorporate it into the ledge of the volcano. In order for the title to be seen on the newsstand, they put “Aquaman” in smaller print in the upper lefthand corner. I like this cover for its simplicity. (right) This is one of my absolute favorite covers. I really like the design of this. From the tip of Mera’s feet on the left, to the end of Aquaman’s foot on the right, to the top of Aquaman’s head, makes a triangular design. In back of him, that triangular design is repeated in the stalagmites. There are also smaller triangles with the water splashing off Aquaman and the walrus. And as Mera’s arm comes down, she’s more or less pointing to Aqualad. I think Jerry Serpe did the colors on this cover; he did a very nice job with it. 38

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Bat Lash I enjoyed doing Bat Lash, because there were no men in long underwear flying around. As with Casey Ruggles, I enjoyed doing Westerns. I liked exploring different periods or our history. I started doing Bat Lash in 1968, while I was still doing Teen Titans. Carmine Infantino, Joe Orlando, and I formed the Bat Lash character. After his appearance in Showcase and seven issues of Bat Lash, the series was cancelled. So were most of the Westerns on the big screen and TV. But at the same time, Westerns were growing quite popular in Europe. Bat Lash was a hit there, but it wasn’t enough to save the book. (above) A montage of art from the Bat Lash series. (left) This was a scene from Bat Lash #5. This isn’t a regular kissing scene. The girl that he’s kissing is playing him against the Mexican character, and she doesn’t care if he gets killed or not. The shading was to delineate the male from the female, while their closeness keeps them in the same shadow. It could be the Rodin sculpture, “The Kiss,” only standing up. I’d like to do a painting of this someday. (right) This is another of my all-time favorite covers, partly because I wrote the story for this issue. I like the simplicity of the cover, and I like the little child. The story had a lot of emotion to it. Sergio Aragonés, who usually wrote the series and who I normally got along fine with, complained because I used Indians on the cover. I didn’t see any problem with it. They were just passing through; they weren’t doing any violence. 48

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Brave and the Bold (above) This Batman was done for a friend who like cobblestones and bricks, so I put Batman in the same alley that Lady Luck went through in 2002 on page 31. (right) This story was set in London, with a Jack the Ripper sort of atmosphere, so I used a lot more pen and heavier blacks. When you have a mystery, good blacks help. The main thing with this cover was to try to create a fog throughout the illustration. And as you open the page, the fog leads from one page to the other. I did a lot of crosshatching to make the fog work. I think it turned out pretty well. The only thing that louses it up is the sign. It would have been better had they made the words look like they were scribbled on the wall by hand. 56

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Horror I illustrated many Witching Hour covers, especially the ones with the Witch. These covers were on the dark side. I used more blacks in contrast to my covers for Aquaman and Teen Titans. I enjoyed doing them instead of the flying heroes in longjohns. Now I had witches flying on broomsticks.

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Nick Cardy: Behind The Art

Published on May 17, 2024

TwoMorrows Publishing

The late Nick Cardy produced fantastic artwork for more than sixty years, from comics, to newspaper strips, to illustration. His work on DC Comics’ Teen Titans, and his amazing comics covers, are universally hailed as some of the best in the medium’s history, but his Commercial Illustration work is just as highly regarded by those in the know. Now, this lavish full-color hardcover lets you see what went on behind his amazing art! Before his passing late last year, Nick had selected dozens of his favorite pieces from throughout his career, and showed how they came to be in this remarkable art book. From the reams of preliminary work as well as Nick's detailed commentary, you will gain fascinating insight into how this great artist worked, watching each step of the way as some of his most memorable images come to life! By Eric Nolen-Weathington and Nick Cardy.