Richard Bache Ayers[2] was born April 28, 1924, inOssining,New York,[3][4] the son of John Bache Ayers and Gladys Minnerly Ayers.[5] He had a sister who was 10 years older.[6] The siblings were in the 13th generation, he said, of the Ayers family that had settled inNewbury, Massachusetts in 1635.[7] At 18, duringWorld War II, he enlisted in theUnited States Army Air Corps, and was stationed in Florida, where after failing radar training he was sent for a month's art training at McTomb University and began working as an artist in the Air Corps' Operations division.[6] He published his firstcomic strip,Radio Ray, in the military newspaperRadio Post in 1942.[4]
Ayers entered the comics industry with unpublished work done forWestern Publishing'sDell Comics imprint. "I approached them," Ayers said in a 1996 interview. "I had a story written and drawn. They wanted to wrap a book around it.... I got into it, but Dell decided to scrap the project. ... It was an adventure thing, boy and girl; the boy wanted to be a trumpet player. The girl kept feeding thejukebox and he'd played along toHarry James or whatever sort of thing. ... It didn't make it, but it got me started where I wanted to be in the business."[8]
Following this, in 1947, Ayers studied underBurne Hogarth in the first class of Hogarth's new institution, New York City'sCartoonists and Illustrators School (renamed theSchool of Visual Arts in 1956).Joe Shuster, co-creator ofSuperman, would visit the class, and Ayers eventually ventured to his nearby studio. "Next thing I knew," Ayers said in the same interview, "I was penciling a bit here and there."[8] In a 2005 interview, Ayers elaborated that, "Joe had me pencil some of hisFunnyman stories after seeing my drawings at Hogarth's evening class" and "sent me to [editor]Vin Sullivan ofMagazine Enterprises."[9] There, Sullivan "let me try theJimmy Durante [humor] strip. I submitted my work and got the job."[8]
Ayers went on to pencil and inkWestern stories in the late 1940s forMagazine Enterprises'A-1 Comics andTrail Colt, and forPrize Comics'Prize Comics Western.[10] With writer Ray Krank, Ayers created thehorror-themed Western characterGhost Rider inTim Holt #11 (1949). The character appeared in stories through the run ofTim Holt,Red Mask,A-1 Comics,Bobby Benson's B-Bar-B Riders, and the 14-issue solo seriesThe Ghost Rider (1950–1954),[11] up through the introduction of theComics Code Authority. The character's genesis came, Ayers recalled in 2003, when Sullivan "describe[d] what he wanted in the Ghost Rider" and told Ayers to see the 1949 Disney animated featureThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, one segment of which adaptedWashington Irving's story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", featuring the Headless Horseman. "[A]nd then he told me to play theVaughn Monroe record "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky". And then he started talking about what he wanted the guy wearing."[12]
After the trademark to the character's name and motif lapsed,Marvel Comics debuted its own near-identical, non-horror version of the character inGhost Rider #1 (Feb. 1967), by writersRoy Thomas andGary Friedrich and original Ghost Rider artist Ayers.[10]
Ayers' hands appear onscreen as those of a cartoonist played by actor Don Briggs in "The Comic Strip Murders", a 1949 episode of theCBStelevision seriesSuspense.[13]
The first work I did with Jack was the cover ofWyatt Earp #25 (Oct. 1959). [Editor-in-chief]Stan Lee liked it and sent me another job, "The Martian Who Stole My Body," forJourney into Mystery #57 (Dec. 1959). I also beganSky Masters, the [syndicated]newspaperstrip. There is a lot of confusion on this; people thinkWally Wood inked them all, because they're signed Kirby/Wood. But that wasDave Wood, the writer [who was unrelated to artist Wally Wood]. I beganSky Masters with the 36th Sunday page; Jack's pencils, my inks, in September 1959. I ended the Sundays in January 1960. I also did the dailies for a period of [over] two years, from September of '59 to December of '61. These were complete inks; I was the only one doing it at the time. Of course, Wally Wood also worked on that strip, in the beginning, before me.[16]
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #57 (Aug. 1968). Cover art bypenciler Ayers andinkerJohn Severin.
Ayers went on to ink scores of Kirby Western and monster stories, including such much-reprinted tales as "I Created the Colossus!" (Tales of Suspense #14, Feb. 1961), "Goom! The Thing from Planet X!" (Tales of Suspense #15, March 1961), and "Fin Fang Foom!" (Strange Tales #89, Oct. 1961). As Marvel introduced itssuperheroes in the early 1960s, Ayers inked Kirby on the first appearances ofAnt-Man (Tales to Astonish #27 & 35, Jan. & Sept. 1962),Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos (issues #1-3, May-Sept. 1963), and the revampedRawhide Kid[17] (beginning withThe Rawhide Kid #17, Aug. 1960); on the second and several subsequent early appearances ofThor (Journey into Mystery #84-89, Sept. 1962 - Feb. 1963); onFantastic Four #6-20 (Sept. 1962 - Nov. 1963), and the spin-offHuman Torch solo series inStrange Tales (starting with its debut in issue #101); andThe Incredible Hulk #3-5 (Sept. 1962 - Jan. 1963), among other series.[10]
Additionally, Ayers took over from Kirby asSgt. Fury penciler with issue #8 (July 1964), beginning a 10-year run that — except for #13 (which he inked over Kirby's pencils), and five issues by other pencilers — continued virtually unbroken through #120 (with the series running Ayers reprints every-other-issue through most but not all from #79 on).[10]Sgt. Fury #27 (Feb. 1966) featured a story which explained why the titular character wore an eye patch in his present-day stories.[18] WriterGary Friedrich's story for issue #72 (Nov. 1969) was heavily rewritten and partially redrawn due to concerns about possible copyright infringement of the filmCasablanca.[19]
In the 1980s, Ayers, inked byChic Stone, drew four editions of the promotional, annual comic-book series initially cover-titledTRS-80 Computer Whiz Kids and, thereafter,Tandy Computer Whiz Kids, published byArchie Comics forRadio Shack:The Computer Trap (March 1984),[28]The Computers That Said No to Drugs (March 1985),[29]The Answer to a Riddle (March 1987),[30] andFit to Win (March 1988).[31][32] He also drew approximately 30 sports-star biographies forRevolutionary Comics between 1990 and 1994.[33][34]
Ayers' work continued into the 2000s. He contributed a pinup page to the 2001 comicThe Song of Mykal, published privately by the comics shop Atlantis Fantasyworld,[35] did inking on "Doris Danger" stories in the magazineTabloia #572-576, and drew a pinup page in the comicDoris Danger's Greatest All-Out Army Battles![36]
He wrote and drew the eight-page "Chips Wilde" Western story in the benefit comicActor Comics Presents #1 (Fall 2006), provided a sketch for the benefit comicThe 3-Minute Sketchbook (2007),[37] and contributed to the tribute comicThe UncannyDave Cockrum (2007).[38] In 2009, he drew a half-page biographical illustration of a 1940s character in the reference guideMarvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special.[10] TwoKamandi stories written byJack C. Harris and drawn by Ayers and Danny Bulanadi in 1978, which went unreleased due to the title's cancellation, were published in 2017 as part ofKamandi Challenge Special #1.[39]
Starting in 2005, Ayers "published an ambitious and unusual three-volume graphic memoir,"The Dick Ayers Story: an Illustrated Autobiography, through Mecca Comics.[40] Each volume of this autobiography is approximately 120 pages, with volume one covering his life from 1924–1951,[41] volume two from 1951–1986,[42] and volume three 1986–2005.[43] Ayers wrote, drew, and lettered all three volumes.[44]
Ayers married Charlotte Lindy Walter on April 7, 1951.[1] The couple had four children: sons Richard, Fred, and Steve, and daughter, Elaine.[45] Ayers died at his home inWhite Plains, New York on May 4, 2014, six days after his 90th birthday.[40][45][46]
^Pearl, Barry (December 2009). "The Yancy Street Gang Visits Dick & Lindy Ayers".Alter Ego.3 (90). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 10.
^Jones, Jr., William B. (2002).Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, with Illustrations. United States: McFarland & Company. pp. 160–161.ISBN0-7864-1077-9.
^DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 114: "To explain why the present-day Nick Fury...wore an eye patch, Stan Lee and Dick Ayers told the story of how he had been injured during a mission in World War II."
^Thomas, Roy (Autumn 2000). "Play It Again, Stan! When Nick Fury's Howling Commandos Went to Casablanca -- And Got Detoured to Marrakesh!".Alter Ego.3 (6). Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing:27–37.
^DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 129: "The comic was created by writer Gary Friedrich and artist Dick Ayers."
^McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1970s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 172.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.Writer Bob Haney and artist Dick Ayers had no intention of terminating the Unknown Soldier...allowing DC to rename the[Star Spangled War Stories] series after the [character], starting with issue #205 in May [1977].
^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 173: "With scarred gunslinger Jonah Hex riding off into his own series, writer Michael Fleisher and artist Dick Ayers produced a new outcast to headlineWeird Western Tales. Scalphunter was 'a man who lived in two worlds, but was at home in neither'".
^Wells, John (October 24, 1997), "'Lost' DC: The DC Implosion",Comics Buyer's Guide, no. #1249, Iola, Wisconsin, p. 133,The Deserter...was given his own ongoing title at the 11th hour, only to perish amidst the other cancellations. The origin of tormented Civil War deserter Aaron Hope (by Gerry Conway, Dick Ayers, and Romeo Tanghal) appeared only inCancelled Comic Cavalcade #1.
^"[Credits page]".The TRS-80 Computer Whiz Kids (1984 Edition). Archie Comics via AtariMagazines.com. March 1984.Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. RetrievedApril 29, 2016.
^"[Credits page]".The Tandy Computer Whiz Kids (The Computers That Said No to Drugs Edition). Archie Comics via AtariMagazines.com. March 1985.Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. RetrievedApril 29, 2016. The Tandy Computer Whiz Kids (The Computers That Said No to Drugs Edition). Grand Comics Database. As both sources indicate, the story title places "No" within quote marks, while the copyrighted magazine title does not.
^"[Credits page]".The Tandy Computer Whiz Kids (The Answer to a Riddle Edition). Archie Comics via AtariMagazines.com. March 1987.Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. RetrievedApril 29, 2016.
^"[Credits page]".The Tandy Computer Whiz Kids (Fit to Win Edition). Archie Comics via AtariMagazines.com. March 1988.Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. RetrievedApril 29, 2016.
^Marston, George (December 8, 2016)."DC'sKamandi Challenge #1 Gets Bigger, Coming Faster, But Will Cost More".Newsarama. Archived fromthe original on December 10, 2016.Kamandi Challenge [Special] #1 will now contain 1978'sKamandi #60 andKamandi #61, which DC never officially released on its own due to the title being part of a wide swatch of cancellations dubbed 'The DC Implosion' by fans.
