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| Dick Ayers | |
|---|---|
 Dick Ayers at the April 2008New York Comic Con | |
| Born | Richard Bache Ayers (1924-04-28)April 28, 1924 Ossining, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 4, 2014(2014-05-04) (aged 90) White Plains, New York, U.S. |
| Area | Penciller,Inker |
Notable works | Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos 1950sGhost Rider Jack Kirby inker |
| Awards | National Cartoonists Society Award (1985) Inkpot Award (1997) Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame (2007) Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame (2013) |
Richard Bache Ayers[1] (/ɛərz/; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was an Americancomic book artist andcartoonist best known for his work as one ofJack Kirby'sinkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as theSilver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues ofMarvel Comics'The Fantastic Four. He is the signaturepenciler of Marvel'sWorld War II comicSgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, drawing it for a 10-year run, and he co-createdMagazine Enterprises' 1950sWestern-horror character theGhost Rider, a version of which he would draw for Marvel in the 1960s.
Ayers was inducted into theWill Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2007.
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Ayers broke into comics with unpublished work done forWestern Publishing'sDell Comics imprint.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. 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]
In 1952, while continuing to freelance for Magazine Enterprises, Ayers began a long freelance run atAtlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner ofMarvel Comics. He drewhorror stories in such titles asAdventures into Terror,Astonishing,Journey into Mystery,Journey into Unknown Worlds,Menace,Mystery Tales,Mystic,Strange Tales, andUncanny Tales.[10] As well, he drew the brief revival of the 1940sGolden Age of Comicssuperhero theHuman Torch, from Marvel's 1940s predecessorTimely Comics, inYoung Men # 21-24 (June 1953 - Feb. 1954). An additional, unpublished Human Torch story drawn by Ayers belatedly appeared inMarvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968).[10]
During the 1950s, Ayers also drew freelance forCharlton Comics, including for the horror comicThe Thing and thesatirical seriesEh!.[8]
Ayers first teamed with the highly influential and historically important[14]pencilerJack Kirby at Atlas shortly before Atlas transitioned to becomeMarvel Comics. As Kirby's second regular Marvel inker, followingChristopher Rule, Ayers would ink countless covers and stories, including on such landmark comics as most early issues ofThe Fantastic Four, in addition to a slew ofWestern and "pre-superhero Marvel" monster stories inAmazing Adventures,Journey into Mystery,Strange Tales,Tales of Suspense, andTales to Astonish.[10] Because creator credits were not routinely given at the time, two standard databases disagree over the duo's first published collaboration.[15] Ayers revealed in 1996, however:
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]
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 (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] 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.[17]
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),[18]The Computers That Said No to Drugs (March 1985),[19][20][21]The Answer to a Riddle (March 1987),[22] andFit to Win (March 1988).[23][24] He also drew approximately 30 sports-star biographies forRevolutionary Comics between 1990 and 1994.[citation needed]
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,[25] 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![26]
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),[27] and contributed to the tribute comicThe UncannyDave Cockrum (2007).[28] 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.[29]
Ayers married Charlotte Lindy Walter on April 7, 1951.[1] The couple had four children: sons Richard, Fred, and Steve, and daughter, Elaine.[30] Ayers died at his home inWhite Plains, New York on May 4, 2014, six days after his 90th birthday.[30][31]
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.
| Preceded by | Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos penciller 1964–1974 | Succeeded by n/a |
| Preceded by | Kamandi penciller 1977–1978 | Succeeded by n/a |
| Preceded by | Unknown Soldier penciller 1977–1982 | Succeeded by n/a |
| Preceded by | Jonah Hex penciller 1979–1984 | Succeeded by |
