Dick Ayers

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Dick Ayers
Inkpot Awards (2007)[1]
Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, 2007
Inkwell Awards
Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame (2013)

Richard Bache Ayers

penciler of Marvel's World War II comic Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, drawing it for a 10-year run, and he co-created Magazine Enterprises' 1950s Western-horror character the Ghost Rider
, a version of which he would draw for Marvel in the 1960s.

Ayers was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2007.

Early life

Richard Bache Ayers[3] was born April 28, 1924, in Ossining, New York,[4][5] the son of John Bache Ayers and Gladys Minnerly Ayers.[6] He had a sister who was 10 years older.[7] The siblings were in the 13th generation, he said, of the Ayers family that had settled in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1635.[8] At 18, during World War II, he enlisted in the United 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.[7] He published his first comic strip, Radio Ray, in the military newspaper Radio Post in 1942.[5]

Career

Ayers broke into comics with unpublished work done for Western Publishing's Dell Comics imprint.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 the jukebox and he'd played along to Harry James or whatever sort of thing. ... It didn't make it, but it got me started where I wanted to be in the business."[9]

Magazine Enterprises

Following this, in 1947, Ayers studied under

Cartoonists and Illustrators School (renamed the School of Visual Arts in 1956). Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman, 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."[9] In a 2005 interview, Ayers elaborated that, "Joe had me pencil some of his Funnyman stories after seeing my drawings at Hogarth's evening class" and "sent me to [editor] Vin Sullivan of Magazine Enterprises."[10] There, Sullivan "let me try the Jimmy Durante [humor] strip. I submitted my work and got the job."[9]

Ayers went on to pencil and ink

(Ghost) Riders in the Sky". And then he started talking about what he wanted the guy wearing."[13]

After the trademark to the character's name and motif lapsed, Marvel Comics debuted its own near-identical, non-horror version of the character in Ghost Rider #1 (Feb. 1967), by writers Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich and original Ghost Rider artist Ayers.[11]

Ayers' hands appear onscreen as those of a cartoonist played by actor Don Briggs in "The Comic Strip Murders", a 1949 episode of the

Suspense.[14]

Atlas Comics

In 1952, while continuing to freelance for Magazine Enterprises, Ayers began a long freelance run at

Golden Age of Comics superhero the Human Torch, from Marvel's 1940s predecessor Timely Comics, in Young Men # 21-24 (June 1953 - Feb. 1954). An additional, unpublished Human Torch story drawn by Ayers belatedly appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968).[11]

During the 1950s, Ayers also drew freelance for Charlton Comics, including for the horror comic The Thing and the satirical series Eh!.[9]

Marvel Comics

The 1960s Marvel Comics version of Ayer's co-creation, the Western Ghost Rider: Ghost Rider #1 (Feb. 1967). Cover art by Ayers

Ayers first teamed with the highly influential and historically important penciler

The Fantastic Four, in addition to a slew of Western and "pre-superhero Marvel" monster stories in Amazing Adventures, Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, and Tales to Astonish.[11] 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 of Wyatt Earp #25 (Oct. 1959). [Editor-in-chief] Stan Lee liked it and sent me another job, "The Martian Who Stole My Body," for Journey into Mystery #57 (Dec. 1959). I also began Sky Masters, the [syndicated] newspaper strip. There is a lot of confusion on this; people think Wally Wood inked them all, because they're signed Kirby/Wood. But that was Dave Wood, the writer [who was unrelated to artist Wally Wood]. I began Sky 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]

penciler Ayers and inker John 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 its

Human Torch solo series in Strange Tales (starting with its debut in issue #101); and The Incredible Hulk #3-5 (Sept. 1962 - Jan. 1963), among other series.[11]

Additionally, Ayers took over from Kirby as Sgt. 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).[11]

Later career

In the 1980s, Ayers, inked by

Radio Shack: The Computer Trap (March 1984),[17] The Computers That Said No to Drugs (March 1985),[18][19][20] The Answer to a Riddle (March 1987),[21] and Fit to Win (March 1988).[22][23] He also drew approximately 30 sports-star biographies for Revolutionary Comics between 1990 and 1994.[citation needed
]

Ayers' work continued into the 2000s. He contributed a pinup page to the 2001 comic The Song of Mykal, published privately by the comics shop Atlantis Fantasyworld,[24] did inking on "Doris Danger" stories in the magazine Tabloia #572-576, and drew a pinup page in the comic Doris Danger's Greatest All-Out Army Battles![25]

He wrote and drew the eight-page "Chips Wilde" Western story in the benefit comic Actor Comics Presents #1 (Fall 2006), provided a sketch for the benefit comic The 3-Minute Sketchbook (2007),[26] and contributed to the tribute comic The Uncanny Dave Cockrum (2007).[27] In 2009, he drew a half-page biographical illustration of a 1940s character in the reference guide Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special.[11]

Personal life

Ayers married Charlotte Lindy Walter on April 7, 1951.[2] The couple had four children: sons Richard, Fred, and Steve, and daughter, Elaine.[28] Ayers died at his home in White Plains, New York on May 4, 2014, six days after his 90th birthday.[28][29]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ Inkpot Award
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-9766651-5-1
    .
  3. ^ "The Dick Ayers Story #1". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Sedlmeier, Cory (ed.). Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Volume 2. Marvel Comics. p. 245.
  5. ^
    Lambiek Comiclopedia. Archived July 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
    .
  6. ^ Ayers, The Dick Ayers Story: An Illustrated Autobiography, Volume 2, p. 120 (unnumbered).
  7. ^ a b Ayers in Clancy, Shaun (May 21, 2014). "A Conversation with Dick Ayers". The Comics Journal. Fantagraphics. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017. Interview conducted September 29, 2012.
  8. ^ Ayers, Dick, letter to the editor (August 2003). "Re:". Alter Ego. 3 (27): 46. {{cite journal}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-1-893905-02-3
    .
  10. ^ Novinskie, Charlie (March 11, 2005). "Dick Ayers Unveils New Graphic Novel Autobiography". Scoop (Diamond International Galleries / Gemstone Publishing newsletter). Archived from the original on March 21, 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h "Dick Ayer"s. Grand Comics Database.
  12. ^ Ghost Rider, The. Grand Comics Database.
  13. ^ "Dick Ayers: A Life in the 'Gowanus'". Alter Ego. Vol. 3, no. 10. interview part 1 of 2. Autumn 2001. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010.
  14. ^ Pearl, Barry (December 2009). "The Yancy Street Gang Visits Dick & Lindy Ayers". Alter Ego. 3 (90): 10.
  15. ^ The Grand Comics Database cites the cover of Wyatt Earp #24 (Aug. 1959), which AtlasTales.com lists as inked by George Klein. Grand Comics Database tentatively lists Ayers as inker of the Kirby cover for that same month's Strange Tales #70, for which Atlas Tales credits Ayers without qualification.
  16. ^ "Dick Ayers Interview", p. 17. Reprinted The Collected Jack Kirby Collector Volume Three, p. 43
  17. ^ "[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. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  18. ^ "[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. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  19. ^ The Tandy Computer Whiz Kids (The Computers That Said No to Drugs Edition). Grand Comics Database.
  20. ^ As both sources indicate, the story title places "No" within quote marks, while the copyrighted magazine title does not.
  21. ^ "[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. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  22. ^ "[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. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  23. ^ Ockerbloom, John Mark, ed. "Tandy Computer Whiz Kids". Online Books Library, University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved October 23, 2013. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Rappaport, Adrienne (2001). "Atlantis Fantasyworld, Santa Cruz, CA". SequentialTart.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  25. ^ Wisnia, Chris (n.d.). "Contributors to Tabloia". Archived from the original on November 5, 2010.
  26. ^ "The 3-Minute Sketchbook #1". Too Old to Grow Up! (podcast site). 2007. Archived from the original on November 7, 2011.
  27. Aardwolf Publishing press release via TheComicsReporter.com. December 6, 2006. Archived
    from the original on November 7, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  28. ^ a b Taylor, Alex (May 6, 2014). "Dick Ayers, renowned comic-book artist, dead at 90". The Journal News. White Plains, New York. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  29. ^ Johnston, Rich (May 5, 2014). "Dick Ayers Dies, Just After His Ninetieth Birthday". BleedingCool.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  30. ^ "National Cartoonists Society". National Cartoonists Society. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  31. San Diego Comic-Con International. Archived
    from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  32. ^ Inkwell Awards 2013 Winners

Further reading

  • Alter Ego vol.. 3, #31 (Dec. 2003): Interview with Dick Ayers (part 2 of 2)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dick Ayers.

Audio files

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