How does one go about writing an introduction for a man who should need no
introduction? The phrase "living legend" is a well-worn cliché, but how
else would you describe Dick Ayers? This Golden Age and Silver Age comic book
creator has survived more ups and downs in the comic book industry than most
other creators, with his work encompassing five decades of experience in the
business. His prodigious body of artistry, from pencils to inks to lettering,
amounts to more pages than anyone can count.
Staying in vogue isn't easy,
especially in the comic book industry, where hot new artists are as countless as
the bristles on an inker's brush. Yet Ayers possesses remarkable skills that
keep him as active today as when he started back in the 1940s; Dick can draw
anything for any genre of comics. And a lesson for many artists - Ayers can draw
it all without ever missing a deadline. In fact, Stan Lee had this to say about
Dick Ayers: "Superheroes! Westerns! War! Whatever! Darlin' Dick managed to draw
them all, splendidly, with never a missed deadline!" High praise
indeed!
Whether you're a comic newbie, have been around for a few
decades, or fondly recall the Golden Age of comics, we all have one thing in
common, and that would be a deep admiration and fondness for the work created by
Dick Ayers. This February, Mecca Comics (
www.meccacomics.com) will present
the first of three autobiographical graphic novels outlining Ayers' career,
completely written, lettered, and illustrated by Dick Ayers
himself.
Scoop asked Mecca's Charlie Novinskie, an experienced
Silver Age collector, to talk with Ayers about this new project, the first
chapter of which is due in stores next week.
Scoop: When did you first
decide to do an illustrated autobiography of your career?Dick
Ayers: About four years ago. I was frustrated typing an article about my
career for a magazine when my wife, Lindy, suggested doing an autobiographical
graphic novel. I gave it a shot and I really enjoyed doing it.
SCOOP:
How long has it taken you to complete The Dick Ayers
Story?DA: Volume one just finished in October of 2004. That
volume covers my career from l924-l95l. Volumes two and three will cover the
remainder of my career from my Marvel days through 2004. I'm hard at work on
volume two right now!
SCOOP: Your career has run over 50 years and is
still continuing today. What are the biggest changes you've seen in the comics
industry over the years, and how have the changes affected your
career?DA: The big change in comics currently is that the stories
aren't illustrated in panel sequence anymore; my observation is that one needs a
roadmap to read the captioning and ballooning sequence.
SCOOP: You've
worked with a lot of comic greats. If I throw out a few names, could you give me
a favorite experience of working with them? How about Burne
Hogarth?DA: Burne Hogarth was my teacher, my mentor, my friend,
and wife Lindy's and our best house guest. I worked on the preparation of a
daily comic strip idea he had,
Charlie Blarney. He was a fantastic artist
and teacher.
SCOOP: Stan Lee?DA: I enjoy as a writer
and editor. He is a joy to work with. I credit him with saving the comic book
industry in the 1960s.
SCOOP: Jack Kirby?DA: I admired
his dependability. He always got his pencils to me on schedule and he was easy
to "embellish" as Stan Lee instructed me to do. Kirby also instructed me to
illustrate his
Sky Masters newspaper strip in "The Wally Wood Style"
providing me with some original strips for reference.
SCOOP: Joe
Shuster?DA: It was Joe who sent me to Vin Sullivan of Magazine
Enterprises. Joe had me pencil some of his
Funnyman stories after seeing
my drawings at Hogarth's evening class.
SCOOP: I'm sure the list is
varied and memorable. Any other creators you worked with you'd like to
mention?DA: Ernie Bache worked with me from l952-l955 on Magazine
Enterprises, Timely and Charlton stories. The slump in the comic book industry
in l955 separated us.
SCOOP: You've also drawn every conceivable story
in a variety of genres and handled them all without any problems. Was there a
particular genre or particular character that you didn't enjoy working
on?DA: The Human Torch was difficult to adapt to until I thought
of interpreting him with a bit of humor. Giant Man was hard to conceive villains
for who could give him physical competition because of his
size.
SCOOP: You worked with Joe Shuster on Funnyman. What were
working conditions like back then?DA: Working conditions in Joe
Shuster's studio were relaxing and fun. His two-room studio was in Manhattan
above Columbus Circle, not far from Hogarth's school on West 89th Street, which
I attended while penciling
Funnyman.
SCOOP: Ghost Rider
is probably one of the more memorable books that you worked on at Magazine
Enterprises. How many issues did you do?DA: I did fourteen issues
of
Ghost Rider. He also was a feature in
Tim Holt,
Red
Mask,
Bobby Benson and
Best of the West, and is currently
reprinted in AC Comics'
Best of the West, as a feature. I did over l60
Ghost Rider stories for Magazine Enterprises.
SCOOP: Are westerns a
genre that you enjoy? DA: Westerns are
the genre. Mecca
Comics is about to publish my Western,
Chips Wilde, created, written and
illustrated by me.
SCOOP: When did you create him?DA:
Chips was created in l947 as a class assignment for Hogarth's class in comic
strip writing.
SCOOP: You continued your run of western characters
when you went to work for Timely Comics in the mid-fifties. You worked on
Rawhide Kid. What other characters did you work on for Timely in the
fifties?
DA: Wyatt Earp, Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt,
Outlaw Kid, plus many western short stories.
SCOOP: Did you spend any
time working on art at the Timely offices, or did you pick up the scripts and
work on everything at home?DA: Worked at home. I only went to the
Marvel office when asked to help with a deadline emergency, and none of the
emergencies were ever mine! I always meet the requested
deadlines.
SCOOP: Any memorable stories from your Timely
days?DA: Sure, I have a few. But they will have to wait until
volumes two and three of my autobiography (laughs)!
SCOOP: You also
inked a lot of Timely monster stories over Jack Kirby's pencils. What was it
like working with Kirby? Did you have a lot of contact with
him?DA: I saw Kirby very infrequently. We spoke mostly by phone.
I visited him only once in the mid '80s when on a vacation in California. We had
lunch together and chatted.
SCOOP: You spent a lot of years,
beginning in the early sixties, working for Marvel Comics as penciler, inker or
both, on books like Sgt. Fury, Rawhide Kid, Fantastic Four,
and Incredible Hulk - probably every title they produced back then. Can
you tell us some of your favorite titles/experiences?DA: Sgt.
Fury is my favorite. I knew each Howler so well I could even plot a whole
issue about one and give Fury a rest - and did a few.
SCOOP: During
the seventies you went from Marvel mainstay to pretty much working at DC. DC had
you pencil a variety of titles including Kamandi, Jonah Hex,
Freedom Fighters, and Unknown Soldier. Was there a difference in
philosophy in working at DC when compared to Marvel? And if so, what was the
difference?DA: The big difference was /is that DC is more
"business" than Marvel. An editor would give me a script and when I took out my
date book and told him what morning I'd deliver the story, he would have a
script waiting for me when I got there. One of my editors that did that was Paul
Levitz.
SCOOP: The eighties saw you working at Archie Comics. What was
that experience like?DA: Working at Archie was joy. Their office
isn't that far from where I live. Archie kept me very busy for a number of
years.
SCOOP: When you look back on your long and illustrious career,
are there any things that you wish you would have done
differently?DA: I wish circumstances in the industry would have
let me continue lettering, penciling, and inking my own work. I would have
enjoyed writing too. These days I am doing that at Mecca Comics. You might
observe that if you live long enough, you will get to do what you dreamed
of!
SCOOP: What does the future hold for Dick Ayers?DA:
The future? Maybe somebody will produce an off-Broadway musical play based on
one of my characters! That would be great!
