Dick Ayers, 1924-2014, R.I.P. -- A "Comical Wednesday" Post

(For those of you new to my blog, a "Comical Wednesday" post is a post that is about comic books, in one way or another. It does not mean that the post itself is comical, as in humorous! This one clearly is not.)

Famed comic book artist Dick Ayers has died at the age of 90.

Trying to sum up a career as long as Dick's is difficult at best. He began his comic book career in the late 1940s. He co-created a Western horror character called the Ghost Rider in the 1950s for publisher Magazine Enterprises. He was working at Marvel Comics during the 1960s and 1970s. As either a penciller or inker, Dick's art graced probably every superhero in the early Marvel Universe. He also drew plenty of Western comics for them (including an unauthorized Ghost Rider revival), but he is probably best known for his long-time service on Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. He went on to DC Comics, then other publishers. An abbreviated biography of Dick Ayers is here, if you care to learn beyond what I've given you.

Whenever I write one of my tributes to a celebrity -- an actor or actress, a comic book creator, a singer, etc. -- who has passed on, I feel a sadness that comes from feeling that you know someone simply because their work has touched you.

In Dick Ayers' case, I'd actually met the man (and his wife, Lindy) -- and toured his home studio -- at a time when he and I were collaborating on a comic book project which was eventually unsold. Having a comic book legend illustrate my script was quite the thrill, I must tell you! (The full story of that project can be found here, here, and here! And whether or not you feel like following those links, what follows is Dick's pencilled contribution to the character's origin story. Yep, my words, illustrated by a legend!  The lettering was done by a talented artist named Ken Carson! Three pages of Dick Ayers art which has only seen print on my blog!)

And if that costume-clad super child looks a bit familiar, here's something you've probably seen before:

Dick Ayers will be sorely missed.

Thanks for your time.