Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.65 Nick Cardy

No.65 Nick Cardy

Like many artists on this list, Nick Cardy began his career in the 1940s but is best remembered for the ground-breaking work he produced in the 1960s. He first drew comics for the Eisner / Iger Studio, illustrating stories primarily for Fiction House, (Fight Comics, Jungle Comics) and Quality (Hit Comics, Crack Comics, National Comics). His main influence and hero during this period was the legendary Lou Fine, along with Eisner himself… Words: Andrew Colman…

After serving in the army during World War 2 and a brief stint drawing Burne Hogarth’s Tarzan strip, Cardy (he had opted for that nom de plume prior to military service) arrived at DC in 1950, where he would spend practically all of the rest of his time in the comics industry. Starting with various series such as Gangbusters, Congo Bill, My Greatest Adventure, House of Mystery and above all western titles like Tomahawk, Cardy proved to be a reliable artist who gradually developed artwork that transcended DC’s House Style in any genre. By the early 60s, he had been appointed by editor Murray Boltinoff to illustrate the new Aquaman series, and later in the decade he was handed the reins on two titles which cemented his reputation as an outstanding artist – Teen Titans and the short-lived but excellent western book Bat Lash, which featured a very different look and feel to his earlier work in that genre.

His work in the late 60s and early 70s had matured while also capturing the spirit of the period (despite the fact that he was pushing 50) – his Aquaman, Bat Lash and Teen Titans series showcased some highly innovative art, especially on the covers, which proved that Cardy had developed a sense of design and mood that reflected the mercurial nature of the era. In many ways his work pushed the envelope even further than the two other key artists from that time who were synonymous with DC’s cover art – Joe Kubert and Neal Adams. All three provided brilliant, emotive work of course, but Cardy attempted to play with the form and language of the comic cover, and often his efforts succeeded. Needless to say his work from that time is immediately recognizable, and is one of the highlights of the later Silver Age / early Bronze Age – and it was only logical that he would later move into movie advertising art. An Eisner Award winner, Nick Cardy belongs in any comic-book hall of fame.

Here’s links through to the other entries in our 101 Greatest so far as well

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.66 Matt Wagner

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.67 Bryan Hitch

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.68 Shawn Martinbrough

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.69 Al Feldstein

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.70 Nestor Redondo

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.71 Tarpe Mills

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.72 Eduardo Risso

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.73 JH Williams III

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.74 Irv Novick

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.75 Dan Zolnerowich

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.76 Gilbert Shelton

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.77 Tommy Lee Edwards

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.78: Sean Phillips

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.79: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.80: Dan DeCarlo

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.81: Marie Severin

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.82: John Paul Leon

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.83: Jim Lee

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.84: Denys Cowan

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.85: Ross Andru

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.86: Paul Gustavson

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.87: George Evans

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.88: Michael Golden

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.89: Matt Baker

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.90: Todd McFarlane

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.91: Fiona Staples

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.92: Carl Barks

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.93: Carmine Infantino

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.94: Alan Davis

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.95: CC Beck

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.96: Syd Shores

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.97: Bob Fujitani

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.98: Tim Sale

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.99: Jim Aparo

https://tripwiremagazine.co.uk/headlines/tripwires-101-greatest-comic-artists-of-all-time-no-100/

https://tripwiremagazine.co.uk/headlines/tripwires-101-greatest-comic-artists-of-all-time-no-101/