News has spread fast that legendary inker, artist, and editor Dick Giordano has passed away at the age of 77. When one thinks of legendary personalities in this business, Giordano quickly pops up in the top three. Hired by Carmine Infantino in the late 60′s as an editor and if not for him, we would not have had the Charlton Comics characters over at DC, and some may theorize without that, we may never have had Watchmen since Giordano also had a helping hand in creating the Vertigo imprint.
His style defined the Bronze Age of comics and served as mentor to some of the greats we have today such as Terry Austin and Bob Layton. His team ups with Neal Adams are stuff of legend and, to some, helped create the definitive Batman of that time.
I had the pleasure to have met Giordano on a handful of occasions at several conventions in Florida. And honestly, could not have been nicer.
Rest in peace, sir.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:26 am
if it wasn’t for him. i wouldn’t have fell in love with DC Comics as a kid.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:39 am
I met Dick Giordano on two occasions. The first was at a convention in San Francisco (1976?). Great Convention. Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano. Don’t know why, but Dick seemed the most approachable. Kirby was always swamped, Adams was sitting in a stairwell sketching while people watched (seems to me they were passing around a hat for money), Kane was, well, Kane – tall, erudite, aloof. And Giordano was friendly and totally approachable. Got a chance to show him my work and he said keep practicing.
Next encounter was at one of the Americons Dan Vado was putting on in San Jose in the mid to late 80s. I was doing production work for Dan and when Dick said he needed someone to sit with him at the table and help him with hearing the questions Dan, knowing how much I liked Dick’s work, asked me. I mumbled some kind of crappy introduction and helped him out. After that he sat with me for a while looking at the work of some young newcomer named Ron Lim (who was drawing the third issue of a comic a friend and I were doing) and a little at mine.
He claimed to remember me from 1976. He was a really talented guy and one of the nicest people I have met in the field. As I have drifted in and out of fandom I have always enjoyed his work, either solo or with others. Used to own the two-page spread from Crisis on Infinite Earths #1. Terrific inking. He could have even made my work look good.
My condolences to the family and may he rest in peace. He certainly won’t be forgotten by this fan – nor, I think, many, many others.
March 27th, 2010 at 11:51 am
I, too, think of Dick Giordano and Neal Adams when I think of The Batman. My earliest comics were their work and I still consider them the benchmark by which others are judged. I never had the chance to meet him, but I have commented endlessly on how much I loved his work when talking about art on my podcast.
He will be missed. My thoughts are with his family.
March 27th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
I was so lucky to have had the chance to meet Dick when my brother married his daughter, Lisa. We were able to see him a few more times. He was a very enjoyable, funny, and generous man.
March 27th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Dick was a rare combination in the industry: a very good artist/storyteller, a very good editor, and a consummate professional in an industry that could use more of all three.
He remained a fan, whose enthusiasm was contagious. He was a good and decent man.
I’m glad to have the opportunity to say these things at his paassing. I’m even happier that I said these things while he was still with us.
March 27th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Rest in peace, sir.. :’(
Daniel Beloto from Brazil..
March 27th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Being the daughter of Dick Giordano has been a huge blessing. I want to say thank you to all the prayers and condolences sent to our family from his business associates, friends and fans. People have always said how nice, kind and approachable my father was. I want to verify that he was all that and more! My father had great integrity, honor and was the most loyal person that I’ve ever known. While he is no longer with us, his legacy reaches much farther beyond the comics industry. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words. They are most appreciated at this most difficult time.
March 27th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Very sad to hear that Dick has passed away. I must concur that Dick was one of the nicest guys in the industry. I took art classes when he taught them In Bridgeport back in the early ’80s. I was pretty much in touch with him when I worked at Deluxe Comics in the mid ’80s because he basically gave me the steps on how to acquire that job without telling me directly. Dick was one of the first people I met in the business, and consider myself very lucky for that experience. The things he taught me in how to treat people with decency by his example, and in acquiring knowledge are with me to this day. He arranged for me to sit on on Paul Levitz’s classes on comic book writing that he instituted at DC Comics. Meeting and knowing Dick gave me the hootzpah to meet other great guys in the business most notably the late Curt Swan and Stan Drake. One of my valued pieces of original art is a lesson he did for me on tracing paper. What a hip and great guy he was. I feel a little older now that he’s not around even though I hadn’t been as much in touch with him in the later years due to my own health issues. Many condolences to his family. He was just a good influence to all of us.
March 27th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
I posted this on my website http://www.mikegrell.com earlier today. For anyone who missed it:
THERE WERE GIANTS IN THOSE DAYS…
DICK GIORDANO 1932-2010
I just learned that legendary comic artist Dick Giordano died of leukemia this morning. I can’t tell you saddened I am by the news and how much it meant to me to have known and worked with him. He was one of my heroes, a major influence in my career and an amazing artist whose genuine love of comics showed in every stroke of his brush. A giant among giants.
It was Dick’s collaboration with Neal Adams and Denny O’Neil on the ground-breaking series GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW that made me decide to get into the comic business. When I finally met him in New York in 1973, I found him friendly, funny and always willing to take time to show a youngster a few tips. It was Dick who taught me that balloons should be treated as part of the art and that their placement is critical to the readability of the page. He never gave me the impression that I was wasting his time, while I hovered over his shoulder and asked him a million questions… not that he heard them all, anyway. His hearing was already failing, but his talent never did. The work he did in his later years, especially on MODESTY BLAISE, was nothing short of magnificent.
Although we rarely collaborated on art, I had the honor to write many GREEN ARROW stories which Dick inked over Dan Jurgens’ pencils. It was Dick’s support and influence that made it possible for us to push the envelope and do stories that would otherwise never have made it into print.
When I was asked to return to THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES and draw the Lightning Lad & Saturn Girl wedding sequence, I agreed on one condition – that Dick would be the inker. Dick was happy to oblige and for about ten minutes I was overjoyed. Then it hit me – my drawings were going to be inked by the best in the business. Let me tell you, I sweated bullets over every line I put down, wondering what Dick would think of it.
The truth is Dick was such a terrific artist, anything you handed him turned out looking great. His artistry showed in his ability to turn a wide variety of pencil styles into inks that were dynamic and readable back in the day when paper quality was poor and printing left a lot to be desired. He once told me he actually preferred looser pencils that allowed him more freedom of interpretation. And when he did it all – pencils AND inks – he was matchless.
When the names of the giants are written – Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, Steve Ditko and the rest of that great generation who built the comic industry – Dick Giordano’s name surely belongs among them.
March 27th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
I kissed Dick on the mouth every time I saw him. He fought me a little and laughed while doing it but I always got a kiss in.Why ?Because that’s what you do when you greet your much loved father.
Here’s a story I couldn’t tell while Dick was alive because it would have embarrass him.
When Dick (even when I was 13 years old he had me call him Dick) was editor on House of Secrets he commissioned the fabulous Grey Morrow to do a sci-fi job.The art was great, as great as Grey always was.The Power that be said ” I don’t like it and we’re not going to pay him”.
Dick said not only are we paying Morrow for the job,but it’s also going to be published or he quit.It was published and Dick quit I don’t know how long after that because he was tired of dealing with the Big Jerk.
Grey died never knowing that Dick had championed him and he only told a few of us that story in confidence to illustrate what the conditions had been at DC Comics in those days.
I have never seen Dick angry ever at anyone. That was righteous anger.
March 27th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
From the late 1960′s through to the 1980′s the three top inkers that delivered the goods over everyone they worked on were Joe Sinnot, Tom Palmer, and, of course, Dick Giordano. These are the inking Titans that all that work in the field of comics should be referencing. Mr. Giordanos work was never less than impressive, always a high watermark for others to aspire. Just ask Terry Austin, Klaus Janson, Joe Rubenstein and numerous others that he inspired and advised.
Dick may be gone but his gold standard of work remains.
March 28th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I am so sad to hear the news today about Dick’s passing.
When I was trying to break in at DC in the early 80′s I would bring my samples to Dick to show him and Dave Manak.(before that Jack Adler put up with me for quite a while).
I met with Dick for over a year and he always went over stuff with me and was about as kind and frendly and constructive as I could have hoped for. Finally after about a year of this, being rejected each month, I showed him my latest batch of work and he looked at it and said nothing. He got a phone call and I took my work and left . When I go home there was a message on the phone from Dick. “where did you go” “I have work for you”.
I said I was so use to him rejecting me that I assumed I was not ready yet and left. I went back the next day and for the next 2 years he gave me work with mystery stories working on them and he would go over it with me and helped drag out whatever little talent I may have had.
When he became the big guy, he and I and sometime Pat Bastine would go to lunch maybe once a month for a few years, He would drink his Rob Roy and I my Johnny Walker on the rocks. I am pretty sure he liked to go to lunch with me cause it gave him some time away from the office and we would talk about a lot of stuff, both comic and non comic related. Plus the rob roys did not hurt.
Later when I did a few who’s who pages for them he saw them and asked me who was going to ink them I said I did not know and so he said he wanted to ink them. I still have those pieces today and I loved how he could take anyone’s art and make it better. And still leave what you put down . He trully was able to blend his style with yours and always made it look right.
I will miss him and will always be thankful for his help to guide me when I knew nothing about how to tell a story. His time with me will always be appreciated.
Rest in Peace.
Dick
March 28th, 2010 at 11:27 am
His work with Neal Adams and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is in many ways the art that shaped my perception of DC Comics. His work with the Charlton characters worked so well because it was obvious his love for them. The industry has lost one of the greatest people it will ever know.
March 28th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Wow, that folder featuring Dick’s Batman, Flash, Aquaman and Superman I picked up at Wal-mart a few weeks ago to keep some research organized is suddenly a lot more special.
March 28th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Judy and I were deeply saddened to hear of Dick’s untimely death. 77 is just entirely too young.
I was lucky enough to be inked by Dick on two occasions, first on Superman: The Man of Steel #51 and then on our comics adaptation of the movie adaptation of Steel. It was, of course, a huge thrill to be inked by one of my idols, but it was also an education. That clean, distinctive, classically modern line revealed a depth of understanding of drawing that I had never fully appreciated, even as a fan of his work.
I will never forget Dick’s warm, avuncular welcome to me when I arrived at DC for my first Super-Summit. I was nervous and a little intimidated, and he made me feel at home. He helped make DC Comics feel like a happy place to work, relaxed and familial. He created an artist-friendly atmosphere that fostered young talent and encouraged creativity. His influence as an artist, as an executive, and as a man cannot be overstated.
March 28th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Mr. Giordano. As an artist he was suberb, as a mentor he was always wise and helpful, and as a human being he was outstanding. This is not an exaggeration. I was so lucky to have worked for him, and so happy that he inked some of my work at DC. My dad said that the older Italians have an expression for such people. They are “Christmas Eve” people, for thru their enthusiam and talent, they make every moment you are with them seem like a holiday, like Christmas Eve. I think we can safely qualify Dick at the top of that list.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
My best friend was his daughter Dawn growing up…And I can tell you the way her dad could make you laugh,,,He used to judge mine and his daughters art work…He was a very loving father to his children and I am saddened to hear he has passed.Rest in peace Mr G. Thank you for all the laughs and wonderful comics you did for all of us..
April 23rd, 2010 at 3:46 am
Damn damn damn. I always loved DIck’s work since I began collecting comics in 1972. Besides being a great inker, he was also one of my favorite pencillers. Man, he drew some beautiful women. One of my favorites was his work on Wonder Woman (in the white custume). And let’s face it, in the ’80s, he helped save many a poor artist’s work with his strong style. I always want the greats to live on and was shocked and saddened to just hear about this. Heck, in January, I bought an issue of Jonah Hex just because he drew the cover! And when I go to ebay every week to look for original artwork, his is one of the first names I type in the search function. Thank you Dick for all your work.
July 17th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
I always checked Dick’s status. Just today I learned of his passing. I am deeply saddened. I now live in the state he was born in for the last 20 years. In a lot of ways, when I grew up in London and Bangladesh, he was responsible for my American dream. The world of super heroes led me here and Dick Giordano was the man for me in that world. His shadowy inks on Adams’s Batman is on my #1 list of most influential works in the media of comic books. He inked every cover there was in the 80′s and he made every penciller, no matter how bad he was, look magnificent. I loved his editorials and his signature sign off became a catchphrase among my comic loving community of pals which were very small. I mourn his passing and thank him for all he has given us. My favorite inker of them all.
Thank you and good afternoon.
January 17th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Hi there, I located your weblog via Yahoo while searching for initially aid for a heart assault and your submit appears to be like incredibly exciting for me.
January 17th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
I like this site. Very useful and very motivational. Thanks a lot. It’ll help me a lot.
January 17th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
thanks for the information, good post BTW
June 2nd, 2011 at 4:56 am
A really usefull article – A big thank you I wish you will not mind me writting about this article on my website I will also leave a linkback Thanks
January 6th, 2012 at 2:59 am
Handy writing