Feb 15, 2013

Reclaiming History: Top 10 Archie Artists


I've been really getting into Archie Comics the last couple of years, even more than I have in the past. I've bought the two Best of Archie volumes, and a couple of the "Best of" artist editions. I've actually ended up studying the different Archie artists so I could distinguish them by their distinct styles, despite the fact that they all conform to the usual Archie house style.

I thought it'd be fun, as an exercise, to try and do a top 10 list of Archie artists, not in terms of quality (which is mostly subjective), but in terms of influence and importance (which is also subjective, but less so).

In putting together this list, I pretty much had to set some criteria so I could be fair and consistent with my reasonings for the rankings, and I boiled it down to three questions:

1) How much did they add to Archie lore? Did they create new characters, or worked on new features that have endured? Did they work on stories that were talked about for future generations? (Norm Breyfogle almost made it in because of this alone, due to Life With Archie, but I figured it was too early to tell for sure, and he jumped off that series within a year.)

2) Did they follow a house style, or did they break a new mold? Obviously for the purposes of this list, we'll favor the latter.

3) How is their art received today? Do they inspire new generations of artists? Do people clamor for their works to be reprinted? Do people say, "Yeah, I like Archie, but I especially like it when that guy is drawing"?

10. Bill Woggon

Bill Woggon makes this list purely because he created Katy Keene, America's Pin-Up Queen, who is an Archie property who doesn't (normally) interact with Archie characters and isn't even drawn in the same house style. But Katy's such a valuable property to the company that Woggon should be here.

Woggon's style is completely different from any "regular" Archie artist, as he employs different proportions, gestures, and anatomical tells such as eyes from his peers, and is instantly distinct.

Although the success of Katy Keene meant that Woggon would rarely draw the regular Archie characters, he did do it sometimes, such as in this Betty and Veronica tale from 1946.

9. Joe Edwards

Like Woggon, Edwards created a valuable property for Archie that is constantly used by Archie, although she really has nothing to do with the main Archie universe. Li'l Jinx's adventures are often reprinted in digests, and most recently, a teenage Jinx has been the protagonist of Archie's new attempt to reach a wider kids/tween/teen audience.

Edwards gets the nod over Woggon because he still drew the main cast after the creation of Li'l Jinx, handling some stories and projects such as the ill-fated (but meant to be cashing in on the animated series) New Archies.

8. George Frese

Of the Archie artists who worked in the Golden Age before DeCarlo came along, George Frese was probably the most distinct hand next to Bob Montana. His style was very expressive, taking what Montana did and adding his own little spins (the most notable, for me, being the buck teeth on Archie). Frese was such a good hand that he was the one who kicked off Archie's Rival, Reggie, a series about Archie's arch-nemesis, and he was also the first artist on Ginger, which could only really be described as a female Archie. Although neither series lasted that long (but Reggie obviously has endured), Frese's distinct style and prolificacy earns him the eighth spot on this list.

7. Bob Bolling

Bob Bolling is one of those guys who clearly is trying to follow the house style, but he sticks out anyway because of a combination of things. You can look at the way he draws eyes (a little rounder and a bit farther apart than DeCarlo's), the bodies (a bit more teen-ish), and the hairstyles (he gives Betty a 60s flourish to her hairdo, for one), and for my part, I notice a lot of the schmaltzy (and I mean that in the best way possible) feel-good stories (often stories where Betty actually wins one over Veronica) are drawn by Bolling.

But Bolling really makes his way this high for another reason: he created Little Archie (if that can be called a separate creation, but that's another debate altogether), and that's pretty important.

6. Dan Parent

The current head Archie artist, Dan Parent's been working in Archie for a couple of decades now, and even when he was doing Archie 3000, he already had a distinct style with looser lines and trademark Parent poses (if you ever want to see if Parent drew something, check out the closed eyes, smiling 3/4 shot — he likes that) and figure drawing (Parent succeeds in making the teenagers look like teenagers. Teens are almost always a problem for artists, and somehow we as readers accept that. But it's not a problem for Dan Parent.). If this were an "important writers" list, Parent would most likely be higher, due to having written important Archie storylines like "Love Showdown," as well as spearheading stories like Archie's first interracial relationship (Archie and Valerie of the Pussycats) and the introduction of Archie's first gay character (Kevin Keller), which he drew himself. ("Love Showdown" was a collaborative effort artistically.)

Parent is a good example of what's hard about putting these lists together. Since this is an artists list, does he get rewarded or penalized for writing the history-making stories that he himself is drawing? After all, no one else on this list had the benefit of working on stories all their own in the day and age of Archie pushing the envelope. None of them have had to deal with the massive amount of backlash that is unique in the Age of the Internet. Furthermore, will Parent's changes be remembered in 20 years as the big, giant deals they were when they happened (although the Kevin Keller introduction was obviously more of a big deal than the Archie/Valerie pairing), or will society have changed so much at that point that the magnitude of the reactions when Kevin Keller was introduced will be forgotten (the Archie/Valerie pairing will be remembered more in 20 years, as one of the stories where Archie chose someone who's not Betty or Veronica, much like.... "Love Showdown.")?

Where will Parent rank on this list when the history books are written? I don't have the answer to that question, nor do I have the answer to all those questions in the previous paragraph. But for now, February 15, 2013, let's all just agree that what Parent has been doing in the last few years is a pretty damn big deal.

5. Stan Goldberg

Stan Goldberg is eighty years old and has been working at Archie for half his life. His place in history is helped greatly by the fact that he was the primary artist from the 90s to around 2005, an era in which artists were properly credited, but even if it weren't, it wouldn't matter. Goldberg's style follows DeCarlo's established house style, and can be said to be more "masculine," in that his figures tend to have thicker eyebrows and more resolved postures and gestures. He's a bit more bombastic in terms of action without going over the top, and he's got a bit of a Jack Kirby influence going on in terms of the impact he puts in the panels, which is probably not surprising considering he worked in the Marvel bullpen during the rise of Marvel in the sixties. As a result, he tends to be the artist for when Archie gets into big adventures chasing criminals and he furls his eyebrows a lot.

Goldberg's been involved in a good number of high-profile Archie stories over the years — including drawing chapters of the birth of Jughead's sister Jellybean and the aforementioned "Love Showdown," and drawing the Archie portion of the unique (and awesome) Archie/Punisher crossover — but none of them were as big as the Archie wedding, a six-issue arc that ran from 2009 to 2010 that took us to two possible futures: one where Archie married Veronica, and one where he married Betty. It was the event that put Archie Comics back on the map, reminding people why they loved Archie all this time. Goldberg was 77 when he drew it, and his art clearly suffered, but he was still deemed to be the right artist to handle it, and that says something.

There are only four Archie artists right now getting "Best of" artist editions. And though not a perfect indicator (our number 2 guy doesn't even have one), it does indicate a place in history. Stan Goldberg has one volume out. And that means something. Stan Goldberg mattered, and when it's all said and done and all fans remember him at his peak through the reprint digest, he always will.

4. Samm Schwartz

Quick! Name your favorite Archie character!

You said Jughead, didn't you? Okay, fine, maybe you didn't, but I bet you're outnumbered. Jughead Jones is Archie's cool friend, the one who doesn't care about anything other than eating and sleeping. Schwartz was the main artist of Jughead for two stretches of time, 1949–1965 and 1969–1987. Wikipedia says his style is distinguished by "loose, rubbery character poses and skinny, simplified designs," which is true, but I'd add the adjective "angular" somewhere in there. Schwartz was also known for characters breaking out of panel borders and putting in background gags that had nothing to do with the main stories in his strips. The way Schwartz would draw backgrounds, you could feel the architecture of Riverdale with each strip, as if by putting Schwartz stories together you could construct a clear picture of that tiny little town. Here's a cool article about how to tell Schwartz apart from everyone else.

But more importantly, Schwartz was the premiere artist for Archie's best friend. The back cover of The Best of Samm Schwartz, says, "Schwartz took Jughead from not much more than a second-stringer and molded him into one of the most beloved and important contributions in the Riverdale milieu." Joe Edwards (#9 on this list) said of Schwartz, "He made Jughead!"

Schwartz's other contributions include Big Ethel Muggs, who's always running after Jughead, and Jughead's cousin Bingo Wilkin, and his mini-universe. He also created Jughead's ultra-cool "Dipsy Doodles" feature, where he does a painting that comes to life somehow.

As previously stated, only four artists have "Best of" editions currently being put out by IDW and Archie. Samm Schwartz has two volumes out.

3. Harry Lucey

The back cover of the Best of Samm Schwartz says that Schwartz should be in the Pantheon of Archie Artists, but that the Pantheon only includes our top 3 choices. So I don't think the top 4, with Schwartz being fourth, was ever in doubt.

Harry Lucey was the primary Archie artist from the late 50s to the mid 70s, and he brought a very distinct style to the Riverdale crew. The word for Lucey was "motion," and if not that, it was "gesture." Lucey could communicate a lot with a few lines, which would explain why he drew so many silent strips. He could also match DeCarlo himself when it came to Good Girl Art, and his girls always seemed flirtier than everyone else's).

You can tell a Harry Lucey story from sight right off the bat. He's the guy who draws a whole mouth on the side of the face in a profile shot, and when a character does something with energy, they put their whole body into it. Jaime Hernandez, of Love and Rockets fame, frequently cites Lucey as an influence, stating in his introduction to The Best of Harry Lucey that "For me, there are very few artists in the history of comics who brought their characters to life with body language, simple gesure, and timing as Lucey did."

As previously stated, only four artists have "Best of" editions currently being put out by IDW and Archie. Like Samm Schwartz, Harry Lucey has two volumes out.

2. Bob Montana

Bob Montana is really the only other person with an argument for the top spot on this list, as he is the co-creator of Archie! Working with writer Vic Bloom, Montana made a mark on Archie twice: the first time, in Pep Comics #22, when he drew the first ever Archie story (introducing Archie, Betty, and Jughead in the process), and the second time when he was tasked to draw the Archie newspaper strip, which ran in over 750 newspapers.

The thing you need to understand is this: both times, Montana seemed like two completely different artists. While his early Archie comic book work seemed crude, with rough lines and an incredibly old-looking Jughead, his comic strip work was more confident, with bolder lines and more reminiscent (can I use that word? Shouldn't it be something like "preminiscent"? I just made up "preminiscent." I'm gonna stick with it.) of the Archie house style that would endure for decades.

Not that you could blame Montana, of course, since he was the first ever artist of the Riverdale crew, and he had to figure it out from there. So he didn't figure it out right off the bat. Big deal; how many people really do? Even Jack Kirby needed a while to perfect Captain America's look. And when Montana did figure it out, it looked great. So he made his mark twice: once upon creation and once upon perfection (until DeCarlo and Lucey came along later to take it a step further), and how many people can say that?

IDW isn't putting out a "Best of Bob Montana" series like it's doing with the other four of our top 5 artists, but it is putting out the complete set of Montana's newspaper strips.

1. Dan DeCarlo

This couldn't really have been anyone else, any way I looked at it. Only Bob Montana, by virtue of being the creator of Archie, had a case for it, but DeCarlo just did more. He took what Montana did and came up with the all-time classic versions and looks of these characters, and while Harry Lucey worked concurrently with DeCarlo and was the primary artist on the actual Archie comic, it's DeCarlo's style that became the house style. His Good Girl Art credentials prior to Archie made him a hit on Betty and Veronica, and, unlike Lucey at times, I don't think his Good Girl Art was ever over the top. By all accounts, after Montana, the two main artists were DeCarlo and Lucey, and DeCarlo's style lived on even when he was done in the styles of Dan Parent and Stan Goldberg and all the other artists, while Lucey's was too unique, too Lucey. Hence the placement of our top 3 artists.

And, when it came to creating, DeCarlo was no slouch. In addition to making the Riverdale gang his own (maybe Lucey drew the more recognizable Archie, and maybe Schwartz drew the more recognizable Jughead, but no one drew a more recognizable gang than DeCarlo), he created Josie and the Pussycats (Josie, Melody, and Valerie Smith, the last of whom is Archie's first most notable black character — and if we're going to credit Dan Parent for pushing the envelope in terms of content, then shouldn't we credit DeCarlo for this too, even though it's almost inconceivable to think now of this being a big deal?), Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Cheryl Blossom — and unlike Katy Keene and Li'l Jinx, these characters could easily cross over with the regular Riverdale gang.

Of the top 5 guys on this list, DeCarlo's is the hardest to distinguish from other artists, especially other artists prior to the 21st century. And why? Because so many other artists took his lead, tried drawing like him. But he did it better than all of them, with an economy of line and gesture, and his storytelling and expressions were clearer than his less innovative (but nonetheless talented) followers.

And, as previously stated, only four artists have "Best of" editions currently being put out by IDW and Archie. Stan Goldberg currently has one volume out. Samm Schwartz and Harry Lucey have two apiece. Dan DeCarlo? He has four. The only way Dan DeCarlo didn't top this list was if this list was written before Dan DeCarlo worked on Archie.

And I think that seals it.

Thoughts? Did I miss anyone? Do you agree with the rankings? Lemme know in the comments!


Mykal said...

Great Post - and I agree with our ratings except I might have swapped Parent and Bolling in the their order. Nice to see Goldberg so high. Great analysis of each artist as well.

Duy Tano said...

Thanks! The top five were pretty set, I thought. I couldn't put Goldberg any higher and I couldn't even think of any other order for the other four.

Parent was hard to rank, especially since his career's still going. Even if we put Bolling ahead of him now, wouldn't it be a safe bet that Parent would overtake him when his career is done?

Mykal said...

Dan: Could be, could be. I have such a soft spot for Bolling because of Little Archie - which was such genius.

Duy Tano said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Monte Wilson said...

Schwartz and DeCarlo are my favorites on your list,
but you left out my all-time fave -- Al Hartley o_O

Duy Tano said...

It's a list of most influential/important Archie artists, and I saw no case for Hartley to makethe list. Even with the "Best of..." collections, he has about one story per book. Not a big size and Fernando Ruiz and Rex Lindsey have better cases.

Monte Wilson said...

Yeah, you're right. I wasn't paying attention. o_O'
I've just been re-reading my Archies, and Hartley's art stands out.
His brushwork, consistency, facial expressions, and layout are amazing.

pinchers said...

It was Bob Montana who came up with the house style and definitive character looks in the 1940s newspaper strip. And it was Filmation Animation who created Valerie and added her to the Josie tv show. Also, if we're going to credit Vic Bloom as the co-creator of Archie because he wrote the first story, then Frank Doyle is the co-creator of the Josie characters and Cheryl Blossom, and George Gladir is the co-creator of Sabrina. I love Dan DeCarlo but you went a little overboard with him.

Duy Tano said...

Thanks for the comment -- I did not know that about Valerie. Regardless, I don't think it changes the fact that it was DeCarlo who put her in the comics, any more than Parent's contribution of Kevin Keller would change if we found out it was editorially mandated. And yes, I should have said "co-created" instead of just "created."

I did say in the column that DeCarlo took what Montana did and it was that that became the house style.

I guess my question for you is, do you NOT believe DeCarlo should outrank Montana on this list?

pinchers said...

Yeah, Filmation came up with Valerie and the idea of the rock band. DeCarlo drew her beautifully. But the reason we credit Dan Parent with pushing the envelope, as you said, is because he is the one who suggested to Jon Goldwater that they create a gay character (though Goldwater deserves a lot of credit for okaying it) and he also scripted Kevin's stories. DeCarlo didn't do either of these with Valerie (her stories were written first by Dick Malmgren and then Frank Doyle). So we can credit him with creating her look in the comics, or at least refining it from Filmation's design, but not with pushing an envelope.

I am not sure what you mean by house style, but I have always taken it to mean the distinctive characteristics like everyone having eyes that are rounded arches, all the girls having diagonal slashes for noses and hourglass figures, certain body and facial proportions, etc. Montana is the one who came up with all that; DeCarlo just drew it more smoothly.

If I was making a list of the most important and influential artists, then I would put Montana on top. Without him, the Archie series never would have existed as we know it, and probably neither would the company, therefore neither would any later Archie artists and their creations. And doesn't he have four volumes of his work out too, as the newspaper strip collections? Still, I do agree that DeCarlo is the most popular artist that most people know and emulate, and I'm sure his work has helped to sell more Archie comics than any other artist. He deserves to be on top of some kind of list; I just don't know what. But I agree with almost all your other choices; good job.

Duy Tano said...

That's fair. I don't really buy that the creator should be #1 because otherwise the characters wouldn't have existed -- Carl Barks is #1 for Donald Duck, for example.Joe Shuster wouldn't top my list of Superman artists, nor would Bill Finger top my list of Batman artists. But the only #1 on an Archie list like this would come down to DeCarlo and Montana, really -- I don't think anyone else really has a case.

pinchers said...

I agree it's down to those two, and although Carl Barks is kind of a special case, you have a point about Shuster and Finger.

Navya said...

Great post! You mentioned in an earlier comment that Fernando Ruiz and Rex Lindsey both had a pretty case; any reason why you decided against them in preference for Bill Woggon, who while terrific is not as prolific? I quite like Ruiz, more so than Dan Parent. His artwork (especially how he drew expressions) often made the story even funnier. I don't know if I prefer Bolling to Parent (as others before have) but his Betty-focused stories were definitely some of the most touching.
Side note: I've always had a bit of love-hate thing for Stan Goldberg's work. There is so much variation in what he does, with some stories being lovely (and not just the ones that are reminiscent of DeCarlo) while others feeling vaguely lazy. In fact, it was because of my frustration at some stories that belonged to the latter category that I first started paying more attention to the artists.

Duy Tano said...

Thanks for the note. It's a listing of who contributed the most to Archie, and for the most part that meant either artists who were the leading definitive artists of their generation (which Parent was over Ruiz), or people who created a multitude of characters, which is how Bill Woggon sneaks in there. It would be pretty easy to argue Woggon doesn't belong there because Katy isn't really a part of the regular universe, but I think putting Ruiz, Lindsey, and even Hartley (much as I don't like him) comes down to too much subjective opinion.

baryg said...

Your forgetting the excellent art of Bill Vigoda and Bob White.

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