The Art of Nick Cardy

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating look at the life and work of a true master
Review: Growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I discovered the wonderful four-color world of comic books. I progressed quickly from Casper and Wendy through Archie and Jughead to the amazing adventures of Superman, Batman and their all-powerful peers. The great comics of this time period formed my definitive view of what the medium should look like: exciting, powerful, and daring.

Like most kids, I didn't pay very much attention to who made these books. That appreciation came later. Names like Stan Lee, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Will Eisner, Joe Kubert, and others came into my sphere of awareness. And, of course, Nick Cardy.

Way back then, I didn't even notice how much of his stuff was on my favorites list: Aquaman, Teen Titans, and countless mystery stories from Ghosts, Unexpected, and House of Secrets. Not to mention some of the most memorable covers I'd ever seen (many of which are reprinted in this book, including some in full color).

This book is a fantastic collection of Nick Cardy's work, presented as an overview of an amazing career. The material is presented mostly as a chronological survey, which actually makes it easy to follow Cardy's career. There are a few other chapters, including one on the differences between inking and penciling. The meat of the book - in fact, the bulk of its text - is an interview that author John Coates conducted with the formerly reclusive Cardy.

To call the book "lavishly illustrated" is to make an understatement. There are so many illustrations and samples, including a four-page run of "Tarzan" daily strips, that you'll find yourself reading the book twice; once for the interview and once more to read all the great comics and strips peppered throughout the book.

This is a VERY good book for fans of Nick Cardy, and for people interested in the early, wild-n-wooly days of the Golden Age of comics. There are plenty of anecdotes and stories about other comic creators, so this book has significant value to comic historians. It also provides a detailed index of his comics work. So, if you're a fan or historian, this book will not let you down... and you won't be able to put it down, either!

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating look at the life and work of a true master
Review: Growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I discovered the wonderful four-color world of comic books. I progressed quickly from Casper and Wendy through Archie and Jughead to the amazing adventures of Superman, Batman and their all-powerful peers. The great comics of this time period formed my definitive view of what the medium should look like: exciting, powerful, and daring.

Like most kids, I didn't pay very much attention to who made these books. That appreciation came later. Names like Stan Lee, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Will Eisner, Joe Kubert, and others came into my sphere of awareness. And, of course, Nick Cardy.

Way back then, I didn't even notice how much of his stuff was on my favorites list: Aquaman, Teen Titans, and countless mystery stories from Ghosts, Unexpected, and House of Secrets. Not to mention some of the most memorable covers I'd ever seen (many of which are reprinted in this book, including some in full color).

This book is a fantastic collection of Nick Cardy's work, presented as an overview of an amazing career. The material is presented mostly as a chronological survey, which actually makes it easy to follow Cardy's career. There are a few other chapters, including one on the differences between inking and penciling. The meat of the book - in fact, the bulk of its text - is an interview that author John Coates conducted with the formerly reclusive Cardy.

To call the book "lavishly illustrated" is to make an understatement. There are so many illustrations and samples, including a four-page run of "Tarzan" daily strips, that you'll find yourself reading the book twice; once for the interview and once more to read all the great comics and strips peppered throughout the book.

This is a VERY good book for fans of Nick Cardy, and for people interested in the early, wild-n-wooly days of the Golden Age of comics. There are plenty of anecdotes and stories about other comic creators, so this book has significant value to comic historians. It also provides a detailed index of his comics work. So, if you're a fan or historian, this book will not let you down... and you won't be able to put it down, either!