Nick Cardy!
I hunt down Bronze Age DC for this guy’s great classic covers!
I am such a fan, last year I spent a whole lot of money (a few hundreds $) for a long Bronze Age of Superman and Action Comics because his covers had left an imprint in my brain since I was a kid. Well that and the incredibly great Swanderson art! Do any of you guys remember the covers with the Viking from Valhalla? the Superman in a dentist chair? The Man of Steel with half his body in a molten state? I could go on and on!

And remember that Nick Cardy had to follow Neal Adams’s footsteps as DC main cover artist! No mean feat! Adams and Cardy were the best cover of DC’s long history. You could not miss a cover from Adams or Cardy in a comicbook rack. They could “hook” you into buying a title you would not have considered otherwise. Covers were more interesting than the stories inside most of the time and they told a story with a single striking image.

Nick Cardy art was rather cartoony by the time the Bronze Age rolled in, especially in BAT LASH. Unique style, just like yesterday’s Ramona Fradon entry. But even in the 50′s when Cardy had a more classic house style, he was a few notched above every one else. You can see a very nice exemple of hic more classical style in DC’s GREATEST 1950′S STORIES EVER TOLD. There is a cool Cardy-drawn CONGO BILL story. If this was not the best gorilla ever drawn until some of Brian Bolland’s covers (on ANIMAL MAN and CONGORILLA)…

I own and recommend THE ART OF NICK CARDY book. They have some of his best DC covers (with Mr. Cardy’s comments), exemple of his comic strip “ghosting”, beautiful exemple of his amazing paintings (a true artist I tell ya), his movie poster works, sketeches, etc. A must read!

Great Reason to Love Comics.