I was first introduced to the work of Dan DeCarlo in 1979, I think, when I was ten years old. My brother Craig had gone back east (to Ohio) to visit my father’s parents and relatives; our cousin Rene had given him a pile of comics books: Richie Rich, Casper, Archie, Betty & Veronica. Craig had no interest in these comics so he gave them to me. I knew of the Archie TV show, and my other brother Derek had some Archie digests, but these Archie comics were a revelation: I fell in love with Dan DeCarlo’s artwork, although at the time it was anonymous or unsigned.
I started collected Archie comic books from that day on. I later learned the names of many of the Archie artists and could tell them apart by their art styles: Harry Lucey, Stan Goldberg, Bob Bolling, and Samm Schwartz all became favorites. But it was Dan DeCarlo who was the defining Archie artist. I later met him in 1999. Here are some pictures from the San Diego Comic Con that year…
Here is a rare hand-colored original Dan DeCarlo Laugh Digest #39 comic book cover from 1981:
And here is a Self-Portrait Dan created for me in 2001; I asked him to draw his wife Josie and had her sign it.
Just a few images to remember Dan. More to come. Namaste.
