Edited by Alex Chun
Designed by Jacob Covey
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Did you know that Dan DeCarlo, the man who defined the look of Archie Comics for almost half a century, also drew pin-ups for girlie magazines? I didn’t know that, but Fantagraphics and editor Alex Chun are letting us all know that the man who made Betty & Veronica the epitome of teen sexiness was also an accomplished pin-up cartoonist with a new book, The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo. DeCarlo, who died in 2001, created the all-girl band, Josie and the Pussycats, filed a lawsuit for a share of the rights and loot from the Josie property which got him banished from Archie Publications, and co-created, with George Gladir, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. DeCarlo’s influence can be seen in the comic art of Love & Rockets co-conspirator, Jamie Hernandez, Cartoon Network demigod, Bruce Timm, and Bongo Comics master, Bill Morrison, who provides a highly-informative introduction to DeCarlo for this volume.
From 1956 to 1963 (while he was also working for Archie), DeCarlo produced hundreds of ink wash pin-up work for the Humorama line of girlie digests. Humorama was a line of men’s humor magazines owned by Timely (now Marvel) publisher Martin Goodman, and operated by his brother, Abe. Dan worked for Timely, and through Stan Lee (Goodman’s nephew), Dan met the editor of the Humorama line. Before committing to Archie full time, DeCarlo produced an exceptional body of work out of simple gag cartoons featuring a bevy of buxom blondes-next-door, the other woman, and witchy socialites.
This is Alex Chun’s third collection of Humorama pin-up art published by Fantagrahics. This union also produced a large color hardcover book on Bill Ward (The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward) and an small, intimate black and white book on Jack Cole’s Humorama work (The Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole). This Dan DeCarlo book is a paperback original and small (5¾ x 7¾) compared to the Ward and Cole volumes. It’s hard to pick a favorite because each artist’s approach to pin-up gag cartoons was different, but The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo presents such a surprising side to a comic book artist known for “all ages” material.
In this book, what you’re basically getting is the man who drew Betty, Veronica, Josie, Sabrina, etc. taking similar cartoon girls and turning them into incredibly built, corn-fed, sex goddesses. It’s amazing that each girl in this volume is beautiful (and Jessica Rabbit-like), but unique. Imagine over 200 photos featuring over 200 very beautiful and alluring women; that’s what this is like. And the gags are funny, often hilarious.
The book’s interior is black and white, but with accent color. That’s mostly blues, reds, and yellows used to punch up the picture. In this case, the accent is red, and it’s like putting a red film over portions of each drawing, and that certainly does punch up this book. The entire enterprise has a visually appealing, eye-catching look. DeCarlo also put such imagination into the presentation of his cartoons that you can find something new probably about every time you look at each pin-up, and you’ll certainly give this tome repeated viewings. This is an outstanding book. Chun and designer Jacob Covey deserve a standing ovation for creating one of the best values you’ll get from an art book for years to come.
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