One of the sadder truths about any fandom is that it is impossible to know everything, and often we don’t get to know someone’s contribution to the things we love until they die. Such is the case for me and Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame inductee Nicholas Viscardi, better know by the alias Nick Cardy.
Cardy’s career stretches back to before World War II when in 1939 at the age of 18 he began working for Eisner & Iger, a company headed by Will Eisner and Jerry Iger that made comics on demand. When war did break out Cardy found himself drafted in 1943 and would earn two Purple Hearts before the conflict was over.
After bouncing around ad agencies upon his return from the war Cardy finally landed a steady gig at DC Comics in 1950. His highlights at DC include being the the initial artist for the first ongoing Aquaman title, having the honor of designing the likes of both Mera and Ocean Master. Cardy did 39 issues of both cover work and interiors and kept doing the covers until the series ended with issue #56. Cardy would also be the major artist on the first 42 issues of the first ever run of Teen Titans and worked on the first run of the cult classic western series Bat Lash, written by comic legends Sergio Aragones, Dennis O’Neil and Sheldon Mayer.
Cardy’s later career would be almost entirely focused on cover art for various DC books before his departure from comics work to return to the world of advertising which included doing artwork for films including the 1979 classic, Apocalypse Now.
Pouring over Cardy’s work as I was writing this article I was struck by how powerfully cinematic the man’s work was. Cardy’s brilliant sense of composition grabs and holds your attention.
He was a master of using angle and perspective to convey an emotion or idea and his designs show an attention to detail and understanding of space that is simply awe inspiring.
I wish it wouldn’t have taken the man’s death for me to see what a brilliant artist he was.
RIP Nick Cardy: October 20, 1920 – November 3, 2013
Who are some of your favorite classic comics artists? Let us know in the comments below.
Via Comics Alliance
