UPDATE: Nick Cardy, R.I.P., (10/20/20–11/3/13)

nweathington

I know there are quite a few Nick Cardy fans on this board, so I thought I’d let you know that Nick is in the ICU of his local hospital. I don’t have many details at the moment, but I hope to find out more tomorrow.

nweathington

Nick has congestive heart failure and fluid in his lungs. He’s going to be in the hospital for a while. Todd Dezago is there with him, so if any of you have well wishes to pass on to Nick, I can pass them on to Todd. I know Nick would appreciate hearing from you.

RickM

The first Superman comic I ever bought (and many thereafter) featured a gorgeous Cardy cover (see below). I soon learned that Cardy's covers were much more gripping than a lot of the actual stories. He's woefully under-rated, and I miss his work. Tell him that lots of us older fans got goosebumps when we stood at the newsstand and gazed at the comic covers he created.

WetRats

I think this may well be the finest comic book cover ever.

nweathington

WetRats said:

I think this may well be the finest comic book cover ever.

This was his favorite too. I’ve talked with him in great detail about the storytelling in this particular issue, and he's still very proud of it.

WetRats

nweathington said:

This was his favorite too. I’ve talked with him in great detail about the storytelling in this particular issue, and he's still very proud of it.

I got to gush about it to him a couple years ago.

Truly a nice man and a brilliant talent.

Flagwaver

Just saw the news that Nick passed at 9:35. RIP to master of the craft.

rebis

Not the greatest WW cover ever, but it might be the most beautiful drawing of Black Canary ever.

Chuck_Melville

Personally, I thought Cardy's work was strongest during the late 60's and very early 70's, when he was doing books like Teen Titans, Brave & Bold and Bat Lash.



Of course, he'll always be the Aquaman artist for me, having worked on that title for the first part of the 60's, from its Showcase try-outs until being replaced by Jim Aparo. And I remember his earlier work on Rip Hunter, Time Master as well.

John_Steed

LOVE that Aquaman cover. And who's the "most important man in the world" on that Teen Titans cover?

Chuck_Melville

John_Steed said:

LOVE that Aquaman cover. And who's the "most important man in the world" on that Teen Titans cover?

The 'most important man' was an Albert Schweitzer surrogate who was helping to lead a peace rally. He was killed by an assassin despite attempts by the Titans (and a huge crowd of police and protestors) to disarm him; in the struggle, several hands were actually on either the gun or the assassin's arm, which led to a massive guilt trip for the Titans. This led to a series of issues where the Titans abandoned (temporarily, as it eventually turned out) their costumed identities, adopted a bland jumpsuit uniform, and first became associated with Mr Jupiter. The next few stories also introduced Mal and Lillith as part of this particular incarnation of 'relevant' Titans.

Torchsong

I'll mostly remember Nick for his amazing Titans work, but these comic covers showing his work outside those youngsters really has me gaining a greater appreciation for him. Keep 'em coming! And thanks for all the amazing artwork, Mr. Cardy.

John_Steed

once again thanks for educating B-)

Chuck_Melville

I'm not able to link to the image itself, but here's a Facebook post by Joe Staton where he displays one of the few pieces of original art he's ever collected: a cover by Cardy from around the time that Staton himself began his professional career.

https://facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=652589348106100&set=a.156084604423246.33448.100000651211063&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Here's the published cover:

mwhitt80

I love his work on Batlash; it was just amazing. I was blown away when I got that showcase (I believe I've posted about it numerous times on this or the old forum). The was a great artist.

Greg

I wasn't too familiar with Mr. Cardy's work, what a sad loss this is. Rest in peace sir.

BionicDave

I still own lots of Nick Cardy comic books (thankfully, the 12 year-old version of me was a big ole back issue nerd, lol) and my all time favorite cover of his is this one. I just love it. RIP Mr. Cardy, you helped raise us all with your magic...

nweathington

Chuck_Melville said:

Of course, he'll always be the Aquaman artist for me, having worked on that title for the first part of the 60's, from its Showcase try-outs until being replaced by Jim Aparo. And I remember his earlier work on Rip Hunter, Time Master as well.

This was Nick’s favorite of his Aquaman covers. This cover was all about the triangle design—a very powerful shape. There’s the triangle that Aquaman and Mera make, the triangles of the stalagmites, the triangles of the water flowing off Aquaman’s legs and the walrus... And then you follow the flow of Mera’s arm and hair down to the triangular pose of Aqualad. That all really appealed to Nick. He was also very happy with Jerry Serpe’s colors on this one.

nweathington

mwhitt80 said:

I love his work on Batlash; it was just amazing. I was blown away when I got that showcase (I believe I've posted about it numerous times on this or the old forum). The was a great artist.

Yeah, as much as I love his Aquaman stuff, Bat Lash is my favorite too. Nick was so good at humor, and he rarely got to do any, and Bat Lash was a great blend of “realism” and humor.

For pure humor, I suggest seeking out his two stories for Plop!

Chuck_Melville

nweathington said:

This was Nick’s favorite of his Aquaman covers. This cover was all about the triangle design—a very powerful shape. There the triangle that Aquaman and Mera make, the triangles of the stalagmites, the triangles of the water flowing off Aquaman’s legs and the walrus... And then you follow the flow of Mera’s arm and hair down to the triangular pose of Aqualad. That all really appealed to Nick. He was also very happy with Jerry Serpe’s colors on this one.

It was always one of my favorites of his covers -- the image has stuck in my memory for years.

nweathington

I think this was probably Nick’s favorite of his Teen Titans covers. Nick added his middle name, Peter, to his signature at the bottom of the book cover. He threw it in as a wink and a nod to his son, also named Peter.