Nick Cardy (born Nicholas Viscardi, circa 1921), a.k.a. Nick Cardi, is an American comic book artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters, and for his highly attractive rendering of female characters referred to by fans as "Cardy Babes". He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2005. 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Artist is a descriptive term applied to a person who engages in an activity deemed to be an art. ... The current DC Comics logo, adopted in May 2005. ... Aquaman is a DC Comics superhero. ... Teen Titans can refer to two things: For the DC Comic book Teen Titans, see Titans (comics) For the animated series based on the comic, see Teen Titans (animated series) This is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... The Eisner Awards are given for achievement in comic books. ...

Early life and career

Teen Titans #23 (Oct. 1969), Cardy's most famous cover.

Nicholas Viscardi attended the Art Students League in New York City, studying painting and sculpture. As did many early comics professionals, he entered the field working for Eisner & Iger, one of a handful of comic book "packagers" that would create comics on demand for publishers testing the waters of the emerging medium. Joining the studio in 1939, at age 18, he worked on Fight Comics, Jungle Comics, Kaanga Comics, and Wings for Fiction House Publications. He drew the backup feature "Lady Luck" in Will Eisner's 16-page, newspaper Sunday-supplement comic book The Spirit Section, from May 18, 1941 through Feb. 22, 1942. Though his and writer Chuck Mazoujian's "Lady Luck" stories were credited under the house pseudonym Ford Davis, Viscardi would subtly work in the initials "NV" somewhere into each story. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x604, 94 KB) Summary Cover, Teen Titans #23 (September-October 1969), DC Comics, art by Nick Cardy Source: http://comics. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x604, 94 KB) Summary Cover, Teen Titans #23 (September-October 1969), DC Comics, art by Nick Cardy Source: http://comics. ... The Art Students League is the name of several American art schools or associations for promotion of art education For the New-York-based school (founded 1875), presumed model for the others, see Art Students League of New York For the Denver-based school and association, see Art Students League... New York City, officially named the City of New York, is the most populous city in the United States, and the most densely populated major city in North America. ... The Mona Lisa is perhaps the best-known artistic painting in the Western world. ... Sculpture is a three-dimensional form created as an artistic expression. ... Eisner & Iger was a comic book packager that produced comics on demand for publishers breaking into the field during the late-1930s and 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books. ... // Events January-March January 2 - End of term for Frank Finley Merriam, 28th Governor of California. ... The name Lady Luck can mean:- A spaceship in the Star Wars stories: see Lady Luck (Star Wars) A goddess who controls good luck: see Fortuna (luck). ... Will Eisner (March 3, 1917 – January 3, 2005, Lauderdale Lakes, Florida) was an acclaimed American comics writer and artist who is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium. ... In June of 1940 Will Eisner created The Spirit, a comic serial that appeared weekly in a Sunday newspaper insert (which contained four or five stories, each seven to eight pages long). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to their legal name (whereas an allonym is the name of another actual person assumed by one person, usually historical, in authorship of a work of art; e. ...

He began signing his name simply "Cardy" on the feature "Quicksilver" in National Comics. Using both that shortened form and his original name concurrently for a time, he eventually adopted Nick Cardy for his comic-book work.

Cardy did World War II military service from 1943 to 1945, earning two Purple Hearts for wounds suffered as a tank driver in the armored cavalry. He began his Army career with the 66th Infantry Division, during which time he won a compeition to design its patch, creating its snarling black panther logo. His art talent led to his being assigned an office job at division headquarters. This lasted, Cardy recalled in an interview [1], a general who had seen Cardy's cartoons in an Officers Club had Cardy assigned to his own corps. (Cardy gave the name as "General Shelby Burke", but that appears to be a misstatement; no one by that name or similar is found in the National Archives website [2] nor the U.S. Army Center of Military History website [3]). As the artist tells it, the only opening was for a corporal in the motor pool, so Private Cardy was promoted and assigned to that duty. This, he said, led in turn, upon his being shipped to the European theater, to Cardy's assignment as an assistant tank driver for the Third Armored Division, under General Courtney Hodges. Later, between the end of the war and his discharge, Cardy said he worked for the Army's Information and Education office in France. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... Military service is service in the armed forces of a nation or the military arm of a political organization. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Purple Hearts can refer to the following: The US service award, the Purple Heart The British mod revial group, Purple Hearts ... Alternative meanings: vehicle armour, Armor (novel) A hoplite wearing a helmet, a breastplate and greaves (and nothing else). ... Italian cavalry officers practice their horsemanship in 1904 outside Rome. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Infantry of the 36th Ulster Division, in the First World War Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, mainly with small arms and operate within organized military units. ... Black panther variant of the leopard. ... Courtney Hicks Hodges (January 5, 1887 – January 16, 1966) was an American military officer, most prominent for his role in World War II, in which he commanded the U.S. First Army in Northwest Europe. ...

Back in civilian life, Cardy begin doing advertising art as well as covers for crossword puzzle magazines and other periodicals. Though he hadn't planned on returning to comics, he landed the assignment of drawing the black-and-white daily Tarzan comic strip of writer-artist Burne Hogarth. Cardy also worked on Warren Tufts' comic strip Casey Ruggles. Generally speaking, advertising is the promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas, usually by an identified sponsor. ... Crossword Puzzle was the second to last album made by The Partridge Family, and was not one of the most popular albums. ... Tarzan, a character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1914 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in twenty-three sequels. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Burne Hogarth (December 25, 1911 - January 28, 1996) was an American cartoonist, illustrator, educator, and author. ... Warren Tufts is a major comic strip artist and writer who was born too late. ... Casey Ruggles is a western comic strip written and drawn by Warren Tufts. ...

DC Comics

Aquaman #39 (June 1968). Art by Cardy, who'd designed Mera, Aquaman's wife (pictured), in issue #11.

In 1950, Cardy began his decades-long association with DC Comics, starting with the comic book Gang Busters, based on the dramatic radio show. He began developing his breakout reputation with Tomahawk, his most prominent series at the time, which starred a white American colonist fighting the British undercover as an Iroquois Indian during the American Revolutionary War. Image File history File links Aquaman39. ... Image File history File links Aquaman39. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The current DC Comics logo, adopted in May 2005. ... Gangbusters was a dramatic radio program. ... Radio broadcasts have been a popular entertainment since the 1910s, though popularity has declined a little in some countries since television became widespread. ... Tomahawk is a comic book character whose adventures were published by DC Comics during the 1950s and 1960s in his own comics series. ... The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee, also known as the League of Peace and Power, Five Nations, or Six Nations) is a group of First Nations/Native Americans. ... Combatants American Patriots, France, allies British Empire, allies Commanders George Washington Comte de Rochambeau Nathanael Greene William Howe Henry Clinton Charles Cornwallis Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties {{{casualties1}}} {{{casualties2}}} The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known, especially internationally, as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between...

From 1962-1968, he drew the first 39 issues of Aquaman (whose character had previously starred in a backup feature in Adventure Comics), and all its covers through the final issue (#56, April 1971). In the book The Art of Nick Cardy, he recalled that, "Ramona Fradon had been drawing the character but was moving on for some reason. I remember being in [editor] Murray's [Boltinoff] office with Ramona during the transition. ... Anyway, they must have liked my work because when the character got his own series, they made me the artist". [4] 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Aquaman is a DC Comics superhero. ... Adventure Comics was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... Ramona Fradon is an American comic book and comic strip artist. ...

From 1966-73, Cardy penciled or inked — sometimes both — all 43 issues of Teen Titans, a light-adventure series featuring the superhero sidekicks Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Green Arrow-protégé Speedy. In 1968-69, he drew the fondly remembered but short-lived, quirky Western series Bat Lash, about an expert gunslinger who was nonetheless a dandy, and who, in a nod to 1960s counterculture, wore a flower in his hat. Cardy during this time also assisted artist Al Plastino, a childhood friend, on the Batman syndicated comic strip. In producing a comic book, the penciller (or penciler) draws the comic based on the script created by the writer. ... The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book, or graphic novel. ... Superman (left) and Batman, two of the most recognizable and influential superheroes. ... Sidekicks is a 1992 movie about a kid called Barry Gabrewski who has asthma. ... The given name Robin was originally a diminutive of Robert, derived from Rob and the diminutive Old French suffix -in. ... Wonder Girl is a superheroine from DC Comics. ... Kid Flash is the name of three fictional characters, all superheroes, in the DC Comics universe. ... Aqualad is a fictional character, a superhero from DC Comics. ... Green Arrow (Oliver Ollie Queen) is a DC Comics superhero. ... Speedy is the name of two DC Comics superheroes, both of whom have served as teenaged sidekicks for the Green Arrow (a. ... The Western is an American genre in literature and film. ... Bat Lash, as depicted in Justice League Unlimited Bat Lash Bat (Batton) Lash first appeared in 1968, in a house ad running in Superman DC Comics. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe a cultural group whose values and norms are at odds with those of the social mainstream, a cultural equivalent of a political opposition. ... The DC Comics superhero Batman (originally and still sometimes referred to as The Batman) is a fictional character who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... In the entertainment and news industries, syndication is a method of making content available to a range of outlets simultaneously. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ...

Cardy became the primary DC cover artist from the early to mid-1970s, giving the company's line a uniform clean, understated yet illustrative look — similar to that of fellow DC cover artist Neal Adams but with less weight and dimensional shadow. The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... Cover to Green Lantern #76, April 1970. ...

Later career

Cardy left comics in the mid-1970s for the more lucrative field of commercial art. There, under the name Nick Cardi ¹ he did magazine art and ad illustrations, including advertising art (though not necessarily the "one-sheet" movie posters) for films including The Street Fighter (1974), The Night They Robbed Big Bertha's (1975), Neil Simon's California Suite (1978), Stanley Donen's Movie Movie (1978), Martin Ritt's Casey's Shadow (1978), and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979). He added the images of the droids to the art for the Star Wars (1977) one-sheet. Commercial art refers to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. ... Film may refer to: photographic film a motion picture in academics, the study of motion pictures as an art form a thin skin or membrane, or any covering or coating, whether transparent or opaque a thin layer of liquid, either on a solid or liquid surface or free-standing Film... The Street Fighter is a Japanese martial arts movie released in 1974 and produced by Toei Company Ltd. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927 in The Bronx, New York City), is an American playwright and screenwriter. ... California Suite is a play by Neil Simon about five couples, all set in one hotel suite in California. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Stanley Donen (born April 13, 1924) is an American film director and choreographer hailed by David Quinlan as the King of the Hollywood musicals. His most famous work is Singin In The Rain, which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. ... Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914–December 8, 1990) was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theatre. ... Francis Ford Coppola at Cannes 2001 Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American film director, screenwriter, vintner, magazine publisher, and hotelier, most renowned for directing the highly regarded Godfather trilogy. ... Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script by John Milius (rewritten by Coppola) which was inspired by Joseph Conrads classic novella Heart of Darkness. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

Residing in Florida as of 2005, the veteran artist appears at comic-book conventions and draws commissioned art. On Friday, July 15, 2005, at San Diego Comic-Con's 17th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, he was one of four professionals that year inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame. State nickname: Sunshine State Official languages English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville (largest metropolitan area is Miami) Governor Jeb Bush (R) Senators Bill Nelson (D) Mel Martinez (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 22nd 170,451 km² 17. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Generally, convention means coming together. ... Comic-Con International is an annual comic book convention held in San Diego, California. ...

Quotes

Nick Cardy on his start at Eisner & Iger [5]: "I remember Lou Fine, George Tuska, [and] Charlie Sultan. Bob Powell came in later when I was doing "Lady Luck." He was sitting behind me. He would help a kid around the block — tell a newcomer to take it easy and that sort of thing. When I worked on "Lady Luck," Will Eisner had rented an apartment at [the Manhattan complex] Tudor City.... He had one room where he worked, and the other room took up all the rest of the paraphernalia. I sat next to Will's door, Bob Powell sat next to me; Tex Blaisdell used to come in, and Chuck Cuidera (who was doing Blackhawk) was there. ... It was a learning experience. Watching Lou Fine work — his work was like a fine painting; it took a long time to do it but it was a brilliant piece of work. In my opinion, for drawing, you couldn't beat Lou Fine; he was terrific. I think Will Eisner had a coarser line but his work was more dramatic and he told a better story." George Tuska (born April 26, 1916, Hartford, Connecticut) a. ... Charles Nicholas is the pseudonym of three early creators of American comic books. ... The term Blackhawk can refer to: a native American leader (Black Hawk) the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter Blackhawk, a comic book Blackhawk is a make of car. ...

Nick Cardy on the popular but apocryphal anecdote, told by Julius Schwartz, about Carmine Infantino firing Cardy over not following a cover layout, only to rehire him moments later when Schwartz praised the errant cover art: "[A]t one of the conventions ... I said, 'You know, Carmine, Julie Schwartz wrote something in [his autobiography] that I don't remember at all and it doesn't sound like you at all'. And I told him the incident ... and he said, 'That's crazy. You know I always loved your work. Gee, you were one of the best artists in the businesss. The guy's crazy'. So I said, 'Okay, come on'. We went over to Julie Schwartz's table and we told him what our problem was. And Carmine and I said, 'We don't remember the incident'. So Julie said, 'Well, it's a good story, anyway'. [laughs] And that was it. He let it go at that. [laughs] He just made it up". — Back Issue #13, Dec. 2005: "Nick Cardy: Man and Super Man" (interview), p. 6 In Judeo-Christian theologies, apocrypha refers to religious Sacred text that have questionable authenticity or are otherwise disputed. ... ... Julius Julie Schwartz (June 19, 1915 - February 8, 2004) was a comic book and pulp magazine editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. ... Carmine Infantino (May 24, 1925-) is a comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books. ...

References

"Bat Lash" #1 (Nov. 1968). Art by Nick Cardy.

• The Official Nick Cardy Website
• Lambiek Comiclopedia: Nick Cardy (Nicholas Viscardi)
• Comic Book Artist #5: "Spotlight on Nick Cardy: The 1998 San Diego ComiCon Panel Transcript"
• Talent Pool: Nick Cardy
• The Grand Comic Book Database
• Don Markestein's Toonpedia: Bat Lash
• "Spirit of Will Eisner Lives on at 2005 Eisner Awards"
• The Art of Nick Cardy by John Coates with Nick Cardy, Vanguard Productions, 2001, ISBN 1887591222
• Comic Book Marketplace Vol. 2, #48 (June 1997): Nick Cardy interview, pp. 20-27, 44-51 (offline)
• The Brave and the Bold #91 (DC Comics) - Full-page Cardy biography in lieu of letters page (offline)

Image File history File links BatLash1. ... Image File history File links BatLash1. ...

External links

• World Talk Radio: Audio interview with Nick Cardy
• P.O.V. Online 3/2/01: Transcript excerpt, 1998 San Diego Comic-Con's Nick Cardy panel, Part 1
• Panel above, Part 2

Footnotes

• ¹ Per reproduction of his commercial-art notecard in Back Issue #13, Dec. 2005, p. 9, which gave his now-defunct, 1970s contact information as "Nick Cardi / 329 West 57th St., NYC, NY 10019 / (212) 581-9025"