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Hi,

So, here I am - trying to keep a tempo of Submissions going.

This one, for April Fool's Day, looks at one of the unsung guys in comic and art - Nick Cardy (1920-2013).

Poor Nick.

Why did I think of him on April Fool's Day? Well, he's overlooked by the comic world and art world. He had skill and a passion for art. But his art is always seen as second-fiddle to others.

What really caught my mind about him - and seemed to fit him for his role as an underdog for April 1- was that his work is seen all the time. It's world known. Literally billions of people have seen his work - but never knew it. Poor Nick was tasked to paint in the figures of C3PO and R2D2 into the background of the famous Tom Jung version of the first 1977 Star Wars cinema posters. The original art didn't feature the droids. Jung decided they didn't fit the tone and composition he was aiming for. But with the release of the film the droids became popular characters, Cardy was tasked to add them in; painting them in at the behest of the studio, but never getting any proper credit.

Oh, and poor Nick was the main artist for the first Aquaman DC comics in the 1960's - he's widely seen (rightly or wrongly) as a pretty much a joke of a character. :/

Nick was a veteran of WW2. A corporal and recipient of the Purple Heart for combat, he saw in Europe as tank crew.

After leaving DC, he went into commercial art - doing the movie poster for The California Suite and Apocalypse Now (but, again, keeping with Nick's also-ran status in art, not the more famous poster that Bob Peak designed!) It was the style he adopted with the California Suite poster that inspired this Submission.

As always, I hope this Velma amuses more than she offends.

And, as always, many thanks to those who stop by here and leave encouraging word or useful feedback.

It's truly, truly appreciated!

Best wishes,

John

Description
Hi,

So, here I am - trying to keep a tempo of Submissions going.

This one, for April Fool's Day, looks at one of the unsung guys in comic and art - Nick Cardy (1920-2013).

Poor Nick.

Why did I think of him on April Fool's Day? Well, he's overlooked by the comic world and art world. He had skill and a passion for art. But his art is always seen as second-fiddle to others.

What really caught my mind about him - and seemed to fit him for his role as an underdog for April 1- was that his work is seen all the time. It's world known. Literally billions of people have seen his work - but never knew it. Poor Nick was tasked to paint in the figures of C3PO and R2D2 into the background of the famous Tom Jung version of the first 1977 Star Wars cinema posters. The original art didn't feature the droids. Jung decided they didn't fit the tone and composition he was aiming for. But with the release of the film the droids became popular characters, Cardy was tasked to add them in; painting them in at the behest of the studio, but never getting any proper credit.

Oh, and poor Nick was the main artist for the first Aquaman DC comics in the 1960's - he's widely seen (rightly or wrongly) as a pretty much a joke of a character. :/

Nick was a veteran of WW2. A corporal and recipient of the Purple Heart for combat, he saw in Europe as tank crew.

After leaving DC, he went into commercial art - doing the movie poster for The California Suite and Apocalypse Now (but, again, keeping with Nick's also-ran status in art, not the more famous poster that Bob Peak designed!) It was the style he adopted with the California Suite poster that inspired this Submission.

As always, I hope this Velma amuses more than she offends.

And, as always, many thanks to those who stop by here and leave encouraging word or useful feedback.

It's truly, truly appreciated!

Best wishes,

John