Daniel S. DeCarlo (December 12, 1919 – December 18, 2001) was an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

best known for having developed the look of

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats (the title character of which was named for his wife), and Cheryl Blossom.

Early life and career

Dan DeCarlo was born in New Rochelle, New York, the son of a gardener.DeCarlo in He attended New Rochelle High School, followed by Manhattan's Art Students League from 1938 to 1941, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Stationed in Great Britain, he worked in the motor pool and as a draftsman, and painted company mascots on the noses of airplanes. He also drew a weekly military

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

, ''418th Scandal Sheet''. He met his wife, French citizen Josie Dumont, on a blind date in Belgium not long after the Battle of the Bulge.

Atlas and Archie

DeCarlo was married, with a pregnant wife, and working as a laborer for his father when he began to pursue a professional art career. Circa 1947, answering an ad, he broke into the comic book industry at Timely Comics, the 1940s iteration of Marvel Comics. Under editor-in-chief

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, his first assignment was the teen-humor series ''Jeanie''. DeCarlo went uncredited, as was typical for most comic-book writers and artists of the era, and he recalled in 2001, "I went on with her maybe ten books. They used to call me 'The Jeanie Machine' because that was all Stan used to give me, was ''Jeanie''.... Then he took me off ''Jeanie'' and he gave me '' Millie the Model''. That was a big break for me. It wasn't doing too well and somehow when I got on it became quite successful." He went on to an atypically long, 10-year run on that humor series, from issues #18–93 (June 1949 – Nov. 1959), most of them published by Marvel's 1950s predecessor,

Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to * Atlas Comics (1950s) Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic book, comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and mass market paperback, paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin ...

.''Millie the Model''
at the Grand Comics Database DeCarlo and Lee also took over the '' My Friend Irma'' comic strip, spun off from the hit Marie Wilson radio comedy. For a decade, DeCarlo wrote and drew the

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

y adventures of Millie Collins, her redheaded friendly nemesis Chili Storm and the rest of the cast. He also contributed the short-lived ''Sherry the Showgirl'' and ''Showgirls'' for Atlas. In 1960, he and Atlas editor-in-chief

co-created the short-lived

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

'' Willie Lumpkin'', about a suburban mail carrier, for the Chicago-based

Publishers Syndicate Publishers Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated from 1925 to 1967, when it merged with the Hall Syndicate. Publishers syndicated such long-lived comic strips as '' Big Chief Wahoo/Steve Roper'', ''Mary Wort ...

. A version of the character later appeared as a long-running minor supporting character in Lee's later co-creation, the Marvel Comics series ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

''. As well during this period, DeCarlo created and drew Standard Comics' futuristic teen-humor comic book ''Jetta of the 21st Century''. Running three issues, #5–7 (Dec. 1952 - April 1953), it featured red-haired Jetta Raye and her friends at Neutron High School.''Jetta of the 21st Century''
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on October 8, 2016. In addition to his comic-book work, DeCarlo drew freelance pieces for the magazines '' The Saturday Evening Post'' and ''

Argosy Argosy or The Argosy may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Argosy'' (magazine), an American pulp magazine 1882–1978 and revived 1990–1994, 2004–2006 * ''Argosy'' (UK magazine), three British magazines * Argosy spaceship in ''Escap ...

'', as well as Timely/Atlas publisher Martin Goodman's

Humorama Humorama, a division of Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman's publishing firm, was a line of digest-sized magazines featuring girlie cartoons by Bill Ward (cartoonist), Bill Ward, Bill Wenzel, Dan DeCarlo, Jack Cole (artist), Jack Cole and m ...

line of pin-up girl cartoon digests. DeCarlo first freelanced for

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. with his earliest confirmed credit the 3 3/4-page story "No Picnic" in ''Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica'' #4 (undated; published in late 1951 or early to mid-1952). His art soon established the publisher's house style. As well, he is the generally recognized creator of the teen-humor characters Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, and Cheryl Blossom.

Josie

DeCarlo created Josie on his own in the late 1950s; his wife, named Josie, said in an interview quoted in a DeCarlo obituary, "We went on a

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

cruise, and I had a atcostume for the cruise, and that's the way it started." DeCarlo first tried to sell the character as a syndicated comic strip called ''Here's Josie'', recalling in 2001: Josie was introduced in ''

Archie's Pals 'n' Gals ''Archie's Pals 'n' Gals'' was an ongoing comic book series published by Archie Comics featuring Archie and his friends. It originally ran from 1952 to 1991. The title showcased other members of the Archie gang, such as Betty and Veronica, Jug ...

'' #23. The first issue of ''She's Josie'' followed, cover-dated February 1963. The series featured levelheaded, sweet-natured Josie, her blonde bombshell friend Melody, and bookwormish brunette Pepper. These early years also featured the characters of Josie and Pepper's boyfriends Albert and Sock (real name Socrates); Albert's rival Alexander Cabot III; and Alex's twin sister Alexandra. Occasionally Josie and her friends appeared in " crossover" issues with the main Archie characters. ''She's Josie'' was renamed ''Josie'' with issue #17 (Dec. 1965), and again renamed, to ''Josie and the Pussycats'', with issue #45 (Dec. 1969), whereby Pepper was replaced by Valerie and Albert was replaced by Alan M. Under this title, the series finished its run with issue #106 (Oct. 1982). Josie and her gang also made irregular appearances in '' Pep Comics'' and ''

Laugh Comics ''Laugh Comics'' was a comic book produced by Archie Comics in two volumes, from 1946 to 1987 and 1987 to 1991. The title showcased some of the early appearances of the "Archie gang." Beginning with issue #145, Josie began making semi-regular a ...

'' during the 1960s. When Universal Pictures was preparing the live-action movie adaptation '' Josie and the Pussycats'' in 2001, DeCarlo and Archie Comics became involved in a lawsuit over the character's creation, leading the publisher to terminate its 43-year relationship with him. A federal district court ruled in 2001 that Archie Comics owned the copyright to the Josie characters; this decision was affirmed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.Dean, Mike. On December 11, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by DeCarlo's attorney, Whitney Seymour Jr., who had argued that the issue was a matter of state

property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual pro ...

and not federal copyright law. DeCarlo was listed as a creator in the end credits of the film '' Josie and the Pussycats''. He received credit as co-creator of the live-action television show '' Sabrina the Teenage Witch''. Among DeCarlo's final works were a story for Paul Dini's independent comics series ''

Jingle Belle Jingle Belle is a fictional comics character created by Paul Dini. The spoiled teenage daughter of Santa Claus, she has a humorously contentious relationship with her famous father. She is usually motivated by feeling unappreciated or being jea ...

'', and stories for Bongo Comics' '' The Simpsons'' TV tie-in comic, ''

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' ...

''.

Death

DeCarlo died in New Rochelle, New York, of pneumonia. Comics creator Paul Dini said upon DeCarlo's death, "It was tragic that when he was at an age when many cartoonists are revered as treasures by more beneficent publishers, Dan felt spurned and slighted by the owners of properties that prospered greatly from his contributions."

Personal life

His twin sons, Dan DeCarlo Jr., Dan Jr. and Jim DeCarlo, James "Jim" DeCarlo (born January 27, 1948) were also prolific Archie artists, penciling and inking respectively.Dan & James DeCarlo Jr.
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. Accessed March 18, 2008 The two predeceased their father. Dan Jr. died in October 1990 of stomach cancer, and James died in August 1991 from complications from a stroke. Josie DeCarlo, the inspiration for singer-guitarist Josie McCoy of the 1970s Hanna-Barbera series ''Josie and the Pussycats'' and its successors, died in her sleep on March 14, 2012.

Josie DeCarlo

Josette Marie "Josie" DeCarlo (née Dumont; September 8, 1923 – March 14, 2012) was a France, French-born Model (person), model who became the inspiration and namesake for Josie McCoy of '' Josie and the Pussycats'' comics and the 1970 Hanna-Barbera Josie and the Pussycats (TV series), Saturday morning cartoon series. She met future husband Dan DeCarlo on a blind date in Belgium in 1945, Shortly after the Battle of the Bulge. At the time, Dumont did not speak English language, English, while DeCarlo, a member of the U.S. Army during World War II, spoke very little French language, French. Unable to have a conversation due to their language barrier, the two communicated through his cartoons. She later explained, "We communicated with drawing.... He would draw things for me to make me understand what he had in mind. He was really so amusing. Instead of just using words, he would use cartoons to express himself. Right away, we knew that we were meant for each other." The couple married in 1946. She became the inspiration for ''Josie and the Pussycats'' while the couple were on a Cruise ship, cruise. Josie DeCarlo wore a catsuit costume during the cruise, which became the basis for the fictional ''Josie and the Pussycats'' trademark outfits. Later, when she got a new hairdo, Dan DeCarlo incorporated it into the Josie character as well, "The hairdo came after... One day, I came in with a new hairdo with a little bow in my hair, and he said, 'That's it!'" Dan DeCarlo drew his wife with the cat costume as Josie McCoy and naming the starring character Josie. Josie first appeared in Archie Comics in 1962. The character was voiced by actress Janet Waldo in the Josie and the Pussycats (TV series), television series. After her husband's death in 2001, Josie DeCarlo remained active in the comics and animation industries, promoting his work. Josie DeCarlo died in her sleep on March 14, 2012, aged 88. Her funeral was held in Scarsdale, New York.

Awards

DeCarlo won the National Cartoonists Society Award for Best Comic Book in 2000 for ''Betty and Veronica Magazine, Betty & Veronica''. He was nominated for the Academy of Comic Book Arts' Shazam Award for Best Penciller (Humor Division) in 1974.

Legacy

''Love and Rockets (comics), Love and Rockets'' co-creators Jaime Hernandez and Gilbert Hernandez cite DeCarlo as an artistic influence. Artist/animator Bruce Timm, best known for his contributions to the DC animated universe, DC Animated Universe, has cited Dan DeCarlo as one of his influences.

References

External links

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Archie
at

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. October 31, 2011. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Decarlo, Dan 1919 births 2001 deaths Archie Comics Art Students League of New York alumni Artists from New Rochelle, New York Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Inkpot Award winners Sabrina the Teenage Witch Silver Age comics creators United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees New Rochelle High School alumni