Jack Rickard (March 8, 1922 – July 22, 1983), was an American illustrator for numerous advertising campaigns and multiple comic strips but was best known as a key contributor to '' Mad'' for more than two decades. Rickard's artwork appeared in more than 175 ''Mad'' issues, including 35 covers; he also illustrated sixteen ''Mad'' paperback covers. After attending the

Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private research university in the town of Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional ...

on an art scholarship, Rickard did

commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of prom ...

for Chaite Studios in the 1950s. He illustrated covers for "men's magazines" such as "

Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

" and "

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...

", contributed to

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

and worked as an assistant on the ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

'' comic strip. Soon after, he became a mainstay in the advertising field, where his work attracted the attention of ''Mads editors. He began illustrating for the humor magazine in 1961 and remained a regular until his death from cancer 22 years later.

Comic strip

In 1966–1967, he collaborated with

Mell Lazarus Melvin Lazarus (May 3, 1927 – May 24, 2016) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of two comic strips, ''Miss Peach'' (1957–2002) and ''Momma'' (1970–2016). Additionally, he wrote two novels. For his comic strip ''Pauline M ...

on a newspaper comic strip, ''Pauline McPeril'' (a.k.a. ''The Adventures of Pauline McPeril'') for

Publishers-Hall Syndicate Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded by Robert M. Hall in 1944. Hall served as the company's president and general manager. Over the course of its operations, the company was known as, sequentially, the Hall Syndicate (1944 ...

. Lazarus used the pseudonym "Fulton" on this strip, which followed the misadventures of blonde secret agent McPeril.

''Mad''

''Mad'' editor

Nick Meglin Nick Meglin (July 30, 1935 – June 2, 2018) was an American writer, humorist, and artist. He was known for his work as a contributor, comics writer, illustrator and editor for the satirical magazine '' Mad''. He also scripted ''Superfan'', a 1 ...

commented, "I think of all the artists we've had, we miss Jack the most. Jack had so many styles, such a total command of all techniques. He was especially useful when we wanted something to have a real rounded, 3-D look to it." After

Norman Mingo Norman Theodore Mingo (January 25, 1896May 8, 1980) was an American commercial artist and illustrator. He is most famous for being commissioned to formalize the image of Alfred E. Neuman for '' Mad.''Lambiek Comiclopedia, https://www.lambiek.net ...

semi-retired in 1976, Rickard became ''Mads main cover artist until his death seven years later. He also illustrated for the original ''Mad'' paperbacks, including

Frank Jacobs Franklin Jacobs (May 30, 1929 – April 5, 2021) was an American author of satires, known primarily for his work in '' Mad'', to which he contributed from 1957 to 2014. Jacobs wrote a wide variety of lampoons and spoof, but was best known as a ve ...

' ''Mad About Sports'' (1972). Some of his ''Mad'' work was reprinted in Richard Linklater's ''Dazed and Confused: Teenage Nostalgia. Instant and Cool 70's Memorabilia'' (MCA, 1993), a tie-in with Linklater's 1993 film, '' Dazed and Confused''.

Movie Posters

Rickard's style was in demand for movie promotional artwork and posters. Among his numerous assignments, he created the poster art for two Sidney Poitier movies, ''

Uptown Saturday Night Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico * Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina * Uptown, area surrounding the University of Ci ...

'' and '' Let's Do It Again'', and for two

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

films, the 1963 film ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...

'' and the 1974 ''

Soft Beds, Hard Battles ''Soft Beds, Hard Battles'' is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting, starring Peter Sellers (in several roles), Curt Jurgens, Lila Kedrova and Jenny Hanley. Sellers reunited with the Boulting brothers for this farce, in which the ...

'' (a.k.a. ''Party for Hitler'' and ''Undercovers Hero''). Rickard illustrated both the original movie poster for ''

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker, who also produced the film, and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, and Dyan Cannon. The origi ...

'' and its parody on the cover of ''Mad'' #137.

References

External links

Complete list of Jack Rickard's ''Mad'' contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Jack 1922 births 1983 deaths American illustrators American comics artists Mad (magazine) cartoonists Film poster artists Rochester Institute of Technology alumni