Comics artist and editor Dick Giordano died 27 March 2010 from complications of treatment he was undergoing for leukemia. Born Richard Joseph Giordano in Manhattan, New York, on 20 July 1932, he discovered comics when he was a child suffering from scarlet fever, and his father brought him comics to read during his recovery.
He attended New York’s School of Industrial Art (later called the High School of Art and Design), and then began working in comics in 1951, at the Jenny Iger Studio. The following year, he moved to Charlton Comics, where he started as a freelance artist and worked his way up to editor-in-chief. While there, he oversaw the creation of The Blue Beetle and Captain Atom.
In 1967, he moved over to DC Comics, working as an artist and editor, but he left in 1971 to co-found commercial art firm Continuity Associates. He returned to DC, however, in 1980, and worked his way up to Executive Editorial Director, where he “was the guiding force behind such award-winning series as Alan Moore’s Watchmen, Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns, and many more revolutionary concepts,” according to his own web site. The New York Times notes that during his tenure, “DC Comics also introduced its first graphic novel collections,” and that he had a hand in the epic Crisis on Infinite Earths and The Man of Steel Superman reboot. He left DC in 1993.
Paul Levitz, who was the president and publisher of DC from 2002 to 2009, credits Giordano with instituting the policy of crediting writers and artists on comic book covers. Levitz also remarked on Giordano’s artistic background, telling the Times, “As far as those who keep track can tell, he inked more pages for DC than anyone else.”
After leaving DC, Giordano founded advertising art company Dik-Art, Inc., which he continued to manage until his death, and co-founded multi-media company Future Entertainment.
Recently, he returned to his artistic roots, pencilling projects such as Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table, Batman: Hollywood Knight, and the six-issue miniseries The L.A.W.. He also created the art for a graphic adaptation of Moby Dick.
His wife of 37 years, Marie, died a few months before he retired from DC. He is survived by two daughters, one son, and two grandchildren.