Alfred Andriola
Encyclopedia
Alfred James Andriola was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip
Kerry Drake
, for which he won a Reuben Award in 1970. His work sometimes appeared under the pseudonym Alfred James.
Andriola was born in New York City
and grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey
. He studied at Cooper Union
and Columbia University
, intending to becoming a writer. Instead, following a fan letter he wrote to Milton Caniff
, he became his assistant, working with him on Terry and the Pirates
and Scorchy Smith
.
(1938–1942), an adaptation of the popular detective novels for the McNaught Syndicate
. For five months in 1943 he drew a minor superhero, Captain Triumph
, for Quality Comics
' Crack Comics
.
For a year he drew the strip Dan Dunn
with writer Allen Saunders
. Dunn ended on October 3, 1943, and the next day their Kerry Drake debuted. Originally a district attorney's investigator, Drake became a municipal police officer when Sandy Burns, his secretary and fiancee, was murdered by Trinket and Bulldozer.
As both a DA's man and a city cop, he battled a series of flamboyant villains, including Bottleneck, Mother Whistler and No-Face. It gradually became a soap opera
strip focusing on Drake's home life with his wife Mindy and their quadruplets, as Drake's younger brother Lefty, a private eye, took over more of the adventure plots. Andriola was assisted (and ghosted) by artists Fran Matera
, Jerry Robinson
and Sururi Gumen
, the last of whom shared credit with Andriola starting in 1976. Using the pseudonym Alfred James, he collaborated with Mel Casson
on the strip It's Me, Dilly from 1957 to 1960. Kerry Drake was canceled after Andriola died in 1983.
's Silver T-square Award in 1970 and their Reuben Award in 1971.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Kerry Drake
Kerry Drake
Kerry Drake is the title of a comic strip created for Publishers Syndicate by Alfred Andriola as artist and Allen Saunders as uncredited writer...
, for which he won a Reuben Award in 1970. His work sometimes appeared under the pseudonym Alfred James.
Andriola was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey
Rutherford, New Jersey
Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 18,061. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
. He studied at Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, intending to becoming a writer. Instead, following a fan letter he wrote to Milton Caniff
Milton Caniff
Milton Arthur Paul Caniff was an American cartoonist famous for the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips.-Biography:...
, he became his assistant, working with him on Terry and the Pirates
Terry and the Pirates (comic strip)
Terry and the Pirates was an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, had admired Caniff’s work on the children's adventure strip Dickie Dare and hired him to create the new adventure strip,...
and Scorchy Smith
Scorchy Smith
Scorchy Smith was an American adventure comic strip created by artist John Terry that ran from 1930 to 1961.Scorchy Smith was a pilot-for-hire whose initial adventures took him across America, fighting criminals and aiding damsels in distress...
.
Comic strips and comic books
His first strip was Charlie ChanCharlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
(1938–1942), an adaptation of the popular detective novels for the McNaught Syndicate
McNaught Syndicate
The McNaught Syndicate was an American newspaper syndicate founded in 1922. It was established by Virgil Venice McNitt and Charles V. McAdam. Its best known contents were the columns by Will Rogers and O. O. McIntyre, the Dear Abby letters section and comic strips, including Joe Palooka and...
. For five months in 1943 he drew a minor superhero, Captain Triumph
Captain Triumph
Captain Triumph is a superhero from the Golden Age of Comics who first appeared in Crack Comics #27, published in January 1943 by Quality Comics. The character was later obtained by DC Comics, though by that time he had already lapsed into public domain. Some of his Golden Age adventures were...
, for Quality Comics
Quality Comics
Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company that operated from 1939 to 1956 and was an influential creative force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of comic books....
' Crack Comics
Crack Comics
Crack Comics was an anthology comic book series published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It featured such characters as The Clock, Black Condor, Captain Triumph, Alias the Spider, Madame Fatal, Jane Arden, Molly the Model, and Red Torpedo...
.
For a year he drew the strip Dan Dunn
Dan Dunn
Dan Dunn was the first fictional character to make his debut in an American comic magazine, making him the forerunner of many comic book heroes. Created by Norman Marsh, he first appeared in Detective Dan, Secret Operative No...
with writer Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Mary Worth and Kerry Drake...
. Dunn ended on October 3, 1943, and the next day their Kerry Drake debuted. Originally a district attorney's investigator, Drake became a municipal police officer when Sandy Burns, his secretary and fiancee, was murdered by Trinket and Bulldozer.
As both a DA's man and a city cop, he battled a series of flamboyant villains, including Bottleneck, Mother Whistler and No-Face. It gradually became a soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
strip focusing on Drake's home life with his wife Mindy and their quadruplets, as Drake's younger brother Lefty, a private eye, took over more of the adventure plots. Andriola was assisted (and ghosted) by artists Fran Matera
Fran Matera
Francis "Fran" Matera is an American comic strip artist best known for his King Features Syndicate adventure strip Steve Roper and Mike Nomad from 1984 to 2004. In addition to his extensive experience in newspaper strips, Matera also spent many years in the comic book industry, particularly for...
, Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson is an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s.He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.-Career:...
and Sururi Gumen
Sururi Gümen
Sururi Gümen was a Turkish American illustrator. For many years he was an uncredited ghost artist behind Alfred Andriola's comic strip Kerry Drake, finally receiving co-credit in 1976....
, the last of whom shared credit with Andriola starting in 1976. Using the pseudonym Alfred James, he collaborated with Mel Casson
Mel Casson
Mel Casson was an American cartoonist with a 50-year career. He is primarily remembered for his work on the daily comic strips Sparky, Angel, Mixed Singles/Boomer and Redeye, plus numerous magazine cartoons....
on the strip It's Me, Dilly from 1957 to 1960. Kerry Drake was canceled after Andriola died in 1983.
Books
He contributed to the book, Ever Since Adam and Eve: A Pictorial Narrative of the Battle of the Sexes in Original Drawings by 86 Famous Cartoonists (McGraw Hill, 1955).Awards
Andriola received the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
's Silver T-square Award in 1970 and their Reuben Award in 1971.