Jerry Grandenetti
Encyclopedia
Charles J. "Jerry" Grandenetti (April 15, 1926, Bronxville
, New York
- February 19, 2010, Bellport, New York
) was an American
comic book artist
and advertising
art director
, best known for his work with writer-artist Will Eisner
on the celebrated comics feature "The Spirit
", and for his decade-and-a-half run on many DC Comics
war series
. He also co-created Prez with Joe Simon
.
Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein
's 1962 painting Whaam!
(aka Jet Pilot) is based on a Grandenetti comic-book panel on the cover of DC's All-American Men of War
#89 (Feb. 1962).
Raised in the village of Bronxville in the town of Eastchester, New York, a suburb
of New York City
, Jerry Grandenetti studied art and architectural drawing at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later named the School of Visual Arts
), in Manhattan
. He did World War II
military service in the U.S. Navy "in 1942 or 1943", he recalled, and after the war attended Brooklyn
's Pratt Institute
on the G.I. Bill. In either 1946 or 1948 (accounts differ), he was making the rounds of comic-book companies and met Everett M. "Busy" Arnold, publisher of Quality Comics
. Arnold had no position for him but sent Grandenetti to Will Eisner
, writer-artist of the Sunday-newspaper comic-book section starring Eisner's celebrated character the Spirit. Grandenetti hired on as an art assistant. As The Comics Journal
editor-publisher Gary Groth
wrote, "By the late '40s, Eisner's participation in the strip had dwindled to a largely supervisory role. ... Eisner hired Jerry Grandenetti and Jim Dixon to occasionally ink his pencils. By 1950,[ Jules] Feiffer
was writing most of the strips, and Grandenetti, Dixon, and Al Wenzel were drawing them" — with Grandenetti actually penciling as a ghost-artist
, under Eisner's byline.
"Working for Eisner was exciting", Grandenetti recalled in 2005. "Although there was no such thing as teaching or showing you how to develop your craft. ... Before [the feature's] demise he tried everything. Had me penciling 'The Spirit'. Later on it was Wally Wood
", who drew it through to its end in 1952, "but nothing could save 'The Spirit'! Sad, too. It was probably the greatest comic strip ever created".
In 1949, Eisner, in his sideline as a comics packager, created the feature "Secret Files of Dr. Drew" for Fiction House
. Grandenetti said Eisner instructed him to draw it "in the Eisner style. Which I did, badly. Anyway, after a couple of stories I began to do my own thing". The eight-page story "The Strange Case of the Absent Floor" in Rangers Comics #47 (June 1949), which he both penciled and inked
, marked Grandenetti's first credited comics art, and he remained on the feature (scripted by Eisner's office manager and future journalist
Marilyn Mercer) through #60 (Aug. 1951). Grandenetti also drew "Senorita Rio" stories for the same publisher's Fight Comics.
After doing a small amount of work for Lev Gleason Publications
' Boy Comics #52 (April 1960), Media's Mister Universe #1 (July 1951) , American Comics Group
's Adventures into the Unknown #22 (Aug. 1951), and Prize Comics' Black Magic vol. 2, #3 (Feb. 1952), Grandenetti began his 17-year run at DC Comics
.
At DC, then the leading comic-book company and the home of Batman
and Superman
, Grandenetti drew some of everything that was not a superhero
. Beginning with Western Comics
#27 (Sept. 1951), Grandenetti did Western comics
(All-Star Western
), crime fiction
(Racket Squad
in Action, Gang Busters
, Mr. District Attorney
), science fiction
(Strange Adventures
), and mystery
-suspense (House of Mystery
), but made his mark as one of DC's signature war comics
artists, drawing hundreds of anthological stories and covers in a dozen years' worth of such titles as All-American Men of War, G.I. Combat
, Our Army at War
, Our Fighting Forces
, and Star Spangled War Stories.
DC war-comics editor and writer Robert Kanigher
recalled that on the feature "Gunner and Sarge" in particular, Grandenetti "managed to get the grime and the humor of the two Marines (and, eventually their wonderful Pooch) fighting in the jungle as no one else could. Jerry liked to experiment and I had to sit on him to get him to stop it. Especially in his covers, which were outstanding, when I forced him to draw as realistically as possible". With Kanigher, Grandenetti co-created the feature "Mlle. Marie
", about a World War II
French Resistance
fighter, in Star Spangled War Stories #84 (Aug. 1959).
Grandenetti became known for cover art rendered in wash-tone, also known as grey-tone, which, as comics-art historian Don Mangus describes, "is executed as an ink-wash drawing, and then a halftone
Photostat of the cover is made, the logo added, and finally the color is laid in over this statted wash drawing", rendering a painted effect.
and Tower Comics
, and penciling a Sub-Mariner story—inked by the character's creator, Golden Age of Comics
legend Bill Everett
—in Marvel Comics
' Tales to Astonish
#86 (Dec. 1966).
Mostly, however, Grandenetti began turning to Warren Publishing
, home of the black-and-white, horror
-comics magazines Creepy
and Eerie
. Starting 1966, when he ghost-drew five stories credited to artist Joe Orlando
, Grandenetti soon began contributing numerous stories under his own byline, through 1972. Grandenetti's work for Warren, writes comics-art historian Don Mangus
, "returned to a much more expressionistic and experimental phase, building on what he had begun at Eisner's studio, or perhaps due to freedom from Kanigher’s restraints. Perhaps it was the subject matter or the fluid nature of the wash medium but whatever the case, he produced brilliant work at Warren in the late 1960s and early 1970s". Warren would later reprint his youthful inking and background work for Will Eisner with the magazine series The Spirit. Grandenetti was profiled in Creepy #42, and a self-portrait
ran in Vampirella #16.
Concurrently, for DC, Grandenetti succeeded Neal Adams
on the 1960s run of DC's supernatural
spirit of vengeance the Spectre
, drawing issues #6–10 (Oct. 1966 – June 1969). Grandenetti also helped revive the 1940s DC character the Phantom Stranger
, drawing the lead story in his return appearance in Showcase
#80 (Feb. 1969). In Showcase #82 (May 1969), he and writer Dennis O'Neil
co-created the minor sword and sorcery
character Nightmaster
—originally assigned to then-newcomer Bernie Wrightson
, who had been taken off it, but did the next two issues.
He contributed to at least one issue of the black-and-white humor magazine Sick
(#70, Oct. 1969), edited by his friend Joe Simon
, the Golden Age co-creator of Captain America
, then collaborated with Simon at DC on issues of Champion Sports. The two then co-created the youth culture oddity Prez, about the first teen president of the United States, and the one-episode misfire The Green Team: Boy Millionaires, in 1st Issue Special #2 (May 1975). Grandenetti penciled a parody of the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker
in the Marvel humor comic Arrgh! #4 (July 1975), for which he also drew the cover.
Comics historian Mark Evanier
, calling Grandenetti "[o]ne of the great individual stylists of comic books in the fifties and sixties," wrote that, "As the [1960s] wore on, he got away from combat art and conventional page layouts, taking what he'd learned from[Will] Eisner
and applying it in new, then-revolutionary directions. Like most artists who departed from the conventional, his work was loved by many but disliked by some. … [B]y the early seventies, Grandenetti was working so far outside even the relaxed conventions of DC Comics that he no longer quite fit in. I thought he was a marvelous, distinct talent who wasn't precisely suited to the work he was assigned, like The Spectre
, Prez
and "Nightmaster
".
Grandenetti continued to freelance occasional stories for DC through at least G.I. Combat #270 (Oct. 1984).
at the large advertising agency
Young & Rubicam
. Breaking into advertising, he recalled, "wasn't really [tough] because, unlike a lot of comic book illustrators, all of the time I had my eyes set elsewhere. I was developing that ability, while at the same time working for the comic book companies, by doing spot drawings and illustrations for small agencies. By the time I was ready, I had this well developed portfolio so I was able to break in".
As of 2005, Grandenetti was freelancing for ad agencies in New York City, and doing fine art
paintings in watercolor, acrylics
, and mixed media
.
Grandenetti, who live in Bellport
, New York
, on Long Island
, died at age 83 at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in nearby East Patchogue, New York
. The official cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest, though he also had metastatic cancer.
's 1962 painting Whaam!
(aka Jet Pilot) is based on a Grandenetti comic-book panel on the cover of DC's All-American Men of War
#89 (Feb. 1962).
Bronxville, New York
Bronxville is an affluent village within the town of Eastchester, New York, in the United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately north of midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County. At the 2010 census, Bronxville had a population of 6,323...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- February 19, 2010, Bellport, New York
Bellport, New York
Bellport is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 2,363 at the 2000 census. The village is named after the Bell family, early settlers of the area. The public education system in Bellport makes up the South Country Central School District consisting of six...
) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book artist
Comic Book Artist
Comic Book Artist was an American magazine founded by Jon B. Cooke devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published since the 1960s...
and advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
, best known for his work with writer-artist Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
on the celebrated comics feature "The Spirit
The Spirit
The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
", and for his decade-and-a-half run on many DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
war series
War comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.-American war comics:Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre...
. He also co-created Prez with Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
.
Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
's 1962 painting Whaam!
Whaam!
Whaam! by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. It is widely regarded as one of his finest and notable works. It follows the comic strip-based themes of some of his past paintings....
(aka Jet Pilot) is based on a Grandenetti comic-book panel on the cover of DC's All-American Men of War
All-American Comics
All-American Comics was the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from April 1939 to October 1948, at which time it was renamed All-American Western. In 1952, the title was changed again to All-American Men of...
#89 (Feb. 1962).
Early life and career
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of 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...
, Jerry Grandenetti studied art and architectural drawing at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later named the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
), in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He did World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
military service in the U.S. Navy "in 1942 or 1943", he recalled, and after the war attended Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
's Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
on the G.I. Bill. In either 1946 or 1948 (accounts differ), he was making the rounds of comic-book companies and met Everett M. "Busy" Arnold, publisher of 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....
. Arnold had no position for him but sent Grandenetti to Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
, writer-artist of the Sunday-newspaper comic-book section starring Eisner's celebrated character the Spirit. Grandenetti hired on as an art assistant. As The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
editor-publisher Gary Groth
Gary Groth
Gary Groth is an American comic book editor, publisher and critic. He is editor-in-chief of The Comics Journal and a co-founder of Fantagraphics Books.-Early life:...
wrote, "By the late '40s, Eisner's participation in the strip had dwindled to a largely supervisory role. ... Eisner hired Jerry Grandenetti and Jim Dixon to occasionally ink his pencils. By 1950,
Jules Feiffer
Jules Ralph Feiffer is an American syndicated cartoonist, most notable for his long-run comic strip titled Feiffer. He has created more than 35 books, plays and screenplays...
was writing most of the strips, and Grandenetti, Dixon, and Al Wenzel were drawing them" — with Grandenetti actually penciling as a ghost-artist
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
, under Eisner's byline.
"Working for Eisner was exciting", Grandenetti recalled in 2005. "Although there was no such thing as teaching or showing you how to develop your craft. ... Before [the feature's] demise he tried everything. Had me penciling 'The Spirit'. Later on it was Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
", who drew it through to its end in 1952, "but nothing could save 'The Spirit'! Sad, too. It was probably the greatest comic strip ever created".
In 1949, Eisner, in his sideline as a comics packager, created the feature "Secret Files of Dr. Drew" for Fiction House
Fiction House
Fiction House is an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. Its comics division was best known for its pinup-style good girl art, as epitomized by the company's most popular character, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.-History:-Jumbo and Jack...
. Grandenetti said Eisner instructed him to draw it "in the Eisner style. Which I did, badly. Anyway, after a couple of stories I began to do my own thing". The eight-page story "The Strange Case of the Absent Floor" in Rangers Comics #47 (June 1949), which he both penciled and inked
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
, marked Grandenetti's first credited comics art, and he remained on the feature (scripted by Eisner's office manager and future journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Marilyn Mercer) through #60 (Aug. 1951). Grandenetti also drew "Senorita Rio" stories for the same publisher's Fight Comics.
After doing a small amount of work for Lev Gleason Publications
Lev Gleason Publications
Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Gleason, was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including Daredevil, Crime Does Not Pay, and Boy Comics....
' Boy Comics #52 (April 1960), Media's Mister Universe #1 (July 1951) , American Comics Group
American Comics Group
American Comics Group was a New York City-based comic book publisher which operated during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books. ACG published one of the first horror comics titles, Adventures into the Unknown. Another of ACG's claims to fame was the character of Herbie Popnecker, who starred...
's Adventures into the Unknown #22 (Aug. 1951), and Prize Comics' Black Magic vol. 2, #3 (Feb. 1952), Grandenetti began his 17-year run at DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
.
DC Comics
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
and Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Grandenetti drew some of everything that was not a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
. Beginning with Western Comics
Western Comics
Western Comics was a Western comic book series published by DC Comics. DC's longest-running Western title, it published 85 issues from 1948 to 1961. Western Comics was an anthology series, featuring such characters as the wandering cowboy the Wyoming Kid, the Native American lawman Pow Wow Smith,...
#27 (Sept. 1951), Grandenetti did Western comics
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
(All-Star Western
All-Star Western
All-Star Western was the name of three American comic book series published by DC Comics, each a Western fiction omnibus featuring both continuing characters and anthological stories. The first ran from 1951 to 1961, the second from 1970 to 1972 and the third is part of the DC New 52 released in...
), crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
(Racket Squad
Racket Squad
Racket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional detective working for the San Francisco, California Police Department....
in Action, Gang Busters
Gang Busters
Gang Busters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935.-History:...
, Mr. District Attorney
Mr. District Attorney
Mr. District Attorney is a popular radio crime drama which aired on NBC and ABC from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 . The series focused on a crusading D.A., initially known only as "Mister District Attorney," or "Chief", and was later translated to television. On television the D.A...
), science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
(Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...
), and mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
-suspense (House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
), but made his mark as one of DC's signature war comics
War comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.-American war comics:Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre...
artists, drawing hundreds of anthological stories and covers in a dozen years' worth of such titles as All-American Men of War, G.I. Combat
G.I. Combat
G.I. Combat is a long-running comic book series published first by Quality Comics and later by National Periodical Publications, which was the primary company of those that evolved to become DC Comics.-Publication history:...
, Our Army at War
Our Army at War
Our Army at War was the title for a comic book published by DC Comics that featured war themed stories and was the first appearance for popular heroes such like Sgt. Rock and Enemy Ace. The series started in August 1952 and ended in February 1977....
, Our Fighting Forces
Our Fighting Forces
Our Fighting Forces is a DC Comics war-anthology comic book series that ran for 181 issues from 1954-1978.Writer-editor Robert Kanigher and writer-artist Jack Kirby were among the comics creators whose work appeared in the title...
, and Star Spangled War Stories.
DC war-comics editor and writer Robert Kanigher
Robert Kanigher
Robert Kanigher was a prolific comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over twenty years, taking over the scripting from creator William Moulton Marston. In addition, Kanigher spent many years in charge of DC Comics' war...
recalled that on the feature "Gunner and Sarge" in particular, Grandenetti "managed to get the grime and the humor of the two Marines (and, eventually their wonderful Pooch) fighting in the jungle as no one else could. Jerry liked to experiment and I had to sit on him to get him to stop it. Especially in his covers, which were outstanding, when I forced him to draw as realistically as possible". With Kanigher, Grandenetti co-created the feature "Mlle. Marie
Mademoiselle Marie
Mademoiselle Marie is the name of two fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
", about a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
fighter, in Star Spangled War Stories #84 (Aug. 1959).
Grandenetti became known for cover art rendered in wash-tone, also known as grey-tone, which, as comics-art historian Don Mangus describes, "is executed as an ink-wash drawing, and then a halftone
Halftone
Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size, in shape or in spacing...
Photostat of the cover is made, the logo added, and finally the color is laid in over this statted wash drawing", rendering a painted effect.
Later comics career
In late 1965, Grandenetti began freelancing for additional companies, drawing a small number of stories for Charlton ComicsCharlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
and Tower Comics
Tower Comics
Tower Comics was an American comic book publishing company best known for Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, a strange combination of secret agents and superheroes; and Samm Schwartz's Tippy Teen, an Archie Andrews clone...
, and penciling a Sub-Mariner story—inked by the character's creator, Golden Age of Comics
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
legend Bill Everett
Bill Everett
William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics...
—in Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
#86 (Dec. 1966).
Mostly, however, Grandenetti began turning to Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades...
, home of the black-and-white, horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
-comics magazines Creepy
Creepy
Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
and Eerie
Eerie
Eerie was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host...
. Starting 1966, when he ghost-drew five stories credited to artist Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
, Grandenetti soon began contributing numerous stories under his own byline, through 1972. Grandenetti's work for Warren, writes comics-art historian Don Mangus
Don Mangus
Don Mangus is an American teacher, artist, and comic book historian.Mangus was born in Washington, D.C. He is a published writer and former Design, Painting, and Drawing instructor . He has both a BFA and a MFA from Southern Methodist University...
, "returned to a much more expressionistic and experimental phase, building on what he had begun at Eisner's studio, or perhaps due to freedom from Kanigher’s restraints. Perhaps it was the subject matter or the fluid nature of the wash medium but whatever the case, he produced brilliant work at Warren in the late 1960s and early 1970s". Warren would later reprint his youthful inking and background work for Will Eisner with the magazine series The Spirit. Grandenetti was profiled in Creepy #42, and a self-portrait
Self-portrait
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid 15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting...
ran in Vampirella #16.
Concurrently, for DC, Grandenetti succeeded Neal Adams
Neal Adams
Neal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who...
on the 1960s run of DC's supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
spirit of vengeance the Spectre
Spectre (comics)
The Spectre is a fictional character and superhero who has appeared in numerous comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in a next issue ad in More Fun Comics #51 and received his first story the following month, #52...
, drawing issues #6–10 (Oct. 1966 – June 1969). Grandenetti also helped revive the 1940s DC character the Phantom Stranger
Phantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...
, drawing the lead story in his return appearance in Showcase
Showcase (comics)
Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
#80 (Feb. 1969). In Showcase #82 (May 1969), he and writer Dennis O'Neil
Dennis O'Neil
Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil is an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of books until his retirement....
co-created the minor sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
character Nightmaster
Nightmaster
The Nightmaster is a fictional character, a sword and sorcery hero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Showcase #82 , and was created by Denny O'Neil and Jerry Grandenetti.-Publication history:...
—originally assigned to then-newcomer Bernie Wrightson
Bernie Wrightson
Bernie "Berni" Wrightson is an American artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books.-Biography:...
, who had been taken off it, but did the next two issues.
He contributed to at least one issue of the black-and-white humor magazine Sick
Sick (magazine)
Sick was a satirical-humor magazine published from 1960 to 1980, lasting 134 issues. It was created by comic-book writer-artist Joe Simon, who also edited the title until the late 1960s. Sick was published by Crestwood Publications until issue #62 , when it was taken over by Hewfred Publications...
(#70, Oct. 1969), edited by his friend Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
, the Golden Age co-creator of Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, then collaborated with Simon at DC on issues of Champion Sports. The two then co-created the youth culture oddity Prez, about the first teen president of the United States, and the one-episode misfire The Green Team: Boy Millionaires, in 1st Issue Special #2 (May 1975). Grandenetti penciled a parody of the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...
in the Marvel humor comic Arrgh! #4 (July 1975), for which he also drew the cover.
Comics historian Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
, calling Grandenetti "[o]ne of the great individual stylists of comic books in the fifties and sixties," wrote that, "As the [1960s] wore on, he got away from combat art and conventional page layouts, taking what he'd learned from
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
and applying it in new, then-revolutionary directions. Like most artists who departed from the conventional, his work was loved by many but disliked by some. … [B]y the early seventies, Grandenetti was working so far outside even the relaxed conventions of DC Comics that he no longer quite fit in. I thought he was a marvelous, distinct talent who wasn't precisely suited to the work he was assigned, like The Spectre
Spectre (comics)
The Spectre is a fictional character and superhero who has appeared in numerous comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in a next issue ad in More Fun Comics #51 and received his first story the following month, #52...
, Prez
Prez
Prez may refer to:*A colloquialism for president*A nickname for jazz musician Lester Young*"Prez ", a 1958 album by Perez Prado*Prez , subject of a four issue comic series by Joe Simon released by DC Comics in the early 1970s...
and "Nightmaster
Nightmaster
The Nightmaster is a fictional character, a sword and sorcery hero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Showcase #82 , and was created by Denny O'Neil and Jerry Grandenetti.-Publication history:...
".
Grandenetti continued to freelance occasional stories for DC through at least G.I. Combat #270 (Oct. 1984).
Later life
In 1990, Grandenetti became an art directorArt director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
at the large advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
Young & Rubicam
Young & Rubicam
Y&R is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.-History:...
. Breaking into advertising, he recalled, "wasn't really [tough] because, unlike a lot of comic book illustrators, all of the time I had my eyes set elsewhere. I was developing that ability, while at the same time working for the comic book companies, by doing spot drawings and illustrations for small agencies. By the time I was ready, I had this well developed portfolio so I was able to break in".
As of 2005, Grandenetti was freelancing for ad agencies in New York City, and doing fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
paintings in watercolor, acrylics
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
, and mixed media
Mixed media
Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed.There is an important distinction between "mixed-media" artworks and "multimedia art". Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct...
.
Grandenetti, who live in Bellport
Bellport, New York
Bellport is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 2,363 at the 2000 census. The village is named after the Bell family, early settlers of the area. The public education system in Bellport makes up the South Country Central School District consisting of six...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, died at age 83 at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in nearby East Patchogue, New York
East Patchogue, New York
East Patchogue is a census-designated place in the Suffolk County town of Brookhaven, New York, United States. The population was 20,824 at the 2000 census. The CDP is a proximate representation of the East Patchogue hamlet used for statistical purposes of the Census Bureau...
. The official cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest, though he also had metastatic cancer.
Legacy
Pop artist Roy LichtensteinRoy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
's 1962 painting Whaam!
Whaam!
Whaam! by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. It is widely regarded as one of his finest and notable works. It follows the comic strip-based themes of some of his past paintings....
(aka Jet Pilot) is based on a Grandenetti comic-book panel on the cover of DC's All-American Men of War
All-American Comics
All-American Comics was the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from April 1939 to October 1948, at which time it was renamed All-American Western. In 1952, the title was changed again to All-American Men of...
#89 (Feb. 1962).
External links
- Archive of Jerry Grandenetti official site. WebCitation archive not available.
- Jerry Grandenetti at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. Archived October 22, 2010
- Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999
- Shaw, ScottScott ShawScott Shaw is an American actor, author, journalist, film director, film producer, musician, professor and martial artist.-Early life:...
. "Prez Vol. 2[sic , No. 4"], Oddball Comics #1041, November 1, 2004, and archive of "Prez Vol. 1, No. 1", Oddball Comics #433, November 30, 2001