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Dan Spiegle
Dan Spiegle
Dan Spiegle
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Dan Spiegle (December 10, 1920 – January 28, 2017) was an American comics artist and cartoonist best known for comics based on movie and television characters across a variety of companies, including Dell Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics.

Key Information

Biography

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Early life and career

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Dan Spiegle was born in Cosmopolis, Washington, in 1920,[1] and raised there and in Honolulu, Hawaii, and northern California.[2] After high school, Spiegle "found myself in the Navy", where he worked on the base newspaper and on insignias for airplanes.[2] Following his discharge in 1946, Spiegle enrolled at the Chouinard Art Institute of Los Angeles on the G.I. Bill.[2]

Spiegle began his professional cartoonist career in 1949 drawing the comic strip Hopalong Cassidy[3] for the Mirror Enterprises Syndicate.[4] He continued to draw this strip after it was bought out by King Features in 1951, until it was cancelled in 1955.[3]

Dell and Gold Key Comics

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His earliest confirmed work in comic books is penciling and inking a one-page advertisement for Wheaties breakfast cereal, "Preacher Roe Sparks in Pitching Duel", in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #144 (cover-dated Sept. 1952).[5] His first story in the medium was the 16-page Annie Oakley Western story "The Bushwacker", by an unknown writer, in Dell Comics' Annie Oakley and Tagg #7 (June 1956).[5] Through the remainder of the decade he drew primarily Western stories for such Dell titles as Four Color, Rex Allen, Queen of the West Dale Evans, and others, as well as that publisher's Four Color feature "Spin and Marty", based on the segment from the Walt Disney TV program The Mickey Mouse Club. In 1959, he started drawing Four Color stories for such licensed TV series features Colt .45, Maverick, The Rifleman, Rawhide, and Lawman, later adding the Maverick and Lawman spinoff comic books, among others. He soon expanded to drawing Four Color features of TV series ranging from The Untouchables to Sea Hunt.[5]

Spiegle began work on Maverick comics before any publicity photographs of series star James Garner were available, so he met the actor on the set and the resultant drawings of Garner in the subsequent comics are eerily exact. In 1972, Spiegle explained in an interview:

I would say my favorite was Maverick, which ran about three years — fairly successful, considering the run of other Western strips published then. I was assigned this strip even before they had stills available for the show, so I was sent down to Warner Bros. to see it in production — where I met James Garner, which is perhaps the reason I enjoyed it so much. Having met the star, I was extra careful to make the drawings I did look as parallel to the real person as possible. I put my all into that strip, having fun all the way.[2]

Spiegle continued on these titles as licensor Western Publishing Company moved away from its business partner Dell to publish comics itself under its Gold Key Comics imprint. Through the 1960s, Spiegle worked on Space Family Robinson, which made its debut three years before TV's Lost in Space, The Green Hornet, and The Invaders, as well as such titles as Korak, Son of Tarzan, Brothers of the Spear, and many of Gold Key's mystery/occult titles.[5] In 1966, at the height of popularity of the James Bond film series, Spiegle provided naturalistic backgrounds and human characters while cartoon animal artist Paul Murry drew Mickey Mouse and Goofy for the short-lived Mickey Mouse Super Secret Agent. As comic-book historian Scott Shaw notes, "What's even weirder about these stories is that in them, none of the 'real' human characters seem to notice anything remotely unusual about occupying space with a three-foot-tall talking cartoon mouse!"[6] Spiegle and writer Donald F. Glut co-created the Doctor Spektor character in Mystery Comics Digest #5 (July 1972).[7] Spiegle drew the comic book adaptation of the 1979 Walt Disney Pictures feature film The Black Hole.[8]

Later comics career

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In addition to his naturalistic work adapting live-action television, Spiegle also handled more cartoony material such as Gold Key's Saturday-morning TV animation title, Hanna-Barbera Scooby-Doo... Where Are You!, starting with issue #16 (Feb. 1973). Five issues later marked his first teaming with writer Mark Evanier, with whom he continued to the final Gold Key issue, #30 (Feb. 1975).[5] The two worked on the character again from 1977 to 1979 when Marvel Comics licensed the property, doing all nine issues of Scooby-Doo, and reprised their team-up in 1996 when Archie Comics acquired the Scooby-Doo license.[5]

Spiegle later moved to DC Comics, and worked on many of their features, such as Unknown Soldier, Tomahawk, Jonah Hex, and Teen Titans Spotlight until the early 1990s. His most notable work was the "Nemesis" backup series in The Brave and the Bold with writer Cary Burkett,[9] and on Blackhawk with Mark Evanier. He and writer Bob Rozakis created the character Mister E in Secrets of Haunted House #31 (Dec. 1980).[10]

Although the character Crossfire was created by Mark Evanier and Will Meugniot in DNAgents published by Eclipse Comics, Spiegle penciled and inked every issue of the comic book Crossfire, as well as Crossfire and Rainbow, and Whodunnit?, which featured Crossfire. Evanier and Spiegle also did all five issues of Hollywood Superstars for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint.

Spiegle provided the art for Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient (1993–1994) and Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny (1995), published by Dark Horse Comics.[5] He drew Nintendo Power magazine's "Nester's Adventures" feature (formerly "Howard & Nester") in its later stages until it was discontinued in 1993.[11] In the mid-1990s, he drew the short-lived revival of Terry and the Pirates[3] after Tim and Greg Hildebrandt left. Spiegle worked with the Bank Street College of Education as an illustrator of a number of "Bank Street Classic Tales" published in Boys' Life magazine, Bible stories for the American Bible Society,[12] and in 2008, he teamed up with Evanier again for a new Crossfire story, drawing the character's portion of the cover of, and the eight-page story "Too Rich to Be Guilty" in About Comics' fancifully numbered Many Happy Returns #2008.[13] With no cover date on it or on another work that year — pages 3 to 20 of "Ragin' Abe Simpson and the Flying Hellfish in: War is Smelly" in Bongo Comics Group's licensed TV title Simpsons Comics #144[5] — it is difficult to ascertain which was his last published comics work but it is likely the Graphic Classics adaptation of Clarence E. Mulford's "Hold Up", penned by Tim Lasiuta, published in March 2011.

Spiegle died on January 28, 2017, at the age of 96.[14][15]

Awards

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Spiegle received an Inkpot Award in 1983.[16]

References

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Further reading

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Dan Spiegle

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from Grokipedia
Dan Spiegle (December 10, 1920 – January 28, 2017) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist known for his prolific career drawing licensed adaptations of television series, motion pictures, and celebrity characters. His realistic style, strong storytelling, and ability to capture accurate likenesses made him one of the most reliable and respected illustrators in the industry, particularly for tie-in comics published by Dell Comics, Gold Key, and Whitman. Spiegle began his professional career in 1950 drawing the Hopalong Cassidy newspaper strip, which led to a long association with Western Publishing that spanned over three decades. He produced hundreds of comic book stories, including long runs on Maverick, co-creating Space Family Robinson, and contributing to Korak, Son of Tarzan, as well as numerous Disney film adaptations such as Mary Poppins and The Black Hole. He also illustrated tie-ins for shows like The Green Hornet, Flipper, Lassie, and Scooby-Doo, often in collaboration with writer Mark Evanier. Later in his career, Spiegle worked for DC Comics on titles including Blackhawk, Nemesis backups in The Brave and the Bold, and Jonah Hex, while also contributing to independent projects such as Crossfire for Eclipse Comics. His work was admired by contemporaries for its spatial composition, handling of light and shadow, and consistent high quality, earning praise from artists like Gil Kane and Alex Toth. Spiegle remained active into his later years and was widely regarded as one of the nicest and most dependable figures in comics.

Early life and education

Childhood and early influences

Dan Spiegle was born on December 10, 1920, in Cosmopolis, Washington, the son of a nurse and a druggist. His early childhood involved several moves, including periods living in San Diego, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii, before his family settled on a chicken ranch in Northern California following the 1929 stock market crash. Growing up around his father's drugstore, where newspapers and magazines were sold, Spiegle developed an early fascination with cartooning by studying the comic strips in those publications. From the time he could hold a pencil, he loved to draw and filled five-cent tablets with continued stories and scribbles, describing it as a natural way to tell stories. He was particularly drawn to the adventure comic strips of the era, with Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon making the strongest impression and providing the greatest influence on his desire to become a comic artist. Other key influences included Roy Crane and Milton Caniff, whose work on Terry and the Pirates also inspired him. During his second year of high school, Spiegle created and colored a sample comic strip, which he submitted to King Features Syndicate. The syndicate returned it with a polite rejection and advice that future submissions should not be in color, as the colors would print black—an insight he appreciated. This early experience reinforced his ambition to pursue a career in cartooning.

Military service and art training

Dan Spiegle served in the United States Navy during World War II. While in the service, he drew insignias on airplanes and contributed to the base newspaper by creating artwork such as covers and cartoons. He was discharged in 1946. Following his discharge, Spiegle enrolled at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles under the G.I. Bill. He attended the institute from 1946 until 1949, when his G.I. Bill benefits were nearing exhaustion. Among his instructors were artists from the Disney studios and the movie industry. One of his classmates was comic book artist Bill Ziegler. Spiegle chose Chouinard over traditional universities after finding that colleges required too many unrelated minor courses, preferring instead to focus intensely on art training. During his years of practice, he drew for six hours a day.

Entry into comics

Hopalong Cassidy newspaper strip

Dan Spiegle's first professional cartooning assignment was drawing the syndicated newspaper comic strip Hopalong Cassidy. In 1949, during his final year at Chouinard Art Institute, Spiegle answered a Los Angeles Times classified ad seeking an artist for a proposed Bozo the Clown strip at Capitol Records. The contact, who was connected to William Boyd's organization, reviewed Spiegle's portfolio and was impressed by his horse drawings—considered essential for a Western feature—and referred him directly to Boyd's office a few blocks away. Boyd hired Spiegle about a week later. Spiegle illustrated both daily and Sunday versions of the Hopalong Cassidy strip from 1949 to 1955. The dailies began in 1949, with Sundays starting April 30, 1950. It was originally syndicated by Mirror Enterprises from 1949 to 1951, until King Features Syndicate purchased the feature in 1951 and handled distribution through its end in 1955. Early scripts came from Dan Grayson, one of Boyd's staff members, often in collaboration with Spiegle, before writer Royal King Cole assumed primary scripting responsibilities. The strip reached a peak circulation of over 200 newspapers. Spiegle deliberately rendered Hopalong Cassidy and his sidekicks with pleasant, positive facial expressions rather than stern or frowning ones, reflecting Boyd's own kind and congenial demeanor. He relied heavily on Craftint double-tone board for shading on the dailies, though he later noted overusing the technique at times, which could diminish reproduction quality in print. One notable reader backlash targeted a Mexican villain character that Spiegle had spent significant effort designing, with complaints of typecasting prompting the team to thereafter avoid national or ethnic identifiers and make villains more generically featured. The feature ended as Western genre popularity declined and readership dropped, with King Features discontinuing it and alternative syndicate offers requiring unacceptable pay reductions.

Career with Western Publishing

Dell Comics period

Dan Spiegle's association with Western Printing and Lithography, the company that produced Dell Comics, began around 1951 when he submitted samples of his work on the Hopalong Cassidy newspaper strip to their Los Angeles office. His earliest confirmed comic book work appeared in 1952, with regular contributions and full-time status from 1956. Between 1956 and 1962, Spiegle was highly prolific for Dell, producing numerous licensed comic books that adapted popular television series and motion pictures, with a particular emphasis on realistic depictions of TV westerns that appeared primarily in the Four Color Comics one-shot series and in dedicated ongoing titles. His work in this vein included adaptations of Maverick (1958–1962), Lawman (1959–1962), The Rifleman (1959), Johnny Ringo (1960–1961), Rawhide (1961–1962), and The Untouchables (1961–1962). Spiegle also illustrated Dell titles drawn from Disney's Mickey Mouse Club television segments, such as the Hardy Boys (1956–1959), Spin & Marty (1956–1959), Annette (1958), and Sea Hunt (1958–1959). His movie tie-in comics for Dell encompassed adaptations of Disney features including Old Yeller (1958), The Shaggy Dog (1959), The Parent Trap (1961), and Atlantis the Lost Continent (1961). Following the end of the Dell-Western partnership in 1962, Spiegle continued working with Western Publishing under the Gold Key Comics imprint.

Gold Key Comics period

Dan Spiegle continued his long association with Western Publishing after the 1962 split that led to the creation of Gold Key Comics, remaining a key contributor to the publisher until around 1982. In 1962, he co-created the science fiction series Space Family Robinson with writer Del Connell, depicting a family's interstellar adventures in a manner reminiscent of Swiss Family Robinson but set in space; the title ran until 1976 and predated the similar 1965–1968 television series Lost in Space by three years. Spiegle handled major long-running assignments on licensed properties during this era, including Korak, Son of Tarzan from 1967 to 1972, Flipper from 1966 to 1967, and Lassie from 1966 to 1969. He also illustrated runs on Scooby-Doo from 1973 to 1975, Harlem Globetrotters from 1972 to 1975, Tragg and the Sky Gods from 1975 to 1977, and Brothers of the Spear from 1975 to 1976. Additionally, he contributed to Disney film adaptations such as Mary Poppins, Herbie Rides Again, and The Black Hole, along with various Hanna-Barbera titles. His work extended to mystery and occult anthology series, with contributions to Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery and Grimm’s Ghost Stories during the 1970s. Toward the conclusion of his time with Gold Key, Spiegle drew the final Doctor Solar stories published in 1981–1982. Much of his output for Gold Key appeared without individual creator credits, in keeping with the publisher's typical practices.

Later career

DC Comics contributions

Dan Spiegle began contributing to DC Comics in 1972, providing artwork for two Unknown Soldier stories in Star Spangled War Stories. He returned to the publisher in the early 1980s, illustrating a range of features and anthology stories across multiple titles. His 1980 work included stories featuring Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, and Superman. Spiegle was the first artist to depict Mister E, a character created by Bob Rozakis, in Secrets of Haunted House from 1980 to 1981. He also contributed to House of Mystery in 1981–1982 and provided backup features starring Nemesis in The Brave and the Bold with writer Cary Burkett. From 1982 to 1984, Spiegle illustrated the Blackhawk relaunch, collaborating regularly with writer Mark Evanier on a series that returned the aviator team to its World War II roots. In 1988, he drew installments of The Secret Six, written by Martin Pasko, in Action Comics Weekly. Later, in 1994, Spiegle ghost-penciled a substantial portion of DC's graphic novel adaptation of Modesty Blaise, which was inked by Dick Giordano.

Work with Mark Evanier and other publishers

In his later career, Dan Spiegle frequently collaborated with writer Mark Evanier on comic book projects across various publishers, forming one of his most enduring professional partnerships. Their teamwork included the Scooby-Doo series for Marvel from 1977 to 1979, as well as the Blackhawk relaunch for DC Comics from 1982 to 1984. Their most acclaimed joint work was Crossfire for Eclipse Comics, a superhero series that ran from 1984 to 1988 and featured spin-offs such as Crossfire and Rainbow in 1986 and Whodunnit? from 1986 to 1987; both creators regarded it as a favorite project. Evanier and Spiegle later reunited for Hollywood Superstars at Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, producing a complete five-issue run from 1990 to 1991 that drew on their shared interest in Hollywood settings. Spiegle's freelance assignments during this period extended beyond these collaborations to include an adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes for Marvel in 1983, illustrative contributions to the graphic novel Roger Rabbit: The Resurrection of Doom in 1989, artwork for Elvira, Mistress of the Dark at Claypool Comics in 1993, Indiana Jones adventures at Dark Horse Comics in 1993 and 1995, and a continuation of the Terry and the Pirates newspaper strip for Tribune Media Services from 1996 to 1997. In his later years, Spiegle also illustrated educational stories for the Bank Street College of Education published in Boys' Life magazine and Bible stories for the American Bible Society. He continued to accept commissions into old age.

Artistic style and recognition

Personal life

Death

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