View source for Jack Davis (cartoonist)

{{short description|American cartoonist}}
{{other people||Jack Davis (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Jack Davis
| image         = Cartoonist Jack Davis.jpg
| alt           = 
| caption       = Davis in 2015
| birth_name    = John Burton Davis Jr.
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1924|12|02}}
| birth_place   = [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2016|07|27|1924|12|02}}
| death_place   = [[St. Simons, Georgia]], U.S.
| occupation    = Cartoonist and illustrator
| years_active  = 1950–2014
| known_for     = 
| notable_works =
| spouse        = {{marriage|Dena Roquemore|1950}}
| children      = 2
}}

'''John Burton Davis Jr.''' (December 2, 1924 – July 27, 2016) was an American [[cartoonist]] and [[illustrator]], known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art, and numerous [[comic book]] stories. He was one of the founding cartoonists for ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' in 1952.<ref name=meglin>{{cite book |last=Meglin |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Meglin |title=The Art of Humorous Illustration |url=https://archive.org/details/artofhumorousill0000megl |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Watson-Guptill]] |year=1973 |isbn=978-0823002696}}</ref> His cartoon characters are characterized by extremely exaggerated anatomy, including big heads, skinny legs, and large feet.<ref name=TVGuide>{{cite journal |last=Logan |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Logan (journalist) |date=March 11, 2013 |title=Cast of Caricatures |journal=[[TV Guide]] |page=23 |issn=0039-8543}}</ref>

==Early life==
Davis was born December 2, 1924, in Atlanta, Georgia.<ref name=meglin /><ref name=Richmond>{{cite web |last=Richmond |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Richmond (illustrator) |date=December 2, 2014 |url=http://www.tomrichmond.com/2014/12/02/happy-birthday-jack-davis/ |title=Happy Birthday Jack Davis! |website=Richmond Illustration Inc!}}</ref>  As a child, he enjoyed listening to [[Bob Hope]] on the radio and tried to draw him, despite not knowing what Hope looked like.<ref name=TVGuide />

==Career==

===Early work===
Davis saw comic book publication at the age of 12 when he contributed a cartoon to the reader's page of ''Tip Top Comics'' No. 9 (December 1936). After drawing for his high school newspaper and yearbook, he spent three years in the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] during [[World War II]], where he contributed to the daily ''[[Navy News]].''<ref name=meglin />

Attending the [[University of Georgia]] on the [[G.I. Bill]], he drew for the campus newspaper and helped launch an off-campus humor publication, ''Bullsheet'', which he described as "not political or anything but just something with risque jokes and cartoons." After graduation, he was a cartoonist intern at ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|The Atlanta Journal]]'', and he worked one summer inking [[Ed Dodd]]'s ''[[Mark Trail]]'' [[comic strip]], a strip which he later parodied in ''Mad'' as ''Mark Trade''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/jackdavs.htm |title=Jack Davis |website=[[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]] |access-date=28 July 2016}}</ref>

===Comic strips and comic books===
[[File:Crazy19.jpg|thumb|Davis's flair for caricature made him a natural choice for satire magazines such as ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]], [[Cracked (magazine)|Cracked]], [[Trump (magazine)|Trump]], [[Humbug (magazine)|Humbug]]'' and ''[[Help! (magazine)|Help!]]'']] In 1949, Davis illustrated a [[Coca-Cola]] training manual, a job that gave him enough money to buy a car and drive to New York. Attending the [[Art Students League of New York]], he found work with the [[New York Herald Tribune#New York Herald Tribune Syndicate|Herald Tribune Syndicate]] as an inker on [[Leslie Charteris]]'s ''[[Simon Templar|The Saint]]'' comic strip, drawn by [[Mike Roy (comics)|Mike Roy]] in 1949–1950. His own humor strip, ''Beauregard,'' with gags in a [[American Civil War|Civil War]] setting, was carried briefly by the [[McClure Syndicate]]. After rejections from several [[comic book]] publishers, he began freelancing for [[William Gaines]]'s [[EC Comics]] in 1950, contributing to ''[[Tales from the Crypt (comic)|Tales from the Crypt]]'', ''[[The Vault of Horror (comics)|The Vault of Horror]]'', ''[[The Haunt of Fear]]'', ''[[Frontline Combat]]'', ''[[Two-Fisted Tales]]'', ''[[Piracy]]'', ''[[Incredible Science Fiction]]'', ''[[Crime Suspenstories]]'', ''[[Shock Suspenstories]]'', and ''[[Terror Illustrated]]''.

In 2011, Davis told ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' about his early career and his breakthrough with EC:<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204012004577072402810992394 |title=A Really Quick Draw on Pop Culture |first=Bruce |last=Bennett |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=December 3, 2011 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

{{quote|I was about ready to give up, go home to Georgia and be either a forest ranger or a farmer. But I went down to [[Canal Street (Manhattan)|Canal Street]] and Lafayette, up in an old rickety elevator and through a glass door to Entertaining Comics where [[Al Feldstein]] and [[William Gaines|Bill Gaines]] were putting out horror [comic] books. They looked at my work and it was horrible and they gave me a job right away!

Every time you went in to see Bill Gaines, he would write you a check when you brought in a story. You didn't have to put in a bill or anything. I was very, very hungry and I was thinking about getting married. So I kept the road pretty hot between home and Canal Street. I would go in for that almighty check, go home and do the work, bring it in and get another check and pick up another story. [The actual cross street to Lafayette was Spring Street, not Canal.]}}

Davis was particularly noted for his depiction of the Crypt-Keeper in the horror comics, revamping the character's appearance from the more simplistic Al Feldstein version to a tougher, craggier, mangier man with hairy warts, salivating mouth and oversized hands and feet, who usually did not wear shoes. Among the classic horror tales he illustrated were "Foul Play", which was cited in Dr. [[Fredric Wertham]]'s book ''[[Seduction of the Innocent]]'' for its depiction of "a comic book baseball game". Others, like "Tain't the Meat, It's the Humanity", "Death of Some Salesman", "Fare Tonight Followed by Increasing Clottiness", "Tight Grip" and "Lower Berth", were Crypt-Keeper classics. He did the covers for every issue of ''Crypt'' from issue No. 29 to No. 46. In his work for [[Harvey Kurtzman]]'s war comics, he tackled a variety of subjects and had a particular affinity for depicting American Civil War stories. He also did many covers for ''[[Frontline Combat]]'', ''[[Two-Fisted Tales]]'' and ''[[Incredible Science Fiction]]'' as well. The editors, William M. Gaines, Albert B. Feldstein and Harvey Kurtzman, have said he was the fastest artist they had in those days, completely penciling and inking three or more pages a day at times. His use of the brush to create depth and mood was unique and memorable. His wrinkled clothing, scratchy lines, and multi-layered layouts were so popular in the 1950s that other artists at rival companies began copying the style—notably, [[Howard Nostrand]] in [[Harvey Comics|Harvey]]'s horror comics.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stewart |first=Bhob |author-link=Bhob Stewart |title=Graphic Story Magazine Interview: Howard Nostrand |journal=[[Graphic Story Magazine]] |number=16 |date=Summer 1974 |pages=21–39}}</ref> In the late 1950s, Davis drew Western stories for [[Atlas Comics]]. His 1963 work on the ''[[Rawhide Kid]]'' (#33–35) was his last for non-humor comic books.

His style of wild, free-flowing brushwork and wacky characters made him a perfect choice when Harvey Kurtzman launched ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' as a zany, satirical EC comic book in 1952. He appeared in most of the first 30 issues of ''Mad'', all 12 issues of ''[[Panic (comics)|Panic]]'' and even some work in ''[[Cracked (magazine)|Cracked]]''. Davis contributed to other Kurtzman magazines—''[[Trump (magazine)|Trump]]'', ''[[Humbug (magazine)|Humbug]]'' and ''[[Help! (magazine)|Help!]]''—eventually expanding into illustrations for record jackets, movie posters, books and magazines, including ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' and ''[[TV Guide]]''. In 1959, he completed an 88-card set of humorous cartoons for Topps Chewing Gum Co. called Wacky Plaks, also a 66-card monster-themed set called "You'll Die Laughing", and a 66-card set of Funny Valentine cards. In 1960, Davis illustrated another 66-card set of Funny Valentine cards and in 1961, a set of Giant Funny Valentine cards. In 1964, he illustrated a set of Nutty Awards postcards, also released by Topps Chewing Gum Co., and in 1980 he helped illustrate a set of Topps Bazooka Wanted Posters. Davis illustrated two children's picture books, ''Bobby and the Magic Pen'' and ''The Misadventures of Don Quixote'' (both still available online). He also has a first-published book of his sketches on Amazon, "The Jack Davis Sketchbook of Untold Spooky Ghost Stories". Davis enjoyed his sketches more than his final artwork because he felt it represented his creative talents.

In 1961, Davis wrote, drew and edited his own comic book, ''Yak Yak'',<ref name= HReporterObit>{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jack-davis-dead-mad-magazine-915043 |type=Obituary |work=Hollywood Reporter |date=July 27, 2016 |first=Graeme |last=McMillan |title=Jack Davis, 'MAD' Magazine Cartoonist, Dies at 91 |access-date=August 12, 2016}}</ref> for [[Dell Comics]]. In 1965, he illustrated ''Meet The North American Indians'' by Elizabeth Payne, published by Random House as part of their children's Step Up Books line. ({{ISBN|0-394-80060-5}}). 

Davis' art appeared in 29 of the first 31 issues of ''Mad'', totaling 66 articles, covers and house ads. But when editor [[Harvey Kurtzman]] quit the magazine following a dispute with publisher [[Bill Gaines]], Davis chose to leave with him. He returned as a regular contributor to ''Mad'' magazine in 1965, starting with the cover for the paperback ''It's a World, World, World, World MAD'', in which he parodied his own poster art for the comedy film ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]''. Davis would remain with ''Mad'' for more than 30 years until his retirement. His work appeared in 211 of the next 255 issues. He also drew 14 covers for the magazine.

Davis had a regular comic strip feature, ''Superfan'', in ''Pro Quarterback'' magazine in the early 1970s. It was written by his ''Mad'' cohort, [[Nick Meglin]].<ref name=meglin />

===Advertising and magazines===
Davis first worked with ''TV Guide'' in 1965, which hired him to illustrate an expansive eight-page advertising supplement for NBC's TV lineup, which featured icons such as [[Johnny Carson]], [[Dean Martin]], and fictional characters such as [[Dr. Kildare]], [[Napoleon Solo]], and [[Get Smart#Characters|Maxwell Smart]]. His first cover for the magazine came in 1968, when he depicted a tribute to [[Andy Griffith]], in which the actor was hoisted on the shoulders of his costars, [[Don Knotts]] and [[Jim Nabors]]. Davis recalls, "Every assignment was a thrill because TV Guide was the top magazine in the country. I couldn't wait to get in my little MG and drive from New York out to the magazine's offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania, to show the editors my latest design. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world." Davis would contribute 23 covers for ''TV Guide'' between 1968 and 1981. In 2013 the magazine honored him in a retrospective in which it recounted his history with the publication and spotlighted some of his most memorable covers, including those depicting ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]]'' (March 28, 1970), Davis's childhood hero Bob Hope for a cover on Hope's history with the Oscars (April 10, 1971), and ''[[Bonanza]]'' (August 14, 1971). Years later, while watching a TV interview of Hope, Davis was gratified to notice that his Hope cover was displayed on the back wall of the comedian's office; "it was one of the proudest moments of my life," recalled Davis.<ref name=TVGuide />

Davis created the cartoon bee which (in [[decal]] form) appears on the flanks of all the buses in the [[Bee-Line Bus System|Bee-Line]] running from [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester]] to New York City. A Westchester resident at the time, Davis lived directly adjacent to one of the Bee Line's bus routes, and he mentioned in an interview how gratifying it was to see his own artwork drive past his window several times every day. Similar [[synchronicity]] happened when ''Mad'' moved to 1700 Broadway, where the magazine's fifth-floor production department was next to a wall three feet away that had previously been the location of an immense Davis cartoon for a bank, an advertisement that towered six stories over 53rd Street.{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}}

===Films, posters, and cover art===
Like fellow ''Mad'' alumnus [[Paul Coker, Jr.]], Davis also contributed to [[Rankin-Bass]] productions; his character designs are featured in ''[[Mad Monster Party]]'', ''[[The Coneheads]]'', and the cartoon series ''[[The King Kong Show]]'', ''[[The Jackson 5ive]]'', and ''[[The Osmonds (TV Series)|The Osmonds]]''. For Raid insecticide, Davis created the animated bug that screamed "Raid?!" Phil Kimmelman Associates created several commercials designed by Davis and animated in his style.

Davis produced the artwork for the poster for the 1963 comedy chase film ''[[It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World]]''. In 2014, he remembered an experience from that year: "My dad had Parkinson's disease, and he paid me a visit. He really had not been to New York in—well, ever—and he came out of the station and saw the signboard [advertising the film], very big signboard in Times Square. That was a big thrill. Little old me ..."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3033-working-with-jack-davis|title=Working with Jack Davis|first=Eric|last=Skillman|website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref>

Two years later, he parodied his own ''Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' image for the cover of the ''Mad'' paperback ''It's a World, World, World, World Mad'', his first work for the magazine following an almost seven-year hiatus.  Having returned, Davis would remain a regular freelancer for more than thirty years. When the [[Criterion Collection]] released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in 2014, Davis provided new illustrations for the accompanying booklet.

Davis's artwork for the comedy Western ''[[Viva Max!]]'' (1969) formed the centerpiece of that film's promotional campaign, and he did the same for the film ''[[Kelly's Heroes]]'' in 1970. His poster for Robert Altman's ''[[The Long Goodbye (film)|The Long Goodbye]]'' (1973) presented the film in a comic light.

In 1963 Davis produced a work of cover art for the Richard Wolfe album, ''Many Happy Returns of the Day!'' released by [[MGM Records]], and designed the [[Homer and Jethro]] album, ''[[Homer and Jethro Go West]]'' ([[RCA Victor]]).

In 1964, Davis created the cover art for [[The New Christy Minstrels]] album for [[Columbia Records]] which featured songs from the light-hearted Western comedy ''[[Advance to the Rear]]''.

In 1966, Davis created the cover art for the [[Johnny Cash]] album ''[[Everybody Loves a Nut]]''. Davis also created album artwork for such musicians as [[The Guess Who]], [[Tito Puente]], [[Sailcat]], and [[The Cowsills]], as well as for such comedians as [[Bob and Ray]], [[Archie Campbell (comedian)|Archie Campbell]], [[Don Imus]], and [[Myron Cohen]]. He also provided the artwork for several of [[Sheb Wooley]]'s comic albums as his character Ben Colder.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rateyourmusic.com/list/darb321/album_covers_by_jack_davis/|title=Album Covers by Jack Davis - RYM/Sonemic|website=Rate Your Music}}</ref> In 1974, Davis provided artwork for [[Atco Records]]' printed advertisements of the [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] album ''[[The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway]]''.

During his tenure with ''Mad'', Davis's specialty was drawing sports-themed articles.  This led to his work for Paramount Pictures, painting the poster for ''[[The Bad News Bears]]'' (1976).

=== Mascot ===
While Davis resided on St. Simons Island, Georgia, he sketched various characters and mascots for the [[College of Coastal Georgia]] in [[Brunswick, Georgia]]. His drawing of the Mariner, Capt. Jack, was ultimately selected by the college students and staff as the official school mascot.<ref>{{cite news |last=Deen |first=Nathan |date=February 9, 2015 |title=Official mascot revealed at Coastal Georgia homecoming |newspaper=[[The Brunswick News]] |url=http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/sports/local_sports/official-mascot-revealed-at-coastal-georgia-homecoming/image_b895d6e1-a729-5826-b650-b85b201fe828.html}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Davis grew up and went to college in Georgia. Following his professional career in New York, Davis and his wife Dena moved to [[St. Simons Island, Georgia]], in the 1990s. They raised two children: daughter Katie Davis Lloyd and son Jack Davis III, who gave the cause of his father's death on July 27, 2016, at age 91 as complications from a stroke.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/29/business/media/jack-davis-illustrator-known-for-mad-magazine-dies-at-91.html?_r=0 |title=Jack Davis, Part of Mad Magazine's Usual Gang of Idiots, Dies at 91 |first=Karen |last=Zraick |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=A18 |date=28 July 2016}}</ref>

==Awards and exhibitions==
Davis was inducted into the [[List of Eisner Award winners#The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame|Will Eisner Hall of Fame]] in 2003.<ref name= HReporterObit /> He received the [[National Cartoonists Society]]'s Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. A finalist for inclusion in the [[List of Harvey Award winners#The Jack Kirby Hall of Fame|Jack Kirby Hall of Fame]] in 1990, 1991, and 1992, he received the National Cartoonists Society's Advertising Award for 1980 and their [[National Cartoonists Society#Reuben Award|Reuben Award]] for 2000.<ref name= HReporterObit /> He was award the [[Inkpot Award]] in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot|title=Inkpot Award|date=December 6, 2012|website=Comic-Con International: San Diego}}</ref>

In June 2002, Davis had a retrospective exhibition of his work at the [[Society of Illustrators]] in New York. He was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2005.

In 1989, Davis was commissioned by the United States Postal Service to design the 25-cent Letter Carriers stamp.  There was some concern that the cartoon would offend some letter carriers as being too informal and not respectful of their position. However, the president of the Letter Carriers Union gave his blessing, and the stamp was well received. Although postal policy does not allow artists to portray living persons on stamps, one of the carriers in the stamp is an unmistakable self-portrait of Davis.<ref name= HReporterObit />

In 2019, Davis was posthumously awarded the [[Inkwell Awards|Inkwell Awards Stacey Aragon Special Recognition Award]] for his lifetime of work in the inking field.<ref name=firstcomicnewsinkwells2019>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstcomicsnews.com/2019-inkwell-awards-voting-results-and-ceremony/|title=2019 INKWELL AWARDS VOTING RESULTS AND CEREMONY|first=Bob|last=Almond|website=www.firstcomicsnews.com|date=13 April 2019 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of TV Guide covers]]
* [[Richard Amsel]]
* [[Frank McCarthy (artist)|Frank McCarthy]]
* [[Bob Peak]]
* [[Drew Struzan]]
* [[Howard Terpning]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jack Davis}}
* [http://www.americanartarchives.com/davis,jack.htm Jack Davis] at American Art Archives
* [http://www.rankinbass.com/jackdavishome.html Spotlight on Jack Davis] at RankinBass.com
* [http://madcoversite.com/ugoi-jack_davis.html Jack Davis's ''Mad'' contributions] at MadCoverSite.com
* {{discogs artist|Jack Davis (5)}}
* {{imdb name|0204738}}
* {{Find a Grave|167473706}}

{{EC Comics}}
{{Mad magazine}}
{{Madcontribs}}
{{Inkpot Award 1980s}}
{{Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jack}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
[[Category:American comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:American caricaturists]]
[[Category:American horror artists]]
[[Category:American fantasy artists]]
[[Category:American science fiction artists]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Film poster artists]]
[[Category:American album-cover and concert-poster artists]]
[[Category:Mad (magazine) cartoonists]]
[[Category:Artists from Atlanta]]
[[Category:Reuben Award winners]]
[[Category:University of Georgia people]]
[[Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:EC Comics]]
[[Category:Inkpot Award winners]]