View source for Alex Raymond

{{Short description|American cartoonist and illustrator  (1909–1956)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image = Alex Raymond (King Features).jpg
| caption = Promotional photograph of Raymond from [[King Features]]' ''Famous Artists and Writers'', 1949
| birth_name = Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|10|2}}<ref>"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JKNW-R2C : accessed March 2, 2013), Alexander Raymond, September 1956.</ref>
| birth_place = [[New Rochelle, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1956|9|6|1909|10|2}}
| death_place = [[Westport, Connecticut]], U.S.
| area = 
| cartoonist = y
| write = 
| art = y
| pencil = 
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| signature = <!-- very optional -->
| notable works = ''[[Flash Gordon]]''<br/>''[[Rip Kirby]]''
| awards = [[Reuben Award]] (1949)<br/>Comic Book Hall of Fame (1996)
| website = 
}}
'''Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr.''' (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/ssdi/individual_record.asp?recid=041286549|title=Explore Billions of Historical Records|work=FamilySearch.org|access-date=March 3, 2009|archive-date=June 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607170013/http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/ssdi/individual_record.asp?recid=041286549|url-status=dead}}</ref> was an American [[cartoonist]] and illustrator who was best known for creating the ''[[Flash Gordon]]'' comic strip for [[King Features Syndicate]] in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into many other media, from three [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] [[serial (film)|movie serial]]s (1936's [[Flash Gordon (serial)|''Flash Gordon'']], 1938's ''[[Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars]]'', and 1940's ''[[Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe]]'') to a 1950s [[The New Adventures of Flash Gordon|television series]] and a [[Flash Gordon (film)|1980 feature film]].

Raymond's father loved drawing and encouraged his son to draw from an early age. In the early 1930s, this led Raymond to become an assistant illustrator on strips such as ''[[Tillie the Toiler]]'' and ''[[Tim Tyler's Luck]]''. Towards the end of 1933, Raymond created the epic ''Flash Gordon'' science fiction comic strip to compete with the popular ''[[Buck Rogers]]'' comic strip. Before long, ''Flash'' was the more popular strip. Raymond also worked on the jungle adventure saga ''[[Jungle Jim]]'' and spy adventure ''[[Secret Agent X-9]]'' concurrently with ''Flash'', though his increasing workload caused him to leave ''Secret Agent X-9'' to another artist by 1935. He left the strips in 1944 to join the [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]], saw combat in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific Ocean theater]] in 1945, and was demobilized in 1946. Upon his return to civilian life, Raymond created and illustrated the much-heralded ''[[Rip Kirby]]'', a private detective comic strip. In 1956, Raymond was killed in a car crash at the age of 46.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cartoonician.com/alex-raymonds-last-ride/ |title=Alex Raymond's Last Ride, ''Hogan's Alley,'' May 2012 |access-date=January 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927145012/http://cartoonician.com/alex-raymonds-last-ride/ |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

He became known as "the artist's artist"<ref>[[Roger Sabin|Sabin, Roger]], ''Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels: A History of Comic Art'' ([[Phaidon Press]], 1996) {{ISBN|0-7148-3993-0}}, p. 54</ref> and his much-imitated style can be seen on the many strips that he illustrated. Raymond worked from live models furnished by Manhattan's Walter Thornton Agency, as indicated in "Modern Jules Verne," a profile of Raymond published in the Dell Four-Color ''Flash Gordon'' #10 (1942), showing how Thornton model Patricia Quinn posed as a character in the strip.

Numerous artists have cited Raymond as an inspiration for their work, including comic artists [[Jack Kirby]], [[Bob Kane]], [[Russ Manning]], and [[Al Williamson]]. [[George Lucas]] cited Raymond as a major influence for ''[[Star Wars]]''. He was inducted into the [[List of Eisner Award winners#The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame|Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame]] in 1996. [[Maurice Horn]] stated that Raymond unquestionably possessed "the most versatile talent" of all the comic strip creators. He has also described his style as "precise, clear, and incisive."<ref name="HornRay"/> [[Carl Barks]] described Raymond as a man "who could combine craftsmanship with emotions and all the gimmicks that went into a good adventure strip".<ref name="Duin"/> Raymond's influence on other cartoonists was considerable during his lifetime and did not diminish after his death.

==Biography==

===Early life and career===
Raymond was born in 1909 in [[New Rochelle, New York]]; his parents were Beatrice W. (née Crossley) and Alexander Gillespie Raymond, Sr. The boy was raised in the [[Roman Catholic]] faith.<ref name=tpe>{{Cite book|last=O'Sullivan|first=Judith|title=The art of the comic strip, Issue 1|publisher=University of Maryland Dept. of Art|year=1971|location=Michigan|page=83}}</ref><ref name=roy>{{Cite news|title=MRS. A.G. RAYMOND; Widow of Contractor—Four of Her Six Sons in Service|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 21, 1945|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/02/21/archives/mrs-ag-raymond-widow-of-contractorfour-of-her-six-sons-in-service.html|access-date=November 1, 2011}}</ref>

His father was a [[civil engineer]] and road builder who encouraged his son's love of drawing from an early age, even "covering one wall of his office in the [[Woolworth Building]]" with his young son's artwork.<ref name="KF"/><ref name="lambiek"/> Raymond's father died when he was 12, after which he felt that there was not as viable a future in art as he had hoped. He attended [[Iona Prep]] on an athletic scholarship. There, he played fullback on coach "Turk" Smith's 1926 football team.<ref name="KF"/>

Raymond's first job was as an order clerk in [[Wall Street]]. In the wake of the [[Wall Street Crash|1929 economic crisis]] he enrolled in the [[Grand Central School of Art]] in New York City and began working as a solicitor for a [[mortgage broker]].<ref name="KF"/><ref name="lambiek"/>

Approaching former neighbor [[Russ Westover]], Raymond soon quit his job and by 1930 was assisting Westover on his ''[[Tillie the Toiler]]'' comic strip. As a result, Raymond was "introduced to [[King Features Syndicate]]", where he later became a staff artist,<ref name=horn118>Horn, Maurice, editor. ''100 Years of American Newspaper Comics'' (Gramercy Books: New York, Avenel, 1996) {{ISBN|0-517-12447-5}}. ''Flash Gordon'' entry by Bill Crouch, Jr., pg. 118</ref> and for whom he would produce his greatest artwork.<ref name="KF"/><ref name="lambiek">{{Cite web|url=http://lambiek.net/artists/r/raymond.htm|title=Alex Raymond|access-date=January 2, 2009|work=Comiclopedia|publisher=[[Lambiek]]}}</ref>

Raymond was influenced by a variety of strip cartoonists and magazine illustrators, including Matt Clark, [[Franklin Booth]], and [[John La Gatta]].<ref name="Mendez1"/> From late 1931 to 1933,<ref name=horn375>Horn. ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' entry, by Horn, p. 375</ref> Raymond assisted [[Lyman Young]] on ''[[Tim Tyler's Luck]]'', eventually becoming the [[ghostwriter|ghost artist]] in "1932 and 1933&nbsp;... [on] both the daily strip and the Sunday page",<ref name="HornRay">[[Maurice Horn|Horn, Maurice]], "Alex Raymond" in Horn (ed.) ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics'' (Chelsea House Publishers, 2nd ed., 1999) {{ISBN|0-7910-4854-3}}, p. 641</ref> turning it "into one of the most eye-catching strips of the time".<ref name=horn375/> Concurrently, Raymond assisted [[Chic Young]] on ''[[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]]''.<ref name="lambiek"/>

In 1933, King Features assigned him to do the art for an espionage action-adventure strip, ''[[Secret Agent X-9]]'',<ref name=horn118/> scripted by novelist [[Dashiell Hammett]],<ref name="lambiek"/> and Raymond's illustrative approach to that strip made him King Features' leading talent.<ref name=horn118/>

===Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim, and Secret Agent X-9===
{{Further|Flash Gordon|Jungle Jim|Secret Agent X-9}}
Towards the end of 1933,<ref name="HornRay"/> King Features asked him to create a Sunday page that could compete with ''[[Buck Rogers#Comic strip|Buck Rogers in the 25th Century]]'',<ref name="lambiek"/> a popular science fiction adventure strip that had debuted in 1929 and already spawned the rival ''[[Brick Bradford]]'' in 1933.<ref name=horn118/> According to King Features, syndicate president Joe Connolly "gave Raymond an idea ... based on fantastic adventures similar to those of [[Jules Verne]]".<ref name="KF">[http://profmendez.tripod.com/assets/images/kingfeatures2.jpg King Features' "Alex Raymond" in ''Famous Writers and Artists, 1949''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040618063004/http://profmendez.tripod.com/assets/images/kingfeatures2.jpg |date=June 18, 2004}} placed online by [http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk2.htm Armando E. Mendez] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319000215/http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk2.htm |date=March 19, 2009}}. Accessed January 3, 2009</ref>

Alongside [[ghostwriter]] Don Moore,<ref name=horn118/> a [[Pulp magazine|pulp-fiction]] veteran, Raymond created the visually sumptuous science fiction epic comic strip ''[[Flash Gordon]]''.<ref name="lambiek"/> The duo also created the "complementary strip, ''[[Jungle Jim]]'', an adventurous saga set in South-East Asia", a [[topper (comic strip)|topper]] which ran above ''Flash'' in some papers<ref name="Mark">{{Cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/fgordon.htm |title=Flash Gordon |access-date=January 2, 2009 |publisher=[[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]}}</ref> Raymond was concurrently illustrating ''[[Secret Agent X-9]]'', which premiered January 22, 1934, two weeks after the two other strips.<ref name=horn341>Horn. ''Secret Agent X-9'' entry, by Horn, p. 341</ref> It was ''Flash Gordon'' that would outlast the others, quickly "develop[ing] an audience far surpassing" that of ''[[Buck Rogers]]''.<ref name="Mark"/> ''Flash Gordon'', wrote Stephen Becker, "was wittier and moved faster,"<ref name="Duin"/> so "Buck's position as America's favorite sci-fi hero", wrote historian Bill Crouch Jr., "went down in flames to the artistic lash and spectacle of Alex Raymond's virtuoso artwork." Alex Raymond has stated, "I decided honestly that comic art is an art form in itself. It reflects the life and times more accurately and actually is more artistic than magazine illustration—since it is entirely creative. An illustrator works with camera and models; a comic artist begins with a white sheet of paper and dreams up his own business—he is playwright, director, editor and artist at once."<ref name="KF"/><ref name=horn118/> A. E. Mendez has also stated that "Raymond’s achievements are chopped into bite-sized pieces by the comic art cognoscenti. Lost in the worthwhile effort to distinguish comics as an art form, the romance, sweep and beauty of Raymond's draftsmanship, his incomparable line work, is dismissed. To many, it's just pretty pictures. Somehow or another, it's OK for people like [[Milton Caniff|Caniff]] and [[Will Eisner|Eisner]] to borrow from film. That’s real storytelling. But for Raymond to study illustrators, well, that's just not comics."<ref name="Mendez1"/>

Debuting on January 7, 1934, Raymond's first ''Flash'' strip introduced the "world-famous [[polo]] player", improbably roped into a space adventure alongside love-interest [[Dale Arden]] and scientist [[Hans Zarkov|Dr. Hans Zarkov]].<ref name="Mark"/> Transported by [[rocket]] to the planet Mongo, "which was about to collide with Earth", the trio "immediately became embroiled in the affairs of Mongo's inhabitants—particularly those of its insidious warlord, Emperor [[Ming the Merciless|Ming]]", who would become Flash Gordon's nemesis throughout the franchise's many incarnations.<ref name="Mark"/>

Early in 1935, Hammett decided to depart as writer of ''Secret Agent X-9'' in order to pursue a career in Hollywood. While it has been presumed that Raymond took on the writing duties of the strip until a replacement could be found, biographer Tom Roberts instead believes that the strip was written by committee during editorial conference, a view [[R. C. Harvey]] believes is supported by the strips themselves.<ref>{{Cite journal | last =Harvey | first =R.C. | title =Alex Raymond at Last | journal = The Comics Journal | issue =295 | pages=161–173 | date=Jan 2009 | issn=0194-7869}} "the unevenness of the storytelling from week to week suggests that more than one hand was on the tiller, and some of them had only a tenuous grasp."</ref> ''Saint'' author [[Leslie Charteris]] was hired to take over the writing of the strip in September 1935, but the pair would only collaborate on one storyline.<ref name="TCJ295">{{Cite journal | last =Harvey | first =R.C. | title =Alex Raymond at Last | journal = The Comics Journal | issue =295 | pages=161–173 | date=Jan 2009 | issn=0194-7869}}</ref> By the end of 1935, "the [work]load was too much for Raymond,"<ref name="HornRay"/> who left ''Secret Agent X-9'' to artist {{Interlanguage link|Charles Flanders|fr}}, in order to devote more time to his meticulous Sunday pages.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wood |first=Art |date=2000 |title=Great Cartoonists and Their Art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Y4vUNDN2qkC&pg=PA79 |location=Gretna, Louisiana |publisher=[[Pelican Publishing Company]] |page=79 |isbn=1-56554-796-9}}</ref>

Raymond's work on ''X-9'' is said to particularly reach for "the feel of the best pulp interior art of the time," a style that would evolve with his own so-called "great flourishes" and "later blossom to full effect in ''Flash Gordon'' and ''Jungle Jim''".<ref name="Mendez1"/> "Under his pen," writes [[Maurice Horn]], his Sunday pages "became world famous (especially ''Flash Gordon'')."<ref name="HornRay"/> However, historian and critic R.C. Harvey argues that "despite Raymond's great talent as an illustrator, his deployment of the comic-strip medium (on ''X-9'') was not very impressive." Harvey feels that Raymond's work suffers in comparison to [[Milton Caniff]]'s contemporaneous work, with Raymond's failings as a visual storyteller less noticeable on a weekly Sunday strip, where the space afforded played to his skills as an illustrator.<ref name="TCJ295"/>

[[File:Flashgordon panel transition.gif|thumb|The first ''[[Flash Gordon]]'' and one from 1936 show how Raymond expanded from the standard layout to larger panels.]]
Raymond's sensual artwork—for which the artist particularly "studied popular illustrators," including pulp artist Matt Clark, whose work Raymond's male figures particularly evoke<ref name="Mendez1"/>—outshone its borders and "attracted far more loyal readers than&nbsp;... [the] rather contrived and unconvincing adventure stories" his work depicted.<ref name="Mark"/> Raymond swiftly became "among the most highly-regarded—and most imitated—in all of comics" for his work on the weekly strip, with Harvey declaring his work on the strip "a technical virtuosity matched on the comics pages only by [[Hal Foster|Harold Foster]] in ''Prince Valiant''."<ref name="Mark"/><ref name="TCJ295"/> Raymond evolved the layout of the strip from a four-tier strip in 1934 to a two-tier strip in 1936, reducing the number of panels but doubling their size. Combining this with a removal of dialogue from [[speech balloons]] to captions at the bottom of the panel afforded Raymond the space to create detailed and atmospheric backgrounds. Against these spacious backgrounds, the placement of characters in heroic poses "lent the entire enterprise a mythic air."<ref name="TCJ295"/>

''Flash Gordon'' gained a daily strip in 1940, illustrated by [[Austin Briggs]].<ref name="Mark"/> Raymond left the Sunday strip in 1944 to join the Marines, whereupon the daily strip was cancelled and Briggs assumed the Sunday strip duties, continuing until 1948.<ref name="Mark"/> Briggs was succeeded on the Sundays by [[Mac Raboy|Emanuel "Mac" Raboy]], while the daily strip was revived in 1951 by Dan Barry. Barry also took over Sunday duties after Raboy's death in 1967.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Booker |editor-first=M. Keith |date=2010 |title=Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2J7DpUItEMC&pg=PA552 |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |page=552 |isbn=978-0-313-35746-6}}</ref>

Run above ''Flash Gordon'', Raymond's ''Jungle Jim'' is described by Armando Mendez as "a thing of beauty&nbsp;... always more than just a topper or a shallow response to [[Hal Foster]]'s exquisite ''[[Tarzan (comics)#Comic strips|Tarzan]]''".<ref name="Mendez1"/> The companion strip evolved over time, morphing from an initial "two tiers and up to six panels [layout], with speech balloons" into "a single row, of four very tall panels with declamatory text and static, vertical composition".<ref name="Mendez1"/> Raymond's skill and artistic dexterity, however, kept the storytelling constant and the artwork vibrant. ''Jungle Jim'' was "set in contemporary times and the exotic [[Malay peninsula]] of islands, [but] was intended to hark back to the original tales of [[Rudyard Kipling|Kipling]], [[H. Rider Haggard|Haggard]] and [[Edgar Rice Burroughs|Burroughs]]".<ref name="Mendez1"/>

===Military career===
[[File:Marines at Prayer by Alex Raymond.jpg|thumb|While he was in the Marines, Raymond painted "Marines at Prayer" for the ''Marine Corps' Headquarters Bulletin'' (December 1944).]]

Raymond took the war in Europe seriously enough to incorporate it into his strips, with Flash returning to Earth in the spring of 1941. Jungle Jim found himself involved in the conflict too, fighting in the U.S. Army. Raymond was becoming "restive about doing his duty", a restlessness increased by the knowledge that four of his five brothers were already enlisted.<ref name="TCJ295"/> In February 1944, Raymond left King Features and his work on the Sunday ''Flash Gordon''/''Jungle Jim'' pages to join the [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]], commissioned as a captain and serving in the public-relations arm. Raymond is quoted as stating "I just had to get into this fight&nbsp;... I've always been the kind of guy who gets a lump in his throat when a band plays the 'Star Spangled Banner'".<ref name="HornRay"/><ref name="lambiek"/><ref name="TCJ295"/><ref name="USMC">[http://www.adamsplanes.com/Alex%20Raymond.htm Lewis, Adam "Alex Raymond's USMC Art" at Lewis' ''Plane Fun'']. Accessed January 4, 2009</ref>

Shortly thereafter, he "was sent to [[Marine Corps Base Quantico|Quantico]] for training in the curriculum of the Aviation Ground Officer's School," and was soon producing "posters and patriotic images from a government office in Philadelphia."<ref name="USMC"/> His most famous image from this time is "Marines at Prayer," which "was destined to become a well-known and well-circulated image of Marines on a battlefield pausing for worship."<ref name="USMC"/> Raymond also "designed the official 1944 Marine Corps [[Christmas card]]."<ref name="Duin"/> Desiring "to get closer to the action," he then trained at the Marine Corps Air Station in [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]] before serving in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific Ocean theater]] "on the 1945 cruise of the [[escort carrier]] [[USS Gilbert Islands|USS ''Gilbert Islands'']]."<ref name="USMC"/> Treated by his fellow marines (who had been raised on ''Flash Gordon'') as a celebrity, he was nonetheless seen as "a down-to-earth fellow," and well liked.<ref name="USMC"/> He saw "a period of intense combat in June 1945," and was "made an honorary member of VMTB-143 in August 1945."<ref name="USMC"/> Raymond had, in May 1945, designed a squadron patch for the men of VMTB-143, after which the "squadron adopted the new name 'The Rocket Raiders'."<ref name="USMC"/>

He was demobilized as a major in 1946.<ref name="HornRay"/><ref name="lambiek"/> Upon his return, Raymond was unable to return to ''Flash Gordon''. King Features were not prepared to usurp Austin Briggs from the [[Sunday strip]] and pointed out that Raymond had left voluntarily to enlist. Relatives of Raymond recall the artist as resenting this decision, which left him feeling "cast off with so little regard."<ref name="TCJ295"/> However, King Features offered Raymond the opportunity to create a new strip.<ref name="Mendez1"/>

===Rip Kirby===
{{Main|Rip Kirby}}
[[File:Ripkirby.png|left|thumb|Alex Raymond's ''Rip Kirby'' (July 28, 1956), his final strip with Judith Lynne "Honey" Dorian.]]

Raymond's "police daily strip,"<ref name="HornRay"/> named after its central character – J. Remington "Rip" Kirby<ref name="Mendez1"/> – debuted on March 4, 1946, conceived (and initially scripted) by King Features editor [[Ward Greene]].<ref name="Mark2">{{Cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/ripkirby.htm |title=Rip Kirby |access-date=January 2, 2009 |publisher=[[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]}}</ref> The plotting of the strips is harder to attribute, the scant evidence available supporting the notion that Raymond was more than simply an illustrator.<ref name="TCJ295"/> However, as was relatively commonplace on such strips, published credit went to Raymond, whose name was the major selling feature; the artist even managed to gain a part-ownership deal with King Features and a better split of the profits than was usual.<ref name="TCJ295"/><ref name="Mark2"/> ''Rip Kirby'' was Raymond's reintroduction to newspaper strips after the war, and he was quick to forge a new "up-to-date" style for the strip, while keeping ties to the audience he had built up with ''Flash Gordon'', ''Jungle Jim'', and ''Secret Agent X-9''.<ref name="Mark2"/>

Running alongside the post-[[World War II]] reintegration of America's military into civilian life, Rip (like Raymond) was "an ex-Marine," who "set himself up as a private detective" a vocation tailor-made to provide daily thrills.<ref name="Mark2"/>

Described by Stephen Becker as "modern and almost too intellectual",<ref>Becker, Stephen in ''Comic Art in America'', quoted by
[http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk2.htm A. E. Mendez] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319000215/http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk2.htm |date=March 19, 2009}}</ref> the strip eschewed many of the [[Pulp magazine|pulp fictional]] detective tropes (e.g. alcoholism, two-fisted assistants, and an assortment of interchangeable [[femme fatale|femmes fatale]]). Instead, "[Rip] did more cogitating than fisticuffing, and smoked a leisurely pipe while he did it;" "had a frail, balding assistant ... instead of a two-fisted sidekick;" "had a steady girlfriend&nbsp;... [and] [i]f that wasn't enough, he even wore glasses!<ref name="Mark2"/><ref>As noted by [[Jerry Robinson]], quoted by [http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk2.htm Armando E. Mendez] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319000215/http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk2.htm |date=March 19, 2009}}.</ref> Rip "lived and worked in a recognizable, glamorous, modern New York City on cases involving very human frailties and vice", and "grew older as the strip progressed", a continuity advancement little seen in the strips of the time (although pioneered in ''[[Gasoline Alley (comic strip)|Gasoline Alley]]'' and ''[[Mary Worth]]''<ref name="Mendez2"/>).<ref name="Mendez1"/> Raymond noted the change in subject matter, commenting that "I wanted to do something different and more down to earth."<ref name="TCJ295"/>

Stylistically, "Raymond turned to the Cooper Studio-[[Al Parker (artist)|Al Parker]] advertising style for inspiration, spurring a new generation of comic artists to follow a fresh direction", that of "glorify[ing] contemporary post-War American life".<ref name="Mendez1">{{cite web|last=Mendez|first=Prof. Armando E. |url=http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk.html |title=The Look of Love: The Rise and Fall of the Photo-Realistic Newspaper Strip, 1946–1970: Honey Time 2.0: Alex Raymond and Rip Kirby|access-date= January 1, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070720191926/http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk.html |archive-date= July 20, 2007|url-status = dead}}</ref> Although the strip was published entirely in black and white, Raymond worked hard to add tone through artistic technique. "Raymond nevertheless [colored] through his use of varying linework ... [creating] color through contrast".<ref name="TR1">Roberts, Tom, ''Alex Raymond: His Life and Art''. As quoted in {{Cite journal | last =Harvey | first =R.C. | title =Alex Raymond at Last | journal = The Comics Journal | issue =295 | pages=161–173 | date=Jan 2009 | issn=0194-7869}}</ref> His new style was much imitated throughout the industry and became known as 'the Raymond style'.<ref>Feduniewicz, K. & Yeates, T. 2004 ''Al Williamson-Hidden Lands''. Milwaukee: Dark Horse Books, p. 196</ref>

Circulation of the strip rose steadily, and it was the artist who was apportioned most of the praise – including being awarded the fourth [[Reuben Award]] in 1949.<ref name="Mark2"/> He also served as the [[National Cartoonists Society]]'s president from 1950 until 1952, putting into place the committee structure responsible for overseeing the organization, and threw himself into championing the medium as an art form.<ref name="TCJ295"/> Raymond profited in recognizability as well as financially, and continued on the strip until his untimely death in September 1956.<ref name="Mark2"/> His collaborator from 1952 was writer Fred Dickenson (who wrote the strip for a further 34 years), and he was succeeded artistically by magazine and Prize Publications' ''[[Young Romance]]'' illustrator [[John Prentice (cartoonist)|John Prentice]].<ref name="Mark2"/> Commentators have said that Prentice echoed the ''Rip Kirby'' artistic style, but lacked "Raymond's excellent design sense,"<ref name="TCJ295"/> although Prentice received praise for his work from the Raymond family.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Brian |editor1-last=Mullaney |editor1-first=Dean |title=Rip Kirby, Volume Seven (1962–1964) |date=2014 |pages=5–11 |chapter=Like Father, Like Son}}</ref> Prentice drew ''Rip Kirby'' until just before he died in 1999,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/p/prentice_j.htm |title=John Prentice Cartoons 1956-1968 |publisher=Syracuse University |date=June 29, 2010 |access-date=May 26, 2019}}</ref> the strip itself concluding a month later.<ref name="Mark2"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jimkeefe.com/archives/10953 |title=John Prentice – Tribute |last=Keefe |first=Jim |access-date=May 26, 2019}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In 1967, [[Woody Gelman]] reprinted in hardcover some of Raymond's earlier comic strip work under his Nostalgia Press imprint.<ref>Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession, pp. 125–126, Dave Jamieson, 2010, Atlantic Monthly Press, imprint of Grove/Atlantic Inc., New York, NY, {{ISBN|978-0-8021-1939-1}}</ref> Regarded by ''Time'' magazine in 1974—alongside ''[[Prince Valiant]]'' author-illustrator [[Hal Foster]]—as "some sort of genius",<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121102050734/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911570-5,00.html "Christmas Books: Looking Backward"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', December 16, 1974. Accessed January 2, 2009</ref> and described in [[Jerry Bails]] and Hames Ware's ''Who's Who in American Comic Books'' as "[p]ossibly the most influential artist on early comic books",<ref name="Bails">[[Jerry Bails|Bails, Jerry]] and Hames Ware. [http://www.bailsprojects.com/(S(yunydj553332vyn0u0ugzbzr))/bio.aspx?Name=RAYMOND%2c+ALEX "Alex Raymond" in ''Who's Who in American Comic Books'']. Accessed January 2, 2009</ref> Raymond's legacy as an artistic inspiration is immense. Harvey argued that it is because of Raymond and Foster that the illustrative style became the dominant one used for adventure strips. "His work and Foster's created the visual standard by which all such comic strips would henceforth be measured."<ref name="TCJ295"/> Biographer Tom Roberts also believes Raymond's work on ''Rip Kirby'' "inspired all the soap opera style strips of the fifties and sixties". Roberts argues that strips such as ''[[Apartment 3-G]]'' "can trace their origins to the success of Raymond's strip".<ref name="TR1"/> Although his work was rarely seen outside of the newspaper "[[funny pages]]", as Raymond preferred to focus his energies on strip work, he also produced a number of "illustrations for ''[[Blue Book (magazine)|Blue Book]]'', ''[[Look (American magazine)|Look]]'', ''[[Collier's Weekly|Collier's]]'' and ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]''"<ref name="lambiek"/> as well as ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]''.<ref name="Mendez1"/>

The "heightened realism" of Raymond's [[photorealistic]] style has been "chastised for making his pictures too realistic, too gorgeous for its own sake", although many commentators believe that this very method "plunges the reader into the story".<ref name="Mendez3">Mendez, Armando E. [http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk3.htm ''The Look of Love: The Rise and Fall of the Photo-Realistic Newspaper Strip, 1946–1970'': "Alex Raymond and Rip Kirby, Page 3"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123024313/http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk3.htm |date=January 23, 2009}}. Accessed January 3, 2009</ref> Raymond's work has a "timeless appeal," many aspects of which—including the use of feathering (a shading technique in which a soft series of parallel lines helps to suggest the contour of an object)<ref name="Duin"/>—have inspired generations of cartoonists, his work becoming "the raw material for the swipe files of future generations".<ref name="Duin"/><ref name="Mendez3"/> His work on ''Rip Kirby'' is especially noted for its use of "sophisticated black spotting", a technique Raymond used from c.1949 "for pacing" reasons.<ref name="Mendez3"/> Fellow-cartoonist [[Stan Drake]] recalled that Raymond called his black areas "pools of quiet", serving as they did "as a pause for the viewer, something to slow the eye across the strip's panels".<ref name="Mendez3"/>

===Specific influences===
[[File:George Lucas, Pasadena.jpg|thumb|left|[[George Lucas]], who has cited Raymond as an influence on ''[[Star Wars]]'']]

Alex Raymond's "influence on other cartoonists was considerable during his lifetime and did not diminish after his death".<ref name="HornRay"/> [[George Lucas]] has cited Raymond's ''Flash Gordon'' as a major influence on his ''[[Star Wars]]'' films (which, cyclically, inspired the 1980 ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]'' film), while Raymond's long shadow has fallen across the comics industry ever since his work saw print. Comics artists who have cited Raymond as a particularly significant influence on their work include [[Murphy Anderson]], [[Jim Aparo]], [[Matt Baker (artist)|Matt Baker]], [[Frank Brunner]], [[John Buscema]], [[Gene Colan]], [[Dick Dillin]], [[Lou Fine]], [[José Luis García-López]], [[Frank Giacoia]], [[Bob Haney]], [[Jack Katz (artist)|Jack Katz]], [[Everett Raymond Kinstler]], [[Joe Kubert]], [[Russ Manning]],<ref>[[Mike Royer]], "Foreword" to Russ Manning, ''[[Magnus, Robot Fighter]]: Volume One''. [[Dark Horse Comics]], Milwaukie, Or. 2010.{{ISBN|9781595825995}} (p. 7)</ref> [[Mort Meskin]], [[Sheldon Moldoff]], [[Luis Garcia Mozos]], [[Joe Orlando]], [[Mac Raboy]],<ref>[[Drew Friedman (cartoonist)|Drew Friedman]], ''Heroes Of The Comics:Portraits of the Pioneering Legends of the Comic Books''. Seattle, Washington : [[Fantagraphics]] Books, 2014. {{ISBN|9781606997314}} (p. 82)</ref> [[John Romita Jr.]], [[Kurt Schaffenberger]], [[Joe Sinnott]], [[Dick Sprang]] and [[Alex Toth]], among many others.<ref name="Bails2">[http://www.bailsprojects.com/(S(ms034se2gpymucft5hbr3jv1))/whoswho.aspx Hames Ware and Jerry Bails' ''Who's Who in American Comic Books'': "Alex Rayomnd (cited influences)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228005900/http://www.bailsprojects.com/%28S%285g2znh55tbazfk55jn1lmd3a%29%29/whoswho.aspx |date=December 28, 2008}}. Accessed January 2, 2009</ref>

In particular, Raymond has been named as a key influence by many of the most influential and important comic book artists of all time. [[EC Comics]]-staple [[Al Williamson]] cites Raymond as a major influence, and is quoted as saying that Raymond was "the reason I became an artist".<ref name="Duin">Duin, Steve and [[Mike Richardson (publisher)|Richardson, Mike]] (ed.s) "Alex Raymond" in ''Comics Between the Panels'' ([[Dark Horse Comics|Dark Horse Publishing]], 1998) {{ISBN|1-56971-344-8}}, pp. 366–367</ref> Indeed, Williamson ultimately assisted on the ''Flash Gordon'' strips in the mid-1950s, and ''Rip Kirby'' in the mid-1960s (all post-Raymond).<ref name="Bails2"/> Key [[Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] artists credit Raymond with influencing their work. The artistic creators of [[Batman]] ([[Bob Kane]]) and [[Superman]] ([[Joe Shuster]]) credit him (alongside [[Milton Caniff]], [[Billy DeBeck]] and [[Roy Crane]]) as having had a strong influence on their artistic development.<ref name="Bails2"/> Decades later, the herald of the [[Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] (and co-creator of most of [[Marvel Comics]]'s pantheon of heroes), [[Jack Kirby|Jack "King" Kirby]] also credits Raymond, alongside fellow strip artist [[Hal Foster]], as a particular influence and inspiration.<ref name="Bails2"/>

''[[Cerebus]]'' creator [[Dave Sim]] has published a comic book since 2008 called [[glamourpuss (comics)|''glamourpuss'']] which is an examination of Alex Raymond's career (and the techniques of other photorealists like [[Stan Drake]] and Al Williamson) structured around a hypothetical storyline set during the last day of Raymond's life.

===Personal life===
Raymond married Helen Frances Williams on December 31, 1930, with whom he had five children.<ref name="KF"/> The names of his three daughters—Judith, Lynne and Helen—were immortalized in that of Rip Kirby's girlfriend, Judith Lynne "Honey" Dorian.<ref name="Mendez2">Mendez, Armando E. [http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk2.htm ''The Look of Love: The Rise and Fall of the Photo-Realistic Newspaper Strip, 1946–1970'': "Alex Raymond and Rip Kirby, Page 2"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319000215/http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/ripk2.htm |date=March 19, 2009}}. Accessed January 1, 2009</ref> The Raymonds also had two sons: Alan W. and Duncan.<ref name="KF"/> He was the great-uncle of actors [[Matt Dillon]] and [[Kevin Dillon (actor)|Kevin Dillon]].<ref>Harry Blauvelt, [https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2001-10-10-fordham-golf.htm "Fordham golf coach has way with the brush"], ''[[USA Today]]'', September 10, 2001. Accessed January 1, 2009</ref> His younger brother, [[Jim Raymond]], was also a cartoonist, and worked as assistant to [[Chic Young]] on ''[[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.lambiek.net/artists/r/raymond_jim.htm|title= Jim Raymond|date= December 14, 2006|publisher= Lambiek Comiclopedia|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110608002354/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/r/raymond_jim.htm|archive-date= June 8, 2011|url-status= live}}</ref>

===Death===
On September 6, 1956, a month before his 47th birthday, Raymond was killed in an automobile accident in [[Westport, Connecticut]]. He was driving fellow cartoonist [[Stan Drake]]'s 1956 [[Chevrolet Corvette|Corvette]] at twice the {{convert|25|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} [[speed limit]]<ref name="Duin"/> when he hit a tree and was killed. In his biography, Roberts described the circumstances as a result of the weather. Raymond was driving the convertible with its top down when the rain started to fall. He decided to reach his destination quicker rather than stop the vehicle to put the top back up. The car crashed and Drake was thrown clear, but Raymond, who was wearing his seat belt to no avail, died instantly. Speculation surrounded the nature of his death. Drake and some others believed that Raymond was suicidal. Raymond had been involved in four automobile accidents in the month prior to his death. This led Drake to say that Raymond "had been trying to kill himself". Author Arlen Schumer ascribed Raymond's personal life as the motive for suicide. Schumer alleged that Raymond had been having affairs and that his wife was refusing to grant him a divorce. R. C. Harvey dismissed this motivation: "Committing suicide strikes me as an odd way for a man of Raymond's sophistication to react to his disappointment in romance".<ref name="TCJ295"/> Harvey also noted that no mention of any alleged affairs appears in Tom Roberts's biography, "probably out of consideration to Raymond's surviving family".<ref name="TCJ295"/> Drake has also been quoted as speculating that Raymond "hit the accelerator by mistake".<ref name="Duin"/> Raymond was buried in St. John's Roman Catholic Cemetery in [[Darien, Connecticut]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/27/nyregion/written-in-stone.html ''New York Times'']</ref>

==Awards==
Alex Raymond received a [[Reuben Award]] from the [[National Cartoonists Society]] in 1949 for his work on ''[[Rip Kirby]]'', and he later served as president of the society in 1950 and 1951.<ref name="HornRay"/> He was inducted into the [[List of Eisner Award winners#The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame|Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame]] in 1996.<ref name="Bails"/> He was inducted into the [[Society of Illustrators]] Hall of Fame in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.societyillustrators.org/Awards-and-Competitions/Hall-of-Fame/Overview.aspx|title=The Society of Illustrators: Hall of Fame|work=societyillustrators.org|access-date=June 20, 2014|archive-date=August 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815173248/http://societyillustrators.org/Awards-and-Competitions/Hall-of-Fame/Overview.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Maurice Horn calls Raymond "one of the most celebrated comic artists of all time as the creator of four outstanding comic features (a feat unequaled to this day)," noting that he "received many distinctions and awards during his lifetime for his work, both as a cartoonist and as a magazine illustrator."<ref name="HornRay"/><ref>Horn ascribes a full "creator" credit to Raymond for his being originating artist/co-creator/major influence on ''Secret Agent X-9'', ''Flash Gordon'', ''Jungle Jim'' and ''Rip Kirby''.</ref>

==Bibliography==
Raymond's work includes:
* ''[[Tillie the Toiler]]'' (assistant, 1930)
* ''[[Tim Tyler's Luck]]'' (assistant, 1930–1933)
* ''[[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]]'' (assistant, 1930–1933)
* ''[[Flash Gordon]]'' (with writer Don Moore, 1934–1943)
* ''[[Secret Agent X-9]]'' (with writer [[Dashiell Hammett]], 1934–1935)
* ''[[Jungle Jim]]'' (with writer Don Moore, 1934–1944)
* ''[[Rip Kirby]]'' (with writer Ward Greene, 1946–1956; with writer Fred Dickenson, 1956)

===Collected editions===
Raymond's work has been collected a number of times. Most recently:
* ''Flash Gordon'' (hardcover, Checker Book Publishing Group):
** ''Volume 1'' (collects Raymond's earliest Sunday Strips starting from the first, printed on January 7, 1934; 98 pages, October 2003, {{ISBN|0-9741664-3-X}})
** ''Volume 2'' (collects strips from 1935 and 1936; 100 pages, December 2004, {{ISBN|0-9741664-6-4}})
** ''Volume 3'' (collects the pages printed between October 25, 1936, and August 1, 1937; 96 pages, May 2005, {{ISBN|1-933160-25-X}})
** ''Volume 4'' (collects strips printed between 1938 and 1940; November 2005, {{ISBN|1-933160-26-8}})
** ''Volume 5'' (collects "The Ice Kingdom of Mongo", "Power Men of Mongo", and "The Fall of Ming"; 1940 to 1941; 80 pages, November 2005, {{ISBN|1-933160-27-6}})
** ''Volume 6'' (collects the pages printed from August 1941 to May 1943; 100 pages, April 2007, {{ISBN|1-933160-28-4}})
** ''Volume 7'' (collects the final strips from mid-1943, until the final Raymond issue from February 1945; 100 pages, December 2006, {{ISBN|1-933160-20-9}})
* ''Rip Kirby'' (hardcover, [[IDW_Publishing|IDW]]):
** ''Volume 1'' (collects strips printed between 1946 and 1948; 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-60010-484-8}})
** ''Volume 2'' (collects strips printed between 1948 and 1951; March 2010, {{ISBN|978-1-60010-582-1}})
** ''Volume 3'' (collects strips printed between 1951 and 1954; November 2010, {{ISBN|978-1-60010-785-6}})
** ''Volume 4'' (collects strips printed between 1954 and 1956; August 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-60010-989-8}})
* ''Flash Gordon & Jungle Jim'' (hardcover, [[IDW_Publishing|IDW]]):
** ''Volume 1'' (collects strips printed between 1934 and 1936; December 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-61377-015-3}})
** ''Volume 2'' (collects strips printed between 1936 and 1939; August 2012, {{ISBN|978-1-61377-220-1}})
** ''Volume 3'' (collects strips printed between 1939 and 1941; April 2013, {{ISBN|978-161377-580-6}})
** ''Volume 4'' (collects strips printed between 1942 and 1944; May 2014, {{ISBN|978-161377-917-0}})
* ''Secret Agent X-9'' (hardcover, [[IDW_Publishing|IDW]]):
** ''1934-1936'' (collects strips printed between 1934 and 1936; February 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-63140-211-1}})

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |author= Roberts, Tom |year=2007 |title=Alex Raymond: His Life and Art |publisher=Adventure House |isbn=978-1-886937-78-9}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alex Raymond}}
{{Portal|Comics |Biography}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=3qxdoocoRwoC&dq=drake+%22alex+raymond%22&pg=SL25-PA5 ''Rip Kirby'', Volume 1]
* {{LCAuth|n85247606|Alex Raymond|43|}}

{{Flash Gordon}}
{{Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame |2010–2019}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Alex}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:American comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:American comics writers]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
[[Category:American science fiction artists]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Artists from New Rochelle, New York]]
[[Category:Catholics from Connecticut]]
[[Category:Catholics from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Iona Preparatory School alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New Rochelle, New York]]
[[Category:Artists from Westport, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Reuben Award winners]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in Connecticut]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps officers]]
[[Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees]]