You can never truly prepare for the inevitable. At 91 years old, the death of Jack Davis comes as a shock.
Breaking into comics at the age of twelve, Davis continued to draw through school and his years in the Navy until he started doing commercial work for Coca-Cola before finding his way back into comics. Davis worked for William Gaines’ now legendary EC Comics where he contributed to the titles Tales from the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear, Frontline Combat, Two-Fisted Tales, The Vault of Horror, Piracy, Incredible Science Fiction, Crime Suspenstories, Shock Suspenstories and Terror Illustrated. When EC folded as the result of the newly instituted Comics Code Authority, Davis continued to work for Gaines, solidifying his adaptability as an artist for Harvey Kurtzman’s Mad Magazine.
In addition to comics, Davis illustrated movie posters, commercial art, TV Guide and Time Magazine covers, animation and a U.S. postage stamp.
IDW’s Scott Dunbier, summed up both the appeal and skills of the artist, “Jack Davis is probably the most versatile artist ever to work the worlds of comic books, illustration, or movie poster art. He can work in a humorous style or deadly serious style, historical or modern, anything. His work transcends that of almost any other cartoonist.”
Beloved by generation after generation, Jack Davis’ passing is a monumental lost.
Let’s look at some of his art.
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