ARNOLD DRAKE: 1924-2007

[MattBrady]

He wasn’t as well known as say, Bob Kane or Siegel and Shuster, but if you read DC Comics produced in the ‘60s and up, you surely read some of the work of Arnold Drake, who died today, after a short bout of “a touch of pneumonia” and other complications for which he was recently hospitalized. News of Drake’s death came via writer and comics historian, Mark Evanier.

Though his comics writing career spanned thousands of stories and pages, fans will likely best remember Drake as the creator of Deadman and The Doom Patrol, as well as Stanley and His Monster.

In part, Evanier’s biography of Drake reads:

Drake was born on March 1, 1924. At age 12, a bout with scarlet fever kept him confined to his bed for a year. He spent much of the time drawing his own comics and, though he later did do some cartooning work, he found that his primary interest was not in drawing characters but in deciding what they'd say and do. That sent him off on a writing career and he studied Journalism at the University of Missouri and later at New York University.

Then he met Bob Kane, the official creator of Batman, who happened to be a neighbor of Arnold's brother. He worked with Kane on a few projects and the artist introduced him to the editors at DC. Before long, Drake was writing for DC books including House of Mystery, My Greatest Adventure, Mark Merlin, Space Ranger, Batman and Tommy Tomorrow. Most of his new creations in the sixties came about because an editor said to him, "This comic is in sales trouble and needs a new feature." My Greatest Adventure was down in sales so Drake, working with artist Bruno Premiani and fellow writer Bob Haney, invented The Doom Patrol, a band of misfit heroes very similar to Marvel's X-Men, which went on sale at almost the exact same time. Strange Adventures was in sales trouble so Drake, working with artist Carmine Infantino, came up with the acclaimed Deadman character. The Fox and the Crow was down in sales so Drake, teamed with Bob Oksner, fashioned Stanley and His Monster — a highly-imaginative kids' comic that preceded (but contained many of the elements of) the newspaper strip, Calvin and Hobbes.

But Drake was a feisty guy who had trouble getting along with editors. In the late sixties, he fought with the management at DC, partly over what he considered inept editorial direction and partly over business matters. He was a loud voice in a writers' revolt during which several of the firm's longtime freelancers were demanding health insurance, reprint fees and better pay. Many of them were ousted, including Arnold, and he then worked for a time for Marvel before settling down at Gold Key Comics for many years. For them, he wrote many comics including The Twilight Zone, Star Trek and a particularly long and delightful stint on Little Lulu.

Arnold wrote other things including plays, movies (Who Killed Teddy Bear? and The Flesh Eaters, among others) and novels. In the fifties, he authored a long comic book in book form called It Rhymes With Lust for a small publisher and later touted it, with some justification, as the first graphic novel. (Dark Horse will soon reissue it.) He also worked extensively with a group called the Veterans Bedside Network, writing materials to aid in the rehabilitation and nursing of men and women who'd served in the armed forces.

Re-discovering his fans over the past few years on the convention circuit, Drake had become a regular at the country’s larger cons where along with meeting with his fans, was a tireless crusader for the plight of older creators who had been mistreated by publishers over the years. It was Drake, in fact, who first suggested the Bill Finger Award, which would be given to shame people and companies who had mistreated creators over the years. Shortly after, and separate from Drake’s efforts, the Finger award was created, but rather than a sign of shame, the award was given to creators who had not been given the proper recognition for their efforts. Drake was one of the first reipients of the award, and in 2005, creator Jerry Robinson said of Drake:

"Like Finger and Siegel, Drake is a consummate professional writer. As the author of hundreds of stories from the Silver Age to the present, his credits demonstrate an amazing versatility, ranging from the superhero and adventure such as Doom Patrol to the wry humor of Little Lulu."

The award was presented to Drake at the 2005 Eisner Award ceremony, and the aging creator charmed the crowd, singing a satirical song about the industry while wearing a Doom Patrol t-shirt.

"I think the primary thing we can do for Bill is to wipe out the Bill Fingers of today -- that is, the writers who starve to do what they love,” Drake said.

Last November, Newsarama’s Daniel Robert Epstein had the pleasure of interviewing Drake about the DVD release of The Flesh Eaters as well as a variety of other topics showing that, even in his advancing years, Drake was still as vital as ever and a creative force with which to be reckoned.

Newsarama offers our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Drake's family and friends.

[LunarDaydreamer]

I'm a massive fan of Morrison's Doom Patrol and would love a Showcase edition of Drakes work so I can see where things started.

Rest in peace, Sir.

[Morten Pedersen]

He gave use two big things, that would change DC forever, Doom Patrol and Neal Adams.

R.I.P.

[BlackCatGuy]

Rest In Peace Sir.
My prayers go out to the entire family of Mr. Drake.
God Bless You.

[Ye Olde Iowa]

Drake was one of the unsung heroes of DC's history and one of the more interesting men to work in the industry. May his works and life be forever remembered.

[MichaelBrowning]

I hope DC goes ahead with the Doom Patrol graphic novel Arnold was writing. He told me about it a few months ago and seemed very excited about it. And, yes, he was extremely excited about the Deadman movie.
I considered Arnold a good friend. He was extremely wonderful to talk to (we talked at length about comics and how badly Bill Finger had been treated, working at DC and at Marvel and anything else that came to Arnold's mind) and was amazingly active in the comics industry right up until he got sick.
Arnold was Luis Dominguez's biggest fan and he had been arranging commission work for the former DC artist. Arnold got me a Luis Dominguez Jonah Hex commission, then left it in the taxi when he went to mail it to me. So, he emailed me, apologized and had Luis draw another.
Arnold was truly a great guy and I enjoyed the time I spent talking with him on the phone and via email. We never got to meet in person, but he was a good friend and kept in touch quite frequently.
Mike B.

[Anders Wolleck]

thank god i got a chance to interview him in person

Originally Posted by MichaelBrowning

I hope DC goes ahead with the Doom Patrol graphic novel Arnold was writing. He told me about it a few months ago and seemed very excited about it. And, yes, he was extremely excited about the Deadman movie.
I considered Arnold a good friend. He was extremely wonderful to talk to (we talked at length about comics and how badly Bill Finger had been treated, working at DC and at Marvel and anything else that came to Arnold's mind) and was amazingly active in the comics industry right up until he got sick.
Arnold was Luis Dominguez's biggest fan and he had been arranging commission work for the former DC artist. Arnold got me a Luis Dominguez Jonah Hex commission, then left it in the taxi when he went to mail it to me. So, he emailed me, apologized and had Luis draw another.
Arnold was truly a great guy and I enjoyed the time I spent talking with him on the phone and via email. We never got to meet in person, but he was a good friend and kept in touch quite frequently.
Mike B.

[Mercury]

A great man and a great writer who will be missed. He had *alot* of proposals, for Deadman as well, throughout the 80s and 90s, and sort of got the idea his age was why they were ignored by DC. *sigh* A very cool guy to meet at conventions, I got the impression he was a bit of a hipster back in the day, because he knew all sorts of things about music and art and jazz when you'd talk to him. Long live his memory.

[astronato]

My condolences to his family,friends and fans. His Doom Patrol is the only one I've ever really been interested in.

I'm a Little Lulu fan too. I'd like to see his Lulu stuff reprinted.

And I wish there were more stories/articles on how the creators from the golden and silver age (whose characters still dominate the comic sales charts) were mistreated and underpaid.

[Bobby Nash]

My condolences to the Drake family. I never had the opportunity to meet Mr. Drake, but I have enjoyed his work.

Bobby

[Dan_Slott]

A few shows ago in New York I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Drake. Knowing that he was going to be there, I filled up my backpack with all of my Doom Patrol comics and DC Archives… but I didn’t want to impose, so I only mustered up the courage to have him sign one.

To this day, my favorite DC properties are Batman, Superman, the Creeper, Deadman, and the original Doom Patrol. Right there, that’s two fifths of my favorite corners of the DCU that were all created by one man! Cliff, Larry, Rita, the Chief, Beast Boy, and poor ol’ Boston Brand. All of them were such oddballs, so different from everyone else in their super heroic square-jawed, arms akimbo world. Each one of Arnold Drake’s ideas were bursting-to-the-seam with creativity, character, and passion!

I am so grateful that I live in a world that had Arnold Drake in it. And, like the rest of us, I know I’ll be re-reading his work for years and years to come.

[prolix]

[quote=Morten Pedersen]He gave use two big things, that would change DC forever, Doom Patrol and Neal Adams.

Quite so. Arnold Drake was breaking panel edges in newspaper strips long before comics were doing it. His influence on Neal is obvious.

He was an innovator and his passing is a real loss to all of us who read comics today.

[Barry Strange]

His body of work was some of the most diverse and interesting of its time. I hope more of his stories will be some day reprinted; they deserve to be.

My condolences to his family.

[Kamandi]

Sad news indeed...

DC had some of the best writers in their Silver Age.
Otto Binder, John Broome, Gardner Fox... But my favorite was Arnold Drake.
If only for Deadman and Doom Patrol.
Two of the weirdest and most original creations of their times.
I was so overjoyed when DC decided to reprint Doom Patrol in their Archives format.
I am the proud owner of all 3 volumes (it's about time for a 4th one DC!).

I hope they do a cheaper Showcase volume for those who can't afford the Archives (even if they are well worth the price in DP's case). The original Doom Patrol's needs to be appreciated by more fans. Arnold Drake's stories about this group of misfits were weird and fun. Bruno Premiani is such an underrated artist that merits so much more attention than he has been given so far.

The same could be same for Deadman. I own the baxter reprints from the 80's and check once in a while on Ebay for a decently priced slipcased volume that was published not long ago. A Showcase edition of Deadman would surely be welcome.

[Not From Around]

I had never realized how many features he worked on. Not a bad legacy of stories at all!

[Kolimar]

Another great creator that leaves us.

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by MichaelBrowning

I hope DC goes ahead with the Doom Patrol graphic novel Arnold was writing. He told me about it a few months ago and seemed very excited about it.

I had no idea about that.

Originally Posted by MichaelBrowning

And, yes, he was extremely excited about the Deadman movie.

I was thinking about that. I wish he had had the chance to see that and the Doom Patrol movie.

[The Spirit]

Rest In Peace. His legacy will live on.

[Fred VL]

And for Marvel, Arnold created GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. FYI.

Nice guy and a gentleman. He will be missed.

[Ace_ETP]

Rest in peace, Mr. Drake. Your legacy will live on.

[Groovie Mann]

i've never read any of drakes work but i have been hoping for a showcase doom patrol series from DC and i think now would be a great time to release those old stories to honor his memory by bringing his work to readers who may not be familiar with him.

[BillReed]

Aww, damn. This is a shame. He was brilliant.

(He was 83, tho. Frontpage error.)

[NapoleonSolo]

I'm glad I got to see him at the NYCcon earlier this month. Sadly, another piece of the Silver Age leaves us.

[Stephen Day]

My condolences to his family and friends.

I seem to be in the minority about favorite creations. My favorite of Mr. Drake's is Stanley and His Monster.

[Dman]

sorry to hear about this

R.I.P.