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An Interview with Dick Ayers

© Tim Lasiuta

One of the earliest exposures to Westerns I ever had was in the comics. I used to sneak upstairs into the attic, dig into Dad's old box of comics, and I would read. In that pot of gold, I could relive the 'early' Lone Ranger, the 'young' Roy Rogers, the 'youthful' Gene Autry, and the 'juvenile' Batman.

As I got older, I started purchasing my own comics, and I discovered the world of Marvel Westerns. Ahh, mighty Marvel, the home of the Rawhide Kid, Two Gun Kid, Kid Colt, The Ghost Rider, and sometimes Billy The Kid. They all took me away to a dream world where horses were everywhere, and the local school ma'am never suspected that her loyal friend was wanted everywhere else but there.

Kid Colt. Rawhide. Ghost Rider. They all shared something in common, someone behind the scenes, someone whose skill made the characters live.

That someone is Richard Ayers. Artist extraordinaire. Teacher. Mentor.

I caught up with him recently and asked him to share a little about his life,

Tim: How did you get your start in comic books?

Mr Ayers: I met Joe Shuster in Burne Hogarths evening class. Burne had just started his school and Joe would visit at times. Joe had me pencil a couple of stories for his Funnyman and then sent me to Vin Sullivan who gave me the book Jimmy Durante to pencil, ink and letter. My first published work was the comic strip Radio Ray for the Army Air Force Newspaper. My first published comic work was Doctor of Fate, a short western in Cowboys N Injuns #6 (Magazine Enterprises).

Tim: What genre do you enjoy the most?

Mr Ayers: I enjoy westerns. I find the characters and stories interesting.

Tim: How many pages have you drawn in your 48+ year career?

Mr Ayers: I have drawn 50,000+ pages.

Tim: You also did Jonah Hex with Tony DeZuniga. I thought he meshed well with your style. I loved the artwork.

Me Ayers: I also admired Tony's artwork. He gave the drawings a 'pulp western' look that I loved in the pulp western magazines I read in my teens.

Tim: What are you working on now?

Mr Ayers: I just completed a 5 page western for AC Comics Best of the West September 2002 issue (31). It's a new Haunter (Ghost Rider). (Note: you can check out the website at http://www.accomics.com )

Tim: What advice do you have for young artists now?

Me Ayers: I would keep submitting. Illustrate with individual panels and stop doing poster pages. Have the stories readable for young audiences so the reader can follow the continuity without being confused.

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