Paper Doll Month, Day 1: We'll miss you, Stan Goldberg

It's September 1! (Did you remember to say "rabbit, rabbit" first thing this morning?) That means it's time for another month-long feature to amuse and edumacate you while I try to untangle all the files that make up the long-on-hiatus 365 Days of KirbyTech feature. This month, all month, you'll need a printer, cardboard, a glue-stick, and sharp scissors (or, a parent or guardian with sharp scissors). That's right, it's a month during which you can create your very own personal papyrus platoon based on this feature — it's Paper Doll Month! And I absolutely promise you: no Katy Keene!

That said, it's a bittersweet beginning to the feature as we salute one of the greatest artists of comics in all genres (but especially teen and comedy books), Stan Goldberg, who passed away yesterday. Stan was an extraordinary artist who, altho' he frequently drew within a publisher or line's house style, gave his own distinctive and energetic feel to his work. Even if he was uncredited (or, in the case of Marvel's teen/comedy/romance titles, frequently credited as Sol Brodsky), you could identify his art. Just as Carl Barks was commonly known as "The Good Duck Artist" in Disney comics before creator credits were printed, I've always considered Stan Goldberg as "The Good Archie Artist." (I really like Dan DeCarlo too, but so many fo my favorite stories are by Goldberg.)

He was an accomplished colorist responsible for the vast majority of the covers of the Atlas and early Marvel Age, and he was fluent in several styles. Here's examples of his paper doll work for Marvel's Patsy Walker and supporting characters:




Paper doll pages from Patsy and Hedy #107 (August 1966), art by Stan Goldberg, letters by Sam Rosen
Okay, okay, maybe these aren't "technically" paper dolls and they don't have tabs, but it's my blog and I say it's paper dolls and to heck with it.



And here's a lovely Goldberg panel from a story in the same issue.


Panel from "When a Star Is Born!" in Patsy and Hedy #107 (August 1966), script by Denny O'Neil, pencils (and colors?) by Stan Goldberg, inks by Bill Everett (?), letters by Sam Rosen
In the 1960s, Marvel switched the semi-realistic art style of its Millie the Model books (which Stan Goldberg had worked on throughout the Atlas and Marvel Ages) to ape Archie's popular teen comedy books (the scripts likewise moved from romance/adventure to comedy). I'm a big fan of Goldberg's simpler-but-skillful cartooning during this period, especially on my favorite Millie-family character, Chili Storm, the red-headed Reggie Mantle of the Marvel Universe. These stories are great fun (give or take a handful of politically-incorrect dumb-blonde jokes), and it's a pity these aren't available in any trade format. Hopefully Marvel will republish them in digital format someday.






Panels 1-2 from Chili #1 (May 1969); panels 3-4 from Chili #2 (June 1969); panel 5 from Chili #20 (December 1972), scripts by Stan Lee, art by Stan Goldberg
We miss you, Stan Goldberg, and raise our paper doll-cutting scissors in salute to you.