Wilson McCoy
| Wilson McCoy | |
|---|---|
 Wilson McCoy at the drawing table. |
|
| Born | Robert Wilson McCoy April 6, 1902 Troy, Missouri |
| Died | July 20, 1961 Barrington, IL |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | cartoonist, illustrator, painter |
| Pseudonym(s) | R. Wilson McCoy |
| Notable works | The Phantom |
Wilson McCoy (1902–1961) was an American illustrator and painter best known as the second artist on the (still running) The Phantom comic strip.
Wilson McCoy is well known for his unique, naive style of drawing. He always drew with tremendous attention to details, and used photographic references for every drawing, having his family and friends pose for him and act out the different situations happening in the stories he worked on.[1]
Like Phantom-creator Lee Falk, Wilson McCoy was a world traveler with an adventurous spirit. He frequently visited far off jungles, and visited several native tribes, among them the Ituri tribe, consisting of pygmies, much like the Bandar tribe in the Phantom strip.[2]
Wilson McCoy studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, The American Academy, and Washington University's School of Fine Arts, where he later served on the faculty. Working as a commercial artist, he made paintings for Liberty Magazine covers, calendars, prints, pin-ups and advertisements for major companies. When his friend Ray Moore served in the military during WWII, McCoy took over the responsibilities of illustrating the syndicated newspaper strip, 'The Phantom'. His wife, Dorothy, did the lettering.[3] McCoy continued drawing the strip until his death in 1961, after which it was continued by Bill Lignante for a short while, and then Sy Barry.[4]
Born one of seven children in Troy, Missouri on April 6, 1902, Robert Wilson McCoy always went by his middle name and signed the Phantom strip as "Wilson McCoy", but his original artwork was signed "R. Wilson McCoy." McCoy died on July 20, 1961 after a heart attack. He was survived by his wife Dorothy and two children, Robert Wilson Jr. and Carol.[5]
His Phantom stories are occasionally published in the Australian Frew Publications Phantom comic, and the Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish Phantom comic books, and also in hardcover editions.
[edit] Notes
- ^ ""Phantom" Cartoonist Uses Camera to Give Strip Life". Oxnard Press-Courier (Oxnard, CA). 13 September 1957.
- ^ "Son of the Phantom; Chased by rhinos, jailed in Cairo, and welcomed by pygmies, "Phantom" artist Wilson McCoy had daredevil adventures to rival those of his comic-strip-turned-movie hero. His son Robert McCoy of Golden Valley remembers.". Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN). 27 June 1996.
- ^ "Phantom's Big Problem". San Antonio Light (San Antonio,Texas). 27 March 1960.
- ^ Lambiek Comiclopedia
- ^ WilsonMcCoy.com
[edit] External links
- WilsonMcCoy.com Official Artist Site
