Richard Allen Dillin (December 17, 1928 – March 1, 1980)Richard Dillin
at the United States

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on February 23, 2013. Also
Richard Dillin
at the United States Social Security Death Index via GenealogyBank.com. Retrieved on January 8, 2016. was an American

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literar ...

best known for a 12-year run as the

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...

of the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

-team series ''

Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

''. He drew 115 issues from 1968 until his death in 1980.

Early life and career

Dick Dillin was born in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...

. Note: Source erroneously gives birth year as 1929 Determined since childhood to draw for comics, Dillin graduated from Watertown High School to become an art student at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

on the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

, following his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

with the 8th U.S. Army in Tokyo,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, and

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. Dillin eventually did art for

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

(on features including "Lance O'Casey" and " Ibis the Invincible" in ''

Whiz Comics ''Whiz Comics'' is an anthology comic book series that was published by former American comic book publishing company, Fawcett Publications between February 1940 until June 1953. It is widely known for being the comic run in which hugely popular ...

'') and Fiction House ("Buzz Bennett", "Space Rangers") led to drawing for

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

, beginning in 1952. He worked particularly on the popular title '' Blackhawk'' but also on ''

G.I. Combat ''G.I. Combat'' is an American comics anthology featuring war comics, war stories. It was published from 1952 until 1956 by Quality Comics, followed by DC Comics until its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived. Publication histor ...

'', ''Love Confessions'', and ''Love Secrets''. When Quality went out of business, Dillin, searching for new work, eventually tried

where he saw one or more issues of ''Blackhawk'' on the desk as he was being interviewed, and to his relief was told, "We've been trying to get in touch with you."

DC Comics

Dillin returned to ''Blackhawk'', now a DC property, and when the book's initial run ended, went on to draw issues of ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' before being assigned ''Justice League of America'', a superteam series featuring, at the time,

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, Batman,

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

, and the

Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

. Dillin penciled the series from #64–183 (Aug. 1968–Oct. 1980), except for the planned reprint issues #67, 76, 85 and 93; issue #153 which was pencilled by

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...

and inker Frank McLaughlin took over the title, starting that issue from scratch. Dillin's tenure on ''JLA'' included the reintroduction of Red Tornado. He and writer

Dennis O'Neil Dennis "Denny" Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until h ...

made several changes to the membership of the JLA by removing founding members Wonder Woman and the

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...

. They also oversaw the migration of the

Black Canary Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...

from Earth-2 to Earth-1; and the introduction of the JLA satellite. Dillin and writer

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...

produced the return of the

Seven Soldiers of Victory The Seven Soldiers of Victory (also known as Law's Legionnaires) is a team of fictional comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in '' Leading Comics'' #1 (Winter 1941), and were created by Mort Weisinger and Mort M ...

in issues #100–102 and the introduction of the

characters to the DC continuity as the Freedom Fighters in issues #107–108. In late 1972, Dillin drew the DC chapter of a

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...

al unofficial crossover crafted by writers Wein,

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

, and

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

spanning titles from both major comics companies. Each comic featured Englehart, Conway, and Wein, as well as Wein's first wife Glynis, interacting with Marvel or DC characters at the Rutland Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. Beginning in ''

Amazing Adventures ''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics. The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...

'' #16 (by Englehart with art by

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...

and Frank McLaughlin), the story continued in ''Justice League of America'' #103 (by Wein, Dillin and

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

), and concluded in ''

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

'' #207 (by Conway and penciler

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

). Wein and Dillin created the

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

Libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...

in ''Justice League of America'' #111 (June 1974), who would play a leading role in

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

's ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

'' storyline in 2008. Dillin drew the return of Wonder Woman to the team in issues #128–129 (March–April 1976). He and writer Steve Englehart crafted a new origin story for the JLA in issue #144 and inducted

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' ...

into the team two issue later. Other highlights of Dillin's tenure included the 1976 integration of the defunct and newly acquired

heroes in issues #135-137, and the murder of the original Mister Terrific in issue #171. Dillin and writer

Bob Haney Robert Gilbert Haney, Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 25, 2004) was an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Lance Bruner, Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and ...

created the

Super-Sons The Super-Sons are a pair of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The characters were created by Bob Haney and Dick Dillin and first appeared in '' World's Finest Comics'' #215 (January 1973). The charac ...

, Superman Jr. and Batman Jr., in ''

'' #215 (Jan. 1973). He drew several

backup stories in ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'' from 1974 to 1977. In 1975, Dillin drew the framing chapters for a 1940s

script in ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'' #438 and 443. He was living in

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, north of New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

, at the time of his death. As per the letters page of ''Justice League of America'' #184, Dillin suffered a heart attack.

Animation

Dillin drew

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

storyboards A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process ...

for the Trans-Lux/Joe Orolio syndicated TV series ''Johnny Zero'' (c. 1962), and ''

The Mighty Hercules ''The Mighty Hercules'' is an animated television series based loosely on the Greek mythology character of Heracles, under his Roman name Hercules. It debuted on television in 1963. The show ran until 1966, coinciding with the sword-and-sandal ge ...

'' (1963), among other shows.

Bibliography

Comics work (interior pencil art) includes:

DC Comics

*''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' (

) #424, 426, 431, 434, 436; (The

): #425, 427, 430, 433, 435, 438–439, 448; (Private Life of

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

): #477 (1973–1977) *''

'' (

): #438, 443 (1975–1976) *''

and Hawkman'' #40–45 (1968–1969) *''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' #246 (with

Irv Novick Irving Novick (; April 11, 1916 – October 15, 2004) was an American comics artist who worked almost continuously from 1939 until the 1990s. Career A graduate of the National Academy of Design, Irv Novick got his start in the workshop of Harr ...

); ( Robin): #252, 254 (1972–1973) *'' Blackhawk'' #108–241 (1957–1968) *''

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

'' #72 (1970) *''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...

'' #7, 13–14, 18, 22, 25 (1979–1980) *'' DC Special Series'' (

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

): #1 (1977) *'' DC Super-Stars'' #10 (1976) *''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' (

) #433, 483; (Hawkman): #428 (1972–1978) *''

'' (

Kid Flash Kid Flash is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero The Flash. The first version of the ...

) #202, 204, 207, 209, 211, 216 (1970–72); (

): #227–228, 230–231, 233–234, 245–246 (1974–1977) *''

'' vol. 2 #67, 71 (1969) *''

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

'' #22–27 (1967–1968) *''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...

'' #197 (1971) *'' House of Secrets'' #82, 84, 87–88, 92, 96 (1969–1972) *''

'' #64–66, 68–75, 77–84, 86–92, 94–152, 154–183 (1968–1980) *''

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writt ...

'' (

Hourman Hourman or Hour-Man is the name of three different fictional superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. The original Hourman was created by writer Ken Fitch and artist Bernard Baily in ''Adventure Comics'' #48 (March 1940), during t ...

) #7 (1968) *''

'' (

Terra-Man Terra-Man (Tobias Manning) is a supervillain appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Superman. Publication history Terra-Man first appeared in ''Superman'' #249 (March 1972) and was created by Cary Bates, Curt Swan, and ...

): #249; (Fabulous World of

Krypton Krypton (from 'the hidden one') is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless noble gas that occurs in trace element, trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere and is of ...

): #257, 263, 266, 268 (1972–1973) *'' The Unexpected'' #121–123, 126, 131, 133, 163, 165 (1970–1975) *'' The Witching Hour'' #26 (1972) *''

'' #217 (1975)Pe
''The Amazing World of DC Comics'' #15
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...

, this issue was originally assigned to

John Rosenberger John Francis Rosenberger (November 30, 1918 in Richmond Hill, Queens – January 24, 1977), also occasionally credited as John Diehl, was an American comics artist and painter from after the Second World War until the mid-1970s. Educated at the P ...

, who would pencil only the first four pages before he was stricken with the illness that was to claim his life. Subsequently, this issue was completely redrawn by Dillin. The Rosenberger pages were later published in ''The Amazing World of DC Comics'' #15 (Aug. 1977). *''

'' (

team-ups): #198–205, 207–228, 231–233, 235–236, 238, 240, 257; (Green Arrow): #256 (1970–1979)

Quality Comics

*'' Blackhawk'' #37, 40, 64–65, 67–107 (1951–1956) *''

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...

'' #45 (1954)

Collected editions

* '' Justice League of America Archives'' ** Volume 8 collects ''Justice League of America'' #64–66, 68–70 ** Volume 9 collects ''Justice League of America'' #71–80 ** Volume 10 collects ''Justice League of America'' #81–93 * '' Showcase Presents Justice League of America'' ** Volume 4 collects ''Justice League of America'' #64–66, 68–75, 77–83 ** Volume 5 collects ''Justice League of America'' #84, 86–92, 94–106 ** Volume 6 collects ''Justice League of America'' #107–132 * ''Crisis on Multiple Earths'' ** Volume 2 collects ''Justice League of America'' #64–65, 73–74, and 82–83 ** Volume 3 collects ''Justice League of America'' #91–92, 100–102, 107–108, and 113 ** Volume 4 collects ''Justice League of America'' #123–124, 135–137, and 147–148 ** Volume 5 collects ''Justice League of America'' #159–160, 171–172, and 183 * ''Superman/Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told'' includes ''World’s Finest Comics'' #207 * ''Tales of the Batman: Len Wein'' includes ''World’s Finest Comics'' #207

References

External links

*
Dick Dillin
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Dillin, Dick 1928 births 1980 deaths American comics artists American storyboard artists DC Comics people Golden Age comics creators People from Peekskill, New York Silver Age comics creators Syracuse University alumni United States Army soldiers