Ramona Dom Fradon (; October 2, 1926 – February 24, 2024) 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 ...
known for her work illustrating
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 ...
and ''
Brenda Starr, Reporter
''Brenda Starr, Reporter'' (often referred to simply as ''Brenda Starr'') is a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, and continued by others until 2011.
...
'', and co-creating the superhero
Metamorpho
Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, the character debuted as the lead feature in The Brave and the Bold, ''The Brave and the Bold'' (January 1965). ...
. Her career began in 1950 and lasted until her retirement in January 2024.
Early life
Ramona Dom was born on October 2, 1926, in Chicago to Irma H. (née Haefeli) and Peter Dom, whose family name was shortened from Dombrezian. Her father was
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
and her mother was
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
. When she was five, the family moved to New York and she grew up on the outskirts of New York City in Westchester County. Her father was a well known commercial lettering man and designed logos for
Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden (December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966), also known as Elizabeth N. Graham, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States.
Backg ...
,
Camel
A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...
, and
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...
as well as the
typeface
A typeface (or font family) is a design of Letter (alphabet), letters, Numerical digit, numbers and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display. Most typefaces include variations in size (e.g., 24 point), weight (e.g., light, ...
Dom Casual
Dom Casual is an American typeface designed in 1951 by Peter Dom (born as Peter Dombrezian). It is an informal design that emulates brush script.
Dom Casual is featured in the 1956 musical teen drama film '' Rock, Rock, Rock!'' In television sho ...
. Fradon also had an older brother and uncle in the lettering business. Her brother worked as a technician for the
Air Corps overseas and eventually died of alcoholism. Her mother fell ill and died in 1952. She never read comic books growing up but she had a love for newspaper strips.
Fradon's father was the one that encouraged her to go to art school.
Career
1959–1965
Ramona Fradon broke into the industry just after graduating from the
Parsons School of Design
The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...
.
Soon after she left art school, she married her husband, ''
New Yorker
New Yorker may refer to:
* A resident of New York:
** A resident of New York City and its suburbs
*** List of people from New York City
** A resident of the New York (state), State of New York
*** Demographics of New York (state)
* ''The New Yor ...
'' cartoonist
Dana Fradon, who encouraged her to try cartooning. Comic-book
letterer
A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic-book-reading experience. The l ...
George Ward, a friend of her husband,
asked her for samples of her artwork to pitch for job openings. She landed her first assignment on 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 ...
with work on
Shining Knight
Shining Knight (; ) is the name of multiple fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #66 (September 1941).
Fict ...
.
Her first regular assignment was illustrating an ''
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''), ...
'' backup feature starring
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 ...
. This included a revamping of the character for the
Silver Age of Comics
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver ...
in ''Adventure Comics'' #260 (May 1959). Alongside said revamp, she and writer
Robert Bernstein co-created the sidekick
Aqualad
Aqualad is the alias of several superheroes in American comic books published by DC Comics and appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was originally created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist Ramona Fradon, serving as ...
in ''Adventure Comics'' #269 (February 1960).
Following her time with Aquaman, Fradon returned to co-create
Metamorpho
Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, the character debuted as the lead feature in The Brave and the Bold, ''The Brave and the Bold'' (January 1965). ...
.
She drew the characters to try-out appearances in ''
The Brave and the Bold
''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology ...
'' and the first four issues of the eponymous series and returned briefly to design a few covers for the title. She later commented, "I think
riter Bob Haney and Iboth felt that Metamorpho was our baby. I never had an experience like I had working with Bob Haney on ''Metamorpho''. It was like our minds were in perfect synch ... it was one of those wonderful collaborations that doesn't happen very often." Fradon drew ''The Brave and the Bold'' #59 (April–May 1965), a
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 ...
/
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, ...
team-up, the first time that series featured Batman teaming with another DC superhero.
Bob Haney and Metamorpho
Based on an idea by DC editor
George Kashdan and co-created by
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 ...
and Fradon,
the character
Metamorpho
Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, the character debuted as the lead feature in The Brave and the Bold, ''The Brave and the Bold'' (January 1965). ...
first appeared in ''
The Brave and the Bold
''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology ...
'' #57 and 58 in January and March 1965 before headlining a 17-issue run of the character's self-titled series from August 1965 through March 1968. Kashdan's concept involved a character made up of four elements who could change into different chemical compounds. Haney fleshed out the idea with a "deliciously overdrawn" cast.
Kashdan, Haney, and Fradon worked together to create Metamorpho's look:
He wasn't your average superhero so capes and masks didn't suit him. I tried a lot of those and finally decided that since he was always changing his shape, clothes would get in his way. So I drew him in tights, with a body made up of four different colors and textures that were supposed to indicate the four elements.
1972–2024
Fradon enjoyed her collaboration with Haney because "his goofy stories gave me ideas about how the characters should look and act, and my goofy pictures gave him new ideas." Metamorpho allowed Fradon to use an exaggerated drawing style which suited her better than the traditional approach to superhero illustration.
From 1965 to 1972, Fradon left comics to raise her daughter.
In 1972, she returned to DC where later in the decade she would draw ''
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 ...
'', ''
Freedom Fighters'', and ''
Super Friends
''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of Am ...
'' which she penciled for almost its entire run.
She also worked for
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
during this period, but left after only two assignments: a fill-in issue of ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
'' and the
never-published fifth issue of ''
The Cat The Cat may refer to:
Nickname
* Mathilde Carré (1910-2007), French spy, double and possibly triple agent
* Peter Bonetti (1941–2020), English footballer
* Greg Cattrano (born 1975), American lacrosse player
* Ernest Miller (born 1964), Amer ...
''. Fradon recounted:
First of all, I was really rusty. And n ''The Cat'' #5I was totally confounded by not drawing from a script. They gave me this one paragraph and said go draw this 17-page story. I don't think I did my best work by any means. I think I had a script on ''Fantastic Four'', but I just don't think they were satisfied with my work. Then I went back to DC and started doing mysteries with Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian Americans, Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' and ...
. I really had a lot of fun doing that. It suited my style, I think.
In 1980,
Dale Messick retired from drawing the newspaper strip ''
Brenda Starr, Reporter
''Brenda Starr, Reporter'' (often referred to simply as ''Brenda Starr'') is a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, and continued by others until 2011.
...
'', and Fradon became the artist for it until her own retirement in 1995.
She went back to college in 1980 at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
where she studied psychology and ancient religions.
For the ''
SpongeBob Comics
''SpongeBob Comics'' is a comic book series based on the animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. It was published by United Plankton Pictures and distributed by Bongo Comics. It was initially published every two months in the Uni ...
'', Fradon contributed to the Mermaidman stories due to her work for Aquaman.
[
Fradon contributed pencils to the 2010 graphic novel '' The Adventures of Unemployed Man'', the 2012 graphic novel ''The Dinosaur That Got Tired of Being Extinct'', and the collection ''The Art of Ramona Fradon''.
]
Retirement and death
Fradon announced her retirement from comics and illustrations on January 5, 2024.
Fradon died of heart failure at her home in Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston, ...
, on February 24, at the age of 97.
Style and industry equality
Feeling "like a fish out of water" in the male-dominated superhero field, she reflected on her style in a 1988 interview: ">rina Robbinsmade the observation that most women tend to have a more open style, use less shadow, and work in bigger open patterns. I think that's probably true—at least I always did (work in that style). I thought that was a big failing of mine, that I couldn't emulate that kind of photographic reproduction style. When I read that this seemed to be a characteristic of women cartoonists, it made me feel a bit better about it. ... Something that always jarred my eyes is to see the kind of heaviness and ugliness about most comic art. There's not much sweetness to it. It's the tradition, and I don't think it has anything to do with the individual artists. It's just the tradition ... the look. That always troubled me.
Awards
Fradon was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006.
Bibliography
Angry Isis Press
* ''Choices'' #1 (1990)
Archie Comics
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog
is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
'' #68 (1999) (Pinup page)
Bongo Comics
* '' Simpsons Super Spectacular'' (Radioactive Man Radioactive Man may refer to:
*Radioactive Man (comics)
Radioactive Man is the name of several Supervillain, supervillains appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Radioactive Ma ...
) #5 (2007)
* '' SpongeBob Comics'' (Mermaid Man) #3 (2011)
* ''SpongeBob Comics Annual'' (Mermaid Man) #1 (2013)
DC Comics
* '' 1st Issue Special'' #3 (Metamorpho
Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, the character debuted as the lead feature in The Brave and the Bold, ''The Brave and the Bold'' (January 1965). ...
) (1975)
* ''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''), ...
'' #165–166 (Shining Knight
Shining Knight (; ) is the name of multiple fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #66 (September 1941).
Fict ...
); #167–168, 170–206, 208–280, 282 (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 ...
) (1951–1961)
* ''The Amazing World of DC Comics
''The Amazing World of DC Comics'' was DC Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s. Running 17 issues, the fanzine featured DC characters and their creators, and was exclusively available through mail order. Primarily text articles, wit ...
'' #10 (1976)
* ''The Brave and the Bold
''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology ...
'' #55 (Metal Men
The Metal Men are a group of robot superheroes that appear in DC Comics. The characters first appeared in '' Showcase'' #37 (March–April 1962) and were created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru. Debuting in the Silver Age of C ...
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 ...
); #57–58 (Metamorpho); #59 (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 ...
and 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, ...
) (1964–1965)
* ''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 ...
'' #170 ( Roy Raymond) (1951)
* '' Freedom Fighters'' #3–6 (1976–1977)
* ''Gang Busters
''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936 and was broadcast for more 21 years through November 27, 1957.
H ...
'' #10, 21, 25, 28, 30, 58 (1949–1957)
* ''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 ...
'' #23, 42, 48, 56, 223, 230, 232, 235, 239, 251, 273, 275 (1954–1979)
* '' House of Secrets'' #116, 118, 121, 136 (1974–1975)
* '' Just Imagine... Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
With Scott McDaniel
Scott McDaniel (born 1965) is an American comics artist whose comic book work includes Marvel Comics' "Fall from Grace" storyline for the '' Daredevil'' series. Artwork for DC Comics includes a run on ''Batman'' as regular penciller, ''Nightwing' ...
Creating Aquaman'' #1 (2002)
* ''Metamorpho'' #1–4 (1965–1966)
* '' Mr. District Attorney'' #20–21, 32 (1951–1953)
* ''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 ...
'' #11–20 (1976–1977)
* ''Plop!
''Plop!'', "The New Magazine of Weird Humor!", is a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics in the mid-1970s. It falls into the horror / humor genre. It lasted 24 issues and the series ran from Sept./Oct. 1973 to Nov./Dec. 1976.
Backg ...
'' #8 (1974)
* '' Secrets of Haunted House'' #3, 14, 23 (1975–1980)
* ''Secrets of Sinister House
''Secrets of Sinister House'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972-1974, a companion to '' Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soap opera ''D ...
'' #17 (1974)
* '' Showcase'' #30 (Aquaman) (1961)
* ''Silver Age Secret Files'' #1 (2000)
* ''Star Spangled War Stories
''Star Spangled War Stories'' is the title of a comics anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed characters and stories. Among the features published in this series were writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Jerry Grandenetti's ...
'' #3–4, 8, 16, 184 (1952–1975)
* ''Super Friends
''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of Am ...
'' #3–17, 19, 21–31, 33–34, 36–41 (1977–1981)
* ''Western Comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of the Mississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with an American comic bo ...
'' #23, 38, 40–42 (1951–1953)
* ''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 ...
Annual'' #2 (1989)
* ''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 ...
'' #127–133, 135, 137, 139 (Aquaman) (1962–1964)
Marvel Comics
* ''Crazy Magazine
''Crazy Magazine'' is an illustrated satire and humor magazine that was published by Marvel Comics from 1973 to 1983 for a total of 94 regular issues (and a ''Super Special'' (Summer 1975)). It was preceded by two standard-format comic book seri ...
'' #66 (1980)
* ''Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
'' #133 (1973)
* '' Girl Comics'' #2 (2010)
Nemo Publishing
* ''Sea Ghost'' #1 (2010)
Nickelodeon
* ''Nick Mag Presents'' ( Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy) (2003)
See also
* List of female comics creators
References
Further reading
* ''The Art of Ramona Fradon'' (February 2014), Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...
, 144 pages,
* Career Retrospective, ''Gold & Silver: Overstreet's Comic Book Quarterly'' #6 (December 1994). p. 114. Overstreet Publications.
* Interview, ''Comics Forum'' #20 (Autumn 1999), pp. 17–22. Comics Creators Guild.
External links
*
Ramona Fradon
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fradon, Ramona
1926 births
2024 deaths
20th-century American artists
21st-century American artists
20th-century American women artists
21st-century American women artists
American comic strip cartoonists
American female comics artists
American people of Armenian descent
American people of Swiss descent
DC Comics people
Golden Age comics creators
Inkpot Award winners
Parsons School of Design alumni
Silver Age comics creators
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees
Artists from Chicago