Legendary Comic Book Artist Donato Rico Dies

Donato (Don) Rico, who answered a New York City newspaper advertisement in 1939 and became not only a successful comic book artist of that era but a cult figure adored by new generations of adventure comic fans, has died, it was learned this week.

He was 72 when he died March 27 at his Hollywood home after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Over the years, he wrote and/or illustrated such venerable comic book hero-villains as The Claw, Captain America, Captain Marvel, The Human Torch and Daredevil.

In a 1976 interview with The Times, several years after he had given up comic book illustrating, Rico said he was amazed to find that youngsters considered him a “living legend.”

Noting that the current generation was sending him copies of old comics he had illustrated--most before they were born--he credited “the kids” with sparking the current resurgence in comic books.

During his life Rico also managed to write a string of 60 mystery and Western novels and perfect the wood-engraving talent he had mastered during the Depression, when many of his artworks were commissioned by the graphics division of the government’s Works Projects Administration.

His wife, Michele Hart-Rico, said many of the wood engravings, used to print illustrations relative to the era, are on display in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and in the Library of Congress.

Rico, a co-founder and first president of the Comic Arts Professional Society, also is survived by a son, Donato III, and a daughter, Dianne. The family is asking donations in his name to the City of Hope.