{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}} {{Infobox comics creator | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_place = | death_place = | nationality = American | area = | cartoonist = y | write = | pencil = y | ink = y | letter = | edit = | alias = | notable works = ''Archie Comics'' <br /> ''Hangman Comics'' | awards = | birth_date={{Birth date|1913|11|13}} | death_date={{Death date and age|1984|08|28|1913|11|13}} }} '''Harry Lucey''' (November 13, 1913 – August 28, 1984)<ref name="lambiek">{{cite web|url=http://lambiek.net/artists/l/lucey_harry.htm |title=Comic Creator: Harry Lucey |publisher=Lambiek.net |accessdate=27 December 2010}}</ref> was an American comic artist best known for his work in MLJ and Archie Comics. He was the primary artist on ''Archie'', the company's flagship title, from the late 1950s through the mid-1970s. ==Career==
Lucey, who graduated from the Pratt Institute in 1935, worked on both adventure and humor titles for MLJ, including acting as the regular artist on ''The Hangman'', before being drafted into the United States Army. After being discharged, he spent several years working in advertising. In 1949, he rejoined MLJ, which by that time had changed its name to Archie Comics.<ref name="lambiek" /> Though he continued to draw action and romance comics for the company, including the hard-boiled mystery ''Sam Hill, Private Eye'', his primary work was on their popular teen humor titles. During the 1960s and the early 1970s, Lucey drew most of the stories in the ''Archie'' title, as well as drawing stories for many of the other titles. He also drew most of the company's in-house ads, and contributed many covers to titles like ''Pep Comics.''
Victor Gorelick reminisced: <ref>Archie Americana Series – The Best of the Fifties, Vol 2, 1992, Archie Comic Publications.</ref>
:Harry was as dedicated as they came. I remember Harry delivering a job three hours late. He came to the art department covered with blood. He had been hit by a car. Though not seriously hurt, he should have gone to a hospital. No way. He had to keep that deadline. He took some white paint, cleaned up the blood from the artwork and went home. Amazing.
In the late 1960s, Lucey's health began to deteriorate. He developed an allergy to graphite which required him to wear gloves while drawing.<ref name="nadel">{{cite web |url=http://comicscomicsmag.com/2006/06/what-harry-lucey-knew.html |title="What Harry Lucey Knew," by Dan Nadel |publisher=Comicscomicsmag.com |date=June 5, 2006 |accessdate=27 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708181132/http://comicscomicsmag.com/2006/06/what-harry-lucey-knew.html |archivedate=July 8, 2011 }}</ref> In 1976, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) , and abruptly retired from Archie Comics; his inker, Chic Stone, temporarily succeeded him as penciller on ''Archie''. He died of prostate cancer and complications from ALS in 1984.<ref name="lambiek"></ref>
Since his death, Lucey's work has been rediscovered by younger cartoonists who celebrate his mastery of body language and physical comedy. Jaime Hernandez frequently cites Lucey as one of his biggest influences in cartooning, preferring Lucey's work to that of his more famous colleague Dan DeCarlo. "I like them both," Hernandez explained, "but Lucey just happens to be a personal favorite, because I think he was better at drawing natural characters – just their expressions taught me a lot about how I do my comics."<ref name="hernandez">{{cite web|url=http://www.omnivoracious.com/2009/05/eccc-2009-interview-with-jaime-hernandez.html |title=Interview with Jaime Hernandez |publisher=Omnivoracious.com |date=May 11, 2009 |accessdate=27 December 2010}}</ref>
==Personal life== Lucey's wife Helen Tokar was the sister of Betty Tokar Jankovich, who briefly dated Bob Montana and was the inspiration for Betty Cooper.<ref name=NYTimes>[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/nyregion/at-94-the-real-betty-doesnt-regret-dumping-a-creator-of-archie.html At 94, the Real Betty Doesn’t Regret Dumping a Creator of ‘Archie’], by George Gene Gustines, in ''the New York Times''; published October 1, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucey, Harry}} Category:1984 deaths Category:1913 births Category:20th-century American artists Category:20th-century American male artists Category:American comics artists Category:Deaths from prostate cancer Category:Archie Comics people Category:Pratt Institute alumni Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease