Showing posts with label Art Rhode. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art Rhode. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 08, 2025

A literal loss to the ComicsDC family: Art Rhode R.I.P.

Birthday caricature by Mike Jenkins
My father Art Rhode passed away this Monday July 7th, probably from a heart attack. He'd been having heart problems for months by this point. He never made it to the cardiac surgeon's appointment he had scheduled that morning. I spoke to him the day before and he was feeling good and optimistic. I was too because he was tough. He snarled at me on Saturday when I offered to buy him a Rollator walker. He and I talked, admittedly about mostly nothing, every day as I drove home from work, or walked to the farmers markets on weekends.So take it from me and tell your family and friends you love them while you can. 

 Dad and Mom were big fans of comics - such as Superman, Mad Magazine, Peanuts collections, Disney Digests. Even though money was usually tight, I grew up reading comics of all types.

 A few months ago I republished this tribute to my Dad on his 83rd birthday.  This is all still true and accurate, and while I'll miss him more than I can say, I appreciate the foundations he (and Mom, but she's been gone since 1987) gave my life. And it's not just me - as many people have said, he was a good man, or a kind man, or a kind and compassionate individual (I'm not sure about the patience also mentioned there though). I agree and there are few better ways to be remembered. He always had time to help someone out, not infrequently to my mother's chagrin, who wanted our own home worked on.

Donations in his name can be made to North Shore Animal League, selected by our family as he got 2 dogs from there. Or, if you want to keep with this blog's theme, I personally support Team Cul de Sac, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Cartoonists Rights, and Hero Initiative.

I'll be inheriting Dad's set of IJOCA I guess unless my sister wants it; he didn't read it in recent years, but he's got almost a complete set in my old bedroom. I'll be looking for a good home for that as I don't need a third set. For those of you unfamiliar with it, I'm an editor of  and also run the blog for the Int. Journal of Comic Art published by Dr. John A. Lent.

 Here's some photos over the years... 



This was my computer background for years.

The Little Free Library he built for his house after seeing how popular ours was.

I literally have no memory of us meeting Betty Boop


My wedding day with my Uncle Herb, his next oldest brother


Caricature by Mike Jenkins

Released from the hospital with a new knee

  
Don't try this at home, or at Fort Ward