Tom Moore: Archie Comics artist dies at 86

Tom Moore, an artist behind Archie comics from 1953 to 1988, died Monday morning of lung cancer at the age of 86 in El Paso, Texas.

The cartoonist, after studying illustrating in New York, helped develop the red-haired teen’s signature look and bring “America’s Typical Teenager” to ink-and-paper life as one of the artists drawing the series created by John L. Goldwater, according to an obituary from his hometown paper. Moore began his cartooning career while serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, caricaturing the captain and later creating the “Chick Call” strip for military service publications. After working on Archie in the 1950s and a brief stint away from drawing in the 1960s, Moore returned to draw characters like Mighty Mouse and Underdog until, in the late 1980s, Archie Comics brought Moore back to draw the reboot of the Jughead series, which centered on Archie’s best friend (and odd-headwear enthusiast) Jughead Jones.

“I have enjoyed what I’ve done and I am pleased that others liked it, too,” he told the El Paso Times in 1996, when the El Paso Museum of Art displayed his work. “Who knew Archie could have such universal appeal?”

The Archie Comics Facebook page posted a tribute to the artist Tuesday night:

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