| Frank Doyle | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1917-11-17)November 17, 1917 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 3, 1996(1996-04-03) (aged 78) New Port Richey, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Area(s) | Writer |
Notable works | Archie Comics |
| Awards | Bill Finger Award |
Frank Doyle (November 17, 1917 – April 3, 1996) was the head writer for Archie Comics for over thirty years. He wrote over 10,000 stories featuring the Archie characters.[2] Artist Dan DeCarlo referred to Doyle as "the best".[3]
Doyle, one of several Archie contributors who studied art at the Pratt Institute, was originally a penciller for Fiction House comics, working on such titles as Planet Stories.[4] After he was let go from Fiction House, he decided that he was better suited to writing stories: "It was easier," he said. "My mind worked better that way."[4] In 1951 he joined Archie Comics as a writer. Though he no longer drew stories himself, he continued to write in storyboard form, using a desk that used to belong to Fiction House artist Fran Hopper.[4]
By the end of the '50s, Doyle was writing the majority of stories for such important Archie titles as Archie and Betty and Veronica;[5] DeCarlo said that when he joined Archie Comics, most of the scripts he was given were written by Doyle.[3] In the mid-'60s, he also began writing many of the stories for adventure-themed titles like Life With Archie; he wrote all the stories featuring the Archie characters' superhero alter-egoes such as Pureheart the Powerful.[6]
According to DeCarlo, Doyle did "all the writing" for the early issues of She's Josie.[7] Though he did not write the issue where the title was retooled into Josie and the Pussycats, he returned to the title soon after, writing many of the Pussycats-era stories.[5] Doyle wrote the first issue of the Archie title That Wilkin Boy,[8] and wrote the debut stories for several Archie supporting characters, including the first appearance of Cheryl Blossom.[9]
Starting in the late '80s, Doyle became less prolific, but continued to write Archie stories every month until his death. His last story, "Cry Me a River," appeared in Betty and Veronica #104 (October 1996) after his death, with art by DeCarlo.[10] Archie editor Victor Gorelick called him "just a tremendous writer" who was "responsible for so many things that people don't know about," while Kurt Busiek said that Doyle was "one of the best writers comics ever had."[10]
Doyle was the 2012 recipient of the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing.[11]
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