BOBBY BENSON
SHAUN CLANCY: When you were drawing Bobby Benson, were you aware it was a radio show at the same time?
DICK AYERS: Oh, I grew up with Bobby Benson! And I was very upset when they had me draw Windy Wales.
CLANCY: Why would you be upset by that?
AYERS: Skinny!
CLANCY: Oh, they made you draw him skinny.
AYERS: I always pictured him as a roly-poly! They had me change the style because in the beginning — just before me — I think he had blondish hair. So they had me put on dark hair, which I liked better, too.
CLANCY: Right. And you were at it from issue #1 on! It ran a couple years. But you’re saying none of that was related to the radio program?
AYERS: No.
CLANCY: They just licensed the name.
Any other radio programming you remember from when you were growing up? I’m just curious.
AYERS: The Shadow knows! [Casey laughs.] I loved to imitate that voice when I was growing up.
CLANCY: Yeah, it was Orson Welles in the beginning.
AYERS: You knew the voice was special when you heard it. You didn’t know who Orson Welles was. That was pretty spiffy.
