Joe Simon
Birth name	Joseph H. Simon
Born	October 11, 1913 (1913-10-11) (age 94)[1]
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, Penciller, Editor, Publisher
Notable works	Captain America

Joseph H. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Simon (born October 11, 1913^[1]) is a Jewish-American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher who created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books, and who served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common American Jews, or Jewish Americans A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating Editing Language, Images or Sound through correction condensation organization and other modifications in various media Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books generally thought as lasting from the 1930s until late 1940s during which Comic books Timely Comics is the 1940s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into first Atlas Comics, and then Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc His infrequently used pen names were Gregory Sykes and Jon Henery. A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias)

With his partner, artist Jack Kirby, he co-created Captain America, one of comics' most enduring superheroes, and the team worked extensively on such features at DC Comics as the 1940s Sandman and Sandy the Golden Boy, and co-created the Newsboy Legion, the Boy Commandos, and Manhunter. Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Sandman ( Wesley Dodds) is a fictional Superhero appearing in Comic books published by DC Comics. Sanderson "Sandy" Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy the Golden Boy, Sands, Sand, and currently as Sandman, is The Newsboy Legion are Fictional characters, a kid gang in the DC Comics Universe. The Boy Commandos was a 1940s Comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for DC Comics. Manhunter is the name given to several different DC Comics Superheroes Antiheroes as well as the Manhunters, an entire race of Androids Simon & Kirby creations for other houses include Fighting American and The Fly. Fighting American is a patriotic Comic book character created in 1954 by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby, published by Cretswood Publication In the late 1940s, he and Kirby created the field of romance comics, and were among the earliest pioneers of horror comics. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience

Early life and career

Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), art by Jack Kirby (penciler) and Joe Simon (inker). Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book

Raised in Rochester, New York, the son of a tailor, Simon attended Benjamin Franklin High School, where he was art director for the school newspaper and the yearbook — earning his first professional fee as an artist when two universities each paid $10 publication rights for his art deco, tempera splash pages for the yearbook sections. Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York State, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Benjamin Franklin ( April 17 1790 was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. A yearbook, also known as an annual is a book to record highlight and commemorate the past year of a School or a book published annually Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1925 until 1939 affecting the decorative arts such as Architecture, Interior design, and Industrial Tempera (also known as egg tempera) is a type of artist's Paint and associated art techniques that were known from the classical world where it appears Upon graduation in 1932, Simon was hired by Rochester Journal American art director Adolph Edler as an assistant, replacing Simon's future comics colleague Al Liederman, who had quit. Two years later, Simon took an art job at the Syracuse Herald in Syracuse, New York, and shortly thereafter succeeded Liederman as art director of the Syracuse Journal American. Syracuse (locally ˈsɛrəkjuːs sometimes ˈsɪrəkjuːs or /ˈsɪərəkjuːs/ by non-natives is a city in Central New York, USA. This short-lived job ended when the Newhouse chain bought and consolidated the three local newspapers.

Venturing to New York City, Simon freelanced for Paramount Pictures retouching the movie studio's publicity photos, and for McFadden Publications, doing illustrations for True Story and other magazines. The City of New York Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. A movie studio (aka film studio) is in the established sense of the term a company that distributes films. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Sometime afterward, his boss, art director Harlan Crandall, recommended Simon to Lloyd Jacquet, head of comic-book packager Funnies, Inc.. Funnies Inc is an influential American Comic book packager of the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of comic books. Funnies Inc is an influential American Comic book packager of the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of comic books. That day, Simon received his first comics assignment, a seven-page Western. Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West between the years of 1860 and 1900 Four days later, Jacquet asked Simon, at the behest of Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman to create a flaming superhero like Timely's successful character The Human Torch. Timely Comics is the 1940s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into first Atlas Comics, and then Marvel Comics Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Martin Goodman (born January 18, 1908; died June 6, 1992, Palm Beach Florida) was an American Publisher of The Human Torch is a Fictional character, a Marvel Comics -owned Superhero. From this came Simon's first comic-book hero, The Fiery Mask.

Simon & Kirby

During this time, Simon met Fox Feature Syndicate comics artist Jack Kirby, with whom he would soon have a storied collaboration lasting a decade-and-a-half. Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics and Fox Publications) was a Comic book Publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book Speaking at a 1998 Comic-Con International panel in San Diego, California, Simon recounted the meeting:

Page two of "Daring Disc". Note the kinetic similarities to Captain America's shield

and remained a team across the next two decades. In the early 2000s, original art for an unpublished, five-page Simon & Kirby collaboration titled "Daring Disc", which may predate the duo's Blue Bolt, surfaced. Simon published the story in the 2003 updated edition of his autobiography, The Comic Book Makers. ^[3]

After leaving Fox and landing at pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman's Timely Comics (the future Marvel Comics), the new Simon & Kirby team created the seminal patriotic hero Captain America in late 1940. Pulp magazines (or pulp fiction; often referred to as "the pulps" were inexpensive Fiction magazines Martin Goodman (born January 18, 1908; died June 6, 1992, Palm Beach Florida) was an American Publisher of Timely Comics is the 1940s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into first Atlas Comics, and then Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Their dynamic perspectives, groundbreaking use of centerspreads, cinematic techniques and exaggerated sense of action made the title an immediate hit and rewrote the rules for comic book art. Simon and Kirby also produced the first complete comic book starring Captain Marvel for Fawcett Comics. Captain Marvel is a fictional Comic book Superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics.

Captain America became the first and largest of many hit characters the duo would produce. The Simon & Kirby name soon became synonymous with exciting superhero comics, and the two became industry stars whose readers followed them from title to title. A financial dispute with Goodman led to their decamping to National Comics, one of the precursors of DC Comics, after ten issues of Captain America. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Given a lucrative contract at their new home, Simon & Kirby took over the Sandman in Adventure Comics, and scored their next hits with the "kid gang" teams the Boy Commandos and the Newsboy Legion, and the superhero Manhunter. Sandman ( Wesley Dodds) is a fictional Superhero appearing in Comic books published by DC Comics. Adventure Comics is a Comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 The Boy Commandos was a 1940s Comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for DC Comics. The Newsboy Legion are Fictional characters, a kid gang in the DC Comics Universe. Manhunter is the name given to several different DC Comics Superheroes Antiheroes as well as the Manhunters, an entire race of Androids

Crestwood, Black Magic and romance comics

As superhero comics waned in popularity after the end of World War II, Simon & Kirby producing a variety of other genre stories. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In partnership with Crestwood Publications a. Crestwood Publications, also known as Prize Comics and Feature Publications, was a Comic book publisher from the 1940s through the 1960s though most of k. a. Prize Comics, they launched an early horror, the atmospheric and non-gory Black Magic, and others. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Black Magic is the name of a fifty-issue horror Anthology Comic book series published by Prize Comics from 1950-1961 Simon & Kirby are credited as well with publishing the first romance title, Young Romance Comics. In addition, Kirby and Simon produced crime, and humor comics. Crime fiction is the Genre of Fiction that deals with Crimes their detection criminals and their motives It is usually distinguished from Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement

1974 Comic Art Convention program book featuring Simon's original 1940 sketch of Captain America. The Comic Art Convention was an American, Comic book Fan convention held annually New York City, New York, over Independence

Later, in 1953, they would form their own short-lived comics company, Mainline Publications, creating the masked Western hero Bullseye, the superhero-parody character Fighting American, and others. Mainline Publications was a very short-lived Comic book publisher established and owned by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West between the years of 1860 and 1900 Fighting American is a patriotic Comic book character created in 1954 by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby, published by Cretswood Publication

The partnership ended in 1955 with the comic book industry beset by self-imposed censorship, negative publicity, and a slump in sales. Simon turned primarily to advertising and commercial art, while dipping back into comics on occasion. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Commercial art is a subsector of Creative services, and refers to Art created for commercial purposes primarily Advertising. He created, edited and produced material for the humor magazine Sick, a competitor of Mad magazine, for over a decade. The Simon & Kirby team reunited briefly in 1959 with Simon writing and collaborating on art for Archie Comics, where the duo updated the superhero the Shield in the two-issue The Double Life of Private Strong (June-Aug. Archie Comics is an American Comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenage Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper The Shield is the name of several fictional Patriotic Superheroes created by MLJ (now known as Archie Comics) 1959)(Simon created the new superhero, Lancelot Strong), and Simon created the superhero Fly; they went on to collaborate on the first two issues of The Adventures of the Fly (Aug. -Sept. 1959) and Simon and other artists including Al Williamson, Jack Davis, Carl Burgos and other did four issues before Simon moved on to other ventures. Simon & Kirby again reteamed for Harvey Comics in 1966, updating Fighting American for a single issue (Oct. Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey Publications) was an American Comic book Publisher, founded by Alfred Harvey in 1941 after buying 1966). Simon, as owner, packager, and editor, also helped launch Harvey's original superhero line, with Unearthly Spectaculars #1-3 (Oct. 1965 - March 1967) and Double-Dare Adventures #1-2 (Dec. 1966 - March 1967), the latter of which introduced the highly influential writer-aritst Jim Steranko to comics. James Steranko (born 5 November, 1938, Reading Pennsylvania, United States) is an American Graphic artist, Comic

In 1968, Simon created the two-issue DC Comics series Brother Power, the Geek, about a mannequin given a semblance of life who wanders philosophically through the 1960s hippie culture; Al Bare provided some of the art. Brother Power the Geek was a Comic book character created in the late 1960s for DC Comics by Joe Simon. The Hippie Subculture was originally a Youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world Simon also created DC's four-issue Prez (Sept. Prez First Teen President was a four issue comic series by writer Joe Simon (the creator of Captain America) and artist Jerry Grandenetti 1973 - March 1974), about America's first teen-age president, with artist Jerry Grandenetti. Jerry Grandenetti ( April 15, 1925 or 1927 differ Bronxville, New York) is an American Comic book artist and Advertising Simon & Kirby teamed one last time later that year, with Simon writing the first issue (Winter 1974) of a six-issue new incarnation of the Sandman. Sandman is the name of seven Fictional characters Superheroes appearing in Comic books published by DC Comics.

21st Century

In the 2000s, Simon turned to painting and marketing reproductions of his early comic book covers. Simon in 2007 appeared in various news media in response to Marvel Comics announced "death" of Captain America in Captain America vol. 5 #25 (March 2007), stating, "It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now". ^{[4] [5]}

Footnotes

References

• Simon, Joe, with Jim Simon. The Comic Book Makers (Crestwood/II, 1990) ISBN 1-887591-35-4; reissued (Vanguard Productions, 2003) ISBN 1-887591-35-4
• Official Joe Simon site
• Lambiek Comiclopedia: Joe Simon
• Comicartville Library: "The Weird, Wonder(ous) World of Victor Fox's Fantastic Mystery Men" by Jon Berk
• The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center
• Jack Kirby Collector #25: "More Than Your Average Joe"
• The Pitch April 19, 2001: "Custody Battle: Marvel Comics isn't going to give up Captain America without a fight", By Robert Wilonsky
• Alter Ego #36 (May 2004): "The Creator of Captain America Meets the Creator of the Human Torch", by Joe Simon