Joe Simon

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This article is about the comic book writer. For the singer of the same name, see Joe Simon (singer).

Joe Simon
Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, 1999
Inkwell Awards
Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame (2014)
Spouse(s)Harriet Feldman
Children5

Joseph Henry Simon[1] (born Hymie Simon;[1] October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.

With his partner, artist

Sandy the Golden Boy, and co-created the Newsboy Legion, the Boy Commandos, and Manhunter. Simon and Kirby creations for other comics publishers include Boys' Ranch, Fighting American and the Fly. In the late 1940s, the duo created the field of romance comics, and were among the earliest pioneers of horror comics. Simon, who went on to work in advertising and commercial art, also founded the satirical magazine Sick
in 1960, remaining with it for over a decade. He briefly published with DC Comics in the 1970s.

Simon was inducted into the

Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame
in 1999.

Early life

Joe Simon was born in 1913 as Hymie Simon

art deco, tempera splash pages for the yearbook sections.[7]

Career

Beginnings

Upon graduation in 1932, Simon was hired by

Syracuse Journal and the Syracuse Sunday American, were the separate weekday and Sunday papers, respectively. The paper soon closed, and Simon, at 23, ventured to New York City.[11]

There, Simon took a room at the boarding house Haddon Hall, in the

Funnies, Inc., one of that era's comic-book "packagers" that supplied comics content on demand to publishers testing the new medium. That day, Simon received his first comics assignment, a seven-page Western.[13]

Four days later, Jacquet asked Simon, at the behest of

Fiery Mask.[12] Simon used the pseudonym Gregory Sykes on at least one story during this time, "King of the Jungle", starring Trojak The Tiger Man, in Timely's Daring Mystery Comics #2 (Feb. 1940).[14]

Simon and Kirby

1974 Comic Art Convention program, reprinting Simon's original 1940 sketch of Captain America.

During this time, Simon met

Comic-Con International
panel in San Diego, California, Simon recounted the meeting:

I had a suit and Jack thought that was really nice. He'd never seen a comic book artist with a suit before. The reason I had a suit was that my father was a tailor. Jack's father was a tailor too, but he made pants! Anyway, I was doing freelance work and I had a little office in New York about ten blocks from

Funnies, Inc. So, of course, I loved Jack's work and the first time I saw it I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He asked if we could do some freelance work together. I was delighted and I took him over to my little office. We worked from the second issue of Blue Bolt ...[15]

and remained a team across the next two decades. In the early 2000s, original art for an unpublished, five-page Simon and 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.[16]

After leaving Fox and landing at pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman's Timely Comics (the future Marvel Comics), where Simon became the company's first editor,[17] the Simon and Kirby team created the seminal patriotic hero Captain America.[18] Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), going on sale in December 1940[19] – a year before the bombing of Pearl Harbor but already showing the hero punching Hitler in the jaw[20] – sold nearly one million copies.[21] They remained on the hit series as a team through issue #10, and were established as a notable creative force in the industry.[22] After the first issue was published, Simon asked Kirby to join the Timely staff as the company's art director.[23]

Despite the success of the Captain America character, Simon felt Goodman was not paying the pair the promised percentage of profits, and so sought work for the two of them at National Comics,[24] (later named DC Comics). Simon and Kirby negotiated a deal that would pay them a combined $500 a week, as opposed to the $75 and $85 they respectively earned at Timely.[25] Fearing that Goodman would not pay them if he found out they were moving to National, the pair kept the deal a secret while they continued producing work for the company.[26] At some point during this time, the duo also produced Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel Adventures #1 (1941), the first complete comic book starring Captain Marvel following the character's run as star of the superhero anthology Whiz Comics.[27]

Kirby and Simon spent their first weeks at National trying to devise new characters while the company sought how best to utilize the pair.

Star-Spangled Comics.[33] In 2010, DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed that "Like Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby was a mark of quality and a proven track record."[34]

Harry Mendryk, art restorer on

Titan Books' Simon and Kirby series of hardcover collections, believes Simon used the pseudonym Glaven on at least two covers during this time: those of Harvey Comics' Speed Comics #22 and Champ Comics #22 (both Sept. 1942),[35] though the Grand Comics Database does not independently confirm this.[36] Mendryk also believes that both Kirby and Simon used the pseudonym Jon Henri on a handful of other 1942 Harvey comics,[37] as does Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999.[38]

Simon enlisted in the

Barnegat, New Jersey, for a year before being sent to boot camp near Baltimore, Maryland, for basic training.[40] Afterward, he reported for duty with the Combat Art Corps in Washington, D.C., part of the Coast Guard Public Information Division. He was stationed there in 1944 when he met New York Post sports columnist Milt Gross, who was with the Coast Guard Public Relations Unit, and the two became roommates in civilian housing.[41] Pursuant to his unit's mission to publicize the Coast Guard, Simon created a true-life Coast Guard comic book that DC agreed to publish, followed by versions syndicated nationally by Parents magazine in Sunday newspaper comics sections, under the title True Comics. This led to his being assigned to create a comic book aimed at driving Coast Guard recruitment. With Gross as his writer collaborator, Simon produced Adventure Is My Career, distributed by Street and Smith Publications for sale at newsstands.[42]

Returning to New York City after his discharge, Simon married Harriet Feldman,[43] the secretary to Harvey Comics' Al Harvey. The Simons and the now-married Kirby and his wife and first child moved to houses diagonally across from each other on Brown Street in Mineola, New York, on Long Island, where Simon and Kirby each worked from a home studio.[44]

Crestwood, Black Magic and romance comics

As superhero comics waned in popularity after the end of World War II, Simon and Kirby began producing a variety of stories in many genres. In partnership with Crestwood Publications, they developed the imprint Prize Group, through which they published Boys' Ranch and launched an early horror comic, the atmospheric and non-gory series Black Magic. The team also produced crime and humor comics, and are credited as well with publishing the first romance comics title, Young Romance, starting a successful trend.[45]

At the urging of a Crestwood salesman, Kirby and Simon launched their own comics company,

U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy.[46]

The partnership ended in 1955 with the comic book industry beset by self-imposed censorship, negative publicity, and a slump in sales. Simon "wanted to do other things and I stuck with comics," Kirby recalled in 1971. "It was fine. There was no reason to continue the partnership and we parted friends."[49] Simon turned primarily to advertising and commercial art, while dipping back into comics on occasion. The Simon and 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. 1959), and Simon created the superhero the Fly;[50] 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, and Carl Burgos, did four issues before Simon moved on to work in commercial art.[51]

Silver Age of Comics and later

Through the 1960s, Simon produced promotional comics for the advertising agency Burstein and Newman, becoming art director of Burstein, Phillips and Newman from 1964 to 1967.[52] Concurrently, in 1960, he founded the satirical magazine Sick, a competitor of Mad magazine, and edited and produced material for it for over a decade.[53]

During this period, known to fans and historians as the Silver Age of Comic Books, Simon and Kirby again reteamed for Harvey Comics in 1966, updating Fighting American for a single issue (Oct. 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 influential writer-artist Jim Steranko to comics.[54]

In 1968, Simon created the two-issue

Prez (Sept. 1973 – March 1974), about America's first teen-age president[54][57] and the three-issue Champion Sports (Nov. 1973 – March 1974).[54] That same year, Simon returned to the romance genre as editor of Young Romance and Young Love and oversaw a Black Magic reprint series.[58]

Simon and 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.[59] Simon and Grandenetti then created the Green Team: Boy Millionaires in the DC anthology series 1st Issue Special #2 (May 1975),[60] and the freakish Outsiders in 1st Issue Special #10 (Jan. 1976).[54]

In 1999, Joe Simon regained the rights to the Fly thanks to copyright termination.[61]

21st century

In the 2000s, Simon turned to painting and marketing reproductions of his early comic book covers. He appeared in various news media in 2007 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".[62][63]

For a concept called ShieldMaster (1998), created by Jim Simon, Joe Simon provided prototype art. Shieldmaster, under the direction of Joe's son, Jim, was also published in the comic books Futura and Étranges Aventures. A graphic novel format ShieldMaster was published in 2015 by Future Retro Entertainment. ShieldMaster comics have also been published by Jim's son, Jesse Simon.

Simon is among the interview subjects in Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, a three-hour documentary narrated by Liev Schreiber that premiered posthumously on PBS in October 2013.[64]

Simon's grandchildren attended the Los Angeles premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger and phoned Simon from the red carpet when his name was announced as the creator of the character.[65]

Personal life

Simon was married to Harriet Feldman,[43] with whom he lived on Brown Street in Mineola, New York, on Long Island.[44] The Simons had two sons and three daughters.[66]

Simon died in New York City on December 14, 2011, at the age of 98, after a brief illness.[66][67][68]

Marvel Comics dedicated Avenging Spider-Man #5 to Simon.[69]

Awards

References

  1. ^
    Lambiek Comiclopedia. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
    * Bails, Jerry; Ware, Hames (eds.). "Simon, Joe". Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999. Archived
    from the original on May 11, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  2. ^ Simon, 2011, p. 10
  3. ISBN 0810300621
    . Retrieved May 9, 2016. Born October 11, 1913, in Rochester, N.Y.; son of Harry (a tailor) and Rose (Kurland) Simon
  4. ^ a b Simon, 2011, p. 11
  5. ^ Simon, 2011, p. 9
  6. ISBN 1-887591-35-4
    . Page numbers refer to 1990 edition.
  7. ^ a b Simon, 1990, p. 24
  8. ^ Simon, 1990, pp. 26–27
  9. ^ Simon, 1990, p. 28
  10. ^ Simon, 1990, p. 29
  11. ^ Simon, 1990, pp. 29 & 31
  12. ^ a b Simon, 1990, p. 31
  13. ^ Simon 2011, pp. 61–64.
  14. ^ Confirmed by Joe Simon to Simon and Kirby art restorer Harry Mendryk, cited at Daring Mystery Comics #2 Archived February 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at AtlasTales.com; Daring Mystery Comics #2 Archived June 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at the Grand Comics Database; and Mendryk, Harry (July 8, 2006). "Art by Joe Simon, Chapter 7, Glaven". Simon & Kirby (column), Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center. Archived from the original on November 18, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  15. San Diego Comic-Con International) TwoMorrows Publishing. August 1999. Archived
    from the original on November 30, 2010.
  16. ISBN 1-887591-35-4
    .
  17. ISBN 978-0756641238. Martin Goodman hired writer/artist Joe Simon to be Timely's first Editor-in-Chief in late 1939. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  18. ^ Sanderson "1940s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 18: "Simon and Kirby decided to create another hero who was their response to totalitarian tyranny abroad."
  19. ^ Markstein, Don (2010). "Captain America". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved April 9, 2012. Captain America was the first successful character published by the company that would become Marvel Comics to debut in his own comic. Captain America Comics #1 was dated March, 1941.[permanent dead link]
  20. ISBN 978-0-8109-3821-2
    . The cover of Captain America #1 which showed the new hero, dressed in red, white and blue, punching Adolf Hitler in the face. The date was March 1941.
  21. ^ Per researcher Keif Fromm, Alter Ego vol. 3, #49, p. 4 (caption)
  22. ISBN 0-465-03657-0
    ), p. 200
  23. ISBN 1-58234-345-4
    .
  24. ^ Ro, p. 25
  25. ^ Ro, p. 25–26
  26. ^ Ro, p. 29
  27. ^ Captain Marvel Adventures #1 Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine at the Grand Comics Database
  28. ^ Ro, p. 28
  29. ^ Ro, p. 30
  30. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Hot properties Joe Simon and Jack Kirby joined DC ... [and] after taking over the Sandman and Sandy, the Golden Boy feature in Adventure Comics #72, the writer and artist team turned their attentions to Manhunter with issue #73. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  31. ^ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 41 "The inaugural issue of Boy Commandos represented Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's first original title since they started at DC (though the characters had debuted earlier that year in Detective Comics #64.)"
  32. ^ Ro, p. 32
  33. ^ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 41 "Joe Simon and Jack Kirby took their talents to a second title with Star-Spangled Comics, tackling both the Guardian and the Newsboy Legion in issue #7."
  34. ISBN 9783836519816
    .
  35. ^ Mendryk, "Art by Joe Simon, Chapter 7, Glaven"
  36. ^ Speed Comics #22 Archived October 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine and Champ Comics #22 Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at the Grand Comics Database
  37. ^ Mendryk, Harry (July 4, 2006). "Art by Joe Simon, Chapter 6, Jon Henri". Simon & Kirby (column), Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  38. ^ "Henri, Jon". Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999. Archived from the original on May 11, 2007. This source nonetheless gives spelling "Jon Henery" at Simon's entry, cited in footnote 1.
  39. ^ Simon, 1990, p. 69
  40. ^ Simon, 1990, pp. 70–71
  41. ^ Simon, 1990, pp. 71–72
  42. ^ Simon, 1990, pp. 73 & 75
  43. ^ a b Shapiro, T. Rees (December 15, 2011). "Joe Simon, co-creator of the Captain America comics, dies at 98". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  44. ^ a b Simon, 1990, pp. 84–85
  45. ISBN 978-0-8109-9447-8
    .
  46. ^ a b Ro, p. 54 Archived June 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  47. ^ Beerbohm, Robert Lee (August 1999). "The Mainline Story". Jack Kirby Collector (25). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
  48. ^ Ro, p. 52 Archived May 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  49. ISBN 1-56097-466-4
    .
  50. ^ Groth, Gary (February 1990). "Joe Simon Interviewed". The Comics Journal (134). Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics Books: 106.
  51. ISBN 978-1419711602
    .
  52. ^ Bails, Jerry; Ware, Hames (eds.). "Simon, Joe". Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999. Archived from the original on May 11, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  53. ^ Simon 2011, pp. 214–216.
  54. ^ a b c d Joe Simon at the Grand Comics Database
  55. ^ McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 131 "The medium didn't appear to be ready for Brother Power, the Geek, envisioned by writer Joe Simon and artist Al Bare. Simon's mod re-imagining of Frankenstein's monster ... a mannequin turned reclusive hero-philosopher was a trip that lasted only two issues."
  56. ^ Markstein, Don (2007). "Brother Power, the Geek". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014.
  57. ^ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 156 "Teenage President of the United States Prez Rickard didn't enjoy a long term in comics. However scripter Joe Simon and artist Jerry Grandenetti gave him plenty to tackle in four issues."
  58. ^ (editor)&type=editor Joe Simon at the Grand Comics Database
  59. ^ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 158 "The legendary tandem of writer Joe Simon and artist/editor Jack Kirby reunited for a one-shot starring the Sandman ... Despite the issue's popularity, it would be Simon and Kirby's last collaboration."
  60. ^ Markstein, Don (2009). "The Green Team". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016.
  61. ^ "The fly / By Joe Simon & Archie Comics Publications, Inc. B826394 (1959)..." cocatalog.loc.gov. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  62. Today.com. Associated Press. March 8, 2007. Archived
    from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  63. ^ "Comic hero Captain America dies". BBC News. March 8, 2007. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010.
  64. ^ Logan, Michael (October 14, 2013). "The Comics' Real Heroes". TV Guide. p. 27.
  65. ^ Margulies, Megan (Joe Simon granddaughter) (March 5, 2014). "Captain America Lives On: Remembering Joe Simon". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  66. ^
    Daily News. New York City. Archived
    from the original on June 6, 2014.
  67. ^ Moore, Matt (December 15, 2011). "Iconic writer Joe Simon, Co-creator of Captain America, Dies". Associated Press via USA Today. Archived from the original on December 17, 2011.
  68. ^ Dobuzinskis, Alex (December 15, 2011). "Captain America co-creator Joe Simon dies at 98". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011.
  69. ^ "Best Shots Rapid Reviews: Aquaman, Avenging Spider-Man, More". Newsarama. March 29, 2012. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015.
  70. ^ "Inkpot Award Winners". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012.
  71. ^ "1990s". San Diego Comic-Con. December 2, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  72. ^ "2014 Inkwell Awards Winners". Inkwell Awards. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015.

External links

Preceded by
n/a
 Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief
1939–1941 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
n/a
 Captain America Comics writer/artist
(with Jack Kirby)
1941–1942 		Succeeded by
Stan Lee (as writer)
Al Avison (as artist)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Simon&oldid=1218423501"