51-520: Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon ; 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 Jack Kirby , he co-created Captain America , one of comics' most enduring superheroes , and
102-493: 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 DC [Comics] ' and Fox [Feature Syndicate] 's offices, and I was working on Blue Bolt for Funnies, Inc. So, of course, I loved Jack's work and the first time I saw it I couldn't believe what I
153-600: A few failed editor-assigned ghosting assignments, National's Jack Liebowitz told them to "just do what you want". The pair then revamped the Sandman feature in Adventure Comics and created the superhero Manhunter . In July 1942 they began the Boy Commandos feature. The ongoing "kid gang" series Boy Commandos , launched later that same year, was the team's first National feature to graduate into its own title. It sold over
204-453: A hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now". 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
255-616: A million copies a month, becoming National's third best-selling title. They also scored a hit with the homefront kid-gang team, the Newsboy Legion in Star-Spangled Comics . 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." Harry Mendryk, art restorer on Titan Books ' Simon and Kirby series of hardcover collections, believes Simon used
306-590: A new series in 1954, Kirby and Simon created Fighting American . Simon recalled, "We thought we'd show them how to do Captain America". While the comic book initially portrayed the protagonist as an anti-Communist dramatic hero, Simon and Kirby turned the series into a superhero satire with the second issue, in the aftermath of the Army-McCarthy hearings and the public backlash against the Red-baiting U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy . The partnership ended in 1955 with
357-730: A result, the Comics Code Authority was created by the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers to enact self-censorship by comic book publishers. At this time, EC canceled its crime and horror titles and focused primarily on Mad . The Silver Age of Comic Books is recognized by some as beginning with the debut of the first successful new superhero since the Golden Age, DC Comics' new Flash , in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956). Funnies, Inc. Too Many Requests If you report this error to
408-893: A room at the boarding house Haddon Hall, in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan , near Columbia University . At the suggestion of the art director of the New York Journal American , he sought and found freelance work at Paramount Pictures , working above the Paramount Theatre on Broadway, retouching the movie studio 's publicity photos. He also found freelance work at Macfadden Publications , doing illustrations for True Story and other magazines. Sometime afterward, his boss, art director Harlan Crandall, recommended Simon to Lloyd Jacquet , head of Funnies, Inc. , one of that era's comic-book "packagers" that supplied comics content on demand to publishers testing
459-400: 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. In 1968, Simon created the two-issue DC Comics series Brother Power
510-644: A week, supplying sports and editorial cartoons there as well. Shortly thereafter, for $ 60 a week, he succeeded Liederman as art director of a paper whose name Simon recalled in his 1990 autobiography as the Syracuse Journal American , although the 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. There, Simon took
561-555: A year before the bombing of Pearl Harbor but already showing the hero punching Hitler in the jaw – sold nearly one million copies. They remained on the hit series as a team through issue #10, and were established as a notable creative force in the industry. After the first issue was published, Simon asked Kirby to join the Timely staff as the company's art director. Despite the success of the Captain America character, Simon felt Goodman
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#1732858604418612-626: 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. 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. Though not present at
663-764: The Flash , Green Lantern , Doctor Fate , the Atom , Hawkman , Green Arrow and Aquaman . Timely Comics , the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics , had million-selling titles featuring the Human Torch , the Sub-Mariner , and Captain America . Although DC and Timely characters are well remembered today, circulation figures suggest that the best-selling superhero title of the era was Fawcett Comics ' Captain Marvel Adventures with sales of about 1.4 million copies per issue. The comic
714-666: The U.S. Coast Guard during World War II . He said in his 1990 autobiography that he was first assigned to the Mounted Beach Patrol at Long Beach Island , off Barnegat, New Jersey , for a year before being sent to boot camp near Baltimore, Maryland, for basic training. Afterward, he reported for duty with the Combat Art Corps in Washington, D.C., part of the Coast Guard Public Information Division. He
765-584: The Western Bullseye: Western Scout ; the war comic Foxhole , since EC Comics and Atlas Comics were having success with war comics, but promoting theirs as being written and drawn by actual veterans; In Love , since their earlier romance comic Young Love was still being widely imitated; and the crime comic Police Trap , which claimed to be based on genuine accounts by law-enforcement officials. Bitter that Timely Comics ' 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics , had relaunched Captain America in
816-675: The fanzine Comic Art in April 1960. An event cited by many as marking the beginning of the Golden Age was the 1938 debut of Superman in Action Comics #1, published by Detective Comics (predecessor of DC Comics ). Superman's popularity helped make comic books a major arm of publishing, which led rival companies to create superheroes of their own to emulate Superman's success. Between 1939 and 1941 Detective Comics and its sister company, All-American Publications , introduced popular superheroes such as Batman and Robin , Wonder Woman ,
867-518: The history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known characters were introduced, including Superman , Batman , Robin , Captain Marvel , Captain America , and Wonder Woman . The first recorded use of the term "Golden Age" was by Richard A. Lupoff in an article, "Re-Birth", published in issue one of
918-602: 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. At the urging of a Crestwood salesman, Kirby and Simon launched their own comics company, Mainline Publications , in late 1953 or early 1954, subletting space from their friend Al Harvey 's Harvey Publications at 1860 Broadway . Mainline published four titles:
969-519: 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. Joe Simon was born in 1913 as Hymie Simon and raised in Rochester , New York, the son of Harry Simon, who had emigrated from Leeds , England, in 1905, and Rose (Kurland), whom Harry met in
1020-558: 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. 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. 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
1071-659: The Archie Andrews character remaining in print well into the 21st century. At the same time in Canada, American comic books were prohibited importation under the War Exchange Conservation Act which restricted the importation of non-essential goods. Canadian publishers responded to this lack of competition by producing titles of their own, informally called the Canadian Whites . While these titles flourished during
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#17328586044181122-632: The DC anthology series 1st Issue Special #2 (May 1975), and the freakish Outsiders in 1st Issue Special #10 (Jan. 1976). In 1999, Joe Simon regained the rights to the Fly thanks to copyright termination. 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
1173-517: The Geek , about a mannequin given a semblance of life who wanders philosophically through 1960s hippie culture. Superman editor Mort Weisinger harbored an admitted dislike for the hippie subculture of the 1960s and felt that Simon portrayed them too sympathetically which helped to bring a quick end to the title. Simon and artist Jerry Grandenetti then created DC's four-issue Prez (Sept. 1973 – March 1974), about America's first teen-age president and
1224-560: The Golden Age. During this time, the popularity of superhero comics waned. To retain reader interest, comic publishers diversified into other genres, such as war , Westerns , science fiction , romance , crime and horror . Many superhero titles were canceled or converted to other genres. In 1946, DC Comics ' Superboy , Aquaman and Green Arrow were switched from More Fun Comics into Adventure Comics so More Fun could focus on humor. In 1948 All-American Comics , featuring Green Lantern , Johnny Thunder and Dr. Mid-Nite ,
1275-457: The Jungle", starring Trojak The Tiger Man, in Timely's Daring Mystery Comics #2 (Feb. 1940). 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. Speaking at a 1998 San Diego Comic-Con panel, Simon recounted the meeting: I had a suit and Jack thought that was really nice. He'd never seen
1326-721: The United States. Harry Simon moved to Rochester, then a clothing-manufacturing center where his younger brother Isaac lived, and the couple had a daughter, Beatrice, in 1912. A poor Jewish family, the Simons lived in "a first-floor flat which doubled as my father's tailor shop". 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
1377-493: 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." 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
1428-564: The comic book industry hit a setback when the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was created in order to investigate the problem of juvenile delinquency . After the publication of Fredric Wertham 's Seduction of the Innocent the following year that claimed comics sparked illegal behavior among minors, comic book publishers such as EC's William Gaines were subpoenaed to testify in public hearings. As
1479-408: The company. 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 . Kirby and Simon spent their first weeks at National trying to devise new characters while the company sought how best to utilize the pair. After
1530-515: 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 ; 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. Through
1581-463: The entire 1950s were Action Comics , Adventure Comics , Batman , Detective Comics , Superboy , Superman , Wonder Woman and World's Finest Comics . Plastic Man appeared in Quality Comics ' Police Comics until 1950, when its focus switched to detective stories; his solo title continued bimonthly until issue 52, cover-dated February 1955. Timely Comics ' The Human Torch
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1632-523: The final two issues, which included Black Cat stories. Lev Gleason Publications ' Daredevil was edged out of his title by the Little Wise Guys in 1950. Fawcett Comics ' Whiz Comics , Master Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures were canceled in 1953, and The Marvel Family was canceled the following year. Also during this period, the mass media with the advent of television were forcing media companies to put out comics that reflected
1683-504: The licensed Walt Disney animated-character comics) outsold the superhero comics of the day. The publisher featured licensed movie and literary characters such as Mickey Mouse , Donald Duck , Roy Rogers and Tarzan . It was during this era that noted Donald Duck writer-artist Carl Barks rose to prominence. Additionally, MLJ 's introduction of Archie Andrews in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941) gave rise to teen humor comics , with
1734-534: The new medium. That day, Simon received his first comics assignment, a seven-page Western . 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 . From this came Simon's first comic-book hero, the Fiery Mask . Simon used the pseudonym Gregory Sykes on at least one story during this time, "King of
1785-466: 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. 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
1836-551: The popular culture of the time period. Comic books focused on space, mystery, and suspense that television and other forms of media were turning to in the march toward scientific progress. According to historian Michael A. Amundson, appealing comic-book characters helped ease young readers' fear of nuclear war and neutralize anxiety about the questions posed by atomic power. It was during this period that long-running humor comics debuted, including EC Comics ' series Mad and Dell's series Uncle Scrooge (both in 1952). In 1953,
1887-551: The premiere, Joe Simon got to see Captain America: The First Avenger before he passed away in December 2011. Simon was married to Harriet Feldman. The Simons had two sons and three daughters. Simon died in New York City on December 14, 2011, at the age of 98, after a brief illness. Marvel Comics dedicated Avenging Spider-Man #5 to Simon. Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in
1938-544: 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), though the Grand Comics Database does not independently confirm this. Mendryk also believes that both Kirby and Simon used the pseudonym Jon Henri on a handful of other 1942 Harvey comics, as does Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999 . Simon enlisted in
1989-516: The story in the 2003 updated edition of his autobiography, The Comic Book Makers . 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, the Simon and Kirby team created the seminal patriotic hero Captain America . Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), going on sale in December 1940 –
2040-603: 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 . 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
2091-502: The three-issue Champion Sports (Nov. 1973 – March 1974). That same year, Simon returned to the romance genre as editor of Young Romance and Young Love and oversaw a Black Magic reprint series. 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 . Simon and Grandenetti then created the Green Team: Boy Millionaires in
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2142-545: The time of the Second World War following the Shield 's debut in 1940. Many heroes of this time period battled the Axis powers , with covers such as Captain America Comics #1 ( cover-dated March 1941) showing the title character punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler . As comic books grew in popularity, publishers began launching titles that expanded into a variety of genres. Dell Comics ' non-superhero characters (particularly
2193-410: 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. Returning to New York City after his discharge, Simon married Harriet Feldman, the secretary to Harvey Comics' Al Harvey. The Simons and
2244-423: The war, they did not survive the lifting of trade restrictions afterwards. The term Atomic Age of Comic Books is sometimes used to describe a brief time period, starting with either the end of World War II in 1945 or in 1948 with the first outcry of Fredric Wertham, and lasting until the mid-1950s. Some authors consider this an interregnum period or an era in its own right, but most regard it as still part of
2295-509: The yearbook sections. 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. Between production duties, he did occasional sports and editorial cartoons for the paper. Two years later, Simon took an art job at the Syracuse Herald in Syracuse, New York , for $ 45
2346-584: Was canceled with issue #35 (March 1949) and Marvel Mystery Comics , featuring the Human Torch, with issue #93 (Aug. 1949) became the horror comic Marvel Tales . Sub-Mariner Comics was canceled with issue #42 (June 1949) and Captain America Comics , by then Captain America's Weird Tales , with #75 (Feb. 1950). Harvey Comics ' Black Cat was canceled in 1951 and rebooted as a horror comic later that year—the title would change to Black Cat Mystery , Black Cat Mystic , and eventually Black Cat Western for
2397-447: Was not paying the pair the promised percentage of profits, and so sought work for the two of them at National Comics, (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. 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
2448-494: Was published biweekly at one point to capitalize on its popularity. Another notable series was The Spirit by Will Eisner , which deviated from the usual publishing model of the period as a weekly multi-page supplement in the Register and Tribune Syndicate newspapers for which Eisner held the copyright, a rare consideration for creators of that period. Patriotic heroes donning red, white, and blue were particularly popular during
2499-508: Was replaced with All-American Western . The following year, Flash Comics and Green Lantern were canceled. In 1951 All Star Comics , featuring the Justice Society of America , became All-Star Western . The next year Star Spangled Comics , featuring Robin, was retitled Star Spangled War Stories . Sensation Comics , featuring Wonder Woman , was canceled in 1953. The only superhero comics published continuously through
2550-405: 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 ... 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
2601-616: 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. 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
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