Joe Giella, one of the last great Silver Age comic book artists, has passed away at the age of 94. He was best known for his exceptional work on Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern. Giella’s artistic talent and his dedication to the comic book industry will be remembered by comic book enthusiasts for years to come. He played a significant role in the development of the Batman group of titles in the 1960s and transformed the art style on the series to a more “modern” approach. In the 1970s, Giella shifted his focus to comic strips and assisted Dan Barry on “Flash Gordon” and Sy Barry on “The Phantom.” Giella’s contributions to the comic book industry were recognized when he won the Inkpot Award in 1996 and the Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award in 2018.
Joe Giella: A Legendary Comic Book Artist
Joe Giella, a legendary comic book artist, passed away at the age of 94. He was one of the last great Silver Age comic book artists and was best known for his exceptional work on Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern.
Early Life and Career
Giella was born in Astoria and attended several art schools before he started his career as a professional comic book artist for Hillman Periodicals in 1946. Later, he joined Marvel Comics, now known as Timely Comics, as a staff artist, where he worked on backgrounds, edits, and retouches. He eventually became an inker in 1948. However, the comic book industry went through a sales slump in the late 1940s, and Giella left Timely to join his friend and co-worker Frank Giacoia at DC in 1949.
Work at DC Comics
Initially, Giella worked on superhero comic books in Julius Schwartz’s office. However, as DC cut back on superhero titles at the time, Giella spent most of the early 1950s inking stories in various genres, such as Westerns, romances, and science fiction. He inked for legends like Alex Toth and Gene Colan in Westerns, and he even inked a story in the first issue of “Mystery in Space.” During this time, Giella and Giacoia often worked together, and it was challenging to parse out credit for their books since they both inked some of them.
Two of the primary artists Giella worked with when he started at DC were Carmine Infantino and Gil Kane. Throughout the 1950s, Giella continued to ink Infantino on several genres, including Westerns, romance, science fiction, and the action series “Danger Trail,” which starred King Faraday. He also inked Kane on Westerns, crime stories, science fiction, and war stories.
Silver Age of Comics
DC launched new Silver Age versions of Green Lantern and the Flash, which marked a turning point in comic book history. Giella worked on both series, inking Infantino on “The Flash” ongoing series and Gil Kane on the “Green Lantern” ongoing series. Giella also inked the earliest Adam Strange stories. Notably, Giella inked Infantino on “Flash” #123, a comic book written by Gardner Fox, which introduced the DC Multiverse.
Conclusion
Joe Giella was an iconic comic book artist whose contribution to the comic book industry cannot be overlooked. He was a master inker who worked on several genres, including Westerns, romance, science fiction, and superhero titles. His work on “Batman,” “Flash,” and “Green Lantern” is legendary and will continue to inspire generations to come.
Joe Giella’s Legacy in Comic Books
Joe Giella played a significant role in the development of the Batman group of titles in the 1960s. In 1964, he joined the Batman team as an inker and transformed the art style on the series to a more “modern” approach. Giella was the main inker on the Batman titles when the Batman TV series debuted in 1966, which helped make Batman one of the most popular comics and gave the comic book industry a major sales boost.
In the 1970s, Giella shifted his focus to comic strips and assisted Dan Barry on “Flash Gordon” and Sy Barry on “The Phantom.” He occasionally did some penciling on “The Phantom” as well. Giella worked part-time on “The Phantom” for 17 years. In 1991, he took over as the artist on the “Mary Worth” comic strip, which he continued to do until his retirement in 2016.
Giella’s contributions to the comic book industry were recognized when he won the Inkpot Award in 1996 and was awarded the Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award in 2018. Joe Giella’s artistic talent and his dedication to the comic book industry will be remembered by comic book enthusiasts for years to come.
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