Artie Simek

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Artie Simek, sometimes credited as Art Simek (1916-February 20, 1975), was an American comic-book letterer for Marvel Comics throughout the companies various iterations from the 1940s. Along with Sam Rosen, he was considered[citation needed] one of the best in the field, and one of the two lettered virtually every landmark Marvel comic, with Simek's working including The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961) and Spider-Man's debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962).[1]

Inker Joe Giella, who worked on staff at Timely Comics, Marvel 1940s predecessor, for two years beginning circa 1946, recalled "Artie Simek was on staff on Timely. He lives in Queens and he also used to work out of his bedroom; he had a little drawing table in there. I used to drive to his home and pick up the jobs he'd lettered, then take them home and work on them. Fred Eng lettered there, too".[2] Future Comic Book Hall of Famer Gene Colan, a Marvel mainstay from 1946 on, described Simek as "a real Norman Rockwell character. Artie Simek could play the spoons. He'd have two spoons in his hand, and he would flip them around, they would bop up against each other, and before you knew it, there was a melody there. He was wonderful".[3]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Fantastic Firsts (Marvel, New York City, 2002, ISBN-10 0785108238, ISBN-13 978-0785108238), citing letter in Fantastic Four #281 from Fantastic Four artist and co-creator Jack Kirby and wife Roz Kirby; The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
  2. ^ Joe Giella interview, Alter Ego # 52 (Sept. 2005), p. 6
  3. ^ Gene Colan interview, Alter Ego # 52 (March 2006), p. 69
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