Editing Joe Simon

{{Short description|American comic book creator (1913–2011)}}
{{About|the comic book writer|the singer of the same name|Joe Simon (singer)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image         = JoeSimonatNYComicCon2006.jpg
| caption       = Simon with a fan at the<br>2006 [[New York Comic Con]]
| birth_name    = Hymie Simon
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1913|10|11}}
| birth_place   = [[Rochester, New York]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2011|12|14|1913|10|11}}
| death_place   = New York City, U.S.
| spouse        = Harriet Feldman
| children      = 5
| cartoonist    = y
| write         = y
| pencil        = y
| ink           = y
| letter        = y
| color         = y
| edit          = y
| publish       = y
| alias         = Gregory Sykes, Jon Henri
| notable works = [[Captain America]], [[Fighting American]], ''[[Sick (magazine)|Sick]]'', ''[[Young Romance]]'', The [[Fly (Archie Comics)|Fly]], ''[[Blue Bolt]]''
| collaborators = [[Jack Kirby]]
| awards        = [[Inkpot Award]], 1998<br />[[The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame|Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame]], 1999<br />[[Inkwell Awards]] Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame (2014)
| website       = 
}}
'''Joseph Henry Simon'''<ref name=autobio2011p12 /> (born '''Hymie Simon''';<ref name=autobio2011p12 /> 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 [[superhero]]es, and the team worked extensively on such features at [[DC Comics]] as the 1940s [[Sandman (Wesley Dodds)|Sandman]] and [[Sandy the Golden Boy]], and co-created the [[Newsboy Legion]], the [[Boy Commandos]], and [[Manhunter (comics)|Manhunter]]. Simon and Kirby creations for other comics publishers include [[Boys' Ranch]], [[Fighting American]] and the [[Fly (Archie Comics)|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 [[satire|satirical]] magazine ''[[Sick (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 [[The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame|Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame]] in 1999.

==Early life==
Joe Simon was born in 1913 as Hymie Simon<ref name=autobio2011p12>{{cite book|last=Simon|first=Joe|title=Joe Simon: My Life in Comics|publisher=[[Titan Books]]|year= 2011|location= London, United Kingdom| isbn = 978-1-84576-930-7|page=12|quote="I ... was born in 1913 – on October 11 – in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]]'s Strong Memorial Hospital. ... [My father] had a cousin name Hymie. ... So when my mother gave birth to me, my father completed the birth certificate without consulting her, and named me 'Hymie Simon.' ... [my mother] ''flipped''. Turns out she wanted me named after her brother, Joseph. ... At least if it had been 'Hyman' Simon, she said, it would have rhymed. ... No, she just called me Joseph, and after a while it stuck. Yet that's not what my birth certificate says. To this day it hasn't been corrected, not [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]]-wise, [war-]veteran-[records]-wise, or for anything else. ... We never had middle names in my family, either. ... But I took the 'H' from Hymie and I made it into Henry. ... }}. Note: Some sources erroneously give 1915 as birth year, including:<br/>*&nbsp;{{cite web|url=http://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/simon-joe.htm |title=Joe Simon |publisher=[[Lambiek Comiclopedia]] |access-date=November 3, 2016 |archive-date=November 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6lkMIK1Da?url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/simon-joe.htm |url-status=live}}<!--It is possible that this Wayback Machine link also might work, though the URL is not typical for Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20160806043157/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/simon-joe.htm -- archived August 6, 2016--><br/>*&nbsp;{{cite book|url=http://www.bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=SIMON%2c+JOE |editor-link1=Jerry Bails |editor-first=Jerry |editor-last=Bails |editor-first2=Hames |editor-last2=Ware |title=Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999 |chapter=Simon, Joe |access-date=October 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070511085858/http://www.bailsprojects.com/%28S%284fltw0ymnr4dmf45dkrq1eao%29%29/bio.aspx?Name=SIMON%2C+JOE |archive-date=May 11, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> and raised in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], New York, the son of Harry Simon, who had emigrated from [[Leeds, England|Leeds]], England, in 1905, and Rose (Kurland),<!--Joe Simon in his 2011 autobio, page 11, says he never knew his mother's maiden name--><ref name=autobio2011p10>Simon, 2011, p. 10</ref><ref name=somethingauth1975>{{cite book|last=Commrie|first=Anne|title=Something about the Author, Volume 7|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|year=1975|location= Farmington Hills, Michigan| isbn = 0810300621|page=192|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQeGIdmt6iYC&q=%22Harry+(a+tailor)+and+Rose+(Kurland)+Simon%22|access-date=May 9, 2016|quote=Born October 11, 1913, in Rochester, N.Y.; son of Harry (a tailor) and Rose (Kurland) Simon}}</ref> whom Harry met in the United States.<ref name=autobio2011p11>Simon, 2011, p. 11</ref> Harry Simon moved to Rochester, then a clothing-manufacturing center where his younger brother Isaac lived,<ref name=autobio2011p09>Simon, 2011, p. 9</ref> and the couple had a daughter, Beatrice, in 1912.<ref name=autobio2011p11 /> A poor [[American Jews|Jewish]] family, the Simons lived in "a first-floor flat which doubled as my father's tailor shop".<ref name=autobio1990p22>{{cite book|last1=Simon|first1=Joe|last2=with Simon|first2=Jim | title=The Comic Book Makers|publisher=Crestwood/II Publications|year= 1990|page= 22|isbn=1-887591-35-4}} Reissued (Vanguard Productions, 2003) {{ISBN|1-887591-35-4}}. Page numbers refer to 1990 edition.</ref> 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.<ref name=autobio1990p24>Simon, 1990, p. 24</ref>

==Career==
===Beginnings===
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.<ref name=autobio2011p26-27>Simon, 1990, pp. 26–27</ref> Between production duties, he did occasional sports and [[editorial cartoon]]s for the paper.<ref name=autobio1990p28>Simon, 1990, p. 28</ref> Two years later, Simon took an art job at the ''[[Syracuse Herald]]'' in [[Syracuse, New York]], for $45 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'',<ref name=autobio2011p29>Simon, 1990, p. 29</ref> although the ''[[Syracuse Journal]]'' and the ''[[Syracuse Telegram|Syracuse Sunday American]]'', were the separate weekday and Sunday papers, respectively. The paper soon closed, and Simon, at 23, ventured to New York City.<ref name=autobio1990p29-31>Simon, 1990, pp. 29 & 31</ref>

There, Simon took 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 (New York City)|Paramount Theatre]] on Broadway, retouching the [[movie studio]]'s publicity photos.<ref name=autobio1990p31>Simon, 1990, p. 31</ref> He also found freelance work at [[Macfadden Publications]], doing illustrations for ''[[True Story (magazine)|True Story]]'' and other magazines. Sometime afterward, his boss, art director Harlan Crandall, recommended Simon to [[Funnies, Inc.#Lloyd Jacquet|Lloyd Jacquet]], head of [[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 comics|Western]].{{sfn|Simon|2011|pp=61–64}}

Four days later, Jacquet asked Simon, at the behest of [[Timely Comics]] publisher [[Martin Goodman (publisher)|Martin Goodman]], to create a flaming superhero like Timely's successful character the [[Human Torch (Golden Age)|Human Torch]]. From this came Simon's first comic-book hero, the [[Fiery Mask]].<ref name=autobio1990p31 /> 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).<ref>Confirmed by Joe Simon to Simon and Kirby art restorer Harry Mendryk, cited at [http://atlastales.com/sI/821 ''Daring Mystery Comics'' #2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208193239/http://www.atlastales.com/sI/821 |date=February 8, 2012 }} at AtlasTales.com; [http://www.comics.org/issue/664/#11565 ''Daring Mystery Comics'' #2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604054227/http://www.comics.org/issue/664/#11565 |date=June 4, 2011 }} at the [[Grand Comics Database]]; and {{cite web|url=http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/287|first=Harry|last=Mendryk|title=Art by Joe Simon, Chapter 7, Glaven|date=July 8, 2006|publisher=Simon & Kirby (column), Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center|access-date=September 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118195341/http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/287|archive-date=November 18, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref><!--link evidently cannot be archived at Wayback Machine or WebCitation.org. For posterity, saving it at https://archive.today/20120710214302/http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/287 until an allowable live-site link can be found-->

===Simon and Kirby===
[[File:1974ComicArtCon book.jpg|thumb|1974 [[Comic Art Convention]] program, reprinting Simon's original 1940 sketch of Captain America.]]
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:

{{blockquote|text=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 [[DC Comics|DC <nowiki>[Comics]</nowiki>]]' and [[Fox Feature Syndicate|Fox <nowiki>[Feature Syndicate]</nowiki>]]'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 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'' ...<ref name=averagejoe>{{cite news|url=http://www.twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/25simon.html |title=More Than Your Average Joe |publisher=(excerpts from Joe Simon's panels at 1998 [[San Diego Comic-Con International]]) [[TwoMorrows Publishing]] |work=Jack Kirby Collector |issue=25 |date=August 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130191556/http://twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/25simon.html |archive-date=November 30, 2010 |url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>}}

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]],''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simon |first1=Joe |last2=with Simon |first2=Jim |date=2003 |title=The Comic Book Makers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXZlAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Vanguard Productions |page=23 |isbn=1-887591-35-4}}</ref> co-authored with his son, Jim.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The comic book makers {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/22914928?oclcNum=22914928 |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=search.worldcat.org |language=en}}</ref>

After leaving Fox and landing at [[pulp magazine]] publisher [[Martin Goodman (publisher)|Martin Goodman]]'s [[Timely Comics]] (the future [[Marvel Comics]]<!--first mention needs full name-->), where Simon became the company's first editor,<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Sanderson|first1 = Peter|author-link = Peter Sanderson|last2= Gilbert|first2= Laura, ed.|chapter= 1939|title = Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History|publisher = [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year = 2008|location= London, United Kingdom|page = 11|isbn =978-0756641238|quote= Martin Goodman hired writer/artist Joe Simon to be Timely's first Editor-in-Chief in late 1939.}}</ref> the Simon and Kirby team created the seminal patriotic hero [[Captain America]].<ref>Sanderson "1940s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 18: "Simon and Kirby decided to create another hero who was their response to totalitarian tyranny abroad."</ref> ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), going on sale in December 1940<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.toonopedia.com/capamer.htm|title= Captain America|first= Don|last= Markstein|year= 2010|publisher= [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]|access-date= April 9, 2012|quote= 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.}}{{Dead link|date=October 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> – a year before the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|bombing of Pearl Harbor]] but already showing the hero punching [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] in the jaw<ref name=DanielsMarvel>{{Cite book|last=Daniels|first=Les|author-link = Les Daniels|title= Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics |publisher= [[Abrams Books|Harry N. Abrams]]|year= 1991|location= New York, New York|page= 37|isbn= 978-0-8109-3821-2|quote= 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.}}</ref> – sold nearly one million copies.<ref name="fromm">Per researcher Keif Fromm, ''[[Alter Ego (magazine)|Alter Ego]]'' vol. 3, #49, p. 4 (caption)</ref> They remained on the hit series as a team through issue #10, and were established as a notable creative force in the industry.<ref>[[Gerard Jones|Jones, Gerard]]. ''Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book'' (Basic Books, 2004; trade paperback {{ISBN|0-465-03657-0}}), p. 200</ref> After the first issue was published, Simon asked Kirby to join the Timely staff as the company's art director.<ref name=ronin21>{{cite book|last=Ro|first= Ronin|title=Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution| page=21 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|year= 2004|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn=1-58234-345-4}}</ref>

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,<ref>Ro, p. 25</ref> (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.<ref>Ro, p. 25–26</ref> 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.<ref>Ro, p. 29</ref> 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 (DC Comics)|Captain Marvel]] following the character's run as star of the superhero anthology ''[[Whiz Comics]]''.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/1178/ ''Captain Marvel Adventures'' #1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203131756/http://www.comics.org/issue/1178/ |date=December 3, 2013 }} at the Grand Comics Database</ref>

Kirby and Simon spent their first weeks at National trying to devise new characters while the company sought how best to utilize the pair.<ref>Ro, p. 28</ref> After 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 (Wesley Dodds)|Sandman]] feature in ''[[Adventure Comics]]'' and created the superhero [[Manhunter (comics)|Manhunter]].<ref>Ro, p. 30</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wallace|first1= Daniel|last2=Dolan|first2=Hannah, ed.|chapter= 1940s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 41 |quote = 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.}}</ref> 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.<ref>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.)"</ref> It sold over a million copies a month, becoming National's third best-selling title.<ref name="Ro, p. 32">Ro, p. 32</ref> They also scored a hit with the homefront kid-gang team, the [[Newsboy Legion]] in ''[[Star-Spangled Comics]]''.<ref>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."</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite book|author-link= Paul Levitz|last=Levitz|first= Paul|chapter= The Golden Age 1938–1956|title= 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking|publisher= [[Taschen]]|year=2010|location= Cologne, Germany|isbn= 9783836519816|page= 131}}</ref>

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),<ref>Mendryk, "Art by Joe Simon, Chapter 7, Glaven"</ref> though the [[Grand Comics Database]] does not independently confirm this.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/2388/ ''Speed Comics'' #22] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101003100643/http://www.comics.org/issue/2388/ |date=October 3, 2010 }} and [http://www.comics.org/issue/2387/ ''Champ Comics'' #22] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018165805/http://www.comics.org/issue/2387/ |date=October 18, 2012 }} at the Grand Comics Database</ref> Mendryk also believes that both Kirby and Simon used the pseudonym '''Jon Henri''' on a handful of other 1942 Harvey comics,<ref>{{cite web|last=Mendryk|first=Harry|url=http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/284|title=Art by Joe Simon, Chapter 6, Jon Henri|publisher=Simon & Kirby (column), Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center|date=July 4, 2006|access-date=September 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612213932/http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/284|archive-date=June 12, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><!--link evidently cannot be archived at Wayback Machine or WebCitation.org. For posterity, saving it at https://archive.today/20120710121147/http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/284 until an allowable live-site link can be found--> as does ''Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=HENRI%2c+JON |title=Henri, Jon |work=Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070511091355/http://www.bailsprojects.com/%28S%284fltw0ymnr4dmf45dkrq1eao%29%29/bio.aspx?Name=HENRI%2C+JON |archive-date=May 11, 2007 |url-status=dead}} This source nonetheless gives spelling "Jon Henery" at Simon's entry, cited in footnote 1.</ref>

Simon enlisted in the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] during [[World War II]].<ref name=autobio1990p69>Simon, 1990, p. 69</ref> 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.<ref name=autobio1990p70-71>Simon, 1990, pp. 70–71</ref> 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.<ref name=autobio1990p71-72>Simon, 1990, pp. 71–72</ref> 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)|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 & Smith|Street and Smith Publications]] for sale at newsstands.<ref name=autobio1990p73-75>Simon, 1990, pp. 73 & 75</ref>

Returning to New York City after his discharge, Simon married Harriet Feldman,<ref name="Shapiro">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joe-simon-co-creator-of-the-captain-america-comics-dies-at-98/2011/12/15/gIQADjarwO_story.html |title=Joe Simon, co-creator of the ''Captain America'' comics, dies at 98 |first=T. Rees |last=Shapiro |date=December 15, 2011 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203061206/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-12-15/local/35285586_1_newsboy-legion-simon-and-kirby-legion-and-boy-commandos |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=autobio1990p84-85>Simon, 1990, pp. 84–85</ref>

===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 (trade name)|imprint]] Prize Group, through which they published ''[[Boys' Ranch]]'' and launched an early [[Horror comics|horror comic]], the atmospheric and non-gory series ''[[Black Magic (comics)|Black Magic]]''. The team also produced [[Crime comics|crime]] and humor comics, and are credited as well with publishing the first [[romance comics]] title, ''[[Young Romance]]'', starting a successful trend.<ref>[[Mark Evanier|Evanier, Mark]] (2008). ''Kirby: King of Comics''. New York: Harry N. Abrams, pp. 72, 80. {{ISBN|978-0-8109-9447-8}}.</ref>

At the urging of a Crestwood salesman, Kirby and Simon launched their own comics company, [[Mainline Publications]],<ref name="Ro, p. 54" /><ref name="TwoMorrows">{{cite journal|last=Beerbohm |first=Robert Lee |url=http://www.twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/25mainline.html |title=The Mainline Story |journal=Jack Kirby Collector |number=25 |date=August 1999 |publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]] |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |access-date=March 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526101151/http://www.twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/25mainline.html |archive-date=May 26, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in late 1953 or early 1954, subletting space from their friend [[Al Harvey]]'s [[Harvey Publications]] at 1860 [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]].<ref name="autobio1990p24" /> Mainline published four titles: the [[Western comics|Western]] ''Bullseye: Western Scout''; the [[war comics|war comic]] ''Foxhole'', since [[EC Comics]] and [[Atlas Comics (1950s)|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 (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 (1950s)|Atlas Comics]], had relaunched Captain America in a new series in 1954, Kirby and Simon created ''[[Fighting American]]''. Simon recalled, "We thought we'd show them how to do Captain America".<ref>Ro, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CFhbqswztWkC&pg=PA52 52] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506180907/https://books.google.com/books?id=CFhbqswztWkC&pg=PA52 |date=May 6, 2016 }}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Ro, p. 54">Ro, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CFhbqswztWkC&pg=PA54 p. 54] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616211254/https://books.google.com/books?id=CFhbqswztWkC&pg=PA54 |date=June 16, 2016 }}</ref>

The partnership ended in 1955<!--''Fighting American'' was mid-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."<ref>{{cite news|title='I Created an Army of Characters, and Now My Connection with Them Is Lost|publisher=interview, The Great Electric Bird radio show, [[WNUR-FM]], [[Northwestern University]], [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], Illinois | date= May 14, 1971}} Transcribed in ''[[The Comics Journal|The Nostalgia Journal]]'' (27) August 1976. Reprinted in {{cite book|editor-first = George | editor-last=Milo |title = [[The Comics Journal]] Library, Volume One: Jack Kirby|publisher = [[Fantagraphics Books]]| year = 2002|location= Seattle, Washington| isbn = 1-56097-466-4 | page = 16}}</ref> 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 (Archie Comics)|Shield]] in the two-issue ''The Double Life of Private Strong'' (June–Aug. 1959), and Simon created the superhero the [[Fly (Archie Comics)|Fly]];<ref>{{cite journal|last = Groth|first = Gary|author-link = Gary Groth|title = Joe Simon Interviewed|journal = The Comics Journal|issue = 134|page = 106|publisher = Fantagraphics Books|date = February 1990|location= Seattle, Washington}}</ref> 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 (cartoonist)|Jack Davis]], and [[Carl Burgos]], did four issues before Simon moved on to work in commercial art.<ref>{{cite book |last=Evanier |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Evanier |date=2014 |title=The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T2BXngEACAAJ |location=New York |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |page= |isbn=978-1419711602}}</ref>

===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.<ref name=simonwho>{{cite book|url=http://www.bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=SIMON%2c+JOE |editor-link1=Jerry Bails |editor-first=Jerry |editor-last=Bails |editor-first2=Hames |editor-last2=Ware |title=Who's Who in American Comic Books 1929–1999 |chapter=Simon, Joe |access-date=October 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070511085858/http://www.bailsprojects.com/%28S%284fltw0ymnr4dmf45dkrq1eao%29%29/bio.aspx?Name=SIMON%2C+JOE |archive-date=May 11, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> Concurrently, in 1960, he founded the [[satire|satirical]] magazine ''[[Sick (magazine)|Sick]]'', a competitor of ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' magazine, and edited and produced material for it for over a decade.{{sfn|Simon|2011|pp=214–216}}

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.<ref name=gcdsimon>{{gcdb|type=credit|search= Joe+Simon}}</ref>

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 1960s [[hippie]] culture.<ref>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."</ref> ''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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/geek.htm |title=Brother Power, the Geek |first=Don |last=Markstein |year=2007 |publisher=[[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]] |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6RBXgaVBK?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/geek.htm |archive-date=July 19, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Simon and artist [[Jerry Grandenetti]] then created DC's four-issue ''[[Prez (DC Comics)|Prez]]'' (Sept. 1973 – March 1974), about America's first teen-age president<ref name=gcdsimon /><ref>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."</ref> and the three-issue ''Champion Sports'' (Nov. 1973 – March 1974).<ref name=gcdsimon /> That same year, Simon returned to the romance genre as editor of ''Young Romance'' and ''[[Young Love (comics)|Young Love]]'' and oversaw a ''[[Black Magic (comics)|Black Magic]]'' reprint series.<ref>{{gcdb|type=editor|search= Joe+Simon (editor)}}</ref>

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 (DC Comics)|Sandman]].<ref>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."</ref> Simon and Grandenetti then created the [[Green Team (comics)|Green Team: Boy Millionaires]] in the DC anthology series ''[[1st Issue Special]]'' #2 (May 1975),<ref>{{cite web|url= http://toonopedia.com/grnteam.htm|title= The Green Team|first= Don|last= Markstein|date= 2009|publisher= Don Markstein's Toonopedia|archive-url= https://archive.today/20240527224727/https://www.webcitation.org/6kBaRobsB?url=http://toonopedia.com/grnteam.htm|archive-date= May 27, 2024|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref> and the freakish Outsiders in ''1st Issue Special'' #10 (Jan. 1976).<ref name=gcdsimon />

In 1999, Joe Simon regained the rights to the Fly and Lancelot Strong thanks to copyright termination.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The fly / By Joe Simon & Archie Comics Publications, Inc. B826394 (1959)... |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&Search%5FArg=The%20fly%20%2F%20By%20Joe%20Simon%20%26%20Archie%20Comics&Search%5FCode=FT%2A&CNT=25&PID=Pg4GiIht6Jiu6wplEToUJ9SbicDNM&SEQ=20240103182300&SID=7 |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=cocatalog.loc.gov}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Eric N. |date=2024-04-03 |title=REVIEWS: Shieldmaster: Blast to the Past #1 |url=https://www.firstcomicsnews.com/reviews-shieldmaster-blast-to-the-past-1/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=First Comics News |language=en-US}}</ref>

===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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/death-america-comic-book-hero-killed-wbna17499797 |title=Death to 'America': Comic-book hero killed off |agency=[[Associated Press]] |publisher=[[Today.com]] |date=March 8, 2007 |access-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722065221/http://www.today.com/popculture/death-america-comic-book-hero-killed-wbna17499797 |archive-date=July 22, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6431619.stm |title=Comic hero Captain America dies |work=BBC News |date=March 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808050358/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6431619.stm |archive-date=August 8, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>Logan, Michael (October 14, 2013). "The Comics' Real Heroes". ''[[TV Guide]]''. p. 27.</ref>

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.<ref name="RJS">{{cite web | url = http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/03/05/captain-america-lives-on-remembering-joe-simon/ | title= Captain America Lives On: Remembering Joe Simon | date= March 5, 2014 | first= Megan (Joe Simon granddaughter)| last=Margulies|publisher=[[Bleeding Cool]]| access-date= May 5, 2014| archive-date=May 5, 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140505054347/http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/03/05/captain-america-lives-on-remembering-joe-simon/| url-status=live}}</ref> Though not present at the premiere, Joe Simon got to see ''[[Captain America: The First Avenger]]'' before he died in December 2011.<ref name="RJS" />

In 2024, Shieldmaster encounters several Joe Simon characters in ''ShieldMaster: Blast to Past'', a one-shot with Shieldmaster traveling to the year 1963 and encountering several characters created or co-created by Joe Simon such as Fighting American, The Fly, Lancelot Strong, Comics. Stuntman and Captain 3-D.<ref name=":0" />

==Personal life==
Simon was married to Harriet Feldman. The Simons had two sons and three daughters.<ref name=dailynews />

Simon died in New York City on December 14, 2011, at the age of 98, after a brief illness.<ref name=dailynews>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/joe-simon-dead-98-created-captain-america-jack-kirby-article-1.992162 |title=Joe Simon dead at 98: Created Captain America with Jack Kirby |last=Sacks |first=Ethan |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York City |date=December 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606221056/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/joe-simon-dead-98-created-captain-america-jack-kirby-article-1.992162 |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2011-12-15/Joe-Simon-Captain-America-obit/51967944/1 |title=Iconic writer Joe Simon, Co-creator of Captain America, Dies |first=Matt |last=Moore |publisher=Associated Press via [[USA Today]] |date=December 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111217044203/http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2011-12-15/Joe-Simon-Captain-America-obit/51967944/1 |archive-date=December 17, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-joesimon-captainamerica-idUSTRE7BE2CJ20111215 |title=Captain America co-creator Joe Simon dies at 98 |last=Dobuzinskis |first=Alex |work=Reuters |date=December 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216233209/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/15/us-joesimon-captainamerica-idUSTRE7BE2CJ20111215 |archive-date=December 16, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Marvel Comics dedicated ''[[Avenging Spider-Man]]'' #5 to Simon.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.newsarama.com/9296-best-shots-rapid-reviews-aquaman-avenging-spider-man-more.html|title= Best Shots Rapid Reviews: ''Aquaman'', ''Avenging Spider-Man'', More|date= March 29, 2012|work= Newsarama|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917160819/https://www.newsarama.com/9296-best-shots-rapid-reviews-aquaman-avenging-spider-man-more.html |archive-date= September 17, 2015|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref>

==Awards==
* [[Inkpot Award]], 1998<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/inkpot.php|title= Inkpot Award Winners |publisher= Comic Book Awards Almanac|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120709055558/http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/inkpot.php|archive-date= July 9, 2012|url-status= live}}</ref>
* [[The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame|Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame]], 1999<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comic-con.org/awards/1990s-recipients |title=1990s |website=San Diego Comic-Con |date=December 2, 2012 |access-date=December 16, 2012 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131029200617/http://www.comic-con.org/awards/1990s-recipients |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Inkwell Awards]] Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame, 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.inkwellawards.com/?page_id=3940|title= 2014 Inkwell Awards Winners|publisher= Inkwell Awards|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150705110934/http://www.inkwellawards.com/?page_id=3940|archive-date= July 5, 2015|url-status= live}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120324191559/http://joesimonstudio.com/ Joe Simon Studio] official site. Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120324191559/http://joesimonstudio.com/ the original] on March 24. 2012.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141226072248/http://www.simoncomics.com/ SimonComics.com] / Simon Entertainment Properties. Archived from [http://www.simoncomics.com the original] on December 26, 2014.
* Wilonsky, Robert. [http://www.pitch.com/2001-04-19/culture/custody-battle/ "Custody Battle: Marvel Comics isn't going to give up Captain America without a fight"], ''The Pitch'', April 19, 2001. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090818011632/http://www.pitch.com/2001-04-19/culture/custody-battle/ WebCitation archive].
* Simon, Joe. "The Creator of Captain America Meets the Creator of the Human Torch", ''[[Alter Ego (magazine)|Alter Ego]]'' #36, May 2004
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXLsmbqO7rUC&pg=PA4 | title=Comic Book Creators: Joe Simon|first=Sue|last=Hamilton|publisher=ABDO Publishing|location=[[Edina, Minnesota|Edina]], Minnesota|isbn=978-1-59928-300-5|year=2007|format= ebook}}
* {{cite web|author-link=Mark Evanier|last=Evanier|first=Mark|url=http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_07_19.html#013739 |title=Semi-Old Joes|publisher= POV Online (column)|date=July 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629000009/http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_07_19.html#013739 | archive-date = June 29, 2011}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|title=[[Marvel Comics#Editors-in-chief|Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief]]|before= n/a|after=[[Stan Lee]]|years=1939–1941}}
{{succession box|title=''[[Captain America Comics]]'' writer/artist <br>(with [[Jack Kirby]])|before= n/a|after= Stan Lee (as writer)<br>[[Al Avison]] (as artist)|years=1941–1942}}
{{s-end}}

{{Captain America}}
{{Jack Kirby |state=collapsed}}
{{Marvel Comics |state=collapsed}}
{{Prize Comics}}
{{Inkpot Award 1990s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Joe}}
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[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American artists]]
[[Category:American advertising artists and illustrators]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
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[[Category:Archie Comics people]]
[[Category:American comic book editors]]
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[[Category:Golden Age comics creators]]
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[[Category:20th-century American illustrators]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics editors-in-chief]]
[[Category:People from Mineola, New York]]
[[Category:Silver Age comics creators]]
[[Category:United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Writers from Rochester, New York]]