Joe Simon American artist, editor and publisher, comic book writer Date of Birth: 11.10.1913 Country: USA

Biography of Joe Simon

Joe Simon, an American artist, editor, and publisher, was born on October 11, 1913, as Hymie Simon in Rochester, New York. He grew up in a poor Jewish family, where his father worked as a tailor. Simon attended Benjamin Franklin High School, where he discovered his passion for art by serving as the artistic director for the school newspaper and yearbook.

After graduating in 1932, Simon began his career as an assistant art director for the local newspaper "Rochester Journal-American" under Adolph Edler. He later worked for "Syracuse Herald" in Syracuse, New York, where he continued to create sports and political caricatures. Simon eventually became the art director for "Syracuse Journal American."

In New York City, Simon found freelance work at "Macfadden Publications," creating illustrations for various magazines, including "True Story." Through his boss, he was introduced to Lloyd Jacquet, who headed "Funnies, Inc." - an agency that developed comic book content for publishers during the Golden Age of Comics. This led to Simon's first comic book assignment, a seven-page Western story.

During this time, Simon met Jack Kirby, and their partnership would last for the next two decades. Together, they created numerous iconic comic book characters during the 1930s and 1940s, known as the Golden Age of Comics. They worked on projects such as the Sandman, Sandy Hawkins (also known as Sandy the Golden Boy), and most notably, Captain America.

Their collaboration on Captain America, released in December 1940, resulted in tremendous success with over a million copies sold. Despite this, their pay did not increase significantly, and they decided to join "National Comics," later known as "DC Comics," where they were offered a combined salary of $500 per week.

Simon and Kirby continued to create popular characters and series for "National Comics," including Manhunter, Boy Commandos, and Newsboy Legion. During World War II, Simon served in the United States Coast Guard. After the war, he settled in Mineola, New York, where he and Kirby worked in their home studio.

When interest in patriotic comics waned in the late 1940s, Simon and Kirby pioneered the romance comic genre and also ventured into horror comics. Their partnership ended in 1955, but they remained friends.

Simon went on to work in advertising and commercial art and founded the satirical magazine "Sick" in 1960, which he managed for a decade. In the 1970s, he briefly returned to "DC Comics."

In 1999, Simon was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. He passed away on December 14, 2011, in New York City at the age of 98, after a brief illness.