Joe Simon
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Joe Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comics creator and editor best known for co-creating Captain America with Jack Kirby at Timely Comics.[1] He began his career as a production assistant and freelance magazine artist before becoming Timely's first editor.[1]
Captain America and the Simon–Kirby partnership
Working with Kirby in late 1940, Simon co-created Captain America as a patriotic response to Nazi aggression in Europe; the character's debut issue, cover-dated March 1941, famously depicted him punching Adolf Hitler and became a massive hit for Timely.[2] Simon also created the character's arch-villain, the Red Skull.[2] Stan Lee began his career as Simon's assistant around this time.[2] Simon and Kirby felt undervalued by Timely's management despite the title's success, and the pair later moved to National Comics, where they revamped Sandman and created the Newsboy Legion and Boy Commandos.[1] After World War II service in the Coast Guard, Simon and Kirby pioneered the romance comics genre with Young Romance.[1]
Later career and legacy
Simon co-founded the satirical magazine Sick in 1960 and continued creating experimental titles such as Brother Power, the Geek and Prez into the 1970s.[1] He later pursued a legal battle with Marvel over the copyright to Captain America, which was settled out of court.[2] Simon was inducted into the comics industry's hall of fame in 1999 and published an autobiography in 2011, living to see Captain America's feature-film adaptation before his death at age 98 on December 14, 2011.[1]