Jim Aparo, Grand Master, Remembered by his Peers Comics legend Jim Aparo died early this morning. Spencer Beck, Aparo’s agent and friend of many years, announced that the 72-year-old artist died from complications relating to a recent illness.
Born in 1932, Aparo considered himself a self-trained artist. Following years of commercial fashion design in Connecticut, he entered comics in 1963 with the strip "Stern Wheeler," written by Ralph Kanna, which was published in 1963 in a Hartford, Connecticut newspaper for less than a year. In 1966, editor Dick Giordano brought Aparo over to Charlton Comics where his first assignment was "Miss Bikini Luv" for Go-Go Comics. Subsequently, Aparo drew multi-genre stories for Charlton - westerns, SF, romance, horror, mystery - and was recognized as one of the few mainstream comics artists to pencil, ink and letter all of his work. Then, as now, these tasks were typically divided between artists.
In the late 1960s, Aparo joined National Publications/DC Comics, where he gained prominence on Aquaman and then The Phantom Stranger, along with DC's horror titles. But it was in 1971 that Aparo made his greatest mark. After a startling beginning with issue #98 of The Brave and the Bold (featuring the Phantom Stranger with Batman), Aparo took over the title beginning with issue #102, where he continued penciling and inking nearly every issue until the series ended with issue #200. "Jim's work on Brave and the Bold was his favorite work of his time at DC," said Beck. "He truly considered the series his baby."
Following B&B, Aparo co-created Batman & The Outsiders and also worked on the Batman and Detective series throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, most notably penciling the "Death in The Family" storyline, which featured a phone-in vote deciding the fate of Robin II (Jason Todd). Following a run on The Green Arrow, Aparo moved into semi-retirement, contributing an occasional special or cover and doing private commissions before he fully retired.
Aparo inks over Netzer, Green Arrow, 1994
Clifford Meth:
I first met Jim in the early 1990s when his Batman work was winding down. He was always pleasant, humble and generous. The Batman drawing he gave me is framed and hangs in my office. I considered him one of two finest Batman artists ever. I asked the other one to share a few words.
"The thing people don’t know about Jim Aparo is that he never believed that he could be so lucky as to draw comics," said Neal Adams. "Any time you met or spoke with Jim he'd let you know what a joy it was to do comics. In fact, everything he talked about was with enthusiasm. He never complained and certainly never bad-mouthed anyone; never felt sorry for himself in any way. He always felt lucky and happy. His artistic style was similar to mine - he was kind enough to tell me I was his inspiration relative to Batman. There’s lots of great artists but there are some people in the world that are guileless. And that was Jim Aparo."
"We only did a few jobs together," said Marv Wolfman, "but what a pleasure Jim was to work with. He had a terrific work ethic - a page a day, everyday. And that was pencils, letters and inks. Few guys in the history of comics can fill those shoes."
"I wish I’d known him," said Gene Colan. "He was an excellent artist. You could recognize his style right away, and that’s something special on a character that everyone wants to draw."
"I only worked with Jim once," recalled George Perez. "It was on a Batman-Outsiders crossover and Jim inked it. It was a great thrill for me because I was such a fan of his. Jim Aparo was one of the people who inspired me to get into the business. I loved his Batman but the ruggedness he brought to Aquaman - that was great. Later, when he was on Brave and the Bold, I envied his ability to draw so many different characters with Batman. I thought what a cool gig! I had all of that fanboy pickiness, but he did all the characters so well - even Sgt. Rock - that I was never disappointed."
"It’s kind of sad that we’re such a cottage industry," said Walter Simonson. "I met Jim just once and that was in San Diego. I think he was with Spencer and we were out on the boardwalk. I was delighted to meet him - I’d followed his Charlton work before he came to DC, and I loved his Aquaman work. When I was doing Manhunter, cover assignments were considered graduate work and I was still new, so when we got to the last issue, I still wasn’t quite up to being 'allowed' to do the cover. So Archie [Goodwin] asked Jim to do it. I think I got to do the rough cover sketch, which was cool because I was such a fan."
Jim Aparo is survived by his wife Julie, his three children, his four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and at least three million fans. The Aparo family has asked that in lieu of flowers or gifts, anyone wishing to honor Jim’s legacy make a contribution to any worthy charity, as Jim believed that all charities were worth donating to.
For those wishing to send along their condolences and best wishes to the family, a P.O. Box has been set up for the family to receive cards. The address is:
THE APARO FAMILY
P.O. BOX 28
NORWALK, CONNECTICUT 06852 - 0028
