Todd Klein has posted on his blog that letterer Joe Rosen has passed away.
Rosen, who was 88, started his career at Harvey Comics, and had credits stretching back all the way to 1948. His most influential credits include the Frank Miller run on Daredevil (shown above), as well as the Spider-Man/Superman crossover.
The Comics Reporter had this to say about Rosen:
Rosen’s work managed to combine a certain hushed quality with routine clarity and even, one could say, a muscularity achieved through the crowded precision of the kerning. He enabled Miller’s unique voice in a way that was quite unique, and the work would have been slightly but I think perceptibly different without him. The long-time letterer’s work continues to be seen through Marvel’s increasingly aggressive reprint programs.
It’s a shame, as a lot of readers — indeed, even a lot of folks in the industry — will snub letterers, not even realizing that lettering is the glue that holds the whole she-bang together. Mark Evanier has a nice article up about the value of good lettering — check it out.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Rest in peace good sir your contribution to the industry is not forgotten .
October 16th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
My favorite letterer. Gee whiz. What a day.
October 18th, 2009 at 1:46 am
This is really sad news for me, because I am a fan of great comic book lettering, and Joe’s work (particularly on Daredevil, but also on books like Amazing Spider-Man and occasionally G.I. Joe) was the first I took note of as a kid in the early ’80s. He was the first letterer I knew by name, and along with Workman and Bruzenak, was the first letterer whose work I could instantly identify on sight (although I guess Rick Parker fooled me a couple times early on).
He had a deadpan style that I loved, that added to the atmosphere of every book he worked on while never, ever overpowering the art.
I never knew anything about his personal life, and occasionally wondered if he was brother to Sam, or maybe son, but he will always be the yardstick against which I measure all comic book lettering.
November 19th, 2009 at 12:50 am
Joe, I’ll miss your lettering something fierce. Rest in Peace.