As you may have heard, Joe Simon passed away on Wednesday. We wanted to take a moment to dig into his incredible career and explain just how important he was to comics.
Yes, he co-created Captain America, but his legacy is much more deep and complex than that. Simon created or co-created dozens of characters, and he’s responsible for the look and style of dozens more, such as the Golden Age Sandman. With Kirby, Simon produced the first full-length Captain Marvel comic. He was the first editor of Timely Comics, he pioneered horror and romance comics, meaning he kept the industry afloat when superheroes fell out of fashion, and he was responsible for some of DC’s odder, more experimental comics such as “Brother Power the Geek” and “Prez”, both of which are worth hunting down if for no other reason than it’s bizarre to think these saw print from a major publisher.
We owe him so much, as comics fans. Our condolences and thought are with the Simon family.
So long, Joe. You will be missed.