Vincenzo CollettaColletta, Vince, in (October 15, 1923 – June 3, 1991) was an American

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

best known as one of

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

's frequent

inkers The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

during the 1950s-1960s period called the

Silver Age of comic books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an int ...

. This included some significant early issues of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

' ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

'', and a long, celebrated run on the character

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

in ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stori ...

'' and ''The Mighty Thor''.

Early life

Colletta was born in

Casteldaccia Casteldaccia (Sicilian: Castiddaccia) is a town of 11,628 inhabitants and comune near the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy, founded by Marquis Longarini.Russo, 1961, p. 260. It is the seat of the Vini Corvo wine producer, and t ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, the son of Rosa and Francesco "Frank" Colletta, the latter "a pretty high-level Mafioso", according to family lore. Colletta Sr emigrated from Sicily to escape local law enforcement and served with the US armed forces in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, where he provided art on the sides of bombers. He settled in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where his wife and child joined him 10 years later. The family then moved to New Jersey and opened an Italian market, severing any ties to the Mafia.Franklin Colletta in Colletta was educated at the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Academy of Fine Arts.

Career

Colletta entered comics in 1952, freelancing first as a

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

inking Inking may refer to: *Inking (attack), act of throwing ink on other person *Inking, a defensive activity of certain cephalopods and sea hares * Inking (comic book production) *Pen computing Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using ...

his own work, for the publisher

Better Publications Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard in t ...

, on the titles ''Intimate Love'' and ''Out of the Shadows'', and for publisher

Youthful Magazines Youthful (also known as Youthful Magazines) was an American comic book publisher that operated from 1949 to 1954. The company was owned by attorney Bill Friedman and his wife Sophie. Adrian Lopez (1906–2004) had the title of publisher of the co ...

' imprint Pix-Parade, on the title ''Daring Love''. The following year he began his decades-long collaboration with Marvel, at the company's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics. Primarily a

romance comics Romance comics is a comics genre depicting strong and close romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published t ...

artist, he drew dozens of stories and covers for the Atlas titles ''

Love Romances ''Love Romances'' is a comic book title originally published by Atlas Comics beginning in 1948 and later by Marvel Comics until 1963. Publication history The title began publication as ''Ideal'' #1–5 (July 1948 - March 1949) until issue #6 (Ma ...

'', ''Lovers'', ''My Own Romance'', ''Stories of Romance'', and ''The Romances of Nurse Helen Grant'', with his earliest confirmed Atlas romance art the six-page story "My Love for You" in ''Love Romances'' #37 (March 1954). Colletta's work also appeared in such genres as jungle adventure (''

Jungle Action ''Jungle Action'' is the name of two American comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The Marvel version contained the first series starring the Black Panther, the first black superhero in mainstream com ...

'', ''

Jann of the Jungle ''Jungle Tales'' (later called ''Jann of the Jungle'') was an American comic book title published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. It was an anthology title of stories set in an African jungle. Publication history Jungl ...

'', ''

Lorna, the Jungle Girl Lorna the Jungle Girl, initially called Lorna the Jungle Queen, is a comic book jungle girl protagonist created by writer Don Rico and artist Werner Roth (comics), Werner Roth. She debuted in ''Lorna the Jungle Queen'' #1 (July 1953), published by ...

'') and horror/

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

('' Uncanny Tales'', ''

'').Vince Colletta
at AtlasTales.com During an Atlas retrenchment in the late 1950s, Colletta freelanced as a penciler on the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

romance titles ''Falling in Love'', '' Girls' Love Stories'', and ''

Heart Throbs ''Heart Throbs'' was a romance comic published by Quality Comics and DC Comics from 1949 to 1972. Quality published the book from 1949–1957, when it was acquired by DC. Most issues featured a number of short comics stories, as well advice colum ...

'', and

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

' ''Love Diary'' and ''Teen Confessions''. His last confirmed pencil work for decades was "I Can't Marry Now" in ''Love Diary'' #6 (Sept. 1959). Colletta's first confirmed work as an inker of another artist's pencils is unknown, largely due to credits not being given routinely in 1950s comics. Two possibilities suggested by historians and researchers are the cover of Atlas' ''

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...

Western Tales'' #10 (April 1956), co-inking with

Sol Brodsky Soloman Brodsky (April 22, 1923 – June 4, 1984) was an American comic book artist who, as Marvel Comics' Silver Age production manager, was one of the key architects of the small company's expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate. He ...

over Brodsky's pencils, and the three-page story "I Met My Love Again", penciled by

Matt Baker Matthew James Baker (born 23 December 1977) is a British television presenter. He co-presented the children's television show ''Blue Peter'' from 1999 until 2006, BBC One's ''Countryfile'' since 2009 and ''The One Show'' from 2011 to 2020, wit ...

, in ''My Own Romance'' #65 (Sept. 1958). Additionally assigned to ink stories in Atlas' emerging

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

and giant-monster comics, Colletta entered what fans and historians call "

pre-superhero Marvel Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic book, comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and mass market paperback, paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a ...

" with three Baker-penciled stories: "The Green Fog" in ''Journey into Mystery'' #50 (Jan. 1959), "I Fell to the Center of the Earth" in ''

Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series and a One-shot (comics), one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a science-fic ...

'' #2 (March 1959), and "The Brain Picker" in ''

World of Fantasy ''World of Fantasy'' was a science fiction/fantasy comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor company, Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics. Lasting from 1956 to 1959, it included the work of several notable comics a ...

'' #17 (April 1959). Historians pinpoint Colletta's first inking of Jack Kirby's pencils as either the cover of '' Kid Colt: Outlaw'' #100 (Sept. 1961) or (with Colletta's credit confirmed), the cover of ''Love Romances'' #98 (March 1962). Members of artist

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

's studio were among those who assisted or ghosted on Colletta's mid-1960s Charlton stories.Wally Wood Studio
at Bails, Ware
Archived
from the original on April 8, 2014. Artists who assisted or ghosted through Colletta's own studio included Maurice Whitman in 1964,

Hy Eisman Hy Eisman (born March 27, 1927) is an American cartoonist. Comic Strips He entered the comic strip field in 1950 and worked on several strips, including ''Kerry Drake'', ''Little Iodine'' and ''Bunny''. In comic books he was the last artist d ...

from 1960 to 1964, and at various times

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Early li ...

, and

Joe Sinnott Joseph Leonard Sinnott (; October 16, 1926 June 25, 2020) was an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four'', from 1965 to 1981 (and briefly in the la ...

,Colletta Studio
at Bails, Ware
Archived
from the original on April 8, 2014. as well as

Kyle Baker Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series ''Plastic Man''. Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his wor ...

.Bryant, p. 106

Marvel Comics

As an

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

for Marvel in the 1960s, Colletta worked on nearly every title, including some of the earliest issues of '' Daredevil''. He inked Kirby's ''

'' #40–43, as well as ''Fantastic Four Annual'' #3, featuring the wedding of

Reed Richards Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and ...

and Susan Storm and guest-starring virtually all the major Marvel Comics characters of the time. Colletta began his six-year run on Kirby's "The Mighty Thor" feature with the "Tales of Asgard" backup in ''Journey into Mystery'' #106 (July 1964). Colletta graduated to the lead feature with #116 (May 1965). He continued through the book's retitling to ''The Mighty Thor'' with #126 (March 1966), and — except for one issue (#143) — inked it through #167 (Aug. 1969), picking up again from #176 (May 1970) to Kirby's final issue, #179 (Aug. 1970), inking

John Buscema John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

in #178. Colletta also inked ''Journey into Mystery Annual'' #1 (1965), which introduced

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

to the

Marvel universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

, and ''The Mighty Thor King-Size Annual'' #2. Historians and critics consider Colletta's Thor work to be his creative highlight. Historian Nick Simon said, "For me, the Kirby/Colletta version of Thor is the definitive one." Author and

Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an int ...

historian Pierre Comtois wrote that, Colletta would also pencil stories in many 1960s issues of

' ''Teen-Age Love'' and ''First Kiss'' (at least some of which has been credited in reprints as by "Vince Colletta Studio"). He occasionally inked romance stories penciled by

, and other pencilers on such titles as Charlton's ''Gunmaster'', and

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

' ''Guerrilla War'', '' Jungle War Stories'', and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series ''Idaho''.

DC Comics

In 1970, Colletta — who had been freelancing for

since 1968 on the romance titles ''Falling In Love'', ''Girls' Love Stories'', ''Secret Hearts'' and ''Young Romance'' — stepped up his inking for the company following

's move there from

. Colletta inked Kirby's two black-and-white

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

one-shots, ''In the Days of the Mob'' and ''Spirit World'' (both Oct. 1971), and the initial issues of Kirby’s ''

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it co ...

'' and " Fourth World" titles: '' The Forever People'', ''

Mister Miracle Mister Miracle (Scott Free) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Mister Miracle'' #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby. Publication history Mister Miracle debuted in ...

'' and ''

The New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

''. While Colletta's rates were good and he brought "an innocent Marvel Age look to Jack's new heroes", he was prone to "erasing background characters" and transforming " stling crowd scenes ntoeasier silhouettes".Ro, Ronin. ''Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution'' (Bloomsbury, 2004) Kirby confidante

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and bl ...

and inker

eventually convinced a reluctant Kirby to ask DC Publisher

Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creat ...

to remove Colletta from inking Kirby's titles. He was replaced by inker

Mike Royer Michael W. Royer (; born June 28, 1941) is an American comics artist and inker, best known for his work with pencilers Russ Manning and Jack Kirby. In later life Royer became a freelance product designer and character artist for The Walt Disney C ...

, causing some fans to write to DC in complaint, denouncing Kirby for "abandoning the Marvel-style look". Colletta's frequent assistant Art Cappello did much of the background inking on these comics. Vincent Colletta Portrait

Colletta went on to ink a large array at DC, including a variety of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

and

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

titles; the TV tie-in series ''

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

'' and ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...

''; and nearly every issue of ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' from #206 (July 1973) to #270 (Aug. 1980), over

pencilers A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

including

Don Heck Donald L. HeckDonald L. Heck
at the Social Security Death Index. Retrieved on Septembe ...

Dick Dillin Richard Allen Dillin (December 17, 1928 – March 1, 1980)Richard Dillin
at the United States

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

José Delbo José Delbo (born December 9, 1933) is an Argentine comics artist. He is best known for his work on ''Wonder Woman'' for DC Comics and '' The Transformers'' for Marvel Comics. Career José Delbo became a professional comics artist at the age of 1 ...

and Michael Netzer (Nasser). He was named DC's

in May 1976, resigning the post in May 1979. His time there included discovering future industry star

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on Daredevil (Marvel Comics ser ...

. As one-time Marvel editor-in-chief

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...

described, Miller had broken in with "a small job from

Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...

, I think. Thus emboldened, he went to DC, and after getting savaged by

Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, ...

, got in to see art director Vinnie Colletta, who recognized talent and arranged for him to get a one-page war-comic job". Before and after his tenure, Colletta continued to do a small amount of inking for Marvel, as well as for

Skywald Publications Skywald Publications was an American publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies ''Nightmare'', ''Psycho'', and ''Scream''. It also published a small line of comic books and other genre magazines. Skywald's or ...

' black-and-white horror magazine ''Psycho''. Well into the 1980s, Colletta continued to ink a wide assortment of comics for both DC and Marvel. His last known credit is a Marvel

humor Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

one-shot, ''Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe'' (July 1989). In late 1987 after editor-in-chief

was fired from Marvel, Colletta sent Marvel a scathing, profanity-laced letter highly critical of the company's action, which became widely circulated.

Analysis

Colletta was regarded as one of the American comics industry's fastest inkers and a reliable professional to call upon when a comic was in danger of missing a printing deadline. He nonetheless has been criticized by a range of fellow professionals and comic historians for erasing various details in a penciler's work, both in order to lessen the inking burden and to help meet time constraints during an industry era when printers charged then-prohibitive thousands of dollars for missed deadlines, which resulted in idle presses. As comics artist

told author Marc Flores, who writes under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Ronin Ro, "When I penciled the romance stories, I used to tell myself, Vince wrecked what I did. ... He would eliminate people from the strip and use silhouettes, everything to cut corners and make the work easier for himself." Writer

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ( ...

told an interviewer what he enjoyed most about working on ''

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...

'' was, "Getting to work with the wonderful

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the Social Security Death Index via Fami ...

, before Vinnie Colletta got his hands on the pencils and ruined them". Colletta was reassigned from inking ''

The Tomb of Dracula ''The Tomb of Dracula'' is an American horror comic book series published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. The 70-issue series featured a group of vampire hunters who fought Count Dracula and other supernatural menaces. On rare ...

'' when publisher

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

determined Colletta had taken unacceptable shortcuts on issue #9.

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

, penciler on the series (and on several earlier projects inked by Colletta), remarked many years later that "when he wanted to he could do very good work, but he didn't take his time with my stuff." Jack Kirby partisans are particularly vocal.

said, "In 1970 when Steve Sherman and I met

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

, he asked us about the new Kirby books that were then about to debut at DC. When we told him Colletta was handling the inking, he winced and said that he would probably not look at the comics. Back when he was working for Marvel, Ditko said he'd pick up the latest issues in the office and always check the credits before taking the comics home. If he found Colletta's name — especially as Kirby's embellisher — he would make a point of putting the comic back, or even in a wastebasket. And he'd make sure Stan eesaw what he was doing and knew the reason why." Conversely, Colletta's admirers point to the speed with which Colletta was often required to work, and the results he could produce when given time. Critic Tony Seybert wrote that "for tales set in the distant past of myth and legend, Colletta's soft delicate inks evoke the vapors of ancient times nd arejust as effective on

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

ian crags as on the sylvan glades of Olympus. The Kirby/Colletta

is a mighty blond deity with a hint of Norse faerie-dust.

is a roughly hewn sculpture, almost incomplete, like one of the unfinished prisoners of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

." Colletta himself described his methods as a necessity of the industry. When asked to describe his philosophy of inking, he said, "Well, first of all, some inkers like to pick and choose... and they'll take their time, no matter what the deadline is, even if the editor is in a jam, or a colorist is waiting for pages to come in so they can earn a living, too. I can't be that way."Colletta interview with Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, "Bullpen Bulletins", Marvel Comics

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d May 1983, including ''The New Mutants'' #3 (May 1983).

Personal life

By the early 1950s, Colletta was married to his wife, Viola. The couple had a son, Franklin. Circa 1962, the family began living at 3 Old Woods Road, in

Saddle River, New Jersey Saddle River is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located just over northwest of Manhattan. The town is known for its natural fields, farmland, forests, and rivers, and has a bucolic atmos ...

.Bryant, p. 17 Some time after having recovered from a heart attack, Colletta was diagnosed with cancer; three weeks later, on June 3, 1991, aged 67, he died at Pascack Valley Hospital in

Westwood, New Jersey Westwood (known as "The Hub of the Pascack Valley") is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 10,908,The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...

'', erroneously stated he died at age 65 and in "late June", and claimed the cause was heart disease.

Awards

Colletta was posthumously awarded the

Inkwell Awards The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is a trophy given in the field of inking in American comic books. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community, and after the pe ...

Special Recognition Award in 2016. His son, Frankie, extended his thanks on the awards' official site.Inkwell Awards 2016 Winners
/ref>

References

External links

at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

Archived
October 18, 2011.

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators * * * Evanier, Mark
"POV Online"
(column), March 19, 2003 * Larsen, Erik
"One Fan's Opinion"
(column), ''

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'', May 9, 2008 * * Archive of McQuarrie, Jim, , "Oddball Comics" (column) #1156, May 14, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Colletta, Vince 1923 births 1991 deaths American comics artists Italian emigrants to the United States Artists from the Province of Palermo People from Saddle River, New Jersey Silver Age comics creators DC Comics people Marvel Comics people