Frank Giacoia

Infobox Comics creator

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imagesize = 150
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1924|07|06
location =
deathdate = February 4, 1988
deathplace =
nationality = American
area = Penciller, Inker
alias = Frank Ray, Phil Zupa, Espoia


notable works = "Captain America"
awards = Shazam Award, 1974

Frank Giacoia (July 6, 1924 - February 4, 1988) [Dates per [http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Social Security Death Index] ] is an American comic book artist known primarily as an inker. He sometimes worked under the name Frank Ray, and to a lesser extent Phil Zupa [ [http://povonline.com/iaq/IAQ05.htm Evanier, Mark. "An Incessantly Asked Question #5"] , POV Online (column), April 14, 2008). Retrieved July 28, 2008.] and the single moniker Espoia (the latter used for collaborations with fellow inker Mike Esposito).

Biography

Early life and career

Giacoia studied at Manhattan's School of Industrial Art (later the High School of Art and Design) and the Art Students League. He broke into comics by penciling the feature "Jack Frost" in "USA Comics" #3 (Jan. 1942), published by Marvel Comics' 1940s precursor, Timely Comics. His friend and collaborator Carmine Infantino, a classmate at the Art Students League, recalled that

Later in 1941, Giacoia joined the New York City comic-book packager Eisner & Iger,Fact|date=August 2007 the studio of Golden Age greats Will Eisner and Jerry Iger. His early works includes crime for Ace Comics, horror for Avon Comics,and a multitude of characters for National Publications (the primary company that evolve into DC Comics) including the Flash and Batman.

Other companies for which Giacoia did art during the 1940s and 1950s include Crestwood, Dell Comics, Eastern Color, Fawcett, Harvey Comics Lev Gleason Publications and Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics. For Timely's "USA Comics" #1 (Aug. 1941), he penciled the debut of the feature "Jack Frost", inked by friend and high-school classmate Carmine Infantino — the latter's first art for comics.

The Silver Age

During the 1960s Silver Age of comic books, Giacoia became best known as a Marvel Comics inker, particularly on Captain America stories penciled by the character's co-creator, industry legend Jack Kirby. One of the company's preeminent names, he worked on virtually every title at one time or another.

Giacoia also worked on the newspaper comic strip "The Amazing Spider-Man" (based on the same-name Marvel comic-book series) from 1978-1981, as well as on the strips "Flash Gordon", "The Incredible Hulk", "Johnny Reb and Billy Yank", "Sherlock Holmes" and "Thorne McBride".

Awards

He was recognized for his work in the comics field with a nomination for the Shazam Award for Best Inker (Dramatic Division) in 1974.

Quotes

The 20 Greatest Inkers of American Comic Books — #5 Frank Giacoia:

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.lambiek.net/giacoia_frank.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia: Frank Giacoia]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]
* [http://povonline.com/iaq/IAQ05.htm POV Online: Why did some artists working for Marvel in the sixties use phony names?]
* [http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/ Comic Book Awards Almanac]