Today in Comics History, February 18: Happy birthday, Joe Maneely!

Born on this date in 1926: Joe Maneely, the comics artist who co-created the Black Knight, the Ringo Kid, the Yellow Claw, and Jimmy Woo. He worked on many Timely and Atlas titles until his untimely death in 1958.

Stan Lee's autographical graphic novel and Tom Scioli's GN biography of Jack Kirby both spotlight Joe:



from Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir (Simon & Schuster, January 2019), script by Peter David and Stan Lee, art by Colleen Doran





from Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (Ten Speed, July 2020), script and art by Tom Scioli
Honestly, it's specifically the death of Joe Maneely that has convinced me I will never cross between cars on the New York Subway, and I think about him every time I see someone do it.

Let's look at a couple of less-sad appearances of Joe Maneely in comics. Here's a self-portrayal as one of a squadron of Navy gobs during WWII, also including Stan Lee, George Ward, and John Severin.


cover of Navy Combat #19 (Marvel/Atlas, August 1958), pencils and inks by Joe Maneely, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
The invaluable Grand Comicbook Database tells us that Joe drew a self-portrait of himself and his wife Betty Jean here among the passers-by. I'm not certain which ones they are, but I'm guessing they're the couple behind Dr. Lionel Abbot's left shoulder: Joe with a jaunty hat, Betty Jean in red with a gorgeous smile. Is that a dark green suit, Joe? Where'd you get that?


cover of Uncanny Tales #33 (Marvel/Atlas, July 1955), pencils and inks by Joe Maneely, colors by Stan Goldberg
I believe that had he lived, Joe Maneely would have become a major part of the Marvel Age that started in 1961, and almost certainly the co-creator of a lot of great Marvel characters as well. His absence from that era of comics can only remain a "what if?," but I'm convinced it would have been glorious. (Here's an excellent short article by Sean Kleefeld that has inspired me in this thinking.) Maneely would have been a great boon to Marvel's superheroes, as well as his self-inking which contributed not only to his distinct style but his speed. From Wikipedia:

Marvel artist Herb Trimpe said fellow artist Marie Severin, who had worked with Maneely at Atlas, had described "his pencils [as] almost nonexistent; they were like rough, lightly done layouts with no features on the faces... It was just like ovals and sticks and stuff, and he inked from that. He drew when he inked. That's when he did the work, in the inking!" Stan Lee confirmed that "Joe almost inked without penciling." Columnist and historian Fred Hembeck said, "While we may've heard of the pivotal day a young [John] Romita [Sr.] spent with the tragically doomed yet immensely talented artist Joe Maneely, listening to him describe it as one of the most important days of his entire life gives the familiar tale an added gravity".

This is one of the reasons I'm glad there's significant comics history and scholarship that points us to the greats of the bygone era before credits on comic books became an accepted and regular practice, and that now, creators of characters can be thanked for their work. (Now give them or their families royalities, ya cheapskates!)


end credits from WandaVision (Disney+, 2021), highlighting Joe Maneely's creation of Jimmy Woo
Happy birthday, Joe. We miss you and salute you.