If you were to ask any comic book fan who their favorite comic book artists are, you’re going to be faced with a whirlwind of various names such as Dave Gibbons or John Romita Jr. However, if you ask them who the most influential artist is, the answer will surely be Joe Kubert.
Joe Kubert was born on September 18, 1926 in Yzeran, Poland to Jewish parents. Shortly after he was born, the Kubert family immigrated to the United States and settled in an East New York neighborhood in Brooklyn. Throughout his childhood, Kubert discovered his passion for drawing and would spend hours absorbed in his hobby and refining his signature artistic style. By his early teens, Kubert’s career as a comic illustrator was beginning to take shape.
On the advise of a friend, Kubert was encouraged to visit the Manhattan based comic publisher, MLJ Publications; currently known to many comic enthusiasts as Archie Comics. Impressed with his talents and dedication to the craft, many of the resident artists started allowing Kubert to ink some of their finished pencil drawings. Among these illustrators was Bob Montana, the artist for the ‘Archie’ series of comics.
After working for MLJ Publications, Kubert attended the High School of Music and Art, but still took the time to visit various comic book publishers seeking pencilers or inkers. Many of the publishers he illustrated for are now defunct due to changing popularity in comics or having been bought out by larger publishers. Regardless of these facts, they laid the groundwork for Kubert to build his career upon which would soon lead to job offers from many high-profile publishers.
Kubert’s career truly began to take off during what many would call the Silver Age of Comics - a span of time ranging from the 1950s to 1970s. Kubert was hired by DC Comics, or rather, the publishers that would soon become DC Comics, to fully illustrate their comics as opposed to simply inking material that the original artist was unable to finish. One of his greatest achievements was illustrating the comic series featuring the hero ‘Hawkman’ - at the time owned by Flash Comics which also created the high speed hero, ‘Flash.’
Kubert did not limit himself to illustrating solely for super-hero oriented comics, but war themed publications as well. He, alongside writer Robert Kanigher, created the World War II era military hero ‘Sgt. Rock’ whose story was told in the ‘Our Army at War’ series. The character has become iconic among fans and was even featured in some of DC Comics’ animated television shows. Also during this time, Kubert collaborated with writer Norman Maurer to create ‘Tor’, the story of a prehistoric man living in a savage world of dinosaurs and other dangers. It was a prominent feature in the comic series ‘1,000,000 Years Ago’ which spanned from one comic publisher to the next.
During the 1970s, Kubert made himself a legend among the comic book community when he founded the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1976. Located in Dover, New Jersey, the school has taught many students the art of comic illustration with some alumni currently working for publishers including Marvel and Dark Horse comics.
In 1997, Kubert was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame and then the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1998 (both of which are very prestigious awards).
Now at the age of 83, Kubert shows no signs of slowing down. Currently, he is the illustrator for the magazine ‘P.S. Monthly’; a magazine aimed at the men and women in the service of the U.S. military. His two sons, Adam and Andy Kubert follow in their father’s footsteps and have went on to illustrate for super-hero comics featuring The Incredible Hulk and Batman.
Joe Kubert is truly a legend in comic books and is held in the same regard as illustrators like Jack Kirby or Don Heck. Even in the years to come, his name will still be synonymous with comics and future artists will strive to reach the same levels of excellence.