The word that leaps to mind when I think of Jim Aparo is "craftsman". He was a guy who made comics, he drew them, inked them, and lettered them giving his best work a distinctive and powerful refined effect. Some artists are helped mightily by talented inkers, but to my mind Aparo never was, despite the skills of some of the guys who worked over his pencils. No one did "Aparo" better than the man himself. Like so many of my favorites, I first encountered Jim Aparo's work at Charlton on The Phantom and inside various mystery and sci-fi comics like Strange Suspense Stories and Ghostly Tales. Later I'd discover he did humor and romance as well -- he did it all. Aparo was one of the talents from Charlton who followed editor Dick Giordano to DC where he drew Aquaman and then after a time The Brave and the Bold starring Batman. Aparo went on to become one of the signature Bat-artists drawing a Bat was just scary enough but also heroic enough to be worthy of admiration. Perhaps the title which showcased the dramatic power of Aparo more than any other was the short-lived tenure of The Spectre in Adventure Comics. Aparo drew a Spectre who had not been seen at DC for some time, a powerful and lethal ghost who attacked evil with a terrible and sometimes terrifying sardonic wit. Called "The Wrath of the Spectre", Aparo and writer Michael Fliesher gave us an avenging spirit like few others. Aparo hit his marks month in and month out, year in and year out, being an artist who was so good all the time that his talents were often overlooked or taken for granted. He was given a little love when Batman left his team-up magazine and hooked up with a fledgling gang called The Outsiders. He was in many ways an artist's artist and one I admire still.
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Jim Aparo always drew a cool Batman; for me, Aparo is a real stand-out talent in terms of comic book art during the early Bronze Age.
ReplyDeleteAparo did it all and was good at it too. His stuff for Charlton remains my favorite Aparo.
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A must buy comic for me was Aparos Brave and the Bold. I always looked forward to seeing his interpretation of the DC characters, of course he drew every character perfectly.And his run on the Spectre was also a gem.
ReplyDeleteAparo's B&B universe was so specific, a perfect match for the bizzaro stories of Bob Haney.
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To me, Jim Aparo is synonymous with Curt Swan. Both were workhorses who churned out mountains of material that was never less than fantastic... and I didn't appreciate either of them back in the day like I should have.
ReplyDeleteI first saw his art in Detective Comics and I loved his Batman. I ranked him just behind Adams at that point. However, the Spectre series just blew me away, so after that I even picked up his B&B work. Also enjoyed his stint as a cover artist, too. Like you said, Rip, he was never better than when he inked his own pencils.
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