Jim Aparo
Jim Aparo byMichael Netzer
Born	James N. Aparo (1932-08-24)August 24, 1932 New Britain, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	July 19, 2005(2005-07-19) (aged 72) Southington, Connecticut, U.S.
Area	Penciller,Inker,Letterer
Notable works	Adventure Comics (Spectre) Aquaman The Brave and the Bold Detective Comics The Untold Legend of the Batman
Awards	TheShazam Award in 1972 TheInkpot Award in 1993 Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2019

James N. Aparo (/əˈpæroʊ/;^[1] August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005)^[2] was an Americancomic book artist, best known for hisDC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the charactersBatman,Aquaman, and theSpectre, along with famous stories such as "A Death in the Family" and "KnightFall".

Jim Aparo was born on August 24, 1932, Aparo was raised inNew Britain, Connecticut,^[3] Aparo took art classes atNew Britain High School and while also taking courses at Hartford Art School.^[4] Aparo was primarily self-taught by studying and copying comic books. Growing up and taking inspiration from characters such as Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel. Aparo was influenced by artists such asAlex Raymond andMilton Caniff.^[5] Aparo started his comic career later than most artists around the time working in advertising first while sending his art to various comic book publishers.^[4] On a summer vacation in Charlton, Aparo metDick Giordano (the future executive editor ofDC Comics) who saw potential in his work.

He attempted to enter the comic book profession in his early 20s, approachingEC Comics, which declined to hire him. He then worked in the advertising industry in Connecticut, often drawing fashion illustrations for newspaper advertisements. He continued to pursue a career in comic books and comic strips while working in advertising.^[6]

His first break in the comics field was with the comic stripStern Wheeler, written by Ralph Kanna, which was published in 1963 in aHartford, Connecticut, newspaper for less than a year.^[7] In 1966, editorDick Giordano atCharlton Comics hired him as a comic book artist, where his first assignment was a humorous character called "Miss Bikini Luv" in "Go-Go Comics."^[8]

Over the next few years at Charlton, Aparo drew stories in many genres—Westerns, science fiction, romance, horror, mystery, and suspense. Most of his work was for standalone stories in anthology titles, but he also drew the historical-adventure feature "Thane of Bagarth" in the comic bookHercules; the superheroine feature "Nightshade" inCaptain Atom; the science fiction/Western/comedy backup "Wander" inCheyenne Kid; and the comic book adaptation of thecomic stripThe Phantom.^[9]

Aparo was paid $15 to $20 per page at his time at Charlton Comics.^[5]

Aparo was one of the few artists in mainstream comics at that time to serve aspenciller,inker, andletterer for all of his work.^[6]

In the late 1960s,Dick Giordano left Charlton for an editorial position atDC Comics and offered Aparo a job drawing theAquaman comic book. After an initial issue (#40) for which Aparo provided only pencil art, Aparo resumed producing pencils, inks, and letters for most issues of the series until its cancellation. Aparo continued for a time to provide art to Charlton forThe Phantom, alternating between the two series month by month as both series were being released on a bimonthly basis at the time.^[6]

Eventually Aparo resigned his assignment onThe Phantom and worked almost exclusively for the remainder of his career for DC Comics. Aparo's next series assignment at DC wasPhantom Stranger. After Aquaman was cancelled, the bimonthly frequency ofPhantom Stranger was insufficient to fill his typical production rate of one page per day, so DC assigned him several short jobs such as mystery stories forHouse of Mystery andHouse of Secrets.^[10]

In 1971, Aparo was assigned a fill-in job as the artist forThe Brave and the Bold #98 (Oct.–Nov. 1971). This series routinely featuredteam-ups of DC'sBatman with other characters, in this case, the Phantom Stranger. As the regular artist on the Phantom Stranger's own series, Aparo was considered an appropriate choice.^[6]Murray Boltinoff, the editor ofThe Brave and the Bold, soon assigned Aparo the regular artistic responsibilities for the series (beginning with #100), which he continued until its cancellation with issue #200, missing only a few issues. Aparo even "co-starred" as himself inThe Brave and the Bold #124 (January 1976).^[11][12]

During the more than 10 years as the artist forThe Brave and the Bold, its bimonthly frequency permitted Aparo to do many other significant works for DC (it became monthly in Nov. 1978). In addition to numerous covers, he served as the regular artist for a notorious series starring a ruthless avenging ghost called theSpectre, which ran inAdventure Comics,^[13] and which in 2005 was collected in a trade paperback edition (ISBN 978-1-4012-0474-7). He also provided art for a revival of Aquaman in bothAdventure Comics and a continuation of the previously-cancelledAquaman. He was assigned the solo Batman series inDetective Comics as of issue #437 (Oct.–Nov. 1973)^[14] for a rather short time and drew occasional stories for anthology series.^[10] Aparo and writerLen Wein introducedSterling Silversmith inDetective Comics #446 (April 1975).^[15] He drewThe Untold Legend of the Batman, the first Batmanminiseries, in 1980, inkingJohn Byrne's pencils in the first issue and providing full art for the second and third issues.^[16] Aparo was one of the artists on the double-sizedJustice League of America #200 (March 1982).^[17]

WhenThe Brave and the Bold was cancelled in 1983, it was replaced with a series calledBatman and the Outsiders,^[18] a superhero team led by Batman. This series, which Aparo co-created with writerMike W. Barr, would be described by DC Comics writer and executivePaul Levitz as being "a team series more fashionable to 1980s audiences."^[19] TheMasters of Disaster were among the supervillains created by Barr and Aparo for the series.^[20] It would run for several years, continuing with a Baxter paper spinoff titledThe Outsiders^[21] that did not include Batman and introducedLooker.^[22] For the final few issues, DC began to request that Aparo provide only pencils, and a long and nearly unbroken string of Aparo inking and lettering his own work came mostly to an end.

Aparo's next major work consisted of pencils forBatman andDetective Comics, where his art was almost always inked byMike DeCarlo. Aparo returned to theBatman title with issue #414 (Dec. 1987) in collaboration with writerJim Starlin. One of their first storylines for the title was "Ten Nights of The Beast"^[23] in issues #417–420 (March–June 1988) which introduced theKGBeast. Perhaps the most notable product of this period remains "A Death in the Family"^[24] (Batman #426–429, 1988–1989), depicting the death ofJason Todd (Robin). The "A Lonely Place of Dying" storyline crossed over withTheNew Titans title and introducedTim Drake as the newRobin.^[25] Aparo continued to draw Batman stories inDetective andBatman until the early 1990s. During this time, he was the regular artist onBatman whenBane broke Bruce Wayne's back during the "KnightFall" storyline.^[26] In 1992, Aparo returned to do pencils, inks, and lettering for his Batman stories, but was soon returned to contributing only pencil art.

Also that year, Aparo was given his last regular series assignment for DC as pencil artist forGreen Arrow issues #81–100. He and writerKelley Puckett co-createdConnor Hawke, the son ofGreen Arrow.^[27] Following that assignment, Aparo's work appeared infrequently, when Aparo was mostly assigned occasional Batman-related stories and covers in miniseries and specials. His published work in the late 1990s and early 2000s include aBatman Annual inked by formerMarvel Comics mainstaySal Buscema, aG.C.P.D. miniseries, aSpeed Force Special featuring theFlash, an issue of aDeadman miniseries that revisited his "Death in the Family" story, and a single page ofGreen Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame written byNeil Gaiman in which he had a final opportunity to draw thePhantom Stranger for publication.^[10]

His final work for DC during his life was the cover of the trade paperbackBatman in the Eighties, published in 2004. In 2006, previously-unpublished Aparo art depicting the unused, alternate ending of the storyline "A Death in the Family," in which the Jason Todd Robin lives instead of dies, appeared inBatman Annual #25.^[28]

Aparo died on July 19, 2005, at his home inSouthington, Connecticut.^[3] At least one report attributed the cause of death to "a long battle with cancer",^[29] but his family's formal announcement said his death came from "complications relating to a recent illness".^[30] DC Comics ran an Aparo "In Memoriam" page inBatman #644 (Oct. 2005) andDetective Comics #811 (Nov. 2005).

Aparo was inducted into theWill Eisner Hall of Fame in 2019^[31]and received theShazam Award for "Best Individual Short Story (Dramatic)" in 1972 for "The Demon Within" inHouse of Mystery #201 withJohn Albano.^[32] He received theInkpot Award in 1993.^[33]

Comics work (interior pencil art) includes:

• Captain America #616 (2011) (Captain America Sketch from 1999)

• Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo
  • Vol. 1 collectsThe Brave and the Bold #98, 100–102, 104–122. 512 pages, April 2012,ISBN 978-1-4012-3375-4
  • Vol. 2 collectsThe Brave and the Bold #123–145 and 147–151,Detective Comics #437–438. 528 pages, October 2013,ISBN 978-1-4012-4296-1
  • Vol. 3 collectsThe Brave and the Bold #152, 154–155, 157–162, 168–179, 173–178, 180–182,Detective Comics #444–446, 448, 468–470,Batman Family #17, and various covers from those titles. 520 pages, August 2017ISBN 978-1-4012-7161-9
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold—The Bronze Age Omnibus
  • Vol. 1 collectsThe Brave and the Bold #74–106. 904 pages, January 2017,ISBN 978-1-4012-6718-6
  • Vol. 2 collectsThe Brave and the Bold #110–156. 776 pages, September 2018,ISBN 978-1-4012-8167-0
  • Vol. 3 collectsThe Brave and the Bold #157–200. 904 pages, (publication date September 2021)ISBN 978-1-4012-9282-9
• Batman and the Outsiders
  • Vol. 1 collectsThe Brave and the Bold #200,Batman and the Outsiders #1–13,New Teen Titans #37. 368 pages, February 2017,ISBN 978-1-4012-6812-1
  • Vol. 2 collectsBatman and the Outsiders Annual #1,Batman and the Outsiders #14–23. 312 pages, February 2018,ISBN 978-1-4012-7753-6
• Jim Aparo's Complete The Phantom
  • CollectsThe Phantom #31–34, #36–38. Also, essays on Jim Aparo with original art. 192 pages, January 2017,ISBN 978-1-61345-110-6
• Aquaman: a Celebration of 75 Years
  • collectsAdventure Comics #120, 174, 220, 260, 266, 269, 444, 452, and 475,Aquaman (vol. 1) #1, 18, 40,Aquaman (vol. 2) #3,Aquaman (vol. 3) #2, 34,Aquaman (vol. 4) #4, 17,Aquaman (vol. 5) #1, 43. 400 pages, October 2016,ISBN 978-1-4012-6446-8
• Aquaman: Death of A Prince
  • collectsAdventure Comics #435–437, #441–455,Aquaman #57–63. 336 pages, July 2011,ISBN 978-1-4012-3113-2 with a reprint deluxe hardcover edition published February 2020ISBN 978-1-77950-095-3
• Aquaman: The Search for Mera
  • collectsAquaman #40–48. 216 pages, November 2018,ISBN 978-1-4012-8522-7
• Aquaman: The Deadly Waters
  • collectsAquaman #49–56. 208 pages, August 2020,ISBN 978-1-77950-294-0
• Wrath of the Spectre
  • collectsAdventure Comics #431–440,Wrath of the Spectre #1–4. 200 pages, June 2005,ISBN 978-1-4012-0474-7
• Deadman Book Four
  • collectsDC Special Series #8,Adventure Comics #459–466,DC Comics Presents #24. 168 pages, January 2014,ISBN 978-1-4012-4324-1
• DC Universe by Len Wein
  • collectsPhantom Stranger #20–24 (Aparo),Action Comics,DC Comics Presents and more. 384 pages, February 2019ISBN 978-1-4012-8787-0
• The Joker The Bronze Age Omnibus
  • collectsThe Joker #1–10,Batman 251, 260, 286, 291–294, 321, 353, 365–366, and 400,The Brave and the Bold 111, 118, 129–130, 141, and 191,Detective Comics 475–476, 504, 526, and 532,Wonder Woman 280–283,DC Comics Presents 41 and 72, and more. Jim Aparo's art appears on 11 of the issues included, fully one fourth of the content, and his interior art is featured in all ofThe Brave and the Bold issues included. Furthermore, Aparo's rendition of the Joker is embossed in raised features on the back of the hardcover book. 832 pages, August 2019ISBN 978-1-4012-9340-6
• The Spectre: The Wrath of the Spectre Omnibus
  • collectsShowcase #60, 61, 64,The Brave & the Bold 72, 75, 116, 180, and 199,The Spectre 1–10,Adventure Comics 431–440,DC Comics Presents 29,Wrath of the Spectre #4, andGhosts 97–99. Jim Aparo did all of the art in 7 of the 10Adventure Comics issues, and 2 ofThe Brave and the Bold issues. He also inked the remainingAdventure Comics, and penciled 40 pages of art for the 1988Wrath of the Spectre special editions, and illustrated the cover forThe Brave and the Bold #199—which means his art is more than one third of the content of the omnibus. In addition, Aparo's art is used for both the cover of the book, and the dustjacket, including the jacket flaps. 680 pages, September 2020ISBN 978-1-77950-293-3
• Deadman Omnibus
  • collectsStrange Adventures 205–216,The Brave & the Bold 79, 86, 104, and 133,Aquaman 50–52,Challengers of the Unknown 74, 84–87,Justice League of America 94,World's finest 223 and 227,The Phantom Stranger 33, 39–41Superman Family 183,DC Superstars 18,DC Comics Presents 24,Adventure Comics 459–466,Detective Comics 500,Secret Origins 15,Deadman 1–4 (1986). Jim Aparo did interior art for six issues in the omnibus, and cover art for 10 other issues. 944 pages, December 2020ISBN 978-1-77950-488-3
• The Phantom Stranger Omnibus
  • collectsThe Phantom Stranger 1–6 (1952),The Phantom Stranger 1–41 (1969),The Saga of the Swamp Thing 1–13,Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe 18,The Brave and the Bold 89, 98, 145,Showcase 80,Justice League of America 103,House of Secrets 150,DC Superstars 18,Secret Origins 10, andDC Comics Presents 25 and 72. 680 pages, May 2022ISBN 978-1-77950-603-0

• Jim Aparo at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
• "DC Profile #76: Jim Aparo" at the Grand Comics Database
• Jim Aparo at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

• 1932 births
• 2005 deaths
• 20th-century American artists
• American advertising artists and illustrators
• American comics artists
• Artists from Connecticut
• DC Comics people
• Inkpot Award winners
• People from Southington, Connecticut
• Silver Age comics creators

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