| Todd Klein | |
|---|---|
 Todd Klein in 2009 | |
| Born | (1951-01-28)January 28, 1951 (age 74) New Jersey |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer,Letterer |
Notable works | Sandman The Omega Men |
| Awards | Eisner Award, 1993–1995, 1997–2008, 2019 Harvey Award, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 |
| http://kleinletters.com | |
Todd Klein (born January 28, 1951)[1] is an Americancomic bookletterer,logodesigner, and occasional writer, primarily forDC Comics.
Todd Klein broke into comics in the summer of 1977, hired byDC Comics as a staff production worker. This job entailed pasting together text pages (such asletter columns), putting logos, display lettering, and type on covers, and doing art and lettering corrections on comics pages. Other staffers includedcoloristsBob LeRose and Anthony Tollin, writerBob Rozakis,inker Steve Mitchell, and lettererJohn Workman. Over the next months and years, Klein tried his hand at all those things, but found lettering suited him best. Workman helped Klein get started with the basic tools and techniques, and Klein studied the work ofGaspar Saladino, Workman,Ben Oda, andJohn Costanza; as well asMarvel Comics letterersTom Orzechowski,Jim Novak, andJoe Rosen. Klein landed his first freelance lettering job in the fall of 1977, and by late 1977 was entrusted with an entire issue:Firestorm #1.[2]
In the 1980s, Klein mainly worked for DC, where in addition to lettering many of their titles, he also designed logos and title headers for various letter pages. As DC emerged from a late 1970s/early 1980s slump, new opportunities opened up for freelancers. Klein got more work as a letterer (and also a fair amount as a writer), keeping him very busy. Books he worked on during this period includedAlan Moore'sSwamp Thing,Batman: Year One, andDetective Comics; as well as his own scripts forOmega Men. As a freelancer, Klein also performed production work on such works as Moore andDave Gibbons'Watchmen,Frank Miller'sRonin, andBatman: The Dark Knight Returns.[2]
In the 1990s, despite being a freelancer, Klein worked for long periods on a number of comics titles, including the entire runs ofSuicide Squad (1987–1992),Sandman (1989–1996),The Spectre (1992–1998),The Dreaming (1996–2001), andThe Invisibles (1997–2000) for DC/Vertigo; andDeathblow (1994–1996) forImage Comics). He also has long stints on DC'sBatman (1990–1992 and 1996–1999);The Demon (1990–1994);Shade, the Changing Man (1990–1994); andBatman: Shadow of the Bat (1992–1994); as well as Marvel'sCaptain America (1998–2002) andEarth X (1999–2000).
In the 2000s, Klein lettered all the Alan MooreAmerica's Best Comics titles, includingPromethea,Tom Strong, andTop 10. He also lettered the entire runs of Marvel'sUniverse X (2000–2001); DC/Vertigo'sFables (2002–2015),Books of Magick: Life During Wartime (2005–2006),Justice (2005–2007),Jack of Fables (2006–2011), andSimon Dark (2007–2009). Klein has also spent long periods on DC'sDetective Comics (2000–2003);Wonder Woman (2003–2006) and Vertigo'sTestament (2006–2008).
Klein is most known for his work onNeil Gaiman'sSandman, where he developed very distinctive dialogue balloons and lettering for various characters, especiallyDream and his siblings.[3] Klein discussed the process by which he came up with these distinctive styles on his website: "Each of them needed some sort of special lettering style, . . .to show that they are all equals in their iconic power.Destiny's speech was simply italic (really just slanted) [...] Neil had a specific idea aboutDelirium's style, that it represent a sort of mad variety, getting louder and softer, like something going in and out of focus. This was fun to do in small amounts, but tedious in large ones.Despair just had a rough balloon edge to denote a ragged, rough voice. (Destruction, when we finally met him, had an extra bold border to denote a loud, booming voice.)"[4]
To read about Klein's technique one need look no further thanThe DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics, published byWatson-Guptill Publications. In this guide, Klein gives a thorough review of how he mentally approaches a page and then goes about doing the actual lettering, either by hand (pen and ink), or by use of the computer (Adobe Illustrator).
Klein saw the growing prevalence of computerized lettering in the early 1990s and quickly realized it was the wave of the future. He had metComicraft ownersRichard Starkings and John Gaushell at the 1993San Diego Comic-Con, and in 1994, he asked them to help him get started with computer lettering by creating a few fonts based on Klein's hand lettering. Klein bought his firstMacintosh computer in late 1994 and started learning how to make fonts himself. Since 1995, Klein has created a library of over 100 of his own fonts.[5]
The first book that Klein fully computer lettered was Image Comics'Deathblow #20.[5]
Klein began creating logos for DC when he started there in 1977. Most of his logos were for DC until he became a full-time freelancer in 1987, when he began creating logos for other companies as well.[6] Some of the notable logos he created during the period 1977–1995 include theBatman logo used for theBatman: Year One storyline,The New Teen Titans (including character logos for team membersNightwing,Starfire,Raven,Cyborg,Changeling, andJericho),Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld,Camelot 3000,Doctor Strange,The Amazing Spider-Man, andMagneto.[6]
From 1995 to the present, most of Klein's logos have been done on the computer (although many began as hand-drawn sketches that were scanned and traced in Adobe Illustrator).[7] Notable logos from this period includeChallengers of the Unknown,Silver Surfer,Legionnaires,Iron Man, theLegion of Super-Heroes,[7]The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck,Albion,Witchblade,Terra Obscura, andTom Strong.
In addition to being the main writer forThe Omega Men from May 1985 to May 1986 (issue #s 26–38), Klein also penned a number of entries about the Omega Men and theGreen Lantern Corps forWho's Who in the DC Universe, as well as its '87 update. In addition, from 1978 to 1988, Klein wrote a number of (mostly) short pieces for other DC titles:
Many of DC's lettercol headers were designed or redesigned in the 1980s by Klein.:[8]
|
|
In the 1990s, Klein designed or redesigned a number of Marvel's letter column headers:[8]
As of 2023[update], Klein has won 18 "Best Letterer/Lettering"Eisner Awards that have been given out since the category was established in 1993. He has won the Best LettererHarvey Award nine times, the first time in 1992 and the most recent one in 2013.
