Kubert was born September 18, 1926[7] to aJewish family inJezierzany in southeastPoland (now Ozeriany inUkraine).[8] He was the son of Etta (née Reisenberg) and Jacob Kubert.[9] He immigrated toBrooklyn, New York City, United States, at age two months with his parents and his two-and-a-half-year-old sister Ida. Raised in theEast New York neighborhood, the son of akosherbutcher,[10] Kubert started drawing at an early age, encouraged by his parents.[11]
In his introduction to hisgraphic novelYossel, Kubert wrote, "I got my first paying job as a cartoonist for comic books when I was eleven-and-a-half or twelve years old. Five dollars a page. In 1938, that was a lot of money".[11] Another source, utilizing quotes from Kubert, says in 1938, a school friend who was related toLouis Silberkleit, a principal of MLJ Studios (the futureArchie Comics), urged Kubert to visit the company, where he began an unofficial apprenticeship and at age 12 "was allowed to ink a rush job, the pencils ofBob Montana's [teen-humor feature]Archie".[12] Author David Hajdu, who interviewed Kubert and other comics professionals for a 2008 book, reported, however, that, "Kubert has told varying versions of the story of his introduction to the comics business at age ten, sometimes setting it at the comics shop run byHarry "A" Chesler, sometimes at MLJ; however, MLJ did not start operation until 1939, when Kubert was thirteen".[13]
Kubert attendedManhattan'sHigh School of Music and Art.[11] During this time he and classmateNorman Maurer, a future collaborator, would sometimes skip school in order to see publishers.[12] Kubert began honing his craft at the Chesler studio, one of the comic-book packagers that had sprung up in themedium's early days to supply outsourced comics to publishers.[14]
Kubert's first known professional job was penciling and inking the six-page story "Black-Out", starring the character Volton,[15] inHolyoke Publishing'sCatman Comics #8 (March 1942; also listed as vol. 2, #13). He would continue drawing the feature for the next three issues, and was soon doing similar work forFox Comics'Blue Beetle.[16] Branching into additional art skills, he begancoloring theQuality Comics reprints of future industry legendWill Eisner'sThe Spirit, a seven-page comics feature that originally ran as part of a newspaperSunday supplement.[17]
Kubert's first work forDC Comics, where he would spend much of his career and produce some of his most notable art. Throughout the decade, Kubert's art would appear in comics fromFiction House,Avon, andHarvey Comics, but he worked primarily for All-American and DC.[16] Kubert's long association with theHawkman character began with the story "A Hot Time in the Old Town" inThe Big All-American Comic Book (1944).[18] Kubert drew several Hawkman stories in that title as well as inAll Star Comics.[19] He andIrwin Hasen drew the debut of theInjustice Society inAll Star Comics #37 (Oct. 1947) in a tale written byRobert Kanigher.[20] The Kanigher/Kubert team created theThorn inFlash Comics #89 (Nov. 1947).[21]
In the 1950s, he became managing editor ofSt. John Publications, where he, his old classmateNorman Maurer, and Norman's brother, Leonard Maurer, produced the first3-D comic books,[22] starting withThree Dimension Comics #1 (Sept. 1953 oversize format, Oct. 1953 standard-size reprint), featuringMighty Mouse.[16] According to Kubert, it sold a remarkable 1.2 million copies at 25 cents apiece at a time when comics cost a dime.[23]
At St. John, writer Norman Maurer and artist Kubert created the enduring characterTor, aprehistoric-human protagonist who debuted in the comic1,000,000 Years Ago (Sept. 1953). Tor immediately went on to star in3-D Comics #2-3 (Oct.-Nov. 1953), followed by a titular, traditionally 2-D comic-book series, written and drawn by Joe Kubert, that premiered with issue #3 (May 1954). The character has since appeared in series fromEclipse Comics,Marvel Comics'Epic imprint, and DC Comics through at least the 1990s.[16] Kubert in the late 1950s unsuccessfully attempted to sellTor as anewspaper comic strip. TheTor samples consisted of 12 daily strips, reprinted in six pages inAlter Ego vol. 3 #10 and later expanded to 16 pages in DC Comics'Tor #1. He contributed work to Avon Periodicals, where he did science-fiction stories forStrange Worlds and other titles.[16]
Beginning withOur Army at War #32 (March 1955), Kubert began to freelance again for DC Comics, in addition toLev Gleason Publications andAtlas Comics, the 1950s iteration ofMarvel Comics.[16] By the end of the year he was drawing for DC exclusively. DC editorJulius Schwartz assigned Kubert, Robert Kanigher, andCarmine Infantino to the company's first attempt at reviving superheroes: an updated version of theFlash that would appear inShowcase #4 (Oct. 1956).[24] The eventual success of the new, science fiction-oriented Flash heralded the wholesale return of superheroes, and the beginning of what fans and historians call theSilver Age of Comic Books.[25] In the coming years, Kubert would work on such characters as the medieval adventurer theViking Prince and features starringSgt. Rock andThe Haunted Tank in thewar comicG.I. Combat. He and writerGardner Fox created a new version ofHawkman inThe Brave and the Bold #34 (Feb.–March 1961) with the character receiving his own title three years later.[26][27] Kubert's work on Hawkman and Sgt. Rock[28] would become known as his signature efforts. Kubert's main collaborator on the war comics was writer/editor Kanigher.[29][30] Their work together on Sgt. Rock is considered a memorable contribution to the comics medium.[31][32] They introducedEnemy Ace inOur Army at War #151 (Feb. 1965).[33]
Kubert served as DC Comics' director of publications from 1967 to 1976.[34] He made theUnknown Soldier the lead feature ofStar Spangled War Stories with issue #151 (June–July 1970)[35] and initiated titles based on suchEdgar Rice Burroughs properties asTarzan[36] andKorak. Comics historianLes Daniels noted that Kubert's "scripts and artwork ranked among the most authentic and effective ever seen."[37] DC Comics writer and executivePaul Levitz stated in 2010 that "Joe Kubert produced an adaptation that Burroughs aficionados could respect."[38] Kubert edited a number of comic books for DC, including taking over as editor ofSgt. Rock and other military titles and editingTarzan and other books based on Burroughs' characters.[39][40] While performing supervisory duties he continued to draw for some books, notablyTarzan from 1972 to 1975 and drew covers and layouts forRima the Jungle Girl from 1974 to 1975.[16] He editedLimited Collectors' Edition #C–36 which features stories from theBook of Genesis adapted by writer Sheldon Mayer and artistNestor Redondo.[41] Kubert and Kanigher createdRagman in the first issue (Aug.–Sept. 1976) of that character's short-lived ongoing series.[42]
In addition to The Kubert School, in the late 1990s, Kubert was offering "Joe Kubert's World of Cartooning"correspondence courses to prospective students.[48]
Joe Kubert at the Exhibition: Joe, Adam and Andy Kubert,Heroes,The Israeli Cartoon Museum,Holon,Israel, 2011Joe, Adam and Andy Kubert,Heroes, The Israeli Cartoon Museum, Holon, Israel, 2011, Display View
Kubert provided art for several anniversary issues of key DC titles. He and writerPaul Levitz crafted a Hawkman story inDetective Comics #500 (March 1981).[49][50] Kubert was one of the artists on the double-sizedJustice League of America #200 (March 1982)[51] as well asBatman #400 (Oct. 1986).[52]
He wrote and drew a collection of faith-based comic strips beginning in the late 1980s forTzivos Hashem, theLubavitch children's organization, andMoshiach Times magazine. The stories, "The Adventures of Yaakov and Isaac", were based on biblical references but were not Bible stories.[7]
Kubert made a return to writing and drawing in 1991 with the Abraham Stone graphic novelCountry Mouse, City Rat forMalibu Comics' Platinum Editions. He returned to the character for two more stories,Radix Malorum andThe Revolution published byEpic Comics in 1995.
Also for Epic Comics, he delivered the four-issueTor miniseries in 1993.Fax from Sarajevo, initially released as a 207-page hardcover book in 1996[53] and two years later as a 224-pagetrade paperback was published byDark Horse Comics.[54] The non-fiction book originated as a series of faxes from European comics agentErvin Rustemagić during theSerbiansiege of Sarajevo. Rustemagić and his family, whose home and possessions in suburbanDobrinja were destroyed, spent two-and-a-half years in a ruined building, communicating with the outside world viafax when they could. Friend and client Kubert was one recipient. Collaborating long-distance, they collected Rustemagić's account of life during wartime, with Kubert and editor Bob Cooper turning the raw faxes into a somber comics tale.
Kubert drew the first issue ofStan Lee'sJust Imagine... limited series (2001)[55] and two pencil-illustratedgraphic novels,Yossel: April 19, 1943 (2003) andJew Gangster (2005), for IBooks. In 2003, Kubert returned to the Sgt. Rock character, illustratingSgt. Rock: Between Hell and a Hard Place, a hardcover graphic novel written byBrian Azzarello.[56] Kubert drewTex, The Lonesome Rider, written byClaudio Nizzi and published by SAF Comics in 2005, and then wrote and drewSgt. Rock: The Prophecy, a six-issueminiseries in 2006.[16] In the mid-2000s, he was the artist forPS, The Preventive Maintenance Monthly, aUnited States Army magazine with comic-book elements that stresses the importance of preventive maintenance of vehicles, arms, and other ordnance. In 2008, Kubert returned to his Tor character with a six-issue limited series published by DC Comics entitledTor: A Prehistoric Odyssey. In 2009, Kubert contributed a new Sgt. Rock story forWednesday Comics, published by DC.[57][58] His son,Adam, wrote the story, his first foray at scripting. In 2011, Joe Kubert wrote the introduction and drew thelenticular 3-D front cover forCraig Yoe'sAmazing 3-D Comics![16] Kubert inked his son Andy's pencils on the first two issues ofDC Universe: Legacies, a 10 issue series chronicling the history of the DC Universe.[59] and theBefore Watchmen: Nite Owl limited series.[60][61] The first two issues ofBefore Watchmen: Nite Owl were released before Kubert's death. The other two were released posthumously. In 2012 Kubert and the Joe Kubert school produced a syndicated comic strip, "Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates", reprinted inComics Revue. DC Comics publishedJoe Kubert Presents (Dec. 2012-May 2013) edited by Kubert and featuring stories by Kubert (Hawkman,Spit andThe Redeemer),Sam Glanzman (U.S.S. Stevens), and Brian Buniak (Angel and the Ape).[62]
Kubert married Muriel Fogelson on July 8, 1951.[63] In the early 1960s, the Kuberts moved toDover, New Jersey where they raised their five children:[44] David, the eldest, followed by Danny, Lisa, and comic-book artistsAdam andAndy Kubert.[64] Kubert's granddaughterKatie Kubert works as a comics editor. She worked at DC Comics for five years as an editor on theBatman titles, and left to work on theX-Men titles at Marvel Comics in June 2014.[5][6] Kubert's grandson and graduate of The Kubert School, Orion Zangara, is also a comic-book artist who is currently working on a graphic novel trilogy for the Lerner Publishing Group. Grand-daughter Emma Kubert is a comic book writer and artist.[3][4]
a 1963 write-in Alley Award for "Artist Preferred onSea Devils.[66]
a special 1969 Alley Award "for the cinematic storytelling techniques and the exciting and dramatic style he has brought to the field of comic art".[67]
The 1974 and 1980National Cartoonists Society Awards in the category "Story Comic Book".[68] plus a 1997 nomination for Best Comic Book.
Kubert was awarded theInkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award in 2015. His acceptance speech was given by Orion Zangara, his grandson and graduate of The Kubert School, on behalf of the Kubert Estate.[75]
Kubert's drafting table is on permanent exhibit in the Kubert Lounge and Gallery, which opened in September 2023 at theCary Graphic Arts Collection in Rochester, NY.Adam Kubert donated his father's archive to the Cary Collection at his alma mater, theRochester Institute of Technology, where archivists recreated Joe Kubert's work surface from photographs of his office at the Kubert School.[76][77]
^Wallace 2010, p. 49: "Artist Joe Kubert began his most memorable work on the gravity-defying superhero Hawkman in this issue...'The Painter and the $100,000' written by Gardner Fox marked the start of a long and fruitful run between illustrator and character."
^Thomas, Roy (2000). "The Men (and One Woman) Behind the JSA: Its Creation and Creative Personnel".All-Star Companion Volume 1. Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 30.ISBN1-893905-055.
^Wallace 2010, p. 56: "In Robert Kanigher's story, featuring art by Irwin Hasen and Joe Kubert, a cabal of villains united as the Injustice Society of the World and took revenge on the JSA's assembled do-gooders."
^Wallace 2010, p. 57: "Writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert presented a female twist on Robert Louis Stevenson'sDr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the Thorn."
^Levitz 2010, p. 251, "The Silver Age 1956-1970": "Together Schwartz, Kanigher, Infantino, and Kubert would set a tone for the Flash that was both cinematic... and influenced by Schwartz's first love of science fiction."
^Irvine 2010, p. 80, "1950s": "The arrival of the second incarnation of the Flash in [Showcase] issue #4 is considered to be the official start of the Silver Age of comics."
^McAvennie 2010a, p. 102: "DC's... renaissance soared to new heights with the return of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Writer Gardner Fox and artist Joe Kubert... ushered in a pair of Winged Wonders that, costumes aside, were radically different from their Golden Age predecessors."
^Daniels 1995, p. 130, "The Silver Age: Applying a Fine Shine": "Hawkman took a little longer to get off the ground. He showed up initially inThe Brave and the Bold #34 (February/March 1961), but had to wait three years forHawkman #1 (April–May 1964)."
^Pasko, Martin (2008).The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the DC Universe. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:Running Press. p. 72.ISBN978-0762432578.It was Bob Kanigher who led the company into the new genre...Kanigher originally worked on these books with many artists, including Jerry Grandenetti, Gene Colan, Russ Heath, and Irv Novick but the Kanigher-[Joe] Kubert work would prove the most memorable.
^Schelly 2011, p. 133: "With the cancellation of EC's legendary war titles in the wake of the Comics Code, DC's war comics were the finest being published in the second half of the decade. And this was largely attributable to their editor and chief writer, Robert Kanigher."
^Daniels 1995, p. 104, "Back to the Battlefield": "The most famous Kanigher-Kubert collaboration involved Sgt. Rock, who has gone on to become a part of our collective mythology as the archetype of the gruff, cynical, good-hearted noncommissioned officer."
^McAvennie 2010a, p. 114: "This landmark issue...presented a very different look at war through the eyes of Enemy Ace Rittmeister Hans von Hammer. Writer/editor Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert based von Hammer on German WWI pilot Manfred von Richthofen a.k.a. the "Red Baron"."
^McAvennie 2010b, p. 140: "This war anthology series found its most recognizable face when Joe Kubert wrote, drew, and edited the first of a slew of... Unknown Soldier [stories]."
^McAvennie 2010b, p. 151: "Tarzan enjoyed a prolific period in comics when DC acquired the rights to novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs' iconic ape-man. Much of that success should be attributed to writer, artist, and editor Joe Kubert, a lifelong Tarzan fan whose gritty, expressive style was perfect for the jungle hero."
^Zeno, Eddy (December 2012). "DC Comics' The Bible".Back Issue! (61). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing:17–23.
^McAvennie 2010b, p. 171: "Writer Robert Kanigher's origin of the frayed hero was pieced together into moody, coarse segments by Joe Kubert and Nestor, Frank, and Quico Redondo."
^abJennings, Dana (December 14, 2003)."Paper, Pencil And a Dream".The New York Times.Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. RetrievedMarch 29, 2012.Mr. Kubert said that Dover, which has 18,000 people and is bisected by the Rockaway River, suits him. He and his wife, Muriel, raised their five children here, and it was here that they opened their school.
^Weldon, Glen (August 13, 2012)."Comics Legend Joe Kubert, 1926-2012: An Appreciation".NPR. p. 2.Archived from the original on December 23, 2013. RetrievedAugust 16, 2012.His Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in New Jersey has produced several generations of comics creators (including his own sons, Andy and Adam Kubert) who have gone on to make their own, widely varied, contributions to the field: Amanda Conner, Rick Veitch, Eric Shanower, Steve Lieber, Scott Kolins, and many more.
^Manning 2010, p. 221: "Batman celebrated the 400th issue of his self-titled comic with a blockbuster featuring dozens of famous comic book creators and nearly as many infamous villains. Written by Doug Moench, with an introduction by novelist Stephen King... [it was] drawn by George Pérez, Bill Sienkiewicz, Arthur Adams, Joe Kubert, Brian Bolland, and others."
^Cowsill 2010, p. 338, "2000s": "The [series] contained fifteen continuous stories, including a new Sgt. Rock saga drawn by the legendary Joe Kubert and written by his son Adam."
^Renaud, Jeffrey (December 11, 2009)."Wein Explores DC's History inLegacies".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2014.An all-star cast of artists will collaborate onLegacies, which is slated for a launch in May 2010, and kicking things off for the Golden Age arc is the father and son duo of Joe and Andy Kubert.
