Captain America

Joe Simon was one of the most important artists of the Golden Age of American Comic Books. He was born Joseph Henry Simon into a Jewish family of partially British descent in Rochester, New York. Young Hymie Simon (as he was called by then) had his first jobs as art director of the Benjamin Franklin High School college newspaper and as an assistant with the Rochester Journal-American. By 1934, Joe Simon worked as a sports illustrator and cartoonist with the Syracuse Journal in Syracuse, New York. Simon moved to New York City at the age of 23, where he did freelance work for Paramount Pictures and Macfadden Publications. He did his first comic book art through comics packager Funnies Inc., creating characters like 'Fiery Mask' for Timely's Daring Mystery Comics and 'Blue Bolt' for Novelty Press in 1940. His star started to rise when he teamed up with Jack Kirby, with whom he created many classic characters during a period of about 15 years. It is said that they brought anatomy back into comic books, drawing explosive panels with magically stretched muscles and dynamic action. Their best known creation is 'Captain America', Timely's real American hero who was fighting nazi's even before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Simon was one of the earliest editors with Timely, but eventually left the company. Simon and Kirby produced the first issue of 'Captain Marvel Adventures'