Joe Staton

Comics artist of Green Lantern, E-man, and Dick Tracy

Joe Staton has been drawing comics since he started working for Charlton Comics in 1971, where he co-created E-Man and Michael Mauser. Though the bulk of his work has been for DC Comics, at last count Staton has worked for at least 30 publishers and 100 different editors. Among his many comics credits are Action Comics, Green Lantern, The Legion, Classics Illustrated, and various incarnations of Batman. During his time on Green Lantern, he co-created several GLs, including Kilowog, Arisia, and Salakk. He also designed GL Guy Gardner’s “bad boy” look.

More recently, with his writer-wife Hilarie, he produces medical comics such as Pete Learns All About Crohn’s and Colitis and Amy Goes Gluten-Free. In 1998, he received the Eisner Award for his work on World’s Finest: The Superman-Batman Adventures. He penciled over 100 issues of the Cartoon Network’s Scooby Doo comic. He illustrated a graphic novel adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Anthem for NAL and a graphic biography of Ronald Reagan. Since 2011, working with writer Mike Curtis, Joe has been the regular artist for the long-running DICK TRACY newspaper strip (available online at www.gocomics.com/dicktracy). DICK TRACY received Harvey Awards in 2013, 2014 and 2015 for Best Syndicated Strip or Feature.

Interview with Joe Staton

In Comic Book Artist, Rocco Nigro asked Staton about the beginnings of his interest in drawing comics:

As best I can recall, I’ve always wanted to do comics. I can remember sitting in the floor, trying to trace Dick Tracy and The Phantom out of the Sunday funnies. My dad taught me to read from Superboy comics, and my long-suffering mother put up with me getting ink and paint all over the kitchen table.

As for me getting into comics, we can blame Julie Schwartz. Back when I was 12 or so, he ran a couple of my letters in early issues of JLA and Green Lantern, and he ran addresses. Bill Plott, a science-fiction fan from Alabama, saw my letter and sent me a s-f fanzine and through that connection, I got into s-f fandom, especially fanzine fandom. That’s where I got accustomed to drawing for publication and for deadline, and made the acquaintance of artists and writers, and eventually the people who formed my support network in New York when I headed that way.

More about Joe Staton

Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Staton
The Comic Book Database: http://comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=370