Joe Sinnott just passed away at age 93. An amazing man with amazing longevity, both in life, and in his comics career.
I first met Joe in person in 1996, not long after starting the Jack Kirby Collector. I was exhibiting at the Ramapo Comic Convention in New York, held in a school gymnasium, and the staff there sat me next to Joe. I was dumbfounded to be next to this creator I’d admired so much for most of my life, and didn’t know what to say. Joe, in his usual easygoing manner, immediately put me at ease, and drew me into conversation. He and his lovely wife Betty were delightful that entire show, and I believe she took the photo here (or else my wife Pam did).
We corresponded by phone and mail quite a bit over the years, and it was always a joy to open one of his letters, and see his beautiful handwriting—every bit as meticulous as his inking. We published a biography of Joe titled Brush Strokes With Greatness, and he was always appreciative of that, and of the times I featured his art or interviews in the Jack Kirby Collector (which, of course, should’ve been—and was—the other way around; I was blessed to have the association with HIM!).
We got to see each other a few more times in person at the New York Comic-Con and San Diego. But one of the nicest moments I had involving Joe, was in late 2017, when out of the blue, a card arrived in my mailbox, containing a hand-drawn image of Thor and the Thing, congratulating me on the Inkpot Award I’d received that year at Comic-Con. That’s the kind of person Joe Sinnott was: Deep in his faith in God, overflowing with kindness for others, and just one of the nicest people you would ever meet. He was a genuinely great human being, and I will really, really miss him.
