Frank Giacoia
Frank Giacoia was an American comics artist known primarily as an inker. He sometimes worked under the name Frank Ray, and to a lesser extent Phil Zupa, and the single moniker Espoia, the latter used for collaborations with fellow inker Mike Esposito.
Biography
Frank Giacoia studied at Manhattan's School of Industrial Art and the Art Students League of New York. He entered the comics industry by penciling the feature "Jack Frost" in U.S.A. Comics #3, inked by friend and high school classmate Carmine Infantino — the latter's first art for comics and published by Marvel Comics' 1940s precursor, Timely Comics. His friend and collaborator Carmine Infantino, a classmate at the Art Students League, recalled that
Later in 1941, Giacoia joined the New York City comic book packager Eisner & Iger, the studio of Golden Age artists Will Eisner and Jerry Iger. His early works include drawing crime comics for Ace Comics, horror for Avon Publishing, and a multitude of characters for National Comics Publications including the Flash and Batman.
Other companies for which Giacoia did art during the 1940s and 1950s include Crestwood Publications, Dell Comics, Eastern Color Printing, Fawcett Comics, Harvey Comics, Lev Gleason Publications, and Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics. Giacoia and writer Otto Binder introduced the short-lived character Captain Wonder in Kid Komics #1.
Later career
During the 1960s Silver Age of comic books, Giacoia became best known as a Marvel Comics inker, particularly on Captain America stories penciled by the character's co-creator Jack Kirby. One of the company's preeminent names, he worked on virtually every title at one time or another. Giacoia inked the first appearance of the Punisher in The Amazing Spider-Man #129.
Giacoia also worked on the newspaper comic strip The Amazing Spider-Man from 1978–1981, as well as on the strips Flash Gordon, The Incredible Hulk, Johnny Reb and Billy Yank, Sherlock Holmes, and Thorne McBride.
He was credited as the pseudonym "Frankie Ray" for some time. In Fantastic Four #53, his real name was announced in the "Bullpen Bulletins".
Awards and honors
Giacoia was nominated for the Shazam Award for Best Inker in 1974. The 1989 graphic novel The Amazing Spider-Man: Parallel Lives, the back cover of which was inked by Giacoia, is dedicated to his memory.
He posthumously won one of the two annual Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Awards in 2016. The award was received by his great-nephew, Mike Giacoia.
Critical assessment
In its list of "The 20 Greatest Inkers of American Comic Books", historians at the retailer Atlas Comics listed Giacoia at #5:
Archie Comics
All New Adventures of the Mighty Crusaders #1–2 The Fly #1 Fly-Man #39 Mighty Comics #40, 43 Mighty Crusaders #1–2 Mighty Crusaders vol. 2 #11–12 Thunderbunny #1
Atlas/Seaboard Comics
Phoenix #4
DC Comics
Action Comics #425 Adventure Comics #399, 401, 457, 459, 495–496 Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog #1, 4, 6 All-American Men of War #127 All-American Men of War vol. 2 #10, 26, 51 All-American Western #103–111, 113, 117, 126 All-Flash #31–32 All Star Comics #38, 40–41, 52, 54–57 All-Star Squadron Annual #3 All-Star Western #58–67, 69–70, 96, 99–101, 106 Aquaman #46 Batman #229, 280 Big Town #5–10, 17 Blackhawk #260, 268 Boy Commandos #35 Challengers of the Unknown #71–72 Comic Cavalcade #24 Dale Evans Comics #1 Danger Trail #1–5 Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #7 DC Special Series #7 Detective Comics #206, 403–406, 409, 436, 465, 529 Falling in Love #24–25, 139 The Flash #108, 146, 228, 261, 311 Flash Comics #90, 93–94, 96, 98–99, 104 Gang Busters #8 Girls' Love Stories #15, 63, 116–120, 123, 154 Green Lantern #36–38 Green Lantern vol. 2 #77–78, 155 House of Mystery #190, 196–197, 202 House of Secrets #88 Isis #2 Jimmy Wakely #1–5 Justice League of America #44–45, 200 My Greatest Adventure #7 Mystery in Space #3, 5, 9, 12, 16–18, 30, 40, 50–53 New Adventures of Superboy #49 Our Army at War #1, 20, 23, 26 Our Fighting Forces #28–29 Phantom Stranger #3, 5–6 Romance Trail #1, 4 Secret Hearts #8, 102, 141 Sensation Comics #94, 97–105, 107–109 Sensation Mystery #110–116 Showcase #8, 13–14, 17, 92–93 Sinister House of Secret Love #3 Strange Adventures #8, 11, 15, 20, 30–32, 34, 37–38, 43, 63, 81–82, 86, 97, 101–103 Supergirl #6 Superman #277, 279, 329 The Superman Family #189–190 The Unexpected #115, 119, 123, 128, 131, 133, 145, 190 Unknown Soldier #216 Weird War Tales #123 Western Comics #64–67, 69 The Witching Hour #13, 18 Wonder Woman #214, 307–308 World's Finest Comics #40–41, 52–53, 219, 292, 294
Dell Comics
Cadet Gray of West Point #1
Eclipse Comics
Xyr #1
2001: A Space Odyssey Marvel Treasury Special #1 Adventure into Fear #25–26 Adventures into Weird Worlds #9 Amazing Adventures #10, 13, 15, 20 The Amazing Spider-Man #97–107, 127–131, 133–145, 150, 170, 172, 184, 194, 196, 235–237, 239, 241, Annual #5, 10 Astonishing Tales #5, 7, 11, 20 The Avengers #26–31, 73, 85, 87, 110, 118, Annual #2 Captain America #106, 125–126, 152, 167, 183–185, 193–194, 197–204, 206–209, 256, Annual #3 Captain Marvel #22, 42 Chamber of Darkness #1 Champions #10 Conan the Barbarian #5 Crazy Magazine #77 Daredevil #14–25, 27, 36, 38, 101–102, 112 Defenders #1, 28 Doc Savage #6 Fantastic Four #39, 93, 96–97, 114, 143, 154, Annual #5 Frankenstein #10 Ghost Rider #12 Godzilla #2 Haunt of Horror #3 Howard the Duck #28 The Hulk! #12 The Incredible Hulk #103–104, 152, Annual #6 Iron Man #42, 57–58, 62 Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1 John Carter, Warlord of Mars #15 Journey into Mystery #115 Journey into Mystery vol. 2 #5 Marvel Feature #1 Marvel Premiere #8, 45 Marvel Super-Heroes #12 Marvel Team-Up #3, 10, 13, 19–22, 25–27, 53, 78 Marvel Two-in-One #4, 44, 98, 100, Annual #3 Moon Knight #8 Ms. Marvel #11 My Love #4–5 Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 Not Brand Echh #1–3, 5, 9 Nova #6–12 Power Man #35, 40 Rawhide Kid #47 Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #16, 19–20, 23–24, Annual #1 The Spectacular Spider-Man #2 Star Wars #54 Strange Tales #128–129, 141, 150, 162–163, 165, 171 Sub-Mariner #1–5, 49, 62 Supernatural Thrillers #1 Tales of Suspense #63–64, 67–68, 77–79, 81–82, 84–93, 95–98 Tales to Astonish #66–67, 92–92, 101 Thor #306 Two-Gun Kid #73 U.S.A. Comics #3 What If...? #15, 24, 31 Young Allies #6, 9, 12, 18–20
Skywald Publications
Nightmare #3
Standard Comics
Adventures into Darkness #6
Tower Comics
Dynamo #1 Fight the Enemy #1–3 T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1–12 Undersea Agent #3