Frank Giacoia (July 6, 1924 – February 4, 1988)[1] was an American comics artist known primarily as an inker. He sometimes worked under the name Frank Ray,[2] and to a lesser extent Phil Zupa,[3] and the single moniker Espoia, the latter used for collaborations with fellow inker Mike Esposito.[4]
...Frank Giacoia and I were in constant contact. One day in '40 we decided to go up to Timely Comics, which later became Marvel, to see if we could get some work. They gave us a script called 'Jack Frost' and that story became our first published work. Frank did the pencils and I did the inking. Joe Simon was the editor and he offered us both a staff job. Frank quit school and took the job. I wanted desperately to quit school and I told my father that it was a great opportunity. He said, 'No way! You're gonna finish school'.[6]
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 (Feb. 1974).[8]
He was credited as the pseudonym "Frankie Ray" for some time.[9] In Fantastic Four #53 (August 1966), his real name was announced in the "Bullpen Bulletins".
Awards and honors
Giacoia was nominated for the Shazam Award for Best Inker (Dramatic Division) in 1974.[10] 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.[11]
Critical assessment
In its list of "The 20 Greatest Inkers of American Comic Books", historians at the retailer Atlas Comics (no relation to the comics publishers) listed Giacoia at #5:
In comics from 1941, Frank Giacoia's smooth, thick line has been recognizable over a surfeit of outstanding pencillers. Gil Kane (who called him 'an extraordinarily powerful inker'), Carmine Infantino, Gene Colan and Jack Kirby all benefited from his heavy, robust linework which always helped tell the story in a simple, direct way. His collaboration with Kirby on the short-lived newspaper strip Johnny Reb and Billy Yank (which Giacoia created) was superb, as was generally the case when he teamed with 'the King.' Frank worked for many publishers during his 40-odd years in comics: Lev Gleason, Hillman, Timely, DC and of course Marvel (where he sometimes moonlighted under the alias Frankie Ray while still working for DC).[12]
Bibliography
Archie Comics
All New Adventures of the Mighty Crusaders #1–2 (1983)
^Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1940s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 24. ISBN978-0756641238. In Captain Wonder's origin story by writer Otto Binder and artist Frank Giacoia...{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Cronin, Brian (March 12, 2016). "40 Greatest Punisher Stories: #35-31". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt delivered the first appearance of the Punisher in this classic issue of Amazing Spider-Man.
