George Roussos

George Roussos (; August 20, 1915 – February 19, 2000),

Comic books and comic strips Roussos entered comics in 1939 as letterer of the Spanish-language version of the newspaper panel Ripley's Believe It or Not,

The following year, Bob Kane and Bill Finger hired him to assist inker Jerry Robinson on Batman stories. Roussos' duties included drawing backgrounds, inking, and lettering, starting as early as Batman #2 (Summer 1940).

Other companies for which Roussos drew during the 1940s Golden Age of comic books included Marvel-precursor Timely Comics, as well as Avon Publications, Standard/Better/Nedor, Family, Fiction House, Hillman Periodicals, Lev Gleason Publications, and Spark. He also did 16 internationally distributed educational pamphlets for General Electric, receiving a World War II draft deferment to do so.

After a brief attempt to open an art school with colleague Mort Meskin, Roussos added comic strips to his repertoire, assisting artist Dan Barry's Flash Gordon, ' The Lone Ranger, Dan Heilman's Judge Parker and Sy Barry's The Phantom, and succeeding Fred Kida as artist on Judge Wright from 1947 until the strip's demise the following year. Roussos unsuccessfully pitched syndication companies his own comic strips, such as the science fiction feature 2001 A.D. in 1945, the archeology strip Azeena in 1967, and Transisto, with Batman creator Bill Finger, in the late 1960s. when he became Jack Kirby's inker on landmark early issues of Marvel Comics' superhero team title Fantastic Four. These included #21–27 (Dec. 1963 – June 1964), which featured the first Hulk vs. Thing battle. As well, Roussos had inked the Kirby covers of issues #11, 13, and 18–20. Roussos also inked the return of Captain America in The Avengers #4 (March 1964) — the cover of which has become one of comics' most famous — as well as Kirby's Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #3–7 (Sept. 1963 – March 1964). In addition, though Marvel Comics did not credit colorists at this time, Roussos later claimed that he always colored any comic that he inked. In the early 1980s, Roussos was Marvel's cover colorist.

Roussos was a Renaissance man whose myriad interests included architecture, astronomy, automobiles, gardening, natural medicine, philosophy and photography. He took photographs of various Long Island estates, and his photographs at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park were collected in his book, The Bayard Cutting Arboretum History.

Roussos died of a heart attack. He was married twice: to Viola Fink, followed by Florence Lacey (married 17 November 1980, died 1998). Roussos had three sons (William, Robert and Louis) and a daughter (Marie).

Books by Roussos Roussos, George. The Bayard Cutting Arboretum History: A History and Description of William Bayard Cutting and His Country House, Westbrook, Great River, L.I. Oakdale, New York: The Board of Trustees and the Long Island State Park and Recreation Commission, 1984.