Joe Orlando

Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of Mad and the vice president of DC Comics, where he edited numerous titles and ran DC's Special Projects department.

Early life Orlando was born in Bari, Italy, immigrating to the United States in 1929. He began drawing at an early age, going to art classes at a neighborhood boys' club when he was seven years old. He continued there until he was 14, winning prizes annually in their competitions, including a John Wanamaker bronze medal. In 1941, he began attending the School of Industrial Art (later the High School of Art and Design), where he studied illustration. This school was a breeding ground for a number of comics artists, including Richard Bassford, Sy Barry, Frank Giacoia, Carmine Infantino, Rocke Mastroserio, Alex Toth and future comics letterer Gaspar Saladino. Infantino and Orlando remained close friends for decades. While Orlando was still a student, he drew his first published illustrations, scenes of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper for a high-school textbook. He was earning $25 a page at EC, and by mid-1951 saw his first EC stories published under his own name.

After EC, from 1956 to 1959, he drew Classics Illustrated adaptations, including Ben-Hur, A Tale of Two Cities and Rudyard Kipling's Kim. He did covers for Newsweek and New Times, and his work as an illustrator appeared in National Lampoon, children's books and numerous comic books.

Creepy editor For Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine Creepy, debuting in 1964, Orlando was not only an illustrator but also a story editor on early issues. His credit on the first issue masthead read: "Story Ideas: Joe Orlando." In 1992, the short-lived live-action television show The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys with Howie Mandel used special effects make-up designs based on the character concepts created by Orlando for his Sea Monkeys illustrations.

DC Comics

In 1966, Orlando and writer E. Nelson Bridwell created the parody superhero team The Inferior Five in Showcase #62 (June 1966). This lighthearted feature would soon receive its own ongoing series. Orlando launched the Swing with Scooter series with writers Barbara Friedlander and Jack Miller in July 1966. After 16 years of freelancing, Orlando was hired in 1968 by DC Comics, All-Star Western, Anthro, Bat Lash, House of Mystery, Plop!, Swamp Thing, and The Witching Hour, Orlando coined the names of the Weird War Tales and Weird Western Tales titles.

While serving as DC's vice president, he guided the company's Special Projects department. This included the creation of art for T-shirts and other licensed products, negotiating with such companies as American Greetings and Topps, working with editor Joey Cavalieri on Looney Tunes Magazine Alfredo Alcala, Mar Amongo, Steve Gan, Ernie Chan, Alex Niño, Nestor Redondo, and Gerry Talaoc were some of the Filipino komik artists who would work for DC, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s.

A limited series featuring The Phantom published by DC in 1988 was written by Peter David and drawn by Orlando and Dennis Janke.

Personal life and death Orlando married his first wife, Gloria, in September 1951.

He died in Grand Central Terminal on December 23, 1998, and was chosen for the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2007. His contributions to EC's Weird Science earned him a ranking in Entertainment Weeklys "Sci-Fi Top 100". He appeared in a taped segment on Horror Hall of Fame II, telecast October 17, 1991.