Herb Trimpe

Herbert William Trimpe[1] (/trɪmp/; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on The Incredible Hulk and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wolverine, who later became a breakout star of the X-Men. His joining the Marvel production staff was announced in the "Bullpen Bulletins" of Marvel comics cover-dated June 1967, such as Fantastic Four #63. He remained associated with the company through 1996. While operating the Photostat camera in the Marvel offices, Trimpe did freelance inking for Marvel, and made his professional penciling debut with two Kid Colt stories in the Western series Kid Colt, Outlaw #134–135 (May and July 1967). Shortly thereafter, Trimpe and writer Gary Friedrich created Marvel's World War I aviator hero the Phantom Eagle in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968). As a Marvel mainstay, Trimpe would draw nearly every starring character, including Captain America (Captain America #184 and 291), the Fantastic Four (Fantastic Four Annual #25–26 in 1992–1993; Fantastic Four Unlimited #1–12 in 1993–1995), Iron Man (Iron Man #39, 82–85, and 93–94 in the 1970s, plus occasional others), Ka-Zar (Astonishing Tales #7–8, 1971), Nick Fury (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #13–15, 1969), Thor (Thor Annual #15–16, 1990–1991), Ant-Man (Marvel Feature #4–6), Killraven (Amazing Adventures #20–24, #33), Rawhide Kid, Spider-Man, and many more as the regular artist of Marvel Team-Up #106–118 (1981–1982) and Marvel Team-Up Annual #3–4 (1980–1981). As the artist of Super-Villain Team-Up, Trimpe co-created the Shroud with writer Steve Englehart. Captain Britain was introduced by Chris Claremont and Trimpe in an ongoing series published by Marvel UK. In 1976, Trimpe was one of the inkers of Captain America's Bicentennial Battles, an oversized treasury-format one-shot written and penciled by Jack Kirby. Trimpe drew Marvel Treasury Edition #25 (1980) "Spider-Man vs. the Hulk at the Winter Olympics" which featured a story set at the 1980 Winter Olympics by writers Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo. Jack Kirby's Machine Man character was revived in a 1984 limited series drawn by Trimpe. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Trimpe's Marvel work included licensed movie and TV franchises. He drew all but issues #4–5 of the 24-issue Godzilla (Aug. 1977 – July 1979); drew all but one of the 20-issue Shogun Warriors; six issues of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones (also writing the last two); G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1 (July 1982) and eight other issues, three of which he also wrote or co-wrote; nearly the entire run of the 28-issue spin-off G.I. Joe Special Missions (1986–1989); three of the four-issue miniseries G.I. Joe: The Order of Battle (1986–1987); and three issues of The Transformers. Trimpe, in a 1997 interview, described his Marvel arrangement: "I was a quota artist, which was non-contractual but [I] received a salary. I got a regular two-week check, and anything I did over quota I could voucher for as freelance income. I also had the extras, the company benefits. It was like a regular job, but I worked at home. It was a good deal." When Marvel went bankrupt in the mid-1990s, Trimpe attended Empire State College, Hudson Valley Center, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Arts in 1997. He went on to a master's degree program at SUNY New Paltz.[10] Beginning September 8, 1999, he taught art for two years at Eldred Central School in Sullivan County, New York. He lost his staff position in the mid-1990s when Marvel downsized, but he continued to freelance for the publisher. In 2000, he wrote an article for The New York Times about ageism in comics. Trimpe penciled BPRD: The War on Frogs (Aug. 2008) for Dark Horse Comics, and returned to his signature character by drawing the eight-page story "The Death and Life of the Abomination" in Marvel's King-Size Hulk #1 (July 2008). In December 2009, Trimpe, a Bugatti airplane enthusiast and member of the Bugatti Aircraft Association, published the eight-page comic book Firehawks, in which the Bugatti 100P plays a major role. This was followed by a second Firehawks comic, the 24-page Firehawks 2: Breath of the Dragon. Trimpe's last convention appearance was at the April 2015 East Coast Comiccon in Secaucus, New Jersey.