comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.bookkeeper born in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

. His father Benjamin Robinson was an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

who emigrated from Western Russia, near the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone ...

, in 1895. The couple opened the first theater in Trenton. Ben Robinson immigrated to the United States to avoid

conscription in the Russian Empire Conscription in the Russian Empire was introduced by Peter I of Russia. The system was called "conscript obligation" (russian: рекрутская повинность). Prior to 18th century Russian tsars before Peter maintained professional he ...

, which would have lasted 25 years, and antisemitism in Russia. He was of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

background. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for 2.5 years before leaving to focus on comics.

Career

1939–1943

Robinson was a 17-year-old

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

student at Columbia University in 1939 when he was discovered by Batman co-creator

Bob Kane Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...

, who hired him to work on that fledgling comic as an

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

and

letterer A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the com ...

.Sacks, Ethan
"Jerry Robinson, comic book legend and creator of Batman nemesis, the Joker, dead at 89"
'' Daily News''. December 8, 2011 Kane, with writer

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatur ...

, had shortly before created the character

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

for National Comics, the future

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

. Robinson rented a room from a family in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

near Kane's family's Grand Concourse apartment, where Kane used his bedroom as an art studio. He started as a letterer and a background inker, shortly graduating to inking secondary figures. Within a year, he became Batman's primary inker, with

George Roussos George Roussos (; August 20, 1915 – February 19, 2000), also known under the pseudonym George Bell, was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age inkers, including on landmark early issues of Marvel Comics' ''Fa ...

inking backgrounds. Batman quickly became a hit character, and Kane rented space for Robinson and Roussos in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

's

Times Tower The Times Tower, also known as the New Central Bank Tower, is an office tower in Nairobi, Kenya. At ,

Groth, Gary Gary Groth (born September 18, 1954) is an American comic book editor, publisher and critic. He is editor-in-chief of ''The Comics Journal'', a co-founder of Fantagraphics Books, and founder of the Harvey Awards. Early life Groth is the son o ...

"Jerry Robinson: Been There, Done That"
''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...

'' #271 & 272. February 5, 2011 In addition to Batman, Robinson and Roussos did inks and backgrounds on ''

Target and the Targeteers The Target and the Targeteers are fictional characters, a trio of superheroes who first appeared in 1940, in ''Target Comics'' (after which the characters were named) from Novelty Press. History ''Target Comics'' debuted with a premiere issue cov ...

'' for

Novelty Press Novelty Press (a.k.a. Premium Service Co., Inc.; a.k.a. Novelty Publications; a.k.a. Premier Group) was an American Golden Age comic-book publisher that operated from 1940 to 1949. It was the comic book imprint of Curtis Publishing Company, publ ...

. Roussos recounted of his collaboration with Robinson:

It was hard to make the deadlines, because Jerry was a heavy sleeper. I used to have to go to the Bronx to get him to come to work. I'd go and wake him up 2 o'clock in the afternoon so we could work all night. ... We were committed to do about 13 pages a week. Jerry was always behind - he was always whiting out things and re-inking them. Bob's stuff was so sketchy, Jerry had to do a lot of work.

Approximately a year and a half after Robinson, Roussos, and Finger were hired by Kane, National Comics lured them away, making them company staffers. Roussos has claimed that their work on ''Target and the Targeteers'' made the series look "almost identical to Kane's Batman", and National hired them as staffers because they saw that it had become a significant competition for Batman. Robinson recalled working in the bullpen at the company's 480

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along i ...

office, alongside ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

'' creators

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...

and

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

, as well as

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

,

Fred Ray Frederic E. "Fred" Ray, Jr. (February 4, 1920 – January 23, 2001)Dates and spelling of name peFrederic E.Ray Social Security Number 204-03-7262, aSocial Security Death Index Source gives birthplace and "Jr." was an American comic book artist and ...

, and

Mort Meskin Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an American comic book artist best known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age. Early li ...

, "one of my best friends, who I brought up from MLJ". By early 1940, Kane and Finger discussed adding a

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

. Robinson suggested the name "

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

" after

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

books he had read during boyhood, saying (in a 2005 interview) that he was inspired by one book's N.C. Wyeth illustrations. The new character, orphaned

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

performer

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman and Teen Titans. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ''Detective Comics ...

, came to live with Bruce Wayne (Batman) as his young

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #38 (April 1940). Robin would inspire many similar sidekicks throughout the remainder of the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known chara ...

. Batman's nemesis, the Joker, was introduced around the same time, in ''Batman'' #1 (Spring 1940). Though Kane claimed he and writer Bill Finger came up with the idea for the Joker, most comic historians credit Robinson for the iconic villain, modeled after

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laughs ...

in the 1928 film, ''

The Man Who Laughs ''The Man Who Laughs'' (also published under the title ''By Order of the King'' from its subtitle in French) is a novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in England beg ...

''. Credit for that character's creation, however, is disputed. Robinson has said he created the character. Kane's position was that: Robinson, whose original Joker playing card was on public display in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the

Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. List of Jewish museums Notable Jewish museums include: *Albania ** Solomon Museum, Berat *Australia ** Jewish Mu ...

in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007, and the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

from October 24, 2004 to August 28, 2005, has countered that: Finger provided his own account in 1966: Robinson was also a key force in the creation of Bruce Wayne's butler,

Alfred Pennyworth Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tire ...

, and the villain

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...

.Boucher, Geoff
"Jerry Robinson, key creator behind the Joker and Robin, dead at 89"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

''. December 8, 2011 In 1943, when Kane left the Batman comic books to focus on penciling the daily ''Batman'' newspaper

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

, Robinson took over the full penciling, along with others such as

Dick Sprang Richard W. Sprang (July 28, 1915 – May 10, 2000)Richard Sprang
United States

. Only Kane's name appeared on the strip.

1944–2007

From 1944 to 1946, Robinson and his friend Meskin formed a studio which produced material for the short-lived

Spark Publications Spark Publications was a short-lived comic book publisher in the mid-1940s, during the Golden Age of Comic Books. The company was established and owned by Kendell Foster Crossen, Ken Crossen, who was the creator and writer of the Green Lama. Mos ...

. Robinson worked on numerous other characters for several publishers, at one point doing freelance illustrations for a textbook publisher. After leaving superhero comics, he became a newspaper cartoonist and created '' True Classroom Flubs and Fluffs'', which ran during the 1960s in the ''New York Sunday News'' (later incorporated into the '' Daily News''). Robinson also did a political satire cartoon panel feature, ''Still Life'' which began national syndication on June 3, 1963. Jerry Robinson by David Shankbone

Robinson never saw himself only as a comic-book artist. In the 1950s, he started drawing cover illustrations for ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's p ...

'' and tried his hand at political sketches, producing what he considered his best work: "I did 32 years of political cartoons, one every day for six days a week. That body of work is the one I'm proudest of. While my time on Batman was important and exciting and notable considering the characters that came out of it, it was really just the start of my life." Robinson was president of the

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

from 1967 to 1969 and served a two-year term as president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists starting in 1973. During the mid-1970s, Robinson was a crucial supporter of

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...

and

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

in their long struggle with

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

to win full recognition and compensation as the creators of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

. With comics artist and rights advocate

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

, Robinson organized key support around Siegel and Shuster, to whom DC, in December 1975, granted lifetime stipends and a credit in all broadcast and published Superman works. In 1978, he founded CartoonArts International, which as of 2010 has more than 550 artists from over 75 countries. During 1999, Robinson created an original manga series, ''Astra'', with the help of manga artist Shojin Tanaka and Ken-ichi Oishi. This was later on released in English through

Central Park Media Central Park Media, often abbreviated as CPM, was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York and was headquartered in the 250 West 57th Street building in Midtown Manhattan (on the corner of Central Park, henc ...

by their manga line CPM Manga as a comic book

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

and then a trade paperback. On May 26, 2007, DC Comics announced that Robinson had been hired by the company as a "creative consultant". The press release accompanying this announcement did not describe his duties or responsibilities. Robinson was among the interview subjects in ''Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle'', a three-hour documentary narrated by

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood ...

that premiered posthumously on PBS in October 2013.

Death

Robinson died in his sleep at age 89 on the afternoon of December 7, 2011 in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

. His survivors were his wife, Gro (née Bagn) and two children.

Books

In 1974, Robinson wrote ''The Comics'', a comprehensive study of the history of newspaper

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

s.

Awards

Robinson won the National Cartoonists Society Award for the Comic Book Division in 1956, their 1963 Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for ''Still Life'', their 1965 Special Features Award for ''Flubs and Fluffs'' and their

Milton Caniff Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an American cartoonist famous for the ''Terry and the Pirates'' and ''Steve Canyon'' comic strips. Biography Caniff was born in Hillsboro, Ohio. He was an Eagle Scout and a r ...

Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Robinson was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004. Robinson received the Sparky Award for lifetime achievement from the

Cartoon Art Museum The Cartoon Art Museum (CAM) is a California art museum that specializes in the art of comics and cartoons. It is the only museum in the Western United States dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of all forms of cartoon art. The permanen ...

at the 2011

San Diego Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...

.

Notes

References

* Epstein, Daniel Robert
Newsarama.com: "The Joker, the Jewish Museum and Jerry: Talking to Jerry Robinson"

Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History ...

, October 18, 2006.
The Jewish Museum

*

External links

Jerry Robinson official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Jerry 1922 births 2011 deaths American comics artists Artists from New York City Artists from Trenton, New Jersey Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winners Columbia University alumni Golden Age comics creators Jewish American artists Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees