Donald L. HeckDonald L. Heck
at the

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

. Retrieved on September 23, 2012
Archived
from the original on September 23, 2012. (January 2, 1929 – February 23, 1995 In print issue #1650 (February 2009), p. 107) was an American

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literar ...

best known for co-creating the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

characters

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

, the

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

, Black Widow, Hawkeye and

Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The character, wh ...

and for his long run penciling the Marvel

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

-team series '' The Avengers'' during the 1960s

Silver Age of comic books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver A ...

Biography

Early life and career

Heck was born in the

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

neighborhood of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York City, the son of Bertha and John Heck, of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

descent. Heck learned art through

correspondence courses Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

as well as at

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

Vocational High School in Jamaica and at a

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He continued with an impromptu art education in December 1949Heck in when at the recommendation of a college friend he landed a job at

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alf ...

. There he repurposed

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of 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 terminology#Captio ...

Photostat The Photostat machine, or Photostat, was an early Photocopying, projection photocopier created in the 1900s (decade), decade of the 1900s by the Commercial Camera Company, which became the Photostat Corporation. The "Photostat" name, which was ori ...

s into comic-book form – including the work of Heck's idol, famed cartoonist

Milton Caniff Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an American cartoonist known 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 re ...

. Heck remained at Harvey, where one co-worker in the production department was future comics artist

Pete Morisi Peter A. Morisi (January 7, 1928 – October 12, 2003),Peter A. Morisi

, for two-and-a-half years. When a Harvey employee, Allen Hardy, broke off “to start his own line, Media Comics ic; actually Comic Media">Comic_Media.html" ;"title="ic; actually Comic Media">ic; actually Comic Media/nowiki>, in 1952," Heck recalled in 1993, Hardy “called me up and asked me to join."Heck, ''Comics Scene'' #37, p. 55 Heck's first known comics work appeared in two Comic Media titles both cover-dated September 1952: the

war comic War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began inc ...

''War Fury'' #1, for which he penciler, penciled and inker, inked the cover and the eight-page story "The Unconquered", by an unknown writer; and the cover and the six-page story "Hitler's Head", also by an unknown writer, in the horror comic ''Weird Terror'' #1. Heck's work continued to appear in those titles and in the horror anthology ''Horrific'', for which he designed the logo;Heck, quoted in the adventure-drama anthology ''Danger''; the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

anthology ''Death Valley''; and other titles through the company's demise in late 1954. Heck also did freelance assignments for

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

, Hillman Comics, and

Toby Press Toby Press was an American comic-book company that published from 1949 to 1955. Founded by Elliott Caplin, brother of cartoonist Al Capp and himself an established comic strip writer, the company published reprints of Capp's '' Li'l Abner'' str ...

. For publisher U.S. Pictorial in 1955, he drew the one-shot ''Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion'', a TV tie-in comic based on the 1955–57 syndicated, live-action kids' show of that name.

Atlas Comics

Through his old Harvey Comics colleague Pete Morisi, Heck in 1954 met

’

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

, then editor-in-chief and art director of Marvel's 1950 predecessor, Atlas Comics. As Heck recalled Heck became an Atlas staff artist on September 1, 1954;Heck, ''Comics Scene'' #37, p. 58: Sidebar, "Artistic Conversations" his first known work for the company was the five-page horror story "Werewolf Beware" in '' Mystery Tales'' #25 (Jan. 1955), though Heck in 1993 recalled, "The first job I did was about a whale breaking a ship apart. Then I did he submarine-crew feature'Torpedo Taylor' for ''Navy Combat''," drawing that five- or six-page feature in issues #1–14 and 16 (June 1955–Aug. 1957, Feb. 1958) and, oddly, doing one page of a five-page story finished by

Joe Maneely Joseph Maneely (; February 18, 1926 – June 7, 1958) was an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, where he co-created the Marvel characters the Black Knight (Si ...

in issue #19 (Aug. 1958). Until Atlas' 1957 business retrenchment – when it let go of most of its staff and freelancers and Heck spent a year drawing

model airplane A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed s ...

views for Berkeley Models – Heck contributed dozens of

war comics War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began inc ...

stories and

Westerns The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...

plus a smattering of jungle and

science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

tales. Atlas began revamping in late 1958 with the arrival of artist

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

, a comics legend whose career was also in need of revamping, and who threw himself into the anthological science fiction, supernatural mystery, and giant-monster stories of what would become known as " pre-superhero Marvel." Heck returned alongside other soon-to-be-famous names of Marvel Comics' 1960s emergence as a

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

phenomenon, making his first splash with the cover of ''

Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series, and two one-shot comics, all published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for s ...

'' #1 (Jan. 1959), one of the very few Atlas/Marvel covers of that time not drawn by Kirby. In the years immediately preceding the arrival of the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

, and the other popular heroes of Marvel's ascendancy, Heck gave atmospheric rendering to numerous science fiction / fantasy stories in that comic as well as in sister publications ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...

'', ''

Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series, and a One-shot (comics), one-shot comic, all published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a scie ...

'', '' Strange Worlds'', '' World of Fantasy'', and ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s ...

''. Heck also contributed to such Atlas/Marvel

romance comics Romance comics are a genre of comic book, comic books that were most popular during the Golden Age of Comics. The market for comics, which had been growing rapidly throughout the 1940s, began to plummet after the end of World War II when military ...

as '' Love Romances'' and '' My Own Romance''. Comics artist

Jerry Ordway Jeremiah Joseph Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books. He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite E ...

, describing this era of Heck's work, called the artist "truly under-appreciated ... His Atlas work (pre-Marvel) was terrific, with a clean sharp style, and an ink line that wouldn't quit."

Silver Age

During the period fans and historians call the

Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver A ...

premiered in ''Tales of Suspense'' #39 (March 1963) as a collaboration among editor and story-plotter Lee, scriptwriter

Larry Lieber Lawrence D. Lieber (; born October 26, 1931) (Scroll down) is an American comic book writer and artist best known as co-creator of the Marvel Comics superheroes Iron Man, Thor, and Ant-Man. He is also known for his long stint both writing and d ...

, story-artist Heck, and Kirby, who provided the cover pencils and designed the first Iron Man armor. Kirby "designed the costume," Heck recalled, "because he was doing the cover. The covers were always done first. But I created the look of the characters, like

Tony Stark Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

and his secretary

Pepper Potts Virginia "Pepper" Potts is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee and Robert Bernstein (comics), Robert Bernstein, and designed by artist Don Heck, the character Firs ...

." Comics historian and former Kirby assistant

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series '' Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book '' Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and ...

, investigating claims of Kirby's involvement in the creation of both Iron Man and Daredevil, interviewed Kirby and Heck on the subject, years before their deaths, and concluded that Kirby Heck himself recalled in 1985 that while some sources claimed then "that Jack Kirby did breakdowns," Heck was the artist co-creator of several new characters in the "Iron Man" feature. The

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

debuted in ''Tales of Suspense'' #50 (Feb. 1964) and would become one of Iron Man's major enemies. Hawkeye, Marvel's archer supreme, first appeared in ''Tales of Suspense'' #57 (Sept. 1964), following the introduction of ''

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

'' Communist spy and future superheroine and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent the Black Widow in #52 (April 1964). He drew the feature "Iron Man" through issue #46 (Oct. 1963), after which Spider-Man artist

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular ac ...

introduced the familiar red-and-gold Iron Man armor and drew three issues. Heck returned with #50 and continued through #72 (Dec. 1965). Concurrent with drawing Iron Man, Heck succeeded

as penciler on the superhero team series '' The Avengers'' with issue #9 (Oct. 1964), the introduction of

. The

Count Nefaria Count Luchino Nefaria is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the character first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #13 (February 1965). Count Nefaria is a socialite and crime ...

character was introduced by Lee and Heck four issues later. Heck, who inked his own pencils for many years, transitioned to the "

Marvel method A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a Television, television program teleplay or a film screenplay. In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and ...

" of doing comics—in which the

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...

plotted and paced the details of a story based on a synopsis or plot outline from the writer, who would afterward add dialog—and was assigned the help of an inker for the first time. He successfully made this adjustment, and went on to make ''The Avengers'', which he drew through issue #40 (May 1967), plus the 1967 annual, one of his signature series. He inked his own pencil work in issues #32–37. Heck would return to ''The Avengers'' one final time to co-plot and pencil issue #45, with inks by Vince Colletta. During this run, Heck co-created characters including the supervillain and eventual hero the

Swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

, in #19 (Aug. 1965); the supervillain

Power Man Power Man may refer to: * Luke Cage, a Marvel Comics superhero, originally called Power Man * Erik Josten, a Marvel supervillain later known as Smuggler, Goliath and Atlas * Victor Alvarez, the current Power Man introduced in the mini-series ''Sh ...

, who years later became the hero Atlas, in #21 (Oct. 1965); the cosmic entity

the Collector ''The Collector'' is a 1963 thriller novel by English author John Fowles, in his literary debut. Its plot follows a lonely young man who kidnaps a female art student in London and holds her captive in the cellar of his rural farmhouse. Divided ...

in #28 (May 1966); the supporting character Bill Foster, who much later became the superhero Black Goliath, in #32 (Sept. 1966); and the supervillain the

Living Laser The Living Laser (Arthur Parks) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book a ...

in #34 (Nov. 1966). During the next comics era, the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, he co-created another cosmic entity,

Mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate a ...

, in issue #112 (May 1973). Elsewhere during the 1960s, Heck penciled ''

The X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

'' #38–42 (Nov. 1967 – March 1968) and introduced the new X-Men Lorna Dane in issue #49 (Oct. 1968) and Havok in #54 (March 1969). Heck drew, over John Romita layouts, ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' #57–64 and 66 (Feb.–Sept and Nov. 1968). Heck would also draw issues of '' Captain Marvel'' and ''Iron Man'', the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

'' Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders'', horror stories in ''

Chamber of Darkness Chamber or The Chamber may refer to: Organizations and government *Chamber of commerce, a form of business network *Legislative chamber, a deliberative assembly within a legislature *Debate chamber, a room for people to discuss and debate Arts ...

'' and '' Tower of Shadows'', and, once more, love stories, in the

''Our Love Story'' and ''My Love''. From 1966 to 1971, Heck was an uncredited " ghost artist" on

Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...

’s ''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

'' daily newspaper

, and later on the ''

Terry and the Pirates ''Terry and the Pirates'' is an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff, which originally ran from October 22, 1934, to February 25, 1973. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndica ...

'' daily strip.

Move to DC

By 1970, however, Marvel work became less frequent, and Heck obtained assignments from rival

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, beginning with a short story in the supernatural anthology '' House of Secrets'' #85 (May 1970). He did his first DC superhero work with ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'' #198 (June 1970), illustrating a backup story of the super-speedster, and eventually garnered additional work including romance comics, and the backup features "

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

" and "

Jason Bard Jason Bard is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #392, which was published in 1969. He appeared in several back-up stories throughout the 1970s and 1980s in ''Detective Comics''.. Fictional charact ...

" in ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'', and " Rose and the Thorn" in ''

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics. The series focusing on the adventures of Lois Lane began publication with a March/April 1958 cover date and ended its run in September/October ...

''. He began a short run on ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'' with issue #204 (Feb. 1973), in which the character's powers and traditional costume were restored after several years, and he also freelanced for the short-lived publisher Skywald Comics. Heck still occasionally worked at Marvel, penciling the odd issue of '' Daredevil'', '' Sub-Mariner'', ''

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple superheroes or antiheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

'', ''The Avengers'' and others in the mid-1970s. He drew ''Giant-Size Avengers'' #4 which featured the wedding of the

Vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

and the

Scarlet Witch The Scarlet Witch is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #4 in March 1964, in the Silver Age of Comic Boo ...

. Writer

Tony Isabella Jenny Blake Isabella (born December 22, 1951), who writes under the names Tony Isabella and Jenny Blake, is an Americans, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic. She is the creator of Marvel Comics superhero Bill Foster (com ...

and Heck launched the new superhero team book ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'' in October 1975. But in 1977, he began working almost exclusively for DC. Heck explained in 1985, "I left Marvel for a change of pace. I kept getting all the new inkers. Everyone who walked in, I got them. A bad inker can kill artwork. I once got some pages back from inking and I just tore them up, that's how bad they were." With writer

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

, Heck co-created the DC cyborg hero Steel, the Indestructible Man in the premiere issue (March 1978) of the titular comic. After that series' cancellation, Heck became regular artist on ''The Flash'', and in 1982 reunited with Conway to draw the ''

Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

'', including that year's crossover with the ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...

''. Heck then returned to ''Wonder Woman'' and drew the title until its cancellation in 1986. Later that same year, he was one of the contributors to the '' DC Challenge'' limited series.

Later career

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Heck returned to Marvel, where his work included features for the superhero anthologies ''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...

'' and ''

Marvel Fanfare ''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe. Volume one ''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and setting ...

''. The artist even returned to two signature characters: he inked Hawkeye stories in ''Solo Avengers'' #17–20 and the subsequent ''Avengers Spotlight'' #21–22 (April–Sept. 1989) – both penciling and inking a second Hawkeye story in that last issue – and he drew Iron Man, inking penciler

Mark Bright Mark Abraham Bright (born 6 June 1962) is an English sports correspondent and former Association football, footballer. Born to a The Gambia, Gambian father and English mother, he was adopted into a foster family in Stoke-on-Trent at an early a ...

's eight-page "The Other Way Out" in ''

'' #51 (June 1990), and both penciling and inking the one-page featurette "Tony Stark, The Invincible Iron Man" in ''Iron Man Annual'' #12 (Sept. 1991) and a pinup in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2 #13 (April 1993). Heck also did a smattering of work for such

independent comics Alternative comics or independent comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream su ...

as Topps Comics' ''NightGlider'', Hero Comics' ''Mr. Fixit'', Vortex's ''

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Adventures'', and Millennium Publications' '' H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu: The Whisperer in Darkness''. His final DC work was penciling and inking over

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, ...

's layouts for ''

Spelljammer ''Spelljammer'' is a campaign setting originally published for the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' ( 2nd edition) role-playing game, which features a fantastic (as opposed to scientific) outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included ...

'' #11 (July 1991), and his last known comics work was the 10-page "The Theft of

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

's Hammer", by writer

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...

, in ''Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2 #15 (Oct. 1993). Marvel one-time editor-in-chief

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

said of the artist Heck died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in 1995. He was living in

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, at the time of his death.

Bibliography

DC Comics

* ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' #517-520 (1981) * ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'' #424, 462-465, 482-484, 486-487 (1972-1981) * '' Adventures of the Outsiders'' #38 (1986) * ''

'' #8-9, 65 (1982-1987) * ''

Batman Family ''Batman Family'' is an American comic book anthology series published by DC Comics which ran from 1975 to 1978, primarily featuring stories starring supporting characters to the superhero Batman. An eight-issue miniseries called ''Batman: Famil ...

'' #8, 14, 16-17, 20 (1976-1978) * ''

Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three superheroes appearing in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the rights to the ...

'' #23-24 (1988) * ''Centurions'' #1-4 (1987) * ''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' #4 (1988) * '' DC Challenge'' #9 (1986) * ''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...

'' #38 (1981) * ''

'' #408-425, 427, 429, 431, 433, 481-482, 485-486, 489 (1971-1980) * ''

'' #198, 280-295 (1970-1981) * ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' #86 (1980) * ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'' #120-122, 185 (1979-1985) * ''

Heart Throbs ''Heart Throbs'' was a romance comic published by Quality Comics and DC Comics from 1949 to 1972. Quality published the book from 1949–1957, when it was acquired by DC. Most issues featured a number of short comics stories, as well advice co ...

'' #101 (1966) * ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...

'' #192 (1971) * '' House of Secrets'' #85, 89, 95 (1970-1972) * ''

'' #187-188, 198-199, 201-205, 207-209, 213-216 (1981-1983) * ''

My Greatest Adventure ''My Greatest Adventure'' is a DC Comics comic book that began in 1955 and is best known for introducing the superhero team Doom Patrol. Publication history The title was originally an anthology series with first-person narratives. The series ...

'' #49 (1960) * '' Our Army at War'' #36 (1955) * ''

Secret Origins ''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...

'' #33 (1988) * '' Steel, The Indestructible Man'' #1-5 (1978) * ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'' #2-4 (1973) * ''

Superman Family Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' #187, 194-198 (1978-1979) * ''Superman Movie Special'' #1 – ''Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' (1987) * ''

'' #123-130 (1972-1973) * ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' #50-52 (1977) * '' The Witching Hour'' #6, 17, 20 (1970-1972) * ''

'' #199, 204-206, 233-234, 287, 301, 306-309, 311-317, 319-329 (1972-1986)

Marvel Comics

* ''

Amazing Adventures ''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics. The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...

'' (vol. 1) #5 (1961) * ''Amazing Adventures'' (vol. 2) #6-8 (1971) * ''

Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' #57, 59-63, 66, ''Annual'' #3 (1966-1968) * ''

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'' #9-15, 17-40, 45, 108-112, 145-146, 157, ''Annual'' #1-2 (1964-1977) * '' Avengers Spotlight'' #22 (1989) * ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

Annual'' #10 (1991) * '' Captain Marvel'' #5-10, 16 (1968-1969) * '' Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders'' #12-16 (1969) * ''

Chamber of Chills ''Chamber of Chills'' is the name of two anthology horror comic books, one published by Harvey Publications in the early 1950s, the other by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Harvey Publications The first ''Chamber of Chills'' was a 10-cent horror an ...

'' #3, 13 (1973-1974) * ''

'' #1-2, 8 (1969-1970) * '' Champions'' #1-2, 5 (1975-1976) * '' Daredevil'' #103-106, 118 (1973-1975) * ''

Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

'' #29 (1975) * ''

'' (vol. 1) #2 (1967) * ''Ghost Rider'' (vol. 2) #22-25 (1977) * ''Giant-Size Avengers'' #4 (1975) * ''Giant-Size Defenders'' #4-5 (1975) * ''Giant-Size Dracula'' #3-4 (1974-1975) * ''Giant-Size Spider-Man'' #2 (1974) * '' Invaders'' #35, 38 (1978-1979) * ''

'' #26-31, 33-37 (1970-1971); ''Annual'' #12 (1991) * ''

'' #37, 44, 50, 53, 55-65, 67-68, 73-74, 76-77, 79-80, 82-86, 88, 98-100 (1956-1964) * ''

Jungle Tales ''Jungle Tales'' (later called ''Jann of the Jungle'') is an American comic book title published by Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. It was an anthology title of stories set in an African jungle. Public ...

'' #6-7 (1955); later becomes ''Jann of the Jungle'' #8-11, 14-17 (1955-1957) * '' Ka-Zar'' #2-5, 11 (1974-1975) * ''

Kid Colt, Outlaw ''Kid Colt, Outlaw'' is a comic book title featuring the character Kid Colt originally published by Atlas Comics beginning in 1948 and later Marvel Comics. Publication history Kid Colt and his horse Steel first appeared in ''Kid Colt'' #1 (Au ...

'' #99-100, 104-105, 135 (1961-1967) * ''

'' #12, 32, 40, 49, 51, 63 (1989-1990) * ''

'' #56 (1991) * ''

Marvel Feature ''Marvel Feature'' was a comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. It was a tryout book, intended to test the popularity of characters and concepts being considered for their own series. The first volume led to the launc ...

'' #1 (1971) * ''

Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own ser ...

'' #29-30 (1976) * ''My Love'' #14 (1970) * ''Mystery Tales'' #25, 30 (1955) * '' Mystic'' #46, 55 (1956-1957) * ''Navy Combat'' #1-16, 19 (1955-1958) * ''Our Love Story'' #4 (1970) * ''

Psi-Force ''Psi-Force'' is a comic book series created by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson and published by Marvel Comics under their New Universe imprint from 1986 to 1989. It ran for 32 issues and an annual (October 1987). It concerned a group of ...

'' #22 (1988) * ''

Rawhide Kid The Rawhide Kid (real name: Johnny Bart, originally given as Johnny Clay) is a fictional Old West cowboy appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted a ...

'' #17, 20-22, 27, 30-31, 55 (1960-1966) * ''

'' #67, 69, 71-83, 87-88, 90-92, 95-96, 98-101, 103, 105, 108, 140, 145-148 (1959-1966) * ''Strange Worlds'' #1-2, 5 (1958-1959) * '' Sub-Mariner'' #64-68 (1973-1974) * ''

'' #1, 3, 6-13, 15-19, 22, 24, 26, 29-36, 38-39, 42, 44-46, 50-72 (1959-1965) * ''

'' #2, 4-5, 7-17, 19, 21-25, 27, 30, 32-35, 37-39, 41-43, 45-48, 53-54 (1959-1964) * '' Tower of Shadows'' #2, 4, 9, ''Annual'' #1 (1969-1971) * '' Two-Gun Kid'' #45, 58 (1958-1961) * ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

'' #38-42, 44-49, 52, 54-55, 64 (1967-1970)

References

External links

*
The American Artist Bluebook: Don Heck

"DC Profiles #73: Don Heck"
at the Grand Comics Database *
Don Heck
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Heck, Don 1929 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American artists American comics artists American people of German descent Artists from New York City DC Comics people Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Marvel Comics people People from Centereach, New York People from Jamaica, Queens Silver Age comics creators