Josef "Joe" Rubinstein (born 4 June 1958) is a

comic book 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 literary ...

and

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing ...

, most associated with inking

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 ...

' ''

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic Guide book, guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed b ...

'' and the 1982 four-issue ''

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

'' miniseries by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...

and

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...

. He is also known for giving artist

Art Adams Arthur Adams (born April 5, 1963) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries ''Longshot (Marvel Comics), Longshot''. His subsequent in ...

his first professional work.Goulart, Ron. ''The Great Comic Book Artists, Volume 2'', 1989,

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

Early life

Josef Rubinstein was born in Wrocław, Poland in 1958. He moved with his family to the United States, where he became a

naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

in 1972.

Career

Rubinstein started his artist career in the early 1970s as a teenager. Primarily working as an inker, his artwork has been published by major U.S. comics publishers including

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 ...

and

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

. However, he first entered the industry as an office assistant to

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 ...

and

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

Continuity Associates Continuity Studios (formerly Continuity Associates, originally known as Continuity Graphics Associates)Eury, Michael and Giordano, Dick. ''Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day at a Time'', TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003. was a New York City and Lo ...

. While working this position, he learned how to ink from Giordano. At age 17, he met

Mike Nasser Michael Netzer (; born 9 October 1955) is an American-Israeli artist best known for his comic book work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics in the 1970s, as well as for his online presence. Early life Michael Nasser (later Netzer) was born in Detroi ...

, who had just received his first comics assignment, penciling a backup feature in ''

Kamandi Kamandi () is a fictional comic book character created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series ''Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth'', which ran from 1972 to 1978. He is a young ...

'' #45-46. Nasser allowed Rubinstein to practice inking on photocopies of his pencils for the story, and afterward showed the results to editor

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 ...

, who then assigned Rubinstein to inking the story. Rubinstein is grateful that editors assigned him work with Nasser as partners, pairing them with each other on every assignment. In 1982, Rubinstein inked the acclaimed ''

'' limited series. One of his most important works has been inking ''

'' over a span of twenty years, for which he holds a Guinness World Record of inking more pencilers than any other inker. Rubinstein recounted, Among his extensive inking credits (which include more than 2,500 comic books), were work with Michael Golden on ''

Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the '' Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974 ...

'',

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

's ''

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver". The term came to apply special ...

'' and ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

'' with

Don Newton Don Newton (November 12, 1934 – August 19, 1984) was an American comics artist. During his career, he worked for a number of comic book publishers including Charlton Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on The Pha ...

. Later assignments included a

mini-series In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

for

called ''Archenemies'', and co-inked issues of

's ''

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

'' mini-series and '' Green Arrow/Black Canary'' In 2016 he was inducted into the Joe Sinnott Inkwell Hall of Fame.

Awards

In 2016, Rubinstein won one of the two annual

Inkwell Awards The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is an award given for inking in American comic books.
Inkwell Awards Homepage ...

Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Awards.Inkwell Awards 2016 Winners
/ref> In his acceptance speech, he once again named

as his mentor.

References

External links

*
Josef Rubinstein
at Claypool Comics *
Josef Rubinstein Artwork Gallery
at ComicArtFans.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubinstein, Josef 1958 births Living people Polish emigrants Immigrants to the United States American artists Marvel Comics people