Todd Klein (born January 28, 1951) is an American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

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-book-reading experience. The l ...

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

, and occasional writer, primarily for

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 ...

Biography

Early career

Todd Klein broke into comics in the summer of 1977, hired by

as a staff production worker. This job entailed pasting together text pages (such as letter columns), putting logos, display lettering, and type on covers, and doing art and lettering corrections on comics pages. Other staffers included

colorist In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is ...

s Bob LeRose and Anthony Tollin, writer

Bob Rozakis Robert "Bob" Rozakis (; born April 4, 1951) is an American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of '' 'Mazing Man'' and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man". Career Bob Rozakis ...

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 ...

Steve Mitchell, and letterer John Workman. Over the next months and years, Klein tried his hand at all those things, but found lettering suited him best. Workman helped Klein get started with the basic tools and techniques, and Klein studied the work of

Gaspar Saladino Gaspar Saladino (September 1, 1927 – August 4, 2016) was an American letterer and logo designer who worked for more than sixty years in the comic book industry, mostly for DC Comics. Eventually Saladino went by one name, "Gaspar," which he wrote ...

, Workman, Ben Oda, and

John Costanza John Costanza (born August 14, 1943, in Dover, New Jersey) is an American comic book artist and letterer. He has worked for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. He was the letterer during Alan Moore's acclaimed run on ''Swamp Thing''. The bulk of C ...

; as well as

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 ...

letterers Tom Orzechowski, Jim Novak, and

Joe Rosen Joe Rosen (December 25, 1920 – October 12, 2009) was an American comic book artist, primarily known for his work as a letterer. Over the course of his career with Marvel Comics and DC Comics, Rosen lettered such titles as ''The Fantastic Four'' ...

. Klein landed his first freelance lettering job in the fall of 1977, and by late 1977 was entrusted with an entire issue: ''

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

'' #1.Klein, Todd
"How I Began," Todd Klein: Lettering - Logos - Design.
Retrieved July 22, 2008.

Freelancer

In the 1980s, Klein mainly worked for DC, where in addition to lettering many of their titles, he also designed logos and title headers for various letter pages. As DC emerged from a late 1970s/early 1980s slump, new opportunities opened up for freelancers. Klein got more work as a letterer (and also a fair amount as a writer), keeping him very busy. Books he worked on during this period included

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

's ''

Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...

'', '' Batman: Year One'', and ''

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 ...

''; as well as his own scripts for '' Omega Men''. As a freelancer, Klein also performed production work on such works as Moore and

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For the M ...

' ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'',

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 ...

's '' Ronin'', and '' Batman: The Dark Knight Returns''. In the 1990s, despite being a freelancer, Klein worked for long periods on a number of comics titles, including the entire runs of ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'' (1987–1992), ''

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The San ...

'' (1989–1996), ''The Spectre'' (1992–1998), ''

The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by hi ...

'' (1996–2001), and ''

The Invisibles ''The Invisibles'' is a comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics from 1994 to 2000. It was created and scripted by Scottish writer Grant Morrison, and drawn by various artists throughout its publication. The series loose ...

'' (1997–2000) for DC/Vertigo; and ''Deathblow'' (1994–1996) for

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

). He also has long stints on DC's ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (1990–1992 and 1996–1999); '' The Demon'' (1990–1994); ''

Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was Shade, the Changing Man (Vertigo), later adapted by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo in one of the first Vertigo Comics, Vertigo ...

'' (1990–1994); and '' Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' (1992–1994); as well as Marvel's ''

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 ...

'' (1998–2002) and ''

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian v ...

'' (1999–2000). In the 2000s, Klein lettered all the Alan Moore

America's Best Comics America's Best Comics (ABC) was a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics. History ''America's ...

titles, including ''

Promethea ''Promethea'' is a comic book Ongoing series, series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm. It tells the story of Sophie Bangs, a college student from an alternate futuristic New Y ...

'', '' Tom Strong'', and '' Top 10''. He also lettered the entire runs of Marvel's '' Universe X'' (2000–2001); DC/Vertigo's ''

Fables Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that ...

'' (2002–2015), '' Books of Magick: Life During Wartime'' (2005–2006), ''

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

'' (2005–2007), '' Jack of Fables'' (2006–2011), and '' Simon Dark'' (2007–2009). Klein has also spent long periods on DC's ''Detective Comics'' (2000–2003); ''

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 ...

'' (2003–2006) and Vertigo's ''

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller no ...

'' (2006–2008).

''Sandman''

Klein is most known for his work on

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

's ''

'', where he developed very distinctive dialogue balloons and lettering for various characters, especially

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

and his siblings. Klein discussed the process by which he came up with these distinctive styles on his website: "Each of them needed some sort of special lettering style, . . .to show that they are all equals in their iconic power.

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

's speech was simply italic (really just slanted) ..Neil had a specific idea about

Delirium Delirium (formerly acute confusional state, an ambiguous term that is now discouraged) is a specific state of acute confusion attributable to the direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, effects of a psychoactive substance, or ...

's style, that it represent a sort of mad variety, getting louder and softer, like something going in and out of focus. This was fun to do in small amounts, but tedious in large ones. Despair just had a rough balloon edge to denote a ragged, rough voice. (

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

, when we finally met him, had an extra bold border to denote a loud, booming voice.)""Klein, Todd
"Lettering: ''Sandman''/Neil Gaiman," Todd Klein: Lettering - Logos - Design.
Retrieved July 22, 2008.

Technique

To read about Klein's technique one need look no further than ''The DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics'', published by

Watson-Guptill Publications Watson-Guptill is an American publisher of instructional books in the arts. History The company was founded in 1937 by Ernest William Watson, Ralph Reinhold, and Arthur L. Guptill. They also published the magazine ''American Artist''. Their hea ...

. In this guide, Klein gives a thorough review of how he mentally approaches a page and then goes about doing the actual lettering, either by hand (pen and ink), or by use of the computer (

Adobe Illustrator Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and Computer-aided design, design software developed and marketed by Adobe Inc., Adobe. Originally designed for the Apple Inc., Apple Mac (computer), Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began ...

Computer lettering

Klein saw the growing prevalence of computerized lettering in the early 1990s and quickly realized it was the wave of the future. He had met

Comicraft Comicraft is a company which provides graphic design and lettering services to various (primarily comic book) companies. History The company was founded by Richard Starkings in 1992. Starkings had been working for Marvel UK for five years, but ...

owners Richard Starkings and John Gaushell at the 1993

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

, and in 1994, he asked them to help him get started with computer lettering by creating a few fonts based on Klein's hand lettering. Klein bought his first

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

computer in late 1994 and started learning how to make fonts himself. Since 1995, Klein has created a library of over 100 of his own fonts.Klein, Todd
"Computer lettering," Todd Klein: Lettering - Logos - Design.
Retrieved July 23, 2008. The first book that Klein fully computer lettered was Image Comics' '' Deathblow'' #20.

Logos

Klein began creating logos for DC when he started there in 1977. Most of his logos were for DC until he became a full-time freelancer in 1987, when he began creating logos for other companies as well.Klein, Todd
"Todd Klein Logos: Hand-Lettered Favorites," Todd Klein: Lettering - Logos - Design.
Accessed Oct. 15, 2008. Some of the notable logos he created during the period 1977–1995 include the ''Batman'' logo used for the '' Batman: Year One'' storyline, '' The New Teen Titans'' (including character logos for team members

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...

, Starfire,

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

Cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...

, and

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

), '' Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld'', ''

Camelot 3000 ''Camelot 3000'' is an American twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Mike W. Barr and penciled by Brian Bolland. It was published by DC Comics from 1982 to 1985 as one of its first direct market projects, and as its first maxi-s ...

'', ''

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

''. From 1995 to the present, most of Klein's logos have been done on the computer (although many began as hand-drawn sketches that were scanned and traced in Adobe Illustrator).Klein, Todd
"Todd Klein Logos: Computer-Created Favorites," Todd Klein: Lettering - Logos - Design.
Accessed Oct. 15, 2008. Notable logos from this period include ''

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

'', ''

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

'', '' Legionnaires'', ''

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 ''

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...

'', '' The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'', ''

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

'', ''

Witchblade ''Witchblade'' is an American comic book Ongoing series, series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint (trade name), imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owne ...

'', '' Terra Obscura'', and '' Tom Strong''.

Bibliography

Writing

In addition to being the main writer for '' The Omega Men'' from May 1985 to May 1986 (issue #s 26–38), Klein also penned a number of entries about the Omega Men and the

Green Lantern Corps The Green Lantern Corps is a intergalactic Peacekeeping, peace keeping agency appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the plan ...

for ''

Who's Who in the DC Universe ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' (1985–87), usually referred to simply as ''Who's Who'', is the umbrella title for a number of comic book series which DC Comics published to catalogue the wide variety of fictional ch ...

'', as well as its '87 update. In addition, from 1978 to 1988, Klein wrote a number of (mostly) short pieces for other DC titles: * "The Grimble," ''

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 ...

'' #262 (Nov. 1978) * "The Man Who Cheated Destiny," '' Secrets of Haunted House'' #25 (June 1980) * "As I Grow Pale and Thin," ''House of Mystery'' #304 (May 1982) * "Through a Lens, Darkly," ''House of Mystery'' #309 (Oct. 1982) * "Apprentice," ''

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, ...

'' #162 (March 1983) * "Green Magic," ''Green Lantern'' #163 (April 1983) * "Hero" ''Green Lantern'' #164 (May 1983) * "Green Magic: Test of Will, part 1," ''Green Lantern'' #165 (June 1983) * "Green Magic: Test of Will, part 2" ''Green Lantern'' #166 (July 1983) * "Successor," ''Green Lantern'' #167 (Aug. 1983) * "Deeter and Dragons," ''Green Lantern'' #171 (Dec. 1983) * "Scavenger," ''Green Lantern'' #172 (Jan. 1984) * "Class of 2064: Class Trip," '' New Talent Showcase'' #1 (Jan. 1984) * "Class of 2064: Between Earth and Sky," ''New Talent Showcase'' #2 (Feb. 1984) * "Class of 2064: Dark Side of the Earth," ''New Talent Showcase'' #3 (March 1984) * "Confessions", '' Omega Men'' #14 (May 1984) * "Under Siege," ''Omega Men'' #15 (June 1984) * "Class of 2064: Dragonfly part 1," '' New Talent Showcase'' #7 (July 1984) * "Class of 2064: Dragonfly, part 2," ''New Talent Showcase'' #8, (Aug. 1984) * "Green Magic: Enemy Lines, part 1," ''Green Lantern'' #179 (Aug. 1984) * "Green Magic: Enemy Lines, part 2," ''Green Lantern'' #180 (Sept. 1984) * "Arcana: The Dare," '' New Talent Showcase'' #12 (Dec. 1984) * "70mm Dreams," '' Blue Devil'' #11 (April 1985) * "Insect Trust, part 1," ''Green Lantern'' #189 (June 1985) * "Insect Trust, part 2", ''Green Lantern'' #190 (July 1985) * "Metropolis Wasn't Built in a Day... or Was It?" (written with

) ''

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 ...

'' #89 – Superman vs. The Omega Men (Jan. 1986) * "Leaving Home," '' Teen Titans Spotlight On'' #15 (Oct. 1987) * "The Secret Origin of the Guardians of the Universe," ''

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 ...

'' #23 (Feb. 1988)

Lettering (selected)

* ''Suicide Squad'' (DC): 1987–1992 – entire run * ''Detective Comics'' (DC): 1988–1990, 2000–2003 * ''Sandman'' (DC/Vertigo): 1989–1996 – entire run * ''Batman'' (DC): 1990–1992, 1996–1999 * ''The Demon'' (DC): 1990–1994 * ''Shade, the Changing Man'' (DC/Vertigo): 1990–1994 * ''Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' (DC): 1992–1994 * ''The Spectre'' (DC): 1992–1998 – entire run * ''Deathblow'' (Image): 1994–1996 – entire run * ''The Dreaming'' (Vertigo): 1996–2001 – entire run * ''The Invisibles'' (Vertigo): 1997–2000 – entire run * ''Captain America'' (Marvel): 1998–2002, #600 Timeline in 2009 * ''Earth X'' (Marvel): 1999–2000 – entire run * ''Top 10'' (America's Best Comics): 1999–2001 – entire run * ''Promethea'' (America's Best Comics): 1999–2005 – entire run * ''Tom Strong'' (America's Best Comics): 1999–2006 – entire run * ''Universe X'' (Marvel): 2000–2001 – entire run * ''Fables'' (Vertigo): 2002–2015 – entire run * ''Wonder Woman'' (DC): 2003–2006 * ''Books of Magick: Life During Wartime'' (Vertigo): 2005-2006 – entire run * ''Justice'' (DC): 2005–2007 – entire run * ''Testament'' (Vertigo): 2006–2008 * ''Jack of Fables'' (Vertigo): 2006–2011 – entire run * ''Simon Dark'' (DC): 2007–2009 – entire run * '' The Loxleys and the War of 1812'' (Renegade Arts Entertainment): 2012

Letter column headers

DC

Many of DC's lettercol headers were designed or redesigned in the 1980s by Klein.:Klein, Todd
"Klein Lettering Archives." Todd Klein - Lettering - Logos - Design.
Retrieved July 12, 2008. * ''

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 ...

'': "Re: Action," * ''

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 ...

'': "All-Star Squadroom" * ''

Ambush Bug Ambush Bug is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. His real name is supposedly Irwin Schwab, but he has mental problems that prevent him from truly understanding reality around him, so even his true identity migh ...

'': "Letters to Me" * ''

Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" t ...

'': "Animal Writes" * '' Arion: Lord of Atlantis'': "Spellbound Scrolls" * ''

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 ...

'': "Beetle's Nest" * '' Blue Devil'': "Circuits & Sorcery," "Speak of the Devil" * ''

Booster Gold Booster Gold (Michael Jon "Booster" Carter) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in ''Booster Gold (comic book), Booster Gold'' #1 (February 1986) and has be ...

'': "The Gold Exchange" * ''

Captain Atom Captain Atom is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books, initially owned by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. All possess some form of energy-manipulating abilities, usually relating to nuc ...

'': "Quantum Quotes" * '' Creeper'': "Crazy Talk" * ''

Demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

'': "The Hell You Say" * ''

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 ...

'': "Fleet Sheet" * ''

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

'' vol. 2: "Sherwood Forum" * ''

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

'': "Pinions" * '' L.E.G.I.O.N. '89'': "L.E.T.T.E.R.S. '89" * '' 'Mazing Man'': "'Mazing Mail" * '' New Talent Showcase'': "Talk About Talent" * ''

New 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 ...

'': "Titan’s Tower" * '' Omega Men'': "Omega-Mail" * ''

'': "Letters in the Sand" * ''

'': "Secret Admirers" * ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

'': "Shadowmania" * '' The Spectre'': "Speculations" * ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'': "Hailing Frequencies Open" * ''

'': "Suicide Notes" * '' Thriller'': "Filler" * ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

'': "Vigilante-grams," "You, the Jury" * '' The Wanderers'': "Homing Signals"

Marvel

In the 1990s, Klein designed or redesigned a number of Marvel's letter column headers: * ''

'': "The Spider’s Web" * ''

Marvel Team-Up ''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...

'': "Web-Zingers"* * '' Spider-Man Unlimited'': "Spider-Readers Unlimited" * ''

Spider-Woman Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first major version is Jessica Drew (and later impersonated by Veranke), the second major version is Julia Carpenter, and the third m ...

'': "Venom Blasts" * '' X-Men Unlimited'': "Unlimited X-citement"

Awards

, Klein has won 18 " Best Letterer/Lettering"

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

that have been given out since the category was established in 1993. He has won the Best Letterer

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

nine times, the first time in 1992 and the most recent one in 2013.

Notes

References

* Chiarello, Mark and Todd Klein. ''The DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics'' (Watson-Guptill Publishing, 2004). . *

External links

* , with many lettering resources, including a history, discussions of process, and Klein's lettering blog.
Creating "Go Freelance!"

A man of letters — Pádraig Ó Méalóid talks to Todd Klein

Forbidden Planet ''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction action film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack and directed by Fred M. Wilcox (director), Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on a film story by ...

, September 29, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Todd 1951 births Living people American comics writers Comic book letterers Eisner Award winners Eisner Award winners for Best Letterer/Lettering Harvey Award winners People from New Jersey