This a photo from the early seventies of Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott. This was, I think, the second time they'd ever met in person. All those years in the sixties when Jack was drawing Fantastic Four and Joe was doing such a superb job with the inking, the two men neither met nor even spoke. Their first conversation was a phone call in 1970, after Jack had left Marvel, and I got them on the line together. A few years after, Marie Severin introduced them at a New York convention…and then the next time they were at a New York con, I brought Joe over to say howdy to Jack and I snapped this pic. Joe understandably sometimes tells interviewers that I got them together for the first time at a New York con but that's not exactly how I remember it.
Anyway: If you were in a roomful of comic book folks and you said, "Joe Sinnott was the best inker ever in comics," I don't think a lot of breath would be wasted in debating the point. You'd get even less dissent if you said, "Joe Sinnott is the nicest person who was ever in comics." I might suggest I was more deserving but no one else would. And even I admit that Joe is a great guy.
That great guy is about to have a hip replacement. The old one's done worn out and he gets a new one next Friday. If you know Joe, you love him. If you don't know Joe but you know his work, you love what he does. Either way, you might like to send a get-well card or note to cheer him up and on. That address is…
Joe Sinnott
P.O. Box 406
Saugerties, NY 12477
As I said, the surgery is on Friday. His fine son Mark tells me he's looking at about four days in the hospital and week or two at a rehab center, followed by a long recuperative period at home. So Joe's got plenty of time to read your cards and letters. It would be a small gesture for a big talent.