Posted By Dan Greenfield on Aug 6, 2016 | 5 comments

We invited comics creators and historians to pick some of their favorites.

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UPDATED 9/1/18: Today is Letterer Appreciation Day, the brainchild of Blambot’s Nate Piekos, one of the best in the biz. It’s timed to coincide with the birthday of the great Gaspar Saladino, who would have been 91. I put this piece together when Saladino died in 2016 but it’s timeless, so I’m sharing it with you again. Enjoy. — Dan

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Lettering is an underrated talent. A good letterer can add immense impact and emotional charge to a scene without the reader even knowing it’s happening. (Check out 13 Things You Didn’t Know About Comic-Book Lettering, by Nate Piekos, one of today’s best.)

Gaspar Saladino, a giant in the field of comics lettering, died this week at age 88. His contributions were enormous and in celebrating his legacy, I’ve decided to focus on his cover logos, which are, naturally, so emblematic of the characters and titles on which he worked.

He and Ira Schnapp (who died in 1969) are responsible for most of DC’s greatest logos — and Saladino’s hand and mind created important ones for Marvel, as well.

(For an excellent overview of Saladino’s career, check out Dial B for Blog. And for a look at Schnapp’s logos, click here.)

So here we present 13 of our favorites by Gaspar Saladino that he designed or refined. And as a bonus, I asked creators Paul Levitz and Mark Waid and historians Craig Yoe and Arlen Schumer to contribute their favorites.

NOTE: Sources on some logos are sketchy, so if there’s uncertainty, I’ve noted it in the captions. Feel free to contact me or leave a comment if you catch a mistake.

“The Green Lantern one done with Gil Kane is way cool–and talk about team-up heaven!” — Craig Yoe

“The Swamp Thing logo, of course—his GREATEST logo!” — Arlen Schumer . (Also suggested by Paul Levitz)

A personal fave of mine, believed to be by Saladino. If you know differently, let me know.

“House of Mystery. Hands down. God, he was my favorite letterer. The best there ever was at that game.” — Mark Waid

Paul Levitz suggested these two, as well:

Some Marvel greatness:

And back to DC:

“All those DC mystery titles were perfect for Saladino’s ‘scary’ lettering style!” — Arlen Schumer

Again, a favorite of mine. Again, if you have info that someone other than Saladino did this one, let me know.

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All scans courtesy of the Grand Comics Database.

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