Don Heck

DON HECK 02 January 1929 – 23 February 1995

Avengers Pencils: #9 -14, 17-40, 108-112, 145-146, 157

Avengers Inks: #32-37, 119-121, 123, 301

Avengers Covers: #19, 22, 26, 31-36, 39, 40, 47, 112

Don Heck’s earliest recorded credit is the cover of the 1952 Weird Terror #1. Having come on staff at Atlas in 1954, Heck also did the cover for Tales of Suspense #1 in 1959. Heck’s work ranged from War, through sci-fi, mystery, suspense to superhero and even romance titles. While Heck’s credits also include Justice League of America, The Flash, and Wonder Woman for DC and Gold Key’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Don Heck is probably best known for co-creating the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, and his work on The Avengers. Although Jack Kirby designed the original appearance of Iron Man, it was Heck who developed the look for Tony Stark and other supporting characters. For a long time it was believed that a lot of Heck’s artwork on Iron Man was over Kirby’s pencils and layouts but Mark Evanier a former assistant to Kirby and a comic historian in his own right has dispelled these claims. Heck also pencilled the first appearances of future Avengers Hawkeye and Black Widow in Tales of Suspense #57 and Tales of Suspense #52. Heck often inked his own pencils and having pencilled 39 issues, only John Buscema and George Perez have pencilled more issues of The Avengers.  

"NEW AVENGERS": The first membership shake-up

 Avengers #16 May 1965