Joe Caramagna has lettered well over 6,000 Marvel comics, from The Amazing Spider-Man to Uncanny X-Men to Ms. Marvel to Captain America, making him one of the most prolific letterers in the company's history. He broke in through a Marvel internship at the Kubert School, and 25 years later he's writing his own comics and middle-grade novels alongside his lettering work, including Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, Disney's DuckTales and Frozen, a Batman story on autism called One Lock, Many Keys, and the middle-grade series Space Chasers (with astronaut Leland Melvin) and The Cursed Campground (with FGTeeV).
We caught up with Joe to talk about breaking into the Bullpen, why lettering should disappear into the story, his reading habits away from superhero comics, and what he's working on next.
You're one of the most prolific letterers in Marvel history. For readers who might not know exactly what that means day to day, how would you describe your role?
My job on Marvel books is to pull the dialogue from the writer's script and place it in word balloons over the art. I also design the sound effects, for the most part.
You broke in through a Marvel internship at the Kubert School. What was that first day in the Bullpen actually like, and what surprised you most about how a professional lettering department operated?
The bullpen was awesome. I don't know if the folks there thought it was awesome, but I never wanted to leave once I got there. I remember it being very yellow, like a pale yellow. There were Marvel posters, and statues, and comics everywhere. Kind of messy. But it had a creative energy. Larry Hama was there on my first day. John Romita had an office to the left of my desk. Chris Claremont was on staff at the time. I ate at my desk, I stayed past closing... I just loved being there. The lettering department itself was in its earliest days. It was two guys, Dave Sharpe and Paul Tutrone, and me. So it wasn't anything to speak of. But I loved those guys.
You've lettered well over 6,000 Marvel issues across basically every major title: Amazing Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, Ms. Marvel, Captain America. Is there a single issue or run that you look back on as the one where everything clicked for you as a letterer?
Is it really over 6,000? Wow. The run I'm most proud of is The Amazing Spider-Man. It's the series that made me want to make Marvel comics for a living. And now, 25 years after my internship, I've lettered almost 350 issues of the series. But the series where it sort of "clicked," where I felt like I was pretty good at this job and felt comfortable and confident, is probably Nextwave by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen.
You've talked about how good lettering should serve the story without drawing attention to itself. After all these years and all these titles, is that still your north star, or has your philosophy shifted?
It's definitely my north star. Literally no one is buying the comic for the lettering. Not consciously, anyway. Great lettering can make a good comic great, but it can't make a bad comic good. It's my job to help the writer and artists tell their story in the best way possible, to give sound to the book. It's NOT my job to show everyone what a great letterer I am, or to get recognition, or entertain the audience with tricks. I'm there to enhance the other talent and tell the best story possible.
Tone affects everything in your work. How differently do you approach lettering something like Amazing Spider-Man versus a grittier Marvel book? What changes, and what stays the same?
The font choice is the first, most obvious thing. For a lot of my work, the Amazing Spider-Man specifically, I use a round, more jaunty font. For a Punisher or Ghost Rider book, I might use something more picked. It all depends on what looks best with the art I'm working with. Sound effects change too. I decide whether they are solid, gradient, multicolored, etc. based on vibes. Sometimes it takes me 3-4 pages to decide on a style, then I have to go back and make it uniform.
You've also written comics: Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, Disney titles like DuckTales and Frozen, your Batman story "One Lock, Many Keys," praised for its portrayal of autism. Does being a writer change how you letter someone else's script? Do you catch things differently?
Maybe...? I don't know if it's being a writer or being a reader, but sometimes I think one balloon needs to be split into two or more for pacing, or to sell a thought or a joke. Sometimes I'll make the change myself in the lettering stage, most of the time I let the writer and editor read the lettered version and see if they have the same thoughts I do. And timing is important for jokes also. Sometimes you need a pause and the word balloon has to be given space. Other times, the punchline has to be rapid fire. Those decisions I make on my own.
What's on your personal pull list right now that has nothing to do with work, something you're reading purely for fun?
I'm so busy making comics that when I read for fun I tend to read nonfiction prose. That's as far away from super hero comics as there is. But I'll sometimes read a graphic novel or browse the Marvel Unlimited app for some classics.
Is there a book from outside the superhero world, manga, indie, literary comics, that's been living on your nightstand lately?
Yes, actually, the Universal Monsters hardcover collections from Skybound are literally on my night stand. My buddy John sends them to me because he knows how much I love the Universal Monsters. But it's taking me long to get through them.
Do you have a local comic shop? And what does that relationship actually look like for someone who works inside the industry? Do you still go in on Wednesdays, or does working at Marvel change how you interact with retail?
I don't have a local comic shop that I go to on Wednesdays anymore. The last few times I've been at a comic shop was at A & S Comics in Teaneck, NJ. I've had signings there and got to know the owners pretty well. Great shop! My shop growing up was The Joker's Child in Fair Lawn, NJ. I think about the owners Len and Karen often. Karen got me into Kyle Baker and some other non-super hero books when I was a teen, books that really shaped me as a pro. In the few times I've been there in the past ten or so years, they've been really wonderful to me.
You co-wrote Space Chasers with astronaut Leland Melvin and The Cursed Campground with FGTeeV. Jumping between lettering hundreds of Marvel issues and writing middle-grade books for kids, how do you hold both of those things in your head at once? Do they feel like different jobs or the same job in different clothes?
I basically keep two full-time jobs. I'm a letterer during business hours, and a writer during non-business hours. And that's important because the routine of it all helps my brain switch from one to the other. When I try to letter when I'm not supposed to, and write when I'm not supposed to, I can do it, but I'm not as productive. As I always say, "routine is queen." There's no better way to be productive than to keep a routine. It's the most important thing.
What are you working on right now, and what should readers be watching for?
Leland and I just finalized the third book in our Space Chasers series, "Space Chasers: Mission To Mars." I'm also writing more Zootopia stories for Disney. As far as lettering goes, I just started lettering The Amazing Spider-Man #1000!
If someone reading this has never thought about lettering before, what's one book they should pull off the shelf specifically to look at the letters?
They aren't comics, but Comicraft put out a good book a long time ago. But if anyone wants to learn how to letter, "The Essential Guide To Comic Book Lettering" by Nate Piekos is a must-read. Nate is a prolific comic book letterer in his own right and you could do a lot worse than to learn from him. Aside from that, learn from the classics. John Workman's letters in the Walt Simonson run on Thor are magic.
Connect with Joe
Joe's latest middle-grade book, Space Chasers: Mission To Mars, is out now, and he's currently lettering The Amazing Spider-Man #1000.
Thanks to Joe for the time and the candor.
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