Tom Orzechowski

Thomas Paul Orzechowski[2] (/ɔːrzəˈtʃaʊski/;[3] born March 1, 1953[4]) is an American comic book letterer, primarily known for his work on Uncanny X-Men.

Some older members of the club included future comics professionals Rich Buckler, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, and Mike Vosburg.

[5] One of his first jobs of that kind was for Monsters Unleashed, on one of the first Marvel stories written by future X-Men scribe Chris Claremont.

Studio Proteus titles on which Orzechowski worked included Nausicaä, Appleseed, Dominion, and Ghost in the Shell.

He also helped popularize non-standard (non-bubble-shaped) designs for word balloons, to reflect different character voices (square for robots, jagged/dripping for demons, etc.).

In the mid-1970s, while Marvel’s production boss and cover letterer Dan Crespi was developing a tight, attractive house style, Orzechowski was 3,000 miles away in California, "buried in design books."

Orzechowski figured that "since the X-Men didn’t overlap the rest of the Marvel Universe," there was no reason not to be influenced by calligraphy, record jackets, old movie posters — everything except comics.

[5] Early influences on Orzechowski's distinctive style included the work of Alphonse Mucha, and the comics lettering of Artie Simek and Abe Kanegson.

Orzechowski studied everything of Crumb's (as well as the late 1960s DCs and Marvels), and developed a lettering style based on all of those influences.

I'd bet money I spotted the letterer on the '40s stories in the Black Canary Archive by his "J"s. I’m sure it was Gaspar Saladino, who later worked on all of the late '50s DC hero revivals for Julie Schwartz.