13 Freaky Facts You May Not Know About Comics And Their Creators

2. After Being Fired, DC's Former Publisher Went To Work For Marvel

After Carmine Infantino was fired as the publisher of DC Comics in 1975, the artist who'd helped jumpstart the mass revival of superheroes, the man most responsible for redefining DC's look during the Silver Age, needed a job! Stan Lee reached out to his former rival. Lee had always admired Infantino's skills as a cover designer and storyteller; in fact, nearly a decade earlier, in 1966, when Lee first heard that DC had tasked Infantino with either penciling or designing the covers for its entire line of comics, Lee had phoned the artist and offered him $35,000 to leave DC and come to Marvel. Infantino had declined, remaining loyal to his company. But now? Infantino wasn't one to hold a grudge. Besides, all's fair in love and war - and comics. So Infantino, the "Face" of DC, immediately went to work for Marvel, designing numerous covers for such titles as Nova; penciling Star Wars (George Lucas actually requested him); doing an 18-issue run on Spider-Woman (during which he redefined the character's look); as well as filling in on issues of Iron Man and the Avengers. Comic books are often filled with strange tales with twist endings, but the fascinating history behind their creation is just as strange - and often just as ironic.