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I just happened to finally click on a “Cup O’ Joe” article over at Comic Book Resources for the first time. I was aware of the series but I’m not sure why I’ve never checked it out before. In any case, first thing Joe Quesada says to start off the interview is that letterer Joe Rosen has passed away. The quote below are Joe’s words:

Earlier this week, we were informed here at Marvel of the passing of legendary letterer, Joe Rosen. Joe was at Marvel since the very early days working shoulder to shoulder with Stan and Jack. His amazing talents graced the pages of some of the greatest Marvel titles in the history of the company. Joe’s work spanned decades, from Spider-Man to Hulk, from Fantastic Four to X-Men, during his many years, there was hardly a book published that his incredible lettering style didn’t enhance.

Joe Rosen was the letterer for Miller and Janson’s legendary “Daredevil” run. Perhaps the most famous book he lettered on a regular basis was the Frank Miller and Klaus Janson run on “Daredevil.” Joe was a true gentleman and professional. No matter how much work was thrown at him Joe would characteristically respond with his catchphrase: “I’ll do what I can.” And he never once missed a deadline. We’ll miss him.

I immediately recognized the name as one of the very first letterers in my own comic book collecting history. How could I forget the name of the man who lettered the first 10 issues of Darkhawk before the task passed to letterer Bill Oakley. Joe Rosen also lettered the first appearances of Darkhawk in the issues of Amazing Spider-Man (Round Robin) and New Warriors series.

Letterer Todd Kliein–whom I personally remember of Sandman, and more recently on Fables–also mentioned the news of Joe’s passing on his blog. Danny Fingeroth (Darkhawk’s co-creator and writer of the entire 50-issue run) was the first to comment on the post  by saying:

Joe was simply the best, both as a person and a letterer. A truly class act. Having him letter a script always made it 25% better than it really was.

Joe Rosen started as a letter for Harvey Comics back in the late 1940 and is definitely one of the old-time greats who has inspired many letterers who followed.