Remembering Herb Trimpe

Comic book fans were met with a shock this week when they learned of the passing of Herb Trimpe.

While he was not a household name, Trimpe made huge contributions to the Silver Age of comics and worked on many huge titles. He was employed at Marvel between 1967 and 1996 where he worked as penciller, inker, and writer on titles like Thor and Iron Man. He is most famously known as the first man to draw Wolverine.

During his tenure at Marvel, Trimpe also worked on The Incredible Hulk, where Wolverine made his first appearance on the last page of issue 180 in 1974. As a huge fan of Wolverine, Trimpe’s passing has saddened me deeply as I will never be able to meet him and tell him how much his art has impacted me. I will never forget the first time I read The Incredible Hulk #181 and I felt like the figures were charging forward from the page. They were so dynamic; I remember being transfixed by each individual panel. As Wolverine took on, not only the Hulk, but Wendigo too, I was less focused on the story and more on the action as it was portrayed from exciting angles and perspectives.

Trimpe’s work has been a huge contribution to the industry and a big influence on many artists. He grew and developed an outstanding career from his humble beginnings as a background inker. He had the privilege of acting as co-creator to many characters, working on many of Marvel’s best loved titles, and doing so over the span of nearly three decades. Few people can say that they have had similar honours, and Trimpe wore them proudly, always attending conventions and meeting his fans. The comic industry has lost a true giant with Trimpe’s passing and he will be sorely missed.