James N. Aparo (August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005) was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre, along with famous stories such as The Brave and the Bold, "A Death in the Family", and "KnightFall". Early life Jim Aparo was born on August 24th, 1932, Aparo was raised in New Britain, Connecticut, Aparo took art classes at New Britain high school and while also taking courses at Hartford Art School. Aparo was primarily self-taught by studying and copying comic books. Growing up and taking inspiration from characters such as Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel. Aparo was influenced by artists such as Alex Raymond and Milton Caniff. Aparo started his comic career later than most artists around the time working in advertising first while sending his art to various comic book publishers. On a summer vacation in Charlton, Aparo ran into Dick Giordano (The future executive editor of DC Comics) who saw potential in his work. Career Charlton Comics He attempted to enter the comic book profession in his early 20s, approaching EC Comics, which declined to hire him. He then worked in the advertising industry in Connecticut, often drawing fashion illustrations for newspaper advertisements. He continued to pursue a career in comic books and comic strips while working in advertising. His first break in the comics field was with the comic strip Stern Wheeler, written by Ralph Kanna, which was published in 1963 in a Hartford, Connecticut newspaper for less than a year. In 1966, editor Dick Giordano at Charlton Comics hired him as a comic book artist, where his first assignment was a humorous character called "Miss Bikini Luv" in "Go-Go Comics." Over the next few years at Charlton, Aparo drew stories in many genres—Westerns, science fiction, romance, horror, mystery, and suspense. Most of his work was for standalone stories in anthology titles, but he also drew the historical-adventure feature "Thane of Bagarth" in the comic book Hercules; the superheroine feature "Nightshade" in Captain Atom; the science fiction/Western/comedy backup "Wander" in Cheyenne Kid; and the comic book adaptation of the comic strip The Phantom. Aparo was paid $15 to $20 per page at his time at Charlton Comics. Aparo was one of the few artists in mainstream comics at that time to serve as penciller, inker, and