Bill Oakley (artist)
| Bill Oakley | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Douglas Oakley April 1, 1964 Oneonta, New York |
| Died | February 16, 2004 (aged 39) Utica, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Letterer |
|
Notable works
|
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Batman: Gotham Knights |
William Douglas "Bill" Oakley (April 1, 1964 – February 16, 2004) was a letterer for numerous comic books from Marvel, DC, and other companies. His most prominent works include the first two volumes of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Batman: Gotham Knights #1-11, #15-37.
Oakley attended The Kubert School in Dover, New Jersey for a year, intending to be a comics artist. However, his experience at the school convinced him that he couldn't handle the workload of a comic book artist and, still desiring to work in the comics field, decided to do lettering instead. In July 1986 he started on staff at Marvel, working under Jim Novak. For Marvel, Oakley lettered Avengers for a long time, Avengers West Coast, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four during Walt Simonson’s run, Rampaging Hulk, and Amazing Spider-Man.
Oakley concluded a late 1987 interview by remarking "I would hope, by this time next year, that I would have enough work that I could go freelance. I wouldn't mind the idea of working at home. That kind of appeals to me, not having to get up at 6:00 every morning to commute here. That I definitely would look forward to." Oakley indeed went freelance by the end of 1988. For DC, he worked on a number of the Superman titles, Batman, Lobo, DC vs. Marvel Comics, Batman: Gotham Knights, Justice Society, and Hawkman.
Due to the fact that he did not possess medical insurance ("because he had a previous medical condition and the insurance companies refused to cover him"), he was forced to letter comics from his hospital bed to pay bills, before he died of cancer in Utica, New York. His hometown was Oneonta, New York. Oakley was survived by his wife Leslie and son Stephen.
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