Josef Rubinstein

Josef Rubinstein
Joe Rubinstein at the April 2008 New York Comic Con.
Born	(1958-06-04) June 4, 1958 (age 58) Germany
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Inker
Notable works	The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe

Josef "Joe" Rubinstein (born 4 June 1958) is a comic book artist and inker, most associated with inking Marvel Comics' The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and the 1982 four-issue Wolverine miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. He is also known to be the one to have given artist Art Adams his first professional work.

Rubinstein was born in Germany, and, after moving to the United States, started his artist career in the early 1970s as a teenager. Primarily working as an inker, his artwork has been published by major U.S. comics publishers including Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics. However, he first entered the industry as an office assistant to Neal Adams and Dick Giordano at Continuity Associates. While working this position, he learned how to ink from Giordano.

At age 17, he met Mike Nasser, who had just received his first comics assignment, penciling a backup feature in Kamandi #45-46. Nasser allowed Rubinstein to practice inking on of his pencils for the story, and afterward showed the results to editor Gerry Conway, who then assigned Rubinstein to inking the story. Rubinstein has complained that following this story, editors shoehorned him and Nasser as partners, pairing them with each other on every assignment.

In 1982, Rubinstein inked the acclaimed Wolverine limited series.

One of his most important works has been inking The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe over a span of twenty years, for which he holds a Guinness World Record of inking more pencilers than any other inker. Rubinstein recounted,