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Creator

Ben Oda

letterercolorist
Ben Oda
Known forYoung Romance
Issues credited2,647
Active1947–1955
Primary roleletterer
House of Secrets #92
House of Secrets #92 (1971)

Ben Oda was one of the most prolific letterers in American comics history, born on December 21, 1915, and raised to become a quietly indispensable figure across decades of the medium. He died on November 28, 1984. A graduate of the Chouinard Art Institute, he began his professional life as an apprentice at Walt Disney Studios before serving as a paratrooper with the U.S. Army's 442nd Combat Team during World War II.

After the war, Oda entered comics through work for Hillman Periodicals on titles such as Airboy and Real Clue Crime Stories, which brought him into orbit of the Simon & Kirby studio. His reputation grew through the 1950s when Harvey Kurtzman, impressed by Oda's clean, distinctive hand, specifically sought him out for EC Comics work — reportedly insisting on his style over competing approaches.

Oda's range extended well beyond comic books. He lettered newspaper strips for both the Chicago Tribune and King Features syndicates, contributing to Flash Gordon, Prince Valiant, The Spirit, Steve Canyon, Little Orphan Annie, and numerous others. At DC Comics, where he worked until his death, his lettering appeared across Action Comics, Justice League of America, Wonder Woman, Teen Titans, and many more titles. His wife, Nishi Oda, was also a letterer. His family later commissioned Odaballoon, a freeware typeface preserving his style. In 2019, Oda was posthumously inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame, with the tribute introduced by former DC president Paul Levitz.

Known for

House of Secrets #92
House of Secrets #92

Full bibliography (first 500) · 96 series

Young Romance (1947) · 76
#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#4#5 (5)#6 (6)#1 (7)#7#2 (8)#3 (9)#4 (10)#10#5 (11)#11#12#1 (13)#2 (14)#3 (15)#4 (16)#5 (17)#6 (18)#7 (19)#8 (20)#9 (21)#10 (22)#11 (23)#12 (24)#1 (25)#2 (26)#3 (27)#4 (28)#5 (29)#6 (30)#7 (31)#8 (32)#9 (33)#10 (34)#11 (35)#12 (36)#1 (37)#2 (38)#3 (39)#4 (40)#5 (41)#6 (42)#7 (43)#8 (44)#9 (45)#10 (46)#11 (47)#1 (49)#2 (50)#3 (51)#4 (52)#5 (53)#6 (54)#7 (55)#8 (56)#9 (57)#10 (58)#11 (59)#12 (60)#1 (61)#2 (62)#3 (63)#4 (64)#5 (65)#7 (67)#8 (68)#9 (69)#10 (70)#11 (71)#12 (72)#1 (73)#2 (74)#3 (75)
Young Love (1949) · 53
#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#5 [5]#6 [6]#2 [8]#4 [10]#5 [11]#7 [13]#8 [14]#9 (15)#11 (17)#12 [18]#2 (20)#3 (21)#4 (22)#5 (23)#6 (24)#7 (25)#9 (27)#10 (28)#11 (29)#12 (30)#1 (31)#2 (32)#4 (34)#6 (36)#7 (37)#8 (38)#10 (40)#1#11 (41)#24#12 (42)#1 (43)#2 (44)#3 (45)#4 (46)#5 (47)#26#7 (49)#8 (50)#9 (51)#11 (53)#12 (54)#1 (55)#2 (56)#3 (57)#4 (58)#5 (59)#7 (61)#8 (62)#9 (63)
Justice Traps the Guilty (1947) · 34
#1 [1]#2 (2)#3 (3)#3#4#5 (5)#5#6 (6)#6#1 (7)#3 (9)#5 (11)#3 (15)#6 (18)#1 (19)#3 (21)#6 (24)#10 (28)#1 (31)#7#5 (35)#12 (42)#5 (47)#7 (49)#8 (50)#9 (51)#10 (52)#2 (56)#31#5 (60)#8 (62)#11 (65)#3 (69)#9 (75)
Black Magic (1950) · 30
#1 [1]#1#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#5 [5]#6 [6]#1 [7]#2 [8]#3 [9]#4 [10]#5 [11]#6 [12]#7 (13)#8 (14)#9 (15)#10 (16)#11 (17)#12 (18)#1 (19)#2 (20)#3 (21)#4 (22)#6 (24)#1 (25)#2 (26)#3 (27)#4 (28)#5 (29)#2 (32)
Prize Comics Western (1948) · 24
#5 (72)#1 (74)#2 (75)#4 (77)#2#1 (80)#2 (81)#3 (82)#4 (83)#6 (85)#1 (86)#1#3 (88)#4 (89)#5 (90)#6 (91)#2 (93)#4 (95)#5 (96)#6 (97)#1 (98)#2 (99)#3 (100)#5 (102)
Two-Fisted Tales (1950) · 23
#20#20#22#23#24#25#26#27#28#28#29#30#31#32#33#34#35#36#37#38#39#40#41
Frontline Combat (1951) · 19
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#7#8#9#9#10#11#12#12#13#13#14#15
Headline Comics (1943) · 18
#2 (26)#3 (27)#5 (29)#1 (31)#31#4 (34)#34#5 (35)#3 (33)#4 (40)#1 (43)#4 (46)#2 (50)#5 (53)#1 (61)#3 (63)#4 (64)#5 (71)
The Spirit (1940) · 18
#3/5/1950#6/25/1950#6/4/1950#9/3/1950#12/10/1950#1/21/1951#2/18/1951#4/15/1951#5/20/1951#5/6/1951#8/31/1952#8/17/1952#8/24/1952#9/28/1952#9/7/1952#9/21/1952#9/14/1952#10/5/1952
Young Brides (1952) · 17
#1 [1]#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#5 [5]#6 [6]#1 [7]#2 [8]#3 [9]#5 [11]#6 [12]#7 [13]#8 [14]#9 (15)#11 (17)#12 (18)#1 (19)
Mad (1952) · 15
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#9#13#14#16#18#20#21#22
Battle Cry (1952) · 9
#1#7#8#9#11#13#16#17#20
Romantic Confessions (1949) · 8
#5#8#10#11#1#2#6#10
Real West Romances (1949) · 7
#1#2#3#4#5#6#1
Dead-Eye Western Comics (1948) · 7
#9#1#2#3#4#5#10
Black Magic Comics (1952) · 7
#1#2#7#8#9#10#6
Mister Mystery (1951) · 5
#10#14#15#16#17
Fighting American (1954) · 5
#1 [1]#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#3
Weird Science (1950) · 4
#15#5#6#7
Boys' Ranch (1950) · 4
#2#2#5#6
The Strange World of Your Dreams (1952) · 4
#1#2#3#4
Patsy Walker (1945) · 4
#46#47#48#49
Buster Brown Comic Book (1945) · 3
#9#12#15
The Westerner Comics (1948) · 3
#19#22#38
The American Air Forces (1944) · 3
#5 [A-1 #45]#5#8 [A-1 #65]
Weird Thrillers (1951) · 3
#3#4#5
Romantic Marriage (1950) · 3
#16#18#24
Two Fisted Tales (1953) · 3
#10#11#3
Adventures into the Unknown (1948) · 3
#53#57#58
Amazing Ghost Stories (1954) · 3
#14#15#16
Navy Patrol (1955) · 3
#1#2#3
Weird Fantasy (1950) · 2
#16#6
Amazing Adventures (1950) · 2
#4#5
Punch and Judy Comics (1944) · 2
#4#8
Hot Rod and Speedway Comics (1952) · 2
#1#1
Baffling Mysteries (1951) · 2
#7#9
Nightmare (1952) · 2
#1#2
The Hawk (1951) · 2
#2#5
Radiant Love (1953) · 2
#2#6
Approved Comics (1954) · 2
#1#5
Battle (1951) · 2
#29#34
Mutiny (1954) · 2
#1#2
Headline Stories (1954) · 2
#31#35
Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub (1960) · 2
#4#4
Ringo Kid Western (1955) · 2
#5#6
Western Tales (1955) · 2
#1#2
Action Adventure Comics (1955) · 2
#2#3
Climax (1955) · 2
#1#2
Clue Comics (1943) · 1
#3 [15]
Real Clue Crime Stories (1947) · 1
#5 [17]
Airboy Comics (1945) · 1
#6 [53]
Wanted Comics (1947) · 1
#23
Silver Kid Bumper Comic (1950) · 1
#[nn]
Prize Western (1951) · 1
#[nn]
Love Diary (1949) · 1
#18
Dick Tracy (1950) · 1
#46
Eerie Adventures (1951) · 1
#1
Explorer Joe (1951) · 1
#1
Roaring Western (1952) · 1
#1
Star Spangled Comics (1941) · 1
#126
Baseball Thrills (1951) · 1
#3
Crime Clinic (1951) · 1
#5
Tim Holt (1948) · 1
#31
Captain Fleet (1952) · 1
#1
He-Man (1952) · 1
#1
Tops in Adventure (1952) · 1
#1
Indian Fighters (1953) · 1
#[nn]
My Own Romance (1949) · 1
#26
Weird Horrors (1952) · 1
#6
Weird Tales of the Future (1952) · 1
#6
Weird Mysteries (1952) · 1
#4
Love Romances (1949) · 1
#28
G.I. Joe (1951) · 1
#22
The Masked G-Man (1952) · 1
#16
Dear Lonely Hearts (1953) · 1
#2
Perfect Love (1953) · 1
#9
Fantastic Fears (1953) · 1
#5
Outlaws - A Streamline Bumper Comic (1954) · 1
#[nn]
Tender Romance (1953) · 1
#2
Space Adventures (1952) · 1
#10
War Comics (1950) · 1
#26
Death Valley (1953) · 1
#6
Police Trap (1954) · 1
#1
Foxhole (1954) · 1
#1
Bulls Eye (1954) · 1
#3
Battle Attack (1954) · 1
#3
Crime and Justice (1951) · 1
#23
Cinderella Love (1954) · 1
#27
Witches Western Tales (1955) · 1
#30
Battleground (1954) · 1
#5
Mad Strikes Back (1955) · 1
#[nn]
Navy Task Force (1954) · 1
#4
Young Heroes (1955) · 1
#37
Black Fury (1955) · 1
#2
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1955) · 1
#2
Ringo Kid (1955) · 1
#4

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