LOL...unlike now, back then we were polite to fans, rarely, if ever, telling them to "go away". LOL
Each character had it's own specially designed logo...or it's name in what we call "display" lettering...always open for color... sometimes with a "drop-shadow". some characters had more than one official logo... like spider Man. But we needed them for merchandising... so, as characters were developed, each got his logo.
these masters, which were shot to any size for whatever usage we needed...were kept by Danny Crespi in the lettering departmen's files. You could stat the masters or xerox them... but never use the masters! LOL...the logos were trademarked and registered with the copyright people and must be used in printed comics every ten or so years. to retain those copyrights, trademarks and registrations. This is why you will see old lettering styles pop up now and again ...sometimes on covers, sometimes in interior pages... they are renewing the TMs and registrations. this happens also with characters...you must use them once in a while to renew their trademark and registrations and copyright status.
Most of the display lettering was done "in house" by people like Danny Crespi, Morrie Kuramoto and occasional other letterers who showed promise in design and ability, like Jim Novak... who worked mostly at home but was an excellent designer and craftsman with lettering design. We had a couple of letterers who worked at home, but were given logo assignments when Danny found out they were superb designers, Jim was one of the finest. All of this lettering design and completion was done by hand... and was as much an artistic forte as the penciller's work.
Alas... now it is all done by computer, I am sure...just about everything is. I don't think original art even has the word balloons lettered on it any more...it is too easy to just do it on computer and drop it in.
I am sure there is a lettering department at marvel ...I have no idea how they do what they do these days. I guess my files are still extant, too... cuz I see stuff from them every once in a while in the books and the merchandising... but I am sure everything is scanned and on computer file these days.
Haven't a clue as to coloring, either. do they still use Dr. Martins analine dyes? I do when I color anything... they are wonderful colors and you can do so many wonderful wet watercolor things with them...which we used to do for presentation art and coloring for reproduction...some of those effects you simply cannot get with computer unless you do a sample of what you want and scan it into a program or archive to use later.
The original Avengers logo and FF logo was done by sol Brodsky ... and I saw it used recentlly...probably to secure the old trademarks again.
Paty