Comic books are filled with pages full of the daring adventures of crime fighters with colorful costumes, amazing abilities and wondrous powers. They have enthralled kids of all ages since the 1930s. Costumed Hero JNL emulates both the hand lettered cover titles of those vintage comics as well as the title credits from a 1960s television show based on one of these characters. With its non-conforming letter shapes and varying widths, the lighthearted look of classic comic title art can be yours. The font is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Roag is an industrial geometric sans paying homage to mechanical designs of the 1930s. A precise balance of modern geometrics, with a functional yet sparing style that effectively communicates without distraction. Roag is a straightforward, unadorned type family with efficient construction. Details include seven weights with matching italics and over 950 characters per style. Opentype features consist of eight variations of numerals, including inferiors, superiors, fractions, case figures and circled figures. Additional features include small caps, case-sensitive forms, stylistic alternates, ligatures, game symbols, arrows and language support covering Western, South, Central Europe and Vietnamese.

The hand lettered sans serif title on the1931 sheet music for “(Potatoes are Cheaper-Tomatoes are Cheaper) Now’s the Time to Fall in Love” presented another opportunity to create a typeface from the wealth of unusual alphabets found on the covers of vintage and antique song sheets. However, it seems that even as late as the 1930s, song writers had the urge to pen long-worded titles for their musical compositions. This thirteen word verbal excursion became the model for Casual Deco JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Alphaluxe is a distinctive new typeface from Wesley Poole of Hawai’i. This vertical script packs a velvet punch. It compels attention like the best of the futuristic Moderne scripts from the 1930s, (refined by the 1950s) with none of the bulk. The shapes are strong, their rendering light. Fortunately, Mr. Poole can't break his addiction to elegance and sophistication. It's a classy alphabet. but not self-conscious or stereotypical. Contributing mightily to this effort is Rod Cavazos (Psy/Ops, San Francisco). Among today's typefaces, Alphaluxe is a rare achievement.

The 1930 Geneva Motor Show (Salon International De l'Automobile Et Du Cycle) showcased a lot of new cars, but one item in particular took my interest: the amazing art deco poster announcing the show. Lokomotiv font was based on this poster. It is a very deco-ish font, futuristic, angular, with bold squares, rounds and triangles. As I had to work with just a handful of glyphs, and needed to fill an entire font, I made up the missing ones myself. Lokomotiv, by the way, is German for Locomotive.

The Xavier family of typefaces is based on the delightful deco typeface called Ashley Crawford, originally designed in 1930 by Ashley Havinden. After designing Xavier Black (Serif) and Xavier Sans Black, I added Bold Sans, Medium and Medium Sans and finally added lowercase to the medium weights. Although more manageable than Ashley Crawford, Xavier, due to its very playful nature (splayed A, M, etc.) needs to be used with care, especially in terms of spacing. Xavier is a playful typeface and I have been particularly pleased to see it used in children's books.

Sanitation JNL is a bold Art Deco sans design inspired by some stylized hand lettering on a 1930s-era WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster and is available in both regular and oblique versions. The topic of the poster was "Your home is not complete without a sanitary unit" and that was recommended by the State Department of Public Health. A "sanitary unit" is the formal name for what rural folks called an "outhouse", and it's presumed the target group were homeowners not hooked up to major sewer lines such as in those rural areas.

On the Town JNL is a reworking of Parks Department JNL, giving it a classic "solid black Art Deco treatment". The wide monoline font of the original design was inspired by hand lettering on a WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster. Art Deco typography and the streamlined style it embraced often conjures up images of New York City in the 1930s and 1940s, thus On the Town JNL is named for the classic MGM musical starry Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munchen that was filmed on location in "the city that never sleeps".

A rubber stamp printing set from the 1930s (or possibly earlier) was the model for Winery JNL. Containing a pleasant serif font, it also provided a few little touches unusual for such toy sets of the time. The horizontal crossbar of the H has a diamond embellishment, as does the horizontal stroke of the number 3. Additionally, the lower right tail of the G curves away from the letter and the Q has a spiral tail. Re-drawn from scans of the original stamp impressions, this typeface is available in both regular and oblique versions.

A heavy blackletter; Rudolf Koch’s first type from 1909. On an old page full of type specimen from the 1930s, the type is described as ”Schwabacher (used by the Deutsche Reichsbahn [German Imperial Railway]).“ As a matter of fact, it is the first print of the Offenbach script master Rudolf Koch, who came out with this typeface in 1909. At that time, it was given the name ”Neudeutsch“ (New German). Later, it became very popular under the name Koch-Schrift, and was at times the official typeface of the Deutsche Reichsbahn (German Imperial Railway).

Rundfunk Grotesk was produced together with Rundfunk Antiqua by the Linotype Design Studio in 1933-1935. The combination was originally intended for small point sizes and shorter texts. Unfortunately, this typeface was never completed and consists only of Antiqua roman and Grotesk bold. This unusual combination was chosen because small newspaper ads often use a semi bold for the headlines and a regular antique for the text. Rundfunk Grotesk is intended to be used exclusively in headlines and reflects in its unique character the spirit of the 1930s.

Round, firm, and bursting at the seams with good humor, ITC Mister Chuckles is based on the premise that barrel shapes have pleasant associations. Think: beer-barrel polkas, a barrel of fun, or a barrel of laughs, and you'll get the idea. Designer Nick Curtis has combined sans serif sturdiness, a hint of 1930s deco and a handful of giggles in this remarkably versatile all-cap face. If the typographic occasion calls for mirth and merriment, invite Mister Chuckles to the party. You'll have more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

Lasting Impression JNL was rendered from scans of a 1930s rubber stamp printing set. At small sizes it has the look of hand-stamped lettering. At larger sizes, the user will see jagged and angular lines giving the font a kind of retro-grunge look. This typeface was the model for the more cleanly-drawn Casual Friday JNL, also by Jeff Levine. There is a limited character set, and both the spacing and kerning have been intentionally omitted so that the results will more closely resemble the uneven letter spacing of rubber stamps on paper.

Although the Art Deco movement is generally attributed to the 1930s and 1940s, a number of design influences were showing up during the late 1920s in what is referred to as the Art Nouveau period. The Dutch illustrator Anton Kurvers’ hand lettering on the front cover of the (1927) magazine “Het Vlaamsche Volstooneel” clearly shows the clean lines and Avant Garde geometrics that foreshadow Art Deco. This attractive pre-Deco lettering has been recreated digitally as Dutch Deco JNL, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

The vast resource of hand lettered vintage sheet music titles offers many interesting and unique variations on even the simplest styles of lettering. A simple thick-and-thin serif design circa the 1920s-1930s evokes a reminiscence of the Art Nouveau period combined with a touch of what was to come during the Art Deco era. Most charming is the fact this lettering is free of the formal rules and constraints of metal type, where designers are generally forced into conformity with uniform stroke widths, serif placements and character shapes.

Vododeo JNL is directly named for the free-form sheet music title lettering from Jack Yellen and Milton Ager's "Vo-Do-De-O". The term itself was a catchphrase made popular during the era known as the "Roaring 20s". Yellen and Ager were responsible for such hits as "Ain't She Sweet" (1927) and "Happy Days Are Here Again" (1930) along with countless others. During his career, Jack Yellen provided lyrics to over 200 songs. As a side note, Yellen was married to a distant cousin of type designer Jeff Levine's late mother.

The Federal Art Project division of the WPA (Works Progress Administration) employed numerous artists, musicians, actors and other creative sorts in a effort to help many survive the Great Depression of the 1930s. One of the posters created by this project was for a "Card Party and Barter Benefit" with proceeds going toward the Nassau Art Teachers Benefit Fund - taking place at the Coca-Cola plant in Rockville Centre, New York. East Village JNL was derived from this poster, and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Goudy Sans Bold was originally designed by Fredric Goudy in 1922 as a less formal "gothic" and finished in 1929. The light was designed in 1930 and the Light Italic in 1931. Alternate letterforms are included in these three Goudy designs which are digitized true to their original design. In 2006, designer Colin Kahn drew "LTC Goudy Sans Regular" which is a medium weight version intended for text purposes. Kahn has also designed an experimental "LTC Goudy Sans Hairline" which has a skeletal almost mono-width stroke and results in a surprisingly elegant display face.

Brody’s fonts borrow elements from both Art Deco and non-Western styles. His designs received international recognition for their innovative, computer-oriented style, reaching almost cult status. Four original Brody fonts are available from Linotype Library GmbH: Insignia, Industria-Solid, Industria Inline and Arcadia. For your convenience, we have gathered all four into one package. Insignia has the basic forms of constructed grotesque fonts and was influenced by the New Typography of the Bauhaus during the 1930s. Its image reflects the Zeitgeist of that age, suggesting technology and progress.

"Toxide" is a gothic font inspired by Celtic and uncial style. We give a unique touch so that this display font is very suitable for brands, logotypes, headlines, badges, video titles as well as for book and magazine covers. This font supports Latin diacritic for basic glyph along with its 7 stylistic sets. A total of 1193 glyphs give you the flexibility to choose the right glyph in your design. Please enjoy and have fun with the stylistic set game that you like while you feel the classic feel in a modern design

Koala was originally designed in 1999 by Eric de Berranger with an individual, independent character. A distinguishing characteristic of this sans serif font is its marked stroke contrast, typical of Modern Face fonts. The open, airy forms are reminiscent of ancient Roman capitals. The lower case letters display traits similar to those often seen on posters and in advertisements of the 1930s and 1940s. The lively Koala is particularly good for shorter texts and headlines in larger point sizes and combines well with fonts with little stroke contrast.

Wavelength is a unique sans serif family of five weights and italics. For all of it's unusual detailing and arc-shaped strokes, this typeface is a solid workhorse, and is highly legible at all sizes. It's an excellent starting point for a unique logotype or offbeat headline, and is able to cross genres and styles because of its essential letterform simplicity. Wavelength is contemporary, but with a nod to 1930s art deco, streamline, and even 1990s tech futurism. It's great all-arounder that works well with shadows, outlines, extrusions added within vector editing programs.

Biscayne is inspired by the old and classic Art Deco art and architecture found in some building ads from the 1930's in the Art Deco District of Miami. The name of the font family is one of the most emblematic and representative places in Miami City. Biscayne can be used mainly in titles, display and short texts. This typeface family supports East Europe languages. It also includes standard and discretionary ligatures, alternative style of uppercase, fractions, numerators and denominators, end and/or terminal forms and other OpenType features.

Say hello to a new Typoforge member! Nisse is a display font family that consists of 4 styles (including italics). The regular and rough versions differ in the amount of wear. It’s inspired by Rex typeface first published by „The Jan Idzikowski and Co. Foundry“ in 1930. Nisse has a high amount of detail making it ideal for large prints and poster design. It is specified by a huge amount of automatic alternates. Each basic latin letter has five versions, the numbers have thee versions and extended latin letters have two versions.

Retro-futuristic robot terminal type. The 1930s Moderne Streamline decade meets the digital domain in this weird font. Use it in an ad for Ford Tri-Motor Airplane or a story about an out of control 1980s computer monster. Which? Help it find its place- as it is lost in time. Digideco is a minimal font set that includes upper and lowercase letterforms which can be used at various sizes but, we consider it a headline/display font, best applied larger than 36 points in size. Shall we play a game?

The French publication “La Lettre Dans le Decor et La Publicite Modernes” (“The Letter in the Modern Décor and Advertising”) was a 24-page booklet showcasing the then-current trends of the time (circa late 1930s-early 1940s). On one page was found a squared, extra bold sans serif alphabet set with strong Art Nouveau influences, yet it was ahead of its time by taking on the look and feel of 1980s techno typography. They say “everything old is new again”, and Nouveau Techno JNL is now available digitally in both regular and oblique versions.

Block-style typefaces make excellent sports-themed fonts, and Stadium JNL is no exception-- but this lettering style is also filled with nostalgia for decades past. Modeled from one of the many classic designs found in the Speedball® Lettering Textbook, this style of alphabet was quite popular in signage of the 1920s and 1930s. Stadium JNL fills the bill either way-- a font that is just as much at home on a gridiron or baseball diamond, or as lettering for a garage, warehouse or attention-getting ad copy.

An interesting hand lettered example of Art Deco lettering (minus the letter ‘L’) was spotted on Pinterest and served as the inspiration for Deco Sketch JNL. Because there was no attribution as to the age or source of the alphabet, it can only be surmised that it was a scan from a 1930s or 1940s source. The original showed many of the irregularities of pen lettering, and had rounded terminals. The digital version has been redrawn more uniformly with flat terminals. Deco Sketch JNL is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Collette was named in honor of an art deco font called "Independent" designed in the 1930s by Collette and Dufour. Collette is influenced by the design of the original font, however, there are substantial differences: instead of small caps, a true lower case was created, the upper case character proportions and shapes have been greatly modified, and all missing characters have been created to make a truly modern font which nevertheless has all of the panache of the original. It is best used to create a retro feel and in headings, subheads and in short passages of text.

Linotype Rowena is part of the Take Type Library, selected from the contestants of Linotype’s International Digital Type Design Contests of 1994 and 1997. This text font was designed by the Latvian artist Gustavs A. Grinbergs and is available in six weights, from light to black. The font has a light stroke contrast and its basic forms are the circle, rectangle and triangle, making it a constructed face. The impression of the font on the reader is elegant and cool, very like poster fonts of the 1930s. Linotype Rowena is suitable for headlines and shorter texts with point sizes 12 and larger.

The Confetti is a typeface created about 1930 by the defunct José Iranzo foundry in Barcelona, and imitates the forms and gestures of handwriting created with a round nib as “Speedball”Series B. The original typefaces were a pair, called “Escritura Energica ” and “Escritura maravilla”. The typography has a dynamic air, caused partially by irregular alignment of the characters respect to the baseline and aesthetics takes us to the proposed commercial lettering or advertising of years 20-30. Confetti was one of the fonts selected by the website Typographica.org in its prestigious list of “Our Favorite Typefaces” in 2006.

Latin music was all the rage in the United States from the 1930s through the 1950s and songs with a “South of the Border” or “Old Mexico” theme were plentiful. The 1940 sheet music for “Make Love with a Guitar” evoked the idea of serenading one’s lovely lady on horseback while strumming the guitar. ..at least if you went by the by the illustration under the song’s name. As the hand lettered title was rendered in an Art Deco design, it became the basis for Jazz Guitar JNL [which seemed a more befitting name], and is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Dare is a bold, single-weight titling font in capitals only. It is built from flat-pen strokes, with looping bowls and sharp, incised darts. It borrows a pinch of the hand-drawn swagger of Bauer's Cartoon (designed in 1936 by H. A. Trafton), used as Dan Dare's signature logo in the British boy's comic Eagle, and also the upward-pointing serifs of machine-moderne typefaces such as Dynamo (designed by K. Sommer for Ludwig & Mayer in 1930). Suitable for book covers, magazines, branding, packaging – any place where an impactful, contemporary statement is required, but still with an undertone of 20th century tradition.

Ritz Slab Serif JNL is a bold display face which shares a lot of similar design traits to Stymie and other similar metal type of the 1930s and 1940s, but in actuality was modeled from only four letters. On the sheet music for the 1937 song "Sweet Varsity Sue" [from the 20th Century Fox Film "Life Begins in College"], there is a picture of the Ritz Brothers - a popular comedy team from 1925 through the late 1960s. The hand lettered name "Ritz" became the basis for Ritz Slab Serif JNL, which is available in both regular and oblique versions.

Mocombo JNL is a slightly modified version of one of the numerous alphabets created by the late Alf R. Becker for Signs of the Times Magazine during the period of the 1930s through the 1950s. Tod Swormstedt of ST Media—who is also the curator of the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio—supplied Jeff Levine a wealth of source material from which this font is derived. The angular style of this typeface was originally referred to as “German Poster Lettering” by Becker, but it can represent many styles from 1940s night clubs to African safaris and just about anything in-between.

ITC True Grit is the work of American designer Michael Stacey, a bold distinctive typeface. An enthusiastic collector of vintage graphic design, Stacey says that he is especially intrigued by lettering styles from the days when most display typography was done by hand. The style for ITC True Grit was taken from the 1930s and updated for digital imagine. Stacey say his goal was to retain the casual feel of handlettering yet impart the crisp finish of current precision typography." ITC True Grit is a hybrid design, a cross between German Blackletter and brush script with a hint of Jugendstil thrown in."

ITC Juanita is the work of Argentinian-born designer Luis Siquot and was inspired by a text set only with woodcuts which he was reading during a long international flight. ITC Juanita is a series of six distinct typefaces which Siquot sees as a personal reinterpretation of designs that originated in the 1930s and 40s and were still popular during his childhood in the 1950s. For me, Juanita is like a toy, charming, expressive, and also dramatic," says Siquot. The ITC Juanita series offers designers a range of variations based on similar structures, each variation with its own look."

According to Wikipedia, a "clip joint" is an establishment, usually a strip club or night club (often claiming to offer adult entertainment or bottle service) in which customers are tricked into paying excessive amounts of money, for surprisingly low-grade goods or services - or sometimes, nothing - in return. These establishments were rampant during the prohibition years. However, the inspiration for Clip Joint JNL comes from a more positive source - a WPA (Works Progress Administration) poster advertising "The Lure of the National Parks". A bold, classic Art Deco design, it typifies the modern and streamlined approach to lettering in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Metro Office family is designed after the model of the original sans serif family – Metro No.1 – produced by W.A. Dwiggins and Mergenthaler Linotype’s design studio during the late 1920s and 1930s. A distinctly new interpretation of the sans serif idea, Metro was a thoroughly “American” sans serif when it was released. However, over the ensuing decades, it became a favorite the world over. Moreover, it is one of the first “humanist” sans serif typefaces designed. While redesigning Metro in 2006, Linotype’s Type Director Akira Kobayashi drew from his own knowledge of humanistic letterforms. The result is a redefined Metro; a typeface that is finally ready for heavy text setting. The original Linotype Metro No.1 never had italic variants. Kobayashi has created oblique variants, extending its use in document setting. A double-storey a and g, as well as a wider w were features of Dwiggins’ original Metro design that were filtered out by Mergenthaler Linotype in the 1930s. Kobayashi remedied this historical slight, retooling Dwiggins’ original forms and optimizing their legibility. Kobayashi has additionally retooled some of Metro’s more troublesome letters, which has black elements that became too dense. By opening up the troublesome joins (like that on the Q), Kobayashi has given his new Metro a more even color in text, improving its legibility while retaining its original spirit.

Spotlight was created by British designer Tony Geddes in the tradition of the bold serif fonts of early 19th century England. It too is a robust alphabet exhibiting extreme stroke contrasts, however, Geddes gave his font a more relaxed feel by not filling in the strokes completely. Long white rays break up the otherwise dark black strokes, following the form of the outer contours and giving the figures a three dimensional look. Spotlight is also reminiscent of the decorative advertisements of the 1930s and of the glamorous revues and shows of this time. Spotlight is perfect for headlines and display in larger point sizes.