John Tartaglione
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John Tartaglione (born 19 January 1921; died 12 November 2003), a.k.a. '"John Tartag." and other pseudonyms, was an American comic book artist best known as a 1950s romance-comic artist; a Marvel Comics inker during the Silver Age of comic books; and as the illustrator of the Marvel biographies The Life of Pope John Paul II, and Mother Theresa of Calcutta, the first of which at least sold millions of copies worldwide in several languages.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life and career
Raised in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Tartaglione studied at that borough's Pratt Institute, and at the Traphagen School of Fashion in Manhattan, where his studies would inform the details of his period stories. In the early 1940s, he became an assistant at Harvey Comics and later at comics artist and comic-book packager Bernard Baily's Bailey Publications.
Tartaglione began a long association with Marvel during the company's 1950s iteration as Atlas Comics. He penciled suspense, adventure, sports and crime stories — signing his work a variety of ways including "Tartag", "Tar", "Leone" and "JT" — but was most prolific in romance titles, illustrating more than 120, employing a highly naturalistic approach using friends and family as models.
[edit] Silver Age of comic books
Tartaglione also freelanced for DC Comics, Charlton Comics and for Gilberton Publications, where he illustrated the Classics Illustrated adaptations Won by the Sword and Tom Brown's Schooldays. From 1963 to 1966, he penciled several Movie Classic adaptations for Dell Comics — from Jason and the Argonauts to Beach Blanket Bingo — as well as TV series tie-in comcis and other work including the presidential biographies John F. Kennedy (inked by Dick Giordano; year n.a.), and Lyndon B. Johnson (1964).
Back at Marvel — where he sometimes went by "John Tartag", with and without a period — the wide-ranging Tartaglione had a notable run inking Dick Ayers on Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #27-42 (Feb. 1966 - May 1967) and other issues, plus two annuals. His most enduring work as a Marvel inker may be his three stories with the legendary comics writer-artist Jim Steranko: Steranko's final Nick Fury story, "What Ever Happened to Scorpio?", in the classic Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #5 (Nov. 1968),[1] and the Arnold Drake-written X-Men #50-51 (Nov.-Dec. 1968).[2]
[edit] Other comics and commercial art
With the exception of an occasional item such as the cover of Dazzler #12, Tartaglione returned to penciling for the first time in years with the 64-page Marvel Comics biography The Life of Pope John Paul II (1982), written by Steven Grant and Mieczyslaw Malinski, and inked by Joe Sinnott. A 1984 follow-up profiled Mother Theresa, with the same artists and writer David Michelinie.
Marginalia includes the Catholic-oriented comic book Treasure Chest, distributed in parochial schools, and religious comics for publisher Ned Pines' Better Publications/Nedor/Standard Publishing; inking some Western comics for Skywald Publications' short-lived comic-book line in 1971; and Marvel's adaptation of the movie Dragonslayer (1981).
Tartaglione commercial art includes promotional comics for Atlas Spark Plugs and the 1964 New York World's Fair, as well as licensed-character children's books featuring Dungeons & Dragons and Transformers. In his later years he also creating oil paintings and portraiture.
[edit] Later career
Tartaglione, who c. 1980 had assisted Alex Kotsky on the newspaper comic strip Apartment 3-G, began inking The Amazing Spider-Man daily comic strip in 2003. The day before his death that year from throat cancer, which had left him unable to speak, Tartaglione finished inking a week of Spider-Man strips.
[edit] Misc.
His children, Mary Beth and John C. Tartaglione, are also artists.
[edit] Quotes
Mark Evanier, on Tartaglione at Marvel: "[H]e became the 'go-to' guy when a project came along that required historical research and/or spiritual themes. He was therefore the perfect artist when, in 1982, Marvel issued a comic-book biography of Pope John Paul II that through various religious channels sold well into the millions, leading to a follow-up book on Mother Teresa".[3]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Reprinted in Nick Fury Special Edition #2, Jan. 1984, and the 2001 trade paperback Nick Fury: Scorpio, ISBN 0-7851-0766-5
- ^ Reprinted in the 2002 trade paperback Marvel Visionaries: Jim Steranko, ISBN 0-7851-0944-7
- ^ News from Me: "John Tartaglione, R.I.P." (Column of Nov. 14, 2003), by Mark Evanier
[edit] References
- Lamiebk Comiclopedia: John Tartaglione
- Alter Ego #33 (Feb. 2004): "In Memorium: John Tartaglione", by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo
- The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
- The Grand Comic-Book Database
- Classic Comic Books
- The Comic Strip Project: Credits
