John Tartaglione
Encyclopedia
John Tartaglione a.k.a. '"John Tartag." and other pseudonyms, was an American comic book
artist
best known as a 1950s romance-comics artist; a Marvel Comics
inker
during the Silver Age of comic books
; and the illustrator of the Marvel biographies The Life of Pope John Paul II
, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta
, the first of which at least sold millions of copies worldwide in several languages.
, 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.
Comics-creator credits were not routinely given in the early days of comic books, up through the 1960s, making a comprehensive listing of Tartaglione's credits difficult to compile. His first confirmed work as a comic-book inker
is the six-page story "The Mad Monk!" in Amazing Detective Cases #6 (May 1951), from Atlas Comics
, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics
. His first confirmed penciling art is the six-page story "The Man Who Walked The Plank", for the same publisher's Young Men #11 (Oct. 1951). Tartaglione thus began a long association with Marvel that found him penciling suspense, adventure, sports and crime
stories — signing his work a variety of ways including "Tartag", "Tar", "Leone" and "JT" — though was most prolific in romance titles, illustrating more than 120, employing a naturalistic
approach using friends and family as models.
, 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 comics (Ben Casey
, Burke's Law
, The Defenders, Dr. Kildare
) 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 long run inking Dick Ayers
on Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos
#27-42 (Feb. 1966 - May 1967) and other issues, plus two annuals. Following this, interspersed with other titles and characters across the Marvel line, Tartaglione spent a year as the regular inker for one of Gene Colan
's signature series, Daredevil
, embellishing issues #29-35, 37, and 40-41 (June 1967 - June 1968), plus Daredevil Annual #1 (Sept. 1967). 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 much-reprinted Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
#5 (Nov. 1968), and the Arnold Drake
-written X-Men
#50-51 (Nov.-Dec. 1968).
#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 Teresa, with the same artists and writer David Michelinie
. Comics historian Mark Evanier
wrote that Tartaglione at Marvel "ecame 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".
During this period, Tartaglione was on staff at Marvel, doing art corrections.
Marginalia includes the Catholic-oriented comic book Treasure Chest, distributed in parochial schools, and religious comics for publisher Ned Pines' Standard/Nedor/Bettor
imprints; inking some Western
comics for Skywald Publications
' short-lived comic-book line in 1971; and Marvel's adaptation of the movie Dragonslayer
(June 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
.
comic strip
Apartment 3-G
, then turned to inking The Amazing Spider-Man
daily comic strip in 2003. That November he died at home from throat cancer
, which had left him unable to speak. The day before his death Tartaglione had mostly finished inking a week of Spider-Man strips. According to family friend and comics creator Billy Tucci, Tartaglione's artist daughter, Mary Beth,"actually finished this week's inks on the Spider-Man strips today and sent them out, closing out his last job."
, New York
, painter born in Brooklyn
in 1968.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
best known as a 1950s romance-comics artist; a Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
during the Silver Age of comic books
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
; and the illustrator of the Marvel biographies The Life of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
, the first of which at least sold millions of copies worldwide in several languages.
Early life and career
Raised in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Tartaglione studied at that borough's Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, 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
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
and later at comics artist and comic-book packager Bernard Baily
Bernard Baily
Bernard Baily was an American comic book artist best known as co-creator of the DC Comics characters the Spectre and Hourman, and a comics publisher, writer, and editor.-Early life and career:...
's Bailey Publications.
Comics-creator credits were not routinely given in the early days of comic books, up through the 1960s, making a comprehensive listing of Tartaglione's credits difficult to compile. His first confirmed work as a comic-book inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
is the six-page story "The Mad Monk!" in Amazing Detective Cases #6 (May 1951), from Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. His first confirmed penciling art is the six-page story "The Man Who Walked The Plank", for the same publisher's Young Men #11 (Oct. 1951). Tartaglione thus began a long association with Marvel that found him penciling suspense, adventure, sports and crime
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
stories — signing his work a variety of ways including "Tartag", "Tar", "Leone" and "JT" — though was most prolific in romance titles, illustrating more than 120, employing a naturalistic
Naturalism (literature)
Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character...
approach using friends and family as models.
Silver Age of comic books
Tartaglione also freelanced for DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
and for Gilberton Publications, where he illustrated the Classics Illustrated
Classics Illustrated
Classics Illustrated is a comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Iliad. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1971, producing 169 issues. Following the series' demise, various companies...
adaptations Won by the Sword and Tom Brown's Schooldays. From 1963 to 1966, he penciled several Movie Classic adaptations for Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
— from Jason and the Argonauts to Beach Blanket Bingo
Beach Blanket Bingo
Beach Blanket Bingo is an American International Pictures beach party film, released in 1965 and was directed by William Asher. It is the fifth film in the beach party film series...
— as well as TV series tie-in comics (Ben Casey
Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
, Burke's Law
Burke's Law
Burke's Law is a detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud...
, The Defenders, Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
) and other work, including the presidential biographies John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(inked by Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
; year n.a.), and Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
(1964).
Back at Marvel — where he sometimes went by "John Tartag", with and without a period — the wide-ranging Tartaglione had a long run inking Dick Ayers
Dick Ayers
Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...
on Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
#27-42 (Feb. 1966 - May 1967) and other issues, plus two annuals. Following this, interspersed with other titles and characters across the Marvel line, Tartaglione spent a year as the regular inker for one of Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
's signature series, Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
, embellishing issues #29-35, 37, and 40-41 (June 1967 - June 1968), plus Daredevil Annual #1 (Sept. 1967). His most enduring work as a Marvel inker may be his three stories with the legendary comics writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
-artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Jim Steranko
Jim Steranko
James F. Steranko is an American graphic artist, comic book writer-artist-historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator....
: Steranko's final Nick Fury story, "What Ever Happened to Scorpio?", in the much-reprinted Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
#5 (Nov. 1968), and the Arnold Drake
Arnold Drake
Arnold Drake was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, among others....
-written X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
#50-51 (Nov.-Dec. 1968).
Other comics and commercial art
With the exception of an occasional item such as the cover of DazzlerDazzler
Dazzler is a Marvel Comics superheroine, associated with the X-Men. She first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #130 ....
#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
Steven Grant
Steven Grant is an American comic-book writer best known for his 1985-1986 Marvel Comics mini-series Punisher, with artist Mike Zeck and for his creator-owned character Whisper.-Biography:...
and Mieczyslaw Malinski, and inked by Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott is an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best-known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, from 1965 to 1981 , initially over the pencils of industry legend Jack Kirby...
. A 1984 follow-up profiled Mother Teresa, with the same artists and writer David Michelinie
David Michelinie
-Biography:Some of his earliest work is for DC Comics's House of Secrets and a run on Swamp Thing , following Len Wein and preceding Gerry Conway, illustrated by Nestor Redondo. Michelinie did a run on Aquaman in Adventure Comics which led to the revival of the Sea King's own title in 1977...
. Comics historian Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
wrote that Tartaglione at Marvel "ecame 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".
During this period, Tartaglione was on staff at Marvel, doing art corrections.
Marginalia includes the Catholic-oriented comic book Treasure Chest, distributed in parochial schools, and religious comics for publisher Ned Pines' Standard/Nedor/Bettor
Standard Comics
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics...
imprints; inking some Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
comics for Skywald Publications
Skywald Publications
Skywald Publications is a 1970s publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies Nightmare, Psycho, and Scream. It also published a small line of comic books and other magazines....
' short-lived comic-book line in 1971; and Marvel's adaptation of the movie Dragonslayer
Dragonslayer
Dragonslayer is a 1981 fantasy movie set in a fictional medieval kingdom, following a young wizard who experiences danger and opposition as he attempts to defeat a dragon....
(June 1981).
Tartaglione commercial art
Commercial art
Commercial art is historically a subsector of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. The term has become increasingly anachronistic in favor of more contemporary terms such as graphic design and advertising art.Commercial art traditionally...
includes promotional comics for Atlas Spark Plugs and the 1964 New York World's Fair
1964 New York World's Fair
The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major world's fair to be held in New York City. Hailing itself as a "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe";...
, as well as licensed-character children's books featuring Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
and Transformers. In his later years he also creating oil paintings and portraiture
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
.
Later career
Tartaglione's last known comic-book work was inking Ron Randall on the cover and in the 22-page story of Marvel's Wonder Man #29 (Jan. 1994) The artist, who circa 1980 had assisted Alex Kotsky on the newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Apartment 3-G
Apartment 3-G
Apartment 3-G is an American newspaper comic strip about a trio of career women who share Apartment 3-G in Manhattan. Created by Nicholas P...
, then turned to inking The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
daily comic strip in 2003. That November he died at home from throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
, which had left him unable to speak. The day before his death Tartaglione had mostly finished inking a week of Spider-Man strips. According to family friend and comics creator Billy Tucci, Tartaglione's artist daughter, Mary Beth,"actually finished this week's inks on the Spider-Man strips today and sent them out, closing out his last job."
Personal life
Asdie from his daughter Mary Beth, Tartaglione had a son, John C. Tartaglione, a CenterportCenterport, New York
Centerport is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York on the notably affluent North Shore of Long Island. Formerly known as Little Cow Harbor about 1700, Centreport in 1836, and then the present Centerport after 1895...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, painter born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
in 1968.
External links
- John Tartaglione at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Vassallo, Michael J. "In Memorium: John Tartaglione", Alter Ego #33, February 2004
- The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
- Archive of Grost, Michael. Classic Comic Books (fan site researched at Michigan State UniversityMichigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
Comic Art Collection). Original page - Archive of Traphagen Collection", The Historic Costume & Textiles Collection, Ohio State UniversityOhio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, n.d. Original page