Tony Tallarico

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Not to be confused with
Tony Williamson (television writer)
.
Tony Tallarico
BornAnthony F. Tallarico
(1933-09-20)September 20, 1933
East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention
's Pioneer Award, 2006

Anthony F. Tallarico (September 20, 1933 – January 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist, and children's book illustrator and author. Often paired in a team with his generally uncredited

African-American
.

Biography

Early life and career

Tony Tallarico was born in

penciling and self-inking stories for such publishers as Charlton Comics, Trojan, and the David C. Cook Publishing Company, for which he contributed to a newspaper Sunday-supplement comic book similar to "The Spirit Section".[3]

The Silver Age

In 1961, Tallarico illustrated the

The Odyssey, and #96, historian John Bakeless' Daniel Boone: Master of the Wilderness.[4]

African-American
. Art by Tallarico.

He drew the sole two issues of

African-American. This Western series, scripted by Don Arneson, chronicled the adventures of a wealthy, unnamed African-American gunslinger hero, called "Lobo" by the first issue's antagonists.[5] Tallarico and Arneson dispute who originally conceived the character.[6][7]

A single-issue, small-press comic book in 1947,

Black Panther and the Falcon
were introduced in the interim.

Tallarico drew the one-shot "Great Society Comic Book" (1966), which portrayed President Lyndon B. Johnson and other Democrats as superheroes, fighting against evil conservatives. He was involved with the follow-up comic, "Bobman and Teddy", starring Robert and Ted Kennedy as a Batman-and-Robin-like dynamic duo.[3][8]

Under the joint

magazines Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella.[9]

Tallarico's work includes issues of the Charlton

TV tie-in and teen idol comics Bewitched and Bobby Sherman. He also drew Dell's 1966-1967 Frankenstein and Dracula superhero series and Harvey Comics' short-lived superhero title Jigsaw. His last recorded work in the comic book field is the story "Double Occupancy" in Charlton's Ghost Manor #15 (Oct. 1973).[3]

Later career

In the 1970s, Tallarico began writing/illustrating

Fitzgerald Publishing, Kidsbooks, Tuffy Books, Modern, Simon & Schuster, Price Stern Sloan, Treasure Books, Concordia Publishing House, Putnam, and Little Simon. Still active as of the mid-2000s, Tallarico by his counts has created more than 1,000 children's books, including the Where Are They? series.[2]

Personal life and death

Tallarico was married to a writer, Elvira, for over 44 years. They had two children, Nina Reyes and Tony John Tallarico.[2] He died on January 6, 2022, at the age of 88.[10]

Awards

On May 19, 2006, Tallarico was bestowed the

East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention's Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement, in recognition of his creating the first comic book to star an African-American. He was an honoree at the reception dinner at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[11][12][13]

See also

  • List of African-American firsts

References

  1. ^ Bails, Jerry; Hames Ware. "Tallarico, Tony". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  2. ^
    National Cartoonist Society. Archived
    from the original on June 22, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d Tony Tallarico at the Grand Comics Database
  4. ^ William B. Jones Jr., Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, with Illustrations (Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland, 2002), pp. 158-160.
  5. ^ Lobo #1 at the Grand Comics Database
  6. ^ "Tony Tallarico Interview". Coville's Clubhouse. Collector Times. August 2006. Archived from the original on April 28, 2010..
  7. ^ "Interview with D.J. Arneson". Coville's Clubhouse. Collector Times. April 2010. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  8. ^ Shaw, Scott (November 5, 2000). "The Great Society Comic Book #10135 (1966)". OddballComics.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007.
  9. ^ Evanier, Mark (December 7, 2005). "Bill Fraccio, R.I.P." NewsFromMe.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2006.
  10. ^ "Tony Tallarico – RIP". January 8, 2022.
  11. ^ Watson, Rob (May 19, 2006). "For These Comics Creators, Not Just Funny Business". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  12. ^ "Archive for the 'Pioneers' Category". East Coast Black Age of Comics Con '10. 2010. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010.
  13. ^ Isabella, Tony. "ECBACC". Comics Buyer's Guide. No. 1622. Archived from the original on January 5, 2017 – via "Tony's Online Tips" (column), September 18, 2006.

External links

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