Cartoonist/illustrator Tony Tallarico has passed away.
Anthony F. (Tony) Tallarico
September 20, 1933 – January 6, 2022
From the Berndt Toast Gang Facebook page earlier today:
The wonderful Tony Tallarico passed away late last night. Tony had a long and prolific career working in comics and children’s books.
A consummate professional, Tony was always in demand and worked up until recently. He was very proud to have illustrated the first comic book with an African-American hero “Lobo.”
Such a kind and generous soul, the Berndt Toast Gang is privileged to have had Tony as an esteemed member.
Tony was justly proud to have teamed with Don Arneson to create Lobo in 1965,
the first American comic book to feature an African-American as the titular hero.
He is also famous for teaming up with Don Arneson and Bill Fraccio in 1966 and creating the
Dell superheroes based on the classic monsters Frankenstein, Dracula, and Werewolf.
Then, also in 1966, there was Tony and Don’s The Great Society Comic Book satires.
Those are the most well-known comic books by Tony, but they are a very small portion of his output. From the early 1950s to the late 1970s Tony was drawing comics. Jerry Bails’ Who’s Who has a general index, while the Grand Comic Database has a more detailed listing.
In the 1970s Tony turned his artistic abilities toward illustrating books, hundreds of books.
Tony also managed to be a syndicated newspaper cartoonist.
Comic historians credit Tony with drawing the Davy Jones comic strip from January 27 to March 29, 1969 that were only signed by writer Sam Leff. From 1984 to 1986 he and Elvira created Trivia Treat.
