Al Plastino, best known for his work with DC Comics and the Superman comic, has passed away at the age of 91. Mark Evanier breaks the news and writes the first obit.
Al was a diverse artist who also worked on the comic strip Nancy and there’s a story that he was the artist in waiting to take over Peanuts if negotiations between the syndicate and Charles Schulz didn’t end well. Nat Gertler over at the Aaugh Blog has the best recounting of this twist in Peanuts history.
Last week Al filed suit against Heritage Auctions to learn the identity of disclose the identity of the seller of his Superman’s Mission for President Kennedy original artwork. For years he was led to believe the artwork to be in the Kennedy Library in Boston. The New York Daily News has the best background info on that case. I’m not a lawyer, I’m not sure where this case now goes, but it seems like some transparency is needed.