Vincent Fago
 |
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2011) |
| Vincent Fago | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 28, 1914 Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 13, 2002 (aged 87) Bethel, Vermont |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, Artist, Editor |
Vincenzo Francisco Gennaro Di Fago (November 28, 1914 — June 13, 2002),[1] known in the comics community as Vince Fago, was an American comic-book artist and writer who served as interim editor of Timely Comics, the Golden Age predecessor of Marvel Comics, while editor Stan Lee did his World War II service.
Fago headed the Timely animator bullpen, which was largely separate from the superhero group that produced comics featuring the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner and Captain America. This group, which such movie tie-in and original funny-animal comics as Terrytoons Comics, Mighty Mouse and Animated Funny Comic-Tunes, included Ernie Hart, David Gantz, Chad Grothkopf, George Klein, Pauline Loth, Jim Mooney, Kin Platt, Mike Sekowsky, Moss Worthman (aka Moe Worth) and future Mad cartoonists Dave Berg and Al Jaffee.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early career
Starting as an assistant animator for Fleischer Studios in New York City, Fago worked on Popeye, Betty Boop and Superman theatrical shorts and the features Gulliver's Travels (1939) and Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941). Joining Timely in 1942, he brought an animator's dynamic sense of movement to such features as "Dinky" and "Frenchy Rabbit" in Terrytoons Comics; "Floop and Skilly Boo" in Comedy Comics; "Posty the Pelican Postman" in Krazy Komics and other titles; "Krazy Krow" in that character's eponymous comic; and, following other writers/artists, the features "Tubby an' Tack" and "Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal".
[edit] Later career
During Lee's U.S. Army service from 1942 to 1945, Fago, by now head of the animator bullpen, assumed the interim title of Editorial and Art Director, beginning on comics cover-dated March 1943. Sometime after Lee's return, Fago left to work in independent comic-book production and as a children's-book illustrator for Golden Press.
In 1948, he took over the syndicated Sunday comic strip Peter Rabbit (based not on the Beatrix Potter books but on a character from the Thornton Burgess series that began with The Adventures of Peter Cottontail). Fago went on to illustrate more than 100 books in the Pendulum Illustrated Classics children's-book series, and later collaborated with musician Julie Albright on The Rabbit Man Music Books, a series designed to teach children music theory. Other books include Zhin or Zhen (Charles Tuttle Publishing, 1972).
Fago spent his final years in Bethel, Vermont, with his wife, D'Ann, before dying of stomach cancer.
[edit] Personal life and family
His older brother, Al Fago, was also a funny-animal cartoonist, most notably the creator of the Charlton Comics title Atomic Mouse. Al was a freelance editor and comics packager, and in the mid-1940s he acquired material for the fledgling company to publish. Al spent most of his career with Charlton, also editing a number of the company's titles in the 1950s.
[edit] References
- ^ Vincent Fago (Vincenzo Francisco Gennaro Di Fago) at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. Archived October 18, 2011
[edit] External links
- Vassallo, Michael J.. "Vincent Fago and the Timely Funny Animal Dept.". Comicartville.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5lXJ2YFL1.
- "I Let People Do Their Jobs!': A Conversation with Vince Fago—Artist, Writer, and Third Editor-in-Chief of Timely/Marvel Comics". Alter Ego (TwoMorrows Publishing) 3 (11). November 2001. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. http://www.twomorrows.com/alterego/articles/11fago.html.
- Graphic Classics: Vincent Fago WebCitation archive.
- Social Security Death Index
| Preceded by Stan Lee |
Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief 1942–1945 |
Succeeded by Stan Lee |
