Al Plastino (1921- ) is an American comic book artist best known as one of the most prolific Superman artists of the 1950s, along with his DC Comics colleague Wayne Boring. Plastino also worked as a comics writer, editor, letterer, and colorist. 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Look up Artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Superman is a fictional character and the staple superhero of DC Comics. ... DC Comics (originally called Detective Comics, Inc. ... Wayne Boring (born 1905, Minnesota; died 1987) is an American comic book artist, most known for his work on Superman from the late 1940s to 1950s. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... An Editor is a person who prepares text—typically language, but also images and sounds—for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it. ... In comic books, the letterer is the person who draws the letters in the word balloons, draws in sound effects and usually designs a books logo. ... A colorist is an artist who colors comic art reading it for production as a comic book. ...

Biography

Early life and career

Interested in art since grade school, Plastino won several prizes hosted by Youth Today magazine, which hired Plastino when he was 17. Plastino later did work for Funnies Inc., where he "helped out"^{[citation needed]} Bill Everett with Sub-Mariner. His earliest known credited comic-book work is as penciler-inker of the cover of Novelty Press' Blue Bolt Comics Vol. 3, #9 (Feb. 1943). Bill Everett (May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was a comic book writer/illustrator most famous for the creation of Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics. ... Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional character featured in Marvel Comics, and one of the oldest superhero characters. ... In producing a comic book, the penciller (or penciler) draws the comic based on the script created by the writer. ... The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book, or graphic novel. ...

In 1941, Plastino designed an airplane that resembled the space shuttle, and eventually showed a model of it and blueprints to Grummond Aircraft executives.^{[citation needed]} Drafted shortly afterward, he spent much of World War II assigned to the graphic arts office in the Pentagon, drawing war posters and producing them in silkscreen. He was next assigned to the Adjutant General's Office, working on illustrations for U.S. Army training manuals. He continued working on these after the war, while with Steinberg Studios. He also began taking on comic book art and commercial graphics. Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... For the 2003 film, see Blueprint (movie). ... The United States has employed conscription (mandatory military service, also called the draft) several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War. ... Combatants Allies: Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France/Free France, United States, Canada, China, India, Australia, Poland, New Zealand, South Africa, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian... Graphic arts is the applied trade-skills of a print technician. ... A regular pentagon A pentagram enclosed in a pentagon In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. ... An adjutant general is the chief administrative officer to a military general. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

Comics

While working out of a studio in New York City with two other cartoonists in 1948, Plastino showed sample art of Superman to DC Comics, which offered him $35 a page. Plastino, who had heard that Superman artists were receiving $55 a page negotiated a $50 rate, high for a beginning comics artist at the time. Flag Seal Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World[1], Gotham [2], Metropolis Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ... A cartoonist at work. ...

Now settled in the comic book field, he largely dropped other commercial work for two decades. Early on at DC, Plastino was forced to copy Wayne Boring's style, until the editors got comfortable with his own style. He ended up doing 48 Superman covers as well as countless stories during his career there. Wayne Boring (born 1905, Minnesota; died 1987) is an American comic book artist, most known for his work on Superman from the late 1940s to 1950s. ...

Plastino worked on several titles within the Superman family of comics, including Superboy and Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane. With writer Otto Binder, he co-created Supergirl in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). Plastino also drew the Superboy story in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958) that introduced the Legion of Super-Heroes, a teen superhero team from the future that would eventually become one of DC's most popular features. Superboy is the name of several DC Comics superheroes, all of them youthful incarnations of Superman. ... Lois Lane. ... Otto Oscar Binder (August 26, 1911 - October 14, 1974) was an American science fiction and non-fiction UFO author and comic book writer. ... Various incarnations of Supergirl: Original Kara Zor-El, Matrix, Kara in the 70s, Modern Kara, Linda Danvers, Power Girl, and Kara from Crisis on Infinite Earths. ... Cover of Action Comics #1, which featured the debut of Superman. ... Adventure Comics was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a characters first appearance. ... The Legion of Super-Heroes is a DC Comics superhero team. ...

Comic strips

Plastino drew the syndicated Batman comic strip from 1966-72, and the Superman strip in the late 1960s. In 1968, when he and other older creators were ousted from DC Comics, Plastino, who continued to work on the DC comic strips, additionally took over the syndicated strip Ferd'nand, which he drew until his retirement in 1989. Print Syndication is a form of syndication in which news articles, columns, or comic strips are made available to newspapers and magazines. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-man, and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... No good deed goes unpunished, a Ferdnand strip from March 5, 2000. ...

Later life and career

Since retiring, Plastino has focused on painting.

References

• Cadigan, Glen, The Legion Companion (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003)
• Grand Comics Database: Al Plastino search results