Fran Matera

Francis "Fran" Matera (born December 12, 1924) is an American comic strip artist best known for his work as the 1984-2004 artist of the King Features Syndicate adventure strip "Steve Roper and Mike Nomad".

Biography

Early life and career

While in high school in Connecticut, Fran Matera visited New York City at the recommendation of comic-strip artist Alfred Andriola, to whom the fledgeling Matera had previously sent a fan letter and art samples. Through a meeting Andriola arranged with editors at Quality Comics, Matera was promised a staff position starting after graduation. Matera returned to spend eight months with Quality, though his credits for that time are spotty due to the industry's then-prevalent practice of rarely crediting comic-book creators. Matera left study at the The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, quitting after a year to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. During basic training, he was assigned to the Parris Island base's public relations department to help create a camp newspaper, the "Parris Island Boot". Requesting combat service, Matera was sent to for additional training in Virginia and eventually shipped out on the USS "Augusta", where he drew a portrait of the visiting President Harry Truman.

Upon his military discharge in 1947, Matera found work assisting Andriola on the dramatic strip "Kerry Drake" (1943-1983). Matera went on to draw the strip "Dickie Dare" (1932-1957) from 1947-1949, succeeding strip creator Milton Caniff and consecutive artists Coulton Waugh and Mabel Burvick Waugh.

Later career

Matera went on to co-create "Mr. Holiday" (1950-1951) with writer Chad Kelly. He ghosted for credited artist Darrell McClure on "Little Annie Rooney" (1927-1966), in 1951; drew the portly private detective series "Nero Wolfe" (1956-65) in 1957, between artists Mike Roy and Jim Christiansen; ghosted for credited artist Marvin Bradley on "Rex Morgan, M.D." (1948- ), from 1976-1978; drew the movie tie-in "Indiana Jones" (1981), and, assisted by Dick Kulpa, the martial-arts strip "Legend of Bruce Lee" (1982), written by Sharman DiVono. He additionally had brief stints ghosting "Judge Parker" and "Apartment 3-G", and from 1974-1975 worked on a strip titled "Galexo" for the international market.

In 1985 (beginning with the strip for April 8 1985), Matera began his two-decade run drawing "Steve Roper and Mike Nomad", which had been titled simply "Steve Roper" from 1947-1969. [The series originated as the comedy strip "Big Chief Wahoo" in 1936, but supporting character Steve Roper edged into the title in 1944, with the by-now dramatic adventure renamed "Chief Wahoo and Steve Roper".] Wahoo was written out in 1947, and Nomad was added in 1956. Matera additionally wrote the final year of "Steve Roper and Mike Nomad", following writer John Saunders' death in November 2003. The final strip ran Dec. 26, 2004.

Comic books

Matera also drew occasionally for comic books. In the 1950s, he contributed to St. John Publications' "Fightin' Marines" and Charlton Comics' "Gabby Hayes", and "Speed Demons". In 1959, he helped initiate the Catholic school comic book "Treasure Chest", drawing all the editorial content in the "Treasure Chest Advance Edition" comic given to teachers and school administrators in introduce the concept. He was the initial artist on writer-creator Max Pine's long-running feature "Chuck White" (later "Chuck White & His Friends"), contributing to that schoolboy's naturalistic family drama through 1971.

For Marvel Comics, he inked penciler Ron Wilson's 46-page story "The Boy Who Cried Hulk!" in the black-and-white comics magazine "The Hulk" #11 (Oct. 1978), and inked Sal Buscema's 33-page story in "Tarzan Annual" #2 (Nov. 1978).

Later life and career

Matera, a Florida resident in his later years, is listed as a scheduled guest at that state's Tampa Comic Book & Toy Convention on Nov. 11, 2007.

He is unrelated to the noted female journalism professor Dr. Fran Matera of Arizona State University.

Footnotes

References

* [http://penandbrush.net/MATERA_.html Fran Matera official site]
*"Alter Ego" #59 (June 2006): Fran Matera interview
* [http://lambiek.net/artists/m/matera_fran.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia: Fran Matera]
* [http://www.comics.org The Grand Comics Database]
* [http://hometown.aol.com/comicsproj2/tempindex.html The Comic Strip Project]
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/nomad.htm Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Mike Nomad]
* [http://www.erbzine.com/mag10/1013.html ERBZine: ERB [Edgar Rice Burroughs] Illustrated Encyclopedia: M]

External links

* [http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041226/ART16/41226011/-1/ART "The Toledo Blade" (Dec. 26, 2004): "Roper out, Fuzzy in on "Blade" comic pages"]