Jon D'Agostino

Jon D'Agostino a.k.a. John D'Agostino and Matt Bakerino (born June 13, 1929) [ [http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/drri/dag.htm Michigan State University Libraries' Special Collections Division: Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection] and [http://www.cbgxtra.com/default.aspx?tabid=42&view=topic&forumid=34&postid=154 CBGExtra.com (June 15, 2005): "February Comics Birthdays", by Maggie Thompson] ] was an American comic-book artist best known for his Archie Comics work. As well, under the pseudonyms Johnny Dee and possibly John Duffy and John Duffi, he was the letterer for the Marvel Comics landmarks "The Amazing Spider-Man" #1-3 (March-July 1963; lead story only in #2). [ [http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/allages/116652136242384.htm The Dec. 19, 2006, Silver Bullet Comics Books column Entertainment for Every Age, "Holiday Ha Ha's!", by Mike Pellerito] , credits D'Agostino as letterer of Spider-Man's first appearance, in "Amazing Fantasy" #15 (Sept. 1962), but the trade-paperback reprint collection "Fantastic Firsts" (Marvel Comics, 2002; ISBN-10 0785108238, ISBN-13 978-0785108238) gives Artie Simek.]

Agostino is not the French comics artist Tony D'Agostino, a.k.a. Tony Dagos, whose early work was signed "D'Agostino".

Biography

Early career

Jon D'Agostino's earliest known work in the comics medium was as the head colorist for New York City's Timely Comics, the 1940s forerunner of Marvel Comics. In that capacity, in 1949, he mentored new-hire Stan Goldberg, a 16-year-old colorist who would later become one of Archie Comics' most prominent cartoonists.

Writer and artist credits were not routinely given during this period that fans and historians refer to the Golden Age of Comic Books, making full bibliographies difficult for many of the medium's pioneering creators. D'Agostino's first confirmed comics credit is penciling and inking the seven-page romance-comic story "Glamor Killed My Love" (as John D'Agostino) in "Romantic Hearts" #6 (Feb. 1952), from publisher Story Comics. Other early credits, all using the first name "Jon", include horror stories in Master Publications' "Dark Mysteries" #14 (Oct. 1953), and inking the cover and the lead Rocky Jones, Space Ranger story in the science-fiction anthology series "Space Adventures" #18 (Sept. 1955), the first of his countless works for Charlton Comics.

Later career

Through the 1950s and into the 1960s, D'Agostino fully drew or simply inked across a variety of titles for Charlton, including romance ("Sweethearts"), war comics ("Attack", "Fightin' Army"), funny animal and other types of other children's comics ("Pudgy Pig", "Timmy the Timid Ghost"), and teen humor ("Freddy", and the TV-series licensed comic "My Little Margie"). He occasionally inked penciler Matt Baker under the joint pseudonym Matt Bakerino, and did lettering for the first and other early issues of Marvel Comics' "The Amazing Spider-Man".

In the mid-1960s and continuing through the 1970s, D'Agostino began contributing to Archie Comics and Gold Key Comics in addition to Charlton, both as an artist and as a letterer. In the 1980s he was inking primarily for Archie and for Marvel, including on the latter's "G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero", "Marvel Two-In-One", and, for Marvel's Star Comics children's imprint, "Planet Terry" and "Royal Roy".

By 1990, D'Agostino was exclusively inking for Archie, on teen-humor stories for such titles as "Archie's Pals 'N' Gals", "Jughead's Time Police", "Explorers of the Unknown" (a light adventure comic starring the Archie gang), "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", and the video-game licensed comic "Sonic the Hedgehog".

D'Agostino's last known credits are inking the covers and some stories in "Archie Comics Digest" #229 and "Archie's Holiday Fun Digest" #11, both cover-dated December 2006.

Quotes

Stan Goldberg on his first job in comics: "I found out there was an opening in the coloring department at Timely Comics, so I went up there. They needed another body to be in the room that handled the coloring, and that's where I worked. ... [T] he man who was in charge of the coloring department is still a dear friend of mine, Jon D'agostino. He's still around and he occasionally does some inking for me up at Archie Comics". [ [http://www.adelaidecomicsandbooks.com/goldberg.htm Adelaide Comics and Books: Stan Goldberg interview (2005)] ]

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.comics.org/search.lasso?query=Jon+D%27Agostino&type=credit&sort=chrono&Submit=Search Grand Comics Database: Jon D'Agostino] , [http://www.comics.org/search.lasso?type=credit&query=johnny+dee&sort=chrono&Submit=Search Johnny Dee] , and [http://www.comics.org/search.lasso?query=John+Duffy&type=credit&sort=chrono&Submit=Search John Duffy/John Duffy]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]
* [http://www.comics-db.com/ The Big Comic Book Database]