George Tuska, veteran comic strip and comic book artist, passed away last night. The cause was a stroke.
The Comics Reporter has an obituary, and quotes a 2001 interview with PC Hamerlinck that describes the then-18-year-old's acquaintance with art:
After high school I visited my aunt in New York City, where I ended up working a few odd jobs. One was designing women's costume jewelry. It was fun, but I soon found out that it just wasn't my thing. Shortly thereafter, a friend of mine invited me to work out with him, lifting weights at a local gym. I exercised for five hours that day. The next day I was so sore I couldn't get out of bed. My friend came over, and we dropped in to visit a friend of his who was a sculptor. His studio was on one of the West 70s Streets, overlooking Central Park. I never got to know his name, but he knew I was interested in art, so he recommended me to the National Academy of Design. At the time it was located at 104th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Thus began my art career!
Above image of Iron Man #71, November, 1974, nicked from My First Comics.
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1 comment:
Hope you're well over whatever ailed you, Mike.
I posted this on someone else's Tuska obit, forgive the cut and paste. For me, Tuska was one of those guys like Don Heck or Alex Toth whose work I didn't like as a kid/teen but really grew to appreciate and respect the more I learned about comics. He was a solid storyteller and one of those guys who just got the job done. I suspect one reason he didn't always impress young me was that he was often called in to do emergency jobs when others fell short. I didn't always catch him at his best.
Looking at your page and some others that have been posted with his obits, I see a lot more Gene Colan in his style than I ever noticed before. That's a big compliment in my book.
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