This past week a local school on Long Island honored the memory of cartoon illustrator Al Plastino.  He was one of many Italian Americans who crafted the comic books that every boy in the country grew up with — Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

I’m not a collector or devotee of comics, but in tracking down Al Plastino’s bio, I stumbled on an army of Italic artists who formed the backbone of the comic industry.  In the trade there were writers, sketchers, inkers, and even the guys who lettered the dialog in the bubbles.  Every ethnic group worked in the industry but here are a few of the notable Italian Americans:  Carmine Infantino, Joe Giella, Joe Orlando (an immigrant from Bari who later was Associate Editor at Mad Magazine), Frank Giacoia, Gaspar Saladino, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo, Dick Giordano, and David Mazzucchelli.  Many of these illustrators were capable of serious art—even Michelangelo had apprentices for sketching (using charcoal) and coloring.

Al Plastino can be seen in a YouTube video interview from 2013.  He was 91 at the time and quite animated.  But despite his vim and vigor he died that year.  You can also find a published biography of him written by Eddy Zeno. (I’ve added the links below.)

Plastino’s father Frank was an immigrant from Calabria who had an interesting story.  A hat maker by trade he eventually started his own company during the Depression.  His reputation was such that he made custom hats for Fiorello LaGuardia, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower.  It was a Plastino top hat that John F. Kennedy wore to his inauguration in 1961.

As for son Al, he inherited his father’s work ethic and decided to forego college to learn industrial art.  His talent became apparent as he worked with the foremost comic artists at the time.  Comic book art in 1930s was light on imagination and heavy on black & white newspaper comic reproductions.  It wasn’t until the 1940s and the war years that comic books took on the superhero message.  Like other young men his age, Plastino was draft bait despite a perforated ear drum.  Luckily, his talents got him a job at the Pentagon as a civilian creating spirited war posters, so he never had to serve in uniform.

It was after the war that his big break came when the creators of Superman, Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel, lost their lawsuit for the copyright in 1947.  The publisher, DC Comics, hired Plastino. 

So began a career that spanned some 40 years until 1989.  Plastino’s most memorable work was one he began in 1963 “Superman’s Mission for President Kennedy.”  It had the White House’s blessing to spur on JFK’s quest for American youth to be physically fit.  Before it was completed JFK was assassinated.  Plastino later completed the panels with JFK represented in heaven.  It was Plastino’s understanding that DC Comics would donate the work to the Kennedy Library at Harvard.  That never happened.  Instead, it was sold to private collectors.  When Plastino heard of this in 2013 he and his family successfully lobbied DC Comics to repurchase the work and donate it to the library as originally promised.  Shortly after Plastino’s death, DC made good on the promise and the work now resides at the library.

Al Plastino can now rest in peace.  -JLM

Al Plastino: Last Superman Standing : TwoMorrows Publishing, The Future of Comics and LEGO™ Publications.

An Interview With Al Plastino – A Less Boring Take On Golden Age Superman — Nerd Team 30