John Robert Forte, Jr. (October 6, 1918 – May 2, 1966) was an American
comic-book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...
artist, active from the early 1940s on, best known as one of the primary
penciler
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
s of
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
' early
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
stories.
Forte additionally drew for
Timely Comics and
Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to
* Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic book, comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and mass market paperback, paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin ...
— the 1940s and 1950s predecessors, respectively, of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
— as well as for the
American Comics Group.
Fiction House,
Lev Gleason
Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971), was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including '' Daredevil Comics'', '' Crime Does Not Pay'', and ''Boy Comics''.
Backgr ...
, and
Quality Comics. He worked primarily for DC Comics beginning 1958, penciling
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and has ...
and
Lois Lane stories for the
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
family of titles. Forte was also the artist for "
Tales of the Bizarro World" which preceded
Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes as the lead feature in ''
Adventure Comics
''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...
''. He also illustrated
pulp magazines, calendars, clothing catalogs and newspaper advertising. John Forte died of cancer at the age of forty-seven in
Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 ...
, on May 20, 1966.
References
External links
John Forteat the
Grand Comics DatabaseThe Lambiek: ComiclopediaDC Indexeschecklist
*
1918 births
1966 deaths
American comics artists
Silver Age comics creators
Science fiction artists
American speculative fiction artists
Pulp fiction artists
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
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