Nick Cuti

Nicola Cuti (October 29, 1944 – February 21, 2020), known as Nick Cuti, was an American artist and comic book writer-editor, science-fiction novelist; he was the co-creator of ''E-Man'' (with artist Joe Staton) and Moonchild, Captain Cosmos, and Starflake the Cosmic Sprite. He also worked as an animation background designer, magazine illustrator and screenwriter.

Biography

Early life

Nicola Cuti was born on October 29, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York, the first of two sons of Alphonso Gitano Cuti, a darkroom technician, and Laura Antoinette Sica, a housewife. His grandparents had emigrated from Italy in the 1930s to make a home in America. His brother, Emil, was a medical technician and later sold medical supplies to hospitals.

He served in the United States Air Force as an Air Policeman from 1966 to 1972, stationed at Toul Rossieres Air Base, France; Cigli, Turkey; and Bangor, Maine. His first published work, a comic strip, was published in a French magazine, ''Singular-Plural'', and his first published story, “Grub” was published in '' Creepy Magazine'' while he was on active status in Bangor, Maine.

After leaving the service, his first employment was at ''Krantz Animation Studio'' in New York City, which was under the direction of the legendary filmmaker, Ralph Bakshi.

In 1972, while visiting his parents in Florida, he met a pretty young blonde girl on the flight, Charlene Veselsky, and they were married six months later. Together they had a daughter, Jaymee, who worked as a journalist and is presently in the publicity department of the Portland, Oregon Water Department. Nick and Charlene were divorced in 1995.

''Moonchild''

Starting in 1968, he self-published three underground comix featuring his first original character, Moonchild, a big-eyed, buxom innocent waif who had the ability to live in outer space without any life support systems. (Issue #2 of ''Moonchild'' was published in conjunction with Gary Arlington's San Francisco Comic Book Company.) She was also featured in Mark Estren's book ''A History of the Underground Comics'', in the first underground comic in full color, ''Weird Fantasies'' and in several issues of ''Cheri'' magazine. She was then published as a three issue miniseries, under the name ''Moonie, Moonchild the Starbabe'', by MU Press with covers, writing, editing, pencils by Cuti and inks and lettering by Dave Simons.

Cuti had long admired the work of comic artist Wally Wood and asked if Wood would look at his portfolio. Cuti did a single-page comic strip featuring Moonchild but it was never published in Wood's magazine ''Witzend''; however, Cuti eventually became Wood's studio assistant at the Wood Studio in Valley Stream, Long Island. He worked on the strips ''Cannon'' and ''Sally Forth'' for Wood.

When Charlton Comics was seeking an assistant editor, Cuti was interviewed by the new editor, George Wildman, and was hired. He worked for Charlton for four years and worked as assistant editor for Louise Simonson at Warren publishing and then as assistant editor to Len Wein at DC Comics.

In 1986 a friend, Bill Dubay

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