EXTRACTS: British War Comics Illustrators Special © 2018 The Book Palace (144 PAGES in Full edition)

46 Gino D'Antonio The career of one of the greatest draughtsmen ever to grace the pages of European comics. One of the very few artists who later became a writer, Gino D’Antonio was also one of the many foreign illustrators who drew countless war stories for the UK market. Born in Milan, Italy, in 1927, D’Antonio was a self- taught artist who began his career almost by accident. In the mid-1940s his neighbour Mario Oriani (who became the future editor of the Corriere dei Ragazzi ) convinced him to make a career in comic book art. D’Antonio’s first comic was one he wrote and illustrated himself. Called Jess Dakota , it appeared in 1947. The following year he began working for Il Vittorioso (a weekly Catholic journal with comics strips, primarily distributed in churches and oratories, rather than newsstands). In 1951 he joined a studio of artists working on the comic book Pecos Bill , one of the best known (and popular) series in Italy at the time. Two years ABOVE: A typically dynamic D'Antonio scene from War Picture Library No. 168, 'The Will to Fight'. FACING PAGE: British paratroops spring into action—the splash page art from 'The Red Devils', WPL No.7. BELOW: Gino D'Antonio (left) with fellow artist Renato Polese. All war Images © IPC Media