Today in Comics History, April 26: Happy birthday, George Tuska!

Born on this day in 1916: comic book and strip artist George Tuska, whose long career includes Iron Man, Captain Marvel, The World's Greatest Superheroes strip, Luke Cage, Crime Does Not Pay, Buck Rogers, Planet of the Apes, The Unexpected, The X-Men, Teen Titans, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and lots more!


from Fantastic Four Annual #7 (Marvel, November 1969)



He's the co-creator of Shanna the She-Devil and many other characters who first appeared in his issues of Iron Man, Luke Cage, and the Avengers: The Controller, Cottonmouth, Bill Foster, Mr. Fish, and Moondragon!



from "The Watcher Must Die" in Tales of Suspense #58 (Marvel, October 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils and inks by George Tuska, letters by Artie Simek
Here, Jack Kirby goes to work alongside George Tuska (and others) at the Eisner & Iger studio.


from Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (Ten Speed, July 2020), script and art by Tom Scioli
Here's an anecdote by Will Eisner about the time Tuska punched out Bob Powell. Geez, George, you were working alongside Bob Kane and you didn't punch out him?!?


from Alter Ego #48 (TwoMorrows, May 2005), interview with Eisner conducted by Jim Amash
Here's a tip o' the Golden Age hat to Tuska (and other comics artists Gus Ricca, Otto Eppers, and Fran Smith) on this Gus Ricca cover. They defied the Skeleton!


cover of Punch Comics #13 (Chesler/Dynamic, April 1945), pencils and inks by Gus Ricca
And Tuska drew perhaps the weirdest development in Iron Man's armor: The Nose!



from Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir (Simon & Schuster, January 2019), script by Peter David and Stan Lee, art by Colleen Doran
Happy birthday, George! Thanks for your amazimg art that carried us into worlds of wonder!


from 1975 Mighty Marvel Convention Program Book (Marvel, 1975), photograph by Michele Wolfman