TOM MASSEY

Comic Artists Hall of Fame No. 3

TOM MASSEY

Thomas Vernon Massey nasce l’11 luglio 1909 a Denver, Colorado, da Louis J. Massey e Ada Peterson. All’inizio degli anni Trenta lavora nel settore pubblicitario.

Trasferitosi a Los Angeles, California, sposa Christa Juanita Schaffer il 19 novembre 1932. Questo primo matrimonio non dura a lungo, poiché il 14 maggio 1936 Massey si risposa con Nellie Marie Cooper. Entra allo Studio Disney Studio nel 1934 come intercalatore e poi assistente animatore. Contribuisce ai lungometraggi Biancaneve e i Sette Nani (1937) e Fantasia (1940).

Nel 1943 realizza illustrazioni per il manuale del layout concepito da Ken Anderson ad uso interno allo Studio. Nel 1944 è animatore a pieno titolo e fa parte del team diretto da Jack King che realizza cortometraggi di Paperino, insieme con Don Towsley, Bill Justice, Judge Whitaker, Paul Allen, Lee Morehouse, Fred Kopietz e altri eccellenti animatori. Contribuisce inoltre a sequenze dei lungometraggi Musica Maestro! (1946), I racconti dello zio Tom (1946) e Bongo e i tre avventurieri (1947) sotto la direzione di Jack Kinney e Wilfred Jackson.

L’ultimo cortometraggio cui collabora, Daddy Duck, viene distribuito nell’aprile 1948, tuttavia Massey ha già lasciato da mesi lo Studio Disney per lavorare con Lyman Young alla serie fumettata Tim Tyler’s Luck (Cino e Franco). Contribuisce anonimamente a strisce quotidiane e tavole settimanali tra l’agosto 1947 e il luglio 1952. Poi il disegno delle strisce passa al figlio di Young, Jason Robert (Bob), e Massey si concentra sulla serie settimanale, che adesso reca l’intestazione “by Lyman Young and Tom Massey”, continuando a disegnarla fino alla sua sospensione, avvenuta nel luglio 1972.

Il disegno di Massey per Tim Tyler’s Luck è particolarmente interessante nel periodo 1948-55. Illustra le strisce su carta chimica CrafTint, sfruttando al meglio gli effetti del retino doubletone. Lo stile da lui adottato nelle tavole settimanali è assai meno raymondiano di quello del suo predecessore Nat Edson, ma risulta essere un buon compromesso tra realismo e quello stile cartoony che ha imparato ad usare allo Studio Disney.

Oltre al suo lavoro per Young, Massey illustra diverse storie per l’editrice Western Printing. È attivo nel periodo 1952-58, disegnando Gene Autry (sia per i comic books, sia per i quotidiani della domenica), The Flying A’s Range Rider e altre serie di genere western. Di solito esegue anche il lettering delle tavole che disegna.

Tornerà a lavorare per la Western, che pubblica adesso con etichetta Gold Key, nel 1966, illustrando Leopard Girl e Mabu, Jungle Boy, serie secondarie che appaiono rispettivamente in appendice agli albi dedicati a Tarzan e Korak.

Massey si ritira dai fumetti nel 1972. Successivamente si dedicherà alla pittura nella sua casa di Pasadena fino alla sua scomparsa, avvenuta il 6 maggio 1997.

Thomas Vernon Massey was born July 11, 1909 in Denver, Colorado, from Louis J. Massey and Ada Peterson. He worked as an advertising artist in the early 1930s.

After moving to Los Angeles, California, he married Christa Juanita Schaffer on November 19, 1932. This first marriage did not last long, as Massey married Nellie Marie Cooper on May 14, 1936.

He joined the Disney Studio in 1934 as an inbetweener/assistant animator. He worked on the animated features Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Fantasia (1940).

In 1943 he contributed illustrations to Ken Anderson’s Studio Layout Manual. As of 1944, Massey was a full-fledged animator in Jack King’s crew, producing Donald Duck shorts along with Don Towsley, Bill Justice, Judge Whitaker, Paul Allen, Lee Morehouse, Fred Kopietz, and other excellent animators. He also animated on sequences of such features as Make Mine Music (1946), Song of the South (1946), and Fun and Fancy Free (1947) under directors Jack Kinney and Wilfred Jackson.

The last cartoon he did animation for, Daddy Duck, was released in April 1948, but Massey had left Disney several months before to join Lyman Young and ghost the Tim Tyler’s Luck newspaper strip. He worked anonymously on the dailies and Sundays from August 1947 until July 1952. Then he left the dailies to Young’s son Jason Robert (Bob) and concentrated on the Sundays, now by-lined “by Lyman Young and Tom Massey”, continuing to draw them until they were discontinued in July 1972.

Massey’s work on Tim Tyler’s Luck was especially interesting from 1948-55. He drew the dailies on CrafTint’s chemical paper, taking advantage of doubletone graphic effects. His art on the Sundays was less in Raymond’s footsteps (as had been Nat Edson’s before he took over), but a very good compromise between realism and the “cartoony” style he had learned to use at Disney’s.

In addition to his work for Young, Massey drew several stories for Western Printing. He was active from 1952-58, drawing Gene Autry (both for the comic books and the Sunday newspapers), The Flying A’s Range Rider, and other western strips. He most always lettered the strips and pages he drew.

He went back to drawing for Western under the Gold Key imprint in 1966, illustrating Leopard Girl and Mabu, Jungle Boy, which were back-up strips in the Tarzan and Korak comic books, respectively.

Massey retired from comics in 1972. He devoted himself to painting at his home in Pasadena until he passed away on May 6, 1997.

FILMOGRAFIA / FILMOGRAPHY

[NOTE: All dates in this section are day/month/year]

Studio: DISNEY 1934-1947

Assistente Animatore / Assistant Animator

21/12/1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

13/11/1940 Fantasia

Animator / Animatore

26/01/1945 The Clock Watcher [Donald Duck]

29/06/1945 Donald’s Crime [Donald Duck]

26/10/1945 Cured Duck [Donald Duck]

28/06/1946 Donald’s Double Trouble [Donald Duck]

09/08/1946 Wet Paint [Donald Duck]

15/08/1946 Make Mine Music [Sequence: Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet]

30/08/1946 Dumbell of the Yukon [Donald Duck]

12/11/1946 Song of the South [Sequence: The Laughing Place]

21/12/1946 Old Sequoia [Donald Duck]

11/07/1947 Donald’s Dilemma [Donald Duck]

27/09/1947 Fun and Fancy Free [Sequence: Bongo]

16/04/1948 Daddy Duck [Donald Duck © 01/07/1947]

FUMETTOGRAFIA / COMICOGRAPHY

COMIC BOOKS

Editore/Publisher: GOLD KEY (aka KK, WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY)

Leopard Girl – Tarzan of the Apes #162-181 (1966-69).

Mabu, Jungle Boy – Korak, Son of Tarzan #21-45 (1968-72).

Editore/Publisher: DELL (aka KK, WESTERN PRINTING)

Chuckwagon Charley’s Tales – Roy Rogers and Trigger #120 (1957).

Gene Autry and Champion – Western Roundup #17 (1957).

Gypsy Colt – Four Color #568 (1954) [Massey?].

The Flying A’s Range Rider – The Flying A’s Range Rider #15, 22 (1956/58).

Jace Pearson’s Tales of the Texas Rangers – Jace Pearson’s Tales of the Texas Rangers #12 (1956).

Wild Bill Elliott – Western Roundup #15 (1956).

Editore/Publisher: KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC.

Tim Tyler’s Luck – Comics Reading Library #R-04 (1973).

FUMETTI PER QUOTIDIANI / NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS

Editore/Publisher: GENERAL FEATURES

Gene Autry – Tavole settimanali / Sunday page: Matite e chine / Pencils and inks 1953-54 [Verified: Aug. 9 1953-July 31 1954].

Editore/Publisher: KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC.

Tim Tyler’s Luck – Strisce quotidiane / Daily strip: Matite e chine / Pencils and inks Sept 1 1947-June 21 1952.

Tim Tyler’s Luck – Tavole settimanali / Sunday page: Matite e chine / Pencils and inks Aug 31 1947-July 9 1972 [by-line as of July 6 1952].

ILLUSTRAZIONI / ILLUSTRATIONS

Editore/Publisher: WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS, INC.

Walt Disney Studio Layout Manual (1943) – Illustrazioni / Illustrations.