Al Fago

Al Fago (1904 – 1978) was an American cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his funny animal comic books such as Frisky Fables, Atomic Mouse, and Atomic Rabbit.

Life and career

Al Fago was born Alfred V. Fago in 1904 to parents who had immigrated from Naples, Italy. He had two sisters and a younger brother, Vincent Fago (1914 – 2002,) also a comic artist, who served as interim editor of Timely Comics, the Golden Age predecessor of Marvel Comics, during editor Stan Lee's World War II service.

In his early career, Fago worked in the design department of the Alexander Smith Rug Company in Yonkers, New York, before entering the comics world. 

In the 1940s, Fago published his Frisky Fables comic books with various publishers. In the 1950s, he was the editorial manager at Charlton Comics, where he created Atomic Mouse in 1953; the series ran 52 issues through cover-date February 1963. He also created Atomic Rabbit (a.k.a. Atomic Bunny) in 1955, a funny animal superhero; and Timmy the Timid Ghost (1956-64), inspired by Joe Oriolo and Seymour Reit's Casper the Friendly Ghost (Harvey Comics.)

Fago eventually left Charlton Comics to found his own label at St. John Publishing in New York.

Death

Fago died in 1978 at the age of 74.