Nick Cuti
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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 Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist o ...
) 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 The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
as an air policeman from 1966 to 1972, stationed at Toul-Rosières Air Base, France;
Çiğli Çiğli is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 139 km2, and its population is 214,065 (2022). It covers the northwestern part of the agglomeration of İzmir, around the mouth of the river ...
, Turkey; and
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...
. 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 Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...
'' magazine while he was on active status in Bangor. 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 Ralph Bakshi (; born October 29, 1938) is a Mandatory Palestine-born American retired animator and filmmaker, known for his fantastical animated films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent anim ...
. In 1972, while visiting his parents in Florida, he met Charlene Veselsky on the flight, and they were married six months later. Together they had a daughter, Jaymee, who worked as a journalist and at the time of Nick Cuti's death in 2020 was in the publicity department of the Portland, Oregon Water Department. Nick and Charlene were
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
d in 1995.


''Moonchild''

Starting in 1968, he self-published three
underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...
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 Gary Edson Arlington (October 7, 1938 – January 16, 2014) was an American retailer, artist, editor, and publisher, who became a key figure in the underground comix movement of the 1960s and 1970s.Yardley, William"Gary Arlington, a Force in Unde ...
'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. The character was then published as a three issue
limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...
, 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 Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...
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 Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 40,634 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of ...
,
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. He worked on the strips ''Cannon'' and '' Sally Forth'' for Wood. When
Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...
was seeking an assistant editor, Cuti was interviewed by the new editor,
George Wildman George Wildman (July 31, 1927 – May 22, 2016) was an American cartoonist most noted for his work in the comic books industry. From 1971 until 1985, he was a top editor at Charlton Comics, where he also became the long-time regular artist o ...
, and was hired. He worked for Charlton for four years and worked as assistant editor for
Louise Simonson Louise Simonson (née Mary Louise Alexander; born September 26, 1946) is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as ''Conan the Barbarian'', '' Power Pack'', ''X-Factor'', ''The New Mutan ...
at
Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...
and then as assistant editor to
Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...
at DC Comics. In 1986 a friend,
Bill DuBay William Bryan Dubay (January 11, 1948 – April 15, 2010William Bryan Dubay
Marvel Films Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...
in California and invited Cuti to work as a background artist. Excited at the prospect of working in the animation field, Cuti moved his wife and daughter to California. For the next sixteen years he found employment as a freelance background designer for such studios as the
Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
,
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
,
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
,
Sunbow Entertainment Sunbow Entertainment (formerly known as Sunbow Productions until 1995) was an American animation studio and distributor, founded on June 23, 1980, and owned until May 4, 1998, by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York City and in the United State ...
, and many more working on such projects as '' Conan the Adventurer'', ''
Defenders of the Earth ''Defenders of the Earth'' is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake's assistan ...
,
101 Dalmatians 101 Dalmatians may refer to: * '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'', a 1956 novel written by Dodie Smith * 101 Dalmatians (franchise), a Disney film franchise based on the novel ** '' One Hundred and One Dalmatians'', a 1961 animated film based on ...
,
Dilbert ''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satire, satirical office humor about a White-collar worker, white-collar, micromanagement, micromanaged offic ...
, Exo-Squad,
Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of ...
,'' and many other TV series. Cuti moved to Florida where he began writing and shooting indie movies for Creature Productions and then for his own company Ni-Cola Entertainment LLC. His big dream was to produce a movie based on his character Moonie, but he knew it would take a fortune to do Moonie properly, so he shelved the idea. In 2012, it was announced that the comic miniseries story "Moonie vs the Spider Queen" would be adapted by Temple of the Cave's Temple Immersive Audio as an AudioDrop, a short-form audio production. It was scheduled for release in April 2012. The production features Tom Nagel and
Michael Cornacchia Michael Cornacchia (born February 23, 1975) is an American actor. Biography Education Cornacchia graduated from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California with a degree in theatre. Career Cornacchi ...
and is scripted and directed by Eric Paul Erickson from the original story by Cuti.
Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...
, a friend and fellow indie movie maker, had suggested to Cuti that instead of trying to produce a high-budget version of ''Moonchild'' he should do it in episodes and use each episode as a means to finance the next episode. On September 12, 2012, Cuti began shooting the first episode of a three-part movie entitled ''Moonie and the Spider Queen, Episode One''. The movie starred Nikoma DeMitro as Moonie, Anthony Wayne and William August as the space pilots. The shooting by cinematographer, Wheat, was completed on September 15. It was then edited by Randy Carter and composited with special effects by Stuart Scoon. The movie premiered on 16 August 2013 at the Fetish Convention, held in Tampa Bay and was put on sale on Amazon.com. In 2018, Cuti sold the Moonchild franchise to Nakoma DeMitro. The series is being rebooted with no known tentative release date.


Charlton (1972–1976)

In 1972, when he was hired as the assistant to
George Wildman George Wildman (July 31, 1927 – May 22, 2016) was an American cartoonist most noted for his work in the comic books industry. From 1971 until 1985, he was a top editor at Charlton Comics, where he also became the long-time regular artist o ...
, editor of the
Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...
in Derby, Connecticut. Charlton was a low-paying outfit that nonetheless produced a variety of comic book genres from 1946 until its demise in 1986, even after most publishers had long since turned to a steady diet of superhero titles. Cuti began turning out scripts for Charlton's horror and fantasy titles, working with artists such as
Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular ac ...
,
Don Newton Don Newton (November 12, 1934 – August 19, 1984) was an American comics artist. During his career, he worked for a number of comic book publishers including Charlton Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on The Pha ...
, Wayne Howard and
Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyoming. Later, stationed at Itam ...
. He recruited younger artists such as John Byrne and
Mike Zeck Michael J. Zeck (born September 6, 1949) is an Americans, American comics artist. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics on such series as ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'', ''Secret Wars, Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars'' ...
, who began freelancing for Charlton and illustrated some of Cuti's stories. In less than three years, Cuti produced well over 200 story scripts and text features for Charlton. In 1973, he teamed with
Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist o ...
, who collaborated with him in the creation of '' E-Man'', a naive alien superhero who became a cult favorite. The character epitomized Cuti's disdain for the melodramatic, cape-wearing superheroes of other publishers. Cuti and Staton also co-created ''Michael Mauser'', a grubby and uncouth private investigator, who began as an extra in ''E-Man'' but was quickly spun off into a series of his own. Both characters survived the implosion of Charlton and continue to the present, with Cuti and Staton collaborating on one-shots and series of new ''E-Man'' and ''Michael Mauser'' comics and stories.


Post-Charlton

Cuti left Charlton in 1976 and went back to work for Warren, producing more than 100 story scripts for Warren's horror and fantasy magazines, until that company's demise in the early 1980s. At various times he held the positions of contributing editor, assistant editor and consulting editor. During the same period, he taught himself the medium of
scratchboard Scratchboard or scraperboard or scratch art is a form of direct engraving where the artist scratches off dark ink to reveal a white or colored layer beneath. The technique uses sharp knives and tools for engraving into the scratchboard, which is us ...
, emulating an artist he admired,
Frank Kelly Freas Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an American artist known for his work in science fiction and fantasy, with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the s ...
. Cuti developed a realistic scratchboard style in contrast to his inked cartoon style and began selling illustrations to mainstream magazines such as ''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'', ''Analog'', ''Amazing Stories'' and ''Heavy Metal''. After he left Warren, Cuti became an assistant editor and then digest editorInterview with Nick Cuti, ''Digest Comics'' (August 2008). at
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
, handling various superhero and children's titles and scripting his own six-part space opera, ''Spanner's Galaxy'', illustrated by
Tom Mandrake Tom Mandrake (born 1956) is an American comics artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including ''Grimjack'' (from First Comics) and ''Firestorm (comics), Firestorm'', ''The Spectre (DC Comi ...
. He also scripted the final two Creeper back-up stories that appeared in ''
The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
''. Cuti moved to California in 1986 to begin work for animated TV series, producing background and prop designs for a dozen different studios, including
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,
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
and
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
. At the same time, he continued to write comic book scripts and create magazine and book art in both scratchboard and paint. ''Captain Cosmos'', Cuti's homage to the TV space operas of his childhood, appeared in a series of comic books created in collaboration with Staton and also in Cuti's novel, ''Spin a Web of Death'', three radio dramas and three short TV films. ''Moonchild'' returned to print in a three-part comic series in 1992 as ''Moonie, Moonchild the Starbabe'' and as novels in 2003. At a convention, his friend, partner, and actress for Moonie, Nakoma DeMitro, suggested he write a series for young girls since there wasn’t much out there for them in the science fiction field and ''Starflake'' the Cosmic Sprite was born. Like Moonie, she could live in outer space without any life support.


Films

In 2003, Cuti moved to Florida, where he scripted for independent films—some adapted from his Charlton and Warren scripts—and consolidated his ''Captain Cosmos'' TV series into a full-length feature film, ''Captain Cosmos and the Gray Ghosts''. Films produced and written by Cuti include ''Grub'', ''Shock House'', ''Tagged!'', ''The Lady Without Substance'' and ''Moonie and the Spider Queen''.


Novels

Cuti wrote and illustrated text novels with his character "Moonie" as the heroine, ''Moonie and the Spider Queen'' (2009) (inks by Dave Simons), ''Moonie in the Slave Market of Opuul'' (2010) (inks by Mark Stegbauer), ''Moonie in Too Many Moons'' (2010) (inks by Mark Stegbauer) and ''Moonie Moonie Goes to War.'' A fifth novel, ''Moonie and the Space Pirates'', was written by a friend of Cuti's, Vic Stonecypher. Eventually, Cuti decided he had done all he could with Moonie, the Starbabe, and sold the series to DeMitro in order to concentrate on his newest creation, Starflake, the Cosmic Sprite. A contest was initiated to find a model for Starflake and Alicia Sage won the title. He wrote seven Starflake novels including, ''Starflake rides with the Galactic Bikers, Starflake hunts the Power Beast,'' and ''Starflake picks the Junkyard Planet''. A Starflake Comic series was also created and published by his good friend Kevin Glover. He was working on a young adult series of ''Starflake'' titled ''Starflake, Deep Space Ranger''.


Awards

Cuti was twice awarded Warren’s
Ray Bradbury Award The Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation (formerly the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation) is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fant ...
for writing. In 2009, Cuti was awarded the
Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...
for career achievement and was given the award at
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
. In 2020 he posthumously was awarded the Bill Finger Award.


Death

Cuti died of cancer on February 21, 2020, in
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
; survived by his daughter Jayme Rose and his brother Emil.


References


Citations


Sources

*Ambrose, Michael (ed.): ''Charlton Spotlight'', issues 1–5, 2005–2007 *Cooke, Jon B. (ed.). ''Comic Book Artist'' #9, 2000 *Cooke, Jon B. (ed.). ''The Warren Companion'', 2001 *Estren, Mark James. ''A History of Underground Comics'', 1974, 1986, 1993 *Kennedy, Jay. ''The Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide'', 1982 *Stewart, Bhob (ed.). ''Against the Grain: Mad Artist Wallace Wood'', 2003 * *
Nicola Cuti at the GCDNick Cuti at the GCD''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999'': Nick Cuti

Entry at isfdb.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuti, Nicola 1944 births 2020 deaths Military personnel from New York City Writers from Brooklyn American comics writers American comics artists Screenwriters from New York City American animators American illustrators American graphic designers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American writers of Italian descent Inkpot Award winners