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FRIEND OF LONE RANGER CARTOONIST FULFILLS DYING WISH IN TIME FOR CHARACTER’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY
CHANDLER, AZ– Before his final sunset in the Old West, Lone Ranger cartoonist Tom Gill asked his longtime friend, Tim Lasiuta, to secure a publisher for Gill’s manuscript, which offered a rare look into the comic book hero and syndicated comics. Three year’s after Gill’s death at 92, Lasiuta fulfilled his promise, getting The Misadventures of a Roving Cartoonist:The Lone Ranger's Secret Sidekick published just in time for the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Lone Ranger character.
"The opportunity to get to know Tom, one of the legends of the industry, was a gift. And to be entrusted with the publication of his book is indeed an honor," says Lasiuta.
A self-taught cartoonist who started as an office boy at the New York Daily News and worked his way up to staff artist, Tom eventually landed at Dell Comics where he went on to draw Lone Ranger comic books for 20 years, one of the longest records of any cartoonist on any comic book series. Gill created 135 of the 145 Lone Ranger comic books launched by Dell in 1948, which coincidentally also makes 2008 the 60th anniversary of the Lone Ranger comic book series.
“After having read only snippets from an advance emailing of The Misadventures of a Roving Cartoonist, I am already hooked. Having the unique opportunity to own and read the late Tom Gill's own glowing remembrances, I truly anticipate with excitement,” says cartoonist and BEETLE BAILEY assistant Bill Janocha.
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