Comic Books Comic Strips International Obituary

Sergio Tarquinio – RIP

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D. D. Degg Published: January 20, 2026 Updated: January 20, 2026 1 minute 0 comments

Italian cartoonist Sergio Tarquinio, another of our Senior Strippers, has passed away.

Another Senior Stripper who had reached the age of 100 has passed away this month.

From JiJi Press:

Rome, Jan 12. – (Adnkronos) – From the immediate post-World War II period to the mid-1980s, he traversed the world of Italian and international comics before dedicating himself exclusively to painting and engraving: Sergio Tarquinio, a cartoonist and illustrator among the protagonists of adventurous cowboy strips, has died at the age of 100. After drawing some Superman and Batman stories for Mondadori and a long pirate saga for “Corriere dei piccoli”, he joined the staff of the illustrators of “Storia del West” and subsequently “Ken Parker”, two series from the Bonelli publishing house. He later collaborated with “Il Giornalino”, focusing mainly on Western series such as “Fra due bandiere” (Between Two Flags) and “Nuove frontiere” (New Frontiers). The announcement of his passing, as reported by Adnkronos, was made by Sergio Bonelli Editore, who remembers him as “one of the authors who truly made the history of Italian comics”.

The headline of the above obituary refers to Sergio as a “master Western cartoonist.”

From Sergio’s Lambiek Comiclopedia entry:

Although educated as a painter and decorator, Sergio Tarquinio turned to making comics in 1945. His first exploit was ‘Luna d’Argento’ with Editions DEA, followed by Roy d’Ami‘s ‘Blek e Gionni’. He emigrated to Argentina in 1948, where he joined the “Group of Venice”, which consisted of artists like Hugo Pratt, Ivo Pavone, Mario Faustinelli and Dino Battaglia, who were all working for Editorial Abril. Tarquinio drew covers for Misterix and created the series  ‘Alan Blood’, ‘El Inspector Slop’ and ‘El Secreto de la Piramide’.

Back in Italy in 1952…