Comics-creator credits were not routinely given in the early days of comic books, up through the 1960s, making a comprehensive listing of Tartaglione's credits difficult to compile. His first confirmed work as a comic-book inker is the six-page story "The Mad Monk!" in Amazing Detective Cases #6 (May 1951), from Atlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics. His first confirmed penciling art is the six-page story "The Man Who Walked The Plank", for the same publisher's Young Men #11 (Oct. 1951). Tartaglione thus began a long association with Marvel that found him penciling suspense, adventure, sports and crime stories — signing his work a variety of ways including "Tartag", "Tar", "Leone" and "JT" — though he was most prolific in romance titles, illustrating more than 120.[4]
Back at Marvel — where he sometimes went by "John Tartag", with and without a period — the wide-ranging Tartaglione had a long run inking Dick Ayers on Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #27-42 (Feb. 1966 - May 1967) and other issues, plus two annuals. Following this, interspersed with other titles and characters across the Marvel line, Tartaglione spent a year as the regular inker for one of Gene Colan's signature series, Daredevil, embellishing issues #29-35, 37, and 40-41 (June 1967 - June 1968), plus Daredevil Annual #1 (Sept. 1967). His work as a Marvel inker includes three stories with the highly influential penciler Jim Steranko: Writer-artist Steranko's final Nick Fury story, "What Ever Happened to Scorpio?", in the much-reprinted Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #5 (Nov. 1968),[5] and the Arnold Drake-written X-Men #50-51 (Nov.-Dec. 1968).[4][6]
Other comics and commercial art
With the exception of an occasional item such as the cover of Dazzler #12, Tartaglione returned to penciling for the first time in years with the 64-page Marvel Comics biography The Life of Pope John Paul II (1982), written by Steven Grant and Mieczyslaw Malinski, and inked by Joe Sinnott. A 1984 follow-up profiled Mother Teresa, with the same artists and writer David Michelinie. Comics historian Mark Evanier wrote that Tartaglione at Marvel "became the 'go-to' guy when a project came along that required historical research and/or spiritual themes. He was therefore the perfect artist when, in 1982, Marvel issued a comic-book biography of Pope John Paul II that through various religious channels sold well into the millions, leading to a follow-up book on Mother Teresa".[3]
During this period, Tartaglione was on staff at Marvel, doing art corrections.[7]
By the early 1990s, Tartaglione had retired to Centerport, New York, but he was lured back to the industry by Personality Comics, a local up-and-coming publisher.[8]
Late in his life, Tartaglione suffered from throat cancer, which had left him unable to speak. He died at home in November 2003;[10] the day before his death Tartaglione had mostly finished inking a week of Spider-Man strips.[3] According to family friend and comics creator Billy Tucci, Tartaglione's artist daughter, Mary Beth, "actually finished this week's inks on the Spider-Man strips today and sent them out, closing out his last job."[10]
Aside from his daughter Mary Beth, Tartaglione had a son, John C. Tartaglione, a Centerport painter born in Brooklyn in 1968.[11][12]