Keith Chatto

Ronald Keith Chatto (1924 – 22 October 1992) was an Australian comic book artist and writer. He was the first Australian illustrator to draw a full-length episode of The Phantom comic.

Biography Keith Chatto was born at Kogarah, New South Wales in 1924, the son of an accountancy clerk. Chatto was educated at Kogarah Primary School, Canterbury High School and Sydney Grammar School. His father, an accountant for Smith's Weekly, On leaving school Chatto found work with the art department of Greater Union Theatres then drawing aircraft recognition charts for the Australian Air Training Corps Also, in 1947, Chatto produced two comic strips for a nudist magazine, The Australian Sunbather, which was published by Ashworth Publications. The Glamour Girl and The Buccaneer. which was later drawn by Yaroslav Horak, and in 1954 created Steven Carlisle for Larry Cleland Publishing Company. By 1955 Chatto branched out to other forms of commercial art including magazine illustrations, record sleeves and cover illustrations for pulp fiction novels, where in the 1950s he was produced upwards of six covers a week. He also worked on The Twilight Ranger and El Lobo He continued to work in the comics field on a part-time basis drawing comic book covers for Page Publications and a series of Skippy comics Unfortunately the comic book was produced after the television series had peaked in popularity. and Jim Shepherd the storyline. Chatto followed this by illustrating two more Phantom stories, Return of the Singh Brotherhood and The Kings Cross Connection in 1992, again collaborations with Shepherd.

Chatto died of cancer on 22 October 1992 at the age of 67.