Gerry Talaoc is a Filipino comic-book artist best known for his 1970s work for DC Comics' war and horror anthology titles. Talaoc was among the vanguard of Filipino comics artists â€" including Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo, and Alex Niño â€" recruited in 1971 for American comic books by DC editor Joe Orlando and editor-in-chief Carmine Infantino, following the success of the pioneering Tony DeZuniga. Later in his comics career, in the 1980s, Talaoc worked for Marvel Comics as an inker.
Initially working through countryman DeZuniga's studio, Talaoc drew multiple issues of Ghosts, House of Mystery, Star Spangled War Stories, The Unexpected, and Weird War Tales, among other titles. (He broke into the American comics business in the August 1972 issue of House of Mystery, issue #205.) Talaoc's art was celebrated for its distinctive mix of the real and the cartoony (a style pioneered by such Golden Age cartoonists as Milton Caniff and Chester Gould).
In the mid-1970s, Talaoc also worked on comics adaptations of literary classics published by Pendulum Press.
In the 1980s, Talaoc moved over to Marvel, where he worked primarily as an inker, on such titles as The Incredible Hulk (mostly paired with Sal Buscema), Alpha Flight, and the Comet Man limited series (inking over Kelley Jones' pencils). Besides his work with Buscema, during this period Talaoc also teamed up on a number of occasions with Mike Mignola.
Talaoc retired from the American comics business in the early 1990s. During his career, Talaoc worked exclusively in the Philippines, although he now lives in the United States.