Mario Sbattella began his career in the early 1950s, as an illustrator and comic artist for the publishers Bianconi and Mondadori. At Bianconi, he was one of the editors, and he illustrated comics with 'Mao Okey', 'Chico Cornacchia', as well as 'Braccio di Ferro' (E.C. Segar's 'Popeye') and Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan's Felix the Cat' and 'Braccio di Ferro' ('Popeye'). At Mondadori, he drew two Disney comics for Topolino. Sbattella cooperated with Corriere dei Piccoli between 1957 and 1961, illustrating the series 'Superino'. In the 1960s, he was part of Vezio Melegari's Il Soldatino studios. During this period, he drew for publishers like Mondadori (book illustrations with Hanna-Barbera characters), AMZ, Astro ('Alfa e Omicron' and 'Poncho' for Sbat and Felix), Artistampa ('Poncho') and Panini (illustrations for picture books). He started to work independently in 1984, drawing for the publishers Rubricart and Cino Del Duca.