Italian comics, also known as ''fumetto'' ,

plural In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...

form ''fumetti'' , are comics that originate in Italy. The most popular Italian

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

have been translated into many languages. The term ''fumetto'' (literally ''little puff of smoke'') refers to the distinctive word balloons that contain the dialogue in comics (also called ''nuvoletta'', "little cloud", in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

). In English, the term ''fumetti'' can refer to photo comics, regardless of origin or language.

History

Italian ''fumetto'' has its roots in periodicals aimed at younger readers and in the satirical publications of the 19th century. These magazines published cartoons and illustrations for educational and propagandist purposes. The first illustrated satirical publication appeared in 1848, in '' L'Arlecchino'', a daily paper published in Naples. Other noteworthy examples of satirical papers of the period include ''Lo Spirito Folletto'' published in Milan, Turin's '' Il Fischietto'' and ''Il Fanfulla'', established in Rome in 1872. As far as publications for kids, some of the most significant titles of the period are ''Il Giornale per i Fanciulli'' (1834), ''Il Giovinetto Italiano'' (1849), and '' Giornale per i bambini'' (1881).In 1899 ''Il Novellino'' debuted. The paper was the first to publish Outcault's '' Yellow Kid'' in Italy in 1904, but the first Italian comic did not appear until four years later.

Birth

On December 27, 1908, the first mainstream publication primarily for comics, '' Il Corriere dei Piccoli'', appeared on Italian newsstands. The first issue introduced readers to the adventures of Bilbolbul by Attilio Mussino, featuring a little black kid who is considered the first Italian comic character. Despite being officially considered the birthplace of ''fumetto'', the ''Corrierino'', as it was nicknamed, did not use balloons in the stories that it publishes, opting instead for captions in verse. Regardless, the sequential narration and the recurring characters made the publication the first Italian comic magazine. The most prolific comics illustrator before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was Antonio Rubino. Both Mussino and Rubino based their strips on parodies of school learning: Bilbolbul is a parody of

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

s, while "Quadratino" (literally "Little Square") is a parody of

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

. ''Il Corrierino'' introduced American comics to an Italian audience: " Happy Hooligan" was renamed "Fortunello", " The Katzenjammer Kids" became "Bibì e Bibò",

Bringing Up Father ''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000. The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or '' ...

was "Arcibaldo e Petronilla", "

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan (film producer), Pat Sullivan during the silent film era. An anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic young black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, ...

" became "Mio Mao". Following ''Il Corrierinos spectacular success (reaching 700 000 copies), several other periodicals appeared during the following years: ''Il Giornaletto'' (1910), ''Donnina'' (1914), ''L'Intrepido'' (1920), and ''Piccolo mondo'' (1924).

Fumetto during Fascism

The fascist regime was quick to recognize the potential for propaganda through the new medium. During the 1920s several periodicals published educational comics for Italian youth, including ''Il Giornale dei Balilla'' (1923) and ''La piccola italiana'' (1927). The three most popular characters of the period, reprinted for decades on ''Corrierino'', were: *"Il Signor Bonaventura" by

Sergio Tofano Sergio Tòfano (20 August 1886 – 28 October 1973) was an Italian actor, theatre director, playwright, scene designer and illustrator. As a comics artist, he is best-known for creating '' Signor Bonaventura''. Biography Tofano was born in ...

(1917), was the Italian response to " Happy Hooligan", with a big difference: if the latter is always unlucky, at the end of every story Bonaventura wins a million liras. *" Sor Pampurio" (an Italian equivalent of "

") by Carlo Bisi (1925), was a parody of parvenus: not really Fascist, it expresses bourgeois classism.Paolo Gallarinari (cured by), ''Un maestro dell'ironia borghese. Carlo Bisi fumettista e illustratore nella cultura del suo tempo'', ANAFI, 2011. *" Marmittone" by Bruno Angoletta (1929), was a mildly antimilitaristic strip, the maximum anti-authoritarianism allowed by Fascism. Beginning January 1, 1939, the publication of foreign comics was forbidden, and Italian material was required to follow a strict standard, exalting heroism, patriotism, and the superiority of the Italian race. To work around these restrictions, some publishers simply renamed American heroes with Italian names. The only exception to the censorship was ''

Topolino ''Topolino'' (from the Italian language, Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. Since 2013, it has ...

'', the Italian name for ''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

'', published by Nerbini starting on December 31, 1931. Apparently, the reason behind this special treatment for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's character was

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

's children's passion for the little mouse. In 1935 Nerbini sold ''

'' to

Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...

, which published it with great success until 1988. In 1932 Milan publisher Lotario Vecchi started ''

Jumbo Jumbo (December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then tr ...

'', a weekly magazine that many consider the first true Italian comics publication. The magazine reached a circulation of 350,000 copies, sanctioning comics as a mainstream medium with broad appeal. In 1937 '' Il Vittorioso'' appeared, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

magazine entirely composed of Italian comics. It was an attempt to compete with similar secular publications like ''

L'Avventuroso ''L'Avventuroso'' ( Italian for "The Adventurer") was a weekly comic magazine published in Italy from 1934 to 1943. It was the first Italian comics magazine which explicitly aspired to have a more mature audience than infancy, and it is regarded ...

'' (1934), '' Il Monello'' (1933), and ''

L'Audace ''L'Audace'' (Italian language, Italian for "The Bold") was a weekly children and comic magazine published in Italy from 1934 to 1944. History and profile Founded by Lotario Vecchi in January 1934, the magazine was published by S.A.E.V, except f ...

'' (1937).

After World War II: Bonelli and the rise of the comic book

The end of World War II marked a flurry of activity in the Italian comic press: many titles that were forced to suspend publication during the war came back to saturate the newsstands, joined by new publications often backed by improvised publishers looking for a quick buck. Finally this oversupply of comic material resulted in a crisis of the traditional comic magazine. Among the numerous publications of the period were ''L'Avventura'' (1944), a Roman magazine that presented American adventure strips like ''

Mandrake A mandrake is the root of a plant, historically derived either from plants of the genus '' Mandragora'' (in the family Solanaceae) found in the Mediterranean region, or from other species, such as '' Bryonia alba'' (the English mandrake, in the ...

'', '' L'Uomo Mascherato (The Phantom)'', and ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

''. Another Roman publication appeared in 1945: ''Robinson'', a first attempt to target a more adult audience. It introduced several American characters like ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full s ...

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

Secret Agent X-9 ''Secret Agent X-9'' is a comic strip created by writer Dashiell Hammett ('' The Maltese Falcon'') and artist Alex Raymond ('' Flash Gordon''). Syndicated by King Features, it ran from January 22, 1934, until February 10, 1996. Premise and ...

, Rip Kirby,

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' was a satirical American comic strip that appeared in multiple newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies living in the impoverished fictional mountain village of Dogpatch, ...

'' and '' Dick Tracy''. ''Robinson'' lasted until 1947, publishing 90 issues. In 1945, one of the most original magazines of the period was born: '' L'asso di Picche'' published in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

as a result of the work of a group of young Venetian artists, including Alberto Ongaro, Damiano Damiani, Dino Battaglia, Rinaldo D'Ami, and above all Fernando Carcupino and

Hugo Pratt Ugo Eugenio Prat (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), better known as Hugo Pratt, was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as '' Corto Maltese''. He was indu ...

. Their distinctive approach to the art form earned them the name of "Venetian School" of comics. Among the characters created for the magazine were Pratt's '' L'Asso di Picche'', Battaglia's '' Junglemen, Draky'' and ''Robin Hood''. Inspired by the success of the Catholic '' Il Vittorioso'', the Italian Communist party decided to use the comic medium for their own purposes: in 1949 '' Il Pioniere'' was born. Aimed at a very young audience, the new publication presented fantasy material as well as adventures, with an eye to the social issues of the period. On ''Il Vittorioso'' began the career of the most famous satirical comic writer of post-war Italy, Benito Jacovitti. However, his most popular character, Cocco Bill (1957), a parody of

Western comics Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of the Mississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with an American comic bo ...

, was published in the newspaper '' Il Giorno'' and then in the other Catholic comic magazine '' Il Giornalino''. In 1954 ''Il Disco Volante'' began publication. It is the Italian version of British weekly ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

'', and introduced ''

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic series ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in ...

'' to the Italian public. In 1955 ''

Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...

'' appeared, adapted from the French ''

'' magazine, which first presented Franco-Belgian comics to the Italian public. But the most significant phenomenon of the period was the appearance of comics books. Printed in a variety of formats, from strip size to

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

lets to giant size, they presented collected stories from the periodicals as well as new adventures of Italian characters. It is on the comic books pages that heroes ''made in Italy'' gained popularity, eventually overshadowing their American counterparts. Among the host of Italian series that were created during these years, '' Tex Willer'' is without doubt the most renowned. Born on September 30, 1948, from the imagination of

Gian Luigi Bonelli Giovanni Luigi Bonelli (22 December 1908 – 12 January 2001) was an Italian comic book author and publisher, best remembered as the co-creator of '' Tex Willer'' in 1948, together with artist Aurelio Galleppini. Career Bonelli was born in Mila ...

and from the pencil of Aurelio Galleppini, ''Tex Willer'' became the model for a line of publications that became known as ''Bonelliano'', from the name of the publisher. These comic books presented complete stories in 100+ black and white pages in a pocket book format. The subject matter was always adventure, whether western, horror, mystery or science fiction. The ''bonelliani'' are to date the most popular form of comics in the country. Some of the series that followed ''Tex Willer'' were '' Zagor'' (1961), a

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. Etymology The name comes from Powhatan langu ...

-wielding hero who protects the imaginary Darkwood forest in eastern US, '' Comandante Mark'' (1966), featuring a soldier in the American independence war, and more recently '' Mister No'' (1975), about an American pilot who operates a small tourist flying agency in the Amazonian jungle, and ''

Martin Mystère ''Martin Mystère'' is an Italian comic book whose protagonist is Martin Mystère. Created by writer Alfredo Castelli and artist Giancarlo Alessandrini, it was first published in Italy by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1982. Dark Horse Comics has ...

'' (1982), featuring an anthropologist/archaeologist/art historian who investigates paranormal phenomena and archaeological mysteries. Another popular series, ''

Diabolik ''Diabolik'' () is an Italian comic series created by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani. One of the most popular series in the history of Italian comics, ''Diabolik'' was created in 1962 and consists of more than 900 volumes, and has led to ...

'' featuring a criminal mastermind, has been published since the 1960s, and influenced later series such as '' Kriminal'' and '' Satanik'' (see ''

Fumetti neri ''Fumetti neri'' (Italian for "black comics") is a subgenre of Italian comics, born in Italy with the creation of the ''Diabolik'' character (1962). Overview The "Fumetti neri" name comes from "cronaca nera", the Italian name for crime news. Amo ...

''). The latter was created in the 1960s by one of the most famous duos of comics history,

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

Bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

, whose most outstanding creation, however, is the humorous espionage series '' Alan Ford'' (1969). Another famous author of humouristic strips is Franco Bonvicini, whose ''

Sturmtruppen ''Sturmtruppen'' is a successful Italian series of anti-war comic books written and drawn by Bonvi, the artistic pseudonym of Franco Bonvicini. It started as four-frame comic strips back in 1968 and evolved into fully sized collector books by th ...

'' met wide success abroad. In the 1970s and early '80s, many young intellectual artists centred around the famous student city of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

began to be influenced by the underground comic scene of the United States, typified by the work of

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

. Artists such as Andrea Pazienza, Filippo Scòzzari, Stefano Tamburini,

Tanino Liberatore Gaetano Liberatore (born 12 April 1953), better known as Tanino Liberatore, is an Italian comics author and illustrator. His best known fictional character is RanXerox. Life and work Born in Quadri, Liberatore went to high school in Pescara w ...

, and Massimo Mattioli published stories with dark and surreal themes, ranging from political activism, to struggles with drug addiction and the ''disagio'' and disillusionment of youth culture in Italy. Many of the comics were extremely violent and sexual and attempted to stretch the comic genre to its vary limits in both style and "good taste." Satirical magazines such as ''

Frigidaire Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and Commercial area, commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux, a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. History ...

'' and '' Il Male'' often printed these stories in episodic formats or as vignettes in their monthly publications. Though read by a more restricted audience, in the past years comics series with the greatest critical success are ''

Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' ( ; ) is a series of adventure comics named after the character Corto Maltese, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most arti ...

'', by Hugo Pratt, and '' Valentina'' by

Guido Crepax Guido Crepas (15 July 1933 – 31 July 2003), better known by his pen name Guido Crepax, was an Italian comics artist. He is most famous for his character ''Valentina (Italian comics), Valentina'', created in 1965 and very representative of the sp ...

. While the former is a kind of ''summa'' of the evolution into an adult form of the classic adventure comics, the latter gave birth to that special kind of erotic comics quite typical of the Italian scene, and whose main pupils have been in more recent years Milo Manara and Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri.

Disney Italia

Italy also produces many

Disney comics Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck. The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on, starting with t ...

, i.e., stories featuring Disney characters (from

and Donald Duck universes). After the 1960s, American artists of Disney comics, such as

Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comics, Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of ...

and

Floyd Gottfredson Arthur Floyd Gottfredson (May 5, 1905July 22, 1986) was an American cartoonist best known for his defining work on the Mickey Mouse (comic strip), ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip, which he worked on from 1930 until his retirement in 1975. His contri ...

did not produce as many stories as in the past. At present American production of new stories has dwindled (

Don Rosa Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his comics about Scrooge McDuck and other Disney comics, Disney characters. Many of his stories are built on characters an ...

publishes in Europe), and this niche has been filled by companies in South America, Denmark and Italy. The Italian 'Scuola disneyana' has produced several innovations: building the Italian standard length for stories (30 pages), a pocket book format with 3 strips a page, reinterpreting famous works of literature in 'Parodie', long stories up to 400 pages. Among the most important artists and authors are Marco Rota, Romano Scarpa, Giorgio Cavazzano, Massimo De Vita,

Giovan Battista Carpi Giovan Battista Carpi (; November 16, 1927 – March 8, 1999) was a prolific Italian comics artist, illustrator, and teacher from Genoa. Carpi worked mainly for Disney comics, mostly on books featuring Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck, although ...

and

Guido Martina Guido Martina (9 February 1906 – 6 May 1991) was an Italian comic writer, documentarist and author. Martina is well known for his Disney comics stories, including the first of the "" story "L'inferno di Topolino", and the creation of Paperini ...

. The best known Disney character created in Italy is ''

Paperinik Paperinik (), also known as PK (Italy, ), Superduck (UK and Digicomics) or Duck Avenger (US), is a comic book-costumed vigilante and Donald Duck's alter ego. The character was created in Italy by Elisa Penna, Guido Martina and Giovan Battista ...

'' (known as Duck Avenger or Phantom Duck to English audiences). Italy prints around 8000 pages of new Disney stories per year, exported worldwide (it makes up 50% of the total production). The main publication,

digest size Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine, but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately . It is also a and format, similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes evolved from the printing ...

'', prints only new stories every week, but there exist 32 different series of reprints going on, for 30 million of copies sold each year. Since the late 1990s, Disney Italia produced innovative series like '' PK'' (Paperinik stories with an American superheroes flavour), '' W.I.T.C.H.'' or '' Monster Allergy''.

Notable authors and artists

* Alessandro Biffignandi * Antonio Rubino *

Antonio Serra Antonio Serra was a late 16th-century Italian philosopher and economist in the mercantilist tradition. Biography Little is known about Serra's life. He was born in Cosenza in the late 16th century (the dates of his birth and death are unknown Al ...

* Alfredo Castelli * Aurelio Galleppini * Attilio Micheluzzi * Ade Capone * Angela Giussani * Andrea Pazienza * Andrea Lavezzolo * Bruno Angoletta *

Bruno Bozzetto Bruno Bozzetto (born 3 March 1938) is an Italian cartoon animator and film director, creator of many short pieces, mainly of a Politics, political or Satire, satirical nature. He created his first animated short "Tapum! the weapons' story" in 19 ...

* Bepi Vigna * Benito Jacovitti * Claudio Castellini * Dino Battaglia * Dario Guzzon * Emanuele Taglietti * Ferdinando Tacconi * Franco Bonvicini * Fernando Carcupino * Franco Saudelli * Giancarlo Alessandrini * Gianni De Luca * Giovanni Gualdoni * Giovanni Sinchetto * Giancarlo Berardi * Guido Buzzelli *

* Giorgio Cavazzano *

* Gianluca Costantini *

* Ivo Milazzo * Luciano Bernasconi * Luciano Bottaro *

Lorenzo Mattotti Lorenzo Mattotti (born 24 January 1954) is an Italian comics artist and illustrator. His illustrations have been published in magazines such as ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'', ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', ''The New Yorker'', ''Le Monde ...

* Luciana Giussani * Leonardo Ortolani * Luca Enoch * Max Bunker, pseudonym of Luciano Secchi * Milo Manara * Michelle Medda * Maurizio Colombo * Massimo Rotundo *

Mauro Boselli Mauro Boselli (born 22 May 1985) is an Argentine former professional association football, footballer who played as striker. Boselli began his career at Argentine Primera División, Argentine First Division clubs Boca Juniors and Estudiantes d ...

* Pietro Sartoris * Pino Daeni, pseudonym of Pino Dangelico * Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri * Renzo Calegari * Roberto Renzi *

, pseudonym of Roberto Raviola * Romano Scarpa * Stefano Tamburini *

* Sergio Toppi * Silvia Ziche * Sergio Bonelli *

* Tiziano Sclavi * Vittorio Giardino *

Walter Molino Walter Molino (5 November 1915 – 8 December 1997) was an Italian comics artist and illustrator. Life and career Born in Reggio Emilia, Molino made his professional debut as illustrator and caricaturist in 1935, collaborating with the newspap ...

Notable comics

Adventure comics

* ''

'', '' Sergeant Kirk'', '' Fort Wheeling'', '' Jesuit Joe'', '' Morgan'', all by

* ''

'' by Angela and Luciana Giussani * '' Il Grande Blek'' by EsseGesse * '' Kriminal'' and '' Satanik'' by Max Bunker and

* '' Lo Sconosciuto'' (''The Unknown'') by Magnus * '' Lazarus Ledd'' by Ade Capone * '' RanXerox'' by

and Stefano Tamburini Sergio Bonelli Editore adventure comics * '' Tex Willer'' by

(since 1948) * '' Zagor'' by Sergio Bonelli (since 1965) * ''

'' by Alfredo Castelli (since 1982) * ''

Dylan Dog ''Dylan Dog'' is an Italian horror comics series created by Tiziano Sclavi and published by Sergio Bonelli Editore since 1986. The series features the eponymous character, a paranormal investigator who takes on cases involving supernatural el ...

'' by Tiziano Sclavi (since 1986) * ''

Nathan Never ''Nathan Never'' is a black-and-white, science fiction Italian comics, Italian comic book, published monthly in Italy since 1991 by Sergio Bonelli Editore. It is written by Michele Medda, Antonio Serra (comics), Antonio Serra and Bepi Vigna. Art ...

'' by

Michele Medda Michele Medda (born 7 December 1962) is an Italian comics writer. Medda was born in Cagliari, Sardinia. In 1991, together with Antonio Serra (comics), Antonio Serra and Bepi Vigna, he created the science fiction series ''Nathan Never'' for Sergi ...

and Bepi Vigna (since 1991) * '' Mister No'' by Sergio Bonelli (from 1975 to 2006) * '' Ken Parker'' by Giancarlo Berardi and Ivo Milazzo (from 1977 to 1998)

Humour comics

* '' Bilbolbul'' by Attilio Mussino * ''Il Signor Bonaventura'' by Sto * '' Marmittone'' by Bruno Angoletta * '' Alan Ford'' and '' Maxmagnus'' by Max Bunker and Magnus * '' Cattivik'' by

Bonvi Bonvi, pen name of Franco Bonvicini (31 March 1941 – 10 December 1995) was an Italian comic book artist, creator of the comic strips ''Sturmtruppen'' and ''Nick Carter (comics), Nick Carter''. Biography Bonvicini was born either in Parma or in ...

(later

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

) * '' Lupo Alberto'' by

* ''

'' by

* '' Cocco Bill'' by Benito Jacovitti * '' Rat-Man'' by Leo Ortolani * ''

Erotic comics

* '' Click'' (''Il Gioco'') and '' Giuseppe Bergman'' by Milo Manara * '' Valentina'' by

* '' Druuna'' by Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri * '' Calavera'' by Enrico Teodorani and Joe Vigil * '' Djustine'' by Enrico Teodorani

Fantasy comics

* '' W.I.T.C.H.'' * '' Monster Allergy'' * ''

Gormiti ''Gormiti: The Invincible Lords of Nature'' ( Italian: ''Gormiti: Gli Invincibili Signori della Natura''), later changed to ''Gormiti: The Lords of Nature Return!'', is a toy property based primarily on tall non-articulated mini figures with a t ...

'' * '' Angel's Friends'' * ''

Winx Club ''Winx Club'' is an animated television series co-produced by Rainbow S.p.A., Rainbow and, later, Nickelodeon. It was created and directed by Italian animator Iginio Straffi. It premiered on 28January 2004, becoming a ratings success in Ita ...

References

External links

afNews
daily news and all kind of information about fumetti and comic art. Press agency by Gianfranco Goria
uBC Fumetti
fumetti from publisher Bonelli, with translations in English and other languages

Fondazione Franco Fossati
Slumberland
- Encyclopedia of Italian comics
Website TexBR
Italian comics of Sergio Bonelli Editore {{Comics Culture of Italy

Comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

History

Birth

Fumetto during Fascism

After World War II: Bonelli and the rise of the comic book

Disney Italia

Notable authors and artists

Notable comics

Adventure comics

Humour comics

Erotic comics

Fantasy comics

See also

References

External links