''Il Piccolo Ranger'' (i.e. "The Little Ranger") is an
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 ...
comic book series centered on Kit Teller, a character created in 1958 by
writer
Andrea Lavezzolo
Andrea Lavezzolo (12 December 1905 – 16 November 1981) was an Italian novelist and short story writer who created and wrote many prominent Italian comics of the 1940s and 1950s.
Life and career
Lavezzolo was born in Paris to Italian parents. Th ...
in tandem with illustrator
Francesco Gamba and later developed by numerous authors; they were published in Italy by
Edizioni Audace in the striped format in the series of the same name and later in a new series in the Bonelli format published from 1963 to 1985. The character belongs to a group of teenage heroes very popular in the fifties and sixties, such as
Captain Miki, the
Little Sheriff and others, wanted so young to facilitate their identification with potential young buyers, that being their peers, they could reflect themselves in the protagonists of comic stories. The series presents its own originality, giving life to a long and engaging comic epic with both tragic and humorous tones among the most successful of the western genre of the period. The series was also published in France, the
former Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
(now in
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
and
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
),
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, Spain and Brazil.
A traditional
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
series addressed to a young audience, it debuted in 1958 and was published until 1985.
Until 1963, ''Il Piccolo Ranger'' comic books also featured in their appendix episodic stories featuring other characters, including works by
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 ...
,
Guido Nolitta and
Dino Battaglia
Dino Battaglia (1 August 1923 – 4 October 1983) was an Italian comics artist, noted for a distinctive and expressive style, best known for his visual adaptations of classic novels.
In 1946 Dino Battaglia became part of the so-called Group of V ...
.
[ It was released fortnightly until 1971, then monthly until its cancellation.][ Between 1995 and 1996 a collection series in 13 paperback volumes was published in a limited edition by Editrice Dardo.][
]
Biography
Kit Teller is the son of Mary Worth and Ted Moses Teller who emigrate from Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
in search of fortune to the United States where, once they arrive, they venture into the wild frontier territories in search of a job. During this trip, on the border between Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
and Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, Kit was born in 1861. Eight months after Kit's birth, his mother died and little Kit fell ill. Saved by the Indians
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Associated with India
* of or related to India
** Indian people
** Indian diaspora
** Languages of India
** Indian English, a dialect of the English language
** Indian cuisine
Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
of the Red Bison tribe, Kit and his father stay with the Indians for almost a year and then leave to join the rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
and send Kit to a college in the east. Moses becomes a ranger and obtains permission from the commander to keep the little Kit at the fort until the child reaches reach college age. The Little Ranger series starts from this moment. Kit's father during a mission deserted and disappeared going to live with the Indians and for this reason he is considered a traitor. The fort's rangers would like to keep the fact from little Kit that is well-liked anyway. The Little Ranger lives his adventures in a wild land facing outlaws, ferocious Indians but also wise reptiles, extraterrestrials
Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...
or medieval warriors arrived who knows how in the new world. Among the characters he meets, perhaps the most unusual are two Mormons
Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...
, Italian-American
Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
vegetarians: SATURNINO and SALVATORE. They are expert of every art and science, endowed with strange powers. Among other things, they talk to animals, in a way not unlike what happens in the pages of the Tarzanesque
Tarzanesque (in French: ''Tarzanide'') is a term created by Frenchman Francis Lacassin used to describe characters in comic books inspired by Tarzan. A tarzanesque character resembles Tarzan in his physical resourcefulness, within a line of acti ...
Akim
An ''akim'' (, , әкімдер / ''äkimder''; ; , ) is the head of a local government in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. ''Akim'' is derived from the Arabic word '' hakim'', which means "ruler" or "governor".
Definitions Kazakhstan
In Kazakhs ...
. They warn the two Tellers, father and son, to beware of the water on full moon nights. Such a warning will save them from several ambushes. At the end of each adventure, the young ranger finds his friends within the reassuring walls of the ranger fort. Among them the fiancée Claretta Morning, the maternal vivander of the strong Rosa Morning, mother of Claretta, the drunkard Brandy Jim, the Chinese cook and washerman Cin Lao, the sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
O'Hara, Teeth Bill, Frankie Bellevan, Annie Four guns, Ibrahim Bamboula.
Editorial history
The character made his debut in the Collana Audace of the homonymous publishing house by 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 ...
in the classic striped format published in seven series published from 15 June 1958 to 25 April 1971 for a total of 328 issues. The screenplays are by Andrea Lavezzolo and, to a lesser extent, by Guido Nolitta while the drawings are by Francesco Gamba and Birago Balzano. Subsequently, with the books not sold, the publisher re-proposed the Little Ranger series in a total of 69 collections, starting from n. 11 of the series Supplement to the Audace series. The collections do not have a periodicity and the price is 100 lire for the first volumes and 120 for the remaining issues. From 1963 the stories proposed in the strip format in the Audace series were reprinted in the Bonelli format in the series ''Gli albi del cowboy – Nuova serie'' up to page 55 of n. 89 when unpublished stories of the character began to be published; the publication ended after 255 issues in February 1985 in which Kit, Frankie and their friends, finished their years with the Rangers uniform, retired to the countryside and began a new life as ranchers. The merit of the longevity of the series, however, must also be attributed to those who continued the work of Andrea Lavezzolo as Decio Canzio Decio is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Decio Azzolini (seniore) (1549-1587), Italian Roman Catholic cardinal
* Decio Carafa (1556-1626), Italian Archbishop
* Decio Termisani (1565-1600), Italia ...
who, while maintaining the spirit of the series, made the narrative more agile, updating it to the changing times or like Giorgio Pezzin, Marcello Toninelli
Marcello Toninelli (born 25 June 1950) is an Italian comics writer, best known as main writer of series of '' Zagor'' between 1982 and 1993.
Biography
Toninelli began a collaboration with Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1982, and worked on the '' Zago ...
and the If Staff; note that Guido Nolitta wrote the last adventure of the series.
An unpublished self-contained episode entitled "Secret document" was published as an appendix to n. 99 of Commander Mark in the Herald Series. In May 1992, a 148-page special issue was published entitled "The return of the Rangers" written by 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 ...
and drawn by Francesco Gamba. Finally, in 2006, the Editoriale Mercury published a new unpublished story entitled "Zoltan the Magician", written by Ermes Senzò and drawn by Luigi Merati. Starting from February 2012, the Little Ranger is reprint
A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields.
Academic publishing
In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known ...
ed in an edition for newsstands by If Edizioni.
List of albums of the series "The books of the cowboy – New series"
See also
Other comics series created by Andrea Lavezzolo:
*''Gim Toro
''Gim Toro'' is an Italian comic book series created by Andrea Lavezzolo and Edgardo Dell'Acqua. It was in syndication from 1946 until 1951.
Background
Published in 1946 in an eponymous comic book series, the comics had an immediate success; ...
'' (1946–1951)
*''Tony Falco
''Tony Falco'' was an Italian comics, Italian comic book series created and written by Andrea Lavezzolo with illustrations by Andrea Bresciani. It was published weekly in 48 issues from 1948 to 1949.
Background
Tony Falco was the second major ...
'' (1948–1949)
*''Geky Dor
''Geky Dor'' was an Italian comic book series created and written by Andrea Lavezzolo with illustrations by Andrea Bresciani. It was published weekly in 20 issues from 1949 to 1950.
Background
Inspired by a newspaper story, the series recoun ...
'' (1949–1950)
*''Kinowa
''Kinowa'' is an Italian comic book series created by Andrea Lavezzolo and EsseGesse.
Background
The Western comic series debuted in May 1950, with text by Andrea Lavezzolo (who signed the comics with the pen name A. Lawson) and artwork by the ...
'' (1950–1961)
References
External links
Piccolo Ranger – Bonelli official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piccolo Ranger
Italian comics titles
1958 establishments in Italy
1985 disestablishments in Italy
Defunct comics
Comics magazines published in Italy
Western (genre) comics
Fictional adolescents