Adolfo Mazzone (6 June 1914 – 19 February 2001) was a prolific Argentine comics artist and humorist. His characters included the convict ''

Piantadino ''Piantadino'' is a 1950 Argentine Spanish language comedy film directed by Francisco Múgica. The film is based on the cartoon character of the same name created by Adolfo Mazzone. Comic strip character Piantadino was a classic comic strip cha ...

'', who became the subject of a 1950 film, and ''Mi Sobrino Capicúa (My Nephew Palindrome)'', whose adventures were published for almost forty years.

Career

Mazzone was born on 6 June 1914 in the neighborhood of Balvanera, and died on 19 February 2001. He created the classic characters of

, Capicúa, Afanancio, Batilio, Perkins and Macoco, among others. Mazzone, who held many jobs before succeeding as a cartoonist, was known for his simplicity, charm and grace. He was an unassuming person, and avoided publicity. Mazzone was not only a prolific artist and creator of characters, but founded his own publishing house which housed dozens of artists for many years and in various publications, including Norberto Vecchio, Walter Casadei, Jose Miguel Heredia, Victor Braxator, and Felix Sabol.

Work

Mazzone's best known character ''

'' first appeared in El Mundo in 1941, and was also published in the magazine Rico Tipo. The comic strip was published during the 1940s and 1950s. Piantadino was a convicted robber skilled in escaping from jail - as long as there were no pies to be eaten. The comic strip was the subject of a 1950 Emelco-American comedy film in which the elusive convict was played by Pepe Iglesias, known for his title role in '' El Zorro pierde el pelo''. The film was directed by

Francisco Múgica Francisco Múgica (10 April 1907 – 1985) was an Argentine film director, film editor and cinematographer. He was born and died in Buenos Aires. Múgica initially began his career in film as a cinematographer in the mid-1930s but by 193 ...

and also starred

Norma Giménez Norma Giménez (June 11, 1930 – September 21, 1957) was an Argentine stage and film actress.Insaurralde p.57 By 1957, Giménez had appeared in 24 films. At the age of 27 she committed suicide by throwing herself under a train. The reasons f ...

and Juan José Porta. Mazzone's comic strip ''Mi Sobrino Capicúa (My Nephew Palindrome)'' appeared in the

Patoruzú Patoruzú is a comic character created in 1928 by Dante Quinterno and is considered the most popular hero of Argentine comics. Patoruzú is a wealthy Tehuelche '' cacique'' with great estate properties in Patagonia, and possesses both super ...

magazine from 1939. Palindrome lasted into the 1970s. The strip dealt with the adventures of a boy who was not too bright, but had bulletproof good luck. The good-natured Palindrome, a voracious devourer of Gruyere cheese, was accompanied by his uncle and by Professor Olegario Bambufoca. Both tried to take advantage of the boy, but without success.

Career

Work

References

Further reading