Andrea Pazienza (; 23 May 1956 – 16 June 1988), was an

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

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Biography

Early life

Pazienza was born in

San Benedetto del Tronto San Benedetto del Tronto is a city and ''comune'' in Marche, Italy. Part of an urban area with 100,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most densely populated areas along the Adriatic Sea coast. It is the most populated city in Province of Ascoli P ...

province of Ascoli Piceno The province of Ascoli Piceno ( it, Provincia di Ascoli Piceno) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ascoli Piceno, and the province is bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Province of Fermo to the north ...

, in 1956. Growing up in his father's town of

San Severo San Severo (; formerly known as Castellum Sancti Severini, then San Severino and Sansevero; locally ) is a city and comune of c. 51,919 inhabitants in the province of Foggia, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. Rising on the foot of the spur of Gargano ...

in Apulia, he enrolled in 1974 at the Department of Arts, Music, and Entertainment of the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

Career

He made his debut in the spring of 1977 in the magazine ''Alteralter'' with his first comic story, "Le straordinarie avventure di Pentothal" (Pentothal's extraordinary adventures), the

surrealistic Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

story of an alter ego named after the sedative Penthothal. He later participated in such editorial experiences as ''Cannibale'', ''

Il Male ''Il Male'' (meaning ''Evil'' in English) was an Italian satirical magazine published in Rome, Italy, between 1978 and 1982. History and profile ''Il Male'' was first published in February 1978 as a biweekly tabloid format political satire magaz ...

'', and ''

Frigidaire Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux. Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first s ...

'', of which he was one of the founders. In these publications, he created hundreds of comics, influenced by American

underground comics Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

and

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

. He was especially fond of the character

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled f ...

, which he appropriated for a humorous spoof on Italian hippiedom of the 1970s entitled ''Perché Pippo sembra uno sballato'' ("Why Goofy Looks Like a Pothead"), and a later, unfinished story entitled ''La leggenda di Italianino Liberatore'' ("The Legend of Italianino Liberatore", referring to his old friend

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 (province of Chieti), Liberatore went to high s ...

). Pazienza developed a personal body of work, alternating between playful comic cartooning—at times politically charged–and much more elaborate, dark, disturbing

graphic novels A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

, often dealing with drugs and wanton violence, with a scattering of

black humor Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

throughout. In 1980, he created the character Zanardi and collaborated with the magazines ''

Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' is a series of adventure and fantasy 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 ...

'' and ''Comic Art'', while also producing movie and theatre posters, scene designs, record covers, and advertising. He was extremely prolific through the 1980s, penning hundreds of single-panel cartoons as well as longer, intricate stories usually centred on Zanardi. ''Pompeo'', his last graphic novel, which depicts the gradual downfall of a heroin addict (a largely autobiographical character) up to his eventual suicide, is generally considered his masterwork; the post-face to this work testifies that Pazienza tried to start a new life and, for a while, quit drugs.

Death and legacy

Andrea Pazienza died at age 32 in

Montepulciano Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome b ...

, from a heroin overdose. The nonprofit association ''Centro Fumetto Andrea Pazienza'' was created in his honour to help young cartoonists develop their skills. In 2011, Andrea Pazienza was picked as the first of ''150 Italians'', a list of the country's most influential people, which was dedicated to the 150th anniversary of

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

.150 Italiani — Un progetto a cura di Fabriano boutique (2011)
/ref>

Selected works

* ''Aficionados'' * ''Andrea Pazienza'' (1981) * ''Le straordinarie avventure di Pentothal'' (1982) * ''Milo Manara e Andrea Pazienza'' (1982) – referring to

Milo Manara Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Career After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a Fumetti neri s ...

* ''Zanardi'' (1983) * ''Perché Pippo sembra uno sballato'' (1983) * ''Pertini'' (1983) – an homage to former President of the Italian Republic

Alessandro Pertini Alessandro "Sandro" Pertini (; 25 September 1896 – 24 February 1990) was an Italian socialist politician who served as the president of Italy from 1978 to 1985. Early life Born in Stella ( Province of Savona) as the son of a wealthy landow ...

* ''Glamour Book'' (1984) * ''Tormenta'' (1985) * ''Cattive Compagnie'' (1985) * ''Glamour Book 2'' (1987) * ''Pazeroticus'' (1987) * ''Zanardi e altre storie'' (1987) * ''Pompeo'' (1987)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pazienza, Andrea 1956 births 1988 deaths People from San Benedetto del Tronto People from San Severo Italian comics artists Italian comics writers Italian magazine founders