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''.
Biography
Bonvicini was born either in
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
or
Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
region of Northern Italy. The correct site is unknown, as his mother registered him in both places to obtain twice the amount of war-rationing
food stamps
In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...
. The author hinted at this fact in one of his ''Sturmtruppen'' comic books, where he usually hid autobiographical notes inside the dark humour of the books.
After a brief experience in advertising work, he made his debut in the
comics
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
world in 1968 for the newspaper ''Paese Sera'' with his most famous strip '' Sturmtruppen''. ''Sturmtruppen'' was later translated in numerous countries outside Italy. While politically left-aligned and a
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
, Bonvi was fascinated by war, and had served in the tank corps in postwar Italy. He also had an encyclopedic knowledge of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
's uniforms,
weapons
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
and equipment, which he faithfully recreated in his cartoonish universe. Each weapon and vehicle appearing in the strip is real; uniforms are also faithfully depicted apart from some simplifications. ''Sturmtruppen'', however, was not only a satire of military life and
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
, but also a true, endless wellspring of comical and surreal situations.
Bonvicini was one of the first Italian cartoonists to use the horizontal format typical of United States' strips.
''Sturmtruppen'' strips were published periodically until Bonvi's death, with the exception of a pause in the 1970s, in which he left Italy for a long trip to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. In 1967 he played Derek Flit, a parody of
Derek Flint
Derek Flint is a fictional world adventurer and master spy featured in a series of movies and comic books. Flint, a parody of James Bond and Doc Savage, is an agent for Z.O.W.I.E. (Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage).
Films
In 1965, ...
in '' Come rubammo la bomba atomica'' an Italian spy comedy movie shot in Egypt.
Bonvicini was a friend of another famous Bolognese citizen, the writer and singer
Francesco Guccini
Francesco Guccini (, born 14 June 1940) is an Italian singer-songwriter, considered one of the most important '' cantautori'' of his time. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live a ...
. As a duo, they produced a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
series called ''Storie dello spazio profondo'' (Stories from Deep Space) (1972), whose main protagonist has Bonvi's features.
In 1969 he also created Cattivik, another surreal strip parodying the anti-hero
Diabolik
''Diabolik'' ( or ) 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 ...
. The series was to be continued with success by his pupil
Guido Silvestri
Guido Silvestri (born 9 December 1952 in Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, CarpiNick Carter, a refreshing humour series featuring a trio of detectives (series' namesake Nick Carter aided by massive and naive Patsy and proverb-quoting chinaman Ten) working in the New York of 1910s. Nick Carter appeared also in TV in the 1970s.
In this decade Bonvi created an adult science fiction series, ''Cronache del dopobomba'' ("After the Bomb Chronicles"), featuring a grotesque post-apocalyptic world, as well as the fictional detective ''Milo Marat'' (for the French market, with Mario Gomboli), and his most serious comic book, ''L'uomo di Tsushima'' ("The Man of Tsushima"). For the latter's protagonist Bonvi used again his face as that of the US author
Jack London
John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
, one of his favourite writers. In 1973 Bonvicini was named Best European Cartoonist receiving the
Prix Saint-Michel
The Prix Saint-Michel is a series of comic awards presented by the city of Brussels, with a focus on Franco-Belgian comics. They were first awarded in 1971, and although often said to be the oldest European comics awards, they are actually the sec ...
.
Another famous work were the adventures of Marzolino Tarantola, an eccentric millionaire engaged along with his butler and the hulking speech-impaired strongman "Henry the crew" in a car race across the world, from San Francisco to Paris; the threesome must constantly fend off the dastardly tricks of their nemesis, "Professor Moriarty" and his diminutive lackey, Perfidio. The story is loosely based on the Wacky Races cartoon and the movie
The Great Race
''The Great Race'' is a 1965 American Technicolor slapstick comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood, directed by Blake Edwards, written by Arthur A. Ross (from a story by Edwards and Ross), and with music by Henry Mancin ...
with
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
and
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...
but both inspirations merely served Bonvi as a pretext to let him draw wild capers across the globe in the early-1900s which were his preferred time period.
In the 1980s Bonvi became a member of
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
town hall council and founded a
publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
house with Italian deejay and TV personality Red Ronnie. They published a monthly magazine featuring new ''Sturmtruppen'' strips and reprints of old Bonvi stories, as well as articles about music, teen culture and comics in general.
Bonvi's last work was ''Zona X'', in collaboration with
Giorgio Cavazzano
Giorgio Cavazzano (); born 19 October 1947) is an Italian cartoonist, and one of the most famous Disney comics artists in the world.
Biography
Giorgio Cavazzano was born 19 October 1947 in Venice, Italy. At the age of twelve, Cavazzano started ...
. It was published posthumously by
Sergio Bonelli Editore
Sergio Bonelli Editore (formerly CEPIM and other names) is a publishing house of Italian comics founded in 1940 by Gian Luigi Bonelli (1908–2001). It takes its name from its former president, comic book writer Sergio Bonelli (1932–2011), son of ...
in 1996 with the new title ''La città''.
Death
Bonvi was killed in a car accident in 1995. He was on his way to a TV station in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
to appear on Red Ronnie's TV show to raise financial support for cartoonist
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 ...
(
Roberto Raviola
Magnus, pseudonym of Roberto Raviola (May 30, 1939 – February 5, 1996), was an Italian comic book artist, regarded as one of the foremost cartoonists of all time in his country.
Biography
Born in Bologna in 1939, he studied at Academy of Fine A ...
) who was ill and in dire straits. Bonvi was struck by a Citroen Pallas while crossing a road right after having entered a bar asking for directions.
Works
*''Sturmtruppen'' (1968)
*''Cattivik'' (1968)
*''Capitan Posapiano'' (1969)
*''Storie dello spazio profondo'' (1969), with Francesco Guccini
*''Nick Carter'' (1972), with Guido De Maria
*''Cronache del dopobomba'' (1974)
*''L'Uomo di Tsushima'' (1978)
*''Marzolino Tarantola'' (1979)
*''Truppen Italien'' (1995), a Sturmtruppen version in collaboration with the Italian Army
*''Blob'' (1995, unpublished)
Cinema
Bonvi co-wrote the screenplay for the
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
''Sturmtruppen'' movie adaptation of Sturmtruppen, directed by
Salvatore Samperi
Salvatore Samperi (26 July 1944 – 4 March 2009) was an Italian film director. His 1973 film ''Malicious (1973 film), Malicious'' was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival and his 1979 film ''Ernesto (film), Ernesto' ...
. He also appeared briefly in the second film of the series, ''Sturmtruppen II'' (
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
), playing a German officer. He also starred in the
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
''Come rubammo la bomba atomica'', directed by
Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he garn ...
, and in the movie ''Cavalli si nasce'' (
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
), directed by the comic strip author
Sergio Staino
Sergio Staino (born 8 June 1940) is an Italian comics author, satirist and film director.
Biography
Staino was born at Piancastagnaio, in the province of Siena. After graduating in architecture, he moved to Scandicci. His comics debut was with ...