''Sciuscià'' is 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 ...

comic book series created by publisher and writer Tristano Torelli in tandem with illustrator

Ferdinando Tacconi Ferdinando Tacconi (December 27, 1922 – May 11, 2006) was an Italian comics artist. Tacconi was born in Milan. He earned a degree in Applied Arts from Castello Sforzesco. After collaborating as an illustrator to the magazines ''Grazia'' and ''C ...

and also later developed by Gianna Arguissola and Renzo Barbieri as writers and Franco Paludetti and Gianluigi Coppola as artists. It originally run from 1949 until 1956.

History and profile

The comics were inspired by the

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

's neorealist drama film '' Shoeshine'', and the series itself has been described as a "neorealist comic". Set in Italy between the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and contemporary days, each issue was a self-contained episode and recounted the adventures of the young shoeshine Nico and of his friends. It debuted on January 22, 1949 and got an immediate success.Luciano Secchi. "Sciuscià". ''Enciclopedia Mondiale del Fumetto''. Editoriale Corno, 1978. p.625. Initially filled with realistic elements, the stories gradually lost originality and believability, with the group of teenagers sent to missions in Africa, China or Canada, and both the quality and the commercial success of the series started to decline. Starting from September 1953, the issues were released without titles. ''Sciuscià'' officially ceased its publications in April 1955, while the series continued to be published in '' Il Piccolo Sceriffo'' until 1956. The series was briefly resurrected in 1965 in the comic magazine ''Commandos'', with new stories still written by Torelli and illustrated by

Lina Buffolente Lina Buffolente (27 October 1924 – 6 March 2007) was an Italian comic artist and illustrator. Life and career Born in Vicenza, Buffolente graduated from the Brera Academy and started her career in 1941, collaborating with the cartoonist Giusep ...

. The comic book series also inspired a novel, ''Sciuscià'' (1952), written by Tristano Tirelli and Gianna Arguissola. During the years the comic book series was republished several times.

References

{{Reflist Italian comics titles 1949 establishments in Italy 1956 disestablishments in Italy Defunct comics Comics magazines published in Italy Fictional Italian people

History and profile

See also

References