Sergio Bonelli (2 December 1932 – 26 September 2011) was an
Italian comic book writer and publisher. He is best known as creator of ''
Zagor'' (1961) and ''
Mister No'' (1975), as well as a comics publisher through the publishing house
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 ...
.
He was born in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, the son of
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
Aurelio Galleppini (28 August 1 ...
, the creator of ''
Tex Willer
Tex Willer is the main fictional character of the Italian comics series ''Tex'', created by writer Gian Luigi Bonelli and illustrator Aurelio Galleppini, and first published in Italy on 30 September 1948. It is among the most popular characters ...
'' and many other Italian comic strips. In order to distinguish himself from his father, he usually wrote his scripts under the pen name Guido Nolitta. He made his debut as a scriptwriter in 1957, with the translation into Italian of the Spanish series ''
Verdugo Ranch'', for which he wrote the final episode (artwork by
Franco Bignotti
Franco may refer to:
Name
* Franco (name)
* Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975
* Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ...
). In 1958 Bonelli created his first character ''Un ragazzo nel Far West'' ('A boy in the Far West'), also illustrated by Franco Bignotti. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he wrote several episodes of ''
Piccolo Ranger
''Il Piccolo Ranger'' (i.e. "The Little Ranger") is an Italian comic book series centered on Kit Teller, a character created in 1958 by
writer Andrea Lavezzolo in tandem with illustrator Francesco Gamba and later developed by numerous authors; ...
''.
In 1960 Bonelli wrote ''
Il Giudice Bean'', a mini-series of six adventures, illustrated by
Sergio Tarquinio
Sergio may refer to:
* Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio
* Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found
* ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass
* ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film
* ''Se ...
. In the same year he met the illustrator
Gallieno Ferri
Gallieno Ferri (21 March 1929 – 2 April 2016) was an Italian comic book artist and illustrator. He was born in Genoa.
In 1960 Ferri met writer Sergio Bonelli
Sergio Bonelli (2 December 1932 – 26 September 2011) was an Italian comic book ...
, with whom he created ''Zagor'' in 1961. Bonelli wrote almost all ''Zagor'' stories until 1980 (issue #182). In 1975 he created the ''Mister No'' series.
In 1977 Bonelli wrote the script of the book ''L'Uomo del Texas'' (illustrated by
Aurelio Galleppini
Aurelio Galleppini (28 August 1917 – 10 March 1994), better known with his nickname Galep, was an Italian comics artist and illustrator, best known as graphic creator of ''Tex Willer'' in 1948.
Biography
Galleppini was born at Casale d ...
). He also wrote numerous ''Tex Willer'' stories, starting with issue #183 in the late 1970s. In 1990 he created the mini-series ''
River Bill
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...
'' (artwork by
Francesco Gamba).
He was chairman of
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 ...
(formerly known as CEPIM), one of Italy's major comics publishers (titles include ''Tex'', ''
Dylan Dog
''Dylan Dog'' is an Italian horror comics series created by Tiziano Sclavi and published by Sergio Bonelli Editore since 1986.
The series features the eponymous character, a paranormal investigator who takes on cases involving supernatural ele ...
'', ''Mister No'' and many others).
He died in
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
, on 26 September 2011, following a short illness.
External links
Short biography of Guido Nolitta
1932 births
2011 deaths
Writers from Milan
Italian comics writers
Comic book publishers (people)
Italian publishers (people)
Businesspeople from Milan
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