Italian comics, also known as ''fumetto'' ,

plural The plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the ...

form ''fumetti'' , are comics that originate in Italy. The most popular Italian

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 ...

have been translated into many languages. The term ''fumetto'' (literally ''little puff of smoke'') refers to the distinctive

word balloon Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comics, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing a charac ...

s that contain the dialogue in comics (also called ''nuvoletta'', "little cloud", in

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 ...

). In

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, the term ''fumetti'' can refer to

photo comics Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to ...

, regardless of origin or language.

History

Italian ''fumetto'' has its roots in periodicals aimed at younger readers and in the satirical publications of the 19th century. These magazines published cartoons and illustrations for educational and propagandist purposes. The first illustrated satirical publication appeared in 1848, in '' L'Arlecchino'', a daily paper published in Naples. Other noteworthy examples of satirical papers of the period include ''Lo Spirito Folletto'' published in Milan, Turin's ''Il Fischietto'' and ''Il Fanfulla'', established in Rome in 1872. As far as publications for kids, some of the most significant titles of the period are ''Il Giornale per i Fanciulli'' (1834), ''Il Giovinetto Italiano'' (1849), and '' Giornale per i bambini'' (1881).In 1899 ''Il Novellino'' debuted. The paper was the first to publish Outcault's ''

Yellow Kid The Yellow Kid (Mickey Dugan) is an American comic strip character that appeared from 1895 to 1898 in Joseph Pulitzer's ''New York World'', and later William Randolph Hearst's ''New York Journal''. Created and drawn by Richard F. Outcault in ...

'' in Italy in 1904, but the first Italian comic did not appear until four years later.

Birth

On December 27, 1908, the first mainstream publication primarily for comics, ''

Il Corriere dei Piccoli The ''Corriere dei Piccoli'' (Italian for "Courier of the Little Ones"), later nicknamed ''Corrierino'' ("Little Courier"), was a weekly magazine for children published in Italy from 1908 to 1995. It was the first Italian periodical to make a r ...

'', appeared on Italian newstands. The first issue introduced readers to the adventures of Bilbolbul by Attilio Mussino, featuring a little black kid who is considered the first Italian comic character. Despite being officially considered the birthplace of ''fumetto'', the ''Corrierino'', as it was nicknamed, did not use

balloons A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light s ...

in the stories that it publishes, opting instead for captions in verse. Regardless, the sequential narration and the recurring characters made the publication the first Italian comic magazine. The most prolific comics illustrator before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

was Antonio Rubino. Both Mussino and Rubino based their strips on parodies of school learning: Bilbolbul is a parody of

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language ...

s, while "Quadratino" (literally "Little Square") is a parody of

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

. ''Il Corrierino'' introduced American comics to an Italian audience: " Happy Hooligan" was renamed "Fortunello", "

The Katzenjammer Kids ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).Bringing Up Father ''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000. The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or ...

was "Arcibaldo e Petronilla", "

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characte ...

" became "Mio Mao". Following ''Il Corrierinos spectacular success (reaching 700 000 copies), several other periodicals appeared during the following years: ''Il Giornaletto'' (1910), ''Donnina'' (1914), ''L'Intrepido'' (1920), and ''Piccolo mondo'' (1924).

Fumetto during Fascism

The fascist regime was quick to recognize the potential for propaganda through the new medium. During the 1920s several periodicals published educational comics for Italian youth, including ''Il Giornale dei Balilla'' (1923) and ''La piccola italiana'' (1927). The three most popular characters of the period, reprinted for decades on ''Corrierino'', were: *"Il

Signor Bonaventura ''Signor Bonaventura'' is an Italian comic strip created in 1917 by actor and playwright Sergio Tofano. It is considered among the most famous and successful comic strips ever created in Italy. The character made his first appearance on October 2 ...

" by

Sergio Tofano Sergio Tòfano (20 August 1886 – 28 October 1973) was an Italian actor, director, playwright, scene designer and illustrator. Tofano was born in Rome. In 1909, he made his first appearance on stage with Ermete Novelli, then joined Virgi ...

(1917), was the Italian response to " Happy Hooligan", with a big difference: if the latter is always unlucky, at the end of every story Bonaventura wins a million liras. *" Sor Pampurio" (an Italian equivalent of "

Bringing Up Father ''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000. The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or ...

") by Carlo Bisi (1925), was a parody of parvenus: not really Fascist, it expresses bourgeois classism.Paolo Gallarinari (cured by), ''Un maestro dell'ironia borghese. Carlo Bisi fumettista e illustratore nella cultura del suo tempo'', ANAFI, 2011. *" Marmittone" by Bruno Angoletta (1929), was a mildly antimilitaristic strip, the maximum anti-authoritarianism allowed by Fascism.

Maurice Horn Maurice Horn (born 1931) is a French-American comics historian, author, and editor, considered to be one of the first serious academics to study comics. He is the editor of ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics'', ''The World Encyclopedia of Cartoon ...

, ''The World encyclopedia of comics'', Volume 4, Chelsea House Publishers, 1983, pp.478-479. Beginning January 1, 1939, the publication of foreign comics was forbidden, and Italian material was required to follow a strict standard, exalting heroism, patriotism, and the superiority of the Italian race. To work around these restrictions, some publishers simply renamed American heroes with Italian names. The only exception to the censorship was ''

Topolino ''Topolino'' (from the Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. It is currently published by Pani ...

'', the Italian name for ''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

'', published by Nerbini starting on December 31, 1931. Apparently, the reason behind this special treatment for

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 ...

's character was

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

's children's passion for the little mouse. In 1935 Nerbini sold ''

'' to

Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...

, which published it with great success until 1988. In 1932 Milan publisher Lotario Vecchi started ''

Jumbo Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and t ...

'', a weekly magazine that many consider the first true Italian comics publication. The magazine reached a circulation of 350,000 copies, sanctioning comics as a mainstream medium with broad appeal. In 1937 ''

Il Vittorioso ''Il Vittorioso'' (Italian for "The Victorious") was a weekly comic magazine published in Italy from 1937 to 1966. History and profile The magazine was born on the initiative of the Azione Cattolica association as a catholic response to the sec ...

'' appeared, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

magazine entirely composed of Italian comics. It was an attempt to compete with similar secular publications like ''

L'Avventuroso ''L'Avventuroso'' (Italian for "The Adventurer") was a weekly comic magazine published in Italy from 1934 to 1943. It was the first Italian comics magazine which explicitly aspired to have a more mature audience than infancy, and it is regarded ...

'' (1934), ''

Il Monello ''Il Monello'' (meaning ''The Rascal'' in English) was a weekly comic magazine for kids and teens published in Italy from 1933 to 1990. History and profile ''Il Monello'' was founded in 1933 by the Del Duca brothers and initially offered only ...

'' (1933), and '' L'Audace'' (1937).

After World War II: Bonelli and the rise of the comic book

The end of World War II marked a flurry of activity in the Italian comic press: many titles that were forced to suspend publication during the war come back to saturate the newsstands, joined by new publications often backed by improvised publishers looking for a quick buck. Finally this oversupply of comic material resulted in a crisis of the traditional comic magazine. Among the numerous publications of the period were ''L'Avventura'' (1944), a Roman magazine that presented American adventure strips like ''

Mandrake A mandrake is the root of a plant, historically derived either from plants of the genus '' Mandragora'' found in the Mediterranean region, or from other species, such as ''Bryonia alba'', the English mandrake, which have similar properties. The ...

'', '' L'Uomo Mascherato (The Phantom)'', and ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...

''. Another Roman publication appeared in 1945: ''Robinson'', a first attempt to target a more adult audience. It introduced several American characters like ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

Secret Agent X-9 ''Secret Agent X-9'' is a comic strip created by writer Dashiell Hammett ('' The Maltese Falcon'') and artist Alex Raymond (''Flash Gordon''). Syndicated by King Features, it ran from January 22, 1934 until February 10, 1996. Premise and publ ...

, Rip Kirby,

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn b ...

'' and ''

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (character), Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''De ...

''. ''Robinson'' lasted until 1947, publishing 90 issues. In 1945, one of the most original magazines of the period was born: '' L'asso di Picche'' published in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

as a result of the work of a group of young Venetian artists, including

Alberto Ongaro Alberto Ongaro (22 August 1925 – 23 March 2018), also known by his pseudonym Alfredo Nogara, was an Italian journalist, writer and comics writer. Biography Born in Venice, Italy, he lived for a long time in South America and England, before ret ...

Damiano Damiani Damiano Damiani (23 July 1922 – 7 March 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mereg ...

, Dino Battaglia, Rinaldo D'Ami, and above all

Fernando Carcupino Fernando Carcupino (23 July 1922 – 22 March 2003) was an Italian painter, illustrator and comics artist. He was most widely known for his female nudes, but he also painted landscapes, still lifes, historical subjects, and portraits of mothers ...

and

Hugo Pratt Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as ''Corto Maltese''. He was ind ...

. Their distinctive approach to the art form earned them the name of "Venetian School" of comics. Among the characters created for the magazine were Pratt's '' L'Asso di Picche'', Battaglia's '' Junglemen, Draky'' and ''Robin Hood''. Inspired by the success of the Catholic ''

'', the Italian Communist party decided to use the comic medium for their own purposes: in 1949 ''

Il Pioniere ''Il Pioniere'' ( Italian: ''The Pioneer'') was a weekly children's comic magazine which existed between 1950 and 1970. It was headquartered in Rome, Italy. The magazine was close to the Italian Communist Party although it did not overtly contain ...

'' was born. Aimed at a very young audience, the new publication presented fantasy material as well as adventures, with an eye to the social issues of the period. On ''Il Vittorioso'' began the career of the most famous satirical comic writer of post-war Italy,

Benito Jacovitti Benito Jacovitti (; March 19, 1923 – December 3, 1997) was an Italian comics artist. Biography Benito Jacovitti was born in Termoli, Molise. He was still a kid when he started drawing on the pavement of the village's streets. The son of a rai ...

. However, his most popular character,

Cocco Bill Cocco Bill is an Italian comics character by Benito Jacovitti. He is the star of a parody Western comic set in hypothetical places in the Far West. He is a hot-tempered gunslinger who drinks chamomile Chamomile (American English) or camomile ...

(1957), a parody of

Western comics Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of the Mississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with an American comic books ...

, was published in the newspaper '' Il Giorno'' and then in the other Catholic comic magazine ''

Il Giornalino ''Il Giornalino'' is an Italian comics magazine published in Italy. History and profile ''Il Giornalino'' was founded by the Catholic publisher Edizioni San Paolo of Alba in 1924. During its history, the magazine has published the Italian tran ...

''. In 1954 ''Il Disco Volante'' began publication. It is the Italian version of British weekly ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

'', and introduced ''

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repr ...

'' to the Italian public. In 1955 ''

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

'' appeared, adapted from the French ''

'' magazine, which first presented Franco-Belgian comics to the Italian public. But the most significant phenomenon of the period was the appearance of comics books. Printed in a variety of formats, from strip size to

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ...

lets to giant size, they presented collected stories from the periodicals as well as new adventures of Italian characters. It is on the comic books pages that heroes ''made in Italy'' gained popularity, eventually overshadowing their American counterparts. Among the host of Italian series that were created during these years, ''

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 ...

'' is without doubt the most renowned. Born on September 30, 1948, from the imagination 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 ...

and from the pencil of

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 ...

, ''Tex Willer'' became the model for a line of publications that became known as ''Bonelliano'', from the name of the publisher. These comic books presented complete stories in 100+ black and white pages in a pocket book format. The subject matter was always adventure, whether western, horror, mystery or science fiction. The ''bonelliani'' are to date the most popular form of comics in the country. Some of the series that followed ''Tex Willer'' were '' Zagor'' (1961), a

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Eur ...

-wielding hero who protects the imaginary Darkwood forest in eastern US, ''

Comandante Mark Comandante Mark is an Italian comics book originally published in Italy by Daimi Press (future Sergio Bonelli Editore). The original series was published in Italy monthly between September 1966 and January 1990, reached 281 numbers (mostly episod ...

'' (1966), featuring a soldier in the American independence war, and more recently ''

Mister No ''Mister No'' is an Italian comic book, first published in Italy in 1975 by Sergio Bonelli Editore. Mister No was created by writer Sergio Bonelli artist Gallieno Ferri in Spring 1975. Bonelli published under the pseudonym Guido Nolitta. The reg ...

'' (1975), about an American pilot who operates a small tourist flying agency in the Amazonian jungle, and '' Martin Mystère'' (1982), featuring an anthropologist/archaeologist/art historian who investigates paranormal phenomena and archaeological mysteries. Another popular series, ''

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 ...

'' featuring a criminal mastermind, has been published since the 1960s, and influenced later series such as '' Kriminal'' and '' Satanik'' (see '' Fumetti neri''). The latter was created in the 1960s by one of the most famous duos of comics history,

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 ...

Bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

, whose most outstanding creation, however, is the humorous espionage series '' Alan Ford'' (1969). Another famous author of humouristic strips is

Franco Bonvicini 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 or Modena, in the Emilia Rom ...

, whose ''

Sturmtruppen ''Sturmtruppen'' is a successful Italian series of anti-war comic books written and drawn by Bonvi, the artistic pseudonym of Franco Bonvicini. It started as four-frame comic strips back in 1968 and evolved into fully sized collector books by th ...

'' met wide success abroad. In the 1970s and early 80s, many young intellectual artists centred around the famous student city 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 na ...

began to be influenced by the underground comic scene of the United States, typified by the work of

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

. Artists such as

Andrea Pazienza Andrea Pazienza (; 23 May 1956 – 16 June 1988), was an Italian comics artist and painter. Biography Early life Pazienza was born in San Benedetto del Tronto, province of Ascoli Piceno, in 1956. Growing up in his father's town of San Severo ...

Filippo Scòzzari Filippo Scòzzari (Bologna, 1946), is an Italian comics artist, painter and writer, one of the main figures of the 1970s underground art movement. Known for his first comic at Mondadori's ''Il Mago'' under the pen name Winslow Leech, he worked f ...

Stefano Tamburini Stefano Tamburini (18 August 1955 – April 1986) was an Italian graphic artist, comics author and magazine publisher. Tamburini is primarily known as co-creator of the comic book character RanXerox, with Tanino Liberatore. Along with Andrea Pazi ...

, Tanino Liberatore, and

Massimo Mattioli Massimo Mattioli (25 September 1943 – 23 August 2019) was an Italian artist and cartoonist. Mattioli debuted in 1965 in the periodic comic book '' Il Vittorioso'' with ''Vermetto Sigh''. He was also published in ''Corto Maltese'' and ''Frigida ...

published stories with dark and surreal themes, ranging from political activism, to struggles with drug addiction and the ''disagio'' and disillusionment of youth culture in Italy. Many of the comics were extremely violent and sexual and attempted to stretch the comic genre to its vary limits in both style and "good taste." Satirical magazines such as

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 ...

and Il Male often printed these stories in episodic formats or as vignettes in their monthly publications. Though read by a more restricted audience, in the past years comics series with the greatest critical success are ''

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 ...

'', by Hugo Pratt, and '' Valentina'' by Guido Crepax. While the former is a kind of ''summa'' of the evolution into an adult form of the classic adventure comics, the latter gave birth to that special kind of erotic comics quite typical of the Italian scene, and whose main pupils have been in more recent years

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 ...

and

Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri (born 29 February 1944) is an Italian comic book writer and illustrator, noted for his works of highly detailed renderings of the human form, particularly erotic images of women. He is best known for his work on the '' Dru ...

Disney Italia

Italy also produces many

Disney comics Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge. The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on, starting with th ...

, i.e., stories featuring Disney characters (from

and Donald Duck universes). After the 1960s, American artists of Disney comics, such as

Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McD ...

and

Floyd Gottfredson Arthur Floyd Gottfredson (May 5, 1905July 22, 1986) was an American cartoonist best known for his defining work on the ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip, which he worked on from 1930 until his retirement in 1975. His contribution to Mickey Mouse comi ...

did not produce as many stories as in the past. At present American production of new stories has dwindled (

Don Rosa Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created for Di ...

publishes in Europe), and this niche has been filled by companies in South America, Denmark and Italy. The Italian 'Scuola disneyana' has produced several innovations: building the Italian standard length for stories (30 pages), a pocket book format with 3 strips a page, reinterpreting famous works of literature in 'Parodie', long stories up to 400 pages. Among the most important artists and authors are Marco Rota, Romano Scarpa,

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 t ...

, Massimo De Vita,

Giovan Battista Carpi Giovan Battista Carpi (; November 16, 1927 – March 8, 1999) was a prolific Italian comics artist, illustrator, and teacher from Genoa. Carpi worked mainly for Disney comics, mostly on books featuring Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck, although h ...

and

Guido Martina Guido Martina (9 February 1906 – 6 May 1991) was an Italian comic writer, documentarist and author. Martina is well known for his Disney comics stories, including the first of the "" story "L'inferno di Topolino", and the creation of Paperini ...

. The best known Disney character created in Italy is ''

Paperinik Donald Duck, a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company, is today the star of dozens of comic-book and comic-strip stories published each month (in certain parts of the world, each week) around the world. In many European countries, Don ...

'' (known as Duck Avenger or Phantom Duck to English audiences). Italy prints around 8000 pages of new Disney stories per year, exported worldwide (it makes up 50% of the total production). The main publication,

digest size Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately , but can also be and , similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes have evolved from the printing ...

'', prints only new stories every week, but there exist 32 different series of reprints going on, for 30 million of copies sold each year. Since the late 1990s,

Disney Italia The Walt Disney Company Italia S.r.l. (formerly called The Walt Disney Company Italia S.p.A.) is The Walt Disney Company's Italian division and one of The Walt Disney Company's European divisions. The company was founded on 8 May 1938 as Creazion ...

produced innovative series like '' PK'' (Paperinik stories with an American superheroes flavour), ''

W.I.T.C.H. ''W.I.T.C.H.'' (stylised as ''W.i.t.c.h.'') is an Italian fantasy Disney comics series created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and Barbara Canepa. The series features a group of five teenage girls who become the guardians of the class ...

'' or '' Monster Allergy''.

Notable authors and artists

* Alessandro Biffignandi * Antonio Rubino *

Antonio Serra Antonio Serra was a late 16th-century Italian philosopher and economist in the mercantilist tradition. Biography Little is known about Serra's life. He was born in Cosenza in the late 16th century (the dates of his birth and death are unknownAle ...

Alfredo Castelli Alfredo Castelli (born 26 June 1947) is an Italian comic book artist and writer. Biography Born in Milan, Castelli began his comic book career at an early age, creating the strip '' Scheletrino'', a humor series for Italian comic book ''Diabolik' ...

* Attilio Micheluzzi * Ade Capone * Angela Giussani *

Andrea Lavezzolo Andrea Lavezzolo (12 December 1905 – 16 November 1981) was an Italian novelist and short story writer who created and wrote many prominent Italian comics of the 1940s and 1950s. Life and career Lavezzolo was born in Paris to Italian parents. Th ...

* Bruno Angoletta *

Bruno Bozzetto Bruno Bozzetto (born 3 March 1938) is an Italian cartoon animator and film director, creator of many short pieces, mainly of a political or satirical nature. He created his first animated short "Tapum! the weapons' story" in 1958 at the age of ...

Bepi Vigna Bepi may refer to: * × ''Brassoepidendrum'', an orchid hybrid genus abbreviated ''Bepi.'' * Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo (1920–1984), Italian scientist *Bepi, Zahedan Bepi, Zahedan ( fa, بپی) is a village in Cheshmeh Ziarat Rural District, i ...

Claudio Castellini Claudio Castellini (born 3 March 1966) is an Italian comic book artist. According to his website, Castellini has a "love for technical details, influenced by artists like Neal Adams and John Buscema". Biography Castellini's first work was th ...

* Dino Battaglia * Dario Guzzon * Emanuele Taglietti *

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 '' ...

Franco Saudelli Franco Saudelli (born 4 August 1952) is an Italian comics artist, mostly known for his erotic stories. Biography Franco Saudelli was born in Latina (Lazio), but moved soon to Rome. He made his debut in the comics world in the mid-1970s, firs ...

Giancarlo Alessandrini Giancarlo Alessandrini (born March 20, 1950) is an Italian comic artist. Biography Born in Iesi, Alessandrini graduated from Ancona's Art Institute and begins drawing comics professionally in 1972 for ''Il Corriere dei Ragazzi'' with the story '' ...

* Gianni De Luca * Giovanni Gualdoni *

Giovanni Sinchetto EsseGesse was an Italian team of cartoonists, most famous for their Western (genre), Western comics, which were popular in the 1950s. The comics were translated to French language, French, Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish language, T ...

Giancarlo Berardi Giancarlo Berardi (born 15 November 1949) is an Italian comic book writer. Born in Genoa, he is most famous as creator of comics '' Ken Parker'' (1977) and ''Julia Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of th ...

* Guido Buzzelli *

* Guido Crepax * Gianluca Costantini *

Ivo Milazzo Ivo Milazzo (born 20 June 1947) is an Italian comic book artist. Born in Tortona, Milazzo worked mainly for Sergio Bonelli Editore. He debuted in 1971, drawing some ''Tarzan'' stories for the French market. Together with his friend, writer Gian ...

* Luciano Bernasconi *

Luciano Bottaro Luciano Bottaro (16 November 1931 – 25 November 2006) was an Italian comic book artist. Bottaro's characteristic style is highly appreciated in Europe - many countries publish his comics (such as France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, a ...

Lorenzo Mattotti Lorenzo Mattotti (born 24 January 1954) is an Italian comics artist as well as an illustrator. His illustrations have been published in magazines such as ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Vogue'', '' The New Yorker'', ''Le Monde'' and '' Vanity Fair''. In comi ...

* Luciana Giussani * Leonardo Ortolani * Luca Enoch * Max Bunker, pseudonym of Luciano Secchi *

* Michelle Medda *

Maurizio Colombo Maurizio Colombo (born 16 July 1963) is an Italian former cyclist. He competed in the individual pursuit and team pursuit events at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also kno ...

* Massimo Rotundo *

Mauro Boselli Mauro Boselli (born 22 May 1985) is an Argentine professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Estudiantes de La Plata. Boselli began his career at Argentine Primera División, Argenti ...

* Pietro Sartoris * Pino Daeni, pseudonym of Pino Dangelico *

Renzo Calegari Renzo Calegari (5 September 1933 – 5 November 2017) was an Italian comics artist. Life and career Born in Genoa, Calegari left his studies in accountancy to enter the art studios of Roy d'Ami. He made his professional debut one year later, co ...

Roberto Renzi Roberto Renzi (10 February 1923 – 23 October 2018) was an Italian cartoonist. Biography Renzi began writing comics in 1942 during World War II. He created titles such as ''Il principe nero'', ''Scugnizzo'', ''Il piccolo corsaro'', ''Zan della ...

, pseudonym of Roberto Raviola * Romano Scarpa *

Sergio Toppi Sergio Toppi (11 October 1932, Milan – 21 August 2012, Milan)Silvia Ziche Silvia Ziche (; born 5 July 1967) is an Italian comic book artist and writer, known for her work in Disney comics for the Italian comic digest ''Topolino''. Biography Ziche was born in Thiene. Ziche has also worked on the magazines ''Linus,'' ...

Sergio Bonelli 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 ...

* Tanino Liberatore *

Tiziano Sclavi Tiziano Sclavi (born 3 April 1953 in Broni) is an Italian comic book author, journalist and writer of several novels. Sclavi is most famous as creator of the comic book ''Dylan Dog'' in 1986, for Italian publishing house Sergio Bonelli Editore. M ...

Vittorio Giardino Vittorio Giardino (born December 24, 1946) is an Italian comic artist. Biography Giardino was born in Bologna, where he graduated in electrical engineering in 1969. At the age of 30, he decided to leave his job and devote himself to comics. Two ...

* Walter Molino

Notable comics

Bonelli adventure comics

* ''

'' by

(since 1948) * '' Zagor'' by

(since 1965) * '' Martin Mystère'' by

(since 1982) * ''

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 e ...

'' by

(since 1986) * ''

Nathan Never 200px, Cover for ''Nathan Never'' #1. ''Nathan Never'' is a black-and-white, science fiction Italian comic book, published monthly in Italy since 1991 by Sergio Bonelli Editore. It is written by Michele Medda, Antonio Serra and Bepi Vigna. Art ...

'' by

Michele Medda Michele Medda (born 7 December 1962) is an Italian comics writer. Medda was born in Cagliari, Sardinia. In 1991, together with Antonio Serra and Bepi Vigna, he created the science fiction series ''Nathan Never'' for Sergio Bonelli Editore. This ...

and

(since 1991) * ''

'' by

(from 1975 to 2006) * '' Ken Parker'' by

and

(from 1977 to 1998)

Adventure comics

* ''

'', '' Sergeant Kirk'', ''

Fort Wheeling ''Fort Wheeling'', or simply ''Wheeling'', is the title of a comics series set in colonial North America, by Italian comics creator Hugo Pratt. Publication history ''Wheeling'' first appeared in the Argentine comics magazine ''Misterix'' in 196 ...

'', '' Jesuit Joe'', ''

Morgan Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer ...

'', all by

* ''

'' by

Angela Angela may refer to: Places * Angela, Montana * Angela Lake, in Volusia County, Florida * Lake Angela, in Lyon Township, Oakland County, Michigan * Lake Angela, the reservoir impounded by the source dam of the South Yuba River Fiction * An ...

and Luciana Giussani * '' Kriminal'' and '' Satanik'' by Max Bunker and

* '' Lo Sconosciuto'' (''The Unknown'') by Magnus * '' Lazarus Ledd'' by Ade Capone * ''

RanXerox ''RanXerox'' is an Italian science fiction graphic novel series by Stefano Tamburini and Tanino Liberatore, two Italian artists who had worked on such magazines as ''Cannibale'' and ''Frigidaire''. Conceived as a bizarre antihero, RanXerox was a ...

'' by Tanino Liberatore and

Humour comics

* '' Bilbolbul'' by Attilio Mussino * ''Il

'' by Sto * '' Marmittone'' by Bruno Angoletta * '' Alan Ford'' and ''

Maxmagnus ''Maxmagnus'' is an Italian comics series featuring an eponymous character, created in 1968 by Italian comic book creator Max Bunker and comics artist Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in ...

'' by Max Bunker and Magnus * ''

Cattivik Cattivik is an Italian humoristic comic book character created by Bonvi (Franco Bonvicini). The character first appeared in 1965. He later appeared in the magazine ''Tiramolla'' on 19 July 1970. Later, the development of the character was given ...

'' by Bonvi (later

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

) * ''

Lupo Alberto Lupo Alberto ("Alberto the Wolf") is a famous Italian comic book series created by Guido Silvestri (Silver) in 1974. It details the adventures of Lupo Alberto, a blue wolf. The protagonist of the comic book, Lupo Alberto, takes the shape of the ...

'' by

* ''

'' by Bonvi * ''

'' by

* '' Rat-Man'' by

Leo Ortolani Leonardo Ortolani (born 14 January 1967), better known as Leo, is an Italian comics author, creator of the comic book series '' Rat-Man''. Early life He was born in Pisa. In 1968 Ortolani moved to Parma, where he still lives with his wife Cat ...

* ''

Erotic comics

* '' Click'' (''Il Gioco'') and '' Giuseppe Bergman'' by

* '' Valentina'' by Guido Crepax * ''

Druuna Druuna is an erotic science fiction and fantasy comic book character created by Italian cartoonist Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri. Most of Druuna's adventures revolve around a post-apocalyptic future, and the plot is often a vehicle for varied scenes of ...

'' by

* ''

Calavera A calavera (Spanish – for "skull") is a representation of a human skull. The term is most often applied to edible or decorative skulls made (usually by hand) from either sugar (called Alfeñiques) or clay, used in the Mexican celebration of t ...

'' by Enrico Teodorani and Joe Vigil * '' Djustine'' by Enrico Teodorani

Fantasy comics

* ''

'' * '' Monster Allergy'' * '' Gormiti'' * '' Angel's Friends'' * ''

Winx Club ''Winx Club'' is an animated series co-produced by Rainbow S.p.A., Rainbow SpA and later Nickelodeon. It was created by Italian animator Iginio Straffi. The show is set in a magical universe that is inhabited by fairies, witches, and other myth ...

References

External links

afNews
daily news and all kind of information about fumetti and comic art. Press agency by Gianfranco Goria
uBC Fumetti
fumetti from publisher Bonelli, with translations in English and other languages

Fondazione Franco Fossati
Slumberland
- Encyclopedia of Italian comics
Website TexBR
Italian comics of Sergio Bonelli Editore {{Comics Italian culture

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 ...

History

Birth

Fumetto during Fascism

After World War II: Bonelli and the rise of the comic book

Disney Italia

Notable authors and artists

Notable comics

Bonelli adventure comics

Adventure comics

Humour comics

Erotic comics

Fantasy comics

See also

References

External links