THE NINETEEN-SIXTIES 1960'LAR (II)

IL COMANDANTE MARK (1966)

A French merchant vessel sinks off the Atlantic coast of North America, and only a boy and an old man survive. Given a fraternal welcome by the Indians, the pair live with them for many years. Growing up with the name of Mark and called "Wolf" by the Native Americans, the hero of this series, in adulthood, embraces the causes of the American rebels in their struggle against the English domination. A large number of colonists cluster around him, all eager to fight the hated Redcoats, and they set up a sort of small irregular army that becomes known as the "Lupi dell'Ontario" ['Ontario Wolves'], commanded by the courageous Mark. The protagonist is surrounded by several interesting supporting figures: the pessimist Gufo Triste, the massive Mister Bluff and Marks' eternal fiancée, Betty. But the dog Flok deserves a special mention as one of the most successful comic elements of these stories. The series, whose reprints are achieving notable success even today, was a creation of the team Giovanni Sinchetto/Dario Guzzon/Pietro Sartoris, the famous EsseGesse trio who were by now highly experienced. Its enduring popularity shows that a well orchestrated product of constant quality is a perfect recipe for long-lasting popularity.

ALAN MISTERO (1966)

A hero with fiery red hair, an expert at disguises and an infallible marksman, Alan Mistero saw the light in a series of weekly albums published by his creators, the trio Sartoris-Sinchetto-Guzzon, better known as EsseGesse. The series later reappeared, published by the Araldo press, as an appendix to Il Comandante Mark. In line with the habitual canons of its authors, the likeable avenger was flanked in his adventures by two"comic relief chracters": the sophisticated Conte and the greedy Polpetta.

GUN FLINT (1966)

Nominated special agent for the repression of banditry in the West by President Lincoln himself, Gun Flint, in the company of a friendly tramp called Dakota, decides to continue his mission even after the president's assassination, thus turning into a wandering avenger. Written by Maurizio Torelli, this brief saga (which appeared as an appendix to Il Comandante Mark) was at first illustrated by Franco Bignotti, whose work was then continued by Enzo Magni (better known as the pictorial portrayer of the character of Pantera Bionda), when the title of the series was changed to Gun Jim.

RED BUCK (1966)

A short series reflecting the atmosphere of the famous book "North-West Passage" (the protagonist's nickname, Wobi Madaondo, White Devil, was also taken over from the main character of the book). In North America prior to the War of Independence, we find Red Buck, a very skillful border-man, and the funny Ulisse, of French origin, who fulfils the role of comic relief. With scripts by Cesare Melloncelli and the graphic rendering of Sergio Tarquinio, this character appeared in issues nr. 3 and 4 of the Nuova Collana Araldo.

 

COLLANA RODEO (1967)

The Collana Rodeo set of publications has the great merit (which could without exaggeration be called "historic", at least in the framework of Italian comics) of having presented some of the best comics ever published in Italy. In addition to the grandiose Storia del West (which will be described in further detail below), the Collana Rodeo albums included the reprints of some cult stories (such as Gordon Jim, Il Sergente York, Un ragazzo nel Far West) and a number of stories never published before. Among the latter, several rather unusual albums created by G. L. Bonelli deserve a special note. First and foremost, the science fiction story Judok, a sort of "Tex in Space", wonderfully illustrated by Giovanni Ticci, and then the fine detective series "Rick Master", whose protagonist is a likeable late nineteenth-century American detective, for which the artwork was created initially by Letteri and then later by Tarquinio. Turning to other stories, an interesting case among previously unpublished characters is that of Joselito, written and illustrated by Armando Monasterolo. Joselito Herralde is a young torero who, together with the likeable journalist Nick Dundee, finds himself caught up willy-nilly in the Mexican revolution. The series with Joselito as the protagonist continued for a total of seven issues. The Collana Rodeo also featured a number of extremely interesting stories that were self-contained within a single album. Here are a few of the most significant examples: "Il mestiere di spia", a spy story written by Andrea Mantelli and illustrated by Roberto Diso,; "L'esploratore scomparso", an album drawing its inspiration from the search for Livingstone, written by Decio Canzio and illustrated by Alfio Ticci; "Wyatt Doyle", a western story with a script by Giancarlo Berardi and artwork by Giovanni Forgiarini; "Requiem per un legionario", also by Andrea Mantelli, with artwork by Renato Polese. Worthy of note is also the story "L'astronave perduta", a wonderful science fiction adventure, written by Giorgio Pezzin and illustrated by Luigi Corteggi, who for years was the highly competent art-director of Sergio Bonelli Editore. To conclude, two final citations: the stories "La ferita da un milione" and "Guadalcanal", both of which appeared as an appendix to the reprint of Yuma Kid, illustrated by the great Hugo Pratt and written by the Argentinean script-writer Hector Oesterheld.

STORIA DEL WEST (1967)

Young Brett MacDonald, arriving in America towards the beginning of the nineteenth century, takes part in the famous Lewis and Clark expedition which made its way through the uncharted lands of North America and eventually reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean, opening up the West to the thousands of adventurers who would radiate outwards to conquer new territory. After meeting and marrying the Indian girl Sicaweja, Brett decides to stay in the unspoilt lands of the West. The couple later die in the siege of Alamo, leaving a son, Pat, who, together with his own children, eventually becomes the focal point of all the salient events of this epic saga of the Far West. A saga which, in this comic strip version , appeared for the first time as part of the Collana Rodeo, subdivided into seventy-three highly exciting episodes. Brought to its conclusion in 1980, the series was reprinted in 1984 in a new version, which presented all the original episodes, revised and corrected, as well as two entirely new stories (at the beginning of the great saga), thereby giving greater scope to historical events that had previously been treated somewhat superficially. The aim of this complex historical fresco - an aim which it most certainly accomplished - was to offer a fuller and truer picture, albeit within the limits posed by fictional narration, of an era that both the world of comics and cinema usually address (or rather, used to address) in a fairly superficial and convention manner (at times, even with a partisan spirit). The script for the entire work was composed by Gino D'Antonio, while the artwork was contributed by some of the most highly skilled Italian professional illustrators, including D'Antonio himself, Renzo Calegari, Renato Polese, Sergio Tarquinio, Giorgio Trevisan and the Spaniard Luis Bermejo.