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[paw broon]

If any of you read Italian have a look at this forum particularly the Fumetti Anteguerra section where there are many covers and interiors of pre-war storypapers and comics.  There is so much more including early Superman strips but re costumed and called Ciclone.
http://vintagecomics.forumcommunity.net/
and check out Mefistofele as well as Ciclone here:-
http://vintagecomics.forumcommunity.net/?t=43878090&st=735

Even if you don't know a word of the language, the pictures are worth it.

[vaillant]

Hi Paw, thanks for sharing the link to VC (I'm "piccic" there).
Besides, a good 95% of the "golden age" of italian comics is unknown territory for british people (and even more, I guess, for americans).
With due exceptions, of course…

[paw broon]

Pleased to meet you here.  As you've probably had a good laugh at my feeble attempts at Italian, I should say that my curiosity about comics overcomes my embarrasement.  I am a a collector of comics from all over Europe and was intrigued by the similarities between L'Audace and British Associated Press story papers. Plus I love fumetti neri, per esempio; Kriminal; Diabolik; Zakimort; Mister X (with which I need some help and info.) (There are 4 or 5 Misters X); Sadik, Sangoor ecc.  I was really taken with the Mefistofeles page - a bit of a stunner.  
The new term of my language classes starts tomorrow with advanced French then Italian on Friday.  Needless to say, I haven't done my homework. Probably why I'm so bad.

Modifying this to add :-  What are your interests?  I know I could check your posts on VCF but other members here will be interested.

[vaillant]

Hi Paw,
that’s just great. I mean, this is one of the most positive aspects of the Internet (there are an endless variety of negative ones to counter-balance, but let’s look at the good ones): being able to perform such kind of researches in a transversal fashion. A thing which would have been unthinkable in pre-Internet times.

Your italian is perfectly understandable, what’s important is the phrase structure, and you handle it very well.
Besides, I blush as I listen back to the interview I had with Jack Kirby in 1991. My english was BAD, and in many aspects, still is (especially for the lack of vocabulary).

My interests used to revolve more around Disney and classic silver age Marvel comics, up to 1990, but since 1995 I have grown affected to some classic french-belgian ligne claire authors (Edgar P. Jacobs, Willy Vandersteen) and I tried, with the obstacle of the language, to deepen my knowledge of the "golden age" of japanese comics (which means post-war production, since they did not have a proper "modern conception" of comics, or "manga" before). Especially Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) by Osamu Tezuka.
In the last 6-7 years, I guess it’s also a consequence of becoming more mature, I started to grow an interest in the history of our own italian production, especially the pre-war publisher A.V.E. (which published what we may define a sort of counter-altar to the USA genre of air-fighters comics, "Romano il legionario", a moderately fascist (but more correctly patriotic) war hero, and "La Famiglia Zoo", a utterly original family of antropomorphic animals decidedly italian and pretty different from the Disney characters).

Along the lines of this research I developed in the last months an insane interest+passion for golden age comics and for the inter-war comics production, of any nationality. At the moment I am collecting Lev Gleason's Daredevil Comics, quite a suicidal attempt…

And… no, I am afraid but I have never nurtured an interest for "fumetti neri" and the pocket size books we had starting in the 1960s.
User "Squitty" on the VC forum is an expert, but I guess you have already found out…

[paw broon]

An interview with Kirby!!!!!  Is it still available anywhere? Would like to read or hear that.  Was it published and if so, where? 
Never having interviewed anyone, I'm full of admiration for those who have the knack.  I've been interviewed a few times and it can be a bit nerve wracking, especially if it's going out on t.v. 
Neri, I collect the ones I mentioned and also the British Picture Libraries. There are some war issues with Pratt art but I don't have them, nor do I enjoy war comics.  I'd much rather read Corto. A friend recently found 2 Famepress titles, which are reprints of Italian stories (the whole series is and they were printed in English, in Italy, Milano, if memory serves) and although the art is mediocre, I've asked if I can buy them when he's read them.
Another format which intrigues me is landscape and my collection includes a nice selection of Spanish, French, Dutch, Belgian and (a couple) of Australian examples.  This is where another Mister X comes in - the guy with the atomic belt.  Finding Italian landscape comics is really difficult and would be expensive if I could locate them.  I believe the French refer to landscape comics as format Italien, which is odd as Spain seems to have published a simply huge amount of format Italien comics.  The landscape comics that seem to be easy to find are striscie (lilliputs, piccolos) and they seem to have been published in many European countries, and I've found them in Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and even some British examples. Although the price for a set of Plutos is well outside my limited budget.
I'm curious about Romano il Legionario. Are there any sample pages or articles that you could point me to?
I love Jacobs and Vandersteen and have a small selection of De Rode Ridder and in Amsterdam recently, I found a reprint of Vandersteen's, Mars-Commando's op Aarde. Lovely.
Now I have more questions for, and reading to do, on VCF, and there is so much to take in.  But that's half the fun.

[vaillant]

Let’s talk on both VC and here, it's no problem.

I have no scans of Romano il Legionario at hand, but we may exchange emails, because I am delighted to find people, like you seem to be, with an overall global approach to comic art, as I am.
As for Vandersteen, it has been treated pretty badly both in USA, UK and Italy. But I don’t complain, since Jacobs in the United States has been published as a "child product". Go figure…

I send you a PM…

[paw broon]

Grazie, Vaillant. Sto per scrivere un email con qualche link e, se riesca, (non sono esperto al computer) un allegato con storie di Billy the Cat.  Benche' sia un ragazzo senza potere sovrumano, e quasi super-eroe. E un personnagio molto divertente.

Hope you enjoy them.