Nathan Never is a black-and-white, science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 Italian comic

Italian comics

Italian comics are comics made in Italy. They are locally known as fumetto – plural form fumetti – although this latter term is often used in English to describe a specific comic genre . The most popular Italian comics have been translated into many languages...

 book, published monthly in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 since 1991 by Sergio Bonelli Editore

Sergio Bonelli Editore

Sergio Bonelli Editore is a publishing house of Italian comics. It takes its name from its president and comic book author, Sergio Bonelli....

. It is written by Michele Medda

Michele Medda

Michele Medda 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...

, Antonio Serra

Antonio Serra (comics)

Antonio Serra is an Italian comics writer.-Biography:Serra was born in Alghero, Sardinia. After some collaborations with amateur publications, in 1991, together with Michele Medda and Bepi Vigna, he created the science fiction series Nathan Never for Sergio Bonelli Editore, for which he had worked...

 and Bepi Vigna. Artists who worked to series include Claudio Castellini

Claudio Castellini

Claudio Castellini 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:...

, Roberto De Angelis

Roberto De Angelis

Roberto De Angelis is an Italian comic book artist.Born in Naples, De Angelis debut in the comics world in 1981. He subsequently collaborated to some series for adult and splatter comics. In 1989 he started to work for Sergio Bonelli Editore, Italy's most popular comic book publisher, with some...

, Dante Bastianoni, Nicola Mari, Pino Rinaldi, Giancarlo Olivares and Onofrio Catacchio

Onofrio Catacchio

Onofrio Catacchio is an Italian comics artist.Onofrio Catacchio was born in Bari in 1964; he currently lives and works in Bologna....

.

Plot

The title character Nathan Never is a special agent in a semi-dystopian

Dystopia

A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...

 near future where crime-fighting is shared between the police and corporate detective agencies such as Never's employer Agenzia Alfa.

Stories typically merge classic urban crime, noir

Noir

Noir is the French word for black. It may refer to:- People :* Noir , Danish Dj & Producer. Owner of Noir Music...

, and drama, with occasional forays into political thriller

Political thriller

A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle. They usually involve various extra-legal plots, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him. They can involve national or international political scenarios....

, survival horror, and space opera

Space opera

Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...

. Many issues quote classic science fiction film and literature, for example in names, locations, technology, etc. Primary sources of inspiration are Blade Runner

Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...

and Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...

's Foundation series.

While most plots are self-conclusive within one or two issues, some storylines span five, ten, or even twenty issues, such as Alfa's quest to capture arch-villain Aristoteles Skotos, the Mutants' struggle to obtain equal rights, and the Earth's war with the rebelling space stations over food supplies. Continuity is a cornerstone of the series, with the effects of previous storylines accounted for and considered in subsequent plots.

Characters

Never's original partner is Legs Weaver

Legs Weaver

Rebecca "Legs" Lawrence Weaver is an Italian science fiction comic book published by Sergio Bonelli Editore between 1994 and 2005.Legs Weaver, the main character of the comic, first appeared as supporting character and sparring partner of Nathan Never in 1991...

, a character inspired by Sigourney Weaver

Sigourney Weaver

Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...

 in the film Alien

Alien (film)

Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...

. Legs eventually departs Nathan Never for her own spin-off, successful comic book.

Alfa agents include:

• Nathan Never, a rogue ex-cop with a penchant for ancient things (such as books and movies); his wife was brutally murdered and his daughter is severely mentally ill as a result of the assault
• Branko, Never's new partner and a mutant fighting for equal rights
• May Frayn, Branko's wife
• Sigmund Baginov, Alfa's computer guru
• Link, an android whose looks and skills closely resemble those of Data
  Data (Star Trek)
  Lieutenant Commander Data is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek...
  
   from Star Trek: The Next Generation
  Star Trek: The Next Generation
  Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
  
  
• Andy Havilland, a street PI and incurable dongiovanni
• young triplets Melody, Harmony, and Symphony Ross, fighter pilots for Ross Aviation and Alfa affiliates
• Edward Reiser, Alfa's rough and uncompromising founder
• Solomon Darver, Alfa's manager after Reiser.

Several series regulars die in the course of Never's adventures, to be replaced by others. New characters are also introduced in the spin-off series.

Legacy

Other than the long-lived Legs, the series also inspired Agenzia Alfa (novel-length issues inclusive of all Alfa characters published twice-annually since 1994) and the short-lived Asteroide Argo (where a mining crew, including May Frayn's sister April, is marooned in another galaxy). Nathan Never itself produced numerous specials, giant issues, color issues, reprints, and almanacs. Most were published by Bonelli, with the exception of anthologies of stories selected for Arnoldo Mondadori Editore

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore is the biggest publishing company in Italy.-History:Founded by the 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori in 1907 to publish the magazine titled Luce!, it soon became an important publisher. Its headquarters are in Milan....

 series such as Urania Fumetti

Urania (magazine)

Urania is an Italian science fiction magazine published by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore since October 10, 1952.-History:The first issue featured the novel The Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke...

and Oscar Fumetti.

External links

• Website Nathan Never on TexBR - Nathan Never
• Official website on Sergio Bonelli Editore Nathan Never (English)