Volto Nascosto
Encyclopedia
Volto Nascosto is the title of an Italian
short comic series written by Gianfranco Manfredi for Sergio Bonelli Editore
. The first issue was published on 10 October 2007.
The miniseries is made up of 14 issues, meant to form a single, long graphic novel
, as Manfredi already did with Magico Vento
.
Among the artists working at the series there are Goran Parlov (the characters' graphic creator and first issue's artist), Massimo Rotundo
(also the covers' author), Giuseppe Matteoni, Ersin Burak (a Turkish
artist at his first experience with Bonelli), Roberto Diso, Giovanni Freghieri, Alessandro Nespolino, Leomacs and Gigi Simeoni.
, Ethiopia
(the only Africa
n country that, in this period, resisted European imperialism
) and Eritrea
, Italian colonies in Africa
.
The main character is "Volto Nascosto", a mysterious Islam
ic warrior and prophet whose face is covered with a silver mask and who, in the story, leads the resistance of Ethiopian people against foreign invaders. (His figure was based on real islamic legends.) However, the series doesn't only revolve around Volto Nascosto, but deals with various characters, whose events continuously intertwine with each other. This multiplicity of voices is a rather innovative aspect for Bonelli's publishing house.
The characters playing around Volto Nascosto are:
As it is clear from this short description, the series has a strong literary
inspiration and deliberately merges elements from different genres, from classic adventure
to historical novel
and nineteenth century feuilleton
. This last aspect is particularly evident not only in the choice of the serial
formula, but also in the presence of some typical situations: the love triangle, the sensitive girl with a mysterious past, etc., which directly recall the topoi of the nineteenth century novels and operas.
Another interesting feature about the story is the setting in the late nineteenth century Italy, a not very well known period of Italian history and an unusual choice for a comic-book series.
The series is made up of the following issues:
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...
short comic series written by Gianfranco Manfredi for 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....
. The first issue was published on 10 October 2007.
The miniseries is made up of 14 issues, meant to form a single, long graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
, as Manfredi already did with Magico Vento
Magico Vento
Magico Vento is the character of an Italian comics book/western with the same name, issued monthly by Sergio Bonelli Editore. Magico Vento's true name is Ned Ellis, a former member of US Army who had become an Indian shaman...
.
Among the artists working at the series there are Goran Parlov (the characters' graphic creator and first issue's artist), Massimo Rotundo
Massimo Rotundo
Massimo Rotundo is an Italian comics artist.After attending the Academy of Fine Arts in his native city, Rome, he made his debut as comics artist in 1978 in collaboration with Eura Editoriale. Later he worked for other publications, like L'Eternauta, Comic Art, Orient Express, Heavy Metal and Ècho...
(also the covers' author), Giuseppe Matteoni, Ersin Burak (a Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
artist at his first experience with Bonelli), Roberto Diso, Giovanni Freghieri, Alessandro Nespolino, Leomacs and Gigi Simeoni.
Plot
The story is set up towards the end of the nineteenth century and takes place among RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
(the only Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n country that, in this period, resisted European imperialism
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
) and Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, Italian colonies in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The main character is "Volto Nascosto", a mysterious Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic warrior and prophet whose face is covered with a silver mask and who, in the story, leads the resistance of Ethiopian people against foreign invaders. (His figure was based on real islamic legends.) However, the series doesn't only revolve around Volto Nascosto, but deals with various characters, whose events continuously intertwine with each other. This multiplicity of voices is a rather innovative aspect for Bonelli's publishing house.
The characters playing around Volto Nascosto are:
- Ugo Pastore, an honest and loyal young man, skilful in the use of a pistolPistolWhen distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
. After changing several jobs, he adapts himself to an accountant's role at a notary's office; - Enea Pastore, Ugo's father and the owner of the Caput Mundi firm;
- Menelik II (a real historical figure), the King of Ethiopia and Taytu's husband;
- TaytuTaytu Betulthumb|Taytu BetulTaytu Betul was an Empress of the Ethiopian Empire and the wife of Emperor Menelek II.-Biography:...
(a real historical figure), the Queen of Ethiopia and Menelik's wife; - Vittorio De Cesari, Ugo's best friend, a cavalry lieutenant from a noble family, fond of adventure and beautiful women;
- Matilde Sereni, a Roman girl from a wealthy family, the victim of a nervous illness. Ugo is in love with her, but she loves Vittorio (who, however, doesn't return her feelings).
As it is clear from this short description, the series has a strong literary
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
inspiration and deliberately merges elements from different genres, from classic adventure
Adventure (genre)
The adventure genre, in the context of a narrative, is typically applied to works in which the protagonist or other major characters are consistently placed in dangerous situations...
to historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
and nineteenth century feuilleton
Feuilleton
Feuilleton was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle of the latest fashions, and epigrams, charades and other literary trifles...
. This last aspect is particularly evident not only in the choice of the serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
formula, but also in the presence of some typical situations: the love triangle, the sensitive girl with a mysterious past, etc., which directly recall the topoi of the nineteenth century novels and operas.
Another interesting feature about the story is the setting in the late nineteenth century Italy, a not very well known period of Italian history and an unusual choice for a comic-book series.
The issues
Volto Nascosto's adventures are published monthly, in the usual format of Sergio Bonelli's comic-books (paperbacks 16x21 cm (6.3x8.3 in), with 96 pages).The series is made up of the following issues:
| Nr. | Title | Date | Story | Script | Art | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I predoni del deserto ("The desert plunderers") | October 2007 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Goran Parlov | Massimo Rotundo Massimo Rotundo Massimo Rotundo is an Italian comics artist.After attending the Academy of Fine Arts in his native city, Rome, he made his debut as comics artist in 1978 in collaboration with Eura Editoriale. Later he worked for other publications, like L'Eternauta, Comic Art, Orient Express, Heavy Metal and Ècho... |
| 2 | Briganti ("Brigands") | November 2007 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Massimo Rotundo | Massimo Rotundo |
| 3 | Amore e morte ("Love and death") | December 2007 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Alessandro Nespolino | Massimo Rotundo |
| 4 | Amba Alagi ("Amba Alagi Amba Alagi Amba Alagi is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles... ") |
January 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Ersin Burak | Massimo Rotundo |
| 5 | La fortezza ("The fortress") | February 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Leomacs | Massimo Rotundo |
| 6 | Gli eroi di Macallé ("The heroes of Mek'ele Mek'ele Mek'ele , also transliterated as Makale, is a city in northern Ethiopia and the capital of the Tigray Region. It is located some 650 kilometers north of the capital, Addis Ababa, at latitude and longitude with an elevation of 2084 meters above sea level... ") |
March 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Roberto Diso | Massimo Rotundo |
| 7 | Il fantasma ("The ghost") | April 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Giovanni Freghieri | Massimo Rotundo |
| 8 | La strada per Adua ("The road to Adwa Adwa Adwa is a market town in northern Ethiopia, and best known as the community closest to the decisive Battle of Adowa fought in 1896 with Italian troops. Notably, Ethiopian soldiers won the battle, thus being the only African nation to thwart European colonialism... ") |
May 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Alessandro Nespolino | Massimo Rotundo |
| 9 | Pioggia di sangue ("Blood rain") | June 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Giuseppe Matteoni | Massimo Rotundo |
| 10 | Il presidio ("The garrison") | July 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Ersin Burak | Massimo Rotundo |
| 11 | Il prigioniero di Menelik ("The prisoner of Menelik") | August 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Ersin Burak | Massimo Rotundo |
| 12 | La liberazione ("The liberation") | September 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Alessandro Nespolino | Massimo Rotundo |
| 13 | Medaglia d'oro ("Gold medal") | October 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gigi Simeoni | Massimo Rotundo |
| 14 | Dietro la maschera ("Behind the mask") | November 2008 | Gianfranco Manfredi | Gianfranco Manfredi | Massimo Rotundo | Massimo Rotundo |