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The Collected Toppi continues with “Men of the World”

By John Freeman on 3 June 2026 • ( 0 )

US publisher Magnetic Press have just released the twelfth volume in their welcome The Collected Toppi series, Men of the World.

A self-taught artist, Sergio Toppi (11th October 1932 – 21st August 2012) was an Italian illustrator and comics creator, widely considered one of the world’s greatest visionaries in the art of sequential storytelling. His evocative, detail-oriented pen-and-ink style tore down the boundaries of what before him was considered or accepted to be “comics, and has influenced generations of contemporary masters who sing his praises, including Frank Miller, Walt Simonson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Denys Cowan, Ashley Wood, and many, many more.

The Collected Toppi: Volume 12: Men Of The World

This latest volume offers three stories from the infamous “One Man, One Adventure” series, published by Bonelli in 1976, each focusing on a notable central character with a unique and fascinating past embroiled on an adventure during notable periods of history.

This volume includes the never-before translated “The Man from the Nile,” “The Man from Mexico,” and “The Man from the Swamp,” all told with Toppi’s groundbreaking and inimitable style.

Ordering these collections from Magnetic Press in the US is, unfortunately, pretty prohibitive given international postage costs, but some British comic shops stock the latest releases in the series, including Forbidden Planet (Affiliate Link), and the entire series so far is available digitally through Amazon (Affiliate Link).

Sergio Toppi was born in Milan, Italy, on October 11, 1932. As a self-taught artist, he began his career as an illustration working for the renowned Italian publisher UTET on numerous notable advertising campaigns. Adapting his style to fit the needs of each commission, he excelled at capturing documentary accuracy as well as caricatural cartooning. His first sequential work was featured in Il Corriere dei Piccoli (“The Children’s Gazette”), featuring the character Il Mago Zurli (“The Zurli Wizard”).

In the decades that followed, his subsequent work evolved in artistry, garnering numerous accolades throughout the European industry. He primarily focused on short, self-contained stories for various French and Italian publications, including the experimental monthly Alter Alter, the adventure magazine Orient Express, and well-known comics magazines such as Linus, Corto Maltese, and Un uomo un’avventura in Italy and l’Histoire de France en bandes dessinées and La Découverte du Monde published by Larrousse in France.

Collected exclusively in Europe by the French publisher Editions Mosquito, his body of work has been recognised as a masterful example of illustration and sequential storytelling that has influenced many of the biggest names in the industry worldwide.

His art has been displayed in the “Masters of the European Comic Book” exhibit at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and in the Museum of Comic Art in Angoulême.

Toppi passed away on 21st August 2012 in the city of his birth.

• Check out The Complete Toppi on the Magnetic Press website (see note above regarding international postage, which is beyond their control!)

• Order The Collected Toppi Volume 12: Men of the World from Forbidden Planet (Affiliate Link)

• The Collected Toppi is also available digitally through Amazon (Affiliate Link)

With thanks to Mal Earl

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.