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Italy’s Fumettomania Factory celebrates 60 Years of Doctor Who – and announces other Special Projects devoted to “The Ninth Art”

By John Freeman on November 23, 2023

November is a very busy month for Italian comic organisation Fumettomania Factory APS, which has been promoting and spreading comics, “The Ninth Art” for over 32 years in the Messina hinterland, with its nerve centre in the city of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto – and has announced several new Special Projects.

Doctor Who - The Twelfth Doctor - drawn by Elena Casagrande — *Doctor Who – The Twelfth Doctor – drawn by Elena Casagrande*

The association creative members include many Doctor Who fans, and they’re launching a Special online project in Italian to celebrate the Time Lord’s many adventures on Thursday 23rd November.

The online treat, which will be the focus of the Fumettomania Factory website over the next three months, will include articles, illustrations and insights on the Doctor, the work of by Elena Casagrande, Bryan Talbot, John Freeman, Alessandro Bottero, Damiano Gallinaro, Luigi Iannelli, Fabio Ciaramaglia and many others.

Doctor Who - Terror from the Deep — *Art from Doctor Who – Terror from the Deep, a not-for-profit comic strip by John Freeman and Danny Cushion*

Doctor Who is one of the longest-running television series in the world, its narrative thread consistent even when off air thanks to the Doctor’s ongoing appearances in other media (comics, cartoons, magazines, audiobooks, novels) in the midst of a real narrative “continuity”.

Another Fumettomania initiative concerns the 70th anniversary of James Bond, Ian Fleming’s literary “creature”, with the support of Ian Fleming Publication. Last month, the association inaugurated the initiative with the first three articles of the special “Licence to Kill – 70 Years of James Bond 007!”, which will continue, alternating every week with the special on Doctor Who, with drawings (by David Lloyd, Claudio Stassi and others) and insights from Roberto Leoni, Alessandro Bottero, Stefano Avvisati and others in 2024.

Further in-depth analysis will concern “Dungeons & Dragons“, one of the most famous titles in the field of RPG games, which will turn 50 in 2024. For some months now, Fumettomania has wanted to publish the contributions of expert Fabio Ciaramaglia on the topic, and that plan will reach fruition soon.

Finally, next week, Fumettomania will formalise the launch of its “Drawn Literature” project, in a comprehensive school in Barcellona P.G., which will focus on the graphic novel Paolo Borsellino, written by Marco Sonseri and illustrated by Gian Luca Doretto.

The graphic novel Paolo Borsellino, written by Marco Sonseri and illustrated by Gian Luca Doretto

“The initiative responds to the social and cultural objective that Fumettomania has set itself”, explains Mario Benenati, President of the Association. “Raising awareness of the use of comics is a useful tool for bringing young people closer to the pleasure of reading, mixed with the appreciation of another type of art form, as well as allowing contact with other languages and methods of transmitting knowledge, awareness and values.”

The association is already active in bringing the project to other institutions in the Barcelona area, as well as continuing to work on the cultural offer planned for 2024.

• Head to the Fumettomania Factory APS at fumettomaniafactory.net now for their Special Italian Doctor Who celebration!

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “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.