The first of three collections of the wild and extreme personal work of Italian artist, writer, illustrator and painter Guido Buzzelli will be published by Portland-based Floating World Comics in December.
Buzzelli’s commercial work for British publishers included illustrations for Reveille, published in the 1950s, and strips for British girls comics such as Valentine and Romeo.
Buzzelli Collected Works Volume 1: The Labyrinth is the first English translation of the first of three volumes collecting Guido Buzzelli’s stories, previously published in French and Italian, all three volumes collected in Italian by Coconino Press in 2017.
Described widely as “the Michelangelo of Monsters”, and by author Fabio Donalisio as “a cornerstone of Italian auteur comics”, Guido Buzzelli (27th July 1927 – 25th January 1992), the son of a painter, made his debut in the 1950s, aged just 19, when his first comics were published in the newspaper, Argentovivo.
His work also featured in the Italian magazine, Zorro, and he provided covers for comic magazines published by Fratelli Spada, for publications such as Raff Poigno d’Acciaco, and adventure series such as Flash Gordon and The Phantom.
His comics of the time included Susan Bill, Alex l’eroe dello spazio, Bill dei Marines, Bambola and Dray Tigre.
Later, he moved to Spain and to England in 1954, where it’s believed he illustrated an adaptation of the first volume of the adventures of Angélique, Marquise of the Angels, by Anne Golon for Reveille, launched in the 1000th issue of the title in 1959; and worked on strips for Thriller Picture Library, published by Amalgamated Press, drawing The Three Bravos, Robin Hood and Battler Britton, and also contributed to the DC Thomson title, The New Hotspur, drawing “Lonely Harry – Castaway”.
After his return to Italy and his marriage to Grazia de Stefani, in 1960, he initially devoted himself to painting, returning to comics with a personal project, La rivolta dei racchi (“The Revolt of the Ugly”, 1966), a fantasy history containing a sarcastic metaphor of class struggle, eventually published in France in 1970, in the magazine, Charlie Hebdo.
He continued working for British comics, on titles such as Valentine, in the 1960s, one of those strips, “My Ideal”, written by Jenny Butterworth, featured in David Roach’s excellent girls comics guide, A Very British Affair, published earlier this year.
He soon established himself as one of the most praised comics artists in France and, later, also in Italy, with other stories such as I Labirinti (1970), Zil Zelub (1972), Annalisa e il diavolo (1973), L’intervista (1975), L’Agnone (1977), La guerra videologica (1978), all mixing social themes with fantastic and dream-like atmospheres.
Buzzelli received a prestigious Yellow Kid Award as best illustrator and author at the Lucca Comics convention in 1973, the same year he created the western, Nevada Hill, together with writer Jean-Pierre Gourmelen; followed by the French equivalent, the Crayon d’Or, in 1979.
He then started to work for various European magazines and newspapers, including the French magazines, A Suivre, Metal Hurlant and Pilote.
In 1976, working with writer Gino d’Antonio, he created l’Homme de Bengale (one of the many titles in the series A Man, An Adventure), and in 1981, he contributed to the series Storia della West (known as L’Histoire du Far West en Bandes Dessinées in France, where it was edited by the French educational publishing giant, Larousse).
Buzzelli’s strip, Zasafir, was published in 1985, and he also took over the famous western series published by Bonelli, Tex Willer.
“Many of Buzzelli’s surrealistic strips were created while still drawing the adventures of ‘Sandie’ for Romeo in the UK,” notes David Roach, “which must have felt like quite a burst of freedom by comparison. This collection should be an essential purchase when it comes out in December.”
Translated by Jamie Richards, the first volume of Buzzelli Collected Works includes The Labyrinth (a science fiction story set in a post-apocalyptic world where scientists carry out atrocious experiments), and Zil Zelub (an anagram of Buzzelli’s surname, the surreal adventure of an ordinary man who literally falls apart).
The stories are two of the earliest Italian avant-garde graphic novels ever published, fantastic and grotesque stories that demonstrate why Buzzelli was called “The Goya of Comics”.
One of Europe’s most praised comics auteurs, Floating World Comics say the Buzzelli Collected Works series is the perfect introduction to his masterful skill and subversive art.
Alongside its popular comic shop in Portland, Oregon, Floating World is also an independent publisher, a progression of the company’s role in the comics community. Just as Floating World carries a unique, curated selection of the most interesting comics from around the world, their publications reflect this same comprehensive vision. Starting with tabloid newsprint comics and collaborations with Arthur Magazine, they have published over 60 comics, graphic novels and art monographs.
Their books are distributed to the direct market through Diamond Comic Distributors and to the trade market through Consortium Book Sales.
• Buzzelli Collected Works Volume 1: The Labyrinth, translated by Jamie Richards, is available to pre-order now (AmazonUK Affiliate Link) | ISBN 978-1942801429
• Floating World Comics: floatingworldcomics.com
• Other works by Guido Buzzelli via AmazonUK (in various languages)
• Official website (in French and Italian): buzzelli.chez.com
• Guido Buzzelli art on ComicArtFans
• Guido Buzzelli – Lambiek Profile
• Guido Buzzelli – Wikipedia Entry
• Guida Al Fumetto: Guido Buzzelli (in Italian)
• A Very British Affair: The Best of Classic Romance Comics
With thanks to David Roach for the tip and Steve Holland and Paul Hudson for lads on “Angelique”)
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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.
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