The Multimedia Archive of the Image opens in Cagliari

Great news for comics and animation fans: on May 12th in Cagliari the Multimedia Archive of Image (Archivio Multimediale dell’Immaginario, AMI) was presented to the press. Produced by the fervent activity of International Comic Center (Centro Internazionale del Fumetto, CIF), the AMI archive gathers an incredible amount of multimedia material, most of which is related to the comic world: magazines, series, comic books, graphic novels and essays on the history and characteristics of the visual medium. 

A room in the AMI archive
(source: falzarego35.eu)

You can find complete collections of Corriere dei Piccoli of 1940 and from 1960 to 1972, the first editions of the Supereroi issues by Editoriale Corno, the anastatic reprints, that is accurate reproductions of the original copies, of magazine Linus from 1965 to 1980 and the complete collections of anthological magazines Totem, Comic Art, Pilot and Eureka. It also features a section of international comics from all over the world, such as China, Russia, Brazil, Argentina and many others. Regarding animation, there are essays and movies on DVD, together with documentation on television, multimedia material and literary essays. The heritage of secondary material isn’t lacking: stickers, playing cards, tarots, illustrated and satirical magazines from mid 19th century to the 1960s such as Illustrazione Italiana, Illustrazione Popolare, Lo spirito Folletto, Il Giornalino della Domenica and photo story books such as Avventuroso Film.

This archive is inside the International Comic Center, in the library hub Polo Bibliotecario Falzarego 35 with other five socio-cultural realities: the Center for Documentation and Women Studies, the LGBT and Queer Media Library, the Documentation Center for performing arts Marco Parodi, the Performing Arts and Crafts Library and the Center of multimedia documentation fo the humid areas. The library hub headquarters are in Via Falzarego 35 in Cagliari, which for fifty years (from the early 1950s to the early 2000s) hosted one of the city’s most important primary schools, Edmondo De Amicis school. From 2018 it hosts the International Comic Center, adding other cultural activities through the years. 

In the presentation of the AMI archive, attended by Cagliari’s Councilor for Culture Maria Dolores Picciau and Pasquale Mascia, coordinator of the Office for the Historical Archive and Libraries and of the Municipal Library System, writer and director Bepi Vigna explained:

“Our International Comic Center collects material and traces of the popular narrative production that fostered our imagination. Basically, we propose a new way to approach history involving everyone. Because we are what we dreamed, we are the books we read, the films we watched, the music we listened to. We are the games we played as children… We are our memories. Through comics and books, in the pages of illustrated magazines, in films and tv series, in songs we loved, we can find what can help us understand ourselves better and estimate the world changes we went through and understand its value system.”

Presentation of the AMI archive with Pasquale Mascia, Maria Dolores Picciau and Bepi Vigna
(source: falzarego35.eu)

Bepi Vigna, director of the International Comic Center, was born in Baunei (Ogliastra, Sardinia) in 1957. He worked for many years as a lawyer until the founding in Cagliari of the group Bande Dessinée with Antonio Serra and Michele Medda. The three wrote comic scripts for Sergio Bonelli Editore, and in 1989 they proposed to the editor Nathan Never, SBE’s first sci-fi series, which debuted in 1991 and is currently quite popular in Italy and in many other countries. In 1995 one of the series’ secondary characters became the protagonist of her own spin-off, Legs Weaver, published from 1995 to 2005. In 1990 he published with the newspaper L’Unione Sarda the book Luoghi ed esseri fantastici della Sardegna, written with Giampiera Caprolu on the legendary creatures of Sardinia. In 1993 Vigna founded in Cagliari the region’s first school of comics, which now is part of CIF. He is also the author of essays on comics, cinema and popular traditions, short stories and novels. In 2006 he started directing the Sardinian magazine of comic and illustration Backgroiùund and the cinema magazine Teorema. He directed several short films and documentaries, such as Imago Sardiniae, a documentary in three parts about the history of Sardinian comics in the 20th century. 

Part of the archive is dedicated to Sardinian comics: the cataloging of material recently started and for each author a personal box is prepared. The curator of the census of documents Elisabetta Randaccio states:

“In the boxes where the works of Sardinian artists are cataloged you can find great surprises: not just publications, newspaper articles, but also painting works, original scripts for comics and graphic novels in an extraordinary overview of Sardinian creativity in comics. Cataloging through boxes and cards facilitates very much consultation and study of the materials.”

The archive’s material comes from relations with national and international institutions such as the Institut National des Beaux-Arts and the Forum International de la Bande Dessinée de Tétouan (Morocco) and the literary festival Semana Negra de Gijón (Spain) among many others. Furthermore, great contributions come from donations of private collectors, such as former professor, author and musician Fulvio Caporale, honorary associate of the Center: among this material are an illustrated French newspaper from 1789 and a book of Roman Smorfia from 1810 with late 18th Century engravings. This archive will be an incredible resource for aficionados and students for their personal research and essays, a testament of Italian popular culture. 

You can visit the Multimedia Archive of Image by prior appointment by writing to the email address centrointernazionalefumetto@gmail.com.

Thermal baths and time travel: Thermae Romae by Mari Yamazaki

Cover of Thermae Romae
vol. 4 with Lucius' bust

Sometimes elements that don’t seem to have anything in common can reveal themselves as a surprising combination: this is the case of the funny story of Thermae Romae, a manga written and drawn by Mari Yamazaki. The comic was published by the magazine Comic Beam in 2008 and later in six tankobon volumes; the volumes were published in Italian by Star Comics in 2011, in English by Yen Press in 2012 and in Spanish by Norma Editorial in 2013. The story follows the Roman engineer Lucius Modestus, who designs and builds thermal baths in ancient Rome. In a moment of relaxation at the baths, Lucio is dragged to the bottom of the pool and mysteriously transported in a thermal spring in modern Japan. The engineer doesn’t understand he traveled through time, but rather he thinks he is in a colony of the Empire, in one of the thermal baths for the “flat-faced people”, while the locals think he is a foreign tourist. A man kindly offers him a bottle of fruit-flavored milk, and in one of the most memorable scenes of the series Lucius is surprised by the beverage’s delicious taste.

Lucius emerges for the first time
in a Japanese thermal bath

Completely amazed and fascinated by this odd colony’s technology, once he returns as mysteriously as he arrived, Lucius tries to reproduce the innovations he saw. Very soon Romans appreciate Lucius' innovative genius, who keeps accidentally traveling through time every time he has difficulties with an important job. Lucius is happy to contribute to the improvement of Roman people and the Empire’s wellbeing, but being effectively modest, as his last name says, he feels a bit of an impostor because he was inspired by the mysterious colony he keeps visiting. Modest, anxious, dedicated to work and altruistic, Lucius is a protagonist the reader can sympathize with and even root for. Most of the series’ humor lies in Lucius’ reactions to the modern world and his attempts to interact with people without understanding a single word of Japanese. Furthermore, Lucius develops a feeling of great admiration towards Japanese people, to the point of having occasional little crises in his Roman pride.

The author Mari Yamazaki

The red thread connecting Roman and Japanese culture is the importance and value of relaxing in a hot tub, whether in company or alone. The concept of public baths in which you rest after the daily efforts quietly without disturbing the peace of the neighbors is as much part of the Roman thermal culture as the Japanese. Lucio’s appreciation for the Japanese baths (called onsen) and his ability to recreate some of their tools with the Roman technology of the second century b.C. are a love letter from the author to both cultures. In fact, Mari Yamazaki studied and lived in Italy for several years, and she wanted to bring together her knowledge of the Greek/Roman world with her experience in the Japanese thermal baths: the result is a funny and very informative series because it’s historically accurate too. In each volume there are in-depth articles by the author on a particular element present in the story, such as, for instance, the tools used in the Roman thermal baths. Thermae Romae is the first series of a trilogy on the link between the Greek/Roman world and modern Japan: the other two are Plinius (2013, with a more academic approach on the scholar and naturalist Gaio Plinio and emperor Nero) and Olympia Kyklos (2018, featuring amphorae painter Demetrios who arrives in the olympic Tokyo of 1964).

Poster of Thermae Romae
by Netflix

Thermae Romae has two live-action films and two animated adaptations: Thermae Romae I (2012) and II (2014) directed by Hideki Takeuchi; six episodes realized by Dream Link Entertainment in collaboration with studio Gonzo in 2012, which were not distributed outside of Japan; and the new 2022 series Thermae Romae Novae in collaboration with Netflix, distributed world wide. The current animated series has a higher budget and is very appreciated by the audience, thanks to its good animation, quite beautiful scenery and a fantastic soundtrack. Furthermore, each episode is accompanied by a segment in which Mari Yamazaki visits thermal baths and you learn something about the thermal activity. Both the comic and the 2022 animated series are ideal for a moment of levity and fun learning. Maybe you could read it after a warm bath!

The traditional Carnival in Sardinia: Sa Sartiglia

The week of carnival (carnevale) is really popular in Italy thanks to the playful and colorful holiday with the masks, but in Sardinia there is a second level of traditional celebrations: on Sunday and Mardi Gras Oristano is the center of Sardinia with the event of Sa Sartiglia.

This equestrian event has quite ancient origins dating back to the medieval period of the Judicate of Arborea in the XIII and XIV century. The games originate from the cavalry’s military exercises turned into shows organized by rulers, feudal lords and gremi (guilds of artisans) for the people. The most ancient documents on Sartiglia talk about the city of Oristano from the Spanish age, as you can read on the event’s official page: 

“Oldest documents related to the Sartiglia refer to the town of Oristano during the Spanish age. At present, we do not know if the tilt at the ring was organized by the municipal authority, on the occasion of special festivities, nor do we know what was the historical moment when the Guilds started to take care of its organization. The most ancient tradition, handed down orally by the inhabitants of Oristano and, in particular, by the participants to the event – either old Guild members or elderly horsemen – has it that, since its origins, the Sartiglia has never been interrupted; that, every year, regardless of weather conditions, in war or peace, the Sartiglia has been run and ‘Su Componidori’ has been leading the ritual ceremonies of the joust.”

Su Componidori
of the Farmers Guild
(source: sartiglia.info)

Sartiglia’s two equestrian events are the star joust (corsa alla stella) and the knights pariglia: in the first one, su Componidori (knight chosen by the Guild of Farmers and the Guild of Carpenters, one knight for each guild) tries to catch the star with his sword during the horse ride. A high number of centered stars represents a year of good harvest and prosperity. The Componidori can also allow some knights to try the joust, according to his own judgment of their skills. In the second part, the knights perform in groups called pariglie, carrying out stunts standing on the horses during the race.

The traditional course begins one month before the event, with the ceremony of candelora: on the 2nd of February the guilds and brotherhoods associates attend the Eucharistic service, where candles are blessed. Then, guild members give a blessed candle to the institution associates, the families of deceased members and sick confreres, as a sign of communion and solidarity between members and sympathizers of the association. Finally, the highest authorities of the guilds, s’Oberaiu Majore of the Farmers Guild and the Majorale en cabo of the Carpenters Guild, choose their own Componidori. The knights’ official appointment takes place with the delivery of a large blessed candle.

On Sunday and Tuesday celebrations start with the announcement, that is an horse riding herald who informs the community about the will of the civic authority, the starting time of the joust and the prizes reserved to the winning knights; he also states that the knights follow the rule and orders of “Su Mastru Componidori”. The herald goes through the roads of the old town, the closest suburbs and the main crossroads to read the notice. 

Later, su Componidori follows the path from the home of the guild president to the site of the dressing ceremony. The knight sits on “sa mesitta”, the table on which the ritual takes place. The “massaieddas”, a group of girls dressed in Oristano’s traditional outfits, bring in baskets the clothes of su Componidori. Under the supervision of “sa Massaia Manna”, the massaieddas help the knight wearing the old garments. Su Componidori’s clothes include specific garments and colors for their own guild. The ribbons that hold the white blouse of su Componidori for the Farmers Guild are red, while those of su Componidori of the Carpenters Guild are pink and light blue. 

In addition, the mask of the Farmers’ Componidori is earthly-colored and the Carpenters’ Componidori wears the pale mask. Before placing the mask, the knight raises a well-wishing toast with the associates and a last salutation. Each action in this ceremony is sacred, the placement of the mask in particular is the crucial moment: from this moment, the knight disappears and makes way for the almost divine figure of su Componidori.

Dressing of su Componidori of the Guild of Farmers (2012)

His horse is taken to sa mesitta because since the dressing until the end of the event and the undressing su Componidori cannot touch the ground. Once on the horse, su Componidori takes sa Pippa ‘e Maiu, the double rod of periwinkles and violets which symbolize the incoming spring, and blesses all those present. Then, accompanied by his companions and the other knights, he blesses the audience up to the Cathedral square to start the star joust.

On the site of the race in via del Duomo, su Componidori crosses swords three times with his second-in-command to officially start the joust. Su Componidori, as chief of the race, attempts first to take the star at full gallop, then his helpers try as well. Following up, only the knights chosen by su Componidori can take the sword and try the race. Those who manage to hit the target get the congratulations and applause of the audience and a small silver star as a prize. If the same knights manage to hit the mark on the second day as well, they receive a small golden star. Once the knights are finished, su Componidori gives back the sword to the guild’s authorities and receives su stoccu, a wooden spear. Only he and his pariglia companions can try again to catch the star with su stoccu.

Star joust of Guild of Carpenters (2020)

Later su Componidori returns to the Cathedral square to give back the spear and get sa Pippa e’ Maiu. The chief of the race blesses the people heading towards Piazza Manno, the starting point of the star joust. Here su Componidori performs “sa Remada”: racing at gallop through the path, laying on his back on the horse saluting and blessing everyone. After this valiant action the star joust ends and the show of the pariglie stunts begins.

The knights, announced by drums and trumpets, enter the small tunnel leading into via Mazzini, called “su Brocci”. Here the pariglie begin their daring acrobatics, the result of months of preparation and demonstration of their abilities. The pariglia of su Componidori starts first: the chief of the race cannot risk to fall on the ground, therefore his companions ride to the sides and he puts his hands on his knights’ shoulders. Later all the pariglie show incredible stunts, creating a unique spectacle. Here we can see an example of pariglie rides from the past years:

The last ride of the journey is once again by su Componidori and his pariglia. It ends with the chief of the race performing another Remada, this time accompanied by his companions who take the reins while he blesses the audience among the applause of the other knights. The conclusion of the event comes around sunset, when the parade of knights, together with guild, trumpeters and drummers, reaches the site of the guild where the dressing took place. Su Componidori reaches the “mesitta”, leaves his horse to a squire and so commences the undressing ceremony. Once removed the top hat and the veil, the drum roll accompanies the removal of the mask: su Componidori goes back to being a knight. All those present greet and congratulate him during the party that goes on for the whole night.

Pariglia of Carpenters Guild,
2017 (source: sartiglia.info)

The Sartiglia is a very important event appreciated in the whole region, and for this it is usually broadcasted by the regional stations. Due to the health situation of the last few years, the 2021 edition didn’t take place for the first time in its multi centenarian history. Although, the dressing ceremony of su Componidori of Carpenters Guild and his blessing to the city occurred all the same in a minimized private form, according to the health guidelines. Additionally, instead of the live broadcasting of the event, the regional stations EjaTv and SuperTv aired a tv marathon with documentaries, insights, the 2020 Sartiglia with Italian and Sardinian commentary, and much more. Part of these programs can currently be watched on the YouTube channel Sartiglia Magazine.

This year’s edition takes place on Sunday 27th of February and Tuesday 1st of March. This edition will feature: the dressing ceremony with limited audience, the parade, the crossing of swords under the star in Piazza Duomo, and the final blessing of su Componidori. Like last year, the tv program “Oggi è Sartiglia'' follows the phases of the event and it can be watched on the channel 79 of DTT RTS Radio Televisione Sardegna, on the tv station Videolina and online on SuperTv’s website, on the YouTube channels Sartiglia Magazine, EjaTv, Sardegna Eventi 24 and the social network accounts of Fondazione Oristano. Many other collateral events take place in different areas of the city such as exhibitions and creative workshops related to the equestrian tradition.

Despite the difficult situation, it’s been possible to keep the tradition of sa Sartiglia in its most symbolic parts such as the dressing and the blessing. This year a bit more could be done, and we can hope that soon we can restore the rest of the event, one step at a time.

Undressing of su Componidori of Carpenters Guild in 2017 (source: sartiglia.info)

Popai: Popeye speaks Sardinian!

Recently, while looking for something to watch on tv at night, I found a peculiar show: one of the shorts of Popeye the sailor dubbed in Sardinian! It seems incredible but it’s true, in fact it’s a project of publisher NOR of Ghilarza founded by the contribution of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. The episodes go on the air every Wednesday at 9:30 PM and every Friday at 9:00 PM on Telesardegna, regional Sardinian channel that can be found at number 13 of DTT (digital terrestrial television). 

Each episode presents the dubbed short film, accompanied by a commentary section about the history of the character and his comic strip of origin. For instance, the episode of Wednesday December 1st presents the 1938 short film Goonland, and the commentary by Antoni Ignàtziu Garau analyzes the racism and representation of foreign populations in the 1930s in America, offering the context needed to watch the short films of this era with a critical eye and the awareness that these are products of the society of their time.

Antoni Ignàtziu Garau in the documentary part of the episodes

Popeye the sailor, created by Elzie Crisler Segar, debuted in 1929 in the comic strip Thimble Theatre, which later was renamed after the protagonist. The character was present in daily strips and Sunday pages, soon getting quite popular: in 1933 Fleischer Studios (which we already talked about regarding the rotoscope technique) produced a series of animated theatrical short films called Popeye the Sailor. In 1941 distributor Paramount took control of the studio, changing the name to Famous Studio, continuing the production without the Fleischer brothers. The short films were still being produced until 1956, accounting for a total of 231 short films that were later broadcasted on television for decades.

Popeye's very first appearance in Thimble Theatre (1929)
(source: popeye.com)

The series narrates the adventures of Popeye the sailor, who faces the villain (usually the bully Bluto) to help his beloved Olivia Oyl. The most memorable elements are the funny fight scenes that follow the logic of slapstick physics (we talked about it in the past regarding Pink Rabbit), Popeye’s music theme and the use of spinach that gives the sailor a mighty physical strength. The creativity of the gags’ visual representation and the fun personality of Popeye assured the series’ success. Later on King Features Syndicate produced an animated series for television in 1960, while Hanna Barbera (still on behalf of King Features Syndicate) produced The All New Popeye Hour from 1978 to 1983 and Popeye and Son in 1987.

The program’s filming, directing, post-production are by Gabriele Cossu and Nicoal Porru, with opening sequence by Kevin Lai and Bruno Olivieri, music by Emanuele Garau and Piero Collu, and finally the production manager is Francesco Cheratzu. We already know Bruno olivieri and Francesco Cheratzu for their participation in Sardegna Film Commission’s project of animated short films in Sardinian language, respectively as storyboard artist and writer of the short film “28 abrile 1794: sa die de sa Sardinia”, of which we already have a trailer.

NOR, a digital publisher since 2010 founded by Francesco Cheratzu, publishes in ebook and physical format novels, essays and studies dedicated to Sardinia in several languages other than Italian, such as French and Spanish. Its series Le Grazie gathers the works of Nobel Prize Sardinian writer Grazia Deledda in its original language and in several high level translations.

The publisher collaborated with association Tramudadas from the town of Pabillonis for the dubbing of 22 Popeye short films, here you can consult the list of all the material used in the episodes. The voice actors are: Maurizio Foddi (Popeye and Pappy); Eleonora Chinghine and Veronica Obinu (Olivia); Piero Obinu (Bluto); Sebastian Foddi (Swee’ Pea). 

This is a surprising and very welcomed initiative that promotes the learning of the Sardinian language and the appreciation for one of the most known animated characters and his history. Projects of this kind deserve to be supported and encouraged, and I hope to see more of them in the future.

Holiday desserts: brief history of pandoro

Christmas time is approaching, and shops are full of food products for our tables on the occasion of the holidays. The two most typical desserts in Italy are panettone and pandoro: the former has a cylinder shape that ends in a dome, with soft and airy dough with candied fruit and raisins, covered by sugar and almonds; the latter has a truncated pyramid shape with an eight pointed star base, a soft brioche-like dough, decorated with powdered sugar. Both have interesting origins, and today we’ll talk in particular about the history of pandoro.

Veronese pandoro

This dessert has far origins in ancient times: a Roman document from the first century A.D. mentioned cook Vergilius Stephanus Senex who prepared a panis with flour, butter and oil. However, the recipe of modern pandoro is much closer to nadalìn, a Veronese cake invented in the XIII century for the Christmas holidays after the investiture of nobles Della Scala as Lords of Verona and to celebrate the city’s greatness. Nadalìn has less butter than pandoro but it shares with it the star shape, even though it’s shorter, being a less leavened cake. Nadalìn, together with other Veronese traditional dishes, was granted the Denominazione Comunale di Origine (De.Co.) in 2012, which attests the product’s typicality in relation to the municipality of origin. This denomination is a way to tie forever the product to its origin, certified and recognized by the municipality.

Veronese nadalìn
(source: verona.net)

The pandoro as we know it today is an invention patented on 14 October 1894 by Veronese pastry chef Domenico Melegatti, known for his creativity in cooking. A few months prior, on 21 and 22 March, an announcement in the newspaper L’Arena already presented the new product with the temporary name of Pan d’oro. Since the moment of the patent, the product’s official name is pandoro.

Star shaped mold
(source: melegatti.it)

Mister Melegatti also created the star shaped molds that give the cake its famous silhouette. The success of pandoro increased the size of Melegatti’s activity, originating the company with the same name. During the company’s rise, several new products accompanied pandoro on the market such as colomba, an Easter cake. Today Melegatti produces pandoro, panettone and colomba for the holidays and cakes, biscuits and croissants all year long.

1960s advertisement
(source: melegatti.it)

Soon pandoro was imitated by many pastry chefs and companies through the years, with similar recipes to the original, occasionally with particular variations. While the original recipe, which includes flour, sugar, eggs, butter, cocoa butter and yeast, doesn’t present any kind of filling, the modern variants can contain pastry cream or chocolate cream.

Pandoro Melegatti is presented in a sky blue pyramid shaped cardboard box with a square base and golden details, introduced and patented in 1959. Since then most other types of pandoro are presented as well in a box or occasionally in a plastic bag. 

Now pandoro is a typical national dessert and Veronese people keep nadalìn as a more traditional and local dessert, with an ancient history that ties it to the territory.

Misseri Studio: champion of Italian stop-motion animation

A while ago, discussing one of Sardegna Film Commission’s short films, we talked about the Italian animation studio Misseri Studio, mainly known for its stop-motion productions. Today I’ll try to make an excursus starting from its origins in the late 50s up to its current projects.

Susanna doll
(source: mondocarosello)

Before Misseri Studio, in 1957 Francesco Misseri founded Studio K, which worked on many commercial productions for the advertising interstitial show Carosello, creating several characters, among which Susanna Tuttapanna, Olivella e Mariarosa, Dolce cara mammina. Studio K produced animations for Carosello from 1961 to 1976. Together with Renzo Tarchi, Pier Francesco Tamburini and Marino Marchi he initially approached animation because working on live-action filming in Florence wasn’t as practical as it was in Rome or Milan, and cartoons were an alternative that soon won over the audience.

Susanna Tuttapanna is one of the most memorable characters of this era: a cute girl animated in 2D in order to promote the Invernizzi dairy products . Susanna was so popular that there were toys and memorabilia in her image, and to this day she keeps being appreciated by fans of vintage icons. 

Susanna socks
(source: mondocarosello)

Regarding stop-motion animation, Studio K in 1968 started creating animations with actual objects in Florence for Fernet Branca. Later they made a single series of animations with clay in order to give their former employees Rodolfo Marcenaro and Paolo Villani the time to organize in order to produce on their own in Milan in the Tipofilm studio. Approximately half of the animations were animator Fusako Yusaki’s work, the other half was made by sculptor and animator Massimilano Squillace. 

Before founding Misseri Studio in 1974, Francesco Misseri worked on the series Mio Mao in studio PMBB of which he was a founding member. Protagonists of the series are two curious cats that discover different creatures in each episode. With the clay stop-motion animation technique (claymation), 26 episodes of 5 minutes each were produced. One of the most memorable characteristics of the series is the use of sounds and onomatopoeias in the place of verbal dialogue: this makes the series comprehensible beyond language barriers. Furthermore, the lack of dialogue amplifies the expressiveness of the characters. Piero Barbetti took care of the composition of the musical theme for the kittens’ adventures. Later on, after getting back the distribution rights in 2000 and remastering the first season, Misseri Studio produced in collaboration with British broadcaster Channel Five two new seasons of 26 episodes each between 2005 and 2007 in the same Florence studios where the first one was created.

Mio Mao wasn’t the only series with these characteristics: Quaqquao was animated with folded paper sheets like in the art of origami; A.E.I.O.U. animated sand accompanied by orchestral music; The Red and the Blue used clay; and finally it was possible to animate Pozzie with water drops! They all have in common the use of music as an essential part of the narration, combined with their non verbal language and the colorful and imaginative scenes.

Almost all of them were productions by the studio, but Pozzie is a special case: a co-production with the Japanese tv broadcaster NHK, a unique experiment. Thanks to an innovative technique, the animators managed to give form to water droplets moving and shaping them, as if they were clay, on a glass sheet. The use of coloring allows as well to create interesting forms with which the protagonist interacts. Pozzie is a living water droplet, curious and happy like a child, who discovers and plays with water objects, often changing shape. The series had 13 episodes of one minute and a half each.

Another important collaboration of Misseri Studio was with Sesame Workshop: they produced many animated segments for the series Sesame Street, mainly using clay and occasionally paper and sand. Its main production was the series Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures, segments of Sesame Street in which Bert and Ernie use their imagination to visit peculiar places and live adventures. The series, produced between 2008 and 2017 with clay stop-motion animation (claymation), is presented to the international market as two seasons of 26 episodes each of 5 minutes, separated from the Sesame Street episodes of origin.

Misseri Studio’s experiments don’t end here: in 2013 the animated series Mofy aired, based on characters from Japanese author Aki Kondo’s illustrated books. The adventures of the little bunny Mofy and her soft friends are animated by manipulating cotton with an innovative technique. The series is a co-production between Misseri Studio, Sony Creative Products, Rai Fiction and ZDF, involving Italy, Japan and Germany. The three seasons account for a total of 78 episodes of 5 minutes each, and have the goal to help the emotional and relational growth of children, who can identify with Mofy.

Promotional image for Paper Mask
(source: misseristudio.com)

Finally, Misseri Studio animators are working in collaboration with Chinese company UYoung for the Paper Mask project: a pioneering animation that uses paper folding in a dynamic way, all animated manually in stop-motion without any digital compromise. The protagonist is a brave cat that travels through a paper world in ruins in order to find a dog that could save its future. So far we have a trailer for the project on the studio’s website, with an incredible demonstration of the animators’ skills!

Through the decades Misseri Studio kept experimenting, always looking for the answer to the question “Could I animate with this element?” and reaching new goals every time. What an admirable studio, it made the history of Italian animation and it keeps bringing its art into the world!

New trailer for the Diabolik film - Who is the "King of terror"?

Recently a new trailer was released in Italy for a film much awaited by the fans of comics and crime books and by the general audience: Diabolik, directed by Manetti Bros. and starring Luca Marinelli and Miriam Leone. Diabolik was and still is a very important part of the history of Italian comics, due to its genre, characteristics and the historical context of its debut years. Created in the early 60s by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani, Diabolik is a very capable thief, incredibly smart and master of disguise, expert in combat as well. Following the trend of spy films (such as the James Bond ones), the thief uses quite advanced devices and machines, some of which soon became recurring elements, such as plastic masks, daggers and pentothal, a powerful truth serum used very often by the King of terror. The thief is accompanied by his inseparable partner and love of his life Eva Kant, a woman just as capable and intelligent as him. Together they steal countless valuable items, always avoiding getting arrested by inspector Ginko.

Diabolik’s official website describes him as follows:

“Protagonist of the series, professional thief. He mainly steals the finest jewellery or huge amounts of money and doesn’t hesitate to kill those who get in the way of his plans. Despite carrying on a definitely illegal activity, he has healthy and deep ethical principles, albeit very personal (honor, protection of the weak, sense of friendship and gratitude, respect of noble souls), and thus he hates mobsters, drug traffickers, usurers and abusers. Surely Diabolik has a name and surname, but no one, not even him, knows it.”

Cover of Diabolik n.1 (1962)

Diabolik developed his moral principles after the first issues, in the story thanks to Eva Kant’s positive influence and narratively in order to give the protagonist's personality a multifaceted character. Angela Giussani created Diabolik in 1962, after a few attempts to launch a captivating character for her newborn publishing house Astorina, founded with the liquidation of her past job in her husband Gino Sansoni’s publishing firm. It debuted in the newsstands on November 192 with the story Il re del terrore (The king of terror) and the daring subtitle “il fumetto del brivido” (the spine-chilling comic), that would be later changed into “il giallo a fumetti” (the mystery comic).

A revolutionary and successful series from several points of view: the first series among Italian comics of the noir genre; created by a woman, director of her own publishing firm in collaboration with her sister; a customized size known as “formato Astorina”, designed to let travelers read captivating action mystery stories during their journeys; finally, one of the series the fought against the difficulties related to censorship and popular opinion. In the time period of the economic boom of the 60s, the noir genre was very popular in Italy because readers looked for protagonists that differ from society’s patterns with an ingenious and strong temperament. This type of story allowed the reader to explore in a safe and healthy way dangerous situations that they would normally avoid in real life, similarly to the experience of reading horror stories.

Diabolik and Eva (source: diabolik.it)

Also, before the debut of noir comics there wasn’t any comic aimed at an adult audience in Italy, mainly due to the stigma that comics are a genre for kids and they have to be “appropriate”. The truth is that comics are not a genre, they are an artistic medium that can tell infinite stories of any genre for any age! The attempts at censoring noir comics amplified even more the readers’ interest, making Diabolik one of the most successful Italian comics of the contemporary era in Italy and Europe.

Diabolik had its first film adaptation en 1968 with Danger: Diabolik, directed by Mario Bava, more known as one of the masters of Italian horror movies. The film is considered a blend of pop art, optical art, psychedelia and futurism. You can see a trailer for the film here at your own discretion:

Furthermore, in 1999 Diabolik got an animated series as well dedicated to his adventures, produced by Saban International (part of the Saban group, mainly known for adaptations of Japanese series of the tokusatsu genre such as the Power Rangers franchise, based on the Super Sentai series), French M6, American Fox Television and Italian Mediaset. The series, titled Diabolik: track of the Panther, consists of 40 episodes of 24 minutes, and it doesn’t exactly follow the stories and tone of the comic because some details were changed in order to adapt it to a wider and younger audience. Among the more evident changes: Diabolik and Eva are younger, they steal only from villains and Diabolik never kills anyone. However, the mystery and ingenious tricks were kept intact.

Italian opening theme and credits for Diabolik's animated series

Finally, the Manetti Bros. film, which will debut on December 16th 2021, is mainly based on the third issue of the series, L’arresto di Diabolik, in which the thief meets Eva Kant for the first time. Two sequel films have been recently announced, showing the intention to tell a trilogy about the King of Terror.

Before online forums and websites in Italy: Japan Magazine

During the boom of popularity of anime in Italy during the 80s-90s the average fan was very interested in discovering more about their favorite series, more aware of the differences between the censored dub and the original version, and as well wanted to meet other fans. However, in that era the forums and websites as we know them today didn’t exist yet. So, what did yesterday’s fans have?

Japan Magazine cover from 1991
(source: Guida al Fumetto Italiano)

In 1991 in the newsstands debuted Japan Magazine, a periodical dedicated to the current anime series. A versatile magazine, that through more than a decade changes many times covers, title and especially size. Japan Magazine’s inconsistent size was probably due to the change of publishers and the fact that technically it was a publication with pirated content, because it wasn’t authorized by the owners of the series, but this last part is speculation that was never officially confirmed. Correct or not, the rumors about the “pirate magazine” amplified its fame: Japan Magazine was the reference point for the newborn Italian otaku culture.

Its contents included articles about series on air and sneak peeks of what was about to come, interviews to the voice actors and comic artists, posters and spaces dedicated to the readers’ content. In fact, the readers could send their drawings and fanfiction to the magazine’s editorial staff! Furthermore, the staff replied to reader’s questions in La posta del Drago (Dragon Mail) and you could propose ads for selling, buying or exchanging in the column Fiera del Bambù (Bamboo Fair), where occasionally the ads were something along the lines of “I’m looking for friends to talk about manga and anime, you can write me at this mail address”. In the last period of its publishing history the Dragon Mail was accompanied by Matilda’s Mail: the first was about questions and daily general themes, the latter was dedicated to questions about the anime world and Japanese culture.

JM cover from 1993 featuring
unexplicably Dylan Dog
(source: Guida al Fumetto Italiano)

This all seems legit, right? Where is the pirated content then? In the early years of Japan Magazine, the periodical used to feature chapters of anime comics, that is a comic version of an episode created using frames from the animated series. Normally anime comics can be quality work, when they are made by a team that understands the visual language of comics. The point is that JM’s anime comics used to take already existing adaptations and modify them, sometimes cutting scenes and simplifying dialogues. We can see an example of this thanks to MikiMoz’s article, that presents us a Sailor Moon anime comic and the differences with the correctly translated version made by Marvel/Panini years prior. His article about the magazine is also quite interesting! During the third publishing phase of JM the anime comics were reduced and when they appeared it was a few pages put together by the editorial staff with frames of lower quality, they personally remind me of VHS recordings.

Page from the Beyblade anime comic
(2005, personal collection)

What’s more, in the early years a few issues had an annex of some VHS of movies or OVA (Original Video Animation) anime, and these were undoubtedly pirated, to the point of open conflict between publisher EDEN and authorized distributors such as Yamato.

This peculiar magazine, that sometimes can be considered similar to a fanzine, had three series through its publishing history:

• Series I (1991-1992) 10 issues
• Series II (1992-1995) 28 issues
• Series III (1998-2005) 66 issues

For this, although it’s not easy to identify the release date of each issue, it’s possible to estimate the year of publishing.

JM cover from the late 90s
(source: Guida al Fumetto Italiano)

During my childhood in the 2000s I used to buy Japan Magazine when I had the chance of finding it at the newsstand. I remember seeing different sizes, one time it was a small book, another time it was as big as printer paper! The number of pages changed as well and occasionally the title, and I used to wonder why it was like that. I own several issues titled JM Japan Magazine, and a few titles JM Cartoons, sized like a little book. Thanks to the archive site guidafumettoitaliano.com I could finally understand the bizarre journey of the magazine and it’s special editions, such as JM Cartoons. One of the articles that particularly impressed me was about drawing tools and it mentioned Pantone markers with many images as well.

JM cover from 2005
(personal collection)

In the end this was JM’s strength: in a time period where the internet didn’t exist or it wasn’t as accessible as it was today, images and information (although sometimes partially incorrect) were a precious treasure! After the golden age between 1995 and the first years of 2000, in the last period of its publishing history the magazine gradually lowered in quality, and concluded its journey in 2005. When I decided to write this article I looked for my issues of the periodical and I found two that are very likely from 2005. I hope to find the issue with the Pantone markers, so I could share the article here!

JM was a peculiar and a bit odd magazine, it wasn’t perfect but it was a product of passion from manga and anime enthusiasts. Thank you Japan Magazine for the happy memories of two generations of fans! <3

ITsART: the streaming platform of culture

During this period of pandemic, many industries suffered, especially those who involve contact with the public, such as the entertainment world. Concert halls, theatres, cinemas had to stay in a limbo for a long time, with limited opening periods. In order to support the industry in this moment of uncertainty, last January the Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini announced the project for a streaming platform dedicated to the national cultural content, ITsART. The platform is run by the namesake company, shared at 51% by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and at 49% by the streaming service Chili. At first the functioning platform’s debut was set for March, but some technical difficulties delayed the release until May 31st.

The platform is currently accessible from Italy and England, and the project’s page is available in Italian and English. This is because they hope to present the content to a foreign audience as well. Up to date, the platform presents three sections: Palco (Stage), Luoghi (Places), and Storie (Stories). In Palco are the shows that can be seen on a stage such as concerts and plays; Luoghi presents Italian museums and archaeological sites through music videos; Stories features Italian films and documentaries of different time periods.

Following the model of the platform Chili, ITsART doesn’t require a subscription, instead each event can be watched by buying a digital “ticket”. Part of the content has to be paid, while the rest is available for free, occasionally with ads while watching. 

Now it’s too early to assess if the platform is a success, but it’s surely a good resource in addition to the already important content library that is RaiPlay.

RaiPlay is the free streaming platform that features a vast amount of content including documentaries, tv series, game shows, films, cartoons and shows with different themes. RaiPlay is currently available as a website and app for Android and iOS. You can access the platform from any country of the world but some content is limited due to the shows’ broadcasting rights abroad. The online live broadcast of the Rai television channel is entirely available in Italy, while abroad it’s limited to the new channel RaiNews24.

Music and theatre
section from RaiPlay

Palco section
from ITsART

It’s important to consider that ITsART is a relatively small platform, it debuted a month ago and it’s already expanding its library. It has a lot of room for growth during the following months, I am quite optimistic about it!

TOTTOI - A lost anime set in Sardinia now found again!

Once again Youtube recommended videos led me to a surprising discovery: a short promo for an animated Japanese tv movie whose setting felt oddly familiar, and the characters were having pane carasau for dinner! “Could it be? A Japanese animated movie set in Sardinia?” Yes, it could!

Tottoi is a movie produced in 1992, based on a 1980 novel with the same name by Gianni Padoan. Using a novel as source material wasn’t unusual for anime productions, with the creation of a subgenre of Japanese animation due to the World Masterpiece Theater: a collection of animated series produced annually from 1975 to 1997 and from 2007 and 2009. Even the 1974 series Heidi girl of the Alps, one of Hayao Miyazaki’s first animated works, is based on a Swiss novel! This was a very successful trend at the time, so in retrospect it’s not surprising that Tottoi was adapted into an animated movie. What is surprising though is that, despite Italy’s flourishing love for anime and the very frequent import of series for our country’s television, this movie never got an Italian release. Ironically, it has an English and Spanish official release but it’s relatively unknown in the country of its source material.

The book that inspired the movie was born from the pen of writer and ethologist Gianni Padoan in 1980. He wrote more than a hundred novels known world wide and translated in several languages, winning numerous awards for his works. As an ethologist he studied the behaviour of wolves, meanwhile he had been writer of several television and radio shows, and worked with a few magazines specialized in history.

The film accurately follows the narration of the book: in the 1970s Antonio (Tottoi), a 14 year old kid, lives with his family in Germany. After his mother’s death, his father decides to go back to his native town in Sardinia to raise his two children in a healthier environment. So Tottoi and his little sister discover Dorgali and the maritime village Calagonone. During an exploration of the caves of Bue Marino, Tottoi finds a Mediterrean monk seal. This animal was believed to be extinct, but this specimen came back to the cave to give birth to a seal pup on a beach inside the cave. Accompanied by a local naturalist, Tottoi manages to befriend the seals, calling the newborn Zabaione (Eggnog) due to a yellow spot on the belly. Through the course of the film Tottoi and his friends defend the seals from an American business man that wants to capture them for his zoo in Florida.

A Mediterrean monk seal

 

The seal Zabaione in the film

The film keeps the book’s message of protection and preservation of the environment, representing very accurately the Sardinian landscapes and traditions such as su ballu tundu, a traditional dance that has numerous variants of choreography according to the specific area of Sardinia, but they all have in common the fact of dancing in group in a circle. 

Picture of folk group Ittiri Caneddu shared by Cristiano Cani

The film was produced by Nippon Animation, the same studio that produced the World Masterpiece Theater mentioned earlier, and it aired in 1992 on the television channel NHK. The feature film was dubbed and aired in English and Spanish respectively with the titles The secret of the seal and El secreto de la foca. The film has been unknown in Italy until 2012, when the project of a class from the middle school of Dorgali provided an Italian dub. The students lent their voices and the result is a peculiar Italian version that includes expressions in Sardinian. The film was presented on March 17th 2012 at the municipal theater of Dorgali during the film festival Cinema Musica Ambiente Società organized by the municipality with the participation of the Department of Culture of Region Saridinia.

It’s a shame that an official dub doesn’t exist, but the project by Dorgali’s middle school is a very admirable initiative that finally allowed this film to be known in the country of origin of its story. 

Here is the full movie dubbed in English, enjoy!

Update: a trailer for Faulas!

So on Michela Atzeni's account I found a trailer for the short film we talked about earlier! It seems the title of the product changed from Faulas si credia to simply Faulas.

We can see the stop-motion animation uses characters created with paper puppets, with an aesthetic that resembles the illustrations of children’s books colored with markers. Personally I believed that this is a really good and charming effect.

In the credits, the names of the staff working with Michela Atzeni are different from the ones I previously presented, this is because that’s the final team for the short film. Michela Atzeni writes, directs and works on the animation, Giulia Pes takes care of the storyboard (which is planning the movements of the characters), while the character design is by Marina Brunetti.

The narrator’s voice will be Lia Careddu, with music by Simone Mura, photography of Federica Ortu and color grading by Damiano Picciau, under the organization of Laura Biagini and Mommotty’s executive production. One can speculate that the people previously involved in the team are working on another project for Mommotty.

Stay tuned for more news and trivias about the world of animation!