The Investigator of the Sept. 28 celebrates twenty years of life, and does so in style, after five years, along with its creator: Tiziano Sclavi.
The year was 1986. In October, while Italy is still remembered with hatred of the cold winter months the previous year, appeared on newsstands timidly a new set of Sergio Bonelli Editore: Dylan Dog.
Its origins are well known to all: Tiziano Sclavi, in 1984, was an editor of the publishing house of Mr. No, and Zagor and popular writer of several books of these titles. Despite the Bonelli was recognized as one of the largest publishing houses in the country, its founder, Sergio Bonelli, the Director Decio Canzio Sclavi and did not feel satisfied with the situation they were in the comics in those years. Relegated to the "forbidden zone" of Newsagents, a step away from porn magazines, few of them managed to get greater public attention. Therefore, during the brief encounters at the bar in the offices of the publishing house, the three wondered on the way forward to bring a jolt to the world of "clouds". After several attempts to magazines author unfortunately failed, they decided to do what they can do better: the series "Popular." No sooner said than done. In the time of an afternoon Sclavi prepared a person for what would become his most popular creation.
Initially, Dylan Dog was not at all resemble what we know now. To not even be called like this: Dylan Dog was in fact the working title Sclavi that gave all of his characters before settling on a final part dedicated to the poet Dylan Thomas and dedicated in part to the title of a book: "Dog, son .... " In addition, of the environment, how to be the character had to be completely different. Dylan Dog in the beginning was a hard-boiled private eye Marlowe-style, without the humor that now characterizes it, lonely and living in New York. But in New York was already Martin Mystère, head born recently created by Alfredo Castelli, and we decided to set in London, Gothic town par excellence and therefore perfectly suited to the setting that was to feature the comic horror . In addition the investigator could not act alone, was able to share with someone's suspicions, so the shoulder was a must (initially inspired by Marty Feldman, then came the legendary Groucho). Following these initial changes, it finally outlined the psychological profile of the main character and style with which the stories were told. Only his face was missing.
Sclavi the designer Claudio Villa entrusted with the task of finding it. Villa was inspired by the dancer Antonio Gades, creating a rather macho Dylan, looking very Latin. Sclavi did not seem very happy, and luck would have it a few days earlier had seen the movie "The Choice" (Another Country), which appeared in Rupert Everett. Villa was forced to see the film and the face of Dylan Dog was born there in the darkness of a cinema.
Dylan Dog in its first incarnation: the
the dancer Antonio Gades. (Art by Claudio Villa)
After two years, after taking a more or less accurate, after dozens and dozens of tables, written by a Sclavi prey to the enthusiasm, the Investigator of was ready to face the acid test: the exit kiosk.
not the super. After a few weeks after, Decio Canzio phoned the distributor saying, succinctly, "the book is dead on the newsstands."
But Bonelli did not lose hope. They managed to fall in the cost of the first exit, and continued to produce books monthly, keeping always on sales rather mediocre. Then, suddenly, without warning, boom. Word of mouth had struck again. As would happen later to "Three Steps Over Heaven" (sic) sales soared. The age of Dylan Dog.
In the early nineties was the Dylan Dog comic book more sold in Italy, surpassing even Tex, the historic western gunslinger born in the 50s, which still boasts a huge number of fans. This led to almost 1 million copies sold per month. And the phenomenon was not confined to the world of comic books, the entire print generalized questioned about the reasons for the enormous success of this comic horror, dozens of famous people (first of all Umberto Eco) declared their love for the creature Sclavi. They began to sprout clones, all inspired by the most superficial part of the series, the gore, violent, macabre. Were unsuccessful, because Dylan was not a Dog fad, not a desire to splatter of Italian youth, the stories told dell'antieroe London in an original way, the difficulties and hardships of man in our time, to cry, now famous, from "The Munsters us ". But Dylan was not only to grow. Thanks to its enormous success, many publishers found the courage groped new companies, Bonelli was beginning to produce new warheads, and in a few years the comics had entered the popular imagination, no longer confined and snubbed, not closer to porn magazines, but on display, many with thousands of readers. It was a golden age for all.
The Number 45, "Goblin" released in 1990, brings
cover the enthusiastic announcement
200,000 copies sold. (Cover by Angelo Stano)
Over the years, however, things began to go wrong. After winning dozens of awards, including the prestigious Oscar of comics, the Yellow Kid (1990), Dylan Dog began to suffer from the problems of mass production and the lack of real continuity. The most brilliant ideas were obviously not like the first, readers were increasingly demanding and many began to complain of excessive Repeatable of registers. Perhaps the darkest period for the head Bonelli is one that goes from the late '90s until the early 2000, years in which Sclavi disappeared, and was accused of having "abandoned" his child. Other writers, though valid at the beginning, they could always create good stories, partly because of the limited freedom they had to interfere with the character, the sole task of Sclavi. In addition, while the comic book world evolved with graphic experiments of any kind (just to cite or Moebius Enki Bilal), and even the popular American comic improved their graphics, the designers Bonelli were "stuck" in the famous "Bonelli scheme, which in fact prevented bold graphics solutions that might turn a blind eye to the reader in front of a mediocre story. Many players began to argue that Dylan Dog was dead, the sales dropped. But however many loyalists continued to buy, as long as there were some signs of recovery.
Among these signals, certainly the most important is the entry stable in the writer's more like Sclavi for genius, style and relationship with the character. Pardon, screenwriter. I'm talking about Paola Barbato, now considered the backbone of the series, along with Pasquale Ruju and a few others. But while Ruju now no longer able to write books of good quality, probably due to the excessive "exploitation" that has endured over the years, Paola Barbato offers a pearl of all his work, often making a miracle readers, overwhelmed from his love stories, poetry, original. It is no coincidence, then, that to dramatize the very important number 200 (only register on the cover Groucho also appear and Mr Bloch), titled simply "The Number Two hundred" was her own. It did not disappoint the expectations: "The Number Two hundred" is considered one of the best books of recent years, and recounts the origins of the suspect, just after the sad events of another important roll, "Till Death Do We Separate "the number 121, which is celebrating its tenth birthday of Dylan Dog.
And now, ten years later, the number doubles, in every sense.
No. 242, twenty years, double story. Bonelli want to do things in style to celebrate their ward, and they will once again relying on his beard with the daunting task of writing two books of the twentieth anniversary celebration, in which perhaps will shed light on the most mysterious character of the series: Xabaras, the evil doctor who dreams of resurrecting the dead and of misrepresent be the true father of Dylan Dog. Moreover, in two stories, the first on newsstands Sept. 28, titled "Xabaras!" And the second the following month, called "In the Name of the Father" we see the return of two other characters familiar to fans DYLAN: Kim and his terrible witch cat, Cagliostro. 
What's more, for the first time in history of Sergio Bonelli Editore the covers of two books, combined, will form a single design, and yet, as we have now used in every special occasion, both registers are in color, but never before will be similar to last generation of American Comics .
(A side, some striking pages of "Xabaras!" The first of two books dedicated to twenty years. Drawings of Bruno Brindisi. Property Sergio Bonelli Editore)
But the festivities do not end there. E ' newsstand in fact, the number 240, "Ucronìa" which marks the return of Tiziano Sclavi between the writers. For it was from May 2001, the month in the dawn "The Project" and "Tiz" Do not write a story. A writer's block that has frightened tens of fans, although it was not the first time. But now he is back, and ready well two other books that will accompany us on the threshold of 2007. What
on sale is the first, an album-style Sclavi, based on the concept expressed by the title: Ucronìa, timeless. Indeed, out of time, but inside, the "time" itself. Dominates the surreal, the question "what if?" And there is room, plenty of room for splatter. It 'an album that we were no longer used, away from the fold that Dylan had taken in recent times, despite "Beyond Massacre" by Paola Barbato had reminded us that Dylan is also metafumetto, is introspection, it is everything.
Well, perhaps the real reason why Dylan Dog has reached twenty years of life, with ups and downs, the passions of millions of readers is this: it represents every aspect of our existence, just as we are distressed by our own fear, haunted by what he can not understand, fascinated by the "big questions". And we, with him, we feel as the computer at the end of "Ucronìa" and we ask
"There's Existence?"
And the answer may be only one:
& ldquo , Yes or No ... "
