Gianni De Luca
Encyclopedia
Gianni De Luca was an Italian comic book artist, illustrator, painter and etcher.
and moved to Rome
to study architecture; however, he soon moved to comics and started his career as comics artists in 1946 for the magazine Il Vittorioso with Anac the Destroyer series, followed in 1947 by the Da Vinci Wizard, and then The Empire of the Sun and the Last Days of the Earth.
In the late 1950s he started to collaborated with the Edizioni Paoline, a Catholic publisher, and with their weekly magazine Il Giornalino
. In 1957-1959 he worked at La più grande storia mai raccontata ("The Greatest Story Ever Told"), a series of tales based on the Bible, and I dodici in cammino (a history of the Christian Church).
In 1969 he drew a western, Bob Jason, and started his most famous creation, Commissario Spada
, a series featuring a commissioner of the criminal police of Milan
, characterized by an unusual (for Italian comics) attention to realistic details, written by Gianluigi Gonano. For the series De Luca introduced a number of graphical innovations, which he later used also for the comics version of three Shakespeare's masterworks, Hamlet
, The Tempest
and Romeo and Juliet
, written by Raoul Traverso. De Luca won a Yellow Kid Award for Commissario Spada in 1971.
After the end of the Commissario Spada series in 1982, De Luca continued to work for Il Giornalino with the comics version of Il giornalino di Gian Burrasca, adapted by Claudio Nizzi
, then to the Adventure on the Orinoco, written by Roberto Del Prà, and comics biographies of Totò
and Marilyn Monroe
. These were followed by the science fiction series Paulus, with stories by Tommaso Mastandrea, depicting a historian living in a future dictatorship who, using a time machine, reproduces the life of St. Paul. In 1988 he worked to the adaptation of a historical novel, La freccia nera, followed by I giorni dell'impero ("The Days of the Empire"), set in Imperial Rome
and left unfinished after De Luca's death at Rome in 1991.
Biography
De Luca was born at GaglianoGagliano
Gagliano may refer to:* Gagliano Aterno, Abruzzo, Italy* Gagliano Castelferrato, Sicily, Italy* Gagliano del Capo, Lecce, Apulia, Italy* Gagliano , a fictional town in the novel Christ Stopped at EboliPeople with the surname Gagliano:...
and moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to study architecture; however, he soon moved to comics and started his career as comics artists in 1946 for the magazine Il Vittorioso with Anac the Destroyer series, followed in 1947 by the Da Vinci Wizard, and then The Empire of the Sun and the Last Days of the Earth.
In the late 1950s he started to collaborated with the Edizioni Paoline, a Catholic publisher, and with their weekly magazine Il Giornalino
Il Giornalino
Il Giornalino was an Italian comics magazine published by the Catholic publisher Edizioni San Paolo of Alba, founded in 1924.During its history, the magazine published the Italian translation of numerous American and European comics series, such as Looney Tunes, The Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Popeye,...
. In 1957-1959 he worked at La più grande storia mai raccontata ("The Greatest Story Ever Told"), a series of tales based on the Bible, and I dodici in cammino (a history of the Christian Church).
In 1969 he drew a western, Bob Jason, and started his most famous creation, Commissario Spada
Commissario Spada
The Commissario Spada was an Italian comics series published on the Catholic weekly magazine Il Giornalino from 1970 to 1982, created by Gianluigi Gonano and Gianni De Luca. Featuring the adventures of a widower commissioner working in the criminal police of Milan, and his son Mario, it is one of...
, a series featuring a commissioner of the criminal police of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, characterized by an unusual (for Italian comics) attention to realistic details, written by Gianluigi Gonano. For the series De Luca introduced a number of graphical innovations, which he later used also for the comics version of three Shakespeare's masterworks, Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
and Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, written by Raoul Traverso. De Luca won a Yellow Kid Award for Commissario Spada in 1971.
After the end of the Commissario Spada series in 1982, De Luca continued to work for Il Giornalino with the comics version of Il giornalino di Gian Burrasca, adapted by Claudio Nizzi
Claudio Nizzi
Claudio Nizzi is an Italian comic author.He started his career as comic scriptwriter in 1963, writing for the "Vittorioso", a comic newspaper. During 1969 he started to work for Il Giornalino creating many characters...
, then to the Adventure on the Orinoco, written by Roberto Del Prà, and comics biographies of Totò
Totò
Prince Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, best known by his stage name Totò and nicknamed il principe della risata was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter...
and Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
. These were followed by the science fiction series Paulus, with stories by Tommaso Mastandrea, depicting a historian living in a future dictatorship who, using a time machine, reproduces the life of St. Paul. In 1988 he worked to the adaptation of a historical novel, La freccia nera, followed by I giorni dell'impero ("The Days of the Empire"), set in Imperial Rome
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and left unfinished after De Luca's death at Rome in 1991.