1935 - end
I spoke of a "catastrophe", referring to the sharp decline of print Laughter , at the end of 1935. I think the reason is the impossibility of making legible the stretch of the original designs, with new
gravure machines: most likely, the problem is circumvented by a brutal "polishing" (a tracing) which involves, unfortunately, especially Terry and Pirates of Milton Caniff.
The dramatic decline in the quality of reproduction is still more evident by comparing a direct page of The Laughter table with the corresponding image Terry And The Pirates (the edition is NBM eighties):
Go just a little 'better Jim Red (Red Barry of Will Gould), published last page. It is clear that the problem afflicts mostly comics Printed in two colors:
Just the better the performance of comics published on inside pages, as midtones tend to mix cartoons, and pages showing rather bleak. Here Trottolino / The Gumps of Sidney Smith and a pair of Italian history of art and very modest level compared to American models derivative (this is clumsy clones raymondiani ) :
Ma, da un esame più attento dei numeri de La Risata , appare evidente che il termine "catastrofe" è quanto meno eccessivo: la qualità tipografica, infatti, risale quasi subito di livello, e dal numero 55 (poche settimane dopo il tracollo), cessa - o comunque si riduce - anche la "lucidatura" delle patinate originali:
Col numero 57 del 13 dicembre, appare una nuova serie americana, decisamente molto rara. Si tratta di Gianni the brave, or Little Joe of Ed Leffingwell, the ' assistant (and it shows!) By Harold Gray, the author of Little Orphan Annie . Of course, the series is © Chicago Tribune, and one wonders why this comic is published less and ignored the Queen of American orphans, which will remain unpublished in Italy until the Seventies.
But the news at the end of 1935, do not stop here. On December 20 the number 58 comes an even more rare American series, The G-man of George Clark and Lou Hanlon , version tables in the Sunday (the day we will see later on The Three Little Pigs). To make room for the new series, frankly modest level, the masterpiece Red Barry is relegated to inside pages, along with the last, sad episode of Frank Merriwell . Decision is puzzling: in addition, they are two stories (violent) of gangster, equally unpopular with the regime.
There is also a "picture story" Laughter on , or something that looks like it is a page directly produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer to publicize the movie In the world of Wonders with Laurel and Hardy. The film is also known in Italy under the title The enchanted village and even has two names in the United States: Babes in Toyland and The March Of The Wooden Soldiers (1934).
We have seen that Stan and Ollie - as they are called, in Italy, in 1935 - are extremely popular, and Laughter editorial and public reportage on the activities of the Italian section of the Club Laurel-Hardy .
News are also Italian. On number 49, October 22 is the debut Corrado (Kurt) Caesar, the author knew very well that we on The Victorious . Tamburini of Africa is an attempt to curry favor with the regime, with the celebration of its imperialist enterprises. With an eye to Cino e Franco, history - even in its harshness, especially for texts - has a certain originality:
Caratteristica de La Risata (in comune anche ai periodici SAEV) è la presenza di "regali", quasi ogni settimana, pubblicizzati in prima pagina: l'abbiamo visto molte volte. Ebbene, si tratta quasi sempre di semplici fogli, comunque pieni di fascino. La collezione a cui ho accesso ne comprende diversi (non certo tutti!) e ne propongo due. Il primo celebra le feste natalizie , e mi sembra adatto al clima...
Il secondo è fascinosissimo, quasi futurista:
Cosa sarebbe successo, se Terry And The Pirates fosse appeared in Italy in a more worthy, a newspaper printed more widespread and better? Perhaps the history of comics in Italy might have been different. In fact, Milton Caniff and his followers will change after the war, the same aesthetics of graphic fiction. For now, however, command Gordon and Mandrake, which soon will add a new, explosive character. And just The Adventurous return, with the next post, to inaugurate the new year , ie 1936. Greetings to everyone, of course, even for a New Year's distant future, or 2011 ! ;-)