Il Grande Blek facts for kids

Il Grande Blek is a popular Italian Western comic book series. It first came out in Italy on October 3, 1954. The comic was created by a team of writers and artists known as EsseGesse: Giovanni Sinchetto, Dario Guzzon, and Pietro Sartoris.

Who is Il Grande Blek?

Blek is the main character and leader of a group of trappers. His adventures take place during the American Revolutionary War. Blek and his friends fight against the Redcoats, who were British soldiers. They fought to stop the British from unfairly controlling the American colonies.

Blek's closest friends and helpers are his stepson, Roddy Lassiter, and a clever professor named Cornelius Occultis. Another important character is a lawyer named Connoly, who leads the American revolutionaries in Boston. Sometimes, even Benjamin Franklin, a famous American leader, appeared in the comics!

How the Comic Started and Grew

Beginning in Italy

An early version of Blek appeared in another comic called Il Piccolo Trapper in 1953. This comic was inspired by adventure stories from writers like Fenimore Cooper. The blonde giant, Blek, then got his own comic a year later.

From 1954 to 1967, 654 issues of Il Grande Blek were published in Italy. At its most popular, about 400,000 copies were sold every week! However, the creators later started a new comic called Comandante Mark after a disagreement about money with their publisher in 1965.

Il Grande Blek became popular in many other countries too. It was printed in Greece (as ΜΠΛΕΚ), Turkey (as Teksas, Çelik Blek), and France (as Blek le Roc). In former Yugoslavia, it was known as Veliki Blek. In Slovenia, it was first called Silni Tom (meaning Tough Tom) but later changed to Veliki Blek. In some parts of Scandinavia, he was called Davy Crockett, even though he had nothing to do with the real historical figure.

Blek's Adventures in France

After the original creators left, other artists and writers continued making Blek comics for a French publisher called Éditions Lug. French artists like Jean-Yves Mitton also worked on the series. At its peak, the French version sold 300,000 copies.

In France, Blek even got a new origin story! A writer named Marcel Navarro explained that "Blek" means "Golden Hair" in the language of Native Americans. But his real name was Yannick Leroc, and he was born in Saint-Malo, France, on November 27, 1749.

Blek in Yugoslavia

In former Yugoslavia, Blek comics were very popular. Because so many copies were printed (around 100,000!), a local publisher named Dnevnik started making their own licensed Blek stories in 1978. These were often called YU Blek. Many writers and artists worked on these comics, creating over 70 new episodes.

Blek in Greece

In Greece, a journalist and comic writer named Stelios Anemodouras first published Il Grande Blek stories every week for almost 25 years (from 1969 to 1994). Later, his publishing house continued to print Blek monthly until 2011.

Today, Stelios Anemodouras's grandson, Leokratis Anemodouras, publishes a new Blek magazine every two months. In the 1970s, Stelios Anemodouras and artist Byron Aptosoglou created 8 new Il Grande Blek stories. More recently, new Greek stories by other writers and artists have been published in both Greek and Italian versions of the comic.

Influence of the Comic

Il Grande Blek even inspired a movie! In 1987, a film called Il Grande Blek was released. It was directed by Giuseppe Piccioni and was about a boy who loved reading the comic books.

See also

In Spanish: Blek el gigante para niños