Topolino facts for kids
Topolino is a popular Italian comic series. It features many well-known Disney comics characters. The name Topolino is the Italian name for Mickey Mouse. This comic series has a long history, starting way back in 1932. It first appeared as a magazine. Today, Panini Comics publishes it.
Contents
The First Topolino Newspaper (1932–1949)
Quick facts for kids Topolino |
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Topolino No. 1
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Nerbini (1-136) Mondadori (137-738) |
| Schedule | weekly |
| Publication date | 31 December 1932 - 9 April 1949 |
| Number of issues | 738 |
In 1932, a publisher named Mario Nerbini decided to create a new weekly newspaper for kids. It would feature illustrated stories with Mickey Mouse. The very first issue of Topolino came out on December 31, 1932. It included Mickey's first Italian story, drawn by Giove Toppi.
At first, Nerbini did not have the full rights to publish Mickey Mouse stories. So, for a short time, the comic's title changed to Topo Lino. Mickey Mouse was replaced by a different mouse character. But soon, Nerbini got the proper rights from Disney. The title then changed back to Topolino.
Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse stories began appearing in Topolino with issue #7. These stories often featured Mickey, his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, and his nephews Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse. The newspaper usually had eight pages. It also included other non-Disney comics. In 1935, the publishing company Mondadori bought the newspaper.
Growing and Changing Comics
In 1937, Topolino joined with another kids' newspaper called I tre porcellini. The new combined paper was named Topolino - Grandi avventure (which means "Mickey Mouse - Great Adventures"). The number of pages grew from eight to sixteen. The first page always had a story by Floyd Gottfredson. Other pages featured American stories and new Italian ones. For example, Saturno contro la Terra introduced Rebo, a character who later became an enemy of Donald Duck.
Another newspaper, Paperino e altre avventure (Donald Duck and Other Adventures), started in December 1937. It ran for three years before joining Topolino in October 1940.
Challenges and Changes During the War
In 1938, the Italian government made a rule. It stopped the publishing of most American stories. However, Disney stories were still allowed because the leader's children liked Mickey Mouse. Topolino continued to publish Mickey Mouse stories until February 3, 1942. At that time, the government made them stop publishing Mickey's adventures.
For two years, a human character named Tuffolino replaced Mickey Mouse. Tuffolino looked a lot like Mickey. His friends, Mimma and Clara, were similar to Minnie and Clarabelle Cow. These stories were written by Federico Pedrocchi and drawn by Pier Lorenzo De Vita. The newspaper had to stop publishing completely in December 1943.
Mickey's Return and a New Format
In December 1945, Mondadori started publishing Topolino again. Since the government rules had changed, Mickey Mouse stories by Floyd Gottfredson could be published once more. Topolino also began to feature Donald Duck stories by Carl Barks.
In 1949, the director of Topolino, Mario Gentilini, decided to change the newspaper. He wanted it to become a small, pocket-sized comic book. This new book would only contain Disney stories. The last newspaper-style issue was #738. On April 10, 1949, the first issue of the new pocket-sized Topolino (called libretto) was released.
The Topolino Pocket Book (Libretto)
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Cover of the first Topolino libretto (1949)
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Mondadori (1-1701) Disney Italia (1702-3018) |
| Schedule | weekly |
| Format | ongoing |
| Genre | Funny animal Comics series featuring anthropomorphism |
| Publication date | 10 April 1949 - present |
| Number of issues | 3362 (as of 29 April 2020) |
| Main character(s) | Mickey Mouse universe Donald Duck universe |
The new Topolino pocket book started as a monthly comic. The first issue came out on April 10, 1949. It had 100 pages. This first issue included the end of an Italian story called Topolino e il cobra bianco. It also featured the start of Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse and the Man of Tomorrow, where Eega Beeva first appeared. A Carl Barks story introduced Gladstone Gander to Italian readers. Other stories featured characters like Br'er Rabbit and Li'l Bad Wolf.
Famous Italian Stories and Parodies
Mickey's Inferno (L'inferno di Topolino) was the second major Italian story in Topolino. It was written by Guido Martina and drawn by Angelo Bioletto. This story was a funny retelling of Dante Alighieri's famous poem Inferno. It was the first "Great Parody" in Italian Disney comics. It was also one of the first Disney stories to give credit to its creators.
In 1952, the comic book started coming out every two weeks. More Italian stories were published. Guido Martina wrote many of these. He created the first great parodies of classic books. For example, in 1956, he wrote Paperino Don Chisciotte, a parody of Don Quixote. He also wrote parodies of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Talented artists like Pier Lorenzo De Vita and Luciano Bottaro drew these stories.
These parodies became very popular. Other writers like Carlo Chendi and Romano Scarpa also started writing parodies. The team of Chendi (writer) and Bottaro (artist) created many funny parodies. These included Dr. Paperus (a parody of Dr. Faustus) and Paperin Furioso. One parody, Paperin Meschino (1958), even explained why Donald Duck always has bad luck!
New Characters and Adventures
Romano Scarpa wrote and drew many amazing stories. Some of his famous works include Topolino e l'unghia di Kali ("Kali's Nail") and Topolino e la dimensione delta ("Mickey Mouse in the Delta Dimension"). He also created new characters. These include Atomo Bleep-Bleep (Atomino Bip Bip), Trudy Van Tubb (who is Peg Leg Pete's girlfriend), and Brigitta MacBridge. Brigitta is a female duck who loves Scrooge McDuck, but he doesn't feel the same way.
Rodolfo Cimino started as Scarpa's inker. He later became a skilled writer. He wrote many stories about Scrooge's treasure hunts. He also created Reginella, an alien female duck who fell in love with Donald Duck. Sadly, their love could not last.
In 1960, Topolino became a weekly comic book. In 1969, Guido Martina created Paperinik (the Duck Avenger). Paperinik is Donald Duck's secret superhero identity. He was inspired by characters like Diabolik and Fantômas. Paperinik started as a "diabolic avenger" for Donald. He even committed small "crimes" to get back at Uncle Scrooge. But soon, he became a true superhero, much like Batman.
Giorgio Pezzin was another talented Italian writer. He wrote many long story series. These include I signori della galassia (The Lords of Galaxy), which was a bit like Star Wars. He also wrote C'era una volta in America (Once Upon a Time in America). This saga told the history of the United States through Mickey's ancestors. Another series was The Time Machine saga. In these stories, Mickey Mouse and Goofy travel back in time to solve historical mysteries.
Massimo De Vita was the son of Pier Lorenzo De Vita. He drew many stories and wrote some too. One of his famous works is the Ice Sword Saga. It features Mickey and Goofy in a fantasy world. Another great artist was Giovan Battista Carpi. He drew masterpieces like Paperino missione Bob Fingher, a funny parody of the James Bond film Goldfinger. He also wrote and drew stories like the parodies Guerra e pace (War and Peace) and Zio Paperone e il mistero dei Candelabri (a parody of Les Misérables).
Casty is another skilled writer and artist. Some of his Mickey Mouse stories have been published in the United States. They appeared in comics like Walt Disney's Comics and Stories and Mickey Mouse.
Editors of Topolino
- Mario Gentilini (1949-1980)
- Gaudenzio Capelli (1980-1994)
- Paolo Cavaglione (1994-1999)
- Gianni Bono (1999-2000)
- Claretta Muci (2000-2007)
- Valentina De Poli (2007-2018)
- Alex Bertani and Marco Marcello Lupoi (2018-today)
Images for kids
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Topolino No. 1 (1932)
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Cover of the first Topolino libretto (1949)
- Topolino giornale at Inducks
- Topolino libretto at Inducks
See also
In Spanish: Topolino (revista) para niños
