Volto Nascosto


Volto Nascosto is the title of an Italian short comic series written by Gianfranco Manfredi for Sergio Bonelli Editore. The first issue was published on 10 October 2007.
The miniseries is made up of 14 issues, meant to form a single, long graphic novel, as Manfredi already did with Magico Vento.
Among the artists working on the series there are Goran Parlov, Massimo Rotundo, Giuseppe Matteoni, Ersin Burak, Roberto Diso, Giovanni Freghieri, Alessandro Nespolino, Leomacs and Gigi Simeoni.
WWW Official Site

Plot

The story is set up towards the end of the nineteenth century and takes place among Rome, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Italian colonies in Africa.
The main character is "Volto Nascosto", a mysterious Islamic warrior and prophet whose face is covered with a silver mask and who, in the story, leads the resistance of Ethiopian people against foreign invaders. However, the series doesn't only revolve around Volto Nascosto, but deals with various characters, whose events continuously intertwine with each other. This multiplicity of voices is a rather innovative aspect of Bonelli's publishing house.
The characters playing around Volto Nascosto are:Ugo Pastore, an honest and loyal young man, skilful in the use of a pistol. After changing several jobs, he adapts himself to an accountant's role at a notary's office;Enea Pastore, Ugo's father and the owner of the Caput Mundi firm;Menelik II, the King of Ethiopia and Taytu's husband;Taytu, the Queen of Ethiopia and Menelik's wife;Vittorio De Cesari, Ugo's best friend, a cavalry lieutenant from a noble family, fond of adventure and beautiful women;Matilde Sereni, a Roman girl from a wealthy family, the victim of a nervous illness. Ugo is in love with her, but she loves Vittorio.
As it is clear from this short description, the series has a strong literary inspiration and deliberately merges elements from different genres, from classic adventure to historical novel and nineteenth century feuilleton. This last aspect is particularly evident not only in the choice of the serial formula, but also in the presence of some typical situations: the love triangle, the sensitive girl with a mysterious past, etc., which directly recall the topoi of nineteenth century novels and operas.
Another interesting feature of the story is the setting in late nineteenth century Italy, a not very well known period of Italian history and an unusual choice for a comic-book series.

The issues

Volto Nascosto's adventures are published monthly, in the usual format of Sergio Bonelli's comic books.
The series is made up of the following issues:
Nr.TitleDateStoryScriptArtCover
1I predoni del deserto October 2007Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediGoran ParlovMassimo Rotundo
2Briganti November 2007Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediMassimo RotundoMassimo Rotundo
3Amore e morte December 2007Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediAlessandro NespolinoMassimo Rotundo
4Amba Alagi January 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediErsin BurakMassimo Rotundo
5La fortezza February 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediLeomacsMassimo Rotundo
6Gli eroi di Macallé March 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediRoberto DisoMassimo Rotundo
7Il fantasma April 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediGiovanni FreghieriMassimo Rotundo
8La strada per Adua May 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediAlessandro NespolinoMassimo Rotundo
9Pioggia di sangue June 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediGiuseppe MatteoniMassimo Rotundo
10Il presidio July 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediErsin BurakMassimo Rotundo
11Il prigioniero di Menelik August 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediErsin BurakMassimo Rotundo
12La liberazione September 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediAlessandro NespolinoMassimo Rotundo
13Medaglia d'oro October 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediGigi SimeoniMassimo Rotundo
14Dietro la maschera November 2008Gianfranco ManfrediGianfranco ManfrediMassimo RotundoMassimo Rotundo