Albi delle grandi avventure - Mandrake
| Gli albi delle grandi avventure | |
 First issue | |
| Country/language: |  Italy / Italian
|
|---|---|
| Publishing company: | Capriotti |
| Publishing years: | 1944-1949 |
| Issues: | |
| Format: | |
Issue overview
By S.E.P.I.
From 1944 to 1949, following the success of the weekly magazine "L'Avventura", S.E.P.I. published a series of separate comics-books devoted to various comic book figures: "Audax", "Cino e Franco", "Folgore", "Mandrake il Mago", "Radio Pattuglia", "Raff", "L'Uomo Mascherato and "Zorro". The cover artist, Niso Ramponi, signed with the initials "K" or "Kremes".
Gli albi delle grandi avventure
The "Gli albi delle grandi avventure" started as a supplement series the weekly magazine "L'Avventura". The first issue in this series was a "Marco Spada (Brick Bradford) issue by William Ritt and Clarence Gray followed by a "Mandrake" issue. Both issues were released in 1944 in a large portrait format, but only in the central and southern parts of Italy.
In 1945 the series continued the classic landscape format, known as the "Italian format". The series was splitt into severals sub-series: "Mandrake il Mago" (4 issues), "L'Uomo Mascherato (The Phantom)" (6 issues), "Cino e Franco (Tim Tyler’s Luck)" by Lyman Young (2 issues), "Audax (King of the Royal Mounted)" by Jim Gary (2 issues)
Serie Mandrake il Mago
The first issue in 1944 was a Sunday story and the following issues from 1945 printed daily stories previous printed in the weekly magazine. Non of the issues were numbered.
By Capriotti
Gli albi delle grandi avventure
The Mandrake series continued with the new publisher Capriotti, now with numbering the issues on the cover.
Serie Mandrake il Mago
Albo avventuroso
In 1948 Capriotti released their new "Albo avventuroso" series in color. The numbering was dual, ongoing for the "Albo avventuroso" series and the second for the sub-series. In addition the numbering for the Mandrake series were interacting with the "Gli albi delle grandi avventure" and later the "Albo avventure" series, following their numbering. The series alternated between "Mandrake the Magician" (issues 1-2, 13-14, 15-17), "L'Agente Segreto X-9 (Secret Agent X-9)" by Mel Graff (issues 3-4, 6, 8, 10, 12) and "Gordon l'Intrepido (Flash Gordon) by Austin Briggs (issues 5, 7, 9, 11).
Serie Mandrake il Mago
The series published Sunday pages in color and large square format. Although the series had its own structure and numbering it had a dual numering for the "Gli albi delle grandi avventure" and "Albo avventure" series.
Albo avventure
In 1947 Capriotti released their series "Albo avventure". Although the new series started with issue 1, the dual numbering continued for the previous sub-series from "Gli albi delle grandi avventure". In addition to the older series a few other titles were added:
- "Audax" (issues 7-8, 29-30, 31-32, 38, 40)
- "Cino e Franco" (issues 1-2, 9-12, 37, 39, 47, 49, 51, 55-74)
- "Folfore" (issues 5-6, 15-16)
- "Mandrake" (issues 17, 21, 23, 25, 27, 41, 43, 46, 54, 79-86)
- "Marco Spada" (issues 3-4, 13-14, 45)
- "Radio Pattuglia" (issues 24, 26, 28, 33, 35)
- "Raff" (issues 19, 22, 34, 36, 42, 44)
- "L'Uomo Mascherato" (issues 18, 48, 50, 52-53)
- "Zorro" (issues 75-78,79bis, 81bis-86bis, 87-88)
The different series were also part of different colletiones: Collana albi Americani with characters of American production (note: the "Audax" series has "Collana albi: I Classici dell'Avvenura"), and "Albi Giramondo" with characters of Italian production.
There are variants of the covers with the "Gli albi delle grandi avventure" logo due to back issues reprinting. The first variant has the same cover as the first print, but with a new "Albo avventure" title printed on the top of the cover. Like the first two "Audax" issues which have "Albo avventure -" serie "Audax" #1 and 2 on the top of the cover.
Another variant is for the third "Cino and Franco" issue. The first "Albo Avventure" issue exist with and without the sub-title "Gli albi delle grandi avventure" logo.
variant a
variant b
Serie Mandrake
With the sub-title "Nuove avventura di Cino e Franko /Mandrake" the series restarted the numbering for the sub-series.
Album
Several issues were later rebound into albums with the generic title "Le Meravigliose avventure di ..":
- "Audax", (3 issues) - issues 1-4, issues 5-7 and issues 8-10.
- "Cino e Franco", (6 issues) - issues 19-23, issues 24-28 and issues 29-33. (note: the first two issues were never collected into albums)
- "Mandrake", (3 issues) - issues 6-7 and 20, issues 13-16.
- "Raff Pugno d’Acciaio", ? -
- "l'Uomo Mascherato", (3 issues) -
- "Zorro", (2 issues) -
Le Meravigliose avventure di Mandrake il mago
Le Meravigliose avventure di Mandrake il mago
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