In Front of the Camera: Cinematic Professions in the Italian Comics of the 1930s and 1940s (Brill Research Perspectives in Popular Culture)

Which comic book characters with cinematic themes appeared in Italian comics of the 1930s and 1940s? How did cinema intersect with adventure and humorous comics? Was cinema merely a side dish or a true protagonist? This book attempts to answer these questions by analyzing the long and original history of the relationship between cinema and Italian comics. Indeed, between the 1930s and 1940s, a veritable publishing boom developed, with many comic book characters pursuing film careers. This book explores the reasons behind this remarkable cultural phenomenon.

Massimo Bonura (Ph.D.; eCampus Telematic University) teaches “Theory, History, and Method of Mass Media” at the Academy of Fine Arts “M. Sironi” (Sassari). He has published various monographs and academic papers on cinema and comics.