On 1 November 1962, the first issue of Diabolik appeared on Italian newsstands at the price of 150 lire, marking a turning point in the world of comics – not only for the appearance of the black hero, but also for the great invention of the Diabolik format. The Giussani sisters, in fact, lived near the Cadorna station and wanted to create a format suitable for reading on the train, calibrated for the thousands of commuters they saw passing under their windows every day.
To celebrate Diabolik’s 60th anniversary, the Italian Cultural Institute of Valletta together with the Department of Italian and the Master of Arts in Film Studies of the Faculty of Arts (University of Malta) – and in collaboration with TomatoFarm Agency – is organising a double event on 23 September featuring Riccardo Nunziati – cartoonist, illustrator and comic-strip artist from the publishing house Astorina s.r.l. (Milan).
Together with the Department of Foreign Languages of the F. Abela Junior College, the Institute organised a meeting (in Italian) with Riccardo Nunziati to review the creative processes and different illustration techniques involved in the creation of the king of terror, the first protagonist of Italian ‘noir’ comics.
On the same day, in the afternoon, at the Valletta Campus Theatre, the film Diabolik (2021) by Manetti Bros. will be screened – for the first time in Malta – (in Italian with English subtitles) in anticipation of the sequel due out on 17 November.
After the screening, a debate with Riccardo Nunziati will follow.
More information on: iicvalletta.esteri.it.
