The happiest and almost forgotten slapstick artist from Italy is Benito Jacovitti. He was introduced to the Dutch through his illustrations for the gigantic book Pinocchio, which was available in 1967 with a subscription to Margriet. Many must have enjoyed it since, without realizing that they were face to face with one of the most important Italian comic creators. In 1970 he appeared in the comics magazine Pep with his creation Cocco Bill and soon managed to divide the readers into extreme haters and loyal followers. Apart from Cocco Bill, two other of his comics were also published in Pep. The adventures of the little Indian Chicken Leg and a long adventure of Zorry Kid, a wrought-up parody of the famous TV series Zorro. Jacovitit’s popularity with his fans was so great,
The drawing on the wall here dates from a later period, at the end of his career. In the 1990s he founded a fan club magazine in Italy, in which articles about his work and life alternated with reprints of old work. All that under a newly made cover. This cover of Jacovitti Magazine #4 shows everything that characterizes his work. The rubber figures with the big noses and even bigger feet, the busy composition sloshing against the edges of the picture, the exuberant use of sound effects (onomatopoeia) and the cheerful extras with which he filled every nook and cranny of his artwork. The only thing missing is a salami on bones, one of its absurd features. What you can also tell is the way he worked. Jacovitti always drew very large and he did not make the outline of his figures in one go. Instead, he drew each line twice, then filled in the center with a scratchy ink pen. He then generally did the coloring on the back of the drawing. This was possible because the thick black lines were visible through the paper. Dutch comics creators who claim to be influenced by Jacovitti René Uilenbroek , Mars Geringen and Mark van Herpen .
www.ftn-books.com has the classic PINOKKIO (Pinocchio) by Jacovitti and Collodi now available in Dutch
