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The Company of the Gallows (original title: La Compagnia della Forca) is an Italian comic book series written and drawn by Magnus from 1977 to 1979 (with the collaboration of Giovanni Romanini).
The Company of Monblanc (this is the real name of the company) is a seedy company of mercenaries led by Sir Percy of Montblanc, bumbling knight and young heir of Montblanc family. Other company members are:
The group is joined in some adventures by Doctor Nadir, a scholar of oriental sciences, with his friend King Frog (a frog), and Lattemiele, a cunning accountant.
Oscuro Signore ("Dark Lord"), driven by a prophecy, is trying to destroy the company using his minions. Among them, Crocca, a female vulture which starts the series telling company's story and the defeat of Evil.
Among the characters there are sages, corrupt monks, genies, dragons, dwarves, giants, fantasy and historical characters (York and Lancaster from the War of the Roses, Dracula).
The story is an epic quest without its basic elements: the group, the aim, the battles, a clear separation between the good and the evil, a strong protagonist who decides what to do.
The style of Magnus pencils often retains funny and grotesque elements shown in Alan Ford .
The text, instead, is a mixture of sarcastic Max Bunker's style, Tolkien fantasy elements, medieval history, classical Northern European and Middle Eastern traditions and lore, and personal travels (for example, Magnus' travel to Croatia).
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Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction films and horror films, although the genres do overlap. Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth, wonder, escapism, and the extraordinary. Prevalent elements include fairies, angels, mermaids, witches, monsters, wizards, unicorns, dragons, talking animals, ogres, elves, trolls, white magic, gnomes, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, dwarves, giants, goblins, anthropomorphic or magical objects, familiars, curses and other enchantments, worlds involving magic, and the Middle Ages.
John Holbrook Vance was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance, he also wrote several mystery novels under pen names.
Blackmoor is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting generally associated with the game Dungeons & Dragons. It originated in the early 1970s as the personal setting of Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, first as a setting for Arneson's miniature wargames, then as an early testing ground for what would become D&D.
Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for classic fantasy tropes, without demanding the creation of an entirely-imagined world. Although precursors of urban fantasy date back to the 19th century, the current popularity began in the 1980s, with writers encouraged by the success of Stephen King and Anne Rice.
Alan Ford is an Italian comic book created by Max Bunker and Magnus, in print since 1969. The comic book is a satirical take on classic secret agents laden with surreal and black humour, and sardonic references to aspects of the contemporary Italian and Western society.
Italian comics, also known as fumetto[fuˈmetto], plural form fumetti[fuˈmetti], are comics which originate in Italy. The most popular Italian comics have been translated into many languages. The term fumetto refers to the distinctive word balloons that contain the dialogue in comics.
"The Vampyre" is a short work of prose fiction written in 1819 by John William Polidori taken from the story Lord Byron told as part of a contest among Polidori, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and Percy Shelley. The same contest produced the novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The Vampyre is often viewed as the progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction. The work is described by Christopher Frayling as "the first story successfully to fuse the disparate elements of vampirism into a coherent literary genre."
Lego Fabuland is a defunct theme and product range of the Lego construction toy, aimed at young children. Introduced in 1979, the range aimed to fill the gap between Duplo and the standard Lego product ranges. Aimed at both boys and girls, the range encouraged storytelling, and was the first theme to be extended into books, clothing, and a claymation children's television show, Edward and Friends, that aired in the UK and Canada during the 1980s. Each episode was five minutes in length.
Satanik is an Italian noir comic book created in December 1964 by Max Bunker (writer) and Magnus (artist), also the authors of the popular series Kriminal and Alan Ford.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a series of fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st century, and follows the protagonist Percy Jackson, a young demigod who must prevent the Titans, led by Kronos (Cronus), from destroying the world.
Vivi Ornitier is a video game character in the Final Fantasy series. He appears in the video game Final Fantasy IX, where he serves as one of the game's protagonists. He is a shy character who through Final Fantasy IX grapples with the trauma of discovering his past and identity. He is a Black Mage, a class of magic users who employ fire, ice, lightning, and other elements into their magic. His design took inspiration from the film The Dark Crystal and was meant to appear both realistic and comic-like. He had part of the game's world designed around him. He has appeared in other Final Fantasy spin-off games such as the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts II, and World of Final Fantasy. A felt doll of Vivi was included with pre-orders of the Japanese original release of Final Fantasy IX.
Mystic Arcana is a 2007 Marvel Comics storyline published as a series of four one-shot titles. Each book in the series contains an individual main story followed by a back-up story with a plot that continues through all four books. The main story in each book focuses on a different fictional character, each of whom has had associations with magic in previous Marvel publications. The four characters featured are Magik, the Black Knight, the Scarlet Witch, and Sister Grimm. Artist Marko Djurdjevic illustrated the cover for each issue.
The Loggia del Bigallo is a late Gothic building in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. It stands at the corner of Piazza San Giovanni and via Calzaioli; tradition holds the site near the Baptistry of Florence was donated by a benefactor.
In painting, a capriccio means an architectural fantasy, placing together buildings, archaeological ruins and other architectural elements in fictional and often fantastical combinations. These paintings may also include staffage (figures). Capriccio falls under the more general term of landscape painting. The term is also used for other artworks with an element of fantasy. This style of painting was introduced in the Renaissance and continued into the Baroque.
The Mortal Instruments is a series of six young adult fantasy novels written by American author Cassandra Clare, the last of which was published on May 27, 2014. The Mortal Instruments is chronologically the third series of a planned five in The Shadowhunter Chronicles but was the first one published. It follows Clarissa Fray, who interacts with a group of Nephilim known as Shadowhunters while also discovering her own heritage and her family history. The Shadowhunters protect the world of mundane/human people, who are also called mundanes or "mundies", from dark forces beyond their world. The book series falls under the young adult genre, specifically that of the paranormal romance/urban fantasy and supernatural genres.
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animations and video games.
Magnus, pseudonym of Roberto Raviola, was an Italian comic book artist, regarded as one of the foremost cartoonists of all time in his country.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan with the subject of Norse mythology and published by Disney-Hyperion. It is based on Norse mythology and is set in the same universe as the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles and The Kane Chronicles series. The first book, The Sword of Summer, was released on October 6, 2015. The second book, The Hammer of Thor, was released on October 4, 2016. The Ship of the Dead, the third book, was released on October 3, 2017.
The Hammer of Thor is an American young-adult fantasy novel based on Norse mythology written by Rick Riordan. It was published on October 4, 2016 as a hardcover, audiobook, and ebook, and is the second book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series.
Giovanni Romanini was an Italian comic artist and cartoonist noted for collaboration with Magnus.