| Leo Ortolani | |
|---|---|
 Ortolani in 2009 | |
| Born | Leonardo Ortolani 14 January 1967 Pisa, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Area(s) | Writer, Artist |
Notable works | Rat-Man |
| Awards | Best Newcomer (Lucca Comics & Games), 1990 U Giancu's Prize, 2001 |
| Spouse(s) | Caterina Ortolani |
Leonardo Ortolani (born 14 January 1967), better known as Leo, is an Italian comics author, creator of the comic book series Rat-Man .
He was born in Pisa. In 1968 Ortolani moved to Parma, where he still lives with his wife Caterina and his adoptive daughters Johanna and Lucy Maria.
From an early age, Ortolani showed a great passion for the world of comic books, and in particular The Fantastic Four by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, which will affect its style of narrative.
After finishing high school, he enrolled at the University of Parma to study Geology. While at university, Ortolani draws his characters first, and the theme of geology became a catchphrase of the first issues of his major work, Rat-Man .
In 1989 joined publishing house Comic Art to work on two stories: the tragic and the other comic. Publisher Rinaldo Traini published the comic story on the second Spot (supplement of Eternauta dedicated to beginners), marking the Birth of Rat-Man. [1] [2] [3]
The shocking origins of Rat-Man earned Ortolani an award for best newcomer by Lucca Comics of 1990. With this visibility, Leo began to collaborate with magazines and independent fanzines.
For the fanzineMade in USA he created two more stories starring Rat-Man ( Topin! The Wonder Mouse! And From the Future) and several parodies of superheroes (including X-Men, Fantastic Four and Superman).
The most important works of this cycle are his four parodies of the Fantastic Four. Kirby stopped drawing Fantastic Four at issue #102. Ortolani wrote numbers 103-106, completely upsetting the group. [4] [5]
Called to military service in the Air Force, Ortolani drew inspiration from life in the barracks, gathering his experiences in a detailed diary that became the starting point for The last rookie, a strip on military life (the same as the protagonist Ortolani) which were published as an appendix to Storm Trooper .
During this period, Ortolani also collaborated on the Starcomìx humor magazine directed by Luca Boschi and published by Star Comics in Totem Comic and Totem Extra, where he made The impervious, Clan, The wonder of nature and The wonders of technology. In this period he also stripped the series Those of Parma, published in the Gazzetta di Parma, speaking of the city of Parma and its inhabitants, a selection of which was collected in the volume Editions Bands Dessinée. The short stories of the series of Wonderland were taken years later, collected in three volumes by Panini Comics.
In 1995 Leo Ortolani published Venerdì 12 as a series of the comic magazine L'isola che non c'è. That same year, Ortolani chose to self-publish the comic book series Rat-Man alongside his primary job as a geologist; however, in 1997 Leo signed a contract with Marvel Italia, today a brand owned by Panini Comics (and, at the time, a branch of Marvel Comics itself [6] ), to publish the comic under the Marvel brand, which allowed Leonardo to become a full-time comics author. The contract also allowed him to use popular Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Doctor Doom and Elektra in Rat-Man stories; however, copyright problems have since prohibited such use of characters in the Rat-Man world.
Ortolani created several popular parodies of famous works of fiction and blockbusters in his Rat-Man stories. In 1999 Leo Ortolani created Star Rats, a parody of Star Wars . In 2004 he created Il Signore dei Ratti, a parody of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In 2005 Ortolani published Star Rats - Episodio I, a parody of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace , which was the best selling Panini Comics book in the release month. [7] In 2007 Ortolani created 299+1, a parody of 300 and one of his best works. [8] In 2009 he created Ratto, a parody of Rambo films. [9] [10] In 2010 he published Avarat, a parody of Avatar . In 2011 Leo Ortolani created La Quadrilogia dei Sacrificabili, a parody of The Expendables series, [11] [12] that won the award "Fede a strisce 2011" at RiminiComix. [13] [14] In 2012 he created Il Grande Magazzi, a parody of Harry Potter and Twilight series. That same year he published also Allen, a parody of Alien . In 2014 Leo Ortolani published Star Rats - Episodio II, a parody of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones , and then soon after in 2015 he published also Star Rats - Episodio III, a parody of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith .
In 2016 Ortolani stated his intention to close the series Rat-Man with issue #122, which was published around September 2017.
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in The Fantastic Four #1, helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first superhero team created by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and editor/co-scripter Stan Lee, and through this title the "Marvel method" style of production came into prominence.
Marvel Comics is a New York City-based comic book publisher, a property of The Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics, and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics. The Marvel era began in August 1961 with the launch of The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and numerous others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand.
Notable events of 1963 in comics.
Notable events of 1964 in comics.
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Rat-Man is an Italian comic book about an inept superhero of the same name, created by Leonardo Ortolani in 1989. Although it was initially meant to be a satire of other superheroes, most prominently Batman, it has since evolved into an independent comic sporting a complex, evolving continuity. The comic is well known for its nonsense humor à-la Monty Python, its engaging storytelling and its frequent breaking of the fourth wall. Ortolani often pays both direct and indirect tribute to other comic authors and he frequently makes his characters use pop-culture references, either generic or specific to the native Italian context and background. The comic was published by Panini Comics as new installments under the name of Rat-Man Collection and is currently being published as reprints of older stories in Rat-Man Gigante.
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Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as manga in several non-English-speaking countries through the Planet Manga publishing division.
The Mighty World Of Marvel was a British comic book series published first by Marvel UK and then by Panini Comics. Debuting on 30 September 1972, it was the first title published by Marvel UK and ran until 1984. The series was revived in 2003 by Panini Comics, who are licensed to reprint Marvel US material in Europe, and was published monthly until November 2019.
Notable events of 1984 in comics.
Forbush Man is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally the mascot of Marvel's Not Brand Echh, he is the alter-ego of Irving Forbush, a fictional employee of "Marble Comics". Forbush was devised in 1955 by Marvel editor Stan Lee to refer to an imaginary low-grade colleague who was often the butt of Lee's jokes. In his guise of Forbush-Man, he first appeared in 1967.
Topolino is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. Since 2013, it has been published by Panini Comics.
Notable events of 1993 in comics.
Fred Hembeck is an American cartoonist best known for his parodies of characters from major American comic book publishers. His work has frequently been published by the firms whose characters he spoofs. His characters are always drawn with curlicues at the elbows and knees. He often portrays himself as a character in his own work, in the role of "interviewer" of various comic book characters. Interviewer Daniel Best has said of his work, "If you take your comic books seriously, and think that those characters are real, then you're probably not a fan of Hembeck."
Marvel Heroes Reborn was a British comic book series which was a part of the Marvel UK's 'Collector's Edition' line. It was published by Panini Comics and reprinted Marvel Comics from the United States. The title printed Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the Hulk, and before the series ended Avengers comics. This line began in September 1997, after Panini Comics had successfully published Astonishing Spider-Man, Essential X-Men and Wolverine Unleashed. The series ended in 2000 at #42, due to an "overcrowded market". The comic was initially priced at £1.99 when it was released, but over the years rose to £2.30. A year later Avengers United took its place on the shelves.
Fantastic Four is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Fantastic Four and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original Fantastic Four comic book series which debuted in 1961.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly was a Marvel UK publication which primarily published black-and-white reprints of American Marvel four-color Spider-Man stories. Marvel UK's second-ever title, Spider-Man Comics Weekly debuted in 1973, initially publishing "classic" 1960s Spider-Man stories.
Mantua Comics & Games is an annual comic book and gaming convention in Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy. The event takes place over three days, usually between the end of February and the beginning of March in the PalaBAM arena.
"Nick's World" is a twelve-page comic book story featured in the second issue of Marvel Knights: Double Shot written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Manuel Gutiérrez. The story concerns a young spy who tries to trick Nick Fury. The story was originally intended to be a part of a much longer series but after the follow-up series proposal was declined by Marvel, Morrison incorporated much of the psychedelic super-spy material into the Vertigo title The Filth.
