Tex Willer Explained

Character Name:Tex Willer
Publisher:Sergio Bonelli Editore
Debut:(vol. 1) #15 (September 1948)
Creators:Gian Luigi Bonelli
Aurelio Galleppini
Aliases:Aquila della Notte (Eagle of the Night)

Tex Willer is the main fictional character of the Italian comics series Tex, created by writer Gian Luigi Bonelli and illustrator Aurelio Galleppini, and first published in Italy on 30 September 1948. The series is among the most popular Italian comics, with translations into numerous languages around the world. The fan base in Brazil is especially large, but it is very popular also in Finland, Norway, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, France, India, Serbia, Bosnia, Israel and Spain.[1] Issues have also been published in the United Kingdom and the United States. The Tex series is an Italian-made interpretation of the American Old West, inspired by the classical characters and stories of old American Western movies, and occasionally by American history. Galleppini also took inspiration from Sardinia, where he grew up.

Tex is depicted as a tough man with a strong personal sense of justice, who becomes a Texas ranger (even if living in Arizona) and defends Native Americans and any other honest character from the greed of bandits, unscrupulous merchants and corrupt politicians and tycoons.

Native Americans are portrayed in a complex way, emphasizing positive and negative aspects of their culture. The same can be said of the American authorities, such as the U.S. Army, politicians, businessmen, sheriffs or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Tex had a son, Kit (who also became a ranger), with a Native American woman, Lilyth, the daughter of a Navajo chief; Lilyth died of smallpox early in the series, but remains a recurring character in flashbacks. Later, Tex himself went on to become the Chief of the Navajo tribe.

Tex is not only featured in a monthly comic book series, but also in a special series called Tex Albo Speciale (sometimes called Texone, meaning 'big Tex', because of their bigger size). The Texone comic books have around 240 pages and some artists known outside the Tex universe have been involved, like Jordi Bernet, Joe Kubert and Ivo Milazzo.

Fictional character background

Tex Willer's first adventure appeared on 30 September 1948, as a comic strip. The "first" Tex is an unwilling outlaw with a strong code of honour: he kills only for self-defence. Almost immediately, however, Tex becomes a ranger. Because of his marriage with the beautiful Navajo woman Lilyth, he becomes Chief of the Navajos, known as Aquila della Notte (Eagle of the Night), and a defender of Native American rights. He also becomes the respected Indian agent of the Navajo tribe. Tough, loyal, a skilled shot, and an enemy of prejudice and discrimination, Tex is very quick and smart and has a marked disregard for strict rules; however, he has no pity for criminals of any stripe, nor regard for their rights if they do not immediately cooperate with the law.

Tex's closest friend in almost every adventure since becoming a ranger, is Kit Carson, loosely inspired by the historic figure of the same name. A main role has been held by Tex Willer's son, Kit Willer, and by the Navajo warrior Tiger Jack; though the importance of the last two has diminished. Other recurring characters include El Morisco (a kind of warlock-scientist of Egyptian origin, living in north-eastern Mexico), the Mexican Montales (originally a bandido who fought against a corrupt government, and afterwards a successful politician), the Canadian trapper Gros-Jean, the Irish boxer Pat Mac Ryan, the Mountie Colonel Jim Brandon, San Francisco Police Department Captain Tom Devlin, the Apache chief Cochise, and the Navajo wizard Nuvola Rossa (Red Cloud).

Tex Willer's nemesis is Mefisto, an evil magician and illusionist. Other enemies include Yama (Mefisto's son), The Black Tiger (a Malay prince who hates the white race and wants its annihilation in the United States), and Proteus (able to shapeshift his own face, and impersonate other people).

During the American Civil War Tex fought for the Union, although his home state, Texas, sided with the Confederacy. He participated in the Battle of Glorieta Pass and briefly served in the 7th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.

Characters

Main characters

Recurring friends and allies

Main enemies or recurring

Authors

Illustrators

Foreign versions

In Argentina, Tex was published in the 1950s by Editorial Abril in his weekly magazine Rayo Rojo, by the name of Colt Miller.

In Brazil, Tex has been published uninterruptedly since 1971. Currently, it is published by Mythos Editora.[2]

In Finland, Tex Willer was published from 1953 to 1965. After a break of five years, Tex Willer has been published continuously since 1971. The series is still popular and 16 issues are published a year.[3] [4]

In Greece, Tex was published in the 1970s, 1980s and 2010s under three different titles.

In India, Tex was published in the 1980s by the South Indian Tamil Comics publisher Lion Comics. The series is regularly published in Lion Comics due to its wide popularity across generations.[5]

In Israel, Tex was published in the 1970s and has since been reprinted several times in limited editions, the latest in 2007.

In Norway, Tex Willer has also run continuously since 1971, with 11 to 17 issues (each 114 pages) issued a year.

In former Yugoslavia, Tex was published in the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, and was very popular among other Bonelli characters such as Zagor.In the 1990s after the break-up of Yugoslavia, Tex Willer began to be published in Croatia,[6] Serbia,[7] and Slovenia.[8]

In Turkey, Tex was published by a large number of publishers and it is still being published in irregular hardcover book formats. Ceylan Yayınları (1961–1969, 1978–1986), Zuhal Yayınları (1970–1978), Inter, Alfa Yayıncılık (1991), Galaksi Yayıncılık, Doğan/Egmont (AD, DE – 1996), Aksoy Yayınları (2000), Maceraperest (200? -), and Oğlak Yayınları are the series' Turkish publishers.[9] In the United Kingdom, fourteen Tex Willer albums have been published monthly since 1971 by Top Sellers Ltd.[10]

In the United States, Tex Willer appeared in an original book called The Four Killers, later published as Tex: The Lonesome Rider, written by Claudio Nizzi and illustrated by American comic artist Joe Kubert; it was published by Dark Horse Comics and Strip Art Features. Additional issues were also published in the USA by Epicenter Comics, with the stories and graphic novels Tex: Patagonia in 2017, Tex: The Magnificent Outlaw, Tex: In the Land of the Seminoles and the Zagor crossover Tex & Zagor: Bandera in 2022, and Tex: Captain Jack in 2023.[11]

Other media

Attempts had been made to adapt Tex into a film in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Italy. The film was eventually made in 1985 by director Duccio Tessari as Tex and the Lord of the Deep. The film was adapted from three Tex comics: El Morisco, Sierra Encantada and Il signore dell'abisso. The film was intended as a pilot for a television series, but poor critical and box office reception of the film led to no television series being produced. In 1993 several Tex computer games (thirteen known ones) were released for the Amiga and IBM PC compatibles by Italian published Simulmondo. These games were only officially released in Italy and only had Italian text, which has made them quite rare and collectable.

See also

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Casa Editrice / Licensing . Italian . Sergio Bonelli Editore . 6 September 2013.
  2. Web site: Quadrinhos / Bonelli . Portuguese . Mythos Editora . 6 September 2013.
  3. Web site: Villi Länsi . Finnish . 6 September 2013.
  4. Web site: Tex Willer-kirjat . Finnish . 2012 . Egmont Kustannus . 6 September 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111118172315/http://www.egmontkustannus.fi/tuotteet-ja-julkaisukalenteri/sarjakuvat-ja-lasten-lehdet/tex-willer-kirja/ . 18 November 2011 . dmy-all.
  5. Web site: Lion Comics . https://web.archive.org/web/20181228204928/http://lioncomics.in/. 2018-12-28. 2023-10-13.
  6. Web site: Tex . Croatian . Libellus . 6 September 2013.
  7. Web site: Tex . Serbian . Veseli Cetvrtak . 13 August 2014.
  8. Web site: SAF Comics - Graphic Novels . Strip Art Features . 6 September 2013.
  9. Web site: RESİMLİ ROMAN - Tex Willer . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110322003325/http://resimliroman.net/kahramanlar/teks/yayinlar/index.html . 2011-03-22 . 2024-05-25 . Resimli Roman . tr.
  10. Web site: Tew Willer . Eurocomics in English .
  11. http://epicentercomics.com/ Epicenter comics website