European Western Comic Books ~ Judok

Western-science fiction comic story from 1963 drawn by Giovanni Ticci amd published in Italy.

Judok has been described as a Tex Willer in space.

The character’s adventures was republished in Collana Rodeo, an adventurous western comic booklet published starting in June 1967 by editions Araldo (which later became Sergio Bonelli Editore) for 162 issues, until December 1980. It is considered one of the best comic book series of the period Judok appeared in January 1968

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Giovanni Ticci was born in Siena, Italy on April 20, 1940. He is an Italian cartoonist and is well-known to comic book readers as one of Tex Willer’s historic designers.

He debuted in the comics sector in 1956, working with Studio D'Ami to create stories for the international market. The first Bonelli work dates back to 1958, when, just eighteen, he drew for Pencils (then inked by Franco Bignotti) for A Boy in the Far West, on Guido Nolitta's stories for (Sergio Bonelli).

Starting in 1960, and for the next six years, he works in the studio of his friend and colleague Alberto Giolitti (Gilbert), drawing western comics and science fiction for the US market, and collaborating prominently with famous titles such as Gunsmoke or Turok.

In 1963 he also draws the science fiction story Judok, published in Italy, written by Gianluigi Bonelli.

Three years later, he landed at Sergio Bonelli Editore,  and  works on Tex beginning with the story "Indian Vendetta", no. 91 of the series. Afterwards he continued to devote himself to this character, to whom he has always worked with enthusiasm. Ticci designed over 7,000 drawings for Tex and made dozens of stories, some of which became true cartoon masterpieces.

In the space of a few years, thanks to this activity, the Sienese artist becomes one of the greatest and most appreciated western designers of the national comic strip.

In 1992, on a subject and screenplay by Claudio Nizzi, he made one of the most important adventures for the headline, Red Furia (numbers 384-387 of the series), which tells how Tex friendship with his Indian friend Tiger Jack was born.

In 1993 he was commissioned by Bonelli to make the plates and cover for a special Tex song (the so-called "Texone") The pueblo lost, always on lyrics by Nizzi, published in June of the following year. Always in the same year will develop and end the long episode The Red Hill Massacre (numbers 431-435 of the series), started by the friend Alberto Giolitti, who died during the realization of the story.

In 1995, in Roseto degli Abruzzi, he was dedicated to "One Sienese in the Far West", an anthological exhibition in honor of his long career cartoonist, whose catalog is published by Glamor.

In 2012, in the midst of his career, he also draws Mauro Boselli's screenplay charts for a story about a Color Tex, the White Shaman, released in August 2013, while in 2014 he is assigned the job of making his Thirty covers of the Tex Gold color series (attached to the daily newspaper La Repubblica and to the weekly L'espresso).

Ticci is also one of the few designers able to represent horses in mind and from different angles and shots, boasting of great technical skills.

He is probably the designer who best illustrated Native Americans, which he will put in several of his stories.

His innovative way of drawing has for years been one of the main sources of inspiration for other great masters who over the years have been involved with Tex's character, including Fabio Civitelli, Claudio Villa, Vincenzo Monti and José Ortiz, just to name a few.

From the seventies, throughout his long career with Sergio Bonelli Editore, the lettering of stories drawn by Ticci has always been performed by his wife, Monica Husler.

In addition, some of its Tex 500 color board boards were inked anonymously by colleague Fabio Civitelli.