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. It is among the most popular characters of Italian comics, with
translations to numerous languages all around the world. The fan base in
Brazil
is especially large, but it is very popular also in
Finland,
Norway,
Turkey,
former
Yugoslavia and
Israel.[1][unreliable
source?]
The Tex Willer series is an Italian-made interpretation of the
American Old West, inspired by the classical characters and stories
of old American
Western movies. The drawing of Tex Willer himself was directly
inspired by actor
Gary Cooper.[2][unreliable
source?]
Tex is depicted as a tough guy with a strong own sense of justice,
and he is a
ranger (even if living in
Arizona).
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, like the
US Army, the politicians, the business-men, the
sheriffs
or the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. Tex had a son, named Kit Willer
(who would become a ranger too), with a Native American woman, named
Lilyth, the daughter of a
Navajo
Chief (she would later die of
smallpox). 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 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
The first Tex Willer's adventure appeared on 30 September 1948, as a
comic strip. The "first" Tex is an unwillingly
outlawed man with a strong code of honour: to kill only for
self-defence. Almost immediately, however, Tex becomes a
ranger. Thanks to the marriage with the beautiful Navajo girl
Lilyth, he becomes Chief of the
Navajos, known as Eagle of the Night, and a defender of
Native American rights. Tough, loyal, infallible with guns, enemy of
prejudice and discrimination, Tex is very quick and smart, and has a
marked disregard for strict rules; on the other side, he has no pity for
criminals, of every race and census, nor regard for their rights, if
they do not immediately cooperate with the law.
Tex's closest friend in almost every adventure, since he became a
ranger, is
Kit
Carson. A main role has been held by Tex Willer's son, Kit Willer,
and by the Navajo warrior Tiger Jack; though importance of last two has
been diminishing in recent stories. Other recurring characters include
El Morisco (a kind of warlock-scientist of
Egyptian
origin, living in the north-east of
Mexico),
the Mexican
Montales (originally a bandido that fought against a corrupted
government, and after a successful politician), the
Canadian
trapper Gros-Jean, the
Irish boxer Pat Mac Ryan, the
Mounties Colonel Jim Brandon,
San Francisco Police Department Captain Tom Devlin, the
Apache
chief
Cochise, and the Navajo
wizard 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
USA), 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
- Tex Willer, the protagonist, Texas ranger and chief of the
Navajo tribe
- Kit Carson, Tex's best friend and pard ranger (he is not the
same historical
Kit Carson)
- Kit Willer, Tex's son
- Tiger Jack, Navajo warrior
Recurring friends and allies
- Montales, former Mexican bandido and current governor of the
state of
Chihuahua and vice-president of Mexico
- El Morisco (Ahmed Jamal), a warlock, scientist, naturalist and
doctor from
Memphis,
Egypt,
who lives in
Pilares,
Mexico
- Gros-Jean,
Canadian
metis, former outlaw and current
trapper working in
Canada
- Jim Brandon,
Colonel of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police in
Canada
-
Cochise, chief of the
Apache
Chiricahua tribe
- Tom Devlin,
Police captain in
San Francisco,
California
- Pat MacRyan, an
Irish
boxer
- Lefty Potrero, owner of a gym and health club in
San Francisco
- Nat MacKennet,
sheriff in
New Orleans
-
Ely Parker, head of the
Federal Commission on Indian Affairs from 1869 to 1871
-
Ulysses S. Grant,
General of the
US Army and
President of the United States from 1869 to 1877
- Red Cloud, Navajo shaman
Recurring enemies
- Mefisto (Steve Dickart), a powerful and evil warlock and
illusionist, Tex's arch nemesis
- Yama (Blacky Dickart), a powerful warlock, son of Mefisto. Seen
three times so far.
- Proteus (Perry Drayton), a man who can camouflage himself and
change appearance with ease.
- El Muerto (Paco Ordoñez), a Mexican pistolero, one of three
brothers, who were killed by Tex.
- The Black Tiger (Prince Sumankan), a
malay prince from
Borneo.
Killed by Tom Devlin.
- The Master (Andrew Liddell), a mad scientist
Authors
Illustrators
Foreign versions
Tex Willer as he appeared in Lion Comics.
In
Argentina, Tex was published in the 50s by Editorial Abril in
his weekly magazine Rayo Rojo, with the name of Colt Miller.
In
Brazil, Tex has been published uninterruptedly since 1971.[3]
Currently, it is being published by
Mythos Editora.
In
Finland, Tex Willer was published 1953–1965. After a break of five
years, Tex Willer has been published continuously since 1971. The series
is still popular and 16 numbers are published a year.[4]
In India,
Tex was published in the 80s by the South Indian Tamil Comics publisher,
Lion comics. The series is still regularly being published in Lion
Comics as of 2008, due to its wide popularity among the generations.
In
Israel, Tex was published in 70s, reprinted several times since in
limited editions, latest one in 2007.
In
Norway, Tex Willer has also run continuously since 1971, with from
11 to 17 numbers (each on 114 pages) issued a year.
In former
Yugoslavia, Tex was published in the late 60s, 70s, and 80s, and was
very popular among other Bonelli characters such as
Zagor. In
90s after the break-up of Yugoslavia Tex Willer starts publishing in
Croatia
with various publishers in different forms. In
Serbia,
Tex is published by
Veseli četvrtak as of 2008.
In the
United States, Tex Willer appeared in an original book called The
Four Killers, written by Claudio Nizzi and illustrated by legendary
comic author
Joe
Kubert. It was published by
Dark Horse Comics.
Other media
In 1985 Tex became a movie directed by Duccio Tessari: Tex e il
signore degli abissi (Tex And The Lord Of The Abysses),[5][unreliable
source?] the story depicted in the movie is a
transposition from the comic books n. 101-103 of the collection, written
by Gian Luigi Bonelli.[citation
needed] The movie was meant to be the pilot of a
TV Series but had very little success.
See also
References
External links