Zanardi (comics)
Encyclopedia
Zanardi is a comics character created by Andrea Pazienza
, arguably his most famous creation.
He is the main actor in a series of graphic novel
s which appeared in installments on several Italian comics magazines during the early 1980s. Zanardi first appeared on Frigidaire magazine in 1981, in Giallo Scolastico ("High School Mystery"). The character quickly found an enthusiastic audience in the clique of young, artsy, new-waveish
Italians who were disillusioned with the previous decade's political slant and were instantly hooked on the character's basic, hedonistic individualism and cynicism, tempered with cultural influences ranging from Joseph Conrad
to Vladimir Mayakovsky
.
The Zanardi graphic novels were reprinted several times in the decades following Pazienza's death, in original (black and white) and colored form. Pazienza's original drawings were mostly colored by his wife, Marina Comandini, but some episodes have been coloured by unknown students in Bologna
's Art School, to which Pazienza
gave the original drawings on a whim.
. He is a tall, blond, thin, well-dressed son of a bourgeois family, and his distinctive physical feature is an exaggerated, prominent hooked nose. He is also a junkie
, but his addiction never seems to impair his cool, confident public front. Behind that front, Zanardi is an utterly amoral schemer who is always looking for either drugs or revenge, and always gets both in the end, literally destroying other people's lives without the slightest trace of remorse.
Zanardi is usually accompanied in his doings and wrongdoings by two schoolmates, Colasanti (full name: Roberto Colasanti) and Petrilli (full name: Sergio Petrilli, often in the endearing form Sergino, or "Little Sergio"), with which he has established a sort of Clockwork Orange
partnership, and who provide help, counterpoint and occasional comic relief to Zanardi's archetypal
amorality. It is worthy of notice that the three almost never address each other by name in conversation, resorting either to surnames (which automatically entails a sort of detachment in Italian) or to distortions of them, thus Zanardi becomes Zanna (fang); Colasanti becomes Colas; Petrilli becomes Pietra (literally stone or rock as a possible pun on drugs). It is also worthy of notice that although the three are almost always featured as spending a lot of their time together hanging out, they do not consider themselves as friends.
Colasanti is a very handsome, gym-sculpted airhead who loves to hit on every girl he meets. But he is also an occasional rent boy
who ruthlessly exploits his sexual power over men and women. In Giallo Scolastico, Colasanti helps Zanardi to blackmail
a nerdy schoolmate who is a closet homosexual
by sodomizing
him while Zanardi photographs the act with a Polaroid
stolen for the occasion, in order to force him to fetch compromising evidence from a teacher's house. Colasanti is usually Zanardi's helping hand in exacting revenge. At the same time, he suffers from his lack of culture and hipness and is prone to fits of rage every time his mates remind him he is "such an ignoramus".
Petrilli, while being the group's best born and possibly best educated member, is the eternal loser. He is constantly abused and humiliated by Zanardi and Colasanti, is often in love with some nameless and personality-less girl at the same high school he attends with Zanardi and Colasanti only to see her succumb to the charms of his hateful but more attractive friends, and always gets the short end of the stick in the shady dope deals Zanardi sets up. In fact, Petrilli dies a horrible death in the last story of the Frigidaire canon, Notte di Carnevale (Carnival Night), being burned alive in a Zanardi-staged prank arson
of an all-female religious college which runs amok. Except the whole story is only a dream, to which Petrilli wakes in terror to run outside in the street and get run over by a truck. The character's death, however, only appears to be temporary, as in later stories Petrilli is still alive and being taken advantage of by his mates.
Many concepts and stories from Zanardi, along with Pentothal and some isolated vignettes, were adapted into a motion picture by Renato de Maria, Paz! (2002), which is more of an overall tribute to the work of Andrea Pazienza than an actual comic strip tie-in
.
These stories originally appeared in black-and-white installments on Frigidaire magazine during 1981-1982. They were reprinted with colour by unknown Art School students in Zanardi, a collection published by Primo Carnera Editore in 1983, with a new black-and-white story tying the episodes together entitled La proprietà transitiva dell'uguaglianza (The Transitive Property of Equality). The volume was reprinted in 1998 by Baldini & Castoldi Editore as a "Critical Edition", with unreleased drawings and writings by Pazienza
. The stories were re-coloured for the occasion by Marina Comandini. Giorno is considered as a prologue of sorts to Zanardi, in that it anticipates the storytelling conventions and some general themes, though neither Zanardi nor his mates appear in it.
These stories appeared on Corto Maltese magazine and represent significant developments in the Zanardi "universe", though removed from the original series which gained Pazienza nationwide success as a comics artist.
These stories appeared in Frigidaire and Comic Arts magazines and various collections by Editori Del Grifo. They represent minor, humorous or metaphysical extensions to the Zanardi character, which Pazienza continued to elaborate until his death in 1988.
Andrea Pazienza
Andrea Pazienza , was an Italian comics artist and painter.- Life :Pazienza was born in San Benedetto del Tronto, province of Ascoli Piceno , in 1956....
, arguably his most famous creation.
He is the main actor in a series of graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
s which appeared in installments on several Italian comics magazines during the early 1980s. Zanardi first appeared on Frigidaire magazine in 1981, in Giallo Scolastico ("High School Mystery"). The character quickly found an enthusiastic audience in the clique of young, artsy, new-waveish
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
Italians who were disillusioned with the previous decade's political slant and were instantly hooked on the character's basic, hedonistic individualism and cynicism, tempered with cultural influences ranging from Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
to Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky was a Russian and Soviet poet and playwright, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Russian Futurism.- Early life :...
.
The Zanardi graphic novels were reprinted several times in the decades following Pazienza's death, in original (black and white) and colored form. Pazienza's original drawings were mostly colored by his wife, Marina Comandini, but some episodes have been coloured by unknown students in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
's Art School, to which Pazienza
Andrea Pazienza
Andrea Pazienza , was an Italian comics artist and painter.- Life :Pazienza was born in San Benedetto del Tronto, province of Ascoli Piceno , in 1956....
gave the original drawings on a whim.
Character traits
Zanardi is a 17- or 18-year-old Italian high school student at the fictional Liceo Scientifico Enrico Fermi in BolognaBologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
. He is a tall, blond, thin, well-dressed son of a bourgeois family, and his distinctive physical feature is an exaggerated, prominent hooked nose. He is also a junkie
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
, but his addiction never seems to impair his cool, confident public front. Behind that front, Zanardi is an utterly amoral schemer who is always looking for either drugs or revenge, and always gets both in the end, literally destroying other people's lives without the slightest trace of remorse.
Zanardi is usually accompanied in his doings and wrongdoings by two schoolmates, Colasanti (full name: Roberto Colasanti) and Petrilli (full name: Sergio Petrilli, often in the endearing form Sergino, or "Little Sergio"), with which he has established a sort of Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....
partnership, and who provide help, counterpoint and occasional comic relief to Zanardi's archetypal
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
amorality. It is worthy of notice that the three almost never address each other by name in conversation, resorting either to surnames (which automatically entails a sort of detachment in Italian) or to distortions of them, thus Zanardi becomes Zanna (fang); Colasanti becomes Colas; Petrilli becomes Pietra (literally stone or rock as a possible pun on drugs). It is also worthy of notice that although the three are almost always featured as spending a lot of their time together hanging out, they do not consider themselves as friends.
Colasanti is a very handsome, gym-sculpted airhead who loves to hit on every girl he meets. But he is also an occasional rent boy
Male prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
who ruthlessly exploits his sexual power over men and women. In Giallo Scolastico, Colasanti helps Zanardi to blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
a nerdy schoolmate who is a closet homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
by sodomizing
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
him while Zanardi photographs the act with a Polaroid
Instant camera
The instant camera is a type of camera that generates a developed film image. The most popular types to use self-developing film were formerly made by Polaroid Corporation....
stolen for the occasion, in order to force him to fetch compromising evidence from a teacher's house. Colasanti is usually Zanardi's helping hand in exacting revenge. At the same time, he suffers from his lack of culture and hipness and is prone to fits of rage every time his mates remind him he is "such an ignoramus".
Petrilli, while being the group's best born and possibly best educated member, is the eternal loser. He is constantly abused and humiliated by Zanardi and Colasanti, is often in love with some nameless and personality-less girl at the same high school he attends with Zanardi and Colasanti only to see her succumb to the charms of his hateful but more attractive friends, and always gets the short end of the stick in the shady dope deals Zanardi sets up. In fact, Petrilli dies a horrible death in the last story of the Frigidaire canon, Notte di Carnevale (Carnival Night), being burned alive in a Zanardi-staged prank arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
of an all-female religious college which runs amok. Except the whole story is only a dream, to which Petrilli wakes in terror to run outside in the street and get run over by a truck. The character's death, however, only appears to be temporary, as in later stories Petrilli is still alive and being taken advantage of by his mates.
Many concepts and stories from Zanardi, along with Pentothal and some isolated vignettes, were adapted into a motion picture by Renato de Maria, Paz! (2002), which is more of an overall tribute to the work of Andrea Pazienza than an actual comic strip tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
.
Zanardi stories: Frigidaire canon (1981)
- Giorno (Day)
- Giallo scolastico (High School Mystery)
- Pacco (Scam)
- Verde matematico (Mathematical Green)
- Notte di Carnevale (Carnival Night)
These stories originally appeared in black-and-white installments on Frigidaire magazine during 1981-1982. They were reprinted with colour by unknown Art School students in Zanardi, a collection published by Primo Carnera Editore in 1983, with a new black-and-white story tying the episodes together entitled La proprietà transitiva dell'uguaglianza (The Transitive Property of Equality). The volume was reprinted in 1998 by Baldini & Castoldi Editore as a "Critical Edition", with unreleased drawings and writings by Pazienza
Andrea Pazienza
Andrea Pazienza , was an Italian comics artist and painter.- Life :Pazienza was born in San Benedetto del Tronto, province of Ascoli Piceno , in 1956....
. The stories were re-coloured for the occasion by Marina Comandini. Giorno is considered as a prologue of sorts to Zanardi, in that it anticipates the storytelling conventions and some general themes, though neither Zanardi nor his mates appear in it.
Zanardi stories: major non-Frigidaire episodes (1984)
- Lupi (Wolves), colour by Andrea Pazienza, 1984
- La prima delle tre (The First Of The Three), black-and-white, 1984
These stories appeared on Corto Maltese magazine and represent significant developments in the Zanardi "universe", though removed from the original series which gained Pazienza nationwide success as a comics artist.
Zanardi stories: scattered episodes (1983-1988)
- Massimo Zanardi, l'inesistente (The Nonexistent), 1983
- Zanardi at the war, 1986
- Zanardi (aka Zanardi In The Middle Ages), 1986 *I modi: Cenerentola 1987 (The Ways: Cinderella 1987), 1987
These stories appeared in Frigidaire and Comic Arts magazines and various collections by Editori Del Grifo. They represent minor, humorous or metaphysical extensions to the Zanardi character, which Pazienza continued to elaborate until his death in 1988.