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| Andrea Bresciani - 1966 |
The English translation of this interview was prepared by Vittorio and Giuseppe Trovato, in Melbourne, Australia, August 2007. With Vittorio and Giuseppe's permission, I subsequently prepared this English-language version for the Pulpfaction.net website in October 2007, adding background notes where necessary, in order to put Bresciani's life and work in its proper historical context. This annotated, English-language version remained online at Pulpfaction.net, until the site's closure in October 2013. Further notes and samples of Bresciani's artwork have been added to this updated version for Comics Down Under.
Giuseppe Trovato (GT): Mr. Bresciani, your career in the comic book world has many dark spots. We lose track of you in the 1950s, after the success of Tony Falco and Geky Dor. Shall we start with your date and place of birth?
Andrea Bresciani (AB): I was born on 29 January, 1923, in Tolmino, located in the province of Gorizia, which was later ceded to Yugoslavia.
NOTE: Andrea Bresciani was born on January 27, 1923, but due to a mistaken transcription on his Australian passport, it was recorded as January 29, 1923 (It was Andrea’s wish to use only the second date of birth and, out of respect for his wishes, this has been done for the purposes of this interview).
Although his surname suggests Italian ancestry, Andrea Bresciani was born into a Slovenian family – his Slovenian name was Dušan Brešan. The town of his birth, Tolmin, was originally part of Slovenia, but, with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the First World War (1914-18), large tracts of Slovenian territory were ceded to Italy. As a result, Tolmin became known as Tolmino, and formed part of the Italian province of Gorizia.
Although his surname suggests Italian ancestry, Andrea Bresciani was born into a Slovenian family – his Slovenian name was Dušan Brešan. The town of his birth, Tolmin, was originally part of Slovenia, but, with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the First World War (1914-18), large tracts of Slovenian territory were ceded to Italy. As a result, Tolmin became known as Tolmino, and formed part of the Italian province of Gorizia.
GT: Did you have any formal artistic training?
AB: No, none.
GT: Was your passion for comics inspired by the work of other artists?
AB: No, I worked for an architect, where I designed furniture. I didn’t attend any drawing classes, nobody taught me. After the war, there was not much money. I worked in Milano, but I lived in Pavia.
One day, on the train, somebody left behind a comic magazine. I started to read it, out of curiosity. That was the first time I saw a comic book. Then I started thinking: “If I could draw comic books, I could earn some extra money!”
Every night, returning from work, I started drawing. After three months, I took my best drawings and went to see a publisher in Milano and asked his opinion of my work. Luckily, when I went to see this publisher, his artist had just resigned. When a comic series [was] started, the publisher is supplied with ten episodes in advance, in case the artist gets sick, etc. – a supply of ten weeks is reasonable. But this publisher was at the end of the last two weeks [of work], and if he did not find another artist … So, after three months of personal experiments, I found full-time work as a comic artist.
NOTE: Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Italy hosted a vibrant comic-book publishing industry, issuing both translated reprints of imported comics (particularly American), and locally-produced comics.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Benito Mussolini’s fascist government banned American comics (fearing their corrupting influence), but Italian publishers continued to produce unauthorized "pirate" editions of American comic strips, as well as original Italian comics.
The post-war years saw the new format of “piccolo” comics – small, pocket-sized magazines, usually numbering less than 20 pages – became immensely popular in Italy, and elsewhere in Europe. Two of Bresciani's best-known comic books from this period, Tony Falco and Geky Dor, were examples of “piccolo” comics.
GT: Do you remember which comic strip that was? Perhaps they were some episodes of Saetta? (Published by Edizioni Alpe).
AB: Yes, I think so, yes. But my memories are very confused.
GT: Did you also draw episodes of the humorous comic strip, Poldo?
AB: I did so many things that I do not remember. You showed me the collection of Tony Falco, but I have forgotten everything. Truly, you are awakening the past.
NOTE: Tony Falco was created by the Italian writer Andrea Lavezollo, and starred the eponymous hero, an Italian engineer working in Egypt. The comic was published from December 1948 to November 1949, with each issue featuring a self-contained contained episode. The entire series was published in a facsimile edition by ANAFI in 1975.
NOTE: Tony Falco was created by the Italian writer Andrea Lavezollo, and starred the eponymous hero, an Italian engineer working in Egypt. The comic was published from December 1948 to November 1949, with each issue featuring a self-contained contained episode. The entire series was published in a facsimile edition by ANAFI in 1975.
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| Tony Falco, No.9 (A. Bresciani) - 1948 |
AB: For me, it was a job. I liked drawing for money and for fun. This is all; I do not know what else to add.
GT: Still, for [comic strip writer] Andrea Lavezzolo [1905-1981] you drew Geky Dor.
AB: Geky Dor… [Sighs]. It was a job like any other. I worked for a living.
NOTE: Geky Dor was another comic-book series created by Andrea Lavezollo, this time starring a young boy turned amateur detective, in order to exonerate his father, who had been wrongly accused of murder. Geky Dor was accompanied by an old tramp, Salvatore, and the duo were often rescued from danger by a mysterious figure, known only as "il fantasma" (The Ghost). Geky Dor was originally published from November 1949 to April 1950.
Sadly, there are many gaps in our knowledge of Bresciani’s work for Italian publishers during the immediate post-war period. He drew many stories anonymously (a common policy enforced by publishers at the time), or he used to sign his artwork as "BRADUAN". While exact records do not exist, it appears that, between 1945-50, he did draw some episodes for the weekly comic book, Albi Dell’Intrepido (Intrepid Comic Books), for the publisher, Universo.
Sadly, there are many gaps in our knowledge of Bresciani’s work for Italian publishers during the immediate post-war period. He drew many stories anonymously (a common policy enforced by publishers at the time), or he used to sign his artwork as "BRADUAN". While exact records do not exist, it appears that, between 1945-50, he did draw some episodes for the weekly comic book, Albi Dell’Intrepido (Intrepid Comic Books), for the publisher, Universo.
GT: After the 1950s, we lose all trace of you.
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| Geky Dor, No.1 (A. Bresciani) - 1949 |
AB: I migrated to Australia.
GT: Why Australia? [Was it a] work agreement?
AB: No. I had heard how much comic books were in vogue in America, how much they earned, what was involved. As my town had become part of Yugoslavia, I gained the right to emigrate as a refugee. It would have cost me nothing to go to America.
NOTE: Some further historical background is necessary in order to understand Bresciani’s personal circumstances after the war. Towards the end of the First World War, the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was formed in 1918. Renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929, it struggled to remain neutral in the face of Nazi Germany’s rise to power, but was unable to repel the German invasion of April 1941. Andrea’s mother took him and his two sisters, Bozena ("Natalia") and Vera, to northern Italy at the outbreak of the Second World War, where they adopted the Italian name "Bresciani".
Bresciani’s Slovenian homeland was divided up between the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Nazi-occupied Hungary) and remained an occupied nation until it was liberated in May 1945.
After the war, Slovenia became a constituent republic of the larger Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Over 15,000 ethnic Italians were expelled from Slovenia in 1946-47, once the Communists assumed power. Many of these refugees fled back into northern Italy.
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| Albi dell'Intrepido, No.116 (A. Bresciani), 1948 |
With contract in hand, I went to the office to complete the paperwork. They asked me about my citizenship. “I am Italian,” I said. “That is a pity, [because] our quota of Italians to America is now closed. Why not try Australia?”
Australia? Australia? Who ever heard of it!? “Look,” they told me, “it is a rapidly advancing country, with many things to do.” I asked for information [and thought to myself] ‘well, I will go to Australia, it will cost me nothing, I will get a [free] trip, if it doesn’t work out, we will go back to Italy.’ So, I came to Australia [with my mother and two sisters.]
NOTE: Beginning in 1947, the Commonwealth of Australia initiated a massive assisted migration program, to boost Australia’s population (then numbering over 7.5 million) and assist in postwar reconstruction. New migrants (along with wartime refugees) were initially housed in quarantine centers and government-run hostels located around Australia. Migrants carried out work under government direction, until they could secure permanent employment. Approximately 1.68 million new migrants settled in Australia from 1947 to 1960.
GT: Did you disembark in Melbourne or Sydney?
AB: No, we arrived in Perth [Western Australia], and then we drove to the government hostel in Northam, not far from Perth. We had an agreement with the government of two years’ work. We had to accept one of the jobs available. At the hostel, I kept drawing. From Northam, I often went to Perth with my precious bundle of cartoons. I visited an advertising agency and showed them my artwork – they immediately gave me a contract for work, freeing myself from the agreement with the government.
I heard about Sydney, where life was much better, with more possibility for work and a better future for a comic strip artist. So, I moved to Sydney and started working for Atlas Publications. It was 1951.
NOTE: Atlas Publications was the brainchild of Jack Bellew, the former Editor-in-Chief of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper (then owned by Frank Packer’s Consolidated Press). Bellew relocated to Melbourne in the mid-1940s, where he formed his new publishing venture with his former Consolidated Press colleagues, George Warnecke and Clive Turnbull. The popularity of its first comic book, Captain Atom (drawn by Arthur Mather), allowed Atlas Publications to expand its comic book range and branch out into mainstream magazine publishing throughout the 1950s.
In addition to his comic book work, Bresciani also provided interior artwork for the company’s other publications, such as Squire, a men’s magazine. Although Bresciani worked for the company while living in Sydney, Atlas Publications was based in Clifton Hill, Melbourne.
In addition to his comic book work, Bresciani also provided interior artwork for the company’s other publications, such as Squire, a men’s magazine. Although Bresciani worked for the company while living in Sydney, Atlas Publications was based in Clifton Hill, Melbourne.
AB: I illustrated front covers of various comic books published by Atlas. One comic I remember well was Sergeant Pat of the Radio Patrol, for which I drew a complete story. Radio Patrol was an American series, written by Eddie Sullivan and drawn by Charles Schmidt. Atlas published its own stories of Sergeant Pat under license. The official artist was the Czech-born Yaroslav Horak, who was already famous for such comics as Skyman, Ray Thorpe, Jet Fury [and] Brenda Starr.
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| Sgt Pat of The Radio Patrol, No.75 (A. Bresciani) |
AB: [After working for Atlas, I drew] a very popular comic strip series, Frontiers of Science.
GT: Did you draw the whole saga of Frontiers of Science?
AB: Yes, over approximately 12 years, one strip per day, five days per week. The scientific text was provided by Professor Stuart Butler, from the University of Sydney, while the comic strip script was written by Robert Raymond. I am trying to locate the original comic strip artwork and offer them for sale to some collectors.
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| Frontiers of Science (A. Bresciani) - circa early 1960s |
NOTE: Frontiers of Science was indisputably one of Australia's most successful
comic-strip exports. Each week-long sequence was devoted to a specific topic, explored through five consecutive daily episodes. The series was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper in 1961, and subsequently appeared in most other capital city daily newspapers throughout Australia.
Frontiers of Science was syndicated to newspapers throughout the United States and Canada by The Los Angeles Times, and was sold to Editors Press Service (now trading as Atlantic Syndication), which translated and sold the comic strip to newspaper clients in Europe, South America, and Asia.The comic strip concluded in 1982, following the death of Stuart Butler.
AB: Around the 1960s, the Australian comic-book industry was at the end of its glorious era. A pity to say, but it was true. One of the last comic books I remember doing was drawing a few episodes of Smoky Dawson for KG Murray Publishing, around 1960. Smoky Dawson was originally a daily strip drawn by Albert De Vine for the Sydney Sun [newspaper]. In my spare time, I did illustrations for Adam, Man, and Pocket Man, published by KG Murray.
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| The Adventures of Smoky Dawson, Nos.10 & 11 (A. Bresciani) - circa 1960 |
NOTE: Smoky Dawson (Herbert Henry Brown, 1913-2008) was a popular Australian country & western singer and performer, who starred in a popular radio serial, The Adventures of Smoky Dawson, broadcast throughout Australia from 1952-1962.
Following the closure of Atlas Publications in 1957, Bresciani worked as a freelance illustrator for Horwitz Publications (Sydney, Australia), where he painted numerous covers for their pulp-fiction "Western" novelette series, including Wyatt Earp and Todd Conrad.
GT: After you established yourself in Australia, did you go back to Italy?
Following the closure of Atlas Publications in 1957, Bresciani worked as a freelance illustrator for Horwitz Publications (Sydney, Australia), where he painted numerous covers for their pulp-fiction "Western" novelette series, including Wyatt Earp and Todd Conrad.
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| Wyatt Earp, No.1 (A. Bresciani), 1959 |
GT: After you established yourself in Australia, did you go back to Italy?
AB: I migrated to Australia in 1950. So… [SIGHS], my first marriage broke down! When I remarried, we went to Spain for our honeymoon, where we lived for two-and-a-half years.
GT: While living in Spain, did you draw any comic strips?
AB: Yes, I did something for Brughera Publishing. Juan Brughera established his publishing company, El Gato Negro, in 1910 and eventually launched his first humor magazine, Pulgaricto, in 1921, which featured comic strips. His sons, Pantaleon and Francisco, changed the company’s name to Editorial Brughera in 1939, and began publishing comic books in 1947, eventually dominating the Spanish comics market until the early 1980s.
GT: From Spain, did you return to Italy?
AB: No. I stayed in Europe until around 1980-81.
NOTE: During his stay in Europe, Bresciani once again illustrated stories for the Italian comic, Albi Dell’Intrepido, including such stories as Il Sosia (The Double) and La Notte in Cui Nacque Lenny (The Night when Lenny was Born), between 1976-77. Examples of Bresciani's work for various European publishers during this period can be viewed online at the Comic Cargo Team blog.
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| Mister Smog (A. Bresciani) |
GT: You told me of your stay in Germany. Did you do any work for local publishers there?
AB: No, not for a publisher. It was a bank which published a children’s magazine, which taught them how to save money. I established my residency in Monaco Di Baviera [West Germany], but frequently I went to Trieste, Italy, where I lived with one of my cousins. After living away from Trieste for some time, I telephoned [my cousin] to see if there were any letters for me. My cousin said, yes, there was a letter from Genoa. “From Genoa? But I do not know anyone there!” I told myself. My cousin could not see properly, but she managed to give me a name and a telephone number. The name was unknown; I cannot recall it even now…
I rang the number and I told him “I am Bresciani.” “Bresciani? Do you know that we have been looking for you for years? I have to come and interview you.” I told him, “Look, I am in Germany, in Monaco.” He replied “It doesn’t matter, we will come to Germany.”
I thought it was all a joke. Since I often travelled to Italy, we agreed that I would call them. So I did and we met at the Principe train station in Genoa. When they came, there were three of them. I cannot recall what we said and which magazine they were interviewing [me] for. I do recall, however, that in Italy they held annual comic exhibitions and begged me to participate in one. Each year they gave a trophy to the best artist – and one of these trophies was being kept by them for me, as they were unable to find me. But, since I was always on the move, I could not attend the exhibition and receive the trophy – I think it is still waiting for me in Italy! I remained in Europe, from 1976 until approximately 1981, when I returned to Sydney.
NOTE: The aforementioned interviewers were Gian Mario Traverso and his son, Carlo, who met Bresciani on 4 June, 1981. The interview, titled “Emergono Dal Limbo” [They Emerge from Limbo] was not published until years later, when it appeared in the December 1998 edition of Fumetto. The trophy referred to by Bresciani was “La Targa Di Fumettoamicizia” (Comic Friendship Plate) which was presented by the International [Comic] Fair of Genoa.
GT: Frontiers of Science was your last comic strip work. What else did you do?
AB: I did men’s and women’s fashion design. I had an office and an advertising agency with a Frenchman, John Tish, who also drew political cartoons for a newspaper. Then I moved away and we lost touch. We met again after ten years and celebrated with a lunch. Tish asked me if I have ever been inside an animated cartoon studio. “No, never,” I said. “Next time, come to lunch half-an-hour earlier and I will take you into the studio. We make animated cartoons for Hanna-Barbera.”
I went along and it was like entering a new world! I was fascinated. I went back to my office, called my workers together and said: “You know the work … there are plenty of clients … the studio is yours! I go now to enter another world!”
So, I left all that for animated cartoons! I started working there around 1970, before going to Spain for my honeymoon. We worked for Hanna-Barbera in an independent studio. Only later did Hanna-Barbera open their studio in Sydney.
NOTE: During the 1970s and 1980s, the American animation production company, Hanna-Barbera, opened a string of international production studios in Europe, South America and Asia. Hanna-Barbera’s Australian animation studio was established in Sydney in 1972 and branched out into animated TV commercial production in 1974. Hanna-Barbera’s Australian operations were eventually bought out by Walt Disney’s Australian subsidiary in 1989 (Disney subsequently closed its Australian animation studio in 2005).
GT: You mentioned that you stayed in the Philippines.
AB: Yes, I moved to Manila around 1981. The Sydney studio of animated cartoons sent me there to open another studio. In Manila, we worked for the American company, Marvel [Productions]. I remember the TV series we did – Defenders of the Earth. It featured the comic strip heroes Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician and Lothar, The Phantom and Ming, Tyrant of the planet Mongo.
The other two [animated] series I remember were Robin Hood and Swiss Family Robinson. I was the artistic director in charge.
NOTE: Bresciani’s other animated film credits from this period include The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972); 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1985); Alice through the Looking Glass (1987); Hiawatha (1988); The Corsican Brothers (1989); and Otherzone (1998).
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| 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Burbank Films Australia, 1985) |
GT: Australia was not your personal choice, but a destination decided by fate, even though you dreamed of living in America. Do you have any regrets?
AB: No, I do not mourn. I take life as it comes, positively.
GT: Professionally and artistically. Sydney would have offered you more job opportunities – so, why did you move to Melbourne when you returned to Australia?
AB: My sisters, my son and my ex-wife lived in Melbourne. I preferred to be close to them.
GT: Have you ever thought of restarting your comic book activities?
AB: No! I don’t believe that such activities would earn [me] a living in Australia today. At my age, one can no longer dream!
Towards the end of his career, Andrea Bresciani pursued other creative passions, such as sculpture. He specialized in creating dynamic sculptures of horses, sometimes with an American Indian theme. He received orders for up to 250 of these figures from Japan, France, and the United States, but as he was unable to meet such high-volume demands for these figures, he ceased making them. However, he left his family an exquisite collection of statuettes.
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| Andrea Bresciani, circa 1990s |
Andrea Bresciani passed away on February 7, 2006 at his home during his afternoon “siesta”. He enjoyed every drop of his life; not only did he enjoy travelling and fine food, but loved hang-gliding, which was his favorite sport. He died happily, as if he were dreaming of flying to freedom.
A modified version of Giuseppe Trovato’s original interview with Andrea Bresciani was published in the Australian edition of the Italian-language newspaper, Il Globo, on March 2, 2005 (Melbourne) Other articles on Andrea Bresciani by Giuseppe Trovato include: ‘Addio, Andrea Bresciani’ (Farewell, Andrea Bresciani), Fumeto, March 2006, and Il Globo (Melbourne), April 21, 2006; ‘Tony Falco (In Memory of Andrea Bresciani)’, Il Globo (Melbourne), March 27, 2007.
A modified version of Giuseppe Trovato’s original interview with Andrea Bresciani was published in the Australian edition of the Italian-language newspaper, Il Globo, on March 2, 2005 (Melbourne) Other articles on Andrea Bresciani by Giuseppe Trovato include: ‘Addio, Andrea Bresciani’ (Farewell, Andrea Bresciani), Fumeto, March 2006, and Il Globo (Melbourne), April 21, 2006; ‘Tony Falco (In Memory of Andrea Bresciani)’, Il Globo (Melbourne), March 27, 2007.
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