NeoText, a new digital publisher, is taking the world by storm with the launch of it’s upcoming original titles and short form prose that ranges from science fiction and and noir novellas to investigative journalism and narrative nonfiction. Among these interesting releases is an essay on Italian comic writer Luigi Corteggei. His art style is being shown to a wider, modern audience with this release.
Luigi Corteggi, also known by the pseudonym of Cortez, was an Italian illustrator and designer born in Milan in 1933. In the early 1960s, following an initial career in advertising, he exploded onto the burgeoning Italian comics scene, where he became the chief cover artist for many foundational Italian crime and neo-gothic comic titles such as Kriminal and Satanik, before ultimately being appointed art director for Italian comics giant Bonelli, contributing central visual elements to the evolution of the Dylan Dog franchise, among many other Bonelli Editore properties. His work is a cornerstone of the Fumetti movement, and is also seen as a key influence within the rise of the 1960s/70s Italian genre film industry, where cinematic imagery inspired by his work can be seen prominently in the style of filmmakers like Pierro Vivarelli, Umberto Lenzi and Mario Bava. He died in Casorzo at the age of 85.
Previously to this announcement I had never heard of this artist and as a fan of the weird and the the amazing, I’m feeling a bit lost knowing that he’s already gone. So with you, our dear FangirlNation readers, I too am reading the essay and going back to learn more about this absolute trailblazer.
