A Gionni by any other name

Johnny Galaxia as Alan Ford: I Classici Del Fumetto Serie IV: Spaziale Moderno 1, November 1961 (Editoriale Corno, Italy). Cover by Paul Piffarerio.

In another radical name change, the series was published as Alan Ford in Italy, reportedly to avoid confusion¹ with the existing comic strip Gionni Galassia² (Johnny Galaxy).

This alternative "Johnny Galaxy" is a science-fiction parody created, written and drawn by Benito Jacovitti (1923-1997)³ and published in the weekly Il Giorno dei Ragazzi⁴ ("The Day for Children") from November 6 1958 at 28 May 1959.⁵ Gionni is a boy known for telling fantastic tales who is not believed when he comes across aliens. After amazing adventures, including a Martian invasion, everyone but Gionni has their memory wiped and still no one believes him.⁶

Il Giorno dei Ragazzi: Supplemento al n. 1 del 28/3/1957 de IL GIORNO (see www.lfb.it).

This Jacovitti version predates the Selecciones Ilustradas series, suggesting the possibility that the well-travelled Toutain may have been aware of Jacovitti's work when he suggested the name to Bea.

The Italian version of Selecciones Ilustradas' Johnny Galaxia was only briefly published by Editoriale Corno as part of a set of inter-linked comics with the overarching title, I Classici Del Fumetto (The Classic Comic).

Alan Ford: Comment naquit le groupe: French version of Luciano Secchi's Alan Ford. For further information on French printings, see www.bedetheque.com.

Six issues of Series IV: Spatial Modern featuring Alan Ford were published monthly from November 1961 to April 1962. Among the backup stories were Blackhawk by Charles Cuidera (DC, 1960), Samson by Ken Battefield (Ajax, 1955) and Wonder Boy (Ajax, 1955).⁷

Confusingly, the name "Alan Ford" was later recycled by Luciano Secchi (Max Bunker) for a satirical story about secret agents from May 1969.⁸ The series is also published by Editoriale Corno and Secchi is reported as reusing the name because he liked the sound of it. This later Alan Ford was popular in Italy and eastern Europe (Macedonian, Serbian and Slovenian), but is largely unknown internationally and was only briefly published in France, Portugal and Brazil.

Zorry Kid: a satire of Zorro, by Benito Jacovitti, from the story "Zorry-Ugh!, publisshed by Corriere dei Piccoli (1970).

The covers for the 1961/62 comic with Johnny Galaxia stories are attributed to italian artist Paolo Piffarerio (b. 1924),⁹ who later worked on Max Bunker's Alan Ford.