Roberto Gagnor belongs to the generation of contemporary Italian comics writers with Disney heroes in neighbouring Italy. Since 2003 when he joined the Topolino team to date he has written story scripts for both ducks and mice we have seen in magazines such as Almanac, the Mickey Mouse and COMIX!
In our country we have seen the last few years in his publications stories such as The Mysteries of Pompeii (Micky Mouse #196, review) Here.), The Conquest of Tor Corgat (Mickey Mouse #129), Surreal journey (COMIX #13) and Papiofos – Enchanting Vampires in Limnoupoli (Micky Mouse #19).
As regards the parodies in 2012 he had worked with Paolo Motura about the story parody Dolce Vita (which we read in COMIX #300 of the First Period). Also worth mentioning is the screenwriter of the series The History of Art Of which the first cycle of stories has entered Mickey Mouse but also in a centralized edition, in Big serial.
The new story parody of Homer's classic Odyssey, is released in 2 tracks in two issues of Topolino on August 8 and 15.
Roberto Gagnor is in the script and Donald Sofritti ( () is in the script.The last chest, Stable passenger, The Third Dimension Escapers) in the plan.
Below we will learn more about the Mickey's Odyssey (as we will call it in Greek here) and you can see some pages of stories.
Together with him Phantom Duck We thought about the questions and sent them to Roberto.
Interview
Roberto Gagnor: Hello, Greek fan!
Good evening, Roberto. Having read the first pages of the story, I'd like to ask you how you decided what role each character will play? THE Goofy is an oyster (sings and tells the story), so could the Mangica For example, to be Circe as in the history of Barks Mad Odyssey? Still, it seems the Ducks have the roles of the gods, so what is his role? Donald;
Roberto: Well, I can't say much about Circe as she appears in the second part, but you're probably on the right track! As for Goofy, he's basically Homer the wand, yeah. I reread the entire Odyssey and the «describe» Briefly, in order to make history right, but I knew from the beginning that I wanted to maintain a very important distinction between Homeric poems and Greek classical culture.
Gods and People, with the first to intervene, help and punish the latter. And as the Greek gods are very quirky, angry, even... «made» (in short: very human), I wanted the Ducks to play their roles!
Rats are the People, but Donald is somewhere in the middle. I needed someone who depicts all the various anonymous companions Ulysses has, who usually die horribly or foolishly.
Donald is a funny way to use a single unlucky and messy character for them, while the trio with Mickey and Goofy from the old cartoons is being rebuilt!
Did your editor tell you to write this story or was it your idea? If it was yours, do you have any reason for her proposal? How close is your story to the plot of Homer's original Odyssey?
Roberto: No, it was my idea, but my chief editor, Valentina De Poli, and my comic editor, Davide Catenacci, loved my proposal and embraced it! I wanted to tell this story because my parents are retired professors. My mom taught Greek and Latin literature, my dad Italian and Latin literature. So the Odyssey to me was basically a fairy tale from my childhood! I also wanted to repay the myth by being closer to the source. THE Bruno Enna and Fabio Celon i They did a masterful job, doing just that, with the «Their gothic trilogy». So I stayed close to the original story. All I've simplified is «Telemachia» (the first books in which Telemachus looks for his father) turning it into a secondary plot for Ithaca's children, as you will see.
How did you manage to attribute scenes of violence like the Trojan War and the punishments of the gods to a Disney story?
Roberto: I made them funny and appropriate for a Disney story! I also used some anachronisms because they make me laugh and I hope the reader will love them very much.
The point is to understand the ethos and philosophy of that time, and then find a suitable, usable in Disney analogy. I did, and even by cutting very few things, only the very ghastly pieces (such as the blood that wateres the floor after Ulysses massacres the suitors).
Odyssey is the last part of the Trojan War. Would you like to write the script for a version of the Iliad or other parts of the War?
Roberto: I'd love to! The idea would be to make Iliad and then Aineida, which is in some ways the Roman aftermath.
If readers like this story and ask me for it, I will do it with great pleasure! But I will re-mix the characters and use them in different roles...
From what we've seen and read it seems you've done a very good research on these stories. Did you send specific notes to designers for small details (such as jars, ships, clothing)? What sources did you use?
Roberto: I did it! I send a lot of pictures with references to the editor and designers. Sometimes they hate me for the huge zip files I send them, but then they like them... and so do I. It's my way into the world of history, to be precise and to put on some art pieces. For this story, I sent Donald Sofritti many images, both from classical vases and from the Proraphaelite artists and later. The more parody is accurate, the more it works and gives an extra level of pleasure, as with Gosini and Uderzo who quote it «Medusa Design» by Zericault on the album «The Asterix Legionary»Actually, anything you need to know about comic jokes is in the Asterix!
Was it hard to write the Odyssey? How was your partnership with Donald Sofritti?
Roberto: I suggested my idea to my excellent superior, Valentina De Poli, in December 2016, and she loved it. So I started to note the main points of the poem in January 2017, then I wrote some very detailed drafts of the idea of history with Davide Catenacci, my editor. He is very careful, smart and thorough, so he helped me a lot and even solved some problems in history, as he often does. He then sent it to Donald, who is a brilliant artist who actually deserves more recognition.
His style is very modern, while maintaining Disney's typical style, while he is very good at gangs (see the gangs that fit into a frame in Topolino, are hilarious!). Then it started working. It took him a little longer than usual, as he had an unpleasant shoulder pain, but he made it, and for me that's probably his best Disney job. So I'm very proud that he's going to plan my story! We called each other sometimes to fix some things, but... «It worked.» He did a great job!
In the Disney Comic world there are many stories like The Treasure of Ulysses!, Gufodyssey , A Mad Odyssey which are adjustments/price tax in the Odyssey. What do you think of them?
Roberto: Τις λατρεύω, αλλά προσπάθησα να μην τις ξαναδιαβάσω. Ήθελα να έχω καθαρό μυαλό και να δημιουργήσω τη δική μου εκδοχή. Ελπίζω όμως να μπορέσω να φτάσω στο επίπεδό τους!
Η Οδύσσεια έχει εμπνεύσει πολλούς ανθρώπους πέρα από την Disney. Ποια είναι η άποψη σας για τις διάφορες εκδοχές της ιστορίας, που έχουμε δει κατά καιρούς στα μέσα(όπως ταινίες, κόμικς, παιχνίδια);
Roberto: Χωρίς να αποκαλύψω πολλά, στην δική μου εκδοχή, ο Μίκυ (Οδυσσέας) είναι σε πόλεμο με τον Ρόμπαξ (Ποσειδώνα) για έναν συγκεκριμένο λόγο που δεν υπάρχει στο πρωτότυπο (κανονικά ο Οδυσσέας τυφλώνει τον γιο του Ποσειδώνα, τον Πολύφημο).
Η Οδύσσεια είναι το «πρώτο μυθιστόρημα στην ιστορία». Βασικά, είναι το θεμέλιο για ΚΑΘΕ ιστορία στον δυτικό κόσμο. Μια ιστορία τόσο μεγάλη, κλασική και μεγαλοπρεπής που μπορείς να ξαναδιαβάσεις ανά πάσα στιγμή και να βρεις κάτι καινούργιο.
As Italo Calvino said, classic is the book that never stopped saying what he has to say. In particular, I liked the publication of Cohen brothers. «Oh brother, where are you?» And I still have to read James Joyce's Odyssey...
Plans for new stories? Is there a certain story you'd like to write in the future? I,as some other parody?
Roberto: In addition to her effort «Classical trilogy», in Topolino you will soon see the third cycle of the series «History of Art». These stories concern art techniques and were designed by various creators. Then... I've come up with a lot of ideas! I'd love to do some big stories with the Ducks, as well as go back to the Fethragora stories. I keep in mind some ideas about him...
Roberto: Thank you very much for the questions.
Thank you very much, Roberto, and we wish you all the best with your new stories.
