Marco Rota

Marco Rota

Marco Rota (born September 18, 1942 in Milan ) is an Italian illustrator of Disney comics , especially those with Donald Duck .

Life

When Rota was a baby, his mother had to flee from Milan to Pavua with him and his brother due to the Second World War. Even as a child, his special gift - namely drawing - made itself felt. He not only read comics, but also drew them himself. His favorite comics had always been Disney stories, especially those of Carl Barks.

When Rota was very young, he had already worked in two studios that shot animated films - "Pagot Film" and "Picardo Film", both based in Milan. His official comic career showed comics published for the first time in 1958, the Dardo publishing house became aware of him and was able to employ him in 1959. Steve Morgan - the Trapper , his own and self-written comic, was printed every week on the last four pages of the comic magazine Captain Miki . Two years later, however, he left Dardo, he initially worked as a so-called freelancer for comic rock - The Invisible Man , which comes from France and at the same time also made illustrations for Mondadori .

Then Rota got a job at the Italian Disney studios (which were then at Mondadori). From 1963 to 1966 he worked there both as an editor and as a draftsman of Superman and Batman stories. In 1971 Marco Rota drew his first Disney story, Mickey Mouse and the Tiger with the Bow , and the story Uncle Scrooge and The Money Ocean was the first to be written and drawn by him. From 1973, Marco Rota was Art Director of the Mondadori Disney Studios, which he remained until 1988. According to his own statements, he lacked his artistic freedom in this job, as he was never allowed to decide his actions himself. According to his statements, his two bosses Mario Gentilini (1973 to 1980) and Gaudenzio Capelli (1980 to 1988) too often had different views and with his philosophy of graphic storytelling he had found rather sterile ground among his employees, which is why he also found this aspect was able to achieve little.

“Back then - to make this understandable to my colleagues or to convey the meaning to them - I spoke a lot about the philosophy of graphic storytelling, that of the work of Barks, Gottfredson, Al Taliaferro, Paul Murry and also the Italians Romano Scarpa and Giovan Battista Carpi was based. Unfortunately, given my limited freedom of action, it was quite a difficult task to guide and develop under these conditions. "

- Marco Rota : Interview for Egmont

In 1988 Disney took over the publications in Italy itself. According to Rota, the editor of the Mondadori comics and his long-time friend Gaudenzio Capelli did not want him to get the post of editor at Disney - Capelli himself was still the editor of the new company. It was a bitter disappointment for Rota when his real “friend” talked to the top positions in Milan and prevented Rota from following him to his new job. The cheated person considers a certain jealousy in the creative area or the fear of losing one's position to the more talented as possible reasons for motivation. When asked, Capelli replied:

“He didn't want to come to Milan with me! He would rather stay with Mondadori! "

Rota answered a number of later inquiries from the former friend about a number of Disney projects with a decidedly negative answer. He never really wanted to draw Disney comics again, but then Egmont came into play.

The illustrator's collaboration with the Danish comic publisher Egmont began in 1986 when the ECN editors persuaded him to write and draw the pilot album for a new series: Donald Duck and the Time Machine . It was later agreed that Marco Rota should work for ECN on a more regular basis.

All of this development drew a certain popularity in comic book trips. This enabled him to meet Floyd Gottfredson and Carl Barks in his hometown Walt Disney in 1965 and ten years later in Burbank, California . Since around 1990 at the latest, Rota has been one of the most famous living Disney illustrators alongside Don Rosa , Vicar and William van Horn .

In 1996 he was given honorary citizenship by the mayor of Varigotti on the Ligurian coast for one of his stories that takes place there. The 1983 comic is titled Night of the Saracen .

Marco Rota now lives with his wife, son, a cat and nine turtles in a small village on the Po in Italy.

Drawing and story style

Rota stories convince with many details and backgrounds, some of which are bombastic. In contrast to, for example, Don Rosa drawings , the focus is much more puristic and therefore lies on the main plot. Despite the size, there are seldom gags hidden in the back levels, they are even largely simplified or reduced. This results in a sight that is vaguely similar to Impressionism . His ducks have taller and narrower heads than is common.

Rota's drawing style is very filigree and is based on great harmony in the pictures. He rarely uses contrast, instead the drawings flow into one another as if in a well-staged image. He is considered to be one of the most highly trained and talented Disney cartoonists today.

"I would give anything to be able to draw as wonderfully as Marco Rota!"

- Don Rosa

His basic drawing style is shaped by Floyd Gottfredson , Paul Murry and Al Taliaferro , but above all Carl Barks . In the narrative style, on the other hand, he shapes his own direction.

Rota's most famous creation

Donegal Duck (sometimes also Sir Donald McDuck , Italian Mac Paperin , English Andold "Wild Duck" Temerary ), Rota's best-known comic figure, holds the position of commander at Angus Castle in Northern Caledonia. His castle is permanently besieged by wild gang, his best friend is Klein-Kieran (enfl. Little Crack).

Adventure with Donegal Duck

• Mission Impossible (= no hour strikes the brave, 14 pages)
• The amulet of the Vikings (16 pages)
• Alone among Vikings (12 pages)
• Artist or Fighter (14 pages)
• Battle for Angus Castle (15 pages)

Web links

• Marco Rota . Duckipedia
• Austrian Marco Rota fansite ( Memento from January 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
• Rotas page at Ehapaverlag with an interview as PDF

Individual evidence

1. ↑ don-mcduck.de