Massimo De Vita

Massimo De Vita 1990

Massimo De Vita (born May 29, 1941 in Milan ) is an Italian comic artist.

biography

Massimo De Vita was born to Pier Lorenzo De Vita . His drawing career began in 1958 in the Pagot brothers' studio, which is best known in Germany for the cartoon series Calimero . In 1959 he worked for Topolino for the first time, first on covers, then on Disney comics, initially together with his father. The first team work on Uncle Dagobert and the Treasure of Captain Kidd from 1961 (German publication in Lustigen Taschenbuch (LTB) No. 10) was followed by a few more, but in the same year the son was also active solo. The oldest story published in Germany and completely drawn by Massimo de Vita is Uncle Dagobert sees everything (1963, German in LTB No. 28), still heavily influenced by de Vita senior in drawing.

In the 1960s, he was considered a valued draftsman. In the 1970s he experienced a huge surge in popularity after Guido Martina had chosen him as the main draftsman of Phantomias and with him realized almost all of the classic episodes with this character. In the 1980s and 1990s , the mouse comics, often created in collaboration with Giorgio Pezzin , ensured that De Vita was now mentioned in the same breath as Scarpa , Carpi and Cavazzano .

Sporadically also active as an author, in 1979 the illustrator invented the character of Professor Zapotek for the story The Mysterious Continent Mu , to whom his colleague Marlin joined in 1985 in The Secret of the Mona Lisa . This story, written by Bruno Concina , initiated the very successful cycle of the time machine stories in which Micky and Goofy undertake research trips for this dissimilar pair of professors. De Vita contributed the drawings to eleven episodes, including Atlantis, the sunken continent, Attila the Hun King, Knowledge is Power and The Enigmatic Pyramid.

Another important work in De Vita's oeuvre is the Asgardland saga , composed from 1982 to 1984 (with a stragglers story from 1993), which he drew and wrote. The original trilogy is considered to be one of the best stories in Italian Disney comics of the 1980s. The later cycles Es war once in Amerika (1994–99) and Die Mauserchroniken (1999–2002) , created in collaboration with Giorgio Pezzin, were less successful; most of the chronicles are still unpublished in Germany.

De Vita gave up the character Phantomias in the 1990s and instead turned to Indiana Goof, a character from the mouse universe that he still draws to this day. Otherwise he has often worked with the author Casty since 2003.

Works

• The Superchampion (1966, with Gian Giacomo Dalmasso , LTB 34)
• Donald in the footsteps of Neptune (1969, with Rodolfo Cimino , LTB 27)
• The Panacea (1971, with Abramo Barosso and Gian Paolo Barosso , LTB 33)
• The Billionaires' Contest (1975, with Carlo D'Alba , DD 82)
• Water games (1976, with Alfredo Castelli , DD 144)
• The Secret of the Bermuda Triangle (1977, with Alfredo Castelli, LTB 141)
• The missing bathers (1978, with Giorgio Pezzin, DD 80)
• The Secret of the Stolen Cars (1979, with Anne-Marie Dester , LTB 84)
• The Mysterious Continent Mu (1979, also as an author, LTB 141)
• The fight of the art banauss (1980, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 126)
• The floating fields (1981, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 83)
• The Legacy of Boy Bongo (1981, also as a writer, LTB 121)
• The Secret of Psathoúra (1982, also as an author, LTB 136)
• The Electronic Revolution (1983, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 118)
• Topolino e la "pietra di saggezza" (1983, also as an author)
• The House of the Future (1984, with Giorgio Pezzin, DD 396)
• The Wedding of Dagobert Duck (1984, also as an author, with Elisa Penna (plot), Disney Paperback Edition 2)
• The Rasterax 2000 (1984, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 135)
• Santa Claus in Need (1985, with Luigi Mignacco , OD 4)
• Meeting in Transylvania (1986, with Claudia Salvatori , DD 382)
• Only those who know longing (1988, with Massimo Marconi , LTB 134)
• The "Great Heroic Deed" (1988, with Giorgio Pezzin, DD 408)
• A day without words (1988, with Bruno Sarda, DD 419)
• The zodiac stone (1990, with Bruno Sarda and co-draftsman Franco Valussi , LTB 156 and 157)
• The Intergalactic Peace Fleet: The Allmeister Saves the World (1991, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 164)
• Clash of the Galaxies: The Secret Garrison (1991, with Giorgio Pezzin and Manuela Marinato , LTB 168)
• The Valley of the Seven Suns (1992, also as an author, LTB 176)
• The Secret of the Wanderinsel (1992, with Bruno Sarda, LTB 181)
• Adventure in Absurdistan (1993, with Bruno Sarda, LTB 189)
• Cosmic leaps in time (1993, with Alessandro Sisti , LTB 191)
• The Elixir of Eternal Youth (1993, with Carlo Panaro , LTB 194)
• The Secret of the 313 (1995, with Fabio Michelini , LTB 220)
• The Incredible Vladimir (1997, with Tito Faraci , LTB 252)
• Mickey Mouse and the King of America (2001, also as a writer, Carl Barks - The Father of the Ducks )
• The legendary Superjux (2004, with Casty, LTB 349)
• Topolino e le regolissime del Guazzabù (2005, with Casty)
• Topolino e l'uomo ingannatempo (2005, with Casty)

All Phantomias stories drawn by Massimo de Vita (1971-93)

(Author: Guido Martina, unless otherwise stated)

• Phantomias is back! (1971, LTB 44)
• Phantomias outdoes itself (1971, LTB 41)
• Phantomias is phenomenal (1971, LTB 44)
• The three-tower fort (1972, LTB 57)
• Phantomias and the Sleeping Beauty (1972, LTB 57)
• Paperinik allo sbaraglio (1973)
• The wiretapping affair (1973, LTB 102)
• The pyramid of Cheopsele (1974, LTB 337)
• Paperinik e il dramma ciclico (1974)
• The Imaginary Sick (1974, LTB 149)
• The thought clock (1975, LTB 129)
• The million dollar (1975, LTB 369)
• The intelligence barrier (1976, with Antonio Bellomi , DD 68)
• Power struggle over the Northrend Swamp (1977, LTB 128)
• My friend Phantomias (1977, DD 63, and LTB duck edition 22)
• Grimmbart's Treasure (1977, DD 76, as well as LTB Duck Edition 4)
• Fear of kidnapping (1978, LTB 125)
• The Ladies' Favorite (1978, with Giorgio Pezzin, DD 115, as well as LTB Duck Edition 8)
• A victorious defeat (1978, LTB Exclusive 2)
• The man on the moonbeam (1980, LTB 102)
• Phantomias in the hands of the tank crackers (1980, LTB 75)
• Duckburg in Rock Fever (1981, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 102)
• The film star (1984, with Staff di IF , DD 342, and LTB Spezial 16)
• Phantomias and the Forgotten Shrine (1986, with Bruno Concina, LTB 121)
• The victory of the "Masked Cylinder" (1987, with Massimo Marconi, DD 406, and LTB Special 3)
• The Advertising War (1987, with Giorgio Pezzin, OD 16)
• The super car in rogue hands (1987, with Bruno Concina, OD 37, and LTB duck edition 8)
• Phantomias and the collecting "mania" (1988, with Giorgio Pezzin, OD 35, and LTB duck edition 8)
• Phantomias and the Dünnli Diet (1989, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 154)
• Fight against the polluters (1989, with Giorgio Pezzin, OD 32, and LTB duck edition 8)
• In Greatest Danger (1989, with Fabio Michelini, OD 36)
• Lucius Spectaculus - The Zodiac Stone Episode 8 (1990, with Bruno Sarda, LTB 157)
• The Egyptian Vulture Strikes (1991, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 164)
• A sponsor for Phantomias (1993, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 200)

Asgardland Cycle (1982-93)

(4 chapters, author: Massimo de Vita)

• The glass sword (1982, LTB 124)
• The Asgardland Tournament (1983, LTB 124)
• The Return of the Prince of Niflheim (1984, LTB 124)
• The big sleep (1993, with Fabio Michelini as co-author, LTB special volume 1)

All time machine stories drawn by Massimo de Vita (1985-91)

Main article: Time machine stories

• The Secret of the Mona Lisa (1985, with Bruno Concina, Panzerknacker & Co 9)
• Napoleon's Secret (1985, with Bruno Concina, Panzerknacker & Co 12)
• Flying visit to the Vikings (1986, with Giorgio Pezzin, DD 377, the "Origin-Story")
• The fatal cup final (1986, with Massimo Marconi, LTB 128)
• The Secret of the Amazons (1986, with Bruno Concina, Panzerknacker & Co 13)
• The legend of the panettone (1986, with Bruno Sarda, LTB 131)
• Atlantis, the sunken continent (1987, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 131)
• Attila the Hun King (1987, with Giorgio Pezzin, LTB 133)
• Knowledge is Power (1987, with Massimo Marconi, LTB 134)
• The twelve names - The Zodiac Stone Episode 1 (1990, with Bruno Sarda, LTB 156)
• The Enigmatic Pyramid (1991, with Massimo Marconi, LTB 171)