I have had art by Battaglia in my collection and enjoyed it for years but it wasn't until about 3 years ago at Lucca comic convention that I get to see the real Dino Battaglia...the good stuff. Most of his art had been held by the estate/family and so only certain types of work from his prolific career were on the market. To my knowledge, none of his work has been translated and so unless you were buying comics in Italian you would not know his work. It is still in print today and there has been a bit of resurgence in his popularity with the family having let go of a number of great pages. It is my understanding after the initial offering by the family, an Italian collector bought the entire family holdings of art for an astronomic number and so the art will likely not come to market again for many years. A lot of Battaglia art was for classic religious stories, works of literature, illustrations and other projects. My first Battaglia pages were from Ivanhoe and Moby Dick but the work that stands out the most to me is his gothic and horror work on works by Poe, Lovecraft and the likes. Truly groundbreaking and breath taking.

I have been on the look out for a good Battaglia page for the past 3 years since having caught the bug last time in Italy. I went to Italy again this past month with the hopes of bringing home some Battaglia. I did see one nice gothic style page from a Dicken's story I contemplated but it was quite expensive, in the Kirby twice up page range, and in the end decided on the 4 page story I bought from my friend Michele. It was even more expensive but the 4 pages cover a broader scope of his work and style than the singular example. It is a religious story from a long body of work on the founding monk of the Franciscan order. This particular four page story focuses on his having given up all his wealth to live like the poor and help them(I think it is Lepers here) and how Chiara wants to join him but is told it is not the time for this. When the rose blooms, then it will be time. Then, in the middle of winter, she finds a miracle, a rose bush that blooms and a sign from god for her to follow Francesco. I look at it as more historical than religious and like the touching story. It is the art that was of interest to me as it showcases some of Battaglia's innovations in in light, dark, inversion and use of negative space. It is not the dark and grim gothic material but a light and open story that is equally as well rendered and composed. I am happy to add this little gem of a story to my collection.

Like many of Battaglia's other pages I have owned (and other Italian art of this era), the back is colored and this is how they did color guides. By holding it up to the light, you get an idea of how the published page looks. See additional images for panel details, colored backs and pages held up to the light.

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