I picked this page up from a recent exhibition in a Parisian Comic Art Gallery Show. Toppi is a unique voice in comic art. He had a style that was far less influenced than influential. It was unexpected but welcomed to find color on the back of the art. When held up to the light you get an idea of how the colors would have been applied at printing. I have seen this back coloring before with other Italian artists like Battaglia but no where else.
I like this page for several reasons. The bear is awesome and reminds me of the Demon Bear by Bill Sienkiewicz. The female character also does remind me a bit of Dany Moonstone from the New Mutants. This would have been published before Bill was working in comics but perhaps this is where Billgot his influences from. The line work and "doodling" that is signature Toppi comes through nicely on this page. I have included a few panels so you can see some of the intricate details of the work as well as the colored back and how the effect works with the art being held up to light.
This piece was drawn in 1976 and I have found it was published in "Il Giornalino" N.16 to N.18 in 1977. It was serialized over 3 issues. It likely saw publication in other journals and in other languages around the time it was created.
