Sharaz-De - endsheets of fulledition

Illustrazione utilizzata per i risguardi dell'eizione integrale di Sharaz-De, edita in Francia da Mosquito e in Italia da NPE.
Realizzata con matite e inchiostri di diversi colori.

Illustration used for the endpapers of the complete edition of Sharaz-De, published in France by Mosquito and in Italy by NPE.
Made with pencils and inks of different colors.

Sergio Toppi (11 October 1932 - 21 August 2012, Italy) was a remarkable Milanese comic artist and illustrator. He began his career making illustrations for the collection 'Enciclopedia dei Ragazzi' by the publishing firm UTET, as well as a series of animated advertising films. He made his first comics for Il Corriere dei Piccoli from 1966.
Toppi began his longtime collaboration with Il Giornalino in 1976. He illustrated religious stories and a great many one shot comics.
One of Toppi's most remarkable comics is 'Sharaz'de', his comics version of the Arabian Nights. It was originally serialized in Alter Alter in 1979, and later also published in France (Mosquito) and Spain (Planeta DeAgostini). It was in this comic that Toppi played greatly with the graphic design of the page, focusing on the composition of the borders and backgrounds and not too much on the narrative. Although largely in black-and-white, it also features some of Toppi's experiments with direct colors.