Diabolik portrayed on a newspaper announcing his radio adaptation.

Diabolik is a fictional character, an anti-hero featured in Italian comics. He was created by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani in 1962. His stories appear in monthly black and white digest-sized booklets. The character was inspired by several previous characters from French and Italian pulp fiction, primarily Fantômas. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1022x1129, 136 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1022x1129, 136 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... In literature and film, an anti-hero is a central or supporting character that has some of the personality flaws and ultimate fortune traditionally assigned to villains but nonetheless also have enough heroic qualities or intentions to gain the sympathy of readers or viewers. ... Italian comics are comics made in Italy. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A poster for an early Fantômas film. ...

Story

Diabolik is a ruthless master thief. He typically steals from criminals (and has no issue with killing them if need be, but rarely, if ever, kills the innocent or the police), and has a set of lifelike masks which he uses to fool his opponents, assuming every identity at his will. He seems to have a deep knowledge in many scientific fields, including chemistry, mechanics and computers.

He was raised as an orphan on a secret island hideout of a criminal combine, where he learned all his criminal skills, including developing his special masks, before killing the head of the combine. Diabolik's true name had never been revealed in the series, and he doesn't know it himself. "Diabolik" was the name of a dangerous black panther that lived on the secret island that the head of the combine killed. Diabolik took his name from that. From issue #3 of the series, Diabolik is aided by his "moll", Eva Kant, who has gained an increasing role as his partner. A gun moll was the female companion of an American gangster of the 1920s and 30s. ... Diabolik and Eva Kant portrayed by Sergio Zaniboni. ...

Diabolik and Eva Kant portrayed by Sergio Zaniboni.

Diabolik always drives a black Jaguar E-type car. Graphically inspired by the actor Robert Taylor, he usually wears a skintight black body suit that leaves only his eyes and eyebrows (very distinctive ones) exposed when going 'into action'. Diabolik does not use firearms: his main weapons are the daggers he throws with uncanny ability, as well as a small dart gun with knockout darts. Eva drives a white Jaguar, and unsually goes into action wearing a heavy sweater and pants, no mask and no revealing clothing. The stories are set in a fictional town, Clerville, loosely inspired by Geneva, Switzerland. Image File history File links Diabolik_and_Eva. ... Image File history File links Diabolik_and_Eva. ... Diabolik and Eva Kant portrayed by Sergio Zaniboni. ... A 1963 Series 1 3. ... Robert Taylor in Quo Vadis? Robert Taylor (August 5, 1911, Filley, Nebraska - June 8, 1969, Santa Monica, California), was an American actor. ... Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German: //, Italian: Ginevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). ...

Diabolik's main opponent is Inspector Ginko, known only by his surname, a fierce police officer who however is always cheated by the astute tricks devised by Diabolik. The only other stable character is the noblewoman Altea, Ginko's fiancee. Diabolik portrayed on a newspaper announcing his radio adaptation. ...

Publication

Diabolik first appeared in print on November 1, 1962 with the title "Il re del terrore" (in English:"The King of Terror"). Since 1997 a series of annual books with more complex stories exists. The Giussani sisters wrote much of the stories until 1980s, passing them gradually to Patricia Martinelli's hands and others. The most significative artist working to the graphical part is Sergio Zaniboni, who has been drawing Diabolik since 1969 (currently sharing the role with Giorgio Montorio). Other artists working on the series include Brenno Fiumali, Franco Paludetti, Enzo Facciolo and Lino Jeva. November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

Some American reprints have appeared. The Pacific Comics Club published a couple in the 1980s. Most recently an American publisher called Scorpion started to publish digests in 2000 and did six before stopping.

Film

Diabolik and Eva's Jaguar in the movie version.

Ginko is Diabolik's always unsuccessful opponent.

Italian filmmaker Mario Bava adapted the story for a 1968 feature film, Danger: Diabolik, produced by Dino DeLaurentis and starring John Phillip Law. Image File history File links Diabolik_Jaguar. ... Image File history File links Diabolik_Jaguar. ... Image File history File links Ginko. ... Image File history File links Ginko. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Mario Bava (July 31, 1914-April 27, 1980) was an Italian director and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the golden age of Italian horror movies. ... // Events October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts. ... Agostino De Laurentiis, usually credited as Dino De Laurentiis, (born August 8, 1919) is an Italian movie producer born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Note: This film was used in the final episode of the long running television series, Mystery Science Theater 3000. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999), usually abbreviated MST3K, is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. ...

Influence

The popularity of Diabolik spurred a long series of characters directly or indirectly inspired to him, generally noticeable by the final "k" in their name. Some of them are a kind of satire.

• Max Bunker (writer) and Magnus created in the 1960s two of these "k" characters, Kriminal and Satanik, the second being a feminine and horror version. Both are distinguished for their greater realism and for a more substantial sexy style.
• Killing, an Italian fumetti.
• Paperinik (Superduck) is the superhero, volatile alter-ego of Donald Duck created by Guido Martina and Giovan Battista Carpi in 1969.
• Cattivik is a satirical version of Diabolik created by Franco Bonvicini in 1967: cattivo means "bad" in Italian.
• Dorellik is the name of a film starring singer and actor Johnny Dorelli.
• Fantomex is a character created by Grant Morrison during his run writing X-Men. He is a master thief using technological gadgets and his uniform is similar to Diabolik's, but coloured white. He is assisted by an artificial intelligence called E.V.A..
• The Beastie Boys music video for the song "Body Moving" is a direct parody of Danger: Diabolik

Max Bunker (Milan, 24 August 1939), a pseudonim of Luciano Secchi, a Italian comic book author. ... Magnus. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Kriminal Kriminal is a fictional character created in 1964 for Italian comics by Magnus and Max Bunker, also authors of Alan Ford, Maxmagnus and Satanik. ... Satanik. ... Killing is a fictional character featured in a series of an Italian photocomics of the same name. ... Fumetti or photo novels are a form of comics illustrated with photographs rather than drawings. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Batman and Superman, two of the most recognizable and iconic superheroes. ... Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic-book character from Walt Disney Productions. ... Giovan Battista Carpi (November 16, 1927-March 3, 1999) was an Italian comics artist. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Cattivik is a successful italian humoristic comic book character created by Bonvi (Franco Bonvicini). ... Franco Bonvicini. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Johnny Dorelli, byname of Giorgio Guidi (bron February 20, 1937) is an Italian actor, singer and showman. ... Fantomex is the name of a fictional character associated with the X-Men. ... Grant Morrison (born January 31, 1960, Glasgow) is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. ... The X-Men are a group of comic book superheroes featured in Marvel Comics. ... // Hondas intelligent humanoid robot AI redirects here. ... The Beastie Boys are a hip hop group from the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. ...

External links

• Official Diabolik site (Italian)
• American Diabolik site
• Diabolik's entry at International Catalogue of Superheroes