Unknow, "Lo Sconosciuto".

Lo Sconosciuto ("The Unknown") is a fictional character created in 1975 for Italian comics by Roberto Raviola, better known as Magnus. It has been translated into English as The Specialist. Image File history File links Sconosciuto_color. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... Italian comics are comics made in Italy. ... Magnus (Bologna, 30 May 1939 - 5 February 1996), pseudonym of Roberto Raviola, Italian comic book drawner. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

The character was created by Magnus after a series of trips abroad and was defined together with his friend, the singer and writer Francesco Guccini. It was the first great creation by Magnus after he had left Editoriale Corno and his partnership with writer Max Bunker, with whom he had created famous characters such as Kriminal and Alan Ford. Published in July 1975 by Edizioni Del Vascello (Renzo Barbieri's publisher), it is considered his finest achievement. Sconsciuto's last story was released in 1984, though a short prologue for another, never published story appeared in 1996 as a dedication to his friend, the cartoonist Franco Bonvicini, who had recently died. Francesco Guccini Francesco Guccini (born June 14, 1940 in Modena) is an Italian singer-songwriter and author. ... Max Bunker (Milan, 24 August 1939), a pseudonim of Luciano Secchi, a Italian comic book author. ... 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. ... Alan Ford - Il Gruppo TNT (Alan Ford and the TNT Group), commonly known as Alan Ford, is an Italian comic book created by Max Bunker (Luciano Secchi). ... Renzo Barbieri (10 March 1940 Milan, Italy) is an author and editor of Italian comics, founder of the publishing house Edifumetto. ... Franco Bonvicini. ...

Lo Sconosciuto owes this nickname to his second name, Unknow (without the final "n", misspelling intentional). He his a disillusioned, former mercenary who tries to forget the wounds of his past, usually without success. This past is only partially shown: as a been member of the Foreign Legion in Algeria and Vietnam, he learnt combat techniques and the use of arms. After a conscience crisis, he tries to escape the horrors he had experimented searching for jobs all around the world. However, the fate seem to compel him to take part to new kills and obscure international plots. A mercenary is a soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations. ... Légionnaires in dress uniform. ...

Lo Sconosciuto in his last story of the 1970s.

Unknow's stories are renowned for their striking realism, and are set in various countries, everywhere his skills are needed. They show without censorship several aspects of international politics and trades, including drugs, corruption, violence, terrorism (included the Italian one in the 1970s), hidden wars, espionage. Magnus' panels add deepness to the crude realism of the stories, through a perfectionist rendering of the landscapes and the events themselves. Violence apart, the uncensored representantion of a sex scene gave Sconosciuto's stories the mark of pornography for several years in the 1970s. This, together with other problems and the slowness of the meticulous Magnus in finishing the panels, forced the monthly series to end with N°6. As an end, Magnus showed Unknow being shot twice in the belly while trying to prevent a slaughter in a hotel. Image File history File links Sconosciuto1. ... A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical that alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, or behavior. ... Violence refers to acts —typically connotative with aggressive and criminal behaviour —which intend to cause or is causing of injury to persons, animals, or (in limited cases) property. ... The exact definition of terrorism is highly controversial. ... Espionage is the practice of obtaining secrets (spying) from rivals or enemies for military, political, or economic advantage. ... Pavonazzeto marble sculpture, see Erotic art in Pompeii Pornography (from Greek πορνογραφία pornographia — literally writing about or drawings of prostitutes) (also informally referred to as porn or porno) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but distinct from, erotica...

In 1981, Lo Sconosciuto was back in the comics pages of the newspapers La Nazione and Il Resto del Carlino. He does not take part in the events related (about drug trade and the seizing of a plane), however, appearing only as a storyteller in some panels. One year later, Magnus finished a new full story for the magazine Orient Express. In a second story, he showed Unknow being operated in Jerusalem and his rehabilitation. Jerusalem (31°46′N 35°14′E; Hebrew: (help· info) Yerushalayim; Arabic: (help· info) al-Quds) is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meter. ...

The masterpiece of the series is L'uomo che uccise "Che" Guevara ("The Man Who Killed Guevara", an exceptionally dramatic story appeared in 1984-1985. As in all his last stories, Unknow plays only a marginal role. The true protagonist is Alejandro Mosquera, a former medical officer of the Bolivian Army, now drug-addicted: he had taken part in the Guevara's execution and now is tormented by the ghosts coming from his past. His deeds intermingle with those of Unknow and the international secret organisation for which he works, and with excerpts from Guevara's Bolivian Diary about his last days a guerrilla leader. Che Guevara Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna (May 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, was an Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary and Cuban guerrilla leader. ... Guerrilla War redirects here. ...

Cover for the US edition, published by Catalan Communication in 1987.

Image File history File links Sconosciuto_catalan. ... Image File history File links Sconosciuto_catalan. ...

Chronology

Regular series

• Poche ore all'alba - July 1975
• Largo alle tre api - August 1975
• Morte a Roma - September 1975
• I cinque gioiellieri - October 1975
• Il sequestrato della Sierra - November 1975
• Vacanze a Zahlè - January 1976

Other stories

• Una partita impegnativa - July 1981, Il Resto del Carlino and La Nazione
• Il Volo del "Lac Leman" - December 1981, Il Resto del Carlino and La Nazione
• Full Moon in Dendera - June 1982, Orient Express N°1-4
• La fata dell'improvviso risveglio - May 1983, Orient Express N°10
• L'uomo che uccise Ernesto "Che" Guevara - July 1983, Orient Express N°12-18 and 20-21
• Nel frattempo - March 1996, Comix vol.5 N°3