Claudio Nizzi

Claudio Nizzi was born on 9 September 1938 in Sétif, Algeria, and went on to become one of the most prolific Italian comic book writers of his generation. He entered the medium in 1963 as a scriptwriter for *Il Vittorioso*, then spent much of the following decade at *Il Giornalino*, where he developed a range of original characters including Larry Yuma (co-created with artist Carlo Boscarato), Capitan Erik, Nicoletta, and the duo Rosco & Sonny.

His relationship with Sergio Bonelli Editore began in 1981 with contributions to *Mister No*, and by 1983 he had taken on *Tex Willer*, the storied Western series that would become the cornerstone of his career. The catalog record of more than 500 credited issues across *Tex*, *TuttoTex*, *Tex Willer Spesial*, and related titles speaks to the sustained depth of that commitment.

In 1988 Nizzi broke new ground at Bonelli by launching *Nick Raider*, the publisher's first detective series. He handed supervisory duties on that title to Renato Queirolo in 1992 while continuing his *Tex* work. His later creation, *Leo Pulp*, arrived in 2001. In 2002 he received the U Giancu Prize at the International Cartoonists Exhibition, a fitting recognition of a writing career that stretched well across six decades.