Max Bunker

Luciano Massimiliano Secchi, who writes under the pen name Max Bunker, was born on 24 August 1939 in Italy. He is best known internationally as the co-creator of the long-running satirical spy series *Alan Ford*, though his influence on Italian comics extends considerably further.

Bunker's entry into the industry came through publishing as much as writing. In 1960 he co-founded Editoriale Corno alongside his brother-in-law Andrea Corno, establishing a house devoted entirely to comics production. Two years later he wrote *Maschera Nera*, a Western-genre series, and soon began a particularly fruitful partnership with artist Magnus (Roberto Raviola). Together they produced the crime thriller *Kriminal*, the horror-tinged *Satanik*, and *Maxmagnus* before arriving at their most celebrated collaboration: *Alan Ford*, which debuted in May 1969. The series, a darkly comic take on espionage tropes, ran for 75 issues under Editoriale Corno and found a devoted readership across Italy and the former Yugoslavia.

When Editoriale Corno shuttered in 1984, Bunker demonstrated his commitment to the medium by founding Max Bunker Press and continuing to publish *Alan Ford* with new artistic collaborators, including Paolo Piffarerio. His catalog across more than six decades also encompasses *Dennis Cobb, Agente SS018* and *Gesebel*, reflecting a sustained productivity that few writers in European comics have matched.