Martin Mystère #2

May 1982 · Sergio Bonelli Editore · 700 ITL

🌐 Italian edition · synopsis shown in English

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“La vendetta di Râ”

★ 1st appearance — Sergej Orloff

About this Issue

Just one month into the series, 'La vendetta di Râ' (May 1982) accomplishes what most comics take years to do: it introduces the series' defining antagonist. Sergej Orloff — Martin's former friend, fellow pupil of the mystic Kut-Humi, and now disfigured arch-rival — makes his debut here, immediately giving the young series the moral counterweight it needed to sustain a decades-long narrative. Italian comics criticism (Lo Spazio Bianco's 'Essential 11' feature) singles this issue out as the first to reveal genuine backstory about Martin himself, while also planting the earliest seeds of Java's origins, narrative threads that would unravel across dozens of subsequent issues. A brief cameo by Jerry Drake (Mister No) in this same story quietly establishes that Martin Mystère inhabits a shared Bonelli universe, a storytelling architecture that would eventually encompass Dylan Dog, Nathan Never, and Zagor.

In "La vendetta di Râ," Martin Mystère and Java journey to Central America in search of the missing archaeologist Professor Howard, who vanished after allegedly uncovering evidence that America was discovered long before Columbus. Written by Alfredo Castelli and illustrated by Giancarlo Alessandrini, this 1982 adventure blends mystery and ancient secrets with a sense of quiet dread, all rendered in the distinctive style of the series’ early years. The cover by Giancarlo Alessandrini captures the enigmatic tone of the story, a 700 ITL comic that remains a standout in the series’ formative era.

writer Alfredo Castelli · artist, inker Giancarlo Alessandrini · cover Giancarlo Alessandrini

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History

The series was conceived entirely by Alfredo Castelli, whose earlier work scripting Allan Quatermain adventures for Supergulp magazine (1978) directly foreshadowed the archaeology-meets-paranormal formula he would perfect here. Giancarlo Alessandrini, born in Jesi in 1950, provided both interior art and covers for the early run, and his naturalistic line gave the black-and-white Bonelli format an unusually cinematic texture. According to Italian Wikipedia's character entry for Orloff (sourced to Castelli), the 'La vendetta di Râ' storyline was originally intended to be the very first story published — meaning issue #2 was, in Castelli's initial plan, the true narrative beginning of the series. The issue carries the standard Bonelli format: approximately 96 black-and-white pages in the digest-style 16×21 cm trim, with Sergio Bonelli credited as direttore responsabile.

Trivia · 8 facts

Title: 'La vendetta di Râ' (The Revenge of Ra), Part 1 — cover-dated May 1982, published by Sergio Bonelli Editore.
First appearance of Sergej Orloff, Martin's primary antagonist for the series' run — a former colleague and co-student of the guru Kut-Humi who turned to villainy and wears a mask concealing fire-scarring, with a mechanical arm housing a lethal ray-gun (Murchadna).
The story's inciting mystery involves the discovery of a hieroglyph-inscribed stele in the Yucatán jungle, used as evidence that ancient Egyptians reached Central America long before Columbus — typical of the series' alternative-history framework.
A brief cameo appearance by Jerry Drake (the protagonist of Bonelli's Mister No series) confirms the shared 'Universo Bonelli' continuity and foreshadows the later crossover team-ups with Dylan Dog and Nathan Never.
Writer: Alfredo Castelli; Artist: Giancarlo Alessandrini — the same creative team responsible for the debut issue, maintaining visual and tonal consistency from the series' launch.
According to Italian Wikipedia's entry on the Martin Mystère characters, this story was originally planned to be the first published issue before the editorial order was reversed.
The story continues into issue #3 ('Operazione Arca') — this issue represents Part 1 of a multi-part adventure, a structural choice that helped establish serialized storytelling within the Italian fumetti market.
Documented reprints include: Tutto Martin Mystère #2–3 (Bonelli, 1989); Oscar Narrativa #1308 (Mondadori, 1993); Martin Mystère – L'Integrale #1 (Hazard Edizioni, 1999); Collezione Storica a Colori #1 (Bonelli, 2016); I Grandi Enigmi di Martin Mystère #1–2 (Edizioni IF, 2023) and a collected edition (Edizioni IF, 2024); and a French serialization in Ombrax #212–213 (Editions Lug, 1983).