Martin Mystère #37
Martin Mystère #37 — titled 'La mente che uccide' (The Mind That Kills), cover-dated April 1985 — is the central chapter of a landmark three-part arc (issues #36–38) that introduced two characters who would leave a deep mark on the series' mythology: the powerful telepath Mister Mind and intelligence operative Chris Tower, who would later become the commander of the secret government base known as Altrove. The arc established the ESP-powered 'Scanner' concept as a recurring element of the Martin Mystère universe, a framework Alfredo Castelli would return to repeatedly across the series' long run. As Italian comic scholarship has noted, this storyline remains the definitive reference point within the series for stories dealing with paranormal mental abilities, making issue #37 — the structural heart of the arc — a touchstone for readers tracing the evolution of the series' mythology. Its Cold War backdrop (nuclear sabotage, secret services, a Washington inquiry) also exemplifies how Castelli used contemporary geopolitical anxieties as narrative fuel during the series' most creatively confident early phase.
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The script was written by Alfredo Castelli, who had launched the series in April 1982 under the then-publisher imprint Editoriale Daim Press — the house that later became Sergio Bonelli Editore — after pitching the character as far back as 1980. Interior art for issue #37 was handled by Giampiero Casertano, marking only his second assignment on the series; the cover, in keeping with the standard production practice of the era, was supplied separately by Giancarlo Alessandrini, the series' original and signature artist. The issue ran 100 pages in the classic 'bonellide' black-and-white format (16×21 cm, monthly cadence) with a colour cover — the standard physical package for the Bonelli line throughout the 1980s.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Issue title: 'La mente che uccide' ('The Mind That Kills'); published April 1985 by Editoriale Daim Press / Sergio Bonelli Editore, issue #37 of the regular monthly series.
- Script by Alfredo Castelli; interior art by Giampiero Casertano (his second drawing assignment on the series); cover art by Giancarlo Alessandrini.
- First appearance of Chris Tower, introduced here as a former university friend of Martin Mystère who has become a senior figure in the secret services — a character who would grow into the commander of the paranormal-research base 'Altrove,' a cornerstone of the series' shared universe.
- First appearance of Mister Mind (the 'Martin Mystère' version), a powerful criminal telepath who orchestrates large-scale extortion by weaponising a group of people with paranormal Scanner abilities; he returns in later issues including the Zona X spin-off.
- The story's premise — inexplicable simultaneous failures at twin nuclear power plants attributed to paranormal mental interference — draws on Cold War anxieties and directly references the real 1968 New York City blackout as a prior act by the same antagonist.
- Issue #37 is the middle chapter of the three-part 'La mente che uccide' arc (issues #36–38); the arc is described by Italian fan criticism as the canonical foundational text for all ESP/Scanner-themed storylines in the Martin Mystère universe.
- Reprinted in: 'Raccolta Martin Mystère' #19 (Editoriale Daim Press, 1986), which paired issues #37 and #38; also reprinted in 'Tutto Martin Mystère' #37 (Sergio Bonelli Editore, May 1992); and collected again in 'Martin Mystere' (Libellus, 2007 series) #23.
- The series to which this issue belongs is considered a bridge between Bonelli's classic genre titles (Tex, Zagor, Mister No) and its more author-driven modern line (Dylan Dog, Nathan Never), and Martin Mystère shares a continuous fictional universe with those later characters.
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Reprinted in Martin Mystere #23, Tutto Martin Mystère #37
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