Nathan Never #30
Nathan Never #30, 'L'enigma di Gabriel,' is a pivotal node in the series' long-form continuity, delivering the first full appearance and introduction of Gabriel — the offspring of a human woman and a Shadow Brotherhood entity — whose immense psychic powers would shape the franchise's mythology for decades. The issue crystallizes one of the series' defining narrative threads, the 'Shine' phenomenon of psychokinetic ability, while simultaneously advancing the Aristotele Skotos macro-arc that anchors the entire run. It also stands as an early showcase of the bold serial storytelling that made Nathan Never the most narratively ambitious Bonelli title of its era, explicitly cross-referencing prior installments in a way that was still unusual for Italian newsstand comics in 1993.
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The script was written by Antonio Serra — one of the three Sardinian co-creators of the series alongside Michele Medda and Bepi Vigna — with interior art by Roberto De Angelis, who would later become the series' long-running cover artist after issue #59. The cover for this issue was still the work of Claudio Castellini, who designed Nathan Never's visual identity and produced all covers through #59; Castellini himself later cited 'L'enigma di Gabriel' among his personal favorite covers from that run. The issue was published in November 1993, placing it roughly two and a half years into the series and deep within the phase when the creative team was laying the foundational villain architecture that would sustain the title for hundreds of issues.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Title: 'L'enigma di Gabriel' (The Enigma of Gabriel); published November 1993 by Sergio Bonelli Editore as issue #30 of the regular monthly series.
- Script and story by Antonio Serra; interior art by Roberto De Angelis; cover illustration by Claudio Castellini.
- First full appearance of Gabriel: the son of Mary Mather and a Shadow Brotherhood entity, born after only five months' gestation, already two meters tall, and exhibiting remarkable psychic/telekinetic powers.
- Nusuth — described in series lore as the first fully functional biodroid created by the Shadow Brotherhood — serves as the catalyst, summoning Nathan to the Brotherhood's secret island base called 'Top Secret.'
- Raven appears as the cruel enforcer dispatched by Aristotele Skotos to abduct Gabriel; Raven is later revealed across the series to be Selena, a female technodroid transported back from the future.
- Kal Skotos, son of the series' arch-villain Aristotele Skotos, is an active obstacle in Nathan's attempt to free Gabriel, reflecting the issue's role in deepening the Skotos family subplot.
- Italian criticism explicitly lists #30 as one of the key early issues developing the 'Shine' theme — the series' term for psychokinetic and psychic phenomena — alongside issues #5, #31, and #45.
- Fan and critical sources note that the issue functions as a continuity-dense 'settling of accounts,' with in-story footnotes directing readers to prior installments, and that reading Speciale Nathan Never #2 is recommended for full context.
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Reprinted in Nathan Never #28
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