Silence, darkness, a shadow darts in the alley. He's back. And this time he pulls off the heist in Cagliari. Diabolik, the perfect criminal born in 1962 from the visionary pen of the Giussani sisters, lands in the Sardinian capital. But this time no safes or jewels to steal: the target is the hearts of comic book and cinema fans.
From May 16 to June 29, the Sala Archi del Lazzaretto in Cagliari will be transformed into a den of mystery with the exhibition “The great masters of Italian comics – Corrado Mastantuono and Elia Bonetti”. A tribute to the noir comic par excellence and its most brilliant contemporary interpreters.
Two artists are the protagonists, two styles and two ways of telling the elusive face of Diabolik. Corrado Mastantuono, a veteran of Italian animation and popular comics, brings to the exhibition tables full of energy and dynamism.
Next to him, Elia Bonetti, with his pictorial and realistic sign that blends figurative tradition with the audacity of international comics. A double perspective that is also a journey into the profession of those who create worlds, tension and atmospheres with paper and ink.
The exhibition is not limited to printed paper. Also on display are set photographs and the flip-through storyboard of the film Diabolik by the Manetti Bros (2021), along with the original posters of the historic film by Mario Bava (1968) and the modern reboot.
The two films will be screened in collaboration with the Società Umanitaria Cineteca Sarda on May 30 and 31, completing a journey that unites the ninth art with the big screen.
Surprisingly, the exhibition also becomes a showcase for the new generation of Sardinian comics. The mangaka from Cagliari Massimo Dall'Oglio presents Kraken Mare, a manga written by Xavier Dorison and published by the Japanese publisher Kodansha, a work that seals the encounter between Sardinia and the Far East in the name of imagination.
But the noir heart of the exhibition is also tinged with red: that of solidarity . On June 7, the artists involved will auction off works inspired by Diabolik to support the association “Il sorriso di Piè”, committed to supporting the Oncohematology department of the Businco hospital in Cagliari. A gesture that unites art, culture and civil commitment.
The curator of the exhibition Stefano Obino, director of the Academy of Art of Cagliari , speaks of an immersive and transversal experience: «This exhibition is a journey through the past, present and future of Italian comics. But it is also a game, cinema and theatre. And why not, style: the recommended dress code? Black and mystery. Like our hero».
