Franco Bonvicini, who used the pseudonym Bonvi, quit his studies to devote himself entirely to creating comics, and succeeded in becoming Italy's most famous satirical comic artist. On 23 November 1968 he started his humorous series 'Sturmtruppen' in Paese Sera. This series, about the German army, was a big hit and has been published various journals during the following decades. In the late 1960s he founded his own graphics studios and contributed to several alternative magazines.
With his friend Silvestri, Bonvicini made 'Nick Carter', a character that was also featured in a theatre play, two films and several cartoons featured in the television show 'Gulp, Fumetti in TV', which Bonvi made in collaboration with Guido de Maria. Other creations made by Bonvi's studios were 'Cattivik' (starting in a student's magazine in 1965, then continued in Tiramolla from 1970) and 'Marzolino Tarantola' (1979). But he also took on more grotesque projects, such as 'Storie dello Spazio Profondo' (with Francesco Guccini, 1972), 'L'Uomo di Tsushima' (1978) and the series 'Cronache del Dopobomba', which started out as 'Après la Bombe' at the French publisher Glénat (1974). In addition, he drew 'Milo Marat' for the French magazine Pif Gadget, as well as 'Saturnino Farandola' and 'Agosto e Strisce'. During the 1980s, Bonvi dropped most of his comics activities and focused on television projects. Franco Bonvicini died in a car accident in 1995.
