based on an idea of Julio Schneider
translation by Susanna Giordani Logan
DOWNLOAD:
• Introduction & index of the stories (109 Kb)
• Western stories #1: "A young gunman"
TEXT (71 Kb)
IMAGES (966 Kb)
• Western stories #2: "The fatal return"
TEXT (72 Kb)
IMAGES (998 Kb)
click to download all the pages in ZIP
A few years ago the Brazilian publishing house Editora La Press Ltda published two stories written and drawn by Wilson Fernandes on the monthly Historias do Oeste en Quadrinhos (Western stories in comics). They were titled Um Jovem Pistoleiro and O Retorno Fatal (A Young Gunman and The Fatal Return).
The numerous Brazilian fans of Bonelli comics were shocked: the main character was in fact Tex Willer! He was, of course, named otherwise but the "coincidences" ( to be as nice as not to call them plagiarism: see the strips below) were so many that it was impossible not to identify him as Tex. What is more, it is evident in both stories, even at a superficial glance, that the author was inspired by the classic Tex story "Caccia all'uomo" ("Manhunt") by Nolitta/Fusco even in respect to the text.
Now, years later, our correspondent Julio Schneider from Brazil has indicated this episode to us and not only did he furnish us with the iconographical material and the translation in Italian , but he also went on to act as an investigator (it is not for nothing that he is a lawyer :-) ) to get as much information as possible on this "curious" editorial initiative.
"...the author was inspired by the classic Tex story "Caccia all'uomo"..."
The results of his research are the following: the new people in charge of the publishing house of the "fake" Tex say they know nothing about the two particular stories; the author disappeared a long time ago and the only interesting testimony on the matter comes from a journalist of the Gazeta Mercantil of Sao Paulo. According to him "Fernandes did other work always inspired by other unaware authors, even Hugo Pratt. It is but plain plagiarism that unfortunately ashames us abroad because of the evident violation of copyright". It is a rather peremptory but also understandable statement: in the two stories that we examined Fernandes was inspired by Ticci at times, by Trevisan and by Fusco - it is inevitable due to the constant hints to Caccia all'uomo - and he even goes as far as to copy whole strips.
Ticci, Trevisan, Fusco: three authors "copied" by Wilson Fernandes.
