The cartoonist Birago Balzano is dead: he drew the sexy heroine 'Zora the vampire'
la Republica
March 27, 2022
Born in Trinitapoli (Foggia) on January 5, 1936, at the age of 15, following his family he moved to Milan, where he studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and at the Cimabue Art Institute
March 27, 2022 at 10:44 am 1 minute read
The cartoonist Birago Balzano, known for his sexy heroine Zora the Vampire and designer of western sagas such as Il Piccolo Ranger, A Boy in the Far West and Capitan Miki, died in Milan at the age of 86. A multifaceted artist, Balzano moved easily in both humorous and realistic drawing. His long collaboration with Edifumetto editions, from 1972 to 1985, marked an era in the history of Italian popular erotic comics, with Zora the Vampire having a great success abroad and film adaptations.
Born in Trinitapoli (Foggia) on 5 January 1936 as Antonio Pietro Birago Balzano, at the age of 15, he moved to Milan with his family, where he studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and the Cimabue Art Institute. The debut in the world of comics took place in 1964 with the Editoriale Corno, illustrating the books of Captain Audax. Balzano then enters the studio of Franco Bignotti at the time involved in the realization of A Boy in the Far West, a western series created by Guido Nolitta (pseudonym of Sergio Bonelli). Between 1966 and 1967 he collaborated with Sergio Montipò on Cap Il Comic Book Capellone for Erregi. In 1967 he joined the staff of Il Piccolo Ranger, drawing the stories of Kit Teller until 1973.
In 1972 he joined Renzo Barbieri's team at Edifumetto, who became the king of popular erotic comics. From 1972 to 1985 Balzano became the leading designer of the sexy-horror series Zora la Vampira, of which he illustrates most of the stories scripted by Barbieri himself, creator of the series, and by Rubino Ventura, pseudonym of the novelist Giuseppe Pederiali. For Edifumetto he draws numerous other sexy comics.
With the end of the season of the popular erotic pocket, Balzano leaves the world of comics to devote himself to illustration and advertising. In the 90s, Balzano joined the graphics office of the Sergio Bonelli publishing house, dealing for about twenty years with the completion of numerous comic episodes such as Nathan Never, Zagor, Dylan Dog and Mister No.
BALZANO, Birago
Born: 1/5/1936, Trinitapoli, Foggia, Italy
Died: 3/25/2022, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Birago Balzano’s westerns – comic book artist:
Captain Audax – 1954
Capitan Mikki – 1994-1996
Il
Piccolo Ranger – 1967-1973
A Boy in the Far West – 1994
Grande Blek - 2002
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