> even Sergio Bonelli's pulp book comics are actually great
I am from Turkey. I learned reading and writing before my school age, with the help of graphic novels. Me and many people I know, literally grew up with different Bonelli series. A great number of graphic novelists and artists from Turkey would easily refer to them as "inspiration" or "reason" to start drawing/writing. Zagor, Mister No, Tex and Martin Mystere (or with its Turkish printing title Atlantis) has been really popular, and in more recent years we had the chance to read Julia, Dylan Dog, Nathan Never, La Storia and many other one shot series from Bonelli.
I believe, until the mid-1990s, when you mentioned the term comic (or "çizgi roman", meaning graphic/drawn/illustrated novel), people would come up with those titles rather than Spider Man, or Batman. They have been available along with Italian titles but for a very long time, they were never as popular and widespread.
I am not sure about the usage of term "pulp" (mostly due to English not being my native language), but I'd consider those titles as important and serious as big auteurs' (Pratt, Manara etc...) creations.
Oh yeah, I had a very similar childhood story growing up in old Yugoslavia, I loved Mister No and Martin Mystere. It's really strange how Bonelli's comics got super popular in Balkans and Turkey, but are much less known in the rest of Europe. Also Max Bunker's Alan Ford has a cult status in Balkans, it's probably the best known and the most quoted comic book in a popular culture here, but no one heard of it pretty much anywhere outside ex-Yugoslavia region.
You are right. When I visited Serbia, I bought some locally printed copies of Bonelli titles, along with some other great artists' works printed in Serbian. I am not sure about the other ex-Yugoslav countries, but I can easily say that Turkish and Serbian comic/graphic novel readers have a very similar taste.
I am from Turkey. I learned reading and writing before my school age, with the help of graphic novels. Me and many people I know, literally grew up with different Bonelli series. A great number of graphic novelists and artists from Turkey would easily refer to them as "inspiration" or "reason" to start drawing/writing. Zagor, Mister No, Tex and Martin Mystere (or with its Turkish printing title Atlantis) has been really popular, and in more recent years we had the chance to read Julia, Dylan Dog, Nathan Never, La Storia and many other one shot series from Bonelli.
I believe, until the mid-1990s, when you mentioned the term comic (or "çizgi roman", meaning graphic/drawn/illustrated novel), people would come up with those titles rather than Spider Man, or Batman. They have been available along with Italian titles but for a very long time, they were never as popular and widespread.
I am not sure about the usage of term "pulp" (mostly due to English not being my native language), but I'd consider those titles as important and serious as big auteurs' (Pratt, Manara etc...) creations.