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olonel Sparrow is introduced in the first
adventures as the most cruel and |
merciless of the English officers, but later,
in the long saga of the Ontario Wolves, we will meet much more wicked and above all
more efficient characters. After all, Sparrow does not go beyond the programming of
slaughter and destruction without ever succeeding in completing an action, as every
plan masterminded by our Commander ends in wretched failure. He is called
"The Hyena", even though he |
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doesn't have much cause for laughter:
his ambitions will be very soon frustrated by a bullet from Gufo Triste's rifle, which
will switch off the smile on his bloody lips.
Another central character fighting in the ranks of the Redcoats is skilful Major
Stoddard, the protagonist of the story subdivided into several episodes entitled
"La rivolta degli Uroni", and "Agli ordini di Washington". In this story Mark, disguised as a trader, has to
cross enemy lines and reach a fort in dire straits fighting against the English
soldiers and the Indian tribe of the
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Urons, who are on a war footing and ready to set off a violent revolt.
An important event in this story is the |
| live appearance of
George Washington, the
future president of the newborn nation: this is one of the few real characters in
the cartoon, which is otherwise not based on actual historical characters from the
period.
Another episode that really must be mentioned is the adventure entitled
"L'alleato misterioso" where Mark and the Great Blek - the
other famous patriot created by EsseGesse in 1954 - meet for the first time
(thanks to favorable publishing circumstances). But the two characters are so |
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engrossed in action that they exchange but a few words. Apart from the predominant
theme of the struggle against the Redcoats, it would be a mistake not to mention the
particular narrative style used in this collection, which has endowed this character
with a rare (and enviable) malleability.
The multiple narrative stylemes have allowed him to be involved in dozens of
different plots, now steeped in horror atmospheres, now true detective
stories, without mentioning the substantial |
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contributions to Rider Haggard-like exotic adventure (or, as they say today,
Indiana Jones-like). For example, the story divided into four albums
(from number 52 to number 54 of the Tutto Mark series) is undoubtedly one of the
oddest - and also most fascinating - stories ever published in Commander Mark's
pages: Mister Bluff, Gufo Triste, Betty and Flok move from America to Africa in search
of Mark, who has been kidnapped by no less than the mummy of a great Egyptian
priest! This story is set in an unbelievable
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realm situated in the middle of the
Black Continent, whose inhabitants preserve the customs and
habits of ancient Egyptians and are dominated by a beautiful queen (who will easily
fall in love with vigorous Mark). It is a rather unusual journey, but our heroes are
not too upset by the change in the setting, and the adventure looks credible to the
readers' eyes and perfectly in line with all the other episodes, even though - just
for once - the Wolves' sworn enemies are not the Redcoats but the soldiers of the
wicked General Imothep!
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MY NAME IS MARK |
| Clever and uncatchable,
Mark is the brave commander of the American patriots who are defending their
country against the English
oppressors. |
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