New Comics Now
| New Comics Now | |
 First issue | |
| Country/language: |  Italy / Italian
|
|---|---|
| Publishing company: | Comic Art |
| Publishing years: | 1978-1998 |
| Issues: | 406 |
| Format: | 24×32 cm, b/w and color |
Issue overview
Regular series
The series featured reprints of daily and Sundays strips of American comics. Althought the series is numbered for the "New Comics Now" title it is split into several sub series:
- "Clown" by Doré and Attalo
- "Dick Tracy" by Chester Gould, Collins and Locher
- "Flash Gordon" by Briggs, Dan Barry (and Fujitanti)
- "Grandi Firme" by Wallace Wood, Berni Wrightson, Moebius, Dubos and Pichard, Lob and Pichard, Bonvi
- "Mandrake" by Lee Falk, Phil Davis and Fred Fredericks
- "The Phantom" by Lee Falk, Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy, Sy Barry
- "Phil Corrigan" by Lubbers, Goodwin and Williamson, Evans
- "Popeye" by Segar
- "Rip Kirby" by Fred Dickenson and John Prentice
- "Tim Tyler's Luck" by Lyman Young
- "Topolino (Mickey Mouse)" by various
In the early years, Comic Art also distinguished a sub series named "Magic Moments", with new versiones of previous printed stories and first editions or reprints from other series.
What may appear confusing with this series is the fact that the publication dates do not follow the numbering order. Furthermore, some issues were sold out and then reprinted with a new publishing date.
In addition, eight issues were never printed: issue 38 - Grandi Firme, issue 281 - Dick Tracy and the Topolino issues 390-395.
Mandrake issues
As mentioned, the numbering of the series does not necessarily follow the "New Comics Now" chronological release. The first two Mandrake albums, issues 45 and 46, were released in October 1981. While issue 41 was released in December 1990, and issue 42 in in September 1994. The last Mandrake issue was released in February 1998.
In 1986, a sub-numbering is found printed inside the albums. The first one is the Mandrake "New Comics Now" issue 166 with the subnumbering COMICS - Periodico settimmanale n. 7 - 20 febbraio 1986. This sub-numbering applies to several of Comic Art's publications, and resumed with number 1 the following year.
In 1996 the word COMICS was replaced with Letteratura Illustrata in some albums, and from 1997 the word Storie Avventurose is used for the sub-numbering.
No Mandrake albums have been found with other release dates or backlists printed on the inside, which may indicate reprints of some albums. The magazine "Comic Art" contained release schedules for the year, an annual back-list catalog and also mentions which issues were new for the month, in the years 1984-1999. According to these catalogues, the Mandrake issues 45 and 46 were sold out in 1986 - and they were still sold out in 1998. The issues 70 and 115 were sold out in 1996 - and still sold out in 1998.
Magic Moments
- "Magic Moments" is a sub series of "New Comics Now" with new versiones of previous printed stories and first editions or reprints from other series:
- 18 "Brick Bradford", Il viaggio nella moneta by W. Ritt and C. Gray (reprint).
- 43 "Brick Bradford", La fortezza di Alamoot by W. Ritt and C. Gray (reprint).
- 44 "Brick Bradford", Il mostro d’acciaio by W. Ritt and C. Gray (reprint).
- 36 "Cino e Franco", Sotto la bandiera del Re della Giungla, La misteriosa fiamma della Regina Loana and La pattuglia dell’avorio by L. Young (first print).
- 121 "Dickie Dare", daily strips 1933/34 by Milton Caniff (first print).
- 265 "Mandrake", Il mondo sconosciuto and Il castello di Telba by Falk and Davis (reprint).
Mandrake issues