Mani in alto!

The glorious press "Audace" had by now run its course. Even the character of Furio (now masked) had difficulty adjusting to the new vitality that permeated post-war Italy. But once again the Audace Press had an ace up its sleeve in the guise of Rinaldo D'Ami, script-writer and illustrator who had internalised the example of American Western movies and of the great American comic strip authors (in particular Milton Caniff). Thus in 1949 a stunning cover designed by Galleppini marked the birth off "Mani in alto!", a new series with which the by now exhausted "Audace" effectively merged, and in which the adventures of Furio would come to their natural conclusion, with Furio now reduced to the role of a somewhat minor figure. The protagonists of this new series were the young Teddy Star, a Cavalry sergeant, Cherry Brandy, the typical wrinkled old man of the western genre, and Sventola, a likeable and slightly pathetic figure of a orphan bandit. D'Ami, who later americanized his name to Roy D'Amy, succeeded in giving a brilliant characterization of his characters, embroiling them in lengthy adventures set in the West, but also in Mexico and Canada. He achieved remarkable success with this series, and "Mani in alto!" became one of the masterpieces of the world of comics during this period. Particularly striking were his female figures: graphically inspired by Caniff's "little women", they broke free from the traditional image of the "nice little girl-friend needing protection" by participating actively in the events.