Pentothal Comic Book

Andrea Pazienza is undoubtedly one of the most famous and talented artists in the history of Italian comics. He was born in San Benedetto del Tronto (Ascoli Piceno, Italy) on 23rd May 1956, and he immediately reveals his passion for drawing. At the age of 12, he moves to Pescara to attend the artistic high school, where he will be part of the artistic scene together with his teachers. However, his real breakthrough is in Bologna, where Andrea attends the DAMS University (Art, Music, and Performance). He is just one exam away from graduation, but he decides to quit university; nevertheless, that chaotic Bologna, made of a thousand meetings with students and artists, and endless political discussions, becomes a perfect breeding ground for his creativity. In 1977, Alter Alter published Le straordinarie avventure di Pentothal, confirming Pazienza’s success: the comic artist, completely involved in the Bolognese cultural landscape of that time, becomes a point a of reference for the University Student Movement. During the same year, he joined the Cannibale magazine, and then Frigidaire magazine, in which his famous character Zanardi appears for the first time, in 1981.From here on out, his success is unstoppable: he receives many proposals of collaboration, that push him to create in different fields and through different channels, such as advertising, posters, calendars, records, cinema, theatre. His relentless activity passes also through teaching and, moreover, he displays his artworks at the Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna in Bologna, at the Galleria Nuages in Milan, and at the Nuvole a go-go exhibition at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. In 1984 Andrea moves to Montepulciano (Siena, Italy). In 1985, he meets Marina Comandini in Rome, who will become his wife the following year. During the last years of his life, Pazienza travels and works without interruption among comics, illustration, graphic, theatre, and cinema (Roberto Benigni dedicates the movie Il piccolo diavolo to Andrea). It’s in this period that he realizes his graphic novel Pompeo, the character Astarte, and many of his most important stories. He will die in Montepulciano on the night of 15th-16th June 1988, leaving a great human and artistic void. Thanks to the collaboration with his wife, Marina Comandini, Tecnografica has the enormous privilege of publishing some of Andrea Pazienza’s original artworks, re-elaborated by our designers for the creation of an extremely precious wallpaper collection. During the reproduction of the graphic subjects, Tecnografica kept all the signs on the artworks, such as pencil traces, little stains, and the artist’s own corrections. Our aim was to add further value and uniqueness to the wallpapers of this exclusive collection, whose drawings are as sacred as the imperfections left by the hand of Andrea Pazienza.