L’Uomo Mascherato is a comic book series published by Editoriale Cosmo in Italy from the 24th of August 2017 thru till the 14th of November, 2019. Three hardcover album style books were published over this period publishing Sunday newspaper comic strip stories plus additional content including essays and historical insights.
Editoriale Cosmo is a prominent Italian publishing house specializing in comics and graphic novels, known for its extensive and varied catalog distributed across different market channels in Italy. Established in the 2010s, it carved a niche for itself by focusing on both re-proposing classic, often American, adventure comic strips and serials that had been popular in the past, and on translating European, particularly Franco-Belgian, titles. The publisher successfully taps into nostalgia while also introducing high-quality foreign works, ensuring a diverse offering for Italian comic readers, which distinguishes it from larger Italian publishers primarily known for original Italian fumetti.
The company’s editorial strategy is structured to reach consumers through multiple avenues. It has a significant presence in the newsstand market with a variety of themed series, often released in pocket or budget formats, categorized by different “series” (e.g., Serie Gialla for mystery/crime, Serie Rossa for adventure, etc.). This consistent output of serial publications keeps them readily available to a broad audience. Concurrently, Editoriale Cosmo has dedicated divisions—like Cosmo Books and Nona Arte—aimed at the bookstore market, offering more premium, elegant hardcover volumes. These volumes typically collect classic comic strips and serials from Italy, the US, and France, often in complete or archival editions.
Editoriale Cosmo’s published works are wide-ranging in genre, though they show a strong affinity for adventure, noir, science fiction, and action comics. Their catalog of archival reprints includes internationally recognized titles like Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, The Phantom, Superman and Batman comic strips from various eras, and Tarzan. By making these historical and global comic treasures accessible to the Italian public, often for the first time in complete or high-quality editions, Editoriale Cosmo plays a crucial role in preserving and promoting the wider history of the comic medium within Italy. This dual approach—accessible newsstand serials and sophisticated bookstore collections—is central to the publisher’s identity.
The L’Uomo Mascherato comic books contain 208 full color pages measuring 29.3cm x 21.8cm in landscape format. The Sunday newspaper comic strips were initially published in newspapers from 1939 thru till 1949, stories written by Lee Falk and illustrated by Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy. Editoriale Cosmo translated the comic strip text for the series from English to Italian.
All three editions can be seen below, with the back covers also shown.
An internal page sample can be seen below.
A collectors edition box-set was released by Editoriale Cosmo in Italy in June 2022 titled ‘Le Tavole Domenicali’. All 3 editions are found in the box-set with a custom slip case produced to house the 3 comic books. The box-set measures 29cm x 22.5cm x 7.5cm, all packaged in clear shrink-wrapped plastic.
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