Eureka Pocket is a comic book series published by Editoriale Corno in Italy commencing in December 1968. The series contains a total of 82 editions with a different comic book character featured in each edition, which included the Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, Flash Gordon, Brick Bradford, Secret Agent X9, Little Orphan Annie, Garfield and many more.
Editoriale Corno was an influential Italian publishing house founded in Milan in 1960 by Andrea Corno and Luciano Secchi, who would later become famous as the creator of the comic book series ‘Alan Ford’ under the pseudonym Max Bunker. Initially named Edizioni Serpente Volante, the company quickly established itself as a significant player in the Italian comics scene. Editoriale Corno is particularly well-known for introducing and popularizing American superhero comics in Italy, most notably those from Marvel Comics. This brought iconic characters like Spider-Man (L’Uomo Ragno), the Fantastic Four (I Fantastici Quattro), Thor (Il Mitico Thor), Captain America (Capitan America), Daredevil (L’Incredibile Devil), and Hulk to Italian readers, often in innovative and popular digest-sized formats.
The 1970s marked a golden age for Editoriale Corno, with its superhero titles achieving massive popularity and becoming a cultural phenomenon among young Italians. The company’s success wasn’t limited to just translations of American comics. Editoriale Corno also published original Italian comic series, with Alan Ford, created by Max Bunker and Magnus (Roberto Raviola), being the most successful. Other notable Italian creations included ‘Kriminal’ and ‘Satanik’, also by Max Bunker and Magnus, which pioneered the ‘fumetto nero’ genre of dark, crime-focused comics. The artistic direction of Luigi Corteggi was also a significant factor in the visual identity of many of Corno’s publications, including the logos and cover designs for several key titles.
Despite its significant cultural impact and commercial success during its peak, Editoriale Corno faced financial difficulties in the early 1980s. This ultimately led to the closure of the publishing house in 1984. However, the legacy of Editoriale Corno remains strong in Italy. Its pioneering efforts in introducing American superheroes and its publication of influential original series shaped the landscape of Italian comics and continue to be fondly remembered by generations of readers. The digest format it popularized for superhero comics became a standard in Italy for many years.
Even after its closure, the impact of Editoriale Corno can still be felt. The characters it introduced remain popular in Italy, with subsequent publishers continuing to release their adventures. The original Italian series like ‘Alan Ford’ have also endured, maintaining a dedicated fanbase and seeing new editions over the years. Editoriale Corno is remembered not just as a publisher but as a cultural force that brought a unique flavor to the Italian entertainment scene, blending American superhero excitement with distinctly Italian creativity and storytelling.
The first edition of the Eureka Pocket series featured the Phantom under his local title of L’Uomo Mascherato, containing a softcover with 256 black and white pages measuring 13cm x 18cm with Italian text. The front cover contains an illustration by Ray Moore, with the Phantom seen in his local colored costume of red. The front and back cover can be seen below.
At the commencement of the comic book, an introductory article is published spanning 4 pages titled ‘L’Uomo Mascherato: Un Mestiere Difficile’ (which translates to The Masked Man: A Difficult Profession) written by Carlo della Corte. The article details information on the success of the Phantom and his comic strips, describing the various reasons as to his appeal.
Following this article, 2 classic Phantom comic strip stories are published, both written by Lee Falk and illustrated by Ray Moore, ‘The Sigh Brotherhood’ and ‘The Sky Band’. A sample of internal pages can be seen below.
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