Tex Willer is the main fictional character of the Italian comics series Tex, created by writer Gian Luigi Bonelli and illustrator Aurelio Galleppini, and first published in Italy on 30 September 1948. The series is among the most popular Italian comics, with translations into numerous languages around the world. The fan base in Brazil is especially large, but it is also very popular in Finland, Norway, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, France, India, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel and Spain. Issues have also been published in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Tex series is an Italian-made interpretation of the American Old West, inspired by the classical characters and stories of old American Western movies, and occasionally by American history. Galleppini also took inspiration from Sardinia, where he grew up.
Tex is depicted as a tough man with a strong personal sense of justice, who becomes a Texas ranger (even if living in Arizona) and defends Native Americans and any other honest character from the greed of bandits, unscrupulous merchants and corrupt politicians and tycoons.
Native Americans are portrayed in a complex way, emphasizing positive and negative aspects of their culture. The same can be said of the American authorities, such as the U.S. Army, politicians, businessmen, sheriffs or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Tex had a son, Kit (who also became a ranger), with a Native American woman, Lilyth, the daughter of a Navajo chief; Lilyth died of smallpox early in the series, but remains a recurring character in flashbacks. Later, Tex himself went on to become the Chief of the Navajo tribe.
Tex is not only featured in a monthly comic book series, but also in a special series called Tex Albo Speciale (sometimes called Texone, meaning 'big Tex', because of their bigger size). The Texone comic books have around 240 pages and some artists known outside the Tex universe have been involved, like Jordi Bernet, Joe Kubert and Ivo Milazzo.
Fictional character background Tex Willer's first adventure appeared on 30 September 1948, as a comic strip. The "first" Tex is an unwilling outlaw with a strong code of honour: he kills only for self-defence. Almost immediately, however, Tex becomes a ranger. Because of his marriage with the beautiful Navajo woman Lilyth, he becomes Chief of the Navajos, known as Aquila della Notte (Eagle of the Night), and a defender of Native American rights. He also becomes the respected Indian agent of the Navajo tribe. Tough, loyal, a skilled shot, and an enemy of prejudice and discrimination, Tex is very quick and smart and has a marked disregard for strict rules; however, he has no pity for criminals of any stripe, nor regard for their rights if they do not immediately cooperate with the law.
Tex's closest friend in almost every adventure since becoming a ranger, is Kit Carson, loosely inspired by the historic figure of the same name. A main role has been held by Tex Willer's son, Kit Willer, and by the Navajo warrior Tiger Jack; though the importance of the last two has diminished. Other recurring characters include El Morisco (a kind of warlock-scientist of Egyptian origin, living in north-eastern Mexico), the Mexican Montales (originally a bandido who fought against a corrupt government, and afterwards a successful politician), the Canadian trapper Gros-Jean, the Irish boxer Pat Mac Ryan, the Mountie Colonel Jim Brandon, San Francisco Police Department Captain Tom Devlin, the Apache chief Cochise, and the Navajo wizard Nuvola Rossa (Red Cloud).
Tex Willer's nemesis is Mefisto, an evil magician and illusionist. Other enemies include Yama (Mefisto's son), The Black Tiger (a Malay prince who hates the white race and wants its annihilation in the United States), and Proteus (able to shapeshift his own face, and impersonate other people).
During the American Civil War Tex fought for the Union, although his home state, Texas, sided with the Confederacy. He participated in the Battle of Glorieta Pass and briefly served in the 7th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.
Characters
The following are the characters of the series:
Main characters Tex Willer, the protagonist, a Texas ranger, chief of the Navajo tribe and also the Bureau of Indian Affairs agent of the Navajo Reservation. Born in the Nueces Valley in Texas, Tex grew up in a ranching family with his father Ken and younger brother Sam. His mother Mae died when Tex and Sam were children. Tex lost his father Ken to a gang of cattle thieves, and becomes an outlaw when he follows the thieves to Mexico and kills them. He later sells his part of the ranch to his brother and leaves. Sam later sells the ranch and moves to Culver City, planning to buy a bigger ranch; he is then killed by the town's lordling, Tom Rebo. Before becoming a Texas ranger, Tex officially lives as an outlaw but avoids committing any crime if not for self-defense, trying to clean up his name. Tex Willer is physically modeled after actor Gary Cooper. Kit Carson, Tex's best friend and mentor as a ranger, loosely based on the historical Kit Carson. He is older than Tex (his real age is never revealed, but he is described and depicted as being around 55 years old) and a famous frontiersman, respected both by Americans and Native Americans – the latter know him by the name Capelli d'Argento (Silver Hair) because of his grey hair. He has lifelong experience as an explorer and pioneer of the Western frontier, but he has travelled nearly the entire U.S. territory and has a deep knowledge of its Native people and geography, which makes him a sort of living legend. As a former military man, he is also the tactically most skilled among the main characters. Kit Willer, Tex's son, named after his godfather Kit Carson. He is around 25 years old. He was born in the Navajo village where Tex resides and his father sent him to a Christian mission near the Navajo reserve. Initially, Tex wants him to attend a military academy, but as Kit wants to live freely among the Natives, Tex and Tiger Jack teach him frontier life and how to deal with guns and outlaws. Later, Kit becomes a Texas ranger himself. He is young and sometimes reckless, but also the most learned among the characters: for example, he recognizes the Greek 'pi' (π) used by a criminal as his sign and connects it to the name of the Greek god Proteus. Tiger Jack, the most respected Navajo warrior and the second-in-command of the Navajo people, after Tex. He is a brave warrior, proud of his origins and faithful to the Navajo people's traditions and culture. He is the greyest of the main characters: he is the only one who, in the entire series (supplements included), knowingly opens fire towards an unarmed enemy, and it has repeatedly been implied that he would torture or kill women if needed — something neither Tex nor Kit Carson nor Kit Willer would do. Born in a village in the Navajo mountains, before becoming Tex's friend Tiger has a girlfriend, Taniah, kidnapped by a Mexican outlaw, and who eventually takes her own life during captivity.
Friends and allies Montales (full name: Miguel Ángel Montales) is a former Mexican bandido, soldier and official of a rebel revolutionary army fighting against the Mexican regime, and current governor of the state of Chihuahua and vice-president of Mexico. Montales is a character created by Giovanni Luigi Bonelli and visually realized by Galep. He is one of the protagonist Tex's most trusted friends. He lost his parents and his wife following the destruction of the family hacienda. From being initially a man of action, Montales later becomes decisive thanks to his Mexican political connections, and more than once he manages to get the rangers out of trouble - trouble, moreover, in which they were most often involved by Montales himself. In the most recent episodes in which he appears, Montales partially returns to action. El Morisco (real name: Ahmed Jamal) is a warlock, scientist, naturalist, and doctor from Memphis, Egypt, who lives in Pilares, Mexico, in a house with a rather sinister facade, together with Eusebio, his grim but faithful and devoted general assistant of Aztec origin. El Morisco is a scholar expert in various subjects, both scientific and humanistic (including, just to name a few, biology, mineralogy, and the history of pre-Columbian civilizations); he also has a particular interest in anything connected with the supernatural. On the other hand, he is of no help as a man of action (because of his rather corpulent build and inability to handle any kind of firearms). Although a pure scholar and not a man of action, he is Tex's main ally and consultant when the ranger has to face occultism, black magic, and necromancy. El Morisco is altruistic and completely devoted to his research, but the people of Pilares fear him and call him "el brujo", "the Sorcerer". Eusebio is a Mexican of Aztec origin and the grim assistant of El Morisco. He makes his first appearance in the same issue in which his master appears (no. 77, The Treasure of the Temple). On more than one occasion he risks his life for the scholar of Pilares, to whom he is deeply devoted, disobeying his orders only once, by burning a letter entrusted to him by Tex and thus risking putting the ranger in serious trouble. Eusebio assists El Morisco in his scientific experiments and follows him on his study journeys. When necessary, he is able to use firearms, unlike his master. He does not always readily accept that El Morisco accompanies the four Pards, being aware that their proximity can seriously endanger his master's life. Gros-Jean, a Canadian métis French-Canadian, former outlaw and current trapper by profession, working in Canada. Because of his size, he is endowed with remarkable strength but not with particular intelligence (so much so that, in one of the first stories in which he appears, he causes a saloon to collapse and ends up buried under the rubble). On the other hand, he is a generous and loyal companion and is therefore well liked by Tex and the Pards, who promptly come to his aid. His only flaw is a tendency towards alcohol drinking. The stories in which he is the protagonist are almost always set in Canada or Alaska, and therefore the landscapes and the stories themselves depart from the classic Western pattern typical of the comic. In the same issues, another trusted friend of the ranger is often present, the colonel of the Redcoats, Jim Brandon. Jim Brandon, a Colonel of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Canada. Brandon was initially a simple sergeant, very skilled with firearms and who, thanks to his abilities, quickly rises through the ranks. He often contacts Tex to resolve delicate matters he encounters, even if at times he struggles to accept Tex's blunt methods, especially because of his own strong sense of duty. From his first appearance, he nevertheless becomes a great friend of the ranger and, together with his compatriot Gros-Jean, the protagonist of many stories set in his home country. Cochise, chief of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, loosely based on the historical figure. He is always ready, with his people, to come to the aid of his friend Tex, himself the Native chief Eagle of the Night, whenever the rights of the Navajo are at stake. He has "buried the hatchet" against the so-called bluecoats (that is, the United States Army), but this has not diminished his prestige among his warriors. Tom Devlin, a police captain in San Francisco, California, as well as a trusted friend of Tex. Later, Devlin is the chief of police of San Francisco. Thanks to the friendship between the two, the police chief of the turbulent city repeatedly benefits from the help of Tex and his companions, whose intervention is always decisive in cleaning up the city.