The Air Force Staff, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Arma Azzurra, which will fall in 2023, wanted to create, for all the passionate public of comic strips, a comic series consisting of 12 volumes, dedicated to different characters or particular episodes that have characterized the glorious history of the Air Force.
It is in this editorial context of particular value that the comic “Ali su El Alamein” is inserted, the first publication of the comic stories of the Centenary AM. The volume, the work of Marco Trecalli, tells the story of Colonel Mario Giuliano, Captain Livio Ceccotti and Lieutenants Ezio Bevilacqua and Giuseppe Oblach, four aviators awarded the MOVM (Gold Medal for Military Valor) for the heroic deeds carried out during the World War II in the skies of El Alamein.
A story of four great aviators united by a single destiny, with an epilogue to a legendary historical episode, made by the ADRA (Arditi Destroyers Regia Aeronautica) in the Anglo-American airport of Benina, in North Africa. In a game of Chinese boxes, the narration of memories and the intertwining of actions are the starting point for an investigation into the forms of courage that lead man to overcome himself.
"The initiative - as stated on Colonel Gerardo Cervone, Head of the Historical Office of the Italian Air Force - aims to keep alive the attention towards the young public, and more generally of the numerous fans of comic strips, including among its publications a series of issues destined for the world of comics, through special editions of the Aeronautical Magazine or even with dedicated volumes.
On the occasion of the centenary anniversary, the 5th Communication Department, making use of the Historical Office, wants to remember some events of its history and its protagonists with an original and structured comic book narration, organized in a series whose realization has been entrusted to appropriately selected authors and designers. Thanks to the involvement and ability of many young authors including screenwriters, designers and colorists, who collaborated with passion and professionalism in this innovative publishing initiative, it was thus possible to reconstruct with accuracy and historical adherence a series of historical facts, which I hope, with visual suggestion, they can animate you, involve you and are able to arouse emotions not only among the admirers and fans of the Arma Azzurra ", but also among all those who, on the occasion of its hundredth birthday, want to get closer to our world, that of flight, or continue to live it with passion. Enjoy your reading and have a good journey through the Centenary AM comic stories".
