Abstract

A cartoon editor, as well as the director of Naples's international exhibition of comics COMICON, the author describes the principal characteristics and the direction of the comic market in Italy, from the golden age of the 1960s, through the crisis of the 1980s and 90s, to its revival in the 2000s. The typology of products and the size of the companies and of the Italian market are compared with those of the industries in other European countries (focusing on that of France), the rest of the world, and the US. He calls attention to technological developments, to productive resources and the structure of training, taking into account the many Italian creative staff and authors working for companies from other countries.