K-11: interview with Matteo Casali
The latter, recently reached its third volume, represents one of the columns of the series. The story orchestrated by Matteo Casali goes in directions that are usually not considered by the authors, making this series a project that, while arousing a sense of familiarity in the reader, presents itself as a novelty, especially as regards the setting: the USSR. of the end of the Second World War.
Matteo Casali guides us to discover the world of K-11
Get used to living the adventures of the period from the perspective of the future western block, K-11 a different perspective is revealed. An intriguing choice, that of Casali, which manages to develop an original concept capable of surprising the reader. After having the first three volumes, the curiosity to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes of K-11 has become so strong that we could not help but consult its creator: Matteo Casali.Matteo Casali, photographed by Greg Kotler The reading of K-11 leaves no one indifferent, not only for the story it tells, but also for its narrative approach and historical setting. The story of K-11, in fact, kicks off in the final stages of the Second World War, while the 'free' world is still united against the Nazi enemy and the division into the two blocks of the Cold War is still a long way off. A period in which it was certainly not easy to go into historical reconstruction, but Casali had an ace up his sleeve:
“When I write a story I do a lot of research, I want to be well prepared when I start writing my plot. The only risk in these cases is to accumulate so much material that you get to suffocate the story, so you have to find a balance between knowledge and plot, in order not to lose realism. After all, the characters speak to people "
A similar research work, in a historical context like that of K-11, suggests that Casali has maintained a maniacal fidelity to real history, but some small narrative concession, the author confesses, was necessary:
“Despite having done a lot of research, I had to vary some details. The Soviet atomic program, for example, had been launched before the Second World War, but the war efforts pushed the Russian leaders to suspend it to commit resources to the military, so much so that the atomic program would only restart after the war was over. On the other hand, I imagined, with a historical license, that a project linked to the atomic bomb was already active in the final stages of the conflict.
But also the presence of Krasnoyarsk-11, the secret city, is the result of my “narrative license”. The first Soviet closed cities, in fact, officially appeared only around 1948. And I can say that in my research on these incredible cities I was struck by their creation and today, following the end of the Cold War, they have almost all changed their name. For "my" secret city, I was inspired by a real one, Krasnoyarsk-26, because I really liked the sound of its name. “
To create a screenplay, Casali has a precise methodology, the story, in its essential features, must be clear right away.
“ Preparation is essential. Consider that when I presented K-11 in Bonelli, Masiero already knew the whole story, nothing was missing. I always have a plot map clear in mind, even if I allow myself some small course corrections to make if necessary, but I already have a well-traced route. Even the dialogues, I can imagine from the beginning what two characters will say to each other on page 79, then, of course, the specific content of the dialogue will be generated based on the inspiration of the moment, but when I get there I already know what they are talking about , even to the point of providing certain inflections / tones for the characters involved. "
In the way in which Casali reveals his creative path, it is evident how his scripts are the result of a careful and meticulous work of interlocking, in which all the elements find their right place. This attention is also due to his personal vision of the role of the screenwriter:
"I will never limit myself to saying 'Frank and Paul talk', I want to earn my bread! (laughs!) My scripts are very discursive, I want them to be an enjoyable read for the designer, in which I also include details on how to create each individual vignette. Sometimes, for example, I refer to a certain perfume to indicate to the designer the mood I would like, I always try to create an emotional synergy with the artists. It happens, with designers with whom I am familiar, to also quote anecdotes lived together, in order to grasp the nuances that I would like to insert in the drawing. For some designers this style of mine is useful, because I am extremely meticulous and precise in giving directions, while others feel a little forced to follow very precise direction directions. "
The idea of setting the story in Russia, however, was not present since the genesis of the K-11 project. Casali, in fact, tells how initially his proposal for his Bonelli story derived from the drafting of a previous project:
“Initially, I had proposed a different story to Bonelli. When Michele Masiero suggested that I review it for the nascent Audace series, I immediately said that it would be impossible to adapt that original idea. So I thought of starting from history before history, going back in time. A bit like if I had decided to make Star Wars starting from Episode I - maybe done well, though. (laughs)
So I found our protagonist in Karl, shifting the focus of the story to the end of the Second World War and, stimulated by the discussion with Michele Masiero, I decided to set K-11 in a very small place explored by comic fiction: the USSR of 1945. "
The choice of going into a particular setting such as the Soviet one also made it possible to characterize the protagonist of K-11, Karl in a unique way. Reading the volumes published so far, the initial sensation could be that of finding oneself in front of a comedy version of Captain America, but Casali's idea was not to tell the story of a superman
“Karl is not a superman , but a super individual. Having moved history to Russia, Karl is a child of his time, he believes in Soviet ideals and it is those who push him to participate in the Zaroff Project, they animate it until he sees something more than an experimental subject in himself. Especially when the relationship with Lora develops, with the arrival of paternity and the vision of a different future than what was imagined at the beginning of K-11. Karl's change is fundamental, the protagonist must evolve, leading the reader to empathize with him, even leading him to disagree with the protagonist himself "
An evolution, that of the character, which also dictates the rhythm of the history of the entire series. Contrary to a traditional Bonelli series, such as Tex or Dragonero, Audace's proposals have a limited number of volumes and K-11, as we already know, will consist of five releases. One wonders how this number was decided, and Casali has the answer ready:
“Five volumes, exactly, and do you know why? Simply because they are the number of episodes needed to best tell K-11. Personally, I hate it when stories are stretched beyond belief, for K-11 it was the very nature of the story that dictated the number of volumes. Among other things, I would like to point out a small detail.
If you take any of the three volumes that have come out, and stop every twenty pages, you can see how it comes to a sort of ending. My experience with the American market led me to conceive this internal division of volumes. If you want, every twenty pages you could insert a cover and have an American style staple publication. "
The concept of K-11, as told by Casali, is compelling and allows you to better appreciate the long, hard work that lies behind the creation of such a series. Casali, however, also recognizes the contribution of the entire creative team of the series, starting with the designers:
"When we had to decide how to divide the work, we had a meeting with a feast of sushi, where we talked about the subject he the designers had already read it in full and I wanted everyone to tell me which chapter they wanted to draw, since only the first volume had already been assigned to Davide Gianfelice and the others still had to be decided. Returning to my way of understanding the screenplay as a story also for designers, Andrea Accardi felt immediately inspired by the third volume, so much so that he confessed to me that when he had to realize the emotional climax of the story, he enjoyed it very much. These feedback from the designers are a great satisfaction for me ”
To give even more prominence to K-11 there is also a high-level coloring. Traditionally, Bonelli is associated with the two-tone comic, in which color was linked only to celebratory numbers. In recent years, however, series have appeared that have made color their characteristic, such as Orfani or Mercurio Loi. Casali has a precise vision of this evolution:
“Color in Bonelli has begun to assume a new role still under the direction of Marcheselli, even if this revolution was then strongly supported by Masiero. The first product to benefit from it was Orfani, thanks to the incredible work of Emiliano Mammucari, one of the proponents of this revolution and who I am lucky enough to have as a coordinator on our series as well.
For K-11, in particular, Emiliano had the brilliant intuition to push on some colors as happened to films shot in Technicolor. When he told me about it, I immediately loved the idea, also because I was fresh from a visit to the Berlin Museum of Cinema and Television. His idea of using a dramatic and "narrative" coloring, which imitated the excesses of some shades of technicolor, allowed to develop a specific coloring style for K-11, where red, a "naturally" Soviet color, would as a dramatic enhancer, a kind of secret ingredient to stimulate the reader in an almost… subliminal way.
But the attention to color has been paid to every detail. From the beginning, K-11 was meant to be a full-color comic, and we looked for tints that would help define the essential traits of the story and characters, to the point that once I identified the right shades, I also pointed them out in the script. . For example, when Karl manifests his powers and his eyes take on the green color, a funny wording appeared in the script ending with a "™" to always remember what was the specific and special coloring of that scene "
Hearing Casali tell about his experience with the creation of K-11, one also wonders how the 'Bonelli method' has changed in recent years. The Bonelli tradition of the black and white newsstand register has begun to be accompanied by color and different format publications, surprising the traditional reader, but for Casali this innovative drive is still part of the Bonelli DNA:
“If you think about it, within its format, Bonelli has always renewed the comic genre. I am thinking of Ken Parker, who in 1978 showed a new way of telling the comic western, opening up to an innovation of themes and narrative format. But the same could also be said of Martin Mystere, who is the fruit of the genius of Alfredo Castelli and his relationship with television series, in an era in which plots and mysteries were fun and fascinating - and not a playground for morons. , like today.
In a period like this, in which there are unfortunately more and more newsstands, for decades the meeting point between comics and reader, they are closing, it is necessary to embrace the change and support the readers during this (inevitable?) change of habits. This also requires an evolution as regards the stories to be told and how to tell them, a challenge that Bonelli can win, thanks to his classic proposal, which has always been a guarantee of safety for his readers, and novelties such as those of Audace, so to always offer the quality of great stories. "
Casali's vision of the evolution of Bonelli's comics reflects the commitment made in creating K-11. Having reached the third volume, K-11 still has two volumes to bring Karl's epic to completion and show us what will become of the super-individual born from the Zaroff Project, but given what has been shown so far, a great ending is reasonable.
You can start the discovery of K-11 by purchasing the first volume of the story created by Matteo Casali
