Born in Milan, Italy on October 11, 1932, he first appeared in the illustration industry and cooperated with the famous Italian UTET publishing house. In 1966, he completed the first comic strip in the “Shounen Pictorial” magazine. In Europe, Toby is famous and has a very important position in the European comics industry. His name and masterpiece often appear in the famous magazines “French Historical Comics” and “Comics”.
Toby’s tone and unique composition are unforgettable, and he is a master of thread. He uses lines to outline shapes, uses threads to weave shadows, uses threads to sculpt things, and uses threads to set off the atmosphere. In his writing, the lines seem to have life, holding the reader’s eyes and thoughts gradually into a better state. His line drawing seems random, but in fact it is rigorous. His strokes are like woodcuts. The sharpness of the pen penetrates the back of the paper, depicting the innermost part of the character, which shows his profound skill. He started to create illustrations for the CEPIM Publishing House series of “Strange People and Strange Things” since 1976, including: “Sons of the Nile”, “Mexicans” and “Swamp Strange Men”. He has also created short comics for many magazines such as “Beautiful Boy Linus”, “Seven Seas Ranger Cordo”, “Sheriff Cork”, “Children’s News” and “Very Magazine”. In the United States, his works have also won the support of a wide range of readers. The famous cartoonist Walter Simonson called it “the real master”, and the famous Astor Wood admired him even more.
Beginning in the 1980s, with the re-introduction of European and American comics to China, many Chinese serial artists began to imitate the techniques of European and American comics. Among them, the most imitated was the unique style of Sergio Toby. Although not many people have met with him so far, it is undeniable that he had a huge influence on Chinese comic strips in the 1980s. Perhaps his works are mostly black and white, which happens to match the black and white comics in China at that time, but the more important reason should be the strong visual and spiritual impact of his works.
The black and white comic works of Sergier Toby are as good as the color illustrations. They use endless lines and colors to harmoniously blend people and people, people and things, and people and background. They are all natural, strewn with spaces and intertwined. Time affects the development of the plot, but also maintains the form and connotation. French Comic Network commented on the 83-year-old Italian man: “His unique and innovative style deeply influenced the comic circles in the 70s and 80s.”
Selected works
