Raffaele Paparella made his debut in 1936 in Asso Sportivo and La Piccola Italiana with some sports and humorous illustrations. From 1940 he worked for Il Vittorioso, where he illustrated 'Il Terrore del Colorado', 'Il Segredo di Yuma' and some episodes of 'Marco Valli' and the series 'I Tre Gli' and 'Ted', all written by Giovanni Luigi Bonelli. In addition, he was present in Topolino with 'Cabiria', 'La Compagnia dei Sette' and 'Satana del Universo', as well as in L'Audace with 'I Conquistari dello Spazio' and 'I Crotiati'. Paparella also adapted novels by Salgari, such as 'Capitan Tempesta'.
In 1949, he created 'Pecos Bill' with writer Guido Martina for Mondadori, a series that became one of Italy's most famous western series. Between 1952 and 1955, he also produced 'Kid Oklahoma'. Until 1965, he drew many comics for the Bonelli group, while also working for the British market. For Fleetway, he illustrated stories with 'Robin Hood', 'John Steele', 'Buffalo Bill and Henry Plummer', 'Kit Carson' and 'Davy Crockett'. From 1965 until his retirement in the late 1980s, he was a very productive artist for the pocket-sized publications of the French publishing house Lug. There, he illustrated series like 'Boyday' and 'Billy Boy' in Spécial Zembla, 'J.B. et Cie' in Nevada, 'Lucifer' in Nevada and Blek, and many more. His longest running series for Lug was 'Benny des Marais', which appeared in Spécial Zembla from 1966 to 1981.
