Il Diadema
Giove Toppi started his career illustrating novel series, published by Nerbini. When this publisher started publishing comics in 1932, Toppi turned to sequential art as well. He teamed up with Gaetano Vitelli and cooperated on the first issues of Topolino with some unlicensed front page stories starring 'Mickey Mouse'. To avoid being sued by Disney, the publisher asked Toppi to remodel the character into a different-looking mouse called 'Topo Lino' which he drew until 1934, when official licensing permission from Disney was acquired.
Topo Lino (19 August 1933)
At the same time, he was present in Il Piccolo Avventuroso and Il Giornale de Cino e Franco. He was the creator of the first Italian police series, 'Renato Gallo', which appeared in 'La Sfida del Bandito' ('The Challenge of the Bandit') in the 1930s.
