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Finarte supports Milan's WOW with a solidarity auction of original comic books

by Redazione , published on 10/02/2026
Categories: Market / Disclaimer
On February 27 in Milan, more than one hundred original plates by great Italian comic book authors will be auctioned in a special auction promoted by Finarte and Urania Casa d'Aste to support the WOW - Museo del Fumetto, which is engaged in the search for a new home.

On February 27, Milan will host a specialauction entirely dedicated to Italian comics, promoted by the Finarte auction house in collaboration with Urania Casa d’Aste, with the aim of supporting the WOW - Museo del Fumetto. The Milanese institution is going through a complex phase in its history, marked by the need to identify a new venue able to guarantee continuity to its cultural activities and lay the foundations for a future restart.

The initiative is part of the path of support for the Franco Fossati Foundation, a reality that originated the museum and that for years has represented a point of reference for the protection and enhancement of Ninth Art in Italy. The Foundation’s holdings include more than 500,000 pieces, including original plates, books, periodicals, rodovettes, posters, objects, documents and rare editions from different periods. An extraordinarily large archive, today distributed in several locations, with management costs and the need for a structural rethinking to ensure adequate conditions of preservation and sustainable planning in the long term.

Silver (Guido Silvestri), Lupo Alberto no. 421, lot 22 (2020; pencil and India ink on cardboard, 25 x 17.5 cm) Original cover realized by Silver for Lupo Alberto no. 421, published by McK in July 2020. Silver completes his apprenticeship in Bonvi's studio, where he works on already well-known characters such as Nick Carter, Cattivik and Captain Posapiano. In 1974 the turning point came: in the Corriere dei Ragazzi he debuted with a strip of his own invention, featuring farm animals. Although in the first strip the protagonist is a rooster, it is immediately a friendly blue wolf that steals the scene: thus was born the 40-year success of Lupo Alberto. A very rare Lupo Alberto cover is on the market for the first time. Signed on the front, signed and stamped on the back. Base auction € 2,500; Estimate € 2,500 - 4.00
Silver (Guido Silvestri), Lupo Alberto no. 421, lot 22 (2020; pencil and India ink on cardboard, 25 x 17.5 cm) Original cover realized by Silver for Lupo Alberto no. 421, published by McK in July 2020. Silver completes his apprenticeship in Bonvi’s studio, where he works on already well-known characters such as Nick Carter, Cattivik and Captain Posapiano. In 1974 the turning point came: in the Corriere dei Ragazzi he debuted with a strip of his own invention, featuring farm animals. Although in the first strip the protagonist is a rooster, it is immediately a friendly blue wolf that steals the scene: thus was born the 40-year success of Lupo Alberto. A very rare Lupo Alberto cover is on the market for the first time. Signed on the front, signed and stamped on the back. Base auction € 2,500; Estimate € 2,500 - 4.00

From these needs comes thesolidarity auction on February 27, built thanks to the direct contribution of numerous authors of Italian comics, who donated more than one hundred original plates. The choice responds to the conservative vocation of the Foundation, which decided not to alienate historical works of its heritage, relying instead on the active participation of artists. The catalog brings together leading signatures and representative voices from different generations, including Airaghi, Alberti, Alessandrini, Ali, Altan, Ambu, Bacilieri, Bianchi, Byonico, Boccanfuso, Breccia, Busticchi, Campinoti, Carnevali, Carra, Cavazzano, Cobetta, Del Vecchio, Denna, Di Vitto, Dossi, Enoch, Frisenda, Gatto, Genzianella, Gerasi, Hurricane, Locatelli, Lunari, Masala, Salvagno, Silver, Simeoni, Studio Tonin, Suares, Truscia, Turconi, Vercelli, Vorticerosa, Zerocalcare, Ziche, offering an overview that crosses historical icons and contemporary languages.

Among the most notable lots is Silver’s Lupo Alberto No. 421 from 2020, at lot 22, with an estimate of between 2,500 and 4,000 euros, a testament to one of the most enduring and recognizable characters in Italian comics. Also standing out is Tex at the WOW of 2025 by Pasquale Del Vecchio, lot 26, with estimate between 100 and 200 euros, created as a direct homage to the museum and its relationship with popular comics. Completing the nucleus of major works is Enciclopaedia Calcarea: An Annotated Guide to Zerocalcare’s Universe of 2023 by Zerocalcare, lot 51, estimated between 500 and 1,000 euros, capable of restoring in an immediate way the imagery of one of the most influential authors of the contemporary scene.

Pasquale Del Vecchio, Tex at WOW, lot 26 (2025; pencil and India ink on cardboard, 42 x 30 cm) Signed. auction basis € 100; Estimate € 100 - 200
Pasquale Del Vecchio, Tex at WOW, lot 26 (2025; pencil and India ink on cardboard, 42 x 30 cm) Signed. auction basis € 100; Estimate € 100 - 200
Zerocalcare (Michele Rech), Encyclopaedia Calcarea: A Reasoned Guide to Zerocalcare's Universe, lot 51 (2023; pastel and India ink on paper, 30 x 42 cm) Original board made by Zerocalcare for the volume Encyclopaedia Calcarea: A Reasoned Guide to Zerocalcare's Universe, published by BAO Publishing in 2023. Slight creases. Of great rarity.Base bid € 500; Estimate € 500 - 1,000
Zerocalcare (Michele Rech), Enciclopaedia Calcarea: Guida ragionata all’universo di Zerocalcare, lot 51 (2023; crayon and India ink on paper, 30 x 42 cm) Original board made by Zerocalcare for the volume Enciclopaedia Calcarea: Guida ragionata all’universo di Zerocalcare, published by BAO Publishing in 2023. Slight creases. Of great rarity.Base bid € 500; Estimate € 500 - 1,000

“As head of Finarte’s Comics Department, I am proud to be able to contribute to the rebirth of such a fundamental institution as the WOW Museum,” says Daniele Gradella. “This auction is meant to be a call addressed to all lovers of the ninth art so that they can help the WOW rise again stronger than before. All over the world, comics is synonymous with an art to be preserved and popularized, and we cannot afford to lose one of its most illustrious bastions that has been promoting and enhancing it in all its aspects for years.”

“The purpose of the auction is to raise the necessary funds to allow WOW to continue to exist,” stresses Luigi F. Bona, director of WOW Spazio Fumetto. “We are not selling our historical assets, consistent with our conservation mission, but we have asked for help from great authors of Italian comics, who have generously donated original works. We thank Finarte for the sensitivity and expertise shown, and all the masters who have enthusiastically joined: their names will be at the entrance of the new WOW. If you love comics, participate in the auction: you will be able to win a unique work and help safeguard this heritage. We will meet again soon in the new museum to exclaim once again: WOW!”

Finarte supports Milan's WOW with a solidarity auction of original comic books
Finarte supports Milan's WOW with a solidarity auction of original comic books

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