Romano Scarpa is by many considered the grandmaster of Italian Disney comics. He left his studies to devote himself to his passions: graphics and animation. After World War II, he cofounded an animation studio, where he created animated shorts based on the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. In 1953, Scarpa joined the Italian Disney publisher Mondadori and began illustrating stories with 'Topolino' ('Mickey Mouse'), strongly inspired by the atmosphere and suspense of the old Floyd Gottfredson newspaper strips.