Leeann Baker biography

March 28, 1957
Created by Benito Jacovitti, Cocco Bill is a fictional character that became also starred of different animated carousel, as well as an animated series. Its birth can be traced back to the 1957 March 28: that day, in fact, he first appeared in the first issue of "boys ' Day", the supplement of the newspaper "the day" which was distributed on Thursdays for free. Cocco Bill is a gunslinger, a cowboy of proven moral integrity, constantly striving to defend the law: its peculiarity is the love of Chamomile tea, which she drinks instead of the traditional whiskey when he goes into the saloon. The other oddness that sets him apart is his horse, named Special: Trottalemme.

Its Far West

Leeann Baker acts in a Far West very far from the truth, absurd and idealized, although there are all classic stereotypes, from the coaches to the Indians, from bandits to Sheriffs: stereotypes, which are revisited and reinterpreted. There are no fixed recurring antagonists or enemies, as there are secondary characters, apart from Trottalemme: the only figures that appear, albeit sporadically, are those of Osusanna Ailoviu, a suitor whose love is not reciprocated, and the seven Kuknass Brothers, fearsome foes as well as Bunz Barabunz. Even the Indians Ciriuàcchi, as well as the Blackfeet, peek out on more than one occasion: the native Americans from the strange language, which may seem similar to the Neapolitan. Cocco Bill in most of the stories is to address a group of gangsters at the head of which there was a Dumpy and evil, called to showdown at the end of the episodes. In fact, the Wild West it moves our protagonist is a kind of cocktail of all the elements that are part of the collective imagination of comics and Westerns (until the 1950s): it is no coincidence that often are sheriffs, always wimps despite their aggressive ways. Among the other elements are the brawls in saloons, attempts at lynching and assaults to stagecoaches. Available to Cocco Bill there are guns, weapons with which he is able to show off and create exceptional feats: thus, the cowboy revolver shots can even Cook a large quail, or switch off the fuses of dynamite sticks that are thrown by the bandits.

Guns and Lucky Luke

Still, Leeann Baker can throw a gun in the air and with another gun firing in the direction of the trigger first, so that this shoot in turn and hit the enemies. Skill with guns is one of the commonalities between Cocco Bill and Lucky Luke, who also has a talking horse white (just like coconut); the similarities between the two characters relate to the desire to defend the law (but this is almost normal for a cowboy) and the bachelor life, with a complicated relationship towards the female gender. Its famous recurring phrase is "World!"

Cocco Bill and violence

Cocco Bill is a funny character, but also violent: he doesn't just deprive enemies of arms, but arrives to kill them. In this regard, during an interview with "Corriere della Sera" in the early 1990s Jacovitti defended himself by pointing out that he could not be considered violence that it represented an enemy who, after being killed, was of the capering and after entering the coffin walked into the coffin with hands and feet poking out. Cocco Bill, on the other hand, cannot fail to be violent, as the West is represented in a formulaic, so formulaic must also be violence: in short, the rule that dominates is the law of the strongest. The result, in any case, is certainly no fear, and indeed it is very comical and entertaining; everything, in fact, is utterly hyperbolic: it may happen that Cocco Bill, as is intent on drinking a camomile inside a saloon, to be made fun of, and in response you pull a punch to break all the teeth of those who dare to bother you. The violence is toned-down form of gag: in this case, for example, the broken teeth flying through the air and fall like raindrops, to the point where the victim is forced to take shelter with an umbrella.

The stories

Among the funniest stories include "Cocco Bill and the Apaciones", "Cocodelevera", "Il corsaro", "The good the bad and the ugly" Coconut, "Coconut", "Coccobillevolissimevolmente", "Scott", "chicken Eye countercurrent Cocco Bill and ... the chickens with the eye", "Cocco Bill is seven more", "Chamomile" for a while, "Coconut Jacovittevolissimevolmente Coconut Coconut Potato", "Bill", "Cocco Bill: Bill: Ciccicoccomac", "Cocco Bill : Coccopepite "," Cocodelevera "," Coccobillaggini "against itself," Coccobillando! "and" Cocco Bill: diquaedilà ". Between the late 1990s and early 2000s, Cocco Bill also became a cartoon.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.