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Martin Mystere

Martin Mystère is an Italian comic book. Created by writer Alfredo Castelli and drawn by Giancarlo Alessandrini, it was first published in Italy by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1982.

It is still published in Italy and has been translated in many other languages, sometimes with the name changed (i.e. in Germany, the series is named Allan Dark, in the United States as Martin Mystery, and as Atlantis in Turkey ).

Martin Mystère is an art historian, archaeologist, anthropologist, adventurer, writer, TV producer and collector of unusual objects. Based in New York, where he was born as Martin Jacques Mystère, he spent much of his early life studying in Italy where many of his adventures take place. After the unexplained death of his parents in a plane crash (1965), he started to devote his studies to the most enigmatic events and places of human history. He also helps the New York police and a US secret government agency in their investigations, as well as anyone who comes to him for help and gets him curious. He is assisted in his adventures all around the world by Java, a mute and very strong Neanderthal Man he discovered in a hidden city (City of Lucid Shadows) in Mongolia.

Martin Mystère's main opponents include the Men in Black, the controversial art patron Sergej Orloff and the devilish Mr. Jinx. His companion is the beautiful Diana Lombard who is also his long-time fiancée. Mystère is not a womanizer, but he has not always been faithful to Diana either.

Together with Sergej Orloff he was educated by the guru Kut-Humi. Sergej and Martin were friends and after their education they received the weapons called Murchadna (ancient ray-guns from the lost Mu). However, their friendship ended after Sergej chose the evil path; his weapon can kill whereas Martin's Murchadna can only make the target faint when blasted. Kut-Humi is a wise man who has a relationship to Agarthi, which is a city both in this world and not (this can be explained as being the utopic city). The Men in Black are a secret group spreading over the whole world and their aim is to prevent people from learning the actual history of the world. In the actual history (according to the comic 'Before The Great Flood) two big civilizations were emerging from two different continents named as Mu and Atlantis. As a result of their rivalry there had been great wars and after these wars The Flood occurred, rendering Atlantis and Mu as lost continents' by a doomsday machine.

Martin Mystère exists in the same fictional universe with other Sergio Bonelli comics characters including Zagor, Mister No, Dylan Dog, and Nathan Never.

The animated television series Martin Mystery (2003) is loosely based on Martin Mystère. A video game was also created after the comic series, Martin Mystère: Operation Dorian Gray, and a role playing game was published (an offshoot of Dylan Dog as an RPG).

San-Marino, 1997, Martin Mystere and Yawa