[Meeting…] Lupo Alberto

The relationship between humans and wolves was one of the most complex and conflictive. On the one hand, from very early on it approached humans, resulting in its domesticated version: the dog, known as man's best friend. This could have happened (according to various experts in the field) in the Paleolithic era of the Neanderthals or in the Neolithic. It seems more likely that it was in the millennia prior to the beginning of this period -Mesolithic-, having two independent centers in Europe and Asia. In any case, it was quite a long time ago, before most or all other domestic animals.

On the other hand, and especially when livestock began to be raised, the wolves that remained wild became the exact opposite of domesticated dogs: man's worst enemy. This was because they used to make nocturnal raids on the stables, as it was an easy source of food. As a result, they gained an almost demonic fame, that of a being evil by nature. He was systematically persecuted to the brink of extinction, while he was represented as a villain in many popular stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood, The three little pigs, Peter and the wolf, etc. That archetype is a constant, but the character I will talk about today is the opposite of all this. Let's meet Lupo Alberto, the peculiar wolf of Guido Silvestri.

A courtship “against nature”

Lupo Alberto is represented as a bipedal and somewhat paunchy blue wolf (although on the covers of the Ediciones B booklets he appears with white fur), a big snout projected upwards at its end, pointed, upright ears and four or five large tufts on each side of the head like “beards”. As usually happens, the character underwent a graphic evolution. In general, his shape was more “compact”, since the size of his eyes, ears and “beards” was smaller in his first comics.

As its conspecifics usually do in real life, the Silvestri wolf usually attacks (or at least tries to) the place where domestic animals reside, which in the case of this series is the McKenzie farm. Of course, the reason for these incursions is quite different from these. In reality, it does not come to the farm to hunt defenseless creatures (in fact, it is not very well known what it feeds on), but to see his girlfriend and carry her on his back to the place of their appointment. To achieve this goal he must face his terrible guard dog, which I will talk about in the next section. As if this were not extravagant enough, its companion in question turns out to be a species quite distant on an evolutionary level, nothing more and nothing less than a chicken that responds to the name of Marta. Quoting verbatim from the official description, she is a “chicken from a good family in love with Alberto”, so her manners are somewhat refined.

Despite everything, sometimes he makes an effort to keep up appearances and give a image of a fierce and threatening predator, although it does not take long for it to become evident during the many misfortunes that befall him. Perhaps that is why it often shows a serious and moody expression, although most of the time attitude is apathetic and “pasota”. This trait of his character will be one of the ones that gives him the most problems in his relationship with Marta, since she, being of a lively nature, cannot stand it when her wolfish boyfriend puts obstacles in the way of her plans. Another facet, which will be developed especially in his long adventures, is that of his acid and sarcastic humor. The latter also tends to irritate Marta. Of course, in exchange it is more independent and less suggestible than most of the inhabitants of the McKenzie farm.

Interactions with local fauna

Alberto's life is very sacrificed. As already said in the previous section, his daily routine involves going from his house to the farm (he actually lives under a tree to which he has placed an antediluvian telephone so he can communicate with his girlfriend). To do this, you must avoid at all times encountering the fearsome Moses, the watchdog that, In fact, he acts as the boss of all the animals on the farm. It is a bobtail, anthropomorphic (like almost all the animals in the series), enorme tanto en altura como en corpulencia y completamente blanco. Siempre aparece con el semblante serio y rara vez se le pueden ver los ojos. Vigila el recinto día y noche y no repara en medios para expulsar al lobo, incluso armas de fuego y objetos contundentes. Este permanente juego “al gato y al ratón” constituye uno de los pilares fundamentales de la etapa de tiras cómicas. Se refiere al infeliz Alberto como Lobetón o Lupejo en las traducciones de Ediciones B y Norma respectivamente.

Existen muchos otros personajes secundarios dentro de la granja. Entre ellos, cabe destacar el cerdo Alcides, el pato Glicerina o la gallina Alicia, la mejor amiga de Marta. Con todo, el que más relación tiene con el protagonista es Enrique, un viejo topo machista, misógino y maleducado. Tiene la costumbre de interponerse constantemente en su camino, refiriéndose a él a voz en grito como “Pepe” y contándole sus numerosas batallitas sobre su época de servicio militar (según él, ha combatido en la Segunda Guerra Mundial tanto en las filas alemanas bajo las órdenes del “Zorro del Desierto” Rommel como de las partisanas de Tito y en las estadounidenses, así como en la guerra de Vietnam). Ya sea por un motivo u otro, siempre termina delatando al lobo, quien recibe indefectiblemente una paliza por parte de Moisés.

Conclusion and recommendations

Lupo Alberto es un lobo algo malencarado y un tanto cínico, pero tan inofensivo para los animales de la granja McKenzie que llega al punto de salir con una de las gallinas. Eso no es impedimento para ser objeto de múltiples y brutales palizas por parte de Moisés, el perro que vigila el recinto día y noche.

En España, Lupo Alberto fue publicado en la revista Mortadelo (tercera época) desde el número 69. También apareció en El Pequeño País, antiguo suplemento infantil del diario El País. En cuanto a publicaciones monográficas, la misma Ediciones B sacó entre 1988 y 1989 cinco volúmenes de sus historietas cortas en formato apaisado en blanco y negro.

Por lo que respecta a sus aventuras un poco más extensas, Norma publicó dos volúmenes, El grande (1999) y Se las sabe todas (2000).

Por otra parte, la cadena italiana Rai realizó una serie de televisión de dos temporadas, una en 1997 y otra en 2002, con más de cien episodios emitidos. Hasta donde yo sé, nunca llegó a España (o pasó tan desapercibida que no ha dejado rastros).