Angelo Maria Ricci, among the most recognizable and appreciated names in Italian comics, has died at the age of 79. His long and articulate career spanned genres and styles, leaving a deep imprint on some of the public's most beloved series. The general public remembers him above all for his connection with Diabolik: Ricci debuted in 2001 with the album L'ultimo rubino (“The last ruby”) and since then signed almost forty stories, the last of which, Un alibi perfetto (“A perfect alibi”), published in 2023, marked the conclusion of his work for Astorina due to health problems. “We will miss his unmistakable stroke and the irony with which he used to hide his signature in the most unlikely places of the plates”, the publishing house founded by the Giussani sisters wrote in a note. But Ricci was not only “a Diabolik penciler”. After his beginnings in the early 1970s, the turning point came in 1980, when he joined the staff of Sergio Bonelli Editore. There he contributed to the creation of Mister No stories and especially Martin Mystère, shaping the world of the "Detective of the Impossible" and helping to define its graphic style, which has become iconic today.