“Topolino” beyond comics: fostering readership engagement and parasocial relationship through the paratextual apparatus (1960–2010)

This paper investigates the presence of Disney characters in non-comics content to be found in the Italian magazine ‘Topolino’ from 1960 to 2010. The composition and function of the paratextual apparatus will be explored statistically, to describe its evolution through time. An analysis of the use of the characters in the paratexts will be thus developed, aiming to interrogate the choices and politics of the editorial board of the magazine in their construction of the magazine’s identity and readership engagement.