Ovidiu Zotta

Ovidiu Zotta (1935–1996) was a Romanian writer of children's stories and an editor, scriptwriter and comic strip designer. In the late 1960s he created a character, "Dim Dunăreanu" who was a superhero for children and has been called the "Romanian James Bond". Zotta wrote under a pseudonym, Sandu Alexandru, often simultaneously with his given name.

Biography Ovidiu Zotta was born on 30 May 1935.

In 1948 comic book publications in Romania ceased and a ban prevailed until the early 1960s. In the late 1960s and early 1970s a new genre of children's magazines emerged in such publications as Cravata roşie, Cutezătorii, and Luminiţa. The magazines were censored, but publication of comics soon soared. Zotta began drawing comics during this period as well as writing scripts. In 1967, using his pseudonym Sandu Alexandru, Zotta created a serial strip Aventurile lui Manolică, drawn by Bursch, along with the strip Vacanţele unui tânăr liniştit collaborating with Puiu Manu, who was using the pseudonym Vasile Baciu. Zotta was acting as editor-in-chief of Cutezătorii and was also writing and drawing comic strips under the pseudonym "Sandu Alexandru". In 1978, he wrote the screenplay for Dan Mironescu's filming of Jachetele galbene, a movie based on Zotta's novel, Operaţiunea Hercule (Operation Hercules). He began to do a comic strip in the 1990s for Universul Copiilor called "Aventurile lui Teddy Ted" (The adventures of Teddy Ted).

Zotta died in 1996.