AlbHey Longo on His Graphic Novel Sfera and the Italian Comics Scene

Italian cartoonist AlbHey Longo discusses his creative process, his graphic novel Sfera (Bao Publishing, 2019), and the state of comics in Italy. Longo explains that his projects typically take one to two years, with the most challenging phase being the initial transformation of an idea into a story. He does not write anything down at first but reflects while walking, then collects images and sketches to test character dynamics. Sfera explores friendship and selfishness through two protagonists, Damiano and Chiara, set against the art world. The superpower element—a sphere—serves as a metaphor for the feeling of powerlessness when facing one's potential. Longo created a Spotify playlist for the book to extend the reader's experience. He cites Jamie Hewlett (Gorillaz) as a major stylistic influence and notes that his drawing resembles old Cartoon Network cartoons. Longo's collaboration with Bao Publishing began after meeting Zerocalcare and editor Michele Foschini. He considers Italy among the top four countries for comics, alongside the US, Japan, and France, crediting Zerocalcare for revolutionizing the market. Longo admires contemporary Italian cartoonists Dr. Pira, Capitan Artiglio, Oscar Ito, and Nova. His future projects include a sci-fi story with Attaccapanni Press and a visual novel based on Sfera. The interview was conducted by Alessia Marchignoli and Valeria Lynn Rodda following a cultural journalism workshop at IULM University in Milan in May 2019.