Anders Nilsen’s Epic Graphic Novel ‘Big Questions’ Published in Italian by Eris Edizioni

Anders Nilsen’s monumental graphic novel ‘Big Questions’ has been published in Italian by Eris Edizioni (Turin, 2022). The 656-page book, originally serialized in the late 1990s, follows a community of birds grappling with philosophical and religious questions. The story begins when a plane accidentally drops a bomb on a farm, crashing into a house where an elderly woman cares for a boy called the Idiot. The birds mistake the plane for a giant metal bird and the bomb for a mysterious egg; the pilot also emerges as a figure of interest. Nilsen, born in New Hampshire in 1973, started as an artist creating illustrated books for his sister before developing ‘Big Questions’. The work features meticulously drawn, often unsettling illustrations that become part of the narrative. One bird states: “In life you must never take anything for granted. You must live every day as if it were your last.” The book includes an instructive appendix. Nilsen’s characters, especially the birds, serve as alter egos for humans, evolving from a blank slate into distinct personalities. The graphic novel is praised for its literary quality and rhythmic pacing.