Argentine graphic novel Tristezza predicted pandemic ten years early

Tristezza, a graphic novel by Federico Reggiani (writer) and Angel Mosquito (artist), originally serialized between 2010 and 2013 in the historic Argentine magazine Fierro, has been published in Italy by Neo Comics, a new imprint of Neo Edizioni. The story is set in 2030 in Buenos Aires, where a diverse group of survivors rebuilds a community after a pandemic of Tristezza, an incurable zoonosis transmitted by cows. Without a state, school system, or internet, the survivors attempt to refound civilization. The protagonists, who lost everything but their lives to the disease, struggle to recreate the "world before" by repairing engines, raising chickens, and establishing schools. An encounter with another group challenges their fragile normalcy and sparks a new journey. The narrative questions human nature, the goodness of the pre-pandemic world, and whether a just society can emerge from cruelty. The book, praised for its well-developed characters and intricate plot, invites readers to view it with fresh eyes after the real-world pandemic experience. Neo Comics' debut brings this prescient work to Italian audiences.