Clara e le ombre: graphic novel on bullying and 80s nostalgia

Andrea Fontana and Claudia Petrazzi have released the graphic novel 'Clara e le ombre' (Il Castoro, Milan 2020, 190 pp., €15.50). Set in Brattleboro, Vermont, in autumn 1988, the story follows Clara, a girl from New York who moves with her father after being abandoned by her mother, suffers from mild epilepsy, and faces bullying and loneliness at school. Meanwhile, teenagers disappear in the nearby woods. The book tackles bullying and solitude through a dark fairy-tale metaphor, avoiding rhetoric. It pays homage to 1980s pop culture—movies like 'Ghostbusters', music like a-ha's 'Take On Me', and video games—while critiquing today's smartphone-driven isolation. Fontana originally conceived the story in another form before collaborating with children's illustrator Claudia Petrazzi. The narrative emphasizes resistance and community, with a basement hangout as a sanctuary. The review by Mario A. Rumor highlights the book's balanced fervor and effective storytelling.