Crack! Fumetti Dirompenti 2018: Festival Report

The 14th edition of Crack! Fumetti Dirompenti, titled '400', took place at Forte Prenestino in Rome, June 2018. The festival's title references the average price of a slave at the black market in Tripoli, critiquing Italian migration policies. Over 500 artists and 10,000 visitors participated in this self-produced, self-convened festival of comics and printed art. Fortepressa presented 'This Life', a double publication by the Kollettivo Illuminoso Fresco KIF, part of the Siyakhana Project by Young in Prison South Africa. The publication features autobiographical stories by former inmates from Cape Town, printed in 350 copies with minimal colors. Other highlights included Juliette Bensimon Marchina's feminist comic 'La Caida e Coyota', Filippo Dr. Panico's poems, Cassandra's 'Caldissima Trinità', PICA's cyanotype drawings, T-Squirt's T-shirts, Baba Fregapane's live portraits, and a section of political posters from Mexico curated by Cernà ruka. Carles G.O'D. presented 'Il cielo è una città molto simile a Shagaluf'. The festival operates without artistic directors, rejects copyright, and uses a donation-based pricing system. Bambi Kramer, artist and organizer, explained that prices are suggested but flexible, supporting a processual economy.