Cristina Portolano on quarantine, comics, and daily life

Cristina Portolano (Naples, 1986), a leading Italian comic artist, discusses her quarantine experience in Bologna, where she has lived for fifteen years. She shares a home with her partner and continues working remotely, teaching online courses at IAAD – Istituto d'Arte Applicata e Design di Torino, drawing videos for Freeda, and illustrating for Internazionale Kids. Her recent graphic novel "Francis Bacon. La violenza di una rosa" was published months earlier. Portolano has not visited her studio in a month and struggles with emotional ups and downs, compounded by the death of designer Pino Grimaldi, a friend's father. She faces a creative block regarding new book projects due to publishers' difficulties, and events like fairs and presentations for her comic adaptation of "L'isola del tesoro" (Stevenson) for Battello a Vapore have been canceled. The Catalan and Spanish editions of "Io sono Mare" (Canicola, 2018) are delayed, with a planned Barcelona presentation postponed. She updates her website, writes articles, and publishes a weekly "microfumetto" on Instagram. Her work explores adolescence, gender equality, sexual identity, and emotions, often challenging preconceptions. She recommends her first book "Quasi signorina" as an introduction. Once restrictions lift, she plans to go to the Romagna coast to dip her feet in the water and eat fish by the sea.