Dario Panzeri's 'Perso nel bosco' Blends Comic and Performance Art

Milanese artist Dario Panzeri has released 'Perso nel bosco', a graphic novel published by Eris Edizioni in Turin in 2018. The 128-page book, priced at €19, is described as more akin to an experimental film than a traditional comic, following a tormented Batman-like figure wandering a winter forest. The work, created in stark black and white with a predominance of black, is characterized as a 'hijacked performance' where Panzeri masochistically embodies a superman/subman confronting his subconscious. The book is the third collaboration between Eris Edizioni and Progetto Stigma, an independent editorial brand founded by Gabriele di Benedetto (aka AkaB), aimed at producing works with absolute creative freedom. Visual references include the dark side of Lorenzo Mattotti, the nervous angularity of Dave McKean, and the free-flowing inks of Ralph Steadman. The project was in gestation for over ten years and represents a 'courageous' venture into self-publishing, with AkaB stating, 'the madmen finally run the madhouse (of comics).'