Five Comics for Summer Reading: From Splatter to Memoir

Artribune recommends five graphic novels for summer 2019. 'Il sorriso dello struzzo' by Zidrou and Benoît Springer (Panini Comics, 2019) is a splatter story about Pep, an ostrich farmer in Central America, who hates his wife Dora; it explores violence and obsession. 'Carver. Una storia' by Valentina Grande and Valerio Pastore (BeccoGiallo, 2019) focuses on Raymond Carver's 1977 decision to stop drinking, reflecting his minimalist style. Hideo Azuma's 'Il diario della mia scomparsa' (J Pop, 2019) is a memoir manga covering his depression, attempted suicide, homelessness, and alcoholism from 1989 onward. Thomas Gilbert's 'Le figlie di Salem' (Diabolo Edizioni, 2019) fictionalizes the 1692 Salem witch trials from a girl's perspective. Massimo Mattioli's 'Bazooly Gazooly. The Cannibale & Frigidaire years' (Comicon Edizioni, 2019) collects his 1970s-80s comics including Gatto Gattivo, Microcefalus, and Tales of fear, with unpublished material and author commentary.