Five Comics to Read This Christmas: From Jason Lutes' Berlin to Liv Strömquist's Love Critique
Despite a difficult year for Italian publishing due to COVID-19 closures, a strong selection of comics has emerged. Jason Lutes' 'Berlin' (Coconino Press, 2020) is an ambitious historical fiction masterpiece set in the Weimar Republic, following characters like Marthe Muller and Kurt Severing. Paolo Castaldi's 'La buona novella' (Feltrinelli Comics, 2020) adapts Fabrizio De André's 1970 album about the apocryphal gospels, blending music and drawing. Elisa Menini's 'Nippon Yokai' (Oblomov Edizioni, 2020) returns to Japanese folklore with a colorful Decameron-style ghost story collection. Liv Strömquist's 'La rosa più rossa si schiude' (Fandango Libri, 2020) humorously examines love and narcissism, citing philosophers and pop culture. Andrea Fontana and Claudia Petrazzi's 'Clara e le ombre' (Il Castoro, 2020) is a dark fairy tale set in 1988 Brattleboro, USA, about a girl facing bullying and her inner demons.
Key facts
- Jason Lutes' Berlin was originally published in 22 separate chapters over 20 years.
- Berlin is set during the Weimar Republic, from the end of WWI to the Nazi rise.
- Paolo Castaldi's La buona novella is based on Fabrizio De André's 1970 album of the same name.
- Elisa Menini was nominated for the Premio Micheluzzi at Comicon 2020.
- Nippon Yokai features anthropomorphic animals telling ghost stories to invoke a yokai.
- Liv Strömquist is a Swedish cartoonist, political activist, and radio host.
- Clara e le ombre is set in Brattleboro, USA, in 1988.
- The film S.O.S. Fantasmi (Ghostbusters) is mentioned in Clara e le ombre.
Entities
Artists
- Jason Lutes
- Paolo Castaldi
- Elisa Menini
- Liv Strömquist
- Andrea Fontana
- Claudia Petrazzi
- Fabrizio De André
- Hokusai
- Socrate
- Samantha (Sex and the City)
- Il Piccolo Principe
- Beyoncé
- Bill Murray
- Richard Donner
Institutions
- Coconino Press
- Feltrinelli Comics
- Oblomov Edizioni
- Fandango Libri
- Il Castoro
- Comicon
- Premio Micheluzzi
Locations
- Berlin
- Roma
- Milano
- Quartu Sant'Elena
- Brattleboro
- Stati Uniti
- Colonia
- Germania
- Giappone
- Svezia