Five graphic novels for holiday reading: from Padovaland to La Bomba

Artribune presents five graphic novels recommended for the 2020 holiday season. Miguel Vila's 'Padovaland' (Canicola, Bologna, 2020, 160 pp., €18) follows a group of young people in the Italian northeast, exploring suburban malaise through pastel prefabs and shopping centers. 'Hurricane – Cronache dal virus' (Eris Edizioni, Torino, 2020, 105 pp., €15) collects Ivan Manuppelli's daily strips published in Il Manifesto from February 26 to May 17, 2020, offering a grotesque look at pandemic life. Silvia Rocchi's 'I sepolti vivi' (Einaudi Ragazzi, Milano, 2020, 96 pp., €14) adapts Gianni Rodari's 1952 reportage on miners' protests in the Cabernardi and Percozzone sulfur mine near Ancona, conceived by historian Ciro Saltarelli. Alex Bodea's 'The Fact Finder' (BeccoGiallo, Padova, 2020, 184 pp., €19.50) is a graphic novel about an optical phenomenon called 'intrux' that causes objects and people to blur and disappear. 'La bomba' by Didier Alcante, Laurent-Frédéric Bollée, and Denis Rodier (L'Ippocampo, Milano, 2020, 472 pp., €29.90) marks the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, blending narrative essay, historical investigation, and graphic experiment.