Four Must-Read Graphic Novels for Summer 2021

Artribune recommends four Italian graphic novels for summer reading. 'A.M.A.R.E.' (Canicola, Bologna, 2021, €18) features five emerging Italian female authors—Martina Sarritzu, Roberta Scomparsa, Eliana Albertini, Alice Socal, and Amanda Vähämäki—exploring gender stereotypes and the transition from childhood to adulthood. Giacomo Nanni's 'Tutto è vero' (Rizzoli Lizard, Milan, 2021, €17) won the Prix de l'Audace at the 2020 Angoulême International Comics Festival; the graphic novel uses a dotted line and extensive captions to tell a choral story about trained crows, unexpected lives, and terrorist attacks like the Charlie Hebdo shooting of January 7, 2015. 'Ada e altre giungle' (Coconino Press, Rome, 2021, €25) collects Altan's adventures of British heroine Ada Frowz, set on the eve of World War II, featuring exotic travels, Nazis, and international intrigue. Léonie Bischoff's 'Anais Nin, nel mare delle menzogne' (L'Ippocampo, Milan, 2021, €19.90) depicts the relationship between Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller, beginning in late 1931 in Paris, exploring Nin's erotic literature and her struggle with desire.