Four Summer Graphic Novels: From Alpine Climbing to Genoa G8

Artribune recommends four recent Italian graphic novels for summer reading. Jean-Marc Rochette and Olivier Bocquet's 'Parete Nord' (L'Ippocampo, 2021) is an autobiographical tale of a young climber obsessed with scaling the north face of Ailefroide in the Écrins massif, set between the 1960s and 1970s. Silvia Vecchini and Sualzo's 'Le parole possono tutto' (Il Castoro, 2021) follows a shy teenage girl named Sara who, after a series of traumas, finds solace through the teachings of an elderly man named Mr. T, who introduces her to the Hebrew alphabet. Andrea Laprovitera and Ludovico Lo Cascio adapt Ernest Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea' into a graphic novel (Edizioni NPE, 2021), set in Cuba, featuring Santiago, Manolin, and the marlin. Finally, 'Nessun rimorso. Genova 2001-2021' (Coconino Press, 2021) collects illustrated testimonies from 36 Italian cartoonists—including Zerocalcare, Blu, Maicol&Mirco, Martoz, Francesco Cattani, Lorena Canottiere, Filippo Scòzzari, Squaz, and Alessio Spataro—commemorating the 20th anniversary of the G8 protests in Genoa, with texts by Erri De Luca and the SupportoLegale collective.