Italian Comic Artist AkaB Dies at 43

Gabriele di Benedetto, known as AkaB, died at age 43. His family announced the news on Wednesday 14. Born in Milan in 1976, he was a major figure in Italian comics. He began his career in the 1990s, founding Shok Studio in 1993. He worked with major publishers including Marvel, Sergio Bonelli, Dark Horse, and DC Comics. He also collaborated with Linus, Il Manifesto, and Rolling Stone. In 2003 he directed his first feature film Mattatoio, presented at the 60th Venice Film Festival, followed by Il Corpo di Cristo (2004) and Vita e opere di un Santo (2005). He won the Micheluzzi Prize at Comicon Napoli in 2013 for Era di Maggio. His notable books include ReVolver (2003), Le 5 fasi (2011), Monarch (2013), Arca vuota (2016), and Iron Kobra (2019). He recently founded Progetto Stigma, an editorial project giving authors full control over their work.