Luca Tieri's manga-style comic Vecta published by Coconino Press

Luca Tieri (born 1978 in Torre del Greco) is an Italian illustrator, character designer, photographer, and comic artist who lives in Japan. His new comic Vecta, published by Coconino Press in Rome in 2021 (240 pages, €22, ISBN 9788876185373), is a sci-fi cyberpunk manga set in Tokyo in 2055. The story follows hacker Telemaco and young turbobike pilot Irina, a ghostwriter haunted by her mother Hiroko's memory, as they collaborate with secret services to create an advanced AI named Vecta. The project harbors dark secrets they must confront. Tieri's influences include Masamune Shirow, Katsuhiro Otomo, Hisashi Eguchi, and Kenichi Sonoda, visible in kinetic lines and character design. The comic blends human and artificial themes, with a black-and-white section that gives it a solid independent identity. Tieri's work legitimizes the gaijin manga approach—creating manga from outside Japan. The article was written by Mario A. Rumor.