Miguel Vila's Graphic Novel 'Fiordilatte' Explores Provincial Italy

Miguel Vila (born 1993 in Padua, of Argentine origins) is an Italian comic artist whose latest graphic novel 'Fiordilatte' (Canicola, Bologna, 2021, 176 pp., €19) was selected as best comic of 2021 in Artribune's 'best of the year' list. The book is a psychological soft-thriller about erotic obsession and emotional dependency. Vila studied Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice and Comics in Bologna, where he met the Canicola group. His debut 'Padovaland' was released in 2020. Both works are set in the Venetian periphery, featuring grotesque characters. Vila describes the province as 'the city of tomorrow' and aims to depict a geographic identity that is more new than current. He draws inspiration from behaviors that represent the worst of humanity, portraying normal people acting badly. His narrative technique involves varying panel grids to control pacing. For Artribune Magazine #64, he created a page using an experimental grid with varying column heights and a horizontal final scene.