Umberto Eco's Pop Culture Legacy Explored in New Publication

A new publication titled 'Umberto Eco. Papaveri e papere' examines the intellectual's early engagement with pop culture, predating his fame as author of 'The Name of the Rose'. The book focuses on Eco's controversial 1964 work 'Apocalittici e integrati', where he analyzed comics, music, and television phenomena like Mandrake, Superman, Mickey Mouse, Rita Pavone, and the hully gully dance. Eco himself expressed ambivalence about the book, calling it a 'casual' project born from his longstanding interest in popular culture, detective novels, and comics. The publication traces the evolution of graphic styles from Flash Gordon to Dick Tracy, existentialism in Peanuts, and gesture and onomatopoeia in comics. It is authored by Lucio Spaziante and Anita Romanello, released on May 14, 2026, by Doppiozero.