Zerocalcare's New Graphic Novel 'Nel nido dei serpenti' Chronicles Anti-Fascist Activists

Zerocalcare (Michele Rech) will release a new graphic novel, 'Nel nido dei serpenti', in December 2025 via Bao Publishing. The book expands on his previous comics for Internazionale about Ilaria Salis, the Italian anti-fascist activist and MEP imprisoned after clashes with neo-Nazis in Budapest in 2023. It gives voice to seventeen people similarly accused of terrorism and facing long legal proceedings in Hungary, Germany, France, and Italy. The narrative centers on a February 2023 neo-Nazi parade in Budapest that sparked attacks, leading to a broad Hungarian judicial operation charging dozens with belonging to an alleged leftist criminal organization. Italian activists, including Salis, faced harsh detention conditions and up to 25 years in prison. The volume, produced with Momo Edizioni, includes new stories like that of Maja T., who has been in isolation for over a year in a Budapest prison. Bao Publishing will donate part of the proceeds to support the defendants' legal fees. The official launch will be at Lucca Comics & Games, with bookstore release on December 5.