Fai rumore. Nove storie per osare, Il castoro, 2022. 

This book offers nine stories about gender violence, imbalance and manipulation, by Italian comics artists. It was made in collaboration with the collective Moleste. It teaches us as readers that "no one can do it for you, but you don't have to do it alone", while treating us to a plethora of exciting graphic styles.

Anna Cercignano's Un viso da bambino is a moving tale on sexual abuse where a person takes advantage of a girl's infatuation. Cercignano's wonderful and detailed pencil drawings heighten the effect on the reader.

Eleonora Antonioni's Sabrina symbolises how power relations in sports context often lead to (attempts of) abuse. Girls decide to stop doing the sports they like, because they refuse to be victims.

Maurizia Rubino's Scrivimi quando arrivi will be recognizable to all: you go out for dinner at a friend's house, the friend shouts at the doorsteps "write to me when you get home" and you hurry home. The tension or fear is real even if 'nothing really happens'.

Francesca Torre and La Tram show in Due di Una, in a Jekyll-and-Hyde tale  how choosing to leave a toxic relationship - and don't we all know examples of those - can break or help rebuild a person. (Watch the video to the left to hear the artists talk about the volume and their piece)

Lucia Biagi's story La cosa giusta summarizes the importance of honesty and shows that "doing the right thing" is easier when you stand up for each other and face the consequences together.

With La felpa gialla, Vega Guerrieri and Caterina Ferrante tell about the social stigma and prejudices based on supposedly overweight individuals. The story also shows how social media amplifies the effect of peer or social pressure. Since I experienced "fatshaming" myself as a girl, this story really hit a nerve.

Laura Guglielmo describes in Con cura how, in the midst of gaming, a girl addresses the self-harm of her friend. The story discusses the difficult confrontation of sensitive issues, mental health, and the ways in which friendship can help remediate such issues. 

The book also includes the perspective of boys under pressure. Davide Costa and Elisa2B touch upon the issue of mustering the courage to ask someone out, while showing that the same courage is needed to refuse or reject that very offer. 

Carmen Guasco, Marta Macolino, Alessia De Sio's hopeful tale Ascoltami deals with sexual abuse too, and demonstrates how young people can stand up for each other.

More info: https://editriceilcastoro.it/libri/fai-rumore/

Editor Canicola Edizioni has a series of children's comics, titled "Collana Dino Buzzati" (editors: Edo Chieregato & Liliana Cupido). The series is not a stand-alone activity as the editors also try to organise pedagogical activities on comics for children. 

The series presents young comic artists to children. In 2017 they published: Sophia Martineck's Hansel e Gretel, Martoz's La mela mascherata, I gioielli di Elsa by Sarah Mazzetti. In 2018 followed Io sono mare by Cristina Portolano and in 2019 Muhova was published alongside Mario Neri's Nuno salva la luna.

This book is of particular interest to me, as a scholar on girlhood and comics, as it was born out of the editor's prject "Dalla parte delle bambine" [On the Girls' Side].

Kalina Muhova was born in 1993 in Sofia in Bulgaria. She lives in Bologna since 2013 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts there. In 2018 she was selected for the international exhibition at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Visit her website here.

Io sono Mare, Canicola edizioni, 2018. 

Cristina Portolano (1986, Napoli) 's oeuvre is impressive. She does a lot of illustration work for all generations, teaches at the IAAD in Bologna, makes murals, is the author of 3 books, has collaborated with writers on 5 books, and has a chapter in the anthology Post Pink. She illustrates and creates comics for children the magazine Internazionale Kids.

For Canicola Edizioni's series Dino Buzzati, she first created an album/game Gioca con Mare in 2018, followed by the comic Io sono Mare. In the comic, she bends the boundaries between "girl" and "fish" as Mare and Franky go on an empowering underwater adventure. Mare knows that she will transform, as Franky does, but for now, resists the imposition of categories. It's a story about feeling and exploration, ... and about taking a bite.

Nova, Stelle o sparo, Bao Publishing, 2018.