Transnational Italian Comics

This collection introduces the transnational dimensions of contemporary Italian comics to the predominantly Anglophone arena of comics studies. The volume explores how Italian comics culture transcends geographical and linguistic borders, revealing the mobility and multilingualism that characterise this dynamic field in the 21st century.

Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from comics studies, Italian studies, and migration research, the collection examines key narrative themes including memory, migration, and transformation in contemporary Italian comics production. Contributors analyse diverse forms from autobiographical narratives and historical comics to graphic journalism and feminist artivism, demonstrating how Italian creators engage with complex social and political issues through sequential art. The book features research on iconic works such as Dylan Dog, contemporary graphic memoirs, and comics journalism addressing Mediterranean border crossings. Through case studies of collective biographies, transnational histories, and activist comics, the volume reveals how Italian comics serve as powerful vehicles for exploring identity, displacement, and social justice in an increasingly connected world.

This collection will be essential reading for scholars of comics studies, Italian literature and culture, media studies, and migration research, offering new insights into the global circulation of Italian popular culture. This book was originally published as a special issue of Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics.

Barbara Spadaro is a cultural historian of Italian migration and colonialism. Her research develops transnational and translational approaches to comics, exploring intersections between feminist anticolonial epistemologies, archives, and the comics medium. She is Senior Lecturer in Italian History and Culture at the University of Liverpool, UK.

Daniele Comberiati is Associate Professor in Italian Literature and Culture at the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France. He published several works on transnational Italian comics, migrant and postcolonial Italian literature, and science fiction studies.