Persistences and metamorphoses of the bildungsroman between the folds of the contemporary graphic novel: the profile of the antihero in zerocalcare's comic novels

Abstract

The proposal delineates the renewal of Bildunsgroman writings within the new languages of contemporary fiction.

In this sense, the proposal intends to engage a double plane of analysis. On one hand, the focus is on underscoring the functional dynamics that currently enable the Bildungsroman narrative, especially aimed at young audiences, to transfer productively within the frames of the graphic novel.

Moreover, the text emphasizes the positive value of perspectives on meaning that are consistent with the representation of personal and human growth. These perspectives are characterized by an alienating figure of the "anti-hero," which is capable of illuminating a restless profile of subjectivity in the making.

The article's objective is to examine the proposals put forth by specific characters in Zerocalcare’s novels. It aims to underscore the pedagogical implications inherent in the creation of identity profiles that systematically subvert the classical paradigm of the hero. Rather than focusing on the conventional hero's journey, the article emphasizes the critical zones where experience becomes an opportunity for learning. These zones include feelings of disillusionment, precariousness, and even failure.

It is about understanding a divergent way of telling the odyssey of growing up, one that is characterized by dispassionate realism and biting irony.