The armadillo prophecy
The armadillo prophecy -or The prophecy of the armadillo, by its original title in Italian—is a graphic novel of a political, satirical, autobiographical and documentary nature written and drawn by the Cortanese cartoonist and author Michele Rech, better known by his pseudonym: Zerocalcare. The work was published for the first time in 2011, by Graficart, the company of also cartoonist Makkox. A year later, the story had a color edition by BAO Publishing.
In 2013, Zerocalcare and Valerio Mastandrea wrote the script for the version live action de The armadillo prophecy, which was finally carried out in 2018, under the direction of Emanuele Scaringi. Much later, in 2021, Netflix produced a six-episode animated miniseries, which is faithfully inspired by the original comic, serving as a complement to the first work.
Synopsis of The armadillo prophecy
What is The Aradillo Prophecy?
Zerocalcare refers to this as any optimistic forecast that is based on naive, subjective and unfounded arguments. In most cases, this perception is disguised as objectivity and logic, but it almost always leads the person who applies it to suffer disappointments, frustrations and sorrows. This concept is used perfectly in the work of Zerocalcare, especially due to the philosophical approach of the character who gives his name to the graphic novel.
The plot revolves around Zerocalcare —most often called Zero—, a young man who is torn between questions, existential doubts and random memories after receiving the news of the death of Camille, her best friend and first love. Shortly after learning of the death of someone so important to him, the protagonist begins to talk to the subconscious representation of him. It is a giant armadillo that urges you to face problems positively.
The journey through mourning
The armadillo prophecy It is a generational portrait filled with multiple references to pop culture.. The work alludes to the music, art, politics and society of 2010, but also deals with a frequent topic in human life: mourning. However, the comic addresses this theme in such a unique way that, despite the boxes where the protagonist looks melancholic, there is always a positive tone in his dialogues and adventures.
This, of course, is on purpose, since Zero's behavior is based, In most cases, in the advice of the armadillo, a character who is characterized by encouraging the young through phrases that seem logical, but that, in reality, are not based on logic. Even so, it is easy to identify with both, because all the events that Zero goes through are part of anyone's daily life.
Camille's memories
The first vignettes of The armadillo prophecy They direct the reader to Zero's memories of Camille.. The protagonist met his friend at a party, when they were both around twelve years old. She invites him to dance to a Eurodance song called “Bailando,” by the Belgian band Paradisio. By doing so, the boy is enchanted by the girl, a fun Frenchwoman. Its impact was so great that Zero spent all his time trying to find the name of the piece of music that played that night.
However, the protagonist did not have much success in his search, since he only usually frequents establishments where they sell punk music. The first person the young man tells about Camille's death is Secco, his other best friend.. After reflecting on this, her partner suggests contacting Greta to let her know what happened. The latter was Camille's best friend, although they had not seen each other in several years.
Artistic style of the work
Zerocalcare has become one of the most popular cartoonists in Europe. This, thanks to his unique and crazy style, full of questions about life and social issues. His drawings immediately attract attention. His art it's cartoonish and full of exaggerated expressions, giving an appearance of disproportion to each piece, which helps set the tone of the vignettes.
On the other hand, the transition of the panels occurs quickly, so no situation is maintained for long. The Armadillo Prophecy It does not have a linear plot, but rather it is about random narrations of the moments that the protagonist shared with Camille, and the way in which the young man tells each of his friends that she died and why she did it.
Camile's inner demons and true love
At the beginning of the graphic novel, Zero is pursued by a mysterious entity known as The Guardian of Time. Over the years, the protagonist identified it as a spirit that would indicate the perfect moment to confess his feelings to Camille. However, every time the boy saw her, not only did she have a new boyfriend, but she was thinner than she was in their previous encounters.
Finally, this thinness ends up being the cause of death of the girl, who suffered from anorexia. In fact, At some point, Zero has a hallucination where he fights a terrifying monster. which represents her best friend's illness.
About the author, Michele Rech
Michele Rech was born in 1983, in Cortona, Arezzo, Italy. Known more widely as Zerocalcare, he is one of the creators of graphic novels most famous in Europe. His works have crossed the borders of his native country, reaching France, Portugal and Spain.. The artist is a regular participant in social demonstrations that take place in Italy. One of them is Crack Fumetti Dirompenti (Crack Disruptive Comics).
Throughout his career he has drawn a wide variety of concert posters, album covers and punk-style fanzines. This is part of the social ideology of the author, who follows a current straight edge. He is also a regular contributor to Radio Onda Rossa, with whom he has participated in subscription campaigns. His first best-selling work is The Armadillo Prophecy, which continues to accumulate sales.
Other works by Zerocalcare
Volumes of The Armadillo Prophecy
- A polpo alla gola (2012);
- Ogni maledetto lunedì su due (2013);
- Twelve (2013);
- Dimentica il mio nome (2014);
- forget my name (2019);
- The telephone cast of the accolli (2015);
- Kobane Calling (2016);
- Raw rubble (2017);
- Macerie prime — Sei mesi dopo (2017);
- Scavare fossati (2018);
- The school of pizzas in the face of Professor Calcare (2019);
- Skeletons (2022);
- A babbo morto. A Natale story (2020);
- No Sleep Till Shengal (2023);
- Dopo il botto (2023);
- Zerocalcare Animation Art Book (2023)
short stories
- Drink water (2015);
- The city of decorum (2015);
- Ferro e piume (2015);
- Tangle (2016);
- Così passi dalla part of the torto (2016);
- Subatomic Education (2018);
- This is not a bocce part (2018);
- C'è a quarter that resists (2019);
- Slaughterhouses (2019);
- Health romance (2021);
- The imaginary dittatura (2021);
- labels (2021);
- Strati (2022);
- The maelstrom.