Forget my name

Employing fantasy, metaphor, and absurdist comedy, Zerocalcare (Kobane Calling) tells a deeply personal, wholly unexpected family story in his freewheeling graphic memoir. His skinny, bug-eyed cartoon avatar copes with a grandmother's death by cleaning out her house and searching for a missing ring. In the process, Zerocalcare uncovers startling revelations about her tumultuous life as a Frenchwoman raised by Russian aristocrats, along with deeper, darker, sometimes fantastical family secrets. The meticulously loopy artwork ricochets between the slapstick and the solemn, with equal parts snarky pop-culture references and delicate visual symbolism. Zerocalcare inhabits a world of anthropomorphic animals, talks with anarchic foxes, contends with a conscience that takes the form of a chatty armadillo, dodges shadowy trench-coated figures, and processes the problems of adulthood in terms of anime and video games. His grandmother's story becomes a springboard into memories, emotions, family history, international politics, and the geography of his Italian hometown. Ultimately, he's forced to confront his own weaknesses and reflect that "fear's actually the most contagious of all illnesses." This work from one of Italy's rising comics stars surprises and charms at every hairpin turn. (Mar.)