'The Salty Dogs: Una specie in via d'estinzione' is graphic novel about adventure, friendship and adulthood. The story is based on a sailing trip I did with my two brothers and a friend. We sailed from Lerici to l'Isola d'Elba on an old J-24 sailing boat my brother inherited from our granduncle.

During the trip, the four characters find themselves on a small boat in the middle of the Tyrrhenian sea, far away from their individual lives and with little connection to the mainland. They gradually rediscover a sense of unity and friendship that recalls their youth. It's a light-hearted and cheerful period.

The lives they had temporarily left behind on the mainland eventually track them down. That's when the small boat they are on starts to feel constraining rather than liberating. Life on the mainland is dashing ahead like a high-speed train. It's an abrupt reality check that bursts their childhood bubble. It's also a new beginning that they eventually learn to embrace with confidence.

Drawings are made using ink on paper.

2022 - in progress