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Rating: They killed Sclavi. And Sclavi is alive!
A little summary for those who haven't followed the latest publishing events of this famous comic book.
After a long stagnation phase of the series, following the gradual distancing of its creator (Tiziano Sclavi), the publishing house Bonelli decided in 2013 to shake up the situation by entrusting its management to a young author (Roberto Recchioni) who, unlike his predecessors, is not afraid to revolutionize its story. Actually, he is a bit afraid, and to start this revolution, he takes five years. But by 2018, he is ready and surprises everyone with a catastrophic narrative twist: a meteor is heading towards Earth and will destroy everything within a year. John Ghost (the new antagonist created by Recchioni) wants to save the world (!), and he explains to Dylan that to change the fate of his world, he must first change himself: step out of that narrative pattern made up of investigations and self-contained flings that has been repeating since the first issue of the series and do something new. Ok, you've convinced me, Dylan basically says, who, in order, marries Groucho, shoots John Ghost, and to be safe, also kills Tiziano Sclavi, whom Recchioni wisely summons in issue 400 of the series to make the message even clearer to readers: "DYLAN DOG is no longer, and will never again be, Tiziano Sclavi's comic."
Despite this, in the same issue, the publication of a new series with Dylan Dog, scripted by none other than Tiziano Sclavi (!!!), is announced.
Once upon a time... or rather: there will only be tomorrow
To be precise, the volume does not hit newsstands but goes directly to bookstores, in an elegant hardcover edition costing 19 euros, and Dylan Dog is not the protagonist of the story but is its unsuspecting narrator. Essentially, Tiziano Sclavi uses the story within a story formula, as can be inferred even just by reading the title: "DYLAN DOG presents - Tales of tomorrow - Volume 1 - The Impossible Book."
The story begins with Dylan, driven by an irresistible impulse, reaching an antique shop called SAFARÀ with his beetle (a name that sounds familiar to him but which he does not remember). Without understanding why, he is drawn to an old book that he cannot help but purchase. On its cover, it bears the title "Tales of tomorrow," and the grim shopkeeper presents it as "a collection of stories that will be written only tomorrow."
Thus begins the story of these tales.
The space-time of a nightmare
In the nighttime quiet of his study on Craven Road, reclining on the chair with the book in his hands, our protagonist becomes a reader: his eyes on the pages of the book, his mind transforms the words into images, which the visionary talent of Luigi Cavenago draws on the 65 pages that make up the volume. 30 pages less than a normal comic book; too short, some might think, forgetting that within the space of a page, there can be more art than in a thousand volumes, and in the instance of a nightmare, more fear than in an entire existence. Moreover, in the reading of a story, space and time from objective quantities become subjective, and during the course of a nightmare, they completely lose their meaning.
A contemporary dystopia
This story by Sclavi, which is, as always, the story of a nightmare, contains within it four more. In the first, we are shown in a few pages the horror of a young man experiencing the isolation condition that the Japanese term hikikomori (literally staying apart). In the second, the terror of a zombie trying to escape death’s embrace for the second time. In the third... well, I'd say that's enough: I don't want to spoil the surprise too much. I will only tell you that all the stories in this volume have a component of political and social criticism: they arise from fears that are children of our time, which Sclavi amplifies, distorts, and projects into a dystopian future, even though, as Groucho himself resignedly admits, "nowadays dystopia is a synonym for today's reality."
Post scriptum... Post mortem
By the way, I almost forgot the most important thing: in this story alongside the nightmare investigator, there is still his faithful assistant Groucho, who had tragically left us in issue 399 of the regular series. Perhaps his death, intended by the new curator to renew the series, is nothing more than yet another nightmare produced by a dylaniated mind. In any case, one thing is certain: even if killed by Recchioni's pen, our beloved Groucho will continue to live, not only in our memory but also through Sclavi's pen.
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