''Kobane Calling'', titled ''Kobane Calling: Greetings from Northern Syria'' in the English edition, is a

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...

illustrated book written and designed by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

author

Zerocalcare Michele Rech (; born 12 December 1983), known professionally as Zerocalcare (), is an Italian cartoonist. His pen name, literally meaning "zero limescale", was inspired by an Italian TV commercial jingle for a descaler product, and was chosen wh ...

. Part of the work was published in January 2015 on ''

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

'', an Italian weekly. The work is a graphic reportage of the journey that Zerocalcare took to

Syrian Kurdistan Syrian Kurdistan or Rojava () is a region in northern Syria where Kurds form the majority. It is surrounding three noncontiguous enclaves along the Turkish and Iraqi borders: Afrin in the northwest, Kobani in the north, and Jazira in the nor ...

and the

Syria–Turkey border The border between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Turkey (; ) is long, and runs from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the tripoint with Iraq in the east. It runs across Upper Mesopotamia for some , crossing the Euphrates and ...

, a few kilometers far from the besieged city of

Kobanî Kobani, also Kobane, officially Ayn al-Arab, is a Kurdish-majority city in the Ayn al-Arab District in northern Syria, lying immediately south of the Syria–Turkey border. As a consequence of the Syrian civil war, the city came under the co ...

, among the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

leftist defenders of democratic autonomous region of

Rojava Rojava may refer to: * Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava, the geographical region where Kurds historically settled within present-day Syria * Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administ ...

, where its people have been fighting against the forces of the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

Plot

In the first part of the comic, Zerocalcare recounts the reasons that pushed him to go to the small town of Mehser, on the Turkish-

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n border, a short distance from the besieged city of

, which is the symbol of the independence of the

autonomous region, mainly Kurdish populated, and has fought against the forces of the

. The illustrator humorously recounts the results of the announcement made to his parents of his departure towards

, with a group of Roman volunteers to support the

resistance and objectively narrate the conflict with first-hand testimonies. The arrival and permanence are then dashed in the cartoons with humor and digressions typical of the Zerocalcare style but with a critical spirit towards the contradictions with which the interventions are conducted internationally and a very strong emotional involvement towards the known people and volunteers.

Adaptations

Stage play

On November 2, 2018, ''Kobane Calling On Stage'', the first ever theatrical adaptation of the original graphic novel Kobane Calling, debuted at the

Teatro del Giglio The Teatro del Giglio (Theater of the Giglio) is the historic city theater and opera house located in Piazza del Giglio #13 and #15 in the center of Lucca, region of Tuscany, Italy. A statue of Garibaldi stands in the square in front of the theate ...

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, during the

Lucca Comics & Games Lucca Comics & Games is an annual Comic book convention, comic book and gaming convention in Lucca, Italy, traditionally held at the end of October, in conjunction with All Saints' Day. It is the largest comics festival in Europe, and the secon ...

convention. The play is directed by Nicola Zavagli, while Zerocalcare is portrayed by the actor Lorenzo Parrotto. The show was on tour in

during the 2019–2020 season, and has been resumed during the 2022–2023 season, starting from the Teatro Bellini in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in May 2022.

Audiobook

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

edition in

was released in October 2021, exclusively on Storytel.

References

External links

Kobane Calling on the official Zerocalcare website, on ''zerocalcare.it''.
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117120835/http://www.zerocalcare.it/2015/01/16/kobane-calling/ , date=2021-11-17 Humor comics Italian comics 2015 comics debuts One-shot comic titles Works about the Syrian civil war Zerocalcare Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria