Dario Bressanini and Alessandro Tota will discuss science, comic art and outreach initiatives during a conversation moderated by Pietro Scarnera, with contributions from Silvia Misiti of IBSA Foundation. Villa Ciani, at 3:30 pm on 28 February. Free entry for InnovaComiX ticket holders.
IBSA Foundation has always considered the secret to popular science to be finding the right way to make complex matters more accessible. Due to their immediacy and their scope for combining visual storytelling with content, comics are proving to be among the most effective means of reaching people.
At 3:30 pm on Friday 28 February, in the Talk Room at Villa Ciani, InnovaComiX will present two creations nominated for the 2026 Cygne d’Argent awards: Il Club e Le nuove avventure del dottor Newtron (Doctor Newtron’s Club and The New Adventures of Doctor Newtron) by Dario Bressanini and La Magnifica Illusione (The Magnificent Illusion) by Alessandro Tota.
Dario Bressanini, chemist, public scientist and comic book writer
Just as Peter Parker calls himself “Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man”, Dario Bressanini likes to think of himself as “Your Friendly Neighbourhood Chemist”.
From the lecture theatres of the University of Insubria to his virtual laboratories on social media, Bressanini has taken a challenging subject like chemistry and made it into an indispensable means of understanding the world, by revealing the scientific side of everyday life. He has created a "science superhero" who stars in two separate but complementary works, both of which are published by Feltrinelli Comics and both of which are Cygne d’Argent finalists:
Il Club del Doctor Newtron (Doctor Newtron's Club – 2024) – a book containing both comic stories and articles about the perception of science over the years.
Le nuove avventure del Doctor Newtron (The New Adventures of Doctor Newtron – 2025) – an eagerly awaited book of new adventures starring the superhero, written by Bressanini.
As well as providing us with a science superhero, the Doctor Newtron saga (Feltrinelli Comics) offers plenty of food for thought about how progress is portrayed by society.
Alessandro Tota, comic book artist and illustrator
Alessandro Tota has lived in Paris since 2006. He started out as Igort’s assistant and now teaches comics. Having spanned every conceivable genre during his 20-year career, he earned a nomination for Best Book at the Angoulême International Comics Festival with New York 1938, the first part of La Magnifica Illusione (The Magnificent Illusion).
The book tells the tale of an aspiring comic book artist who leaves his rural home and moves to the Big Apple during the Golden Age of Comic Books, which saw the introduction of Superman, Batman and the whole visual framework of modern superheroes.
As it examines comic book history, La Magnifica Illusione looks into the nature of comic books themselves, and reveals what happens when creative dreams come up again harsh reality.
This event is one of a series of presentations featuring the finalists in the awards. The 45-minute format offers a chance to compare two complementary visions of visual storytelling.
Dario Bressanini and Alessandro Tota have been brought together because they are both engaged in outreach initiatives, albeit in different fields: popular science in the shape of everyday chemistry for the former, and the history and development of the language of comic books for the latter.
The conversation will be particularly fascinating because the classic superhero images and graphic style featured in Bressanini’s books are of the very sort subjected to historical analysis by Tota in La Magnifica Illusione. Theory and practice will come together during reflection on comic-based popular science. The debate will be moderated by journalist and comic book artist Pietro Scarnera.
A valuable contribution will also be made by Silvia Misiti, Director of IBSA Foundation. She has been promoting comic-based science outreach initiatives with the Foundation for years.
The final part of the panel discussion will focus on this very matter: the important role of popular science comics, which can reach a range of audiences and harness curiosity to help people learn.
IBSA Foundation considers comics to be one of the most effective ways of encouraging people to ask questions, sparking debate and making complex content accessible.
At 3:30 pm on Friday 28 February, against the breathtaking backdrop of Villa Ciani, you can hear from some of the leading names in a storytelling revolution that is harnessing the enormous potential of comic books to spread knowledge.