Cirrus@Austlit

'The beautifully hand-drawn true story of artist Joshua Santospirito's visit to the Aeolian Islands of Italy with his parents to seek out past connections and family roots.

'Joshua and his father hope to locate the burial place of Joshua's great-great-grandfather on the island of Salina. But it's not always so easy to find the past you're looking for, nor to travel with your parents.

'As Joshua learns more about the sun-drenched volcanic archipelago, its people, and their history, he also explores the mysteries of family - and the magic of creating your own place in the world.

'This is a tale of migration and return, of the rise to stardom of actress Ingrid Bergman, of the cheeky wind god Aeolus, of ancestry, place, and belonging, and of so much more. Told from Joshua's unique and charming perspective, there is something here for everyone.' (Publication summary)

'A poetic new graphic novella by Joshua Santospirito about the experience of migration and what it means to pull up your roots from one place on the other side of the world … and start weaving them into the new world.

'Joshua follows the story of his grandfather as he slowly builds his life from a working child in the streets of Melbourne to the King of Flowers on Flinders Street.'

Source: Author's home page (https://joshuasantospiritoart.com/comics/swallows-2015/). (Sighted: 17/06/2016)

'A book about migrating to a new world and the stories we created when we arrived.' (Publication summary)

'The Long Weekend is a graphic novel that has been adapted from an essay that explores the idea of the Cultural Complex; one of Carl Jung’s early ideas about group behaviour that was left largely unexplored until very recently in the academic world.

'Craig San Roque, the author the original essay, acts as narrator and protagonist. He takes the reader throughout a long series of poetic thoughts, places and over the course of a long weekend in the central Australian desert town of Alice Springs whilst he grapples with an analysis of his own culture and the pain which it intentionally and unintentionally inflicts upon other cultures.

'Moving, challenging and dangerous, The Long Weekend is a haunting comic, both shockingly funny and supremely uncomfortable to read. It's images will linger with you after you've placed it upon your bedside table, turned off the lamp and settled into a restless sleep.' (Publisher's blurb)