A Little Book Found Me in Italy

I’d never been to Italy and didn’t expect to visit. Françoise Mouly, the founder of TOON Books, was invited to the 2025 Bologna Children’s Book Fair. As luck would have it, she had a conflict and asked the Book Fair if she could pass the invitation on to me.

So, I represented TOON Books in the magnificent city of Bologna as a guest of the fair. It was a feast for the eyes. TOON Books had table at the Comics Corner where I met brilliant comics publishers from all over the world, including Colombia, The Philippines, and Brazil.

Bebel Books of Brazil gifted me a copy of a remarkable little book, Acqua Alta. I guessed right, the title translates as ‘High Water.’ Bebel Books has published over 100 books. Some of them are NSFW, like Suruba para Colorir (Orgy Coloring Book.) Another, a comic anthology about toxic masculinity, BOY DODÓI, is a hit in Brazil.

Acqua Alta is safe-for-work and very lovely book. I’ll share some of my favorite pages. At the end of this post is a link to the entire story.

The story is wordless. A little girl arrives in Venice on a cruise ship. She gets distracted at a mask shop and suddenly she is on her own. No longer part of the throng of tourists, she manages to wander empty side streets.

Look at that partial mask in the upper left corner and how it directs our eyes to the girl. The following page, once she has put on the mask is one of my favorites. So gutsy.

I’ve never been to Venice, but I think I know it because of movies, The Merchant of Venice, Casino Royale, and Don’t Look Now! Don’t Look Now! made a lasting impression on me. Donald Sutherland plays a grieving father who thinks he sees his recently deceased daughter running around Venice. As the little girl in Acqua Alta wandered around I felt uneasy for her because of my personal catalog of Venetian movie imagery. Every reader carries their cocktail of impressions of the great city. I doubt Nik Neves’ intention was to channel a 1970’s horror film.

I want to thank the sisters Bebel Abrue and Manaira Abrue of São Paulo, Brazil for the gift of this Acqua Alta. Bebel is the Editor-in-Chief at Bebel Books. Manaira, art director and designer. Both are brimming with positive energy and deserve the international acclaim coming their way. Find them on Instagram @bebelbooks

ACQUA ALTA : FREE ONLINE! The pictures above are just a sampler of Acqua Alta. The entire book, all 64 pages, is FREE on Nik Neves’ website. Of course, the physical book is a different experience. The printing is exquisite. The cream-colored paper stock is so substantial that each individual page has the heft of a classic post card. It is a joy to savor the visual poetry of Nik Neves.