COMICS&JEWS – The Tale of the Rock

“I had long envisioned the core of the story: a country with a Muslim majority and a significant Jewish presence, the interaction between the two communities, and I wanted children as main characters,” said Benedetta D’Incau. Known as BeneDì, D’Incau received the BRAW prize from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair for her work Il Racconto della Roccia (The Tale of the Rock), published by Coconino.

Drawing on her knowledge of Sephardic Judaism, BeneDì started her research: “I was interested in models of coexistence between two worlds and Jewish communities in the Arab world, which are rarely depicted in comics.”

She focused on Yemen, collecting iconographic material with the guidance of a professor from the University of Naples, who introduced her to life in the northern part of that country.

In villages, there was a degree of osmosis and parity between the two communities, which was rare in the capital. Just before the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Europeans began to explore Yemen, documenting and photographing it. The author dedicated six months to historical research, nearly a year to defining the storyboard, and another two years to drawing and inking the panels.

“It was also important for me to show how women can ownership of history and have the ability to rewrite it. In times of crisis, they can dismantle entrenched organizational structures and challenge community norms. For example, the increased female presence in the workforce during the WWI, which disappeared after the war but left a lasting impact in the public perception. I wouldn’t choose such themes as the centerpiece of a comic, though; for me, it’s important to entertain readers and create a moment of suspension. If reflection becomes the main element, it becomes a more programmatic, less flexible work, whereas I want the story to be the main focus.”