The former Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a sort of painful, tormented litmus test for those who live in or know the African continent and its history.
It is a country with such potential for prosperity that it is one of the poorest, eternally condemned to be exploited, trampled on, subjugated, robbed, and torn apart.
Like the “brother” in Rino Gaetano's song, it is the only child of an Africa that has gone from colonialism (in the case of the Congo, Belgian, fierce and oppressive) to the neocolonialism of foreign powers (for the immense riches of its subsoil) without even having time to breathe independence and freedom, to cultivate dreams like corn and vegetables for themselves.

The hope of salvation for his people in the early 1960s lasted only a few months and has a name and a surname: Patrice Lumumba. The African hero, as he is described by Luca Catalano, author, together with illustrator Michele De Santis, of the graphic novel of the same name.
It is an emblematic story, because his life and death bring with them the splendor and misery of nations that felt the urgent need to break their chains after more than a century of European tyranny, but at the same time were betrayed by their own leaders.
Some did so immediately, some in a short time, and some with a slow and inexorable crescendo that still sees ‘good’ octogenarian dictators in the saddle.
Catalano, who lived in Kinshasa and the surrounding area for many years and now lives and works in Nairobi in the humanitarian field, has chosen an original and direct approach, like a punch in the stomach (because the Congo is the stomach of Africa, forced to become its intestines), to tell the story of the father of Congolese freedom, who was never able to govern and realize the dreams of his people. “Lumumba, African Hero” is as compelling as a novel, as enjoyable as a comic book, as stimulating as an essay lightened by images, as bleak but necessary as a vivid dream aborted at dawn.

As Marco Trovato, editor of the magazine Africa, writes in the preface, “this extraordinary graphic novel has the merit of restoring to us not only the icon, but also the man, inspired by great ideals, yet with his fragilities, a man who paid with his life for his commitment to his people.”
Published by Becco Giallo, a courageous publisher specializing in books of this caliber and beautiful presentation, Catalano and De Santis' work is also highly topical: separatist movements, tribal and religious feuds, the interests of neighboring countries such as Rwanda, and the clutches of the Chinese, Americans, Arabs, and Europeans on its underground resources, which provide 80% of the world's coltan, an essential element for modern technologies, condemn it to suffering, hunger, and death.

Without even the dream of another peaceful, clean, conscious hero.
Rereading the story of the Congolese dream and its betrayal, in such a heartbreaking yet fascinating way, is a beautiful journey that I recommend to anyone who cares about this only son of Africa. In addition to bookstores in Italy, Lumumba, eroe africano is available online on major distribution platforms, and we will soon be presenting it in Nairobi.