Verso un uomo nuovo: il graphic novel della mutazione. I casi di Akira, Ronin, Aâma, Golem

After briefly presenting the point of view of two important and influential authors such as Pier Paolo Pasolini and Francis Fukuyama on the topics of globalization and the homogenisation of present and future societies, the article focuses on four graphic novels which deal, each one in its own peculiar way, with the theme of mutation. The graphic novels analysed, belonging to the science fiction genre, are: Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo, 1982-1990), Ronin (1983-1984), Aâma (Frederik Peeters, 2011-2014), and Golem (Lorenzo Ceccotti, 2014). The first two, set in a near future that has meanwhile become our past, tell the story of an individualistic mutation that brings only death and destruction to society; conversely the latter two, although narrating a series of catastrophic – and yet somehow salvific – events triggered by the power of a single person, also focus on the importance of human cooperation and on the relevance of a productive connection between individual and society. Both Peeters and Ceccotti end their work with a glimpse of hope, anticipating a future that can be both harsh and utopian.