Early life Rech was born in
Cortona, Italy, to an Italian father from
Rome and a French mother. He was raised in
France, then later
Rome (
Rebibbia-Ponte Mammolo area), where he graduated at the
Lycée français Chateaubriand.
Early career (2003–2012) In 2003, at the age of 20, Rech began working as an illustrator for
Liberazione,
Carta,
La Repubblica, and several other periodicals. At this time, he also wrote and drew a
webcomic titled
Safe Inside for
Zuda Comics, the online division of
DC Comics. In 2004 he created a comic about the
G8 summit in Genoa, which had taken place three years before. Zerocalcare published his first graphic novel in October 2011 titled
The Armadillo Prophecy, and in November created zerocalcare.it, a website where he published autobiographical comic strips. In September 2012, the blog won the Macchianera Award as 'Best draftsman-Cartoonist' and the
Gran Guinigi Award at
Lucca Comics for best short story with
The Armadillo Prophecy.
Career (2013–present) In October 2014, Rech made a variant cover for
Marvel's
Guardians of the Galaxy, released during Lucca Comics by
Panini Comics' Italian division. In April 2016, his fourth graphic novel
Kobane Calling: Greetings from Northern Syria was published. The material had been previously published in 'Internazionale' and focused on the conflict between the Kurds and the Islamic State.
Kobane Calling won the Micheluzzi Award as best cartoon at Naples Comicon, 2017. In October, a film based on ''La profezia dell'armadillo'' entered production with Fandango (a
Fremantle subsidiary) and
Rai Cinema. Zerocalcare was one of four screenwriters on the movie. On 14 January 2018 ''
L'Espresso published a short comic by Zerocalcare titled Questa non è una partita a bocce'', focusing on the rise of
Neo-fascist movements in Italy. The same year, Zerocalcare was invited to attend
San Diego Comic-Con following the English release of Kobane Calling, but only obtained his US Visa last minute, due to his travels which inspired the book. On 3 September 2018 the film ''
La profezia dell'armadillo'' was released, based on his comic of the same name. In November, the
MAXXI museum of
Rome hosted an exhibition of Zerocalcare's works, titled
Zerocalcare. Scavare fossati, Nutrire coccodrilli. It lasted until March 2019. That same month a theatrical adaption of
Kobane Calling: Greetings from Northern Syria debuted at
Teatro del Giglio in
Lucca, during
Lucca Comics & Games 2019 and toured as part of the 2019/2020 theatre season. In 2020, Zerocalcare got high visibility, particularly thanks to the animated shorts
Rebibbia Quarantine broadcast on
LA7 on the Propaganda Live program during lockdown due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. On the same year, he made variant covers for Marvel's
Absolute Carnage comic book miniseries, only released in Italy. He wrote an introduction for the Italian edition of
TRANSito, a
transgender-themed comic by Ian Bermúdez drawn by David Cantero, released in Italy in March 2020. On 21 December 2020, Zerocalcare announced that he would be creating an animated series for
Netflix titled
Tear Along the Dotted Line. Ten months later, on 8 October 2021, Netflix released a teaser trailer for the show, which announced the show's 17 November 2021 release date. The show premiered ten days later, on 18 October, at the
Rome Film Fest. On 16 November Ablaze Publishing announced that they would be releasing English translations of Zerocalcare's first three graphic novels,
The Armadillo Prophecy (2011),
Tentacles At My Throat (2012) and
Forget My Name (2014).
Tear Along the Dotted Line was released through Netflix on 17 November 2021. Early reviews have been positive. An animated series featuring the same team of creators, titled ''
This World Can't Tear Me Down'' (), was released on Netflix on 9 June 2023. On 4 October 2022, Rech's new graphic novel
No Sleep till Shengal was published in Italian. It focuses on the persecution of
Yazidis in
Iraq. On 1 November 2025, at
Lucca Comics & Games 2025, Zerocalcare announced that he will be working on a new series titled
Due Spicci. == Works ==