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Paolo Bacilieri’s graphic novel FUN links comics and crosswords through a shared newspaper history and a visual idea: crossword squares and comic panels both arrange meaning in a grid. Its story combines crossword history with a mystery, using clues, images and characters to invite readers to piece things together. It is not a puzzle-solving manual, and the historical overlap is a coincidence the book develops—not proof that one form caused the other.
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FUN: Spies, Puzzle Solvers, and a Century of Crosswords | $24.63 | Buy on Amazon |
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Fun (Portuguese Edition) | $16.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Fun | $33.53 | Buy on Amazon |
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More Fun | $36.39 | Buy on Amazon |
What is FUN about?
FUN: Spies, Puzzle Solvers, and a Century of Crosswords follows novelist Pippo Quester as he writes a history of the crossword with Zeno Porno, his fan and protégé, who works as a Disney comics writer. Their inquiries bring them into contact with editors, puzzle compilers, cruciverbalists and literary figures. The publisher’s synopsis says their research takes a dangerous turn when Mafalda, an enigmatic student with a grudge and a handmade pistol, draws them into a contemporary puzzle.
That premise makes the book both a history of crosswords and a mystery narrative. It is not a how-to guide for solving puzzles. The publisher describes the English edition as a 296-page black-and-white hardback with some colour, translated by Jamie Richards; it was published by SelfMadeHero on 6 June 2017. Its ISBN is 9781910593257. See SelfMadeHero’s edition details.
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Why are comics and crosswords linked in the book?
A shared newspaper setting
The historical point of connection is the New York World. Arthur Wynne’s first crossword appeared in the paper’s Sunday pages on 21 December 1913. The paper is also associated with the early comic strip The Yellow Kid. Italian reporting on Bacilieri’s book notes this overlap, while Bacilieri has explained that he chose the title FUN because it was the first word in Wynne’s puzzle.
This is a shared setting in newspaper history, not evidence that crosswords and comics are the same medium or that one directly produced the other. Bacilieri uses the coincidence as a starting point for exploring their affinities.
Rank #2
A grid that can hold different kinds of meaning
A crossword’s squares and a comic’s panels both divide a page into units that readers scan and connect. In FUN, that visual parallel becomes part of the book’s design: the story includes crossword references that Zeno encounters, and its meaning is distributed across text, images, subplots and characters. Readers are encouraged to make connections, much as they would when filling in a grid.
The parallel is structural rather than literal. Crossword entries depend on intersecting answers and clues; comics use panels, sequence and visual storytelling. Bacilieri’s conceit brings those ways of reading into conversation without collapsing them into one form.
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Rank #3
How did Bacilieri come to make the book?
Bacilieri has credited puzzle expert Stefano Bartezzaghi with prompting the idea. In a Guardian Q&A, he recalled Bartezzaghi asking: “Paolo, why don’t you make a graphic novel about the crosswords puzzle?” In a 2014 interview with il manifesto, Bacilieri explained the title: “Ho intitolato il mio libro Fun perché è la prima parola comparsa nel primo cruciverba, quello di Arthur Wynne del 1913. È una parola inglese, significa divertente, spero che anche il mio libro lo sia.” He said he hoped the book would be fun, like the word that opened Wynne’s puzzle.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What kind of reading experience is it?
Reviews emphasize different aspects of the book. Debkumar Mitra’s review for Scroll.in praises its visual and structural ambition, while observing that the English translation sometimes seemed literal; the reviewer also points to a typographical error on page 19, where 1871 appeared as 1971. That is the reviewer’s observation, not a publisher-confirmed correction.
Rank #4
Matthew J. Constantine’s 2024 review reads the book as a blend of crossword history and a slow-burn mystery, with Milan, memory and character relationships also shaping the narrative. These are individual critical responses rather than a single definitive assessment.
Which English edition is this?
The English-language edition is published by SelfMadeHero under the full title FUN: Spies, Puzzle Solvers, and a Century of Crosswords. It is a hardback translated by Jamie Richards, ISBN 9781910593257. For current retailer availability, consult the publisher’s book page; no current price or stock status is specified here.
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