List of posts

Humanoids Presents: The Jodoverse

Story Alexandro Jodorowsky & Art by Mœbius, Juan Gimnez, Zoran Janjetov, Fred Beltran

Visionary author, filmmaker, and philosopher, Alexandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, Endless Poetry) has created — along with some of the world's most singular and talented sequential artists — an incredible Sci-Fi universe, full of love, revenge, intrigue, betrayal, and redemption. Told one series at a time, this wholly imaginative realm continues to expand on a cosmic scale. Featuring excerpts from The Incal, The Metabarons, The Technopriests, and Megalex, this collection provides a peek into this mind-blowing world that will ensure that you'll want to hop onboard and explore it further…Welcome to The Jodoverse!

Quick facts about Humanoids Presents: The Jodoverse:

• Great Value with 112 full color pages for just $4.99!
• More than a chapter from each of the four main series that make up the Jodoverse, only otherwise available in print as a hardcover omnibus. 
• A great (and affordable) introduction into the works of Alexandro Jodorowsky!

Available below is the desktop wallpaper of Humanoids Presents: The Jodoverse. Click the picture to choose your resolution

Humanoids Presents: The Jodoverse arrives in book stores and comic shops on September 6, 2016 with an MSRP of $5.95/£3.50

Milo Manara (Part 2)

While Milo Manara has produced numerous comics featuring historical subjects, such as his and Alexandro Jodorowsky's The Borgias (2004, 2006 & 2008) and his collaborations with Hugo Pratt on Indian Summer (1983) - set in days of early puritanical US settlers - and El Gaucho (1991), it's erotica that he's most renowned for.

Many of the award-winning Italian creator's comics include themes of bondage, domination and humiliation, voyeurism, the supernatural, and the exploration of the sexual tension lurking beneath various aspects of society. Manara's work varies in explicitness, but the general mood is playful rather than misogynistic (although many have contested this). There's a sense that Manara loves women, and depicting the female form, and his skill in creating a certain tone has helped to give him an air of artistic respectability, regardless of the subject matter.

His classic erotic titles have included the four-part series Il Gioco (1983, translated as Click), about a device which renders women helplessly aroused at the flick of a switch, and Il Profumo dell'invisibile (1986, translated as Butterscotch), about the invention of a body paint which makes the wearer invisible. Other erotic comics include Hidden Camera (1988), Three Girls on the Internet (1998) and Manara's Kama Sutra (1997), which also became a CD-ROM game. A common thread through much of his erotica is the appearance of women seemingly as victims, but who actually turn out to be the ones in control and come out on top.

Considering all this it's hardly surprising that Manara created an erotic adaptation of Gulliver's Travels (Gullivera, published last month) and even produced an adaptation of one of literature's earliest erotic farces, The Golden Ass. Originally titled The Metamorphoses and written by Apuleius around 158-159 AD, it's the only Ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The Picaresque tale sees the narrator, Lucius, transformed accidentally into an ass, as he embarks on a quest for magic and redemption.

First published in 1999, Manara's adaptation is remarkably faithful to the original, combining or missing out only a few of the inset stories that add nothing to the main narrative. This August's completely uncensored edition still manages to shock and surprise even today's audience with its tongue-in-cheek parody of bestiality. It's a testament to his storytelling ability that he manages to compress 300+ pages of prose into just 56 pages of lushly painted sequential storytelling without losing any of the essence and vitality of the saga. 

Unfortunately Manara's own work has suffered when adapted, as it has been, into several poorly animated and badly acted live-action TV series and low-budget films like Click (Le Déclic 1985 & 1997), City Hunters (2006) and Butterscotch (AKA The Erotic Misadventures of the Invisible Man in 1997)

But regardless of these adaptations, Manara still stands out as one of, if not the, world's greatest erotic comics artist and The Golden Ass is one of his finest works.

--Tim Pilcher

In Part 3 We'll look at Pandora's Eyes and his history of collaboration with other creators.

Milo Manara's The Golden Ass

Story & Art by Milo Manara

The adventures of the young Lucius transformed into a donkey and subject to the vicissitudes of a life of wandering. An array of thieves, sorcerers and beautiful women cross his path, challenging him in more ways than one… 

Inspired by "The Golden Ass of Apuleius," a titillating tale that is a must-have for Manara fans.  

For mature audiences.

Quick facts about Milo Manara's The Golden Ass:

• Milo Manara is a world renowned and multi-award winning Italian comics creator who has worked with Hugo Pratt and film director Federico Fellini.
• Occasionally controversial Manara has illustrated The Sandman: Endless Nights for Vertigo and X-Women and numerous covers for Marvel.
• The artist of over 50 graphic novels has won Eisner and Harvey Awards, been inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame and had his work adapted into several films.
• Second in a series of forthcoming Manara releases, including Gullivera (July) and a brand-new color version of Pandora's Eyes (November).

Available below is the desktop wallpaper of Milo Manara's The Golden Ass. Click the picture to choose your resolution

Milo Manara's The Golden Ass arrives in book stores and comic shops on August 23, 2016 with an MSRP of $19.95/£14.99

Brüssli: Way of the Dragon Boy is now available in book shops and comic stores!  Over the last week, we've been sharing previews, stories, and designs on social media.  In case you missed them, here are several watercolor pages and storyboard designs from Brüssli.

Brüssli: Way of the Dragon Boy is now available in book stores and comic shops with an MSRP of $24.95/£17.99

Brussli: Way of the Dragon Boy

Story by J-L Fonteneau, Art by J. Etienne

Beak-faced Brussli is bullied by the village children. Curious about his true origins, the dauntless "Dragon Boy," sets off on a quest of adventure and discovery. What he finds, however, turns his world upside down and puts him face-to-face with a unique cast of fantastical fairies, talking rabbits, wily wolves, battle-hardened nuns, demonic beings, and much much more, in this hysterical and heartwarming comedy adventure.

Quick facts about Brussli: Way of the Dragon Boy:
• Jean-Louis Fonteneau won the Youth Prize at Angoulême Comics Festival in 2003. The Youth Prize is awarded for a YA comic by the target market, a jury of children.
• Appeals to older readers of Jeff Smith's Bone and Disney.

Available below is the desktop wallpaper of Brussli: Way of the Dragon Boy. Click the picture to choose your resolution

Brussli: Way of the Dragon Boy arrives in book stores and comic shops on August 16, 2016 with an MSRP of $24.95/£17.99