Finally back on Fumetti huh? Who better to start this with besides Milo Manara? Magnus or Giovan Carpi? Maybe some other time. Manara is a decorated artist whose reputation earns him awards including Harvey, Eisner, and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame. Wait, how does drawing women in compromising positions and clothing show this? Pay attention and find out.
Milo Manara: Outriding the Trends
Manara’s debut in comics is in reaction to the Fumetti neri series like Kriminal and Satanik. Unlike the inspirations though, the Genius series is the one that begins the more adult themes. The series is meant to be more serious and mature, hence its beginnings as a photo comic. So Manara with his painting skills decides to use the actual likeness of these actors for his characters. This creates a photorealistic look as far as pens and pencils go. It even ends up being a way to save a lot of money on Genius.
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Manara’s techniques get the notice of many including Renzo Barbieri who introduces Manara to erotic work. He even ends up saving the derivative work Jolanda de Almara with his surprisingly efficient art style. Pretty soon, Manara even takes a dive into history; not just real-world history either, but his part in the history of comics. Some of them are outright satirical with their depictions, especially with socio-political stances on women.
Beyond the Border
Soon enough, Manara’s art style catches attention over Italy’s border. His first solo work is in Franco-Belgian magazine, À Suivre with “Giuseppe Bergman”. Giuseppe serves as Manara’s own alter-ego; to the point of referencing Manara’s meeting with Hugo Pratt, the man who gets Manara into comics. It’s also one of the earliest depictions of genre deconstruction. The life and depictions of adventure aren’t Milo’s cup of tea; they’re often more trouble than they’re worth. While he can, Manara prefers to focus on the more human side of characters rather than escape fantasies. For example in The Snow Man, he experiments in personal expression. It’s a hit and miss, but it does help develop Giuseppe.
Milo Manara: Homecoming
Manara under the influence of his work environment develops The Paper Man. As a western series, it takes a revolutionary look at the Native sides of colonial America. Rather than portray the nations as savages, it’s the frontiersmen who are given a satirical look at. For all of their fame, these men are exploitable pawns in greater wars. But even then Manara moves away from the experimentation back in Italy. Wouldn’t you know it, but the first thing he does is eroticism. This time though, there are no constraints to hold him down.
With this is Manara’s most famous work in Italy’s domestic market, The Game. This series in particular is among the first to view the different sides of the sex drive. On the surface, it looks like controlling a woman’s urges. In reality though, it’s about consent and solidarity. Human relationships are dynamic, hence why sexuality is such a crucial part of it. People like to cover it up as well as other things they don’t like in public. This includes the exploitations of the Amazon rainforest natives and political corruption. But playing the game reveals what people never knew about themselves. It’s so successful, that an American TV mini-series Click uses this concept as a basis.
The Digital Frontier
Manara starts working in a few other magazines and designs a music album. But even that is just icing on the cake when it comes to his biggest push for the new media. The mid-90s introduces Manara’s first story on CD-roms; PC game discs for the modern audience. Gulliveriana is a spoof on the classic Gulliver’s Travels with an erotic comedy spin. The simplistic tale allows for an easy to transition story when you look at events from a woman’s perspective. It’s so notable Guido Crepax asks for a collaboration with Manara. Another CD, The Game of Kamasutra follows a young woman’s journey of self-discovery through the titular philosophy. The story serves as an early choose-your-own adventure game. Even if the choices only seem to appeal to certain audiences.
The turn of the twenty-first century however also threatens Manara’s place in art. With anyone able to access erotic content at their fingertips, Manara is almost obsolete. Emphasis on “almost”, he still goes on his social criticism, including how TV personalities manipulate truths. It’s a rather terrifying aspect when those things he drew about actually comes to life. Now it’s not even just TV, but everywhere a person can look and listen.
Reflections
Sometimes though, creators have to look back on their work and deconstruct it. Appuntamento Fatale shows how eroticism is not always favorable and has ties to sexual violence; obviously a polarizing choice for Manara’s fans. While it’s always good to see the different sides of a subject, some people don’t see the other side.
Later in the early 2000s, he goes through a personal journey on the relationship between a painter and his models. Illustrations can speak about a thousand words. But at the same time there needs to be a clear communication between the parties. Otherwise, the people who look at the pictures will only see their versions of a fantasy. I like to think that this is the reason Neil Gaiman has Manara illustrate the Desire chapter of The Sandman: Endless Nights.
Milo Manara: A Life in Tribute
So why does someone whose career revolves around drawing naked people matter? For one thing, Milo Manara is an artist who is ingrained in the history of fumetti. Like a renaissance artist, he glorifies the human body the way people portray gods. More importantly, it’s about reflecting life. History is both frightening and funny when looking through a certain lense. It’s one of the reasons his more modern work focuses on artists who inspire him like Caravaggio. He even learns to develop himself over the course of a lifetime with his relationship with art. Otherwise just bring up this video:
Thanks for coming and as always, remember to look between the panels.