Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
comic book writer and artist
developed specialized terminology. Some several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is un ...
.
Career
After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a
Fumetti neri
''Fumetti neri'' (Italian for "black comics") is a subgenre of Italian comics, born in Italy with the creation of the ''Diabolik'' character (1962).
Overview
The "Fumetti neri" name comes from "cronaca nera", the Italian name for crime news. A ...
series of pocket books from publisher Furio Vanio in the wake of the popularity of ''
Kriminal'' and ''
Satanik''.
In 1970, he illustrated for the magazine ''Terror'', and starting in 1971 drew the erotic series ''
Jolanda de Almaviva
Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist.
Career
After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a Fumetti neri ...
'' written by Francisco Rubino, issued in small format by publisher Erregi. Joining the youth magazine ', he worked with Rubino, Carlo Barbieri,
Mino Milani and Silverio Pisú.
With Pisú Manara launched the publications ' and ' in 1974 and the series ', and with writer Mino Milani the series ' in 1975. Manara and Pisú later went on to publish ''Lo Scimmiotto'' (''The Ape'') along the story of the Chinese
Monkey King
The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong ( zh, t=孫悟空, s=孙悟空, first=t) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel '' Journey to the West'' ( zh, ...
in ''
Alter Linus
Alter may refer to:
* Alter (name), people named Alter
* Alter (automobile)
* Alter (crater), a lunar crater
* Alter Channel, a Greek TV channel
* Archbishop Alter High School, a Roman Catholic high school in Kettering, Ohio
* ALTER, a command in ...
'' in 1976, and with
Alfredo Castelli
Alfredo Castelli (born 26 June 1947) is an Italian comic book artist and writer.
Biography
Born in Milan, Castelli began his comic book career at an early age, creating the strip '' Scheletrino'', a humor series for Italian comic book ''Diabolik' ...
, ''L'Uomo delle Nevi'' (''The Snowman'') in 1978.
During this period Manara began publishing work in several
Franco-Belgian comics magazines including ''
Charlie Mensuel
''Charlie Mensuel'' (or simply ''Charlie'', "mensuel" being a French term for a monthly periodical) was a French monthly comics magazine. Its publication began in February 1969, and ceased in February 1986.
Tagged ''"The newspaper full of humour ...
'', ''
Pilote
Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0
''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...
'' and ''
L'Écho des savanes
''L’Écho des Savanes'' is a Franco-Belgian comics magazine founded in May 1972 by Claire Bretécher, Marcel Gotlib and Nikita Mandryka. It featured the work of French and international authors and graphic artists in mature-oriented comics ov ...
''.
For ''
(A SUIVRE)'' Manara created the first stories featuring ''HP and
Giuseppe Bergman'', which grew to become a large body of work. The character "HP" is based on Manara's friend, the Italian comics creator
Hugo Pratt
Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as ''Corto Maltese''. He was ind ...
, and a collaborator on some of Manara's most acclaimed work, initially ' (1983, ''Indian Summer'') and later ''El Gaucho'' (1991). Manara also completed two stories working with another of his heroes,
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most ...
.
In his own right Manara has been commended on his skills as a writer, as with the western ' (1982, ''The Paper Man'').
Manara's reputation for producing comics that revolve around elegant, beautiful women caught up in unlikely and fantastical erotic scenarios became solidified with work such as ' (1983, also known as ''
Click'' or ''Le Déclic''), about a device which renders women helplessly aroused; ' (1986, ''Butterscotch''), introducing the heroine Miele (Honey) and a sweet-smelling body-paint which makes the wearer invisible; and ''Candid camera'' (1988, ''Hidden Camera''), featuring the same protagonist in further explicit adventures. In the following years of combining sequels, original work, and collaborations with noted creators, Manara's production continued in this direction to explore erotic comics themes with an artistic and storytelling expression in a manner considered unique to Manara.
In the U.S. ''The Ape'' was serialised in ''
Heavy Metal'' in the early 1980s and Manara received some exposure through collaborations with
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gra ...
and other artists.
Later work
In connection with their joint project ''Quarantasei'', in July 2006, Manara designed a helmet for
Moto GP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...
rider
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...
, specifically made for the Italian GP in Mugello. Rossi declared:
In 2003, Manara's work featured on the cover of Scottish rock band
Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, composed of Simon Neil (guitar, lead vocals), James Johnston (bass, vocals), and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). Currently signed to 14th Floor Records, they have r ...
's second studio album ''
The Vertigo of Bliss''. Manara also created the artwork for all the singles released from this album.
In October 2006, Manara developed character designs for the animated television series ''
City Hunters''. The series, of ten 11-minute episodes, blends traditional animation techniques with modern
CGI, to be broadcast across all of Latin America on the FOX network throughout 2006 and 2007.
Manara penciled an ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
'' project written by
Chris Claremont for Marvel Comics called ''X-Men: Ragazze in fuga'' that released in April 2009 in Italy, and was later reprinted in short circulation by Marvel Comics in English as ''X-Women''.
In 2013 he started to do low print variant covers for issues of Marvel comic books.
He was profiled in the 2011 documentary film ''
Derailments
In rail transport, a derailment occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway system and they are a potentially ...
(Deragliamenti)''.
["Derailments: A short film based on a famous unmade film and the friendship between Fellini and Manara will be shown in Toronto today and tomorrow"]
'' L'Uomo Vogue'', September 12, 2011.
Awards
* 1978: and for an Italian artist
* 1998:
Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that we ...
: Inducted into the
Jack Kirby Hall of Fame The following is a list of winners of the Harvey Award, sorted by category.
In 2017, the Harvey Awards decided to skip the 2017 awards ceremony and to reboot the ceremony for 2018 in order to give fewer awards by focusing on works instead of indivi ...
* 2004:
Eisner Award, with various artists for
Best Anthology, for ''The Sandman: Endless Nights''
Bibliography
Adaptations
*Series
**''Click'' (1997)
**''
City Hunters'' (2006, animated TV series created by Gastón Gorali & Alberto Stagnaro)
*Films
**''Le Déclic'' (1985)
**''Le Parfum de l'invisible'' (199
IMDb
**''La Légende de Parva'' (2003)
**''The Erotic Misadventures of the Invisible Man'' (200
IMDb
See also
*
Fernando Carcupino
*
Hugo Pratt
Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as ''Corto Maltese''. He was ind ...
*
Guido Crepax
Guido Crepas (15 July 1933, in Milan – 31 July 2003, in Milan), better known by his pen name Guido Crepax, was an Italian comics artist. He is most famous for his character '' Valentina'', created in 1965 and very representative of the spirit of ...
*
Italian comics
Italian comics, also known as ''fumetto'' , plural form ''fumetti'' , are comics that originate in Italy. The most popular Italian comics have been translated into many languages. The term ''fumetto'' (literally ''little puff of smoke'') refers t ...
Notes
References
Manara publications in ''(A SUIVRE)''
an
– BDoubliées
– Bedetheque
– Europeancomics.net
External links
*
*
*
on Lambiek Comiclopedia
* }
NBM Graphic Novels publisher
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manara, Milo
1945 births
Living people
People from Lüsen
Italian comics writers
Italian comics artists
Italian erotic artists