''Valentina'' is an Italian comic strip series, created in 1965 by the

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 ...

artist

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 ...

and concluded in 1996. Originally a minor character working for the comic hero ''

Neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...

'', Valentina became the sole protagonist of the series in 1967. The first episode was entitled "La Curva di Lesmo" (referring to a curve of the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monza). This story was followed by 30 others, collected in a total of seven books, along with two others ''Lanterna magica'' (''Magic Lantern'', 1977) and ''Valentina pirata'' (''Pirate Valentina''), the first in full colour.

Character

Valentina Rosselli, whose appearance is inspired by silent film actress

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...

, is a

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

ese photojournalist. Her boyfriend, Philip Rembrandt, the super-hero ''Neutron'', has the ability to paralyze people, animals, or machines he has seen in the flesh or pictures. Later a child was born to Philip and Valentina, Mattia. The character Valentina was born on December 25, 1942, in

and grew older during the series, the last episode of which was published in 1995. As time passed, in Valentina's stories Crepax abandoned the fantasy-science fiction or detective themes of the beginning, introducing a complex, weird mix of erotism, hallucinations, and dreams. The strips also dealt with bisexuality, autoerotic ecstasy, super-sensual abandon, and sadomasochism.

''Valentina'' in other media

In 1973 a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

called ''

Baba Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...

'' was based on the

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

. Valentina was played by French actress Isabelle De Funès. The film was directed by Corrado Farina, who had previously made a documentary on the comics by

. An Italian TV series based on the

comicbook A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...

was released in 1989. Valentina was played by American actress Demetra Hampton and Philip Rembrandt by Russel Case. Thirteen episodes were filmed, with language tracks in both Italian and English, each 30 minutes long. Selected episodes were edited together into a feature film and shown on late-night American Cable TV.

Stories

* '' The Lesmo Curve'' (1965) * ''The Subterraneans'' (1965) * ''The Descent'' (1966) * ''Un Poco Loco'' (1966) * ''Ciao, Valentina'' (1966) * ''The Force of Gravity'' (1967) * ''Funny Valentine'' (1967) * ''Valentina in Sovietland'' (1968) * ''Valentina in Boots'' (1968) * ''Marianna in the Country'' (1968) * ''Fearless Paper Doll Valentina'' (1968) * ''Filippo and Valentina'' (1969) * ''Valentina's Baby'' (1969) * ''The Manuscript Found in a Stroller'' (1970) * ''Baba Yaga'' (1971) * ''Bluebeard'' (1971) * ''Who's Afraid of Baba Yaga?'' (1971) * ''Valentina the Fearless'' (1971) * ''Annette'' (1972) * ''The Little King'' (1972) * ''Pietro Giacomo Rogeri'' (1972) * ''The Time Eater'' (1973) * ''Fallen Angels'' (1973) * ''The Empress's New Clothes'' (1973) * ''Reflection'' (1974) * ''Private Life'' (1975) * ''Subconscious Valentina'' (1976) * ''Valentina the Pirate'' (1976) * ''Rembrandt and the Witches'' (1977) * ''Anthropology'' (1977) * ''Le Zattere, Venice'' (1980)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentina (Comics) Adult comic strips Italian comic strips 1965 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1965 1996 comics endings Fictional Italian people Erotic comics Fantasy comics Science fiction comics Fictional photographers Italian comics characters Comics spin-offs Comics about women Italian comics adapted into films Comics adapted into television series Female characters in comics