Zora (Italian: Zora la Vampira) is an Italian comic book erotic character from the 1970s. Zora la Vampira ("Zora the vampiress") is one of many such characters from the Italian '' fumetti'' tradition. Other figures from the same era, and with similarly violent or erotic preoccupations, include

Maghella Maghella is an Italian comic book erotic character. A young witch with magic powers, she was created by Dino Leonetti with text by Furio Arrasich. She made her first appearance as lead character in the erotic series ''Menelik'' published in 1974 ...

, Lucifera,

Biancaneve ''Biancaneve'' is an Italian erotic comic book, created in 1972 by Renzo Barbieri and Rubino Ventura (pseudonym of Giuseppe Pederiali) and illustrated by Leone Frollo. The series, published by Edifumetto, was based on ''Snow White and the Seven ...

, Vartan,

Jacula Jacula was an Italian rock music, rock band founded in 1969 in Milan as an experiment by Antonio Bartoccetti, Doris Norton, organist Charles Tiring and Mediumship, medium Franz Porthenzy. Jacula's music was considered innovative for the time in p ...

Sukia ''Sukia' succhiare'' is Italian for "to suck". was a vampire-themed Italian comics series by Renzo Barbieri and Fulvio Bosttoli published by Edifumetto from 1978 to 1986, for a total of 153 albums and 6 extra albums. In the series Sukia faces ...

, and Yra.

History

The first comic book was published in 1972. ''Zora la vampira'' was published from 1972 to 1985 and featured a blond female protagonist who, on some covers, resembles French actress

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

. The series was published by

Edifumetto Edifumetto was an Italian publishing house of comics, founded by Renzo Barbieri. It was started in 1972 and folded in 1993. The majority of their publications were digest- or pocket-sized adult comics known in Italy as '' fumetti''. Popularity peak ...

. The cartoonists were

Renzo Barbieri Renzo Barbieri (10 March 1940 – 23 September 2007) was an author and editor of Italian comics as well as the founder of the publishing house Edifumetto. In 1980 he wrote ''Il Manuale del Playboy'' (Manual for Playboys), a textbook about wher ...

and Giuseppe Pederiali as writers and

Birago Balzano Birago Balzano (5 January 1936 – 25 March 2022) was a leading Italian cartoonist who was the designer and illustrator of the adult horror character Zora. Biography Born in Trinitapoli, in the southern region of Apulia, Italy, when Balzano wa ...

as artist.

Emanuele Taglietti Emanuele Taglietti (born 1943)''Sex and Horror: The Art of Emanuele Taglietti'', Korero Press, 2015, is an Italian illustrator, mostly known for his covers for digest-sized, adult comics whose themes were Erotic literature, sex, violence, and ...

and

Alessandro Biffignandi Alessandro Biffignandi (8 October 1935 – 22 January 2017) was an Italian illustrator, mostly known for his covers for digest-sized, adult comics whose themes were sex, violence, and horror. Biography Alessandro Biffignandi was born in 1935 ...

painted the majority of the covers for the series. Together with the original series, stories of ''Zora'' were published also in the comic magazines ''Orror'', ''I Notturni'' and ''Fasma''. The series was also published with some success in France, where new stories were produced even after the closing of the series in Italy. A new 13 episodes miniseries of Zora, renamed as "Lady Vampyre", was published in 2001; cartoonists were Paolo Puccini and Daniele Statella.

Plot

The character's real name is Zora Pabst, a 19th-century aristocrat who has been possessed by the spirit of

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

. She travels her way around the world and even into

outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

, satisfying her sexual desires and her lust for blood. Her adventures are a mixture of horror, eroticism, and pornography.

Legacy

A film inspired by the character, also named ''

Zora la Vampira Zora (Italian: Zora la Vampira) is an Italian comics, Italian comic book erotic character from the 1970s. Zora la Vampira ("Zora the vampiress") is one of many such characters from the Italian ''Italian comics, fumetti'' tradition. Other figures f ...

'', was released in 2000, directed by the Manetti Brothers.

References

Italian comics titles 1972 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1972 Fictional people from the 19th-century 1985 comics endings Erotic comics Horror comics Vampires in comics Works set in the 19th century Italian comics characters Comics about women Italian comics adapted into films Female characters in comics Comics based on Dracula Comics about spirit possession {{Italy-comics-stub