| Milo Manara | |
|---|---|
 Milo Manara in 2008 | |
| Born | Maurilio Manara (1945-09-12)12 September 1945 (age 80) Lüsen (Luson),South Tyrol, Kingdom of Italy |
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Notable works |
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| Awards | Full list |
Maurilio Manara (/məˈnɑːrə/; born 12 September 1945), known professionally asMilo Manara, is an Italiancomic book writer and artist.
After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing forGenius, afumetti neri series of pocket books from publisher Furio Vanio in the wake of the popularity ofKriminal andSatanik.[1] In 1970, he illustrated for the magazineTerror, and starting in 1971 drew the erotic seriesJolanda de Almaviva written by Francisco Rubino, issued in small format by publisherErregi. Joining the youth magazineIl Corriere dei Ragazzi, he worked with Rubino, Carlo Barbieri,Mino Milani and Silverio Pisú.[2] With Pisú Manara launched the publicationsTelerompo andStrategia della Tensione in 1974 and the seriesAlessio, Il Borghese Rivoluzionario, and with writer Mino Milani the seriesLa parola alla giuria in 1975. Manara and Pisú later went on to publishLo Scimmiotto (The Ape) along the story of the ChineseMonkey King inAlter Linus in 1976, and withAlfredo Castelli,L'Uomo delle Nevi (The Snowman) in 1978.[2]
During this period Manara began publishing work in severalFranco-Belgian comics magazines includingCharlie Mensuel,Pilote andL'Écho des savanes.[1] For(A SUIVRE) Manara created the first stories featuringHP andGiuseppe Bergman, which grew to become a large body of work. The character "HP" is based on Manara's friend, the Italian comics creatorHugo Pratt, and a collaborator on some of Manara's most acclaimed work, initiallyTutto ricominciò con un'estate indiana (1983,Indian Summer) and laterEl Gaucho (1991). Manara also completed two stories working with another of his heroes,Federico Fellini.[1] In his own right Manara has been commended on his skills as a writer, as with the westernL'uomo di carta (1982,The Paper Man).[2]
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 asIl Gioco (1983, also known asClick orLe Déclic), about a device which renders women helplessly aroused;Il Profumo dell'invisibile (1986,Butterscotch), introducing the heroine Miele (Honey) and a sweet-smelling body-paint which makes the wearer invisible; andCandid 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 inHeavy Metal in the early 1980s and Manara received some exposure through collaborations withNeil Gaiman and other artists.
In connection with their joint projectQuarantasei, in July 2006, Manara designed a helmet forMoto GP riderValentino Rossi, specifically made for the Italian GP in Mugello. Rossi declared:
"He has drawn some kind of a mythical history of my life, in cartoons, with some of my heroes such as Steve McQueen, Enzo Ferrari, Jim Morrison, and other characters such as my dog Guido, the chicken Osvaldo and a lot of beautiful women! I really like Milo...he's a person that I have admired for a long time."
In 2003, Manara's work featured on the cover of Scottish rock bandBiffy Clyro's second studio albumThe 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 seriesCity Hunters. The series, consisting of ten 11-minute episodes, blends traditional animation techniques with modernCGI, to be broadcast across all of Latin America on the FOX network throughout 2006 and 2007.
Manara penciled anX-Men project written byChris Claremont for Marvel Comics calledX-Men: Ragazze in fuga that released in April 2009 in Italy, and was later reprinted in short circulation by Marvel Comics in English asX-Women.[3]
He was profiled in the 2011 documentary filmDerailments (Deragliamenti).[4]
In 2013 he started to do low print variant covers for issues of Marvel comic books. In 2014, Manara's variant cover for Spider-Woman #1 was widely criticized for putting the character in a pose that was deemed over-sexualized and oddly proportioned by many.[5][6] Defenders of Manara highlighted that this was a rare collector's variant cover, reflective of his art style for those familiar with him. The piece later sold for over £37,000 at auction in 2020.[7][8]
| Original title | English title | Year | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jolanda de Almaviva – La Figlia del Mare | 1971 | written by Francesco Rubino | |
| La parola alla giuria | 1975 | written by Mino Milani | |
| Alessio, Il Borghese Rivoluzionario | Alessio | 1975 | written by Silverio Pisu |
| Lo scimmiotto | The Ape | 1976 | written by Silverio Pisu |
| Un uomo un'avventura: L'uomo delle nevi | The Snowman | 1978 | written byAlfredo Castelli |
| HP e Giuseppe Bergman | HP and Giuseppe Bergman | 1978 | |
| Le avventure asiatiche di Giuseppe Bergman | The Indian Adventures of Giuseppe Bergman | 1980 | |
| L'uomo di carta, o Quattro dita | The Paper Man | 1982 | |
| L'ultimo tragico giorno di Gori Bau e Callipigia Sister | The Last Tragic Day of Gori Bau & The Callipygian Sister | 1982 | originally in Frigidaire #25, translation inShorts andManara Erotica Volume One |
| Tutto ricominciò con un'estate Indiana | Indian Summer | 1983 | withHugo Pratt |
| Il gioco | Click | 1983 | |
| Il diario di Sandra F. | The Diaries/Diary of Sandra F. | 1985 | translation in Heavy Metal #199503 andManara Erotica Volume Two |
| Il profumo dell'invisibile | Butterscotch | 1986 | |
| Candid camera | Hidden Camera | 1988 | |
| L'apparenza inganna | 1988 | ||
| Viaggio a Tulum | Trip to Tulum | 1989 | withFederico Fellini |
| L'arte della sculacciata | The Art of Spanking | 1989 | written by Jean-Pierre Enard |
| Le avventure africane di Giuseppe Bergman | An Author in Search of Six Characters andDies Irae | 1990 | Published as a serial inHeavy Metal Magazine (1984-1985) |
| Breakthrough | 1990 | Written byNeil Gaiman | |
| Il gioco 2 | Click 2 | 1991 | |
| El Gaucho | El Gaucho | 1991 | with Hugo Pratt |
| Il sogno di Oengus | 1991 | written by Giordano Berti | |
| Il viaggio di G. Mastorna detto Fernet | The Voyage of G. Mastorna | 1992 | with Federico Fellini |
| La feu aux entrailles | 1993 | withPedro Almodóvar | |
| Il gioco vol.3 | Click 3 | 1994 | |
| Seduzioni | 1994 | ||
| Storie brevi | Shorts | 1995 | |
| I viaggi di Gulliver, o Gulliveriana | Gulliveriana orGullivera | 1995 | based on text byJonathan Swift |
| Kamasutra | Manara's Kama Sutra | 1997 | based on text byVatsyayana |
| Star, Starlettes e Baguettes | Fantasies | 1997 | InL'Echo des Savanes 1997 &Pin-Up Art English inHeavy Metal #199903 |
| Ballata in si bemolle | Fatal Rendezvous | 1997 | |
| Appuntamento fatale | Rendezvous in B-Flat | 1997 | translation printed inManara Erotica Volume One |
| L'asino d'oro | The Golden Ass | 1999 | based on text byApuleius |
| Le avventure metropolitane di Giuseppe Bergman | The Urban Adventures of Giuseppe Bergman | 1999 | |
| Bolero | 1999 | ||
| Tre ragazze nella rete | www. | 2000 | |
| Rivoluzione | Revolution | 2000 | |
| Il gioco vol.4 | Click 4 | 2001 | |
| Il profumo dell'invisibile 2 | Butterscotch 2 | 2001 | |
| Le donne di Manara | Women of Manara | 2001 | |
| Memory | 2001 | ||
| Fuga da Piranesi | Piranese: The Prison Planet | 2002 | |
| Il pittore e la modella | The Model | 2002 | |
| Pin-up art | 2002 | ||
| Aphrodite | Aphrodite, Book 1 | 2003 | written byPierre Louÿs |
| Donne e motori | 2003 | ||
| Fellini | 2003 | ||
| L'odissea di Bergman | The Odyssey of Giuseppe Bergman | 2004 | |
| I Borgia – La conquista del papato | Borgia 1: Blood for the Pope | 2004 | withAlejandro Jodorowsky |
| The Sandman: Endless Nights | 2004 | written by Neil Gaiman; Manara illustrated one chapter, "What I've Tasted of Desire" | |
| I Borgia vol.2 – Il potere e l'incesto | Borgia 2: Power and Incest | 2006 | with Alejandro Jodorowsky |
| Quarantasei | 2006 | withValentino Rossi | |
| Gli Occhi di Pandora | Pandora's Eyes | 2007 | written byVincenzo Cerami |
| I Borgia vol. 3 | Borgia 3: Flames from Hell | 2008 | with Alejandro Jodorowsky |
| X-Men: Ragazze in fuga | X-Women | 2009 | written byChris Claremont |
| I Borgia vol. 4 - Tutto è Vanità | Borgia 4: All is Vanity | 2010 | with Alejandro Jodorowsky |
| Caravaggio vol. 1 - La Tavolozza e la Spada | Caravaggio 1 - The Palette and the Sword | 2015 | |
| Caravaggio vol. 2 - La Grazia | Caravaggio 2 - The Grace | 2018 |
