Written and Illustrated by Milo Manara
Translated by Kim Thompson
Published by Fantagraphics
I had totally forgotten that I had read the first volume of this book and enjoyed it very much. I have to be honest, before reading this series, I had only known the name Milo Manara from some of the erotic books that he did.
I had actually thought that maybe that’s the only kind of work he does. I was stupidly and sadly mistaken as this book is definitely well done and for sure one of the coolest books in the Fantagraphics Library.
Manara really knows what he is doing with these books and she shows off on pretty much every page. It is a good thing too as it is very unique and his pictures and word make the experience a whole lot deeper and strong.
There are two full stories in this second volume. The first is obviously a spin on the play Six Characters in Search of An Author called An Author in Search of Six Characters (get all that?). Basically, Manara takes Pirendello’s script and puts it on its head. Manara takes his main character Giuseppe Bergman and puts him through paces. It’s quite a fun adventure too, as an off panel director is handing out scripts. Giuseppe Bergman gets one of these scripts and starts wondering why he was selected to receive this! Insanity follows this in rapid succession.
Now, I have to be honest. I am not the biggest fan of Pirendello’s original play. I always have found it dry and very mediocre at best. It is definitely overpraised and doesn’t really get to any real place emotionally. Manara takes the original concept and actually really turns it into something worthwhile. The story is funny, quirky and adventurous. But Giuseppe Bergman is dedicated to fulfilling his role as this character. And that is when things start to get seriously crazy.
Giuseppe Bergman’s sex co-star whose name is Lulu starts to rewrite herself as the hero of the story. And that doesn’t sit too well with him! This starts to lead to many questions about fate and if we even are in charge of the things that happen to us in our lives. Do we possess free will or are we just helpless, rolling with things? Is everything predetermined? Manara really digs deep here and asks some really big questions with this story. He also has some pretty interesting answers as well, and his ideas are well thought out and executed here. This is a strong story.
The second story is equally compelling and strong. Giuseppe Bergman’s second African adventure had him meeting Chloe who is another sexy woman who is also a nymphet. She asks a lot of questions about the meaning of life and a lot of deeper questions as well. Chloe really forces Giuseppe Bergman to dig deeper into himself than he normally would do. He might in fact be helpless to answer any of her questions in a meaningful way. That starts to turn into a problem before long as well as a much bigger conversation than originally presented.
This chapter turns into a Fellini film quite quickly as things start to change. Chloe starts presenting events backwards and forwards in crazy ways. She starts to manipulate time and space itself. She starts to break the fourth wall and do things that she shouldn’t be able to do. Much like the first story. Chloe wants to become the main character of the story. And that doesn’t sit too well with Giuseppe Bergman. He tries to regain control of his life and his story. He doesn’t want to be Chloe’s hapless narrator or anything but the main character. That conflict and the struggle back and forth makes up the second story. And it is extremely well done.
There is a deeper philosophical meaning in these stories that are present that is unexpected. It could be that I underestimated Milo Manara again, but he pulls it all off easily with intelligence and wit. The stories are engaging and interesting throughout, never heavy handed or otherwise.
This is another successful book Manara has made and it is very accomplished. I cannot wait to read more stories with this character to how both the character and the artist creating these stories has evolved.
RATING: A
