Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
Encyclopedia
Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri (born February 29, 1944) is an Italian
comic book
writer and illustrator, noted for his works of highly detailed renderings of the human form, particularly erotic images of women. He is best known for his work on the Druuna
erotic science fiction series.
, Serpieri moved to Rome
in his youth to study painting and architecture at the Fine Art Academy in Rome under Renato Guttuso
, and began his career as a painter in 1966, but in 1975 he shifted his focus to comics when he took on work from Italian comics magazine Lanciostory. A big fan of the American Old West, Serpieri co-created L'Histoire du Far-West ("The Story of the West"), a Western
series about the history of the Old West, with writer Raffaele Ambrosio, which was published in the magazines Lancio Story and Skorpio. Some of the titles were L'Indiana Bianca (The White Indian) and L'Uomo di Medicina (Medicine Man). Beginning in 1980 Serpieri worked on collections like Découvrir la Bible, as well as short stories for magazines such as L'Eternauta, Il Fumetto and Orient-Express.
saga. The series is noteworthy for featuring realistic and explicit content including graphic violence and sex. These books have been very successful, selling more than a million copies in twelve languages. The English language translations are published by Heavy Metal
.
Due to the interest in this series, Serpieri has also published numerous sketchbooks, such as Obsession, Druuna X, Druuna X 2, Croquis, Serpieri Sketchbook, Serpieri Sketchbook 2 and The Sweet Smell of Woman. Serpieri's highly detailed portrayals of well-endowed heroines have earned him the distinction of "Master of the Ass".
Serpieri is also credited with design work on the 3-D video game Druuna: Morbus Gravis
, based on his heroine.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
writer and illustrator, noted for his works of highly detailed renderings of the human form, particularly erotic images of women. He is best known for his work on the Druuna
Druuna
Druuna is an erotic science fiction and fantasy comic book character created by Italian cartoonist Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri. Most of Druuna's adventures revolve around a post-apocalyptic future, and the plot is often a vehicle for varied scenes of hardcore pornography and softcore sexual imagery...
erotic science fiction series.
Early career
Born in VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Serpieri moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in his youth to study painting and architecture at the Fine Art Academy in Rome under Renato Guttuso
Renato Guttuso
Renato Guttuso was an Italian painter.His best-known paintings include Flight from Etna , Crucifixion and La Vucciria . Guttuso also designed for the theatre and did illustrations for books...
, and began his career as a painter in 1966, but in 1975 he shifted his focus to comics when he took on work from Italian comics magazine Lanciostory. A big fan of the American Old West, Serpieri co-created L'Histoire du Far-West ("The Story of the West"), a Western
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
series about the history of the Old West, with writer Raffaele Ambrosio, which was published in the magazines Lancio Story and Skorpio. Some of the titles were L'Indiana Bianca (The White Indian) and L'Uomo di Medicina (Medicine Man). Beginning in 1980 Serpieri worked on collections like Découvrir la Bible, as well as short stories for magazines such as L'Eternauta, Il Fumetto and Orient-Express.
Druuna
In 1985, he published Morbus Gravis, the first work of the DruunaDruuna
Druuna is an erotic science fiction and fantasy comic book character created by Italian cartoonist Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri. Most of Druuna's adventures revolve around a post-apocalyptic future, and the plot is often a vehicle for varied scenes of hardcore pornography and softcore sexual imagery...
saga. The series is noteworthy for featuring realistic and explicit content including graphic violence and sex. These books have been very successful, selling more than a million copies in twelve languages. The English language translations are published by Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
.
Due to the interest in this series, Serpieri has also published numerous sketchbooks, such as Obsession, Druuna X, Druuna X 2, Croquis, Serpieri Sketchbook, Serpieri Sketchbook 2 and The Sweet Smell of Woman. Serpieri's highly detailed portrayals of well-endowed heroines have earned him the distinction of "Master of the Ass".
Serpieri is also credited with design work on the 3-D video game Druuna: Morbus Gravis
Druuna: Morbus Gravis
Druuna: Morbus Gravis is a 2001 video game, based upon the science fiction and fantasy comic book character of Druuna. The adventure game was developed for Windows by Artematica and published by Microïds....
, based on his heroine.
Selected bibliography
- Morbus Gravis (Severe Disease) (1985, Dargaud, ISBN 3933187699)
- Druuna (1987, Dargaud, ISBN 2908406632)
- Creatura (1990, Bagheera, ISBN 3933187710)
- Carnivora (1992, Bagheera, ISBN 3933187729)
- Mandragora (1995, Bagheera, ISBN 2908406322)
- Aphrodisia (1997, Bagheera, ISBN 2908406691)
- La Planète oubliée (The Forgotten Planet) (2000, Bagheera, ISBN 2908406608)
- Clone (2003, Bagheera, ISBN 2908406721)
External links
- Druuna official site
- Serpieri biography at Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Ecofeminist Themes in Serpieri's Morbus Gravis article at Interdisciplinary Comics Studies
- http://www.lebdvore.com/druuna/avis_druuna.html
- http://www.fumetti.org/autori/serpieri.htm