Valentina and the Magic Lantern by Guido Crepax

Cool Crepax page that came to me in a trade with an Italian buddy. Thanks Max.


I think a lot of people see Crepax art and write it off as naked girls and bondage and don't give it the attention it deserves. There are naked girls and there are sadomasochistic themes through out the work but that is only a small part of it. The Valentina story revolves around the main character who lives in both a dreamlike world and the real world at the same time. The art, story telling and layouts are both abstract and cinematographic at the same time. What I appreciate most about Crepax are the layouts. Although this page is interesting from that perspective, it is his use of small and large panels that you see on other Crepax pages that is most innovative. It is the same thing I like about Chris Ware's work and when I met Chris at the Billy Ireland Museum last year I asked him if Crepax was an influence and he readily admitted that he was a big influence and one that he has not credited enough. Another aspect of Crepax's work is the use of themes and styles that show an appreciation of fine art and styles. I think the first panel is very much in a surrealistic style reminiscent of Tanguy or Dali only more kinetic and volatile like Munch. The uneven lower border and off kilter horizontal orientation of the scene adds to the sense of imbalance and chaos inducing a bit of vertigo. The direction of movement and hurricane winds in the panel is self evident within this ever widening panel give a sense of openness or void to whatever is in front of this scene. The bottom tier has an ever decreasing height and abstraction bringing us from the Dali nightmare gradually back to the real world. The one frame using photo negativity is interesting and masterfully rendered in inks and is not a reversed stat. The crescendo, decrescendo tempo to the chaos and noise of the page is very powerful, emotional storytelling and reflects the kind of genius Crepax had in his construction and design of a page. Valentina's trademark camera is evident in almost every panel. I am still reading through the series as it is translated into English. They are not easy reads as there are complex themes and the abstraction is open to interpretation. This particular page has not shown up in my reading (nor has my other page) and so I don't have a complete context for it. I also hope to explore the meaning of the camera motif in Valentina, is it a secret power, a weapon, an extension of her, a metaphor...