Valentina (comics)



Valentina is one of the most influential European comics series, created in 1965 by the Italian artist Guido Crepax.

Originally a minor character working for the comic hero Neutron, Valentina became the sole protagonist of the series in 1967. The first episode was entitled "La Curva di Lesmo" (referring to a curve of the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monza). This story was followed by 30 others, collected in a total of seven books, along with two others Lanterna magica (Magic Lantern, 1977) and Valentina pirata (Pirate Valentina), the first in full colour.

Character
Valentina Rosselli, whose appearance is inspired by silent film actress Louise Brooks, is a Milanese photojournalist. Her boyfriend, Philip Rembrandt, the super-hero Neutron, has the ability to paralyze people, animals or machines he has seen in the flesh or pictures. Later a child was born to Philip and Valentina, Mattia.

The character Valentina was born on December 25, 1942 in Milan and grew older during the series, the last episode of which was published in 1995.

As the time passed, in Valentina's stories Crepax abandoned the fantasy-science fiction or detective themes of the beginning, introducing a complex, weird mix of erotism hallucinations and dream. The strips also dealt with bisexuality, autoerotic ecstasy, super-sensual abandon, and sadomasochism.

Valentina in other media
In 1973 a feature film called Baba Yaga was based on the comic book. Valentina was played by French actress Isabelle De Funès. The film was directed by Corrado Farina, who had previously made a documentary on the comics by Guido Crepax.

An Italian TV series based on the comicbook was released in 1989. Valentina was played by American actress Demetra Hampton and Philip Rembrandt by Russel Case. Thirteen episodes were filmed, each 30 minutes long. These were edited together into a film and shown on late-night American Cable TV.