Paolo Serpieri:  Druuna X
                                             (1993 - Diva Graphix)  

     Not appropriate for children or adolescents.  If purchasing, make sure you are getting the right book, as there are a couple of volumes that also carry the DRUUNA title, mostly being collections of the stories in the Morbus Gravis series.  This is a 72-page book with 58 pages of large reproductions, 16 of those being color pieces.  There are another 4 pages with multiple images, a 2 page sideways spread and 4 pages of sequential sequences.  Included in all this are 14 double-page-spreads, only two-thirds of which are still 'o.k.' in that presentation, but certainly not better because of it.  The short narratives by the artist are not much more than a general appreciation of his creation and some thoughts on how he came to be drawn in the direction he was and how the sexual oppression of the times contributed.  While the book focuses on Serpieri's female creation, Druuna, she isn't alone, but in about half of such depictions, the other participants in these debaucheries are made indistinct, if delinitated at all, giving the proceedings, as a whole, an unfortunate sameness.  Hopefully his other sketchbook-like collections sport a more curated diversity.  This one particularly disappoints since there are so many striking images that could be excerpted from the graphic novel series, even if you were limited to only those with Druuna present.  Again, there's not much in the way of props or backgrounds to distract from the adult themes on display, making this seem like one of the most graphic & explicit fantasy art-collection tomes available.

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