I've read my share of whimsical, surreal graphic novels by Manara, but this was one of the few times I've come across one his short stories. In this one, I was thoroughly impressed how he tackled the chilling, abusive power of the Italian Catholic church in post-Ren times.
I also thought the jump cuts in the story were truly masterful, in which the reader gets exactly the amount of necessary info and context to move forward without waffling or delay. Note: The story was translated to English in the Heavy Metal Summer '88 issue.
----> https://imgur.com/gallery/w1CbNC1 <----
As for Manara himself, there's so much to say that I'm not sure where to really begin. To me, he's without question a genius of human expression, pathos, and the mysteries of human nature. I'm sometimes a bit frustrated by the same-ness of his female characters, the lack of story structure, and the fact that there always seems to be an erotic context to his stories, but based on my experience with Italian BD, those seem to be fairly lukewarm complaints.
More on him here:
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/manara.htm
There's a secondary theme to this story. Nalin says "the executioner and the victim both agree on one point... they both want to prevent you from finishing your painting." This draws an equivalence between 1) the sexism of Nalin and Veronese (made explicit by Violet when she smashes the vase against the painting because she is only being shown with her "tits in the wind") and 2) the suppression of the inquisition. Veronese quickly changes the subject, but Nalin, with a beautifully-rendered evil grin, offers him a great deal of money for the painting. However, Veronese has burned the painting. By doing so, Veronese has acknowledged that he is complicit in Nalin's exploitation of Violet, and the last image is him showing regret. Regret for Violet's death, but also regret for his part in these events. Unfortunately, Violet had to die before he realized this, which is part of the meaning behind the title "Your death is my life".
It's worth noting that Manara had a great interest in, and respect for, classical painters, and this story may be seen as indicating mixed feelings that Manara had regarding some of the more purely erotic stories that he created. That memorable panel where Violet says "Paint me now..." is Manara's reaction to this. Violet in the painting is never shown clearly, and for most of the story she is looking down or away. But at the moment of her greatest suffering when she remains defiant, she is facing the reader, demanding to be seen. This is the essence of her character as depicted by Manara, and unfortunately it has to involve her death, with is another part of the meaning behind the title "Your death is my life".
BTW, for anyone else reading this, the https://imgur.com/gallery/w1CbNC1 link is the legible story, the https://i.imgur.com/3fULVCE.jpeg link is just a preview (which makes sense now that I look at the URLs...)
Thanks for the fascinating analysis.
Frankly, as a BD fan, I'm quite proud that Manara was able to summon up this level of both outward and inward critique. Aside from the Borgia series (which was kind of like a long-running train-wreck) and the two colonial-era collaborations with Pratt, I wasn't sure he had it in him.
As for Veronese' alleged sexism towards Violet, I can't say I'm entirely convinced of such. As an artist, it seems to me he was doing pretty ordinary things in terms of painting the scene, with the same going for Violet as model. After all, isn't he depicting "Leda and the Swan" or some such classical piece?
No, it moreso seems to me that Nalin is the 'poisoning factor' in all this, who not unlike the church, is out to manipulate, control, condemn and so forth. Let's also not forget that Veronese himself evidently has been and still is somewhat on the hot seat, with a dubious future in front of him. My point is that he and Violet are far more similar than otherwise. I also get the impression that Violet's not really so upset with the painting as much as she is with Nalin's presence (ogling her) and her curtailed religious rights as a woman. The painting is just a convenient scapegoat there.
As for burning the painting, perhaps Veronese feels complicit, yes, but perhaps he simply feels anguish and disgust over the tragedy of her execution. After all, the painting itself was never a causitive issue, rather it was her resisting rape at the hands of Nalin. As someone already in debt to Nalin, I imagine Veronese felt his hands frustratingly tied in all that, only able to phrase the question of her betrayal without actually pointing the finger at the culprit.
I don't disagree with your take, but the great thing about well-written characters is that they are complex enough that their actions have many motivations (just as it is with real people.) And it may not always be obvious what those motivations are (also as it is with real people.)
For example, why did Veronese burn the painting? Clearly he was distraught about Violet's death. When Nalin says that both the Inquisition and Violet wanted the painting to not be finished, Veronese doesn't disagree. Veronese still doesn't seem to fear the Inquisition, so it's possible he burned the painting to honor Violet's wishes.
Veronese seems unsure that Nalin was the one who denounced Violet, though he probably suspects him. Veronese may not know that Nalin assaulted Violet at night, though he possibly suspects that too. (Nalin says "I came to tell you that Maestro Veronese is very unhappy with the way you behaved yesterday," but given Veronese's reaction after the fact, it seems likely that Veronese did not tell Nalin to denounce Violet, nor to threaten or assault her. Also, when Nalin says "Why are you always so mean to me?" it suggests -- but not certainly so -- that Nalin had assaulted Violet before.)
Mescola and Nalin are both bidding for the painting, but why? Plausibly because of the story behind it -- the story of Violet being killed by the Inquisition. This is likely to disgust Veronese and also be part of the reason he burns the painting.
Finally, I suggest, Veronese is partly thinking: what if she's right? Violet was not an ordinary model, she had been trained in a convent (meaning she was educated) and was spiritually serious and strong-willed enough to stick to her beliefs about performing sacred ceremonies, even when it risked her death. In fact, even when Veronese found her being tortured by the Inquisition, her reaction was not to weep in pain or to beg for help, but to tell him: THIS is life, not myths and religious tales, this is my real beauty (i.e. Venus). She died, and he lived to realize how trivial was his painting of a swan assaulting a naked woman.
Oh dear yes, that look from her at the end was devastating, terrible... yet somehow sublime. Thanks so much for the thoughtful analysis.
Oh, this is part of what I love about good BD. That frequently there's a certain mystery and 'open slate' in terms of character motivations that ultimately make the stories more interesting, if sometimes not leading to the kinds of plots turns & conclusions that we might hope for as readers.
I'm so glad that I (pretty much randomly) found this impactful BD story. There's certainly some good art & writing in the HM mag across sci-fi & fantasy, and of course plenty of cheesecake, but it's rarer for more direct critical commentary like this to appear, which of course still has plenty of modern impact with regard to human institutions & behavior.
This is just a shot in the dark, but do you happen to know of a story that was in the US Heavy Metal at around the same time as this one, also takes place in Europe but feudal era, most of the action is in a small rural castle run by a nobleman with a young wife, at the end the wife betrays him and the nobleman either dies or is left despondent? I think there might also be a son who is large but mentally challenged, though I might be mistaking that for another story. I've been trying to find it but it's hard to find with such vague keywords.
I do believe that would be the story from Les Tours de Bois-Maury, tome 5, "Alda." Based on a search, it looks like it was published in HM, July '90.
Note: the original book was 50+ pages, so it's always possible they abridged that to fit in the magazine.
OMG thanks, that's it! I found a couple page scans on a marketplace listing and recognize it. Greatly appreciate it!
^^