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
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!
^^