MANARA

MILO MANARA Le Parfum de l'invisible, Albin Michel 1986 Original plate no. 44 and first strip of plate no. 45. India ink on paper 48.8 × 82.7 cm (19.21 × 32.56 in.) The genius of Manara's Parfum de l'invisible is to have made H. G. Wells' discovery tangible without reducing his hero to a fantasy-free quidam. The tension between the nudity that everyone does their utmost to conceal ("hide that breast...") and the invisible man who takes pleasure in assuming his voyeurism with impunity, is strong and the source of many scabrous situations, all the more enjoyable when, as here, they are tinged with irreverent transgression (in this case, against religion, another taboo). Manara's genius is to make this comedy light, pleasant and burlesque, without complexes or remorse. His drawing is clear and airy, precise and accurate, both in the treatment of bodies and scenery. It's unique and instantly recognizable, appreciated as much by Georges Wolinski as by Federico Fellini or Hugo Pratt.