Manara Erotica Volume Two Review: A Belt and a Golden Ass

Milo Manara was one of the forerunners of Italian erotic comics. So it should come as no surprise that one of his compilations is titled “Erotica” and its main story is “Kama Sutra.” As with Manara’s other collections “Erotica Volume 2” suffers from stories that have the erotic down, but suffer in storytelling.

The marquee story, “Kama Sutra,” is about Parva who accidently crashes into a delivery driver on her moped. The driver forgets a package, so Parva takes it home and finds it’s a belt that looks like a snake. Turns out it’s the Belt of Vatsyayana and the typical turbaned villain wants it for his evil deeds.

This story is more sex than story. In fact, that’s all the story is: One sex scene after another with a paper thin story and an abrupt, anti-climactic ending.

“The Golden Ass,” the story of an Ancient Roman named Lucius who gets turned into a donkey and suffers some terrible luck, is a much better written story. The trials and tribulations that Lucius must go through makes one feel sorry for his plight, even when he starts thinking he was always a donkey. What also makes this story a blast is that it genuinely reads like a Greek/Roman fable. The best story in the collection.

‘The Diary of Sandra F.” is a group of letters Manara received from a fan suffering from anxiety who calls her anxiety “Charlie.” They’re all the same subject (“I went here. Felt bad. Masturbated) and are not worth reading.

The last and longest story is “Jolanda of Almaviva.” One of Manara’s earliest comics, this is about the pirate queen Jolanda of Almaviva getting kidnapped by Vikings and her crew coming to rescue her. The reason for the kidnapping? The Viking leader wants Jolanda as his bride. It starts off interesting enough, but is loses its steam as it goes along. A story that drags way too much plus an awkward format will cause readers to lose interest about halfway through.

“Manara Erotica Volume Two” may have Manara’s signature sexy pinup style art, but that doesn’t make up for lack of interesting stories. One worthwhile story is not worth the full price of this collection. Readers are better off finding this in the library or “The Golden Ass” someplace else.