For more than fifty years, Milo Manara has established himself as a major figure in the 9th Art, both through his adventure comics—Giuseppe Bergman, Un été indien—and through his resounding erotic successes such as Le Déclic and Le Parfum de l’invisible. His career is also distinguished by the breadth of his collaborations with such greats as Hugo Pratt and Federico Fellini. A master of inking, panel layout, and watercolor, he has also established himself as a leading illustrator whose work is celebrated around the world.
Undoubtedly one of the most sought-after erotic artists among collectors, Milo Manara commands a high market value, particularly for his iconic graphic novels El Gaucho and L’Été Indien (written by Hugo Pratt). The world record for a work by Milo Manara was set by Christie’s during its very first auction dedicated to the 9th Art, in partnership with Daniel Maghen, for the color cover of El Gaucho, which sold for €42,300. Among the artist’s top auction results are the pages from one of his flagship graphic novels, L’Été Indien, with page No. 11 selling for €38,045.
To ensure that your pages are kept in good condition, we recommend that you never expose them to direct light, as UV rays can damage the media used to produce them. Although Indian ink is a perennial material, the paper support may change when exposed to UV light. Note that watercolor plates require special attention, as this medium is particularly sensitive to light. Pieces containing pastel or charcoal require special care to avoid rubbing.
We advise you to display them away from windows, and to use frames made of pH-neutral conservation materials and “Museum” glass with anti-UV and anti-reflective treatment. If you prefer to keep your works unframed, we recommend storing them flat, in drawing cartons, with sheets of pH-neutral permanent paper in between. Keep them away from light and humidity
Milo Manara, born in 1945 in Luson, Italy, is an Italian cartoonist known worldwide for his erotic comic books. After getting his start in fumetti, he created his first original works in the 1970s, including Le Singe, L’Homme des Neiges, and HP et Giuseppe Bergman. The initials “HP” stand for none other than Hugo Pratt, to whom he paid his first tribute. In 1983, the first volume of Le Déclic brought him immense success. With Le Déclic No. 2 and then Le Parfum de l’Invisible, he became one of the masters of erotic comics in the 1980s. He also created Gulliveriana, Aphrodite, La Métamorphose de Lucius, the Borgia series, Kama Sutra, and Les Yeux de Pandora, exploring erotic, historical, and fantastical worlds. Recently, he shifted gears by adapting Umberto Eco’s masterpiece, The Name of the Rose (Glénat), before illustrating Le Trompettiste (Glénat), based on the figure of the musician-soldier Giovanni Martini.