Delving into the erotica collection again.
A bit of Spanish erotica this week. Tobalina's art is just lovely, in case you couldn't tell from that cover up there. But the really cool thing about this book is that it's actually pretty intelligent. Rather than simply telling stories of people fucking, Tobalina uses the adventures of a prostitute to offer some social commentary on what he sees as a violent and hypocritical society. One particular story stands out, in which our focal character Raquel is trying to figure out what a particular client of hers does (as they're having sex, of course). This client is spouting liberal political views and slogans, but never answers the question, the title of the story, "What Do You Do?" The final bit of dialogue we get from him, as he is revealed to be standing before a classroom, is "...one must maintain a critical attitude about everything...that's the only way to keep the flag of liberty flying!" Throughout the splash panel of the classroom we can see students making "Solidarity" posters and reading socialist newspapers. It's something that North American comics haven't quite grasped, that everything can be political, even porn comics.
As far as the art goes, Tobalina's style reminds me of Terry Moore's stuff, particularly Strangers in Paradise. Which is probably good news for all those who read Moore's series and wanted a little more flesh on display. I imagine Mr. Moore would have used such a thing for the same kind of intellectual storytelling as Tobalina as well, so the comparison's not too far-fetched. Perhaps I'll have to see if I can track down a bit more of this intelligent and sexy stuff. Stay tuned.
Onward.
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