“After going to art school, I attended the Academy of Fine Arts and started as a painter and illustrator. Famed for his female figurework, he explained to me how he came to comics from a highly classical training. Last November, I was lucky enough to meet Manara at the first Rio de Janeiro Comic Con in Brazil, where he was guest of honour and spotlighted artist in an impressive if slightly toned-down exhibition of his originals, including the front cover painting for X-Women. This year, the English-speaking public will be able to discover nine of Manara’s masterpieces as Dark Horse Comics instigate a line of newly translated editions. There is much more to Manara, who has built up a long, prestigious career creating literary and erotic graphic novels of his own, as well as collaborating with superstar scriptwriters, from film director Federico Fellini to Sandman scribe Neil Gaiman.

Here were your favourite mutant maidens, Storm, Psylocke, Shadowcat, Marvel Girl and Rogue, not only saving the world but looking fabulous doing it! For many readers of superhero comics, the X-Women one-shot was probably their first exposure to the stunning draughtsmanship of Italy’s most successful and widely translated comics creator. But in 2009 it happened in Italy and 2010 saw the American publication of an extraordinary X-Men tale written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Manara himself. Bringing together Milo Manara and Marvel Comics seemed like an almost impossible fantasy.

Milo manara