Unnatural # 1 NM Image Comics Milo Manara Variant Cover Mirka Andolfo 1st print

Description

UNNATURAL #1 (COVER B – MANARA) (IMAGE COMICS)

PUBLISHER Image Comics
WRITER Mirka Andolfo
ARTIST Mirka Andolfo
COVER ARTIST Milo Manara
1 of 12
32 pages
Full Color

Leslie is a simple pig girl. She loves sushi, she’s stuck with a job she hates, and she lives under a brutal totalitarian government-one that punishes transgressors for anything deemed unnatural. Leslie dreams of something different for herself. But those dreams are becoming dangerous… This Italian hit series by MIRKA ANDOLFO (Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, DC Comics Bombshells) will transport you into a colorful but terrible world-full of anthropomorphic creatures, but light on personal freedoms-by way of a breathtaking plot that travels between thriller and fantasy, with a hint of sensuality.

Italian creator Mirka Andolfo is known for her work on Wonder Woman, DC Comics Bombshells, Harley Quinn, and more. Now, she brings her creator-owned series, Unnatural, to the US from Image Comics. Leslie is a pig girl who lives under a totalitarian government one that punishes transgressors for anything deemed unnatural. And her dreams may just get her into all sorts of trouble. Andolfo shares more about the series.

How did Unnatural come about?

Mirka Andolfo: Unnatural was born for fun. It always happens to me with my personal projects as a creator: I start working on them during my breaks among other pages, and thats because I need to do something thats totally mine. I start with an idea that I’d like to see developed or, like in this case, with a character I enjoy drawing

Leslie, the main character, was born with a lot of illustrations, sketches, and pinups I enjoyed doing in my free time. Then, the story arrived, the background, and all

Why did you decide to make the characters animals?

Andolfo: As I said, when I drew Leslie for the first time, I didn’t know she was destined to become the main character of my new comic book. Usually, in our culture, pigs are associated to something not good and dirty, so I wanted to create a beautiful piggy-girl. A sort of creative challenge with myself. And I always loved contrasts. Then I decided to move her into a world with many other human animals like her. In general, in my comics, it’s rare for the protagonists to be human (in my other comic, Sacro/Profano, unpublished in the US, the main characters are an angel and a devil). I wouldn’t be able to explain why, but I feel better telling human things if the protagonists are not humans.

What can readers look forward to in the book and who are some of the characters they’ll meet?

Andolfo: In my mind, the universe of Unnatural is different, but very close to ours, in some aspects. For instance: the city where Leslie and her friends live is called New Roark. Similarities and differences. Contrasts. In my intentions, the similarities should be interesting to understand the setting, whereas the differences are good to make all the story more mysterious and interesting. I think that the most important part of the story are the characters: I consider them as real people, at three hundred and sixty degrees. So, I hope the readers will do the same. Leslie is like me, and many other people all over the world: a shy girl, introverted, whiny, fearful. And her best friends, Trish and Derek, are like the friends someone could have, with positive and negative aspects.

The world of Unnatural feels very real. How much development did you do for the story before you started?

Andolfo: The first issue of Unnatural was published in Italy two and a half years ago, but before the release date, I did work on that for many months. Everything started during a summer (in 2015): I was working on some American comics book and during my free time, I started thinking about the story. I started working on some layouts, and the story was more erotic. While working on that, I wasn’t totally sure about the result, especially for the erotic side (I usually like to add some sexy sides in my comics), so I left the book where I was drawing the layouts for some weeks. Then I restarted, I took what I did like from the previous version, and I left what wasn’t so good to me. I started then working with my Italian editors (Diego Malara and Marco Ricompensa), and with the help of my boyfriend, Davide Caci, who’s a scriptwriter too, and has always been a help for me.

The story tackles some complex issues, but it never felt preachy. How do you strike a balance between issues and story?

Andolfo: Thank you very much, I’m happy you noticed that, because this was an important thing to me. I didn’t want to do an educational comics book, nor tell a pretentious story. And that was risky, considering how important and delicates the themes are. My intent was to create an adventure that could entertain and arouse strong emotions, first of all, with mysteries and, finally, a good message. It’s what I hope I did.

Unnatural was originally published in Italian. What can you tell us about the translation process?

Andolfo: The translation process wasn’t so easy, to be honest But I’m totally happy about that. At first, we had a translation by an Italian translator, but of course it wasn’t enough: we needed an American-speaker, with a good attitude to writing. So, with the guys of the Studio where I work (Arancia Studio, that has been involved in all the packaging of the American edition) and my Italian publisher (Panini), we found the right solution. My English is awful, but when I read the English PDF of Unnatural, well, I felt like Oooh, that’s an American comics! Yay! I’m quite sure that, thanks to the work done during the translation, the American edition is even better than the original one now.

The coloring, especially in the dream sequences, really caught my eye. How important is the use of color to you?

Andolfo: For me that’s more than important. Consider that, before becoming a comics artist, I did work for some years as colorist (I started when I was 19 and continued till I was 24, when I had the chance to work as artist). So, I have been a professional colorist more years than a professional artist. When I work on pages for the American market, I don’t have the chance (because of deadlines) to color pages myself, but on my personal projects, I want to do that. I think that colors are themselves a part of the artwork. On my pages for American publishers I always had good and very good colorists, but if I can work on that myself own, I love the result because it’s a personal touch. On Unnatural, I could work on colors, but that?s only thanks to my assistants at Arancia Studio that I had enough time to do that! It’s hard to work on different projects at the same time, and coloring a project I wrote and drew well, it’s harder But I’m very stubborn (like Leslie!), and I I prefer to sacrifice my little free time But I’m happy with that!

Any closing comments?

Andolfo: I wish to thank you for the interview, and the attention you’re dedicating to Unnatural. It is a sort of dream, and I still can’t believe Unnatural is coming to America, with Image Comics Leslie is a sort of daughter, to me, and I can’t wait to see how the American readers will welcome her.

Near mint, 1st print. Bagged & Boarded.