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Druuna #1
Ντρούνα
Originally published by Dargaud Editeur, France.
Paperback
First published November 1, 1985
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351 people want to read
About the author
Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
137 books79 followersPaolo Eleuteri Serpieri is an Italian comic book writer and illustrator, noted for his works of highly detailed renderings of the human form, particularly erotic images of women. He is best known for his work on the Druuna erotic science fiction series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 30, 2024
Holy moly, I’m blown away by this work!
This graphic novel was created by Serpieri (an Italian artist) in the 1980s, and it’s intended for adults due to its soft-core art style.
Honestly, I’m not particularly interested in the erotic graphics, even though that might be why most people pick it up. What really surprised me is how compelling the dystopian, post-apocalyptic sci-fi storyline is.
By the end of volume 1, I was struck by its philosophical themes—what if that “better place” up there truly doesn’t exist? And humanity is, in fact, a species entirely alone in this galaxy?
This graphic novel was created by Serpieri (an Italian artist) in the 1980s, and it’s intended for adults due to its soft-core art style.
Honestly, I’m not particularly interested in the erotic graphics, even though that might be why most people pick it up. What really surprised me is how compelling the dystopian, post-apocalyptic sci-fi storyline is.
By the end of volume 1, I was struck by its philosophical themes—what if that “better place” up there truly doesn’t exist? And humanity is, in fact, a species entirely alone in this galaxy?
March 22, 2016
Reading Serpieri is quite satisfying. He created a whole dystopian world, quite functional, in order to have his drawing come to live. His Druuna does come alive, has sex, dreams, desire, has a past, and complexity. And he has no problem exploiting many situations where she has to be naked or with little clothes in the pages we will turn, eventually. But the actual story itself is a captivating sci-fi narrative. Something that Manara rarely achieved (producing good narratives, outside of the colaborative work). For example, we can consider the Click to be pornography in Zizekian terms: the story itself is ridiculous, just a pretex for the characters to have sex, like in a pizza delivery guy scene.
The Druuna series is more related to what we now have, with Gaspar Noé, or Catherine Breillat in the medium cinema (with works like 2015 Love or 1999 Romance) that are about "sentimental sex" or "physical love", even if Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri really just tried to create a credible background for his character to live in.
As much as I love Milo Manara's style, Serpieri is much more effective doing what Zizek would call giving the reader everything: the emotional experience and the sex itself. The faillure of pornography is that it seems that it has to be done in a kind of self-ironic way, as if doing it "for real" could be too much, too real. And the faillure of the self-censored movies is not that they are not explicit enough - they do not need to be explicit at all. They just censor desire (and its excessive nature) itself. They portray sex as if we all do it in a sequence of contained behaviours where nothing else can be expected. And desire, lust, is above all the excess.
Serpieri is able to portray masculine desire (probably in a very stereotypical way, but in his own style) unapologetically. Which again, Manara is not. Manara seems (and that is also his triumph) to depict female bodies and sex with distance, as if sex is a very elegant, aesthetic thing, even when it's filthy. Druuna makes things very in the flesh, very human, no matter how insane, unnatural, onirical or allucinatory the scene or the act is.
The Druuna series is more related to what we now have, with Gaspar Noé, or Catherine Breillat in the medium cinema (with works like 2015 Love or 1999 Romance) that are about "sentimental sex" or "physical love", even if Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri really just tried to create a credible background for his character to live in.
As much as I love Milo Manara's style, Serpieri is much more effective doing what Zizek would call giving the reader everything: the emotional experience and the sex itself. The faillure of pornography is that it seems that it has to be done in a kind of self-ironic way, as if doing it "for real" could be too much, too real. And the faillure of the self-censored movies is not that they are not explicit enough - they do not need to be explicit at all. They just censor desire (and its excessive nature) itself. They portray sex as if we all do it in a sequence of contained behaviours where nothing else can be expected. And desire, lust, is above all the excess.
Serpieri is able to portray masculine desire (probably in a very stereotypical way, but in his own style) unapologetically. Which again, Manara is not. Manara seems (and that is also his triumph) to depict female bodies and sex with distance, as if sex is a very elegant, aesthetic thing, even when it's filthy. Druuna makes things very in the flesh, very human, no matter how insane, unnatural, onirical or allucinatory the scene or the act is.
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February 29, 2016Voltei a reler isto para me lembrar de como começava a série. A história é do mais distópico, violento e horrendo que já li, a heroína é muito mal tratada, aliás, todas as mulheres que encontrei nesta série nunca são respeitadas, mas a verdade é que a arte é excelente, o domínio da anatomia é fantástico e algumas cenas de sexo são bastante sugestivas. Por isso, vou continuar a reler esta série.
September 15, 2020
Imagine if the Matrix and Hardware were a porn movie and you get an inkling of Morbus Gravis - The unforgettable Druuna is an uninhibited beauty surviving in a post-apocalyptic city by using her voluptuous body and feminine charm to get what she needs. In this volume that's drugs which help her mutating boyfriend Shastar from turning into a tentacle monster. Shastar while lucid urges her to discover the truth about the city and it's ruling priests -
She goes on a quest and we get a matrix like finale where we discover just how small "the city" really is - it's a space-ship where humans are used as batteries and the priests are insane robots....
The biggest selling point is of course Serpieri's stunningly beautiful art. Druuna is perfection in female form, however the rest of the artwork is great as well and makes this bizarre post apocalyptic world peopled with mutants and diseased crazies really come alive.
A lot of this kind of work is eroticism for the sake of titillation and no story to back it up, but I have to say, being a massive SF fan, I really did like the story and universe here. Sure Druuna gets naked at every opportunity and is often imperiled involving mutant tentacles but there is a plot and some nice quasi- religious themes so prevalent in European graphics - she basically meets god and gets enlightened.
Fans of Gwendoline, Barbarella, Galaxina, Stella Star, Vampirella and the films of Lloyd A. Simandl will fall in love with Druuna - She's a sexy innocent in a world of monsters, weird cults and freaky technology. The perfect poster child for Heavy Metal.
She goes on a quest and we get a matrix like finale where we discover just how small "the city" really is - it's a space-ship where humans are used as batteries and the priests are insane robots....
The biggest selling point is of course Serpieri's stunningly beautiful art. Druuna is perfection in female form, however the rest of the artwork is great as well and makes this bizarre post apocalyptic world peopled with mutants and diseased crazies really come alive.
A lot of this kind of work is eroticism for the sake of titillation and no story to back it up, but I have to say, being a massive SF fan, I really did like the story and universe here. Sure Druuna gets naked at every opportunity and is often imperiled involving mutant tentacles but there is a plot and some nice quasi- religious themes so prevalent in European graphics - she basically meets god and gets enlightened.
Fans of Gwendoline, Barbarella, Galaxina, Stella Star, Vampirella and the films of Lloyd A. Simandl will fall in love with Druuna - She's a sexy innocent in a world of monsters, weird cults and freaky technology. The perfect poster child for Heavy Metal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2015
The goods: the art is fantastic, a bit explicit in the sexual compartments but the art is remarkable.
The bad: everything else. The story seems to be an excuse for the art. To draw up these overly sexual situations, with a sad excuse for a story. Maybe the story wouldn't be so bad were it not for the childish writing and dialog. The writing was dull and never seemed as though the art was done first and the writing forced in to make it a legible story.
The bad: everything else. The story seems to be an excuse for the art. To draw up these overly sexual situations, with a sad excuse for a story. Maybe the story wouldn't be so bad were it not for the childish writing and dialog. The writing was dull and never seemed as though the art was done first and the writing forced in to make it a legible story.
February 21, 2023
This is a strange comic book. Ostensibly, one would think that whatever plot is merely an excuse for Serpieri to pose Druuna in various erotic stances or have her undress at every opportunity. Indeed, for a teenager, Serpieri's mix of gorgeous and horrific depictions basically annihilates the presence of any plot.
As an adult, however, rereading Druuna made me notice that, though eroticism is undeniably part of the recipe, if you actually read what is written inside the comic, Serpieri touches upon very complex and relevant subjects throughout, like the lack of education in a theocracy, the abuse of power, the absolute rule of what passes for law in a city that is literally rotting.
*SPOILERS*
And then, you get to the end and its shattering revelation, that the "city" is in fact a spaceship adrift in the void for centuries, its own systems corrupted to a degree that the vessel itself has mutated; and you realize that, throughout the comic, you have never seen the sky depicted. Of course, even an attentive reader would attribute that to the narrative style, the aim being a claustrophobic feeling in the rotting hulk of a post-apocalyptic city - and it IS all that - but in truth, there IS not sky.
You then go back and reread it, notice various details, and marvel at what Serpieri has cleverly placed before your eyes, concealed by the alluring curves of his heroine.
As an adult, however, rereading Druuna made me notice that, though eroticism is undeniably part of the recipe, if you actually read what is written inside the comic, Serpieri touches upon very complex and relevant subjects throughout, like the lack of education in a theocracy, the abuse of power, the absolute rule of what passes for law in a city that is literally rotting.
*SPOILERS*
And then, you get to the end and its shattering revelation, that the "city" is in fact a spaceship adrift in the void for centuries, its own systems corrupted to a degree that the vessel itself has mutated; and you realize that, throughout the comic, you have never seen the sky depicted. Of course, even an attentive reader would attribute that to the narrative style, the aim being a claustrophobic feeling in the rotting hulk of a post-apocalyptic city - and it IS all that - but in truth, there IS not sky.
You then go back and reread it, notice various details, and marvel at what Serpieri has cleverly placed before your eyes, concealed by the alluring curves of his heroine.
June 5, 2020
3.5 Estrellas
El arte de Serpieri es magníficamente bello... y eso que este primer volumen tiene el arte menos depurado de la historia de Druuna.
Es la primera vez que leo el inicio de la historia, por lo cual ya me sabía el giro final de este volumen, pero igual me parece un giro excelente.
Interesante inicio para esta sensual y pervertida historia de decadencia, ciencia ficción y horror corporal... Esta primer entrega sólo tiene una pizca de sexo, Serpieri apenas calentaba motores.
El arte de Serpieri es magníficamente bello... y eso que este primer volumen tiene el arte menos depurado de la historia de Druuna.
Es la primera vez que leo el inicio de la historia, por lo cual ya me sabía el giro final de este volumen, pero igual me parece un giro excelente.
Interesante inicio para esta sensual y pervertida historia de decadencia, ciencia ficción y horror corporal... Esta primer entrega sólo tiene una pizca de sexo, Serpieri apenas calentaba motores.
January 26, 2019
Sesso a tutto spiano nello spazio profondo
Lo ammetto, l'idea era quella di leggere un'opera soft porn da alzabandiera perenne, con fregnacce assortite a costituire il worldbuilding.
Effettivamente Druuna, protagonista della vicenda, viene ingroppata un po' da tutti nel disperato tentativo di ottenere delle fiale per ottemperare alla sua dipendenza; solo che la droca è una specie di stimolatore sessuale che distende i muscoli e inebria i sensi: per quale motivo umani e mutanti sono allupati come conigli, se soffrono di astinenza da questa sostanza?
Okay, l'importante è copulare - non ha importanza dove, con chi e con quali mezzi.
Il worldbuilding è decente nella sua linearità; anche se forse, letto oggi, risulta datato per molti cliché del sottogenere distopico.
Eppure il colpo di scena finale è persino troppo bello per la storia narrata.
Lo ammetto, l'idea era quella di leggere un'opera soft porn da alzabandiera perenne, con fregnacce assortite a costituire il worldbuilding.
Effettivamente Druuna, protagonista della vicenda, viene ingroppata un po' da tutti nel disperato tentativo di ottenere delle fiale per ottemperare alla sua dipendenza; solo che la droca è una specie di stimolatore sessuale che distende i muscoli e inebria i sensi: per quale motivo umani e mutanti sono allupati come conigli, se soffrono di astinenza da questa sostanza?
Okay, l'importante è copulare - non ha importanza dove, con chi e con quali mezzi.
Il worldbuilding è decente nella sua linearità; anche se forse, letto oggi, risulta datato per molti cliché del sottogenere distopico.
Eppure il colpo di scena finale è persino troppo bello per la storia narrata.
October 4, 2013
Frankly, I am surprised. This is my first Heavy Metal comic(if it is one) and I couldn't believe the artwork, how good it is. Druuna's probably the most beautiful comic book girl I've ever seen. The illustrations remind me of Akira, but this one's in color. The first tome sets the story which is in a nutshell Wall-E and I think it's a good way to start off with an adventure. It's not bad at all that the lady is easy on the eyes, I hope she doesn't prove to be the stereotypical beautiful sexy girl with the following stories.
June 2, 2025
Gross- OUTRAGEOUSLY gross.
Even if you can stomach the horrifying wretchedness:
The science fiction is WAY too far in the clouds- to the point that I couldn't understand what I was supposed to begin to grasp no matter how many times I re-read and considered the "revelation" at the end.
The saving grace of this book is obviously Druuna. She's just so endearing- especially because she's not given the "sexy-chic line-work" which allows her to always seem real as her thick and tenderly oblong features shift with all their necessary imperfections.
Even if you can stomach the horrifying wretchedness:
The science fiction is WAY too far in the clouds- to the point that I couldn't understand what I was supposed to begin to grasp no matter how many times I re-read and considered the "revelation" at the end.
The saving grace of this book is obviously Druuna. She's just so endearing- especially because she's not given the "sexy-chic line-work" which allows her to always seem real as her thick and tenderly oblong features shift with all their necessary imperfections.
December 23, 2018
Слаб стрип. Нит има дубину, нит има довољно квалитетну причу. Ни ликови нису нешто занимљиви.
Превише непотребне голотиње и (фетишарске) порнографије, мада је и прављен за такву публику, тако да...
Цртеж је одличан и колико-толико вади стрип. Наставци (наредних 7) су на исти фазон, прате ток радње и заокружују (прилично лошу) целину.
Превише непотребне голотиње и (фетишарске) порнографије, мада је и прављен за такву публику, тако да...
Цртеж је одличан и колико-толико вади стрип. Наставци (наредних 7) су на исти фазон, прате ток радње и заокружују (прилично лошу) целину.
September 27, 2014
Loistavaa taidetta, kaunis nainen useasti alasti, graafista ja brutaalia väkivaltaa sekä mysteereitä ja avaruusoopperaa. Mitä sellaista, mistä ei tykkäisi?
December 24, 2015
"Linda, Linda... Nham, Nham... Sexo! Sim, Sim! Sexo, sim... Sexo!"
September 21, 2025
This review applies to the whole series.
I remember reading this many years ago, and decided to re-read it when Heavy Metal re-launched in 2025. It's a rambling, slightly incoherent post-apocalyptic sci-fi story filled with gratuitous nudity, gratuitous sex, gratuitous BDSM, and gratuitous violence - pretty much what you'd expect of Heavy Metal. Somewhere in there is a a story about the nature of reality and what it is to be human, but honestly, it feels more like Serpieri's dreamlike stream of consciousness just pours out onto the page. Stuff happens. Or maybe it doesn't and Druuna just imagined it. Or maybe Druuna isn't real. Or maybe the whole world is a spaceship? Or a lost planet? Or a virtual reality? Who cares, as long as she gets naked in between her pseudo-philosophical musings?
I remember reading this many years ago, and decided to re-read it when Heavy Metal re-launched in 2025. It's a rambling, slightly incoherent post-apocalyptic sci-fi story filled with gratuitous nudity, gratuitous sex, gratuitous BDSM, and gratuitous violence - pretty much what you'd expect of Heavy Metal. Somewhere in there is a a story about the nature of reality and what it is to be human, but honestly, it feels more like Serpieri's dreamlike stream of consciousness just pours out onto the page. Stuff happens. Or maybe it doesn't and Druuna just imagined it. Or maybe Druuna isn't real. Or maybe the whole world is a spaceship? Or a lost planet? Or a virtual reality? Who cares, as long as she gets naked in between her pseudo-philosophical musings?
April 16, 2023
Usually comics like this seem like a delivery mechanism for gratuitous nudity under the veneer of high concept sci-fi, but Serpieri balances interesting world-building with indulgent artwork really well. The story starts with Druuna seeking out a cure for her lover who has been infected by a highly infectious contagion that renders him a somewhat mindless, cannibalistic and rather horny monster. The diseases plagues the entire city, and so the fascist regime cracks down hard on the infected. Druuna undergoes a journey through the depths of the city, encountering mutants, corrupt officials and a bout of sexual assault, all in the hopes of saving her lover. The worldbuilding is immense and compelling, and the artwork toes the line of beautiful and grotesque easily. It's all masterfully done and exciting from start to finish.
September 28, 2022
A alegoria de um mundo com vários níveis composto de mutantes e não mutantes e a dependência por um sérum para evitar ser mutante. Acompanhamos a linda Druuna que refugia no seu espaço o mutante Schastar e que tem de fazer de tudo para sobreviver num mundo pós apocalíptico . Quando consegue uma dose de sérum suficiente e restransforma Schastar de volta em humano, é conduzida por ele ao local onde está a informação sobre o mundo cruel onde vivem, dominado pelos que se denominam padres.
Desenho erótico ímpar de Serpieri e uma história desoladora sem esperança
Desenho erótico ímpar de Serpieri e uma história desoladora sem esperança
December 8, 2019
Having read the prequel, Anima, I thought I knew where Serpieri was gonna go with this story.
Boy was I wrong.
I’ll admit, I started reading Druuna just to see if it was possible to write an adult based comic, full of nudity and sex, and still have a decent story behind it. I don’t know if it’s the same with all graphic novels, but Druuna excels at both of those things.
Boy was I wrong.
I’ll admit, I started reading Druuna just to see if it was possible to write an adult based comic, full of nudity and sex, and still have a decent story behind it. I don’t know if it’s the same with all graphic novels, but Druuna excels at both of those things.
January 16, 2023
Dosta je zanimljivo, Druna se mrda s kim treba i ne treba, ak se ne mrda onda sanja da se mrda...
Ima i čudovišta. Mutanata. Zlih ljudi. Glava koje pričaju.
Na kraju je preokret koji podsjeća na Pandorum. Samo je ovo puno starije od Pandoruma pa je možda ovo potaknulo onaj scenarij.
Sve u svemu nije loše. Nije ni nekaj ekstra dobro književno djelo al je prevedeno na puno jezika i prodano u puno primjeraka.
Zanimljiv strip i planiram pročitati nastavke.
Ima i čudovišta. Mutanata. Zlih ljudi. Glava koje pričaju.
Na kraju je preokret koji podsjeća na Pandorum. Samo je ovo puno starije od Pandoruma pa je možda ovo potaknulo onaj scenarij.
Sve u svemu nije loše. Nije ni nekaj ekstra dobro književno djelo al je prevedeno na puno jezika i prodano u puno primjeraka.
Zanimljiv strip i planiram pročitati nastavke.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2024
Très beau dessin, notamment les corps féminins.
Histoire post apocalyptique erotico-gore de science fiction, un croisement entre event horizon, dark city et le livre d'Eli. Avec beaucoup de scène erotico-violente, Druuna se livre sans retenu en etant plus ou moins consentante.
Histoire sombre, glaucque mais linéaire et bien conçue, d'une humanité en pleine dérive dans l'espace, dans tous les sens du terme.
Très bonne BD, à recommander.
Histoire post apocalyptique erotico-gore de science fiction, un croisement entre event horizon, dark city et le livre d'Eli. Avec beaucoup de scène erotico-violente, Druuna se livre sans retenu en etant plus ou moins consentante.
Histoire sombre, glaucque mais linéaire et bien conçue, d'une humanité en pleine dérive dans l'espace, dans tous les sens du terme.
Très bonne BD, à recommander.
January 21, 2017
The first half of the plot doesn't exist for any reason other than to get Druuna naked and/or raped. The second half actually has some pretty interesting sci-fi ideas. Overall the story is pretty weak, though. The art, on the other hand, is really great.
March 13, 2019
una locura de Novela gráfica, empezando por un dibujo excelente, en donde la Anatomía es su protagonista; la historia muy loca, pero, interesante. Una historia futurista que da miedo pero que el erotismo Sabe Franquear.
October 28, 2020
Wonderful art, the genre is probably not my cup of tea, a dystopian setting with plenty of gore, violence and sex (the majority of it being rape) but still I sort of enjoyed it, not for the violence but for the wonderful art and the plot twist at the end.
December 30, 2021
I suppose 40 years ago i thought this was edgy, groundbreaking and cool. Now all I see is a cliched, semi-incoherent and barely existent story that really serves as an excuse for some soft(ish) porn and gore. The artwork is quite good, of course.
March 9, 2022
The plot is interesting (maybe it's because I like dystopian settings). As a result of the dystopian setting, everything is shitty as it should be. The artwork, of course, is incredibly beautiful. I just want to lean on my back and read more of Druuna before forming my final thoughts about it.
December 11, 2022
Is the dialogue bad or is it the translation? Or is it both? The art is great though. The whole thing is a bit...disturbing but I was surprised to see that the whole story wasn't there just to lead to sexual scenes.
December 22, 2018
El dibujo es muy bueno, pero no encuentro qué puede haber de interesante en ver cómo Druuna se ve obligada a prostituirse en un mundo de mutantes y corruptos.
September 17, 2019
Nunca había leído una historia de Druuna completa, interesante. El dibujo no me llama tanto la atención, pero cumple. Buen final, deja curiosidad por saber como evoluciona la historia.
December 14, 2019
Tópicos bastante recurrentes en la ciencia ficción para un guion promedio que compensa el enorme despliegue gráfico de Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri.
May 10, 2022
Reine entre les reines.
December 6, 2023
i wish i were Druuna
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews