Blasfamous

Blasfamous #1-3

by Mirka Andolfo, Marylou Lesongeur (translator)

Clelia est la reine de la pop ! Elle électrise les foules, subjuguées par sa voix angélique et son charisme quasi divin. Car dans cette Société de strass et de paillettes, l’Ordre, qui représente l’unique Église, a fait de ces stars des déesses modernes. En coulisses, les anges et les démons capitalisent sur l’exaltation des fans, ecstasy mystique qui leur procure un pouvoir colossal ! Tous n’ont d’yeux que pour Clelia. Mais combien de temps encore la Bienheureuse préférée de l’Amérique va-t-elle captiver les caméras ? Elle a beau être au top du classement des likes, elle commence à montrer des signes de fatigue et son équilibre mental vacille. L’apparition d’une nouvelle Messie au charme énigmatique vient bousculer son pouvoir et défier l’Ordre. Entre culpabilité, colère et perte d’estime de soi, la pop star la plus adulée au monde doit faire face à la cruauté du Système. Jusqu’où sera-t-elle prête à aller pour défendre son règne ?

Entre surnaturel, comédie déjantée et références religieuses, la nouvelle série de Mirka Andolfo nous plonge dans l’industrie de la musique pop à travers un univers sombre à l'intensité visuelle et narrative époustouflante ! Fusionnant la fantaisie urbaine mythologique d'American Gods et l'esprit sardonique de The Good Place, Mirka aborde plusieurs thèmes aux résonances actuelles tels que la santé mentale, l’adoration des idoles, la légitimité des célébrités ou encore le rôle des médias, dans un récit explosif et moderne.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, LGBT, Demons

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 2024

About the author

Neapolitan artist and writer, she is one of the most complete and eclectic Italian creators in the international field. Her upcoming Mercy is going to be published almos simultaneously in Italy (November 2019, Panini Comics), France (January 2020, Éditions Glénat) and United States (March 2020, Image Comics).

Her ControNatura (Panini Comics) is one of the most successful Italian series of the last few years. Published in the USA by Image Comics under the title Unnatural/b> , it’s a best seller hit with several reprints already.
There are also Spanish, French, German, Polish, Mexican and (upcoming) Brazilian, Czech and Bulgarian editions.

Andolfo has been collaborating with DC Comics since 2015, having lent her pencil for titles such as Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Bombshells, Teen Titans, Green Arrow, R.W.B.Y. and Hex Wives (published under the cult-imprint Vertigo). Together with the writer Sylvain Runberg, she is creator of The Under York Chronicles (Éditions Glénat).

She also wrote stories for BOOM! Studios ( The Amazing World of Gumball ) and illustrated two issues of the award-winning Ms. Marvel series by Marvel Comics.

In 2012 she created Sacro/Profano (Edizioni Dentiblù), a huge bestseller published in United States, France, Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Spain.
As an artist she’s drawn comics for Dynamite and Aspen, as well as some short stories for Vertigo and DC’s Young Animal, and she’s actually working on covers for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Valiant, BOOM! Studios, Aspen, Zenescope.

As a colorist, she worked on covers and comics books of important franchises such as Geronimo Stilton, Adventure Time, Ice Age, Peanuts and other series and volumes published all over the world.

During her collaboration with Topolino magazine (Disney’s Mickey Mouse), she has colored numerous covers (including the cover of the historical issue 3000) and stories, working with artists like Giorgio Cavazzano, Corrado Mastantuono and Fabio Celoni.

When she is not working, she loves good food, reading comics and… sharing photos of cats and wolves on Facebook.

Reviews

[Rosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: A satirical graphic novel that combines evangelical zealotry and celebrity worship culture into a zany plot. A dark plot that left me speechless, for various reasons. Mindblowing illustrations. Cliffhanger ending!! ☹

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Plot Preview:

Clelia is the reigning queen of pop, but not in the way you would imagine. Her is a world where pop stars are divine and can bestow miracles on their fans. Managed by Father Lev, Clelia has to ensure that her performance is top of the charts in every way, so that devotees continue attending her concerts and bow to her in veneration. But the situation is threatened by two new factors: a mental health issue that causes Clelia to self-harm, and a newcomer who seems to be endowed with more prowess (musical or otherwise) than Clelia. The battle for religious dominance this begins, and no one knows how the fight will end. This is angels vs. demons, with a dash of pop music.
This graphic novel contains the first two comics of the Blasfamous series.

Frankly, I didn’t know what I was getting into when I requested this ARC. Had I known exactly what the content contained, I might have refrained from reading this. But that stunning cover lured me in and I couldn’t resist grabbing it.

Is this a bad book? Not at all. But it was probably not my kind of book as well. Then again, do I want to read the next issue? Heck, yeah!!!

Bookish Yays:
✔ The creepy prologue – what a beginning!

✔ The whole twist on the Faustian “deal with the devil” premise. Angels vs demons isn’t an uncommon premise in fiction, but the treatment of it here is almost innovative.

✔ The intelligent plot, that takes two extremely zealotic themes: evangelical Christianity and celeb mania – and combines them into one “hell” of a plot. I’m speechless at the way this combination was so seamless!

✔ The main character Clelia, whom we can see on the cover – such a complex persona with depths yet to be discovered. I still don’t know whether to root for her or not. But she was a great protagonist for such a storyline.

✔ Some of the secondary characters, especially Dorothy Blaze, Father Len, and the challenger. All complicated characters that have yet to reveal their agenda in detail but captivating nonetheless.

✔ As a satire on organised religion and celebrity culture, the book depicts the worst of the blind faith humans have in religion and celebrities. The religious manipulation, the fake “miracles”, the cult-like fervour for all the wrong reasons at religious gatherings, the variation between what is preached and what is practised, the tendency of using celeb status for fake advertisements, the trend of following or mimicking whatever celebs/influencers do– all points come out strongly.

✔ I appreciate how the book doesn’t take sides. The flaws of both the supposedly “blasfamous” and the self-declared pious are highlighted without judgement, thereby showing us that moral corruption can affect anyone, even those who consider themselves holy. (In fact, the most blind are usually those who consider themselves the only sanctimonious ones, irrespective of which faith they follow.)

✔ This line: “Sexy sells. Sexy is good. Sexy, but not sex. Sex is so terribly immoral.” Perfectly represents the two-facedness of humanity!

✔ The punny title – perfect for the book!


Bookish Mixed Bags:
⚠ I am not the kind of Christian to be offended by books like ‘The Da Vinci Code’. My faith is strong enough not to be easily triggered by fictional writing. But, for the first time ever, this demarcation between fiction and faith was threatened. I know the elements in the book were strictly meant to be satirical, and not at all deliberately or directly offensive. But the use of one particular religious icon was almost blasphemous to me. This might not bother non-Christian readers, but conservative believers might find it tough to stay calm.

⚠ Some clever word play such as “Holywood show” and character names such as ‘Clelia’ (which means ‘glorious’) But the name of the new challenger (I won’t reveal her nomenclature) was simultaneously clever and sacrilegious. The way she was sketched was also borderline impious.

⚠ The story has an intriguing queer relationship, but the arc is somewhat undeveloped, especially as this connection forms the foundation of the events but is yet to be revealed in its entirety. I hope this is settled properly and without gaps in the upcoming issue.

⚠ The illustrations: the only word I can think of to describe the awesomeness of the graphics is ‘majestic.’ The panels come together like a phantasmagoria of horror and wonderment. But I never did figure out why one character was drawn in the nude for no rhyme or reason.


Bookish Nays:
❌ CLIFFHANGER ENDING! AARGH!!!! When the comic series has only three books, why release a graphic novel containing only the first two books? So unfair!

❌ So many incomplete arcs even other than the cliffhanger. The last book has a lot of cover-up to do. And it better handle it well!


All in all, the reader in me was dazzled at the premise. But the Christian in me was horrified at some of the profaneness. The book made me go ‘Oh My God!” multiple times in every emotion possible, but mostly in awe and horror. That said, I can’t deny the imaginative genius of the story. This is a fictional work, and a satire at that, so I’ll approach it with leeway though some of my religious sensibilities are shaken.

I read this along with my elder daughter, who was amazing company to have in sharing the surprises and the shocks. We had so many discussions about the content, and I am happy + relieved that we ended up with the same feelings about this. She wrote a mini-review for this book, which I share below as I am so proud of her honesty:
"While I am somewhat undecided where I stand on my faith – I do believe, but how much do I believe? – I still thought this is pretty blasphemous. This is an amazing fictitious work of art, a masterpiece in many ways. But I also understand why conservative Christians might blow their fuses after reading this as it tiptoes the line between creative liberty and sacrilege. If people thought The Da Vinci Code was bad, they’re in for a shocking ride with this one. I still adored the book. The pseudo-satanic reinterpretation of Christian elements blew my mind with its creativity. I think people should only read this if they are mature enough (like me, haha) to distinguish between the fictional (albeit scandalous) embellishments of this story and the faith they truly believe in."

Initially, I had no idea what star rating to give this because parts of it left me quite uncomfortable. But there’s no denying that the book stayed in my head for a long while after the last page, so it was a memorable experience for good and bad reasons. I look forward to the next (and hopefully final) issue because I want to see how all the cliffhangers are resolved.

I won't make an outright recommendation. Please read the above analysis and decide if this suits your taste. Strictly for mature readers. (And I mean ‘mature’ in all its meanings, not just calendar age.)

3.75 stars.


My thanks to Diamond Book Distributors for providing the DRC of “Blasfamous” via Edelweiss+. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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[Alex Sarll · Rating 2 out of 5]

A supernatural satire where on Earth celebrity culture and the church have merged, and in the afterlife...well, that would be telling, but if you've ever read a Vertigo comic, or a comic touching on Heaven and Hell by someone who's read a Vertigo comic, you shouldn't be too surprised. Occasional lines do land, and there's the germ of a good idea in playing up how pop culture is fixated on sexiness but terrified of sex - though even then, wouldn't that have worked better in the nineties, with all those raunchy virgin starlets, than now, when knowing Taylor Swift's exes is as fundamental to pop as the litany of Henry VIII's wives is in an English history class? More often, it's clodhopping expositional dialogue, and leaden parallels between the commercialisation of faith and the worship of fame, all of which have been done a hundred times before. Worse, while I've never been wholly convinced by Andolfo as a writer, there was always the gorgeous lushness of her art, its fleshy sparkle carrying a comic like Unnatural through any issues with its set-up and plotting. Here, though, it seems to be missing a dimension, a little more sketched and cartoony. This is now the third Edelweiss ARC I've read from new publisher DSTLRY (not counting the one issue from them I've actually bought), and the impression I'm getting is of very early Image - not in the sense of muscles and pouches, but the broader parallel of a publisher that's lured a bunch of well-regarded artists, given them a free hand, and not worried too much about whether the resulting comics are decent reads so long as they look good. Except they mostly don't even look as good as those artists' prior work. Perhaps, like Image, that inauspicious start won't preclude some great stuff down the line. Perhaps.

[Pierre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho sempre amato i disegni di Mirka Andolfo, la sua scelta dei colori, le inquadrature... Purtroppo, lo stesso non posso dire sulle sue sceneggiature, che solitamente mi deludono perché piatte o un po' scontate: così era stato per Contro Natura e per Mercy.

Con queste premesse, mi sono avvicinato a BlasFamous quando finalmente è uscito l'omnibus dell'edizione italiana. La storia è particolare: dopo l'Armageddon, i demoni hanno scoperto che gli angeli ricevevano la loro forza dall'adorazione delle masse, e per questo hanno messo in piedi una vera e propria agenzia che promuove pop star; attraverso i loro fan, acquisiscono l'adorazione necessaria per ottenere il potere. La protagonista è Beata Clelia, la più celebre di queste pop star: si tratta in realtà di una suora che, secoli prima, in seguito a una perdita, ha siglato un patto con uno dei demoni, Lev, che è diventato il suo agente. In Clelia ultimamente si stanno risvegliando i ricordi della vita precedente, perciò le viene affiancata una psicologa.

Devo dire che, per quanto ci sia qualche ingenuità a livello di trama, ho notato un miglioramento nella scrittura dell'autrice rispetto alle opere precedenti. I personaggi sono molto credibili nei loro aspetti psicologici, e la trama non è priva di colpi di scena che stupiscono ed emozionano.
Graficamente, le tavole sono ancor più barocche del solito, ricche di dinamismo e di immagini vivide. Ovviamente è impossibile non innamorarsi di Clelia, ma ero già pronto a questo.

Non lo consiglierei agli amanti del fumetto più sperimentale e sofisticato, ma resta a mio parere una buona lettura d'intrattenimento.

[Audet Maxime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le commentaire sur les points en commun entre la religion et le monde de la pop aurait pu être un peu plus raffiné, mais l’humour est bien réussi (La vibe hazbin hotel est très forte) et les dessins ajoutent beaucoup d’énergie à l’histoire. Le design de chaque personnage est unique et ils débordent tous de caractère.

[Luke Muench · Rating 1 out of 5]

I largely found the ideas tired, the world building cursory, the characters annoying, and the story somewhat incomprehensible. This was a frustrating read that I wouldn't recommend to others, unfortunately.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issue #1

This was a slow introduction but otherwise an interesting setup.

I'd like to have more questions than I do - angels vs demons seems pretty standard - but I did really enjoy the artwork of this one so I'll probably keep an eye out for the second issue.

There seems to be allusions to a fascinating past but it wasn't all that fascinating to me. I really didn't care as much as I wanted to.

Curious how the psychologist is going to mix things up, though.

[Muhme Rumpumpel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im Lauf der Jahrhunderte hat die Kirche sich gewandelt und ist mit der Zeit gegangen: "Gesegnete" füllen Stadien mit ihren Liedern und bewirken Wunder - aber nur für Premiumabonnenten, versteht sich. Die beliebteste Gesegnete ist Clelia, die von ihrem Assistenten Lev liebevoll umsorgt wird, die aber in letzter Zeit wiederholt Schwächeanfälle hatte - die eigens dafür engagierte Psychologin Dorothy Blaise nimmt den Superstar unter ihre Fittiche und ermutigt sie, mehr zu sich selbst zu stehen.

Allerdings ist nicht alles eitel Sonnenschein, denn hinter dem klerikalen System stecken Dämonen, die sich von der Gebetsenergie der Menschen ernähren, seit ein Krieg zwischen Himmel und Hölle sie ohne Gott und ohne Teufel zurückließ. Lev, ein Dämon, der einst die junge Nonne Clelia zum Pakt mit dem Teufel verführte, will mit seiner höllischen Familie nichts zu tun haben und fühlt sich nur Clelia verpflichtet - aber als plötzlich eine vermeintliche Tochter Gottes, Isa Cristah, auftaucht und mit Wundern, Musik und einer heiligen Ausstrahlung Konkurrenz für Clelia darstellt, ist er machtlos. Hinter Isa verbirgt sich die Wiedergeburt von Marianna, einer von der Kirche getöteten Hexe und Liebste Clelias aus ihrem ersten - menschlichen - Leben.

Die beiden Frauen liefern sich einen Showdown, der damit endet, dass das in Isa herangewachsene neue heilige Herz voller Liebe in die Welt geschickt wird, damit es künftig keine Dämonenorgien mit menschlicher Anbetung mehr geben muss. Isa und Clelia trennen sich ein letztes Mal, und Clelia beginnt ein neues menschliches Leben, begleitet von Lev.

***

Die ersten beiden Teile fand ich richtig gut: völlig over the top, quietschbunt und so überzogen wie es nur geht - ein Fiebertraum voller Spaß und gut hinterfüttert mit den Elementen aus Popkultur und Religion, mit denen geworben wurde. Alles top. - Leider war der dritte und letzte Teil (trotz des wirklich schönen Finales) ein ziemliches Durcheinander. Ich hatte Probleme, überhaupt noch zu verstehen, wer gerade welche Agenda hat oder überhaupt ist, und relativ schnell hörte es auf, Spaß zu machen. Schade - aber trotzdem keine verschwendete Zeit.

[Loreleï Loreleï · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai été charmée par le concept de base : une critique caustique des idoles et de la religion liée au star system et au milieu des influenceurs qui cherchent à promouvoir leurs propres intérêts sous couvert de beaux discours en se faisant passer pour ce qu'ils ne sont pas. Blasfamous avait beaucoup de potentiel.
Les graphismes sont vraiment catchy, grâce aux traits et couleurs de Mirka Andolfo. J'aime aussi la typographie du titre avec le f en forme de croix.
La santé mentale de Clelia était un élément intéressant et la phrase sur le sexy qui était plus vendeur que le sexe, percutante.

Malheureusement, j'ai trouvé l'ensemble long et trop edgy en se voulant satirique, intelligent et drôle, mais pas assez bien maitrisé pour que ce soit efficace.
Il y a beaucoup de dialogue dont certains pas forcément utiles.

[spoiler]Je n'ai pas compris pourquoi elle finissait avec Léviathan à la fin ? Ils n'allaient pas du tout ensemble. Je pensais vraiment qu'elle finirait avec la fille de dieu et qu'elles évolueraient ensemble. Ça aurait été intéressant d'aborder la thématique du pardon. [/spoiler]

Quant aux révélations à trois francs six sous avec les flashbacks, je m’attendais à quelque chose de plus travaillé et profond.

Je suis vraiment déçue.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clelia is beyond famous. She is the super pop star. But, more than that, she is a blessed one. She promotes faith and performs miracles. But, unbeknownst to most of her audience, it is all a lie. When Clelia starts to unravel, her "agent" Lev finds her a psychologist who comes highly recommend from the top. Just when she starts to make progress, a newcomer bursts onto her literal stage calling herself the daughter of God. Will this newcomer's origins be uncovered? And, if so, at what cost?

Mirka Andolfo certainly takes bold steps in creating a both sacred and profane world. Blasfamous is at times dark, sensual, and difficult to put down. Those with an open mind will find an intriguing graphic novel.

[Gabby C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason why I grabbed the book in the first place was because of how eye catching the cover art was, but what made me want to read it was after seeing the back cover mentioning angels and demons and what one would sacrifice to become famous.

So I went into this open minded, but after going through the book, I can see how it could be offensive to Christians. I did enjoy the art and twist and turns, but as I read on, I was hoping there would be some redemption in where the story was going. It took me one sitting to get through it all and wasn’t very satisfied with the ending. But I can see why the author chose to end it there and just glad the version of the book I got had all three parts.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Issue #1 read only, as the file on edelweiss left off the final third issue, and the first chunk tells you all you need to know and more. A pop star with no talent but a body fit for porn is worshipped – and of course it's the devil making sure of that, in this mish-mash of celebrity culture commentary and combat between good and evil. It tries to marry the vacuity of religion with celebrity culture, as if that has never been thought of before, and in execution really fails to offer much that is new. Normally with an Andolfo book I'd have come out of it gasping for more of the pyknic physique of the lead – here the story and the art didn't inspire any feelings whatsoever. Two and a half stars.

[Niniane · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'étais curieuse du concept sur le rapprochement entre la religion et le monde des stars/influenceurs. Bon, il ne faut pas attendre grand-chose de ce côté. Graphiquement, il y a de bonnes trouvailles, mais je n'ai pas aimé le côté trash pour être trash.

Certains points de l'intrigue sont juste stupides genre les démons ont monté tout ça pour une histoire de drogue.. La rédemption d'un certain personnage jusque-là imbuvable est amenée comme un cheveu sur la soupe pauvre chou il voulait juste être humain. Par contre, la fin offrait une bonne conclusion, c'est déjà ça.

[Manon Dunean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un énième thème sur les anges et les démons okay, mais bien remanié ! On assiste à un affrontement de popularité autour d'idoles (nommés bienheureux) afin de gagner du pouvoir.
Une belle ambiance gothique (démons, péchés, vêtements, coupe de cheveux/couleurs ...) Les dessins sont superbes et le découpage vraiment dynamique. La personnage principale, Clélia est juste sublime et toujours très bien mise en valeur.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seems to have a hard time getting to a point or just going anywhere in general. It's a world where church is not only the most important thing but it's merged with celebrity. There's this singer who is at the top of her game but also miserable. She's immortal and being propped up by demons. They keep her around for 30 years or so, fake her death and start over again as another identity. A lot of my problems with the book is the sheer amount of mindnumbing dialogue. There's so many word bubbles that I'm honestly surprised you can see any of Andolfo's art. This DSTLRY company could certainly benefit from hiring some editors instead of just letting these creators do whatever they come up with. Andolfo likes to write her own stuff but I've yet to come across any that's did more than look pretty.

P.S. There's one character that is supposed to be a psychologist but she has piercings all over her face. The last person I want helping me with my mental health is someone with both her cheeks pierced along with 2 or 3 more places.

[Irene Lopez Sicilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2'5 ⭐ Tópico de los tópicos. Me lo plantearon como algo completamente novedosos pero no deja de ser la típica historia de pelas entre ángeles y demonios. Lo que le salva en gran medida es el dibujo, por lo demás no se lo recomendaría a nadie de mi círculo.

[t.k · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an artist I really loved the style of this graphic novel. It’s beautifully done and the story keeps as very interesting. There were a couple times where I was genuinely shocked or frustrated with a character— and I’m someone who likes that— which kept things interesting. Definitely recommend.

[k · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork and character designs are gorgeous, excited for issue 2

[Faye Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art and interesting story. Can’t wait for issue 2

[Star Shining Forever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative take on what could happen if a new religion was formed after a war between heaven & hell has disastrous outcomes and the cosmic beings turned to see what they can get from humans.

[Dontaná · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very pretty, and very bloody. It is complete. It has a solid story with a few twists. It felt rushed.

[Joshua Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I loved unnatural, but this was just too disorganized.

[Fantaghirò · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my thing, but it has some merits like the humour. Messy plot and mythology.

If you like Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel you'll probably like this.

[Nereis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty artstyle but too much exposition dialogue.

[Atalante · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le livre est beau par contre

[María Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️
Me gustó más el dibujo que la historia.

[Edd Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Very Weak 2/5 Horror Comedy Graphic Novel about hellspawns leveraging the music industry for their best interest... I guess?

[Aurora]

Got about midway through before giving up. I wasn’t interested in the characters or the worldbuilding.

[Cheyanne Larinan · Rating 5 out of 5]

🍽️ toxic yuri 😋