Muse #1: Celia

Songes #1

by Denis-Pierre Filippi (Writer), Terry Dodson (Illustrator/Colorist), Rebecca Rendon (Colorist)

The sexy, dreamy adventures of Coraline, a beautiful young lady who serves as governess to a wealthy, inventive and very mysterious homeowner.

Charming Coraline is hired as the private tutor to the young son of rich landlords. Her mission is to entertain her too studious pupil, Vernère. He is only a child, but one with a brilliant and indefatigable mind solely focused on books and inventions. To top it off, he is quite unpleasant. Coraline nonetheless tries to understand him while gradually discovering the strange and surprising universe of the mansion, whose nocturnal ambiance seems so amenable for very strange dreams…

Muse is a lyrical and titillating ride through reverie and nostalgia, drawn by comics superstar Terry Dodson (Marvel's "Uncanny X-Men," DC's "Harley Quinn").

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Ebooks, Comic Book

57 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Denis-Pierre Filippi est né le 19 juillet 1972 à Bergerac. Il accroche à son palmarès scolaire un Bac scientifique, et une maîtrise de philosophie. Son penchant pour la BD est un héritage paternel qu’il a entretenu dès son plus jeune âge en fréquentant assidûment les pages de Spirou, en découvrant Ptiluc et plus tard Bilal et Loisel. Il voue aussi une affection toute particulière à Schuiten, Gimenes et Tolkien. Toutefois, les premières œuvres de ce jeune scénariste bordelais sont des contes pour enfants destinés aux écoles sous la forme de montage diapos. En fait, si Denis-Pierre Filippi est conteur, il est aussi raconteur et acteur puisqu’il n’hésite pas à «tester» ses écrits sur le jeune public : jouer son texte devant les enfants pour guetter leur réaction. En tout cas, l’intérêt pour lui est de «retourner à l’origine obscure et ancestrale des contes». En 1995, lors du salon du livre de Bordeaux, il fait lire une de ses histoires à Tiburce Oger, l’auteur de la série Gorn. De leur collaboration naît en 1998 Orull, le faiseur de nuages. En 1999, Filippi imagine une nouvelle série : Un drôle d’ange gardien, dessiné par Sandrine Revel. Infatigable, alors que se profile le dernier tome d'Orull, le scénariste a créé un nouveau duo : en compagnie de Tatiana Domas, il peint les aventures de Téo, un enfant traumatisé qui sort peu à peu de son mutisme.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B) 75% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: Not quite risqué, no plot per se (no more than titillation), though handsy dudes, not truly lewd, just naked situations.

*Progress update

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

As far as I can tell, the sole point of this book is to draw the heroine in various stages of undress. I mean, really very few women in the time period period that this seems to take place in would do what she does on her bedroom balcony. Honesty, it is just teen male wish fulfillment. (While lesibans might enjoy it, I doubt that they are the target audience). Nice art in places. And at least no slut shaming.

[♛ Garima ♛ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sublime artwork, unrealistic female body image, strange story.

[Lucie · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. Boobs everywhere
2. Not sure what the plot is supposed to be
3. This feels like teenage boy fantasy
4. The art was fine

[Alice4170 🌙 · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 ⭐️
So. Much. Boobs.
But still a interesting story? Idk man. I’ll read vol 2 and see what happens

[Frida · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐️

[C. Varn · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the art is stunting but serves mostly cheesecake of the protagonist with a fair amount of nudity. Caroline is affable as a character and Vernère profoundly unpleasant, but the interactions are somewhat amusing. While it promises to be a "lyrical and titillating ride through reverie and nostalgia," It is heavy on titillating and the nostalgia borders on incoherent. Terry Dodson does good work trying to capture the feel of a surreal European, semi-erotic comic and the artwork is quite good.

[Johan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork is very good, I like the steampunk vibe, but what I am missing here is a story. It almost seems that the purpose of this book is to show the heroine in various stages of undress. The main characters are

- the heroine, who has trouble remaining dressed
- a teenage boy, a savant with issues
- the staff at the mansion of whom the males are all peeping toms

I got this via a Humble Bundle. I hope the next volume will be better.

[Jessica {Litnoob} · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m so lost

And nothing makes sense and it’s also not intriguing enough to warrant spending more time figuring it out. Just, no.

[Tristan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel in two parts currently available on Kindle Unlimited. It’s in English, translated from the original French. The story is provided by a prolific French author of graphic novels and the artwork by an American comics artist who is clearly enjoying the chance to do something other than superheroes.

The steampunk and Little Nemo inspired artwork is absolutely sublime, but as this is a product of Les Humanoides Associes, the story is just an excuse to follow the soft porn antics of a buxom young lady (and then several such) in various states of undress. Not that I’m complaining, but there’s nothing here that makes sense.

The protagonist, Coraline, takes a job as a nursemaid to a child genius, and is tasked with drawing the child out of the genius. The child meanwhile is keen to involve her in all manner of drug induced dream scenarios involving seduction, which she escapes by slapping the supposed seducer. How very 1960s ...

In the second volume, a little more of a story develops in that Coraline is but the latest in a series of nursemaids who have disappeared after taking up the position, including her sister Celia whom she was intending to rescue. The child genius is shown to be an orphan who is trying to become his father in his dreams whilst searching for a companion to replace his mother, hence be his wife, but who has accumulated quite a harem of companions in the process as none has actually been discarded. Wait, what? This is getting psychologically very creepy.

At the end, Coraline merely convinces him to stop this charade and this is enough for all the buxom ladies to be set free from dream captivity, and all is well that ends well without any recriminations. Wait again, what? This noxious child is let off the hook despite all his abductions and assaults? And his complicit staff too? This is not okay.

To be honest, this could have been something if these strange dreamlike scenarios were taken a little bit more seriously and a full thriller or even horror extracted from the genteel but creepy titillation. But no, this is just a lark, a guilty pleasure. A high production value soft porn.

The lack of care in the whole thing is evident in that the first volume is entitled Celia (who doesn’t appear until the second) whilst the second is entitled Coraline (when she’s no longer the sole protagonist).

It’s a shame to dismiss this really, as the artist is extravagantly talented.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an absolute showcase for Terry Dodson's art, which is glorious here and reason enough for the read. The Victorian with a side of Steampunk main setting in an English countryside is lush and vibrant. And his characters, especially Coraline, practically leap off the page.
That said, be sure you know what you're getting into.
This reminded me of the Dave Matthews song "Crash Into Me," as it's all about a pubescent boy's dreams, as our protagonist Coraline manages to get sucked into multiple "damsel in distress" situations culminating in her losing her clothes and being accosted by 'heroes' looking for their 'rewards'. So yes, a significant amount of nudity, with some voyeurism and questionable power fantasies thrown in.
The connecting story, about Coraline supposed to take a young genius' mind off of adult matters, doesn't make a whole lot of sense, especially not in this first volume, which just sort of ends. Make sure you have the second (and final) volume on hand before you read this, or the abrupt ending will be all the more annoying.
On its own, this is worth it for the art, so long as you aren't offended by the significant amount of skin on display.

[Danalli Calhoun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. So many boobs. But... I'm interested in the plot line, so...
Will be reading the second volume.

[Wm · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't care how absolutely wonderful the art is (and it _is_ jaw-droppingly good), when a comic has a mind-numbing story, it's a poor comic.

[Jassmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright, this gets two stars, because the art was very pretty and the heroine was hot while almost realistic, but otherwise... what was this?! (I'm writing this review with the knowledge with the ending of the second volume and I'll just probably treat them as one...)
1. A lot of people seem to be upset about Coralina's various state of undress. Not me. I have a thing for historical clothing and while this wasn't exactly accurate (corsets on bare skin! ouch...) it was better than most, especially for erotica and what can I say, I quite enjoyed that.
2. Visually-wise this was mostly win. The art was pretty, and Coralina was beautiful, but the men... why?

3. In the whole story we don't get one pleasant male character. Or a good looking one. Why? The main "hero" is a child, which made me very uncomfortable, but we'll get to that later. Then we get one stalker and then the characters in dreams that just flat out try to rape our heroine, like... am I supposed to be turned on? I'm really sorry the author didn't consider making Eckhart (or what was his name...) a pleasant character and romantic interest to balance out the weirdness of the plot.
4. I keep mentioning how pretty Coralina is... well, that's because she's anything else - she isn't kind, she isn't particularly smart, but you know, she likes to go around half naked, so... I forgive her. (Not really...)
5. Fine, now to the plot. In the first volume Coralina has some strange dreams - one pirate dream, one cannibal dream and one fairy-tale like dream. All of them are very weird and none of them are particularly sexy. The cannibal dream has the biggest potential, alas it goes nowhere. And you know, I'm really into pirates, so the first one could work for me too, but it was way to gang-rapey (but once more, nothing really happens so... what was the point of all this). We know that something is going on here, but we don't really know what. And once you know, trust me it doesn't really makes things better.

To sum it up, this was all teasing and nothing was actually delivered. There is a lot of abusive sexual behavior and the whole time you have a feeling that a kid is somehow mixed in all of this so... The resolution the second volume offers in not really worth it. Some pictures are pretty sexy though - when you take them out of context...

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3669597.html

I saw this recommended somewhere: two albums written by French author Filippi, best known for his writing for young adults, and illustrated by Dodson, better known for his Marvel and DC work on superheroes.

I'm not sure that I'd repeat the recommendation. Our heroine, Coraline, takes a job as governess to a teenage boy who invents lots of machines in his spare time. At night she has strange dreams which always seem to end with her clothes falling off. The end of the second volume reveals What Is Really Going On, and I have to say that it makes no sense at all in terms of what we have been told of the story. Also notable that the titles of the volumes are the wrong way around - vol 1's title is "Celia", but she is the sister of Coraline, the main character, and not otherwise mentioned until halfway through vol 2. The art is lush and gorgeous, but basically it's two short books about boobs.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful Art, But The Story Is A Yikes Sandwich

This is a short book which ends abruptly in the middle of things. A buxom young women takes a strange governess position and is constantly perved on. It's a steampunk setting in an unknown time, but it's a time it's fine to just change in front of strangers?

The story is strange and incomplete, and basically a string of different things happening to get the leading dummy into sexy poses or naked or whatever. There's a guy constantly peeping at her and I have a feeling that the kid is too, gross.

If the only thing you care about is seeing a beautiful big breasted blonde drawn naked, then sure, this may be your thing. But if you want a decent story with your boobs, this isn't shaping up to be it.

[Jane Vellichor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this was... interesting. In a male gaze focused kind of way. I was relieved that the protagonist was able to (somewhat) hold her own against her would-be (let's just call it what it is) molesters. She encounters these molesters in a dream world after drinking a (yup there is literally no other way to say it) glass of roofied wine. But the reader need only understand that the story is a product of its time... which was long ago... 2006.
...oh dear.
Maybe it'll get better in Muse Vol. 2: Coraline?

[Helene Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steampunk and Victorian dresses? Count me in! The story was slightly confusing, but I still liked it. Now, the art style — that’s something unique. I loved the colour palette and the drawings of the steampunk items. I don’t understand why the artist/author decided to draw the heroine with a broken back in some panels. I expected a corset because that would have explained her posture in some instances, but she wasn’t actually wearing one. Totally unrealistic.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - art style
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - story
⭐️⭐️ - depiction of female body

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coraline, a highly attractive woman with a tendency to clotheslessness, takes a job as a governess to a young boy. He turns out to be a steampunk inventor, who (although this is not confirmed by the end of the book) appears to be creating various fantasy scenarios at night in an attempt to seduce her. Overall it's rather like Beauty and the Beast if the Beast were a child. Very weird and deeply iffy. No idea why the book is called Celia.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing art but wow at the translation. Several parts where you've no idea what's going on - which is part of the story - but more parts where you are left wondering what is supposed to be happening.

The art is way more adult than I expected but I guess I should start to expect it from this Humble Bundle. Did not know what I was getting into.

Also it's titled Celia but you don't know why because the 'heroine' is named Coraline, the title of book 2.

[Nino Sylmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visually seductive

As a self-taught sketch artist, I find the renderings of the characters par excellence, especially when seen from various angles. The storyline, although somewhat bizarre, keeps one so curios that he/she is compelled to turn to the next page. I definitely will buy Vol. 2 of Celia by this artist.

[Freya LaRouge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd

I dont really know what to make of this. She's the nanny of a young boy who seems to think he's older than he really is. Her choice of apparel for being a nanny to a young boy is also wrong in my opinion.

[David Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art but story is lacking

Very beautiful art but the story is confusing. I am not sure where it is really going. I would definitely give this a PG-13 rating because of the nudity. Still, I look forward to the next collection with the hopes it gives some answers.

[John Secker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic artwork

Artwork is phenomenal. Story is ok too. For three pounds, it was well worth it. Quite linear and having finished this, I will need to buy volume 2 to finish the story: it isn’t a standalone.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful

Rather gratuitously saucy, in a 70s cinema sort of way, but beautifully drawn throughout, and delightful colours. Looks like watercolour in places. And the whacky designs are a delight.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird and a little dumb. The art is beautiful, but the plot is crap. I'm being a little generous with two stars. This would have been much better with no dialogue. There seems to be a plot, but it's so weak and so ill constructed that this might as well be a pin-up book.

[Tony Swisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much of a Plot

The art is beautiful, but the story doesn't have much of a Plot. It focuses more on her boobs than her actual job.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

The artwork here is beautiful, it was that Victorian/steampunk imagery that drew me to it. However the story is utter garbage.

[Mon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nádherné kresby a aj zaujímavý námet ale to je žiaľ tak všetko.

[Petr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of all I like the art style. The erotica aspect is reasonably handled but the story unfolds really slowly and basically just presents a pretext to draw women in different sexy outfits.