Borgia - Integraal

Borgia #1-4

by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Milo Manara (illustrator)

De familie Borgia is incontournable in de geschiedenis van de vijftiende eeuw en levert Italië twee pausen met een duivelse reputatie. De Borgia’s werden onder meer beschuldigd van handel in geestelijke goederen, vergiftiging, broedermoord en incest... Ze incarneren de meest flamboyante symbolen van de decadentie van de Kerk op het einde van de Middeleeuwen. Door Rome en de hele christelijke wereld onder het juk te brengen zijn ze eigenlijk de eerste godfathers van de geschiedenis.Geweld, decadentie, manipulatie en samenzweringen in het Vaticaan zijn vaste prik in dit historisch epos, op de spits gedreven door een uitzinnig scenario van Jodorowsky en de zinnenprikkelende trekken van Manara.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Erotica, Historical, Bande Dessinée, Fiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Also credited as Alexandro Jodorowsky

Better known for his surreal films El Topo and The Holy Mountain filmed in the early 1970s, Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an accomplished writer of graphic novels and a psychotherapist. He developed Psychomagic, a combination of psychotherapy and shamanic magic. His fans have included John Lennon and Marilyn Manson.

Reviews

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anybody interested in a blatantly exploitative yet meticulously crafted account of Italy’s first Mafia family? Then this little comic-book saga by Chilean visionary Alejandro Jodorowsky and Italian maestro Milo Manara might be for you. Admittedly, it does not provide the most scientifically detached and reliable history lesson in the world, but it makes up for such alleged shortcomings with lots of rage and sex and blood – what’s not to like? Bottom line: sweeping and downright gorgeous traditional storytelling with a passionate, vigorously rebellious, sex-obsessed, carnivalesque edge. Check it out!

[Maritina Mela · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5

Some of you may ask "Why are you posting a review almost 2 years after reading this?" and you'd be right because I originally didn't intend to post a review, other than my rating of course.

I like reading and watching italian renaissance related stuff, both fictional and non fictional, so as you can guess, I was pretty hyped to read this. But, as you can see, something didn't go very well.

Here's a short list of what I didn't like about this book:

- First and most important, unsympathetic and not quite smart characters. I mean, come on, I know no one, especially back then and especially the Borgias, were saints. But all you have to do, is watch a movie or a tv show about this family and find out that they can be depicted as sympathetic. That applies to the rest of the characters as well, with the characters of Machiavelli and Da Vinci being the only bright exceptions.

- Secondly, women being used only as sex toys.
Listen, I know whose book I'm reading. And I know that nudity sells. And I am not one of those people who go crazy over a woman being naked and having sex. But really, the females in this book had only one trait: they were always in the mood for sex. Of course people were having sex since the begining of time, and sex plays a big part in games of power, but I believe that the ladies who are present in this one, are far more interesting than what is being presented here.

- I also didn't like the way the plot and historical facts were handled. I mean, okay, I've already admited that I am a big fan of fictional stories about real people, so I cannot pretend that some inaccuracies are a deal breaker for me. However, in this one I didn't like how 3 out of the 4 chapters were about sex and only the last one was about war and politics. So, as you can guess, the first 3 chapters are about the Borgia family having sex. Lots and lots of uneccessary sex scenes. And of course, Lucrezia is one of the characters that we see a lot mostly naked. But, at the end of the 3rd chapter, having served her purpose as a sex toy, she dies in childbirth (which is kinda accurate). But, she dies right before her brother Cesare raises to power, and that's where the 4th chapter begins, and suddenly all we see is war and murder. (fun fact: Lucrezia's death made me a bit upset not only because she was killed off to give Cesare more scenes but because in real life, she outlived her father and her brother Cesare and Juan as well, and all three of them are very much alive by the time she dies in this one.) The rest of historical facts that were mentioned in the 4th chapter were a bit rushed, like the burnings of Florence by Savonarola did we really need to see Rodrigo rape Savonarola in prison? Cesare's rise to power and his military campains as well as his fall from grace and death.

Overall, this is a deeply flawed book.
But I have to admit that it had some good parts too.
The artwork is spectacular, and because it's a graphic novel it's very easy and quick to read but not only that, it's such a page-turner because even though it was far from perfect, I didn't want to put it down.

If you made it this far, congratulations! This turned out a bit longer than I thought.

'Till next time, take care :)

[Marcos GM · Rating 3 out of 5]

[ESP/ENG]

A un solo Borgia, todos lo pueden vencer. ¡A cinco juntos, nadie!

Valoración de la escritura: 4⭐
Valoración de la Historia (concepto de Historia real): 2⭐
Valoración del dibujo: 25⭐

Cogí este libro de la biblioteca porque me interesaba ver esta historia, y no quería meterme todavía en la novela de Mario Puzo, muy bien recomendada por el amigo Overhaul. Como ya he leído la saga entera de El incal sabía de qué pie cojea Jodorowsky, y el dibujo de Manara no necesita recomendación (una buena muestra de imágenes en el spoiler, así no queda esto muy extenso)

En cuanto a historia en sí misma, la trama funciona. Se sigue muy bien, lo que pasa es consecuente. Pero como adaptación histórica es absolutamente nulo. Tiene los nombres, sí. Y ya. Muchas situaciones son inventadas, otras ocurren fuera de su tiempo concreto, y se nota que Jodorowsky ha querido contar una época que no era especialmente bondadosa, pero ha tirado de todos los tópicos y de toda leyenda negra que ha podido encontrar.

Pero el dibujo a mí me salva todo. Milo Manara es un auténtico maestro, y no solo porque dibuje unas preciosas señoritas con poca o ninguna ropa y menos escrúpulos aún, sino que todo lo que hace reluce. Las caras, los elementos de las estancias, los fondos, paisajes, todo es maravilloso. Solo por eso merece la pena al menos acercarse a la obra. En el spoiler dejo una muestra de su arte ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️















⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪⛪


One Borgia alone can be beaten by anyone. All five together can never be beaten (That's a free translation by myself, I couldn't find the original quote)

Writing rating: 4⭐
History Rating (real History concept): 2⭐
Drawing rating: 25⭐

I picked up this book from the library because I was interested in seeing this story, and I didn't want to get into Mario Puzo's novel yet, highly recommended by my friend Overhaul. Since I have already read the entire saga of The Incal, I knew which way Jodorowsky goes, and Manara's drawing does not need a recommendation (a good sample of images in the spoiler, so this is not too long)

As for the story itself, the plot works. It follows very well, what happens is consistent. But as a historical adaptation it is absolutely null. It has the names, yes. And that's it. Many situations are invented, others occur outside of their specific time, and it is clear that Jodorowsky wanted to tell about a time that was not particularly kind, but he has used all the clichés and all the black legends that he could find.

But drawing saves me everything. Milo Manara is a true master, and not only because he draws beautiful ladies with little or no clothes and even fewer scruples, but everything he does shines. The faces, the elements of the rooms, the backgrounds, landscapes, everything is wonderful. For that reason alone it is worth at least approaching the work. In the spoiler I leave a sample of his art⬇️⬇️⬇️

[Elina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Η εικονογράφηση εξαιρετική! Αυτό μόνο.

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: I read the Chinese translation of this comic, published in Taiwan.

Rating: 3.7 stars

(1) The artwork is exquisite alright, the women are finely drawn. The story isn't bad...but it isn't on the same level as Mario Puzo's The Family, etc.

(2) To be honest, the characterization isn't all that great. I can deal with Lucrezia being a wanton and shallow rich girl who sets her mind on pleasure and desire, but Cesare is just damn boring. I don't see how he develops into the awesome general he later becomes. Zero showing on this development. =__=

(3)The story development is a bit rushed, so I don't get to see much of characters' development excepts Pope Alexander VI himself. But I am on board with featuring the Pope's sons and a number of powerful men in this era as gay or bisexual men...

(4) I agree that expects the Pope (who did what he did with a 'devil-may-care' attitude which I found pretty charming), his assassin Michelotto is pretty cool too. XD

(5) I can't accept this! Historically Lucrezia outlived her father and brothers, but now the author just has to punish her by killing her off?

(6) I do like Lucrezia's lesbian action with Guilia, a cousin who later become the Pop's mistress.

(7) The main reason why I bought this comic is that supposedly the story is partly based on Mario Puzo's The Family, but..........turns out only small parts had been added. *sighs*

(8) I saw some people complaining about too much sex and nudity in the comic. I mean.........come on, complaining about sex and nudity being found in a X-rated comic is the same as complaining about seeing Mickey Mouse in Disneyland!

My review for Mario Puzo's The Family, which is also about the Borgias: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Bookcharmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Του βάζω άριστα για την εξαιρετική εικονογραφηση. Η οπτικοποιηση, κυρίως για μάτια ενηλίκων, εντυπώνεται πολύ πιο έντονα στη μνήμη. Έχοντας γνώση έστω και στο περίπου των γεγονότων της εποχής και του παρασκηνίου, ένιωσα περισσότερη αηδία και οργή για την υποκρισία των κοσμικών της εκκλησίας. Για όσους δε γνωρίζουν, είναι καλός τρόπος και για να μάθουν και για να διευρύνουν την εσωτερική τους ματιά.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Milo Manara's art is as gorgeous as ever. His backgrounds and clothing are incredibly lush and the coloring is very nuanced and lovely. His crowd scenes contain an insane level of detail akin to a more perverted Where's Waldo page. His women are of course, absolutely gorgeous and sensual, and Manara even managed to avoid an excess of what I like to call "blow job face." There are some little niggling issues here and there, though -- Manara isn't great at drawing children, for one. There's an obvious reluctance to show penises (except from afar, or in one scene, as a bag of severed members) though breasts and pubic hair are plentiful, and for some reason the only times we see a vagina full-on is when Lucrezia Borgia is peeing. It's a strange... fetish?

The only reason you're reading this book is for the Manara art. And that's fine.

The writing... is not great. The dialogue is overly formal with some odd sentence constructions but there's nothing really wrong with that, since it makes it feel more historical and it's also a translation, so you have to give it a bit of slack. However, Jodorowsky takes a lot of liberties with historical events and with the timeline, changing a lot of facts about the Borgias, and I can't say the story is really better for it. Sure, writers alter history all the time to condense a long story or to make it flow better, but here it doesn't really do much good. There's little flow to the work, as the actual timeline is unclear (a year is only mentioned once, as far as I can tell). Looking up the actual dates of the events is no help, as he's upped the ages of several key characters like Lucrezia so he could play with the incest plotline without bordering on pedophilia. Rodrigo Borgia was pope for only 11 years, but the book makes it seem a lot longer. It jumps forward a lot -- not just between the individual volumes when a time jump would be expected, but even within each chapter. We go from the Borgia brothers having a fight on one page, to Giovanni getting killed on the very next page, and then we jump right to Rodrigo and Cesare. None of the major events have much build up, and as we get further and further along in the book it becomes more rushed and disjointed, as if someone was hitting "skip forward" on their remote. It's obvious that Jodorowsky didn't pace out the story beforehand and realized he had a lot more to cover in a very short amount of time.

I don't feel like characters got their proper due; though we're told that Lucrezia and Cesare were desperately in love (which historically was never proven, and was most likely a rumor told by their enemies to discredit them), their interaction in the book is minimal. In reality Lucrezia outlived her father and two of her brothers, but instead Jodorowsky chose to shuffle her off early after having her give birth to a hideous incest baby (and the book is unclear that she was dying until a character mentioned she died). In the end, the best character was the Borgias' assassin (whose name I cannot recall at this time). He's the only character to make it all the way through, and the duty is levied on him to tell us what happened at the end. But why did he have to kill himself? I honestly feel the story would have gained more focus and better pacing had Jodorowsky chosen to focus on him, and tell us the story of the Borgias through his eyes.

Perhaps I feel this way because I just played Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. It's interesting that a game whose main game mechanics revolved around killing people would be a lot less violent than this book, and do a better job of characterizing the Borgias.

[MischaS_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trochu mě rozladily historické nesrovnalosti... ale zase na druhou stranu je to namalovane perfektně.

[Elril Moonweaver · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the last time curiosity has gotten the better of me... The only thing I can say about this mess is: WHAT. THE FUCK. DID I JUST WATCH! (Read if you prefer, but still is a graphic novel).

You know, I've an immense fascination for the Borgias since 2 years ago so I got the TV series with Jeremy Irons. I watched it, liked it (not loved it, it had some flaws it was not perfect, but it was pretty) and then I went and got more documentation about the whole Borgia family. Turns out quite a few authors and mediums haved approached the murderous Borgia family.
The aforementioned TV series I think is the one portraying them as the most humane you'll ever get them in any medium. Assassin's Creed 2 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood have approached the whole Borgia family, particularly after Cesare takes hold of the Roman Millitary, as well and made Cesare look, well decent, yet he does OOZE villainy all over, whereas in the TV series he is more sympathetic. There are a number of books that focus on the Borgias, some of the writers include: Dumas and Zevaco that deal with the intrigue and murder, a few romance novels centered on Lucrezia and Cesare that I bet see them in a more sympathetic light than Dumas or Zevaco..... Aaaaand then we have this mess.

Not gonna lie, I was interested to read what a graphic novel adaptation would look like when attributed to the Borgia story... It's just as aweful as it sounds.

Ok... well there might be a few good points given for the drawing style and the use of watercolor, but I am really given flashbacks of reading Game of Thrones graphic novel, more than anything else. It may look pretty but there are two factors that bring the visuals down for me.
1. The characters are TOO STIFF, there's hardly any sense of motion or urgency, given that most of the situations the characters face are urgent in and of themselves.
2. And almost obsessive overreliance on sexuality that I have failed to see in the other mediums that I have researched, be they cinematic, literary or otherwise. I mean there isn't a span of 5 pages before ANOTHER naked/sex scene occurs. I'm not one against sex in a medium, but when if comes up left right and center in the work something tells me that he author has a skewed sense of reality. Yes the first few pages of the first issue kinna set the tone for the whole thing but it got ridiculous into the 4th issue.

The characters are anything but humane, they are power hungry and lustful creatures, from their early teens up until adulthood (Cesare and Lucrezia demonstrate this). Even if there is speculation and maybe even proof of the idea that Cesare and Lucrezia had an incestuous relationship, this fact is all but glossed over to make way for other non-important sex scene (and I have to mention a striking one, near the edge of an ACTIVE VULCANO... hwooo! Talk abouyt extreme sports :P)

I can't even put into words how awkward this story made me feel... In its entirity it is so... disgusting, it's only saving grace is its drawing style which is amateurish at best, abysmal at its worst.

I will include it into my feed because... heck I did read it, but that doesn't mean it will go into my 2015 Challenge reads. It isn't worht a spot up there. Sailor Moon? Yes! This blasphemy to the already blasphemous Borgias? I'd prefer a bazuka going through my skull >.>

[Timóteo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como é que eu vim parar aqui? Eu só tenho 8 anos...


Cara, essa hq é uma piração. Os desenhos de Manara são soberbos, mas eu esperava que fosse um pouco mais historicamente precisa. Jodorowsky toma umas liberdades que eu não esperava, embora várias delas sejam muito massa visualmente falando (sim, estou falando do Cesare invadindo uma cidade com apoio aéreo das máquinas voadoras de Da Vinci). Dito isso, achei a forma que o Jodorowsky usou para contar o final muito estranha e um pouco anticlimática, o volume 4 poderia ser tranquilamente dividido em 2 ao meu ver para introduzir melhor o declínio e ter mais tempo para resolver os outros personagens.

E, dito tudo isso, ainda é um excelente quadrinho que vc não quer parar de ler.

[Licha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a sorry excuse for porn. There is so much gratuitous nudity and sex in this. Almost every spread has some sort of nudity or sex scene in it, from the opening pages, the intro, to the start of the story you are immediately hit with non-stop nudity.

It was very hard to take this book seriously as a work of historical-fiction. I had a hard time believing all the sex and debauchery going on. There's even a very graphic scene of Lucrezia urinating. As historical fiction, it's really hard to not laugh at the way this was depicted.

One of those books you read and feel like you need to take a good shower to wash away the smut you just read.

P.S. Despite the bombardment of graphic nudity, the artwork is really beautiful.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so torn, because this book was absolute trash. I mean...just...and not John Waters trash. Or maybe John Waters trash.

Do you like incest?

Water sports?

Rushed storytelling?

LOL History WHUT HISTORY

And good art?

Well, you might just like this book.

And don't get me wrong; I like trash. But I think if you're wanting something trashy and exploitive, you'd do a hell of a lot better picking up "Crying Freeman."

[Andrew Sztehlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alejandro Jodorowsky has crafted an utterly captivating historical epic with the incomparable Milo Manara. Together they have brought the Renaissance to vivid life. Manara's artwork is effectively a portal into this sensuous, decadent, beautiful era, but he doesn't shy away from showing life at it's ugliest too. Our guide through this world is Rodrigo Borgia, and three of his children- Lucrezia, Cesare, and Giovanni. Watching their schemes and power plays was very interesting, not only for watching the birth of essentially the first gangster dynasty, but for what it revealed about politics and religion in the Italian Renaissance. Some have criticised Manara's artwork for indulging in his sexual fantasies; at this point, if you know it bothers you I don't think you will like this book, because it is on full display here. If you can look past that I do think though that there is a lot to enjoy here. The artwork is utterly sublime - probably the best of his whole career - and Jodorowksy's narrative is captivating and thrilling. Easily amongst the very best graphic novels I've read this year.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art 5 + Story 4 = 4.5 if you want to get technical about it.

If I only knew what was true (as in "known", that is) then I would have appreciated his fictions the more because it just seems that he's getting libertine with taking liberties. But! It's still GREAT. And the characters shuffle in and out with the smart choices of a movie or incredible stage production. It's excellent reading.

Manara is lavishly exquisite with his choices of place and people with their emotions while being unerringly accurate in rendering that sprawling historical world. He had to work within setting rules and I believe every cloth of it. You could make an art book out of this.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pure Catholic Exploitation. This is Grade+A deacdent smut with anyone that has a Sacred and Profane/heirophilia fetish. The series has chapter titles like "Blood and Power for the Pope".

It's sensationalist and blasphemous but also totally my thing. That doesn't mean its good, nor will I be giving it 5-stars. It's mostly shock value for people who don't know the lurid side of the Catholic Church. It's very theatrical. It's utterly unbelievable-- but it scratches that taboo itch well.

It's a well-drawn Hot Mess. It's John Waters with a budget. It's more Game of Thrones than Game of Thrones. This is that adult magazine you and your friends found in the woods, but for the counter-culture/lit sect.

[Chinchilla_clouds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το σενάριο και το σχέδιο κάνουν άκρως ελκυστική την απόλυτη απληστία - η οποία εν τέλει δεν ήταν παρά μια απεγνωσμένη προσπάθεια ελέγχου του πιο ακανόνιστου όντος, του ανθρώπου.

[José Nebreda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente dibujo, como siempre en Manara, para una historia bastante adornada escatológicamente y algo exagerada. Pero vale, está bien.

[Antón García Jouve · Rating 5 out of 5]

No me cabía duda de que, con dos nombres tan legendarios como Jodorowski y Manara, la cosa no podía salir mal. Los Borgia parte de la leyenda negra de esta infame familia y la exagera y modifica a placer. El rigor histórico brilla por su ausencia, pero ¿qué más da eso? Lo importante es que mole.

Rodrigo Borgia, sus hijos y sus secuaces son retratados aquí como los seres más abyectos, crueles y pervertidos imaginables. En su lucha por hacerse con el control de la Iglesia y de Italia, no dudan en asesinar a inocentes, traicionar a sus amigos y ejercer la violencia más descarnada: desmembramientos, castraciones, infanticidios... Pero no todo es ambición política; todo el mundo en esta obra, tanto los protagonistas como sus rivales, está obsesionado con el sexo. Constantemente pasamos de la intriga cortesana y las maniobras políticas al burdo argumento de una película porno (ojo, no lo digo como algo malo), cuya única finalidad es servir de introducción a algún tipo de acto sexual gratuito.

No olvidemos que el cómic erótico es la especialidad de Manara, y sus dibujos de cuerpos desnudos son magistrales (este es, como decía un profesor mío, uno de esos libros para leer "con una sola mano"); además, hay sexo para todos los gustos: algunos encuentros más sugerentes, otros más vulgares e incluso desagradables, orgías, sodomía, lesbianas, incesto... En alguna parte leí que Tinto Brass, director de la polémica Calígula, se lamentaba de la versión extendida del largometraje que su productor publicó, la cual incluía una serie de escenas pornográficas rodadas a sus espaldas, diciendo algo así como "yo pretendía hacer una película sobre la orgía del poder, no sobre el poder de la orgía". Diría que aquí sucede algo similar, solo que en este caso no es del todo inintencionado. En fin, por muy despiadados que fueran los Borgia, cuesta creer que llegaran a semejante nivel de perversión y libertinaje, y es que la Santa Sede que se muestra aquí parece más bien la mansión de Saló o los 120 días de Sodoma, pero ya sabemos que este cómic no busca ser fiel a los hechos, sino contar una buena historia, y, como lector, agradezco el morbo que me ha provocado su completa falta de mesura.

Manara hace gala de su maestría con todas estas escenas de ardiente erotismo y violencia indiscriminada, inundando las páginas de rojo sangre y retratando unos rostros extasiados o agonizantes que derrochan expresividad. Se me han quedado grabados en la mente, por ejemplo, la mirada aterrorizada del decrépito y desdentado Inocencio VIII al ser atormentado en sueños por los fantasmas de los anteriores papas (p. 38), la cara de poseído de Savonarola al ser sodomizado sobre una cama de pinchos (p. 207), Micheletto atravesando de una sola lanzada a un hombre y a una mujer embarazada mientras practican el coito (p. 99) o el carruaje diseñado por Da Vinci que lo tritura todo a su paso con unas cuchillas giratorias que lleva incorporadas (p. 199). Y, más allá de las viñetas más explícitas, el artista nos deleita con espectaculares paisajes urbanos, majestuosos palacios renacentistas y festejos carnavalescos llenos de coloridas libreas, relucientes armaduras y decenas de pequeños detalles.

En resumen, Los Borgia es una historia de mafia ambientada en el siglo XV, basada en hechos reales pero que se toma importantes licencias, con un fuerte componente exploitation y visualmente espectacular.

[Camilo Carrasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un relato sobre el ascenso de los Borgia dentro de la Santa Iglesia y el poder político de Europa. Es un relato pseudo histórico, bastante explosivo, lleno de traición, sexo, violencia y conflicto. Cada dos páginas habrá una escena impactante.

El arte de Milo Manara es lo que se espera del autor, personas bellas (tanto hombres como mujeres) con escenarios llenos de detalles y colores, cada panel parece una especie de pintura europea, donde cada personaje emite sensualidad y cierto tono de realismo. Los colores son cálidos y suaves, todo parece pintado con acuarela.

La historia de Jodorowsky es prácticamente una novela de una familia mafiosa en el renacimiento, donde el jefe de la familia, el papa Alejandro VI o Rodrigo Borgia, maneja todos sus asuntos criminales involucrando a sus hijos y apoderándose poco a poco de puestos de poder a medida que acaba violentamente con sus enemigos. Como dije, la historia es explosiva, seria, pero exagerada.
Por poner un ejemplo (alerta de spoiler de un personaje secundario). El rey de Francia, Carlos VIII, en esta historia muere quemado por la lava del monte Vesubio mientras tiene sexo con una prostituta. En la vida real este rey murió golpeándose contra el dintel de piedra de una puerta de su castillo.
Pero estás exageraciones no le hacen mal a la historia, a la final le añaden más morbo a una de las familias más repugnantes que marcaron la historia.

Los problemas de la historia es que en ocasiones por entrar en los detalles sexuales, se salta muchos detalles de las marañas políticas y en las siguientes páginas uno queda un poco confundido de lo que ocurrió.
También el final, es muy acelerado para una historia que se toma su tiempo en ser relatada. Parece que los autores se atrasaron y tuvieron que terminarla rápido. Pero bueno, no es grave.

[Urtzi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lo único bueno que tiene esta novela gráfica son sus ilustraciones.

Para empezar decir que la portada que tiene mi versión no es la que se ve en goodreads, yo pensaba que esto sería una novela gráfica sobre los borgia. Como tal lo ha sido pero esto es mas libro porno que otra cosa.

Aunque me esperaba otro tipo de libro me parece que como libro porno tampoco funciona. Salvo las mujeres (que parece que solo quieren follar) los hombres suelen ser todos viejos. Encima las escenas de sexo son desagradables: padre se folla a su hija, hermano se folla a hermana, chaval se la mama a viejo. QUE PUTO ASCO.

La historia es la cosa mas simple que uno se pueda encontrar, la corrupción que se muestra es muy superficial y los personajes no son creibles, como ya he dicho todos parecen sacados de una peli porno. Tipico estereotipo de hermanastro se folla a su hermanastra delante de su madre, todos saben que la madre se daría cuenta en la vida real pero en el video no pasa. Ese tipo de personajes son la suma de está novela gráfica.

[Sofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not something amazing but fun to read!
I had never before read something like this, so it kept up my interest.

[Delfina Márquez Izurrieta · Rating 3 out of 5]

me gustóooo 🫠 súper interesante hasta que me di cuenta que la mayoría de las cosas no estaban chequeadas 😶‍🌫️ pero en líneas generales bienn 🤙

[Lesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Laughingly ridiculous most of the time, this graphic novel is very loosely based on the historical Borgia family. Over the top in every way you have to take this graphic novel as it is to enjoy it at all. Most of the content of this graphic novel is simply gratuitous, seemingly for the sake of being gratuitous. For example, King Charles VIII of France did not actually die in a lava flow whilst having his way with a prostitute and why Jodorowsky had him die in such a way must mean something to him but I think the way he actually died, by running into a door lintel, would have done just fine.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know what to think of this one. As another reviewer put it "hot mess" describes it pretty well. Its beautifully illustrated, but that's about all it has going for it. The plot is about as thin as a bad porn movie and at times it feels like one. Its hard to find a page without some one showing something. Don't get me wrong I don't mind nudity at all and I get that they were trying to make a point about the ridiculous nature of the church at the time, but it was overkill. Definitely one to keep out of child hands.

[Sparrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this because of Milo Manara. I saw some of his art on imgur and was enthralled so I tried to find as many books he had been apart of that I could. I had heard vaguely of the Borgias before but never knew anything about them.

A part of me imagines that a lot of creative liberty took place in this book. It was certainly gratuitous, but I was in awe of the art either way. It was beautiful, especially in the contrast of the world depicted. I am interested in learning more about the Borgias and finding more Manara art.

[Stef · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library because the art is amazing. But the whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth -- I like weird, even f*cked-up stories, but this was just too much for me. Wholly unlikeable characters doing the worst, grossest things that they could think of (e.g., giving someone a bag of 150 severed dicks). I finally abandoned it when Lucrezia was all about having sex with her brother and then her dad without a second thought, and I can't even believe it took me that long to call it quits.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sensationalist, melodramatic, dark, excessively violent and sexual--but I couldn't tear my eyes away. The artwork is beautiful and the characters Jodorowsky creates (as in: this book is not historically accurate in theleast) are nearly flawless in their blind selfishness. I gave it a high rating (after about 50 pages, it was going to be 5 stars, and it got to be too much for me!) but not sure to whom I would recommend it. Definitely not for the faint or pure of heart.

[Index Purga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edición argentina. Índice:
Página 3 Primera parte Sangre para el Papa
Página 57 Segunda parte El poder y el incesto
Página 111 Tercera parte Las llamas de la hoguera
Página 159 Cuarta parte Todo es vanidad
Página 210 Apéndice Los Borgia y la mafia
Página 213 Material extra Galería de imágenes

[Martin K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever in all the depictions of renaissance's darkness and moral decay. Other than that it's just a gory sexual bloodbath. And a good fun at that. While I would consider this one of Manara's best work, Jodorowsky's screenplay kind of lacks his usual spark.

[Fingon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Priča počinje prilično dobro (prvi deo), posle potone kako sve više odlazi u najekstremnije tračeve o Bordžijama. Crtež je sasvim kul.