Third Crepax Volume Now Available

A few days ago, I became aware that the EVIL SPELLS, the third volume of Fantagraphics’ complete works of Guido Crepax, has been out since January. I was able to find a copy at a welcome reduced price and just finished perusing it. I thought some of my readers might like to know that, in addition to Crepax’s adaptations of JEKYLL AND HYDE, THE TURN OF THE SCREW, and three Poe stories (entitled “Three Gialli”), this volume contains his legendary masterpieces about Valentina and Baba Yaga; I’m not sure if these have ever been published before in English. 

Adding further contextual interest is a four-page interview with director Corrado Farina, conducted the year of his death (2016), about the film he based on these stories (BABA YAGA aka KISS ME, KILL ME, 1971). There is also a  marvelous introduction by Barbara Uhlig that discusses the whole Italian movement of comics films and the rise of the giallo, and extensive notes on each story. 

There is also a tidbit in Ms. Uhlig's essay that I wish I had unearthed while preparing my commentary for THE WITCHES... that Italian feminists of this era called themselves “Le streghe” because they were fed up with being considered “good girls.” Considering the general lack of supernatural elements in the Dino De Laurentiis production, this eureka sheds intriguing new light on the proceedings that might have been fruitful to explore.

(c) 2018 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.