Brian the Brain

ISSUE1Censorship strikes back! Brian The Brain is a beautiful comic of the Spanish artist Miguel Angel Martin. This comics are about Brian, a children born with no skull-top (his mother works as human guinea-pig in a genetic laboratory). Brian has a strange mental power, but this is not a superhero-comics (the sticker on the first Italian issue said: No Sex - No Violence). As the press releases of the Italian Publisher says: "His real 'handicap' is the 'smartness' and 'tenderness', that reveals how a self-styling 'normal' society outcasts the diversity". This comic can't be described: has to be read.
Brian has been scheluded as a 5 issues mini-serie but, due to the good success, it will keep on going. In Italy had a lot of good reviews, also on popular magazines and has been published in issues including two other comics of Martin: 'Bug' a short strip about a parasite, and 'Life Fading' a very cynical story about a man that works as a 'professional of suicide and euthanasia', in a future Europe. Brian has been published in Spain and in Italy (in this last country, my country, by the Edizioni Topolin) and soon will be pressed in France and Germany.
The first comic published in Italy of Martin has been 'Psycho Pathia Sexualis', originally published in Spain in 1992 (the same year Martin won a prize as 'Best New Author' in the International Comics Show in Barcellona). In 1995 an Italian court attorney ordered the book to be seized, before its distribution, with charges of pornography, and 'disturbing images'. This books contains a some stories of extreme sex and violence (also against children) and is true that they are really disturbing but luckly, the year after, the comics was judged 'innocent': "It is true that the images are no doubt awful, the details are gross, the short stories are odious to read; but it is also true that this harsh representation does not show any morbid satisfaction, any intimate support: the cool rhytm of the narration, the surgical precision of images, they put the reader in touch with violence, without intellectual mediations. The evil is shown as it is, in a way that (paradoxically) stimulates a feeling of disgust, more deep than a rethorical one. The nude realism - because this is the point - is enough to have a sympathetic effect of hate for the depicted violence.". So writed the judge...
But the troubles for the Italian editions of Martin's works are not ended... The censorhip against 'Psycopathia' has been just the first step...
SEIZEDOctober, 28th '98 in Milan, the Italian police broke into Topolin Edizioni (simply the house of the editor, Argentin Jorge Vacca) searching for some 'child pornography' (in Italy, few days before, was approved a new law against 'child abuse', with heavy punishments). According to what Jorge Vacca said, the officers starts damaging several object and art works (the charge allowed police to remove every object that block up the searching so they crushed down the door). 'They took a photo of my daughter and flapping it on my face they asked me what I used to do with that'.
At the end of the searching the police seized Alvares Rabo's Sex: Instructions for abuse (with this motivation: 'Sex,: instuction for abuse? So this is about sexual abuse!), Miguel Angel Martin's Brian the Brain (issues 1-4) and (again) Psycho Pathia Sexualis. Topolin had trouble also for the publishing of Vuiellemin's work 'Hitler=SS', for burocratic problems, but this time the charges are very heavy. A lot of Spanish newspapers reported the news and interviewed Martin, a world wide know artist that the Time called 'one of the best European cartoonist' while in Italy newspapers,as usual, just reported the police-releases. But, in the same time, struggles and public demonstration of solidariety by (few) politics and intellectuals keep on acting. Now, after three months the seized books go back to the publisher! The prosecutors dropped away the charge of "child abuse instigation" and now Topolin is being charged just with "obscenity, gross imagery and offense to decency". This is just the first step, a small victory, but the war keeps on going...

Press Release of Edizioni Topolin

MOUSEOn Wednesday 28 October, in Milan, Italy, the police broke into the Topolin Edizioni publishing house (which is also home of its owner, Jorge Vacca) searching for "child pornography" according the recently approved law against "child abuse". Since the owner was not at home the officers kicked down the door and started searching. Jorge Vacca came back an hour later and was informed of the charges against him. Duringe the search, the policemen damaged several objects and original works by internationally known artists such as the spanish Miguel Angel Martin, the english Brian Talbot and the swiss Thomas Ott. After four hours of searching, the police seized as "body of evidence" the following things:

  • All the copies of the comic books: Alvares Rabo's Sex: Instructions for abuse, Miguel Angel Martin's Brian the Brain (issues 1-4) and Psycho Pathia Sexualis.
  • Original artwork (posters 100 X 70 cm) for the exhibition "Psycho Pathia Sexualis" held just a month ago in the International Comics Show of Napoli. The same exhibition was precedently held in the Night Wave '98 (the most important youth culture exhibition of Italy) and in the International Show of Barcellona, with the patronage of Spanish Culture Ministry.
  • All the sets of serigraphic postcards, numbered and signed by M.A. Martin, published by known spanish label Subterfuge Records.
  • A tomato can with a xeroxed label, with the quote "Human meat soup" on an illustration of famous swiss artist H.R. Giger.
  • Two videotapes with film stuff by spanish filmaker Jaume Bellaguero, winner of best short prize at the Stiges Festival and winner of the international Canal+ prize.
  • Seven original (and unpublished ) Martin's pages and 27 xerox copies from the comic book 'Brian the brain', used for an exhibition held in the Night Wave Show.
Policemen considered all this stuff "pornographic and paedophilous".

Some Links about this

TOPOLIN EDIZIONI Via Spaventa 19, 20141 Milano, Italy. Tel./Fax: 0039-2-8463946

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