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Sexy comix are a long-standing tradition, from the earliest Tijuana Bibles to the fine-art books of today. But there are so many erotic illustrators around, so many titles from Europe, North America, and Asia -- particularly Japan -- that I'm often left puzzled as to where to begin. Luckily, the good folks at NBM Publishing have been releasing and reprinting some of the very best graphic novels and illustrated collections around. Three titles in particular recently caught my fancy: A new series, a reprint, and a collection.
Some fantasy-themed pinups starring "M'Lady," and a complete M'Lady story, take things in a new, and equally naughty, direction. We're treated to a dirty addition to the normally PG-rated Boneyard universe, as well as more pinups. The volume winds up with a wacky all-alien gangbang as a slutty human bounty hunter gets her man -- a criminal with a distinguishing tattoo on his penis. It's all in good fun, and plenty of it.
Last, but far from least, NBM recently started reprinting Reed Waller's classic Omaha the Cat Dancer, one of the most influential comix in the modern erotic pantheon. I vividly remember being in college at UC Santa Cruz and being shown an early issue of Omaha by the man who would later become semi-famous music reviewer Moebius Rex. "Jesus," I said to Moeb. "She's a cat. And a stripper. Wait. She's a stripper cat. She's a cat stripper. Fuckin' A, dude." To spell it out: Omaha blew my mind. It's a delicious walk down memory lane for me to enjoy these classic stories once again. The thing that set Omaha apart -- when she first appeared in 1987 as much as it sets her apart today -- is her positivity, the sense that life and fun and sex are all wonderful things. The eroticism is far from the only point of the stories collected here, but it's what drew me -- and most of the fans -- to Omaha in the first place. And the sex is superior within the genre of comix. As James Vance says in his introduction, "The sex Reed drew was as good as any of it, believable and sweaty and graphic. No matter that the figures making the beast with two backs were drawn as beasts themselves: they were clearly stand-ins for human beings and conducted the same electricity as any first-class pornography."
The weird thing -- as weird to me in 1987 as it is to me now -- is that it works. Something about Omaha and her fuzzy compatriots just disarms me -- and makes it easier to sympathize with the characters. It's as puzzling and bewitching a storytelling technique as any I've ever seen, but one thing's for sure: Omaha will always have a place in my heart as well as on my bookshelf. Short Strokes, Roommates Volume 1, and The Complete Omaha the Cat Dancer, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 are all available at NBM's website or an open-minded comic book shop near you.
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