A Look Into the Macabre Comic Art of Andrea Iula

The Shunga Gallery Premium followers might have seen Alien's Love, the most popular work of this Italian artist, in the series of Sensual Recommendations from Twitter. We've decided to dive deeper into his art to bring a couple of curious things to those who love comic books and pulp fiction erotic covers.

Fig. 1. Alien’s Love (Instagram.com)

Fig. 2. Pinocchio (Instagram.com)

Fig. 3. Catwoman (Instagram.com)

Fig. 4. Hellgirl (Instagram.com)

Fig. 5. Crime Lovers (Instagram.com)

Fig. 6. Montefias Comix cover (Instagram.com)

Cartoons and Comics

Andrea Iula (b. 1972) began a career as a professional comic artist by studying comic art at the Chiavari Comics School (Scuola Chiavarese del Fumetto), which was founded in 1988 by a group of prominent representatives of the genre to support young cartoonists. After his studies, Iula worked as a colorist at the Walt Disney Company in Italy and earned a living by producing numerous advertising posters. In 1996, he attempted game design and joined Pegaso Models SRL. The company, which still flourishes, specializes in creating resin and metal models for painters and collectors. Iula works there both as a sculptor and a creator of original concept arts that serve as a base for the figurines. From 2012 to 2018, Iula was a teacher at the Genoa Comics Academy. Nowadays, he contributes to the Annexia Publishing House and works at the International Comics School of Genoa.

Fig. 7. Gargoyle (Instagram.com)

Fig. 8. Gargoyle figurine in process (Instagram.com)

Fig. 9. Artwork for Suspiria series (Instagram.com)

Fig. 10. Queen of Spades (Instagram.com)

Fig. 11. Red Queen (Instagram.com)

Fig. 12. Artwork for Suspiria series (Instagram.com)

Fig. 13. Artwork for Suspiria series (Instagram.com)

Fig. 14. Artwork for Suspiria series (Instagram.com)

Fig. 15. Artwork for Suspiria series (Instagram.com)

From Disney to Burroughs

The majority of the images you see in our article are the covers for Annexia editions. The Annexia Publishing House, named after one of the three areas from Naked Lunch of Burroughs, issues the re-editions of vintage comic erotica like Zora and also the comic production of its founder Luca Laca Montagliani in collaboration with different Italian artists. In 2008, Annexia won the Micheluzzi Award at the Napoli Comicon, in the category of best reprint of a classic. Besides arts for Montagliani, one may also find in the Instagram account of Andrea Iula covers for the fantasy series of Piero Iula. We've not succeeded in clarifying whether this author is a relative or a namesake of the artist.

Fig. 16. Una Druuna  (Instagram.com)

Become a Premium member now and check out the extended edition of the article including more on Iula's portfolio with female domination, his homage to Niklaus Manuel Deutch's Death and Maiden woodcut, the aesthetics he developed as a former producer of advertising movie posters, his take on the theme of Beauty and the Beast, Dracula Crossing the Alpes, and more enticing images.

Click HERE for the erotic Gothic horror of the American illustrator Tim Vigil

Sources: instagram.com/iulaandrea/