Biography
Giovanna Casotto is one of the most renowned artists of contemporary European eroticism. Born in Italy, her journey in the world of erotic comics is marked by a unique approach that blends sensuality, sophistication, and a strong authorial identity. What sets her apart, beyond the technical quality of her artwork, is her own presence within her work: Giovanna Casotto not only creates sensual female characters but also models for and stars in her own stories. This gives her work a distinct element of self-exploration and establishes a direct dialogue with both classical and contemporary conventions of eroticism.
Fig.1 Oh! Giovanna (2014)
Fig.2 Nebulose (2024)
Giovanna Casotto was born in Desio, Lombardy, in 1962, and from an early age, she showed a deep passion for drawing and comic books. Before becoming a recognized artist, she lived as a housewife until she decided to enter the world of erotic comics. To pursue this goal, she attended the School of Comics in Milan for three years, refining her artistic skills. Her talent quickly caught the attention of publishers, and Giovanna Casotto began by publishing short stories in the magazine Intrepido, written by Mauro Muroni.
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In 1994, her career took a significant leap when she met Franco Saudelli, one of the great names in Italian erotic comics. Saudelli not only became her mentor but also a frequent collaborator. A few years earlier, in 1991, editor Stefano Trentini had proposed that she create football-themed stories, a proposal she declined, as she was not drawn to the genre. However, it was Trentini himself who, three years later, brought her into the project of Selen, a magazine dedicated to erotic culture and comics. Selen became a crucial platform for Giovanna Casotto’s work, allowing her to solidify her style and explore her favorite themes. After Selen was discontinued, she transitioned to Blue, published by Coniglio Editore, and began contributing to the English magazine Desire.
Week-End
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Giovanna Casotto's trajectory took her work beyond Italian borders. In 1994, her stories began to be published in the United States through the Bitch in Heat series by Fantagraphics Eros Comix. Her work quickly gained international acclaim due to its distinctive aesthetic, inspired by 1950s pin-ups, and her mastery of shading and realistic drawing techniques.
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Fethishism
The eroticism in Giovanna Casotto’s work stands out for its technical refinement and for how she incorporates herself into her narratives, as she almost always uses her own body as a photographic reference for her comics. This results in striking realism in her illustrations. This process of self-representation makes her one of the few artists in the genre who not only creates but also blurs the boundaries between creator and creation. It is as if the artist plays with the limits between reality and fantasy by assuming different roles within her own narrative: the seductress, the dominatrix, the innocent victim.
Continue reading in Premium and learn more about other fetishistic elements in Giovanna Casotto’s work, the parallel with the work of Lynn Paula Russell, why Casotto is one of the most remarkable artists in the realm of contemporary erotic comics, and over 100 illustrations including numerous short erotic comics.
Click HERE for the amazing erotic art of the former porn star Lynn Paula Russell
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