Barbarella (comics)

Barbarella is a fictional heroine in a French science fiction comic book created by Jean-Claude Forest.

History

Jean-Claude Forest created the character of Barbarella for serialization in the French magazine V-Magazine in spring 1962, and in 1964 Eric Losfeld later published these strips as a stand-alone book, titled simply, Barbarella. The stand-alone version caused a scandal and became known as the first "adult" (pornographic) comic-book (despite its eroticism being slight, and the Tijuana bibles predating Barbarella by several years). Although published by a traditional company, the book anticipated the sexual revolution of mid-Twentieth Century, Western Civilization. For her creator, the character embodied the modern, emancipated woman in the era of sexual liberation. As a result, this literary work has come to be associated with the sexual revolution. The struggle for sexual freedom in comic books was most prominently conducted in France through emancipated female characters like Barbarella (1962), Jodelle (1966), Pravda (1967), Scarlet Dream (1981), Saga de Xam (1967), Wolinski's Paulette (1971). Works in this trend outside France include Phoebe Zeit-Geist (1965) and Vampirella (1969) in the USA; Modesty Blaise (1963) in the UK; and, Valentina (1965) and Angiolini's Isabella (1966) in Italy.

Barbarella

Barbarella may refer to:

People with the surname

See also

Barbara (given name)

Barbarella (nightclub)

Discotheque Barbarella was a discoteque in Växjö, Sweden, prominent in the 1970s. In a city of very limited entertainment, Barbarella played a central role. The disco opened in 1971 in an industrial area in the outskirts and drew crowds from many parts of southeastern Sweden. It closed in 1992.

Concerts at Barbarella

The brains behind Barbarella succeeded in attracting many well-known Swedish and international bands of the 1970s to perform in Växjö. Notable concerts are as follows:

References

External links

Barbarella (film)

Barbarella is a 1968 French-Italian science fiction film based on Jean-Claude Forest's French Barbarella comics. The film stars Jane Fonda in the title role and was directed by Roger Vadim, who was Fonda's husband at the time. The film was not popular at its release, but received greater attention afterward with a 1977 re-release. It has since become a cult film.

Plot

In an unspecified future, Barbarella is assigned by the President of Earth to retrieve Doctor Durand Durand from the Tau Ceti region. Durand Durand is the inventor of the Positronic Ray, a weapon that Earth leaders fear will fall into the wrong hands. Barbarella crashes on the 16th planet of Tau Ceti and is soon knocked unconscious by two mysterious girls, who take Barbarella to the wreckage of a spaceship. Inside the wreckage, she is tied up and several children emerge from within the ship. They set out several dolls which have razor sharp teeth. As the dolls begin to bite her, Barbarella faints but is rescued by Mark Hand, the Catchman, who patrols the ice looking for errant children. While Hand takes her back to her ship, Barbarella offers to reward Mark and he suggests sex. She says that people on Earth no longer have penetrative intercourse but consume exaltation transference pills and press their palms together when their "psychocardiograms are in perfect harmony". Hand prefers the bed, and Barbarella agrees. Hand's vessel makes long loops around Barbarella's crashed vessel while the two have sex, and when it finally comes to a stop, Barbarella is blissfully humming. After Hand repairs her ship, Barbarella departs and promises to return, agreeing that doing things the old-fashioned way is occasionally best.