Alfonso Azpiri

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Azpiri's Lorna and her robots, ADL and Arnold.

Alfonso Azpiri is a Spanish comic book artist.

Born in Madrid in 1947, his early work was published in the 1970s and was mainly aimed at the Italian market which then welcomed stories containing a mixture of horror, sex and nudity. Azpiri's work, drawn in a comical style, featured amply breasted women gettting involved with werewolves, mummies (of the bandaged variety), vampires and the Frankenstein monster.

His work has been translated and published in a number of magazines, including Heavy Metal and Penthouse Comix. His style is easily recognisable, especially his lavishly elegant and sensual, pouting females.

He has been mainly involved in the science fiction and fantasy genre, often with a decidedly erotic slant. His fantasy stories range from sword and sorcery to the 1001 Arabian Nights type. He also raises the issue of conflict between peoples, such as in science fiction stories where the inhabitants of soon-to-be colonised planets are massacred so that humans from Earth can move in.

One of his most reccuring characters is Lorna, a Barbarella-like space adventurer who travels the galaxy accompanied by two droids, the R2D2-like ADL and the C3PO-like Arnold. Arnold's main function is to satisfy the ever-passionate Lorna whenever there are no human males, females or suitably endowed aliens available. Also, appropriately enough, Lorna's principal enemy, the crimelord Mouse, bears some resemblance to Jabba the Hutt.

Mot and Leo.

Less adult-orientated, and suitable for younger readers, was Mot, the adventures of a boy called Leo who finds himself plagued by a large, friendly but cumbersome and destructive monster. This was turned into a cartoon series and broadcast on France's Canal Plus.

There was also Chang, the adventures of a martial artist and detective.

Both Lorna and Mot were featured in video games by Topo Soft.