The Insatiable Curiousity of Sophie

When prim Sixth form college girl Sophie chances upon the ten commandments of sexual preferences, her curiosity is aroused. Finding herself immersed in a world of sex and debauchery, she learns her lessons in a unique, hands-on way... Sophie experiences serial fellatio, lesbianism, public defloration, group sex and a condign (but enjoyable) lashing; the first English translation of one of Erich von Götha's finest works and Erotic Review Books' first publication of one of his books may be too 'graphic' for everyone's taste. There's the graphic sexual encounters. And then there's the 'graphic novel' format. Which some would say was just a fancy name for a comic...

Trust the French to see the clever side of things

To many British readers, comics are no more than a long-forgotten childhood treat or a brief chuckle in the newspaper. But across the Channel, the French have transformed comics into something very different: albums printed on good quality paper in full colour as classic fiction. Back here we've had just a taste of these thanks to the plucky adventures of Tintin and Asterix. Our Gallic cousins have a habit of intellectualising about popular culture - Jazz, film noir, even Jerry Lewis - and recognising the genius behind it. And when it comes to the humble comic, they have elevated it into a recognised art form called bande dessinée (literally: 'drawn strip') or B.D. for short - that has become a national passion.

It's the 9th Art - Revolutionary!

After May 1968, France's left-wing, left bank intelligentsia turned culture upside down and in this heady climate cartoonists enjoyed a new freedom to introduce a dizzying diversity of subjects and styles into the comics format. Critics theorised about comics as a valid and autonomous medium, bursting with potential, and christened it 'the 9th Art'. B.D. writers and artists became celebrities, fêted in the media and honoured by the State. From this background have emerged a select number of sophisticated and stimulating erotic B.D. albums, crafted by remarkable illustrators and inventive scripters, and targeted at a discriminating readership. In their hands, comics can become a surprisingly powerful fantasy medium which combines the wit and nuance of carefully chosen text with sumptuous, evocative illustration, blending the best of both the visual and the verbal into vivid, involving narratives, where the power of prose and picture are multiplied.

What Sophie did...

A suppressed, but burgeoning libido and flame-haired Sophie's incurable curiosity bring this inquisitive college girl on a collision course with a shady tycoon called Brett-Wilson. His links with a nefarious secret sex society gradually become clearer as she complies to one after another of 'The Ten Commandments of Sexual Preferences'. I must say that I'm a dedicated von Götha fan: he creates a unique world where fantasy flirts with reality, and I can't help admiring his crisp, beautifully delineated artwork and the extraordinary sexiness of his handsome heroes and nubile heroines; certainly the girls seem in control of their destiny - if not always in control of events. They are incurably concupiscent - yet somehow deliciously innocent. They are often the victim, yet never the loser.

A Warning to the Curious

When we introduced our readership to von Götha's A Very Special Prison last year, we were aware that some might consider erotic bandes dessinées an impoverished or immature art form. Judging by the overwhelming approval we received, our fears were ill-founded, but all the same, please think twice before you order Sophie - that girl is dangerous!