Miguel Angel Martin
Psychopathia Sexualis

It might seem like a story from another era, yet the comic book (!) by Miguel Angel Martin titled “Psychopathia Sexualis” in 1996 was seized and confiscated by the Italian Judiciary on charges of offense to common decency (!), along with the arrest and a fine of 3,000,000 Lire to publisher Vacca Jorge of Topolin Edizioni, found guilty of publishing the work.
A book that, despite the “Not suitable for those under 18” clearly displayed on the cover, evidently caused quite a stir and perplexity among state censorship bodies.
A book, therefore, controversial and objectively “strong”, at times truly disgusting for the themes it addresses.
Vulgarities and horrifying images according to art.528 C.P. and 15 of the press law "...because in it violence (murders, dismemberments, suicides) represented in the most impressive and horrifying forms is glorified to satisfy the most abnormal sexual perversions."

All understandable even though the reaction seemed objectively exaggerated to me, given the type of work (a comic) signed by the Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin (multi-award-winning comic artist at the European level), the same author of Brian the Brain, perhaps his most well-known work.

The stories, drawn with a delicate and almost childlike touch, refer to some verified news cases (and others invented but plausible), concerning extreme sexual pathologies, pedophilia, rape, sexual deviations, and obsessive erotic madness.
It is clear that the topic is “heavy” and hard to digest, but we should not think that all readers (especially if warned and alerted) are idiots and cannot distinguish a literary “fiction” from a clear invitation to emulate.
If we applied the same principle to literature or, worse, to movies that are normally shown in Italian theaters, filled with mind-bending horror and splatter without sparing on amputations and violence, how many would be saved?

Publisher Vacca, through verdicts, dismissed petitions, accusations, in the end, received solidarity from many industry professionals (Milo Manara, Sergio Bonelli) and from various social centers, clearly on anti-censorship positions, all to defend independent comics and the Freedom of Expression and Press. On March 13, 2001, the Supreme Court of Cassation acquitted Jorge Vacca, "because the fact does not exist".

Who knows if, in the end, this thing has enhanced the aura of legend around this comic, increasing its sales or not. Who knows.
The fact is that, honestly, the comic itself is overrated and leans a little too much towards sensationalism and the desire to shock at all costs, leaving us with some disappointment regarding the purely literary and emotional aspect of cold, unsettling, cynical stories with no chance for redemption.

A book that gives (and gave me) a certain discomfort reading because it offends certain sensibilities and because the (perfectly fitting) contrast between the “hard” themes and the almost naive and childish drawing style creates an explosive mixture that goes straight to the point: to scandalize and provoke, undoubtedly to "disturb".

This book is either loved or hated.
Indifference is almost IMPOSSIBLE.