Meet Casanova Quinn: prodigal son of a law-and-order family hell-bent on keeping the world safe and sound, now blackmailed into betraying his father and the international law enforcement organization he controls. LUXURIA collects the first volume of CASANOVA as its titular star transforms from devil-may-care thrill-seeker into the most dangerous man in the world. What happens when the ultimate player gets played? ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY calls "Sexy... grapping and darkly funny." From the writer of THE ORDER, IMMORTAL IRON FIST and PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL and the artist of UMBRELLA ACADEMY!
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Before joining Marvel Comics, writer Matt Fraction had already established his reputation as an emerging new talent with his work on Last of the Independents. Fraction's tale of a bank robbery gone wrong earned him a coveted "A" grade from Entertainment Weekly, as well as interest from Marvel. After taking on a short story assignment in the anthology title X-Men Unlimited, Fraction was handpicked to launch two of Marvel's biggest projects for 2006: Punisher War Journal with artist Ariel Olivetti, and Immortal Iron Fist, with co-writer Ed Brubaker and artist David Aja. Both series met with overwhelming critical and fan acclaim, selling out their respective first issues within days of release. This led to two even bigger projects: The launching of Invincible Iron Man, a high-profile first issue premiering the same month as the blockbuster film; and Uncanny X-Men, written in tandem with Immortal Iron Fist partner Brubaker. In addition to his Marvel work, Fraction writes Casanova, an off-beat series illustrated by Gabriel Bá which recently moved to Marvel's Icon imprint. He is also a talented filmmaker and graphic designer, heading up the MK12 firm with a worldwide client base that includes Adidas, MTV and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Fraction remains one of Marvel's most popular writers; other credits include The Order and Thor: Ages of Thunder.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes, please. More. More pudding. Please.,
This review is from: Casanova, Vol. 1: Luxuria (Hardcover)
I can't begin to tell you how cool this comic is. That's really the best way to describe it, absolutely. Freaking Cool.
Alright. It's tangentially in the spy genre, more in the vein of Jerry Cornelius (although much less 'modernistic,' maybe) than James Bond, with generous helping of minty fresh Jim Steranko in there as well. The story? Well, the protagonist, Casanova Quinn, is mixed up between several super-agencies with acronyms for names, and he's also from another dimension or timeline or something. It's a little science-fiction, but not in that "thinky," irritating, way. To express how cool the series is, in the first issue, Casanova fights like a giant floating head in a floating casino. Only, the giant floating head is actually three guys, fused together by crazy Buddhism. Casanova and said head then engage in a titanic floating staring contest. Later, Casanova sets a town ablaze through orgone overdose, steals a god, and has a kung fu battle in the head of a giant robot. And not only is the book filled with crazy, mind-bending set pieces, but the characterization is strong, albeit sparse. Most importantly for a work as, uh, inspired as this, Casanova feels like an authentic person. The dialog is perpetually hilarious and the art sings on the page. It's dynamic and it's in one color, like the old-school Barbarella comics. I think, of all the hundreds of comics I read every year, this is my favorite probably as far back as I can remember. This particular edition is beautifully over-sized and well-designed. I totally recommend it, especially if you haven't already read the book. Umm, in summation, the writer is Matt Fraction and the artist is Gabriel Ba. The book is cool. Yes.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Super Spy Adventure,
By
This review is from: Casanova, Vol. 1: Luxuria (Paperback)
Casanova follows Cassanova Quinn: international thief. He is the son of Cornelius Quinn, who runs E.M.P.I.R.E. (Extra-Military Police, Intelligence, Rescue, and Espionage), and the brother of Zeph, and exemplary agent of E.M.P.I.R.E. After Zeph is killed in action, Casanova is brought in by his father, has a fight with him, and eventually jumps out of a flying casino to escape certain death (and a gambling debt). On the way down, he accidentally breaches space-time to an alternate reality where he is the one who died in service of E.M.P.I.R.E. and Zeph works for Newman Xeno, hedonistic leader of W.A.S.T.E. (only Xeno's terrible mind and blackest heart knows what that stands for). Casanova teams up with Xeno and Zeph to infiltrate E.M.P.I.R.E. And that's just the first issue!
Matt Fraction takes the concept of a James Bond spy story to a whole new level. Fraction takes all the old spy standby traditions of cool gadgets, double- and triple-crosses, sexy femme fatales, and suave secret agents. To this he adds copious sci-fi elements, psychic battles, and pop-culture references. Casanova was put out during Image's experiment with 22 page comics (16 pages of actual content), so the story moves at a fast pace, but Fraction manages to pack in an incredible amount of details. He doesn't spell anything out for the reader, so the book demands full attention to keep track of all the twists and turns. Gabriel Bã's artwork reminds me of Mignola's, but with more stylish lines and sexier figures. He draws in stark monochrome accented by green shading. Casanova is best enjoyed like a good song; first take in the rhythm and flow of the words and images, then go back and take in the meanings of the words. The density rewards second and third readings. Though demanding, it's well worth the ride.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best sci-fi graphic novels in years,
By
This review is from: Casanova, Vol. 1: Luxuria (Paperback)
With Casanova, Matt Fraction presents a trippy, energetic sci-fi spy thriller that spans the breadth of the space-time continuum with awesome results. Casanova Quinn is the black sheep of the family: a freelance thief whose hated father runs a global paramilitary espionage agency called EMPIRE. His heavily favored twin sister is the agency's star spy until she is murdered while investigating a temporal breach.
Everything starts to go sideways for Quinn when he is abducted into a parallel universe by Newman Xeno, the leader of a terror network hell-bent on the destruction of EMPIRE. In this alternate reality, Quinn is the superstar agent of EMPIRE, while his sister is alive but corrupted by Xeno. Working under Xeno's behest, he is given counter-missions to conduct during his assigned operations in order to undermine the goals of EMPIRE. Both Xeno and EMPIRE have one mutual interest, if not similar desires: the destruction of Sabine Seychelle's criminal empire. In a series of double- and triple-crosses, Quinn struggles to stay one step ahead of everybody in order to survive. There is a lot going on in Luxuria, the first volume of a proposed seven-part series, and readers will be rewarded for paying close attention. Fraction juggles time-bending alternate realities with spy shenanigans, as Quinn visits exotic locales to grapple with traitors, assassins, sexbots, and ancient military hardware that could destroy the world. Fraction's writing is smooth, filled with smart dashes of humor that occasionally break the fourth wall. Characters, sometimes God Himself, narrate events directly to the reader, bringing them up to speed on the storyline's various threads. Interspersed are a few moments of ironic self-awareness amongst the book's characters that are entertaining, such as an early scene where Xeno is compared to a deranged comic book villain. The plotting is tight across the story arc and the characters are well-defined to the point where an earlier bit of funny, innocuous dialogue reflecting Casanova's speech patterns is later repeated with an "oh, no" sinking feeling. Casanova is a fun ride, but further enriched with a story that, at its heart, is just as much about family and overcoming the old wounds that only those we truly love can inflict upon us. Gabriel Bá's artwork is nicely stylized and exhibits a strong use and sense of space, especially with small moments where an element of scenery, like a mirror or a knife, can provide a reflection for him to cleverly spin the artwork in a different direction. His close-up portraits are illustrated particularly well, the action scenes are deftly crafted and fluid, and the panels are packed with important detail. Bá has a cinematic style to his framing, working with establishing wide-angle shots that demand attention and inspection, before moving in with closer views that keep the visual element of the book moving swiftly. The illustrations are a terrific marriage with Fraction's script, as the imagery is every bit as cool and evocative as the written element. Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá imbue Casanova with an old-style sense of cool, molding their futuristic story with the atmosphere of a bygone era. Filled with action and sexuality, it has a kind of 1960s spy story vibe to it, with a bit of European slick for good measure, which adult readers should find entertaining and rewarding. Combining the sexy panache and action of Sean Connery's James Bond with thrilling, oftentimes crazy, elements, it is among the best sci-fi offerings to come along in recent years. -- Michael Hicks
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