Cicciolina

    (Cha Cha, 1991)
™ and © 1990 Romanini – Filippucci Ubaldi

Preternaturally erotic Ilona Staller is a lover, not a fighter—so much so that the Roman gods themselves take note and designate her as “the queen of sex.“ Disturbed by violence and destruction on the television news, young Ilona retreats to the solace of her bedroom to take pleasure in her touch and dream of a better world. She soon assumes personal responsibility for bringing peace and love to one and all in her own special way.

Assuming the nom de guerre Ciccolina, she embarks on a crusade across Europe intent on changing hearts and minds. When she encounters people on the verge of hostilities, she preempts violence by taking off her clothes and pleasuring herself—the sight of which naturally inspires everyone else to do likewise. Ciccolina transforms scenes of conflict into panoramas of sexual ecstasy.

Soon, Ciccolina becomes famous for her nightly radio program featuring graphic sex talk on Radio Luna. Her ministrations draw the ire of the National Front for Female Morality. The uptight ladies of the NFFM (whose leader is man, naturally) have taken it upon themselves to restore sexual morality to Europe by banning pornography, nude beaches, and sex education. Daunted by Ciccolina’s indomitable star power, the NFFM resorts to “the frozen logic of electronics” to counter her. Using a device called “the moral turbator,” the group subverts Ciccolina’s message by inserting endorsements of purity and chastity into her licentious broadcasts. Will Ciccolina face this affront lying down?

Ciccolina revels in campy retro–essentialist notions of human sexuality and hippie–style free love. This large format 47–page book of crisply–detailed black and white illustration graphically depicts numerous scenes of sexual intercourse.

— Leland Burrill
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