Italian, 1933-2003 The late Guido Crepax is revered as one of the most transformative figures in European comics, credited with elevating the medium through sophisticated storytelling and avant-garde page design. A graduate in architecture, Crepax transitioned from a successful career in advertising to become the premier architect of the "psychoanalytic" comic, famously exploring the boundaries between dreams and reality through his iconic character, Valentina. Working almost exclusively in black Chinese ink, Crepax described his work as a "personal psychoanalytic diary drawn day by day." He mastered the art of blurring the line between the conscious and the subconscious, exploring his heroines by traveling across the surface of their skin or plunging into the depths of their hidden desires. Influenced by the literary eroticism of the Marquis de Sade and Baudelaire, he established fetish art as a legitimate vehicle for social commentary and political dissent. Despite the provocative nature of his imagery, Crepax famously detested violence, stating: "I have drawn whips, chains and bonds of all kinds... But I hate violence, lack of respect for oneself or for others, and all forms of excess. There is never a single drop of blood." He dedicated his final years to breathtaking adaptations of literary classics, including his final work, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (2002). He is survived by his three children.