In recent years, Delcourt has been dynamiting historical comics with Les Reines de sang, a historical series on women. A new portrait appears with the three Julias. Let's dive into ancient Rome together.
A feminist comic?
The collection seeks to repair a serious oversight by placing women back in history. Far from being solely linked to comics, this general movement also concerns historians. The Queens of Blood allow you to discover well-known figures such as Cleopatra, Joan of Arc but also figures still too little known in history such as Tzu Hi, Frénégonde or here Julia Maesa. But is presenting a woman in history feminist? First of all, it can be pointed out that the book is made by men. The screenwriter Blengino Luca, the cartoonist Sarchione Antonio are Italian while the colorist Georges Gaétan is French. Franco-Belgian comics have clearly become European.
A dive into a little-known history?
It all begins in Syria in a temple of Heliogabalus, a powerful Eastern cult and the beginning of monotheism. Unlike many peplums like Britannia, the reader is immersed in 217, the lower empire or the end of the Roman Empire. During a military campaign, Emperor Caracalla is assassinated in family revenge. His mother-in-law – Julia the philosopher – commits suicide by slicing her breast. Who will succeed him?
Violent without being gore, The Three Julias mount a power struggle for the position of emperor. Indeed, in this first volume, we witness the political conflict between the supporters of the gens Iulia line and the new emperor without lineage. A priori, she has no chance of reigning. However, Maesa invents the fable that her grandson was born from an extramarital affair with Caracalla to highlight the future Heliogabalus. This legend tipped the empire into civil war. We discover that the empire is crossed by social tensions but also marked by racism between Westerners, Rome, and Easterners, the former empire of Alexander the Great. The artistic team does not just invent but they called on Maurizio Ricci as historical consultant. The story is much clearer and more gripping than The Three Sons of Rome.
A dysfunctional family
The story is centered around Sextus Avitus Bassianus and his grandmother Julia Maesa who does not want to lose power. She refuses to leave the post of emperor to General Macrinus – a former slave. To get rid of it, the emperor declared it persona non grata. She was forced into exile in Emesa, Syria. In addition to the grandmother, there are several female mistresses in this family – one of her two daughters uses slaves as a sex toy. But are domineering women feminists?
A great achievement
In this volume of 56 pages, Sarchione has a quick and vivid drawing. It is based on a comic layout with frequent use of full pages and an organization around a central image and boxes around it. The story uses a lot of text but it is gripping and well written.
This dense and fascinating story offers us the unique chance to discover a little-known period of the Roman Empire. This comic is also salutary because it highlights feminist figures but it is not a pedagogical story. Empire is the narrative of violence. Totally conquered by the first volume, the reader can't wait to read more and see what Julia's place will be.
