Young Janice's sufferings

The suffering of young Janice ( engl. The Troubles of Janice ) is a four-part erotic - Comic of Erich von Götha , created between 1990 and 1996, whose title character an icon of BDSM has become scene.

The German title of the series is an allusion to the Sturm und Drang novel The Sorrows of Young Werther .

Artistic form of expression

In the series Die Leiden der Junge Janice, Erich von Gotha developed a strongly pornographic comic aesthetic , whose naturalistic, striking design of the picture spaces, aimed at the greatest possible clarity of representation, is partly influenced by the decorative painting of the Rococo and Late Baroque periods . In the sculptures and paintings visible in the background of the panels , erotic themes and motifs appear very often, which was typical for the epoch. Elegant boudoir scenes fill lush, pompous, baroque ornaments as well as exuberant decorations on buildings, interiors and furniture, drawn in light, playfully sinuous lines. The colorful, opulent rococo clothing is also not neglected, even if Janice is repeatedly forced to drop all shells.

The artist plays with the clichés of the epoch: Just as the shepherd's poetry , in hymns of praise to a shepherdess, turns to the popular transfiguration of human sexuality and sensual pleasure, he does the same in his own way. The love poetry, painting and sculpture of the Rococo praises original nature and unspoiled people who live out their feelings and urges naturally, truthfully and honestly and exist without social constraints. In contrast to this, the Adelshof serves as a backdrop of virtuousness, destruction of nature and a lack of decency. In the Rococo, behind the gallant manners of court life, there is a light-footed, subtle attitude to life paired with unbridled sensuality and extravagant lifestyle. So the author describes a vile intrigue with which a beautiful, young, innocent girl is spoiled and corrupted by the cruel British nobility . The seductive, curvaceous but slender, blonde Janice McCormick falls victim to the sadistic fantasies of vicious and perfidious, nauseating aristocrats .

His graphic naturalism suggests historical authenticity, but the Janice series is less a reconstruction of the social framework of England in the mid-18th century and more an idiosyncratic mix of costume design and architectural accessories that originate from a span of one hundred to two hundred years. Despite this graphic stylization, the comic has staged a believable world to a high degree, and this applies equally to its characters, whose temperaments and motivations Bernard Joubert reveals in meaningful dialogues, as well as to their gestures and facial expressions. While the emotions in the faces were visualized in passing, the libido and the sexual behavior of the characters are part of their characterization. Every detail becomes an expressive formal element, everything becomes the decoration of a constructed world, the regularity of which only serves the cult of the naked body, whose movements the draftsman froze in poses of academic precision. His knowledge of color theory, composition, plastic anatomy , portrait drawing , nudes , perspective , image structure, proportion and rhythm, which the classical training at the art academy conveyed to him, can be seen on every page in the expressive quality of the panels .

Von Gotha had conceived the fate odyssey of his young heroine as a comic novel, which, after four volumes, should come to an end with the liberation of Janice from her past. It is an unusual undertaking for him, as his earlier comic strips , which were published in torrent, were mainly a series business. Because of the openly presented sex scenes, English publishers had fundamental reservations, so the series was initially published in liberal France. The series The Sorrows of Young Janice is a colorful mosaic , the individual parts of which are immediately captivating, because it is always about individual human fates in extreme situations. Together, however, they result in an exciting erotic story, a sensual world that arouses longing for more BDSM comics on this level.

action

part 1

Sentenced to life in Newgate Prison , young Janice McCormick is offered an alternative by the governor, but at a high price - she desperately agrees anyway. In 1766, Janice leaves the prison for female convicts to begin punitive social ' rehabilitation ' under the supervision of her cruel, lustful teacher, Count Viscount Vauxhall of Nether Wallop. Mrs. Radcliff, the strict housekeeper in the Count's luxurious castle not far from London , instructs Janice in her duties. The top maid of the house gives instructions and commands other in love art trainees Eleven in "harem" of Herr's house, the girls Roxana, Evelyn, Pamela and Louise. She watches over her impeccable appearance, neatness, modesty in demeanor, unreserved obedience and loyalty to rule. Unconditional sexual submission is considered a sign of high respect for the count . The totally intimidated Janice, whipped, branded and forced to participate in orgies , weeps and moans, begs her master full of desperation and humility, but only the reader feels sorry for her fate. Initially frightened and horrified, chained, tied up, bare-shaven, handcuffed and beaten with rods over and over again , she finally comes to terms with her life in sexual slavery in a masochistic way , resulting in a long odyssey of painful pleasure begins.

Volume 2

Later, Janice, who is still virtuous, has to take part in orgies as the property of the sadistic Count Viscount, but protected by a chastity belt . It is there to give pleasure to others, not to feel it. An indecent priest Redman, filled with sexual desire , and reprehensible friends of her husband take advantage of the young woman. But Janice, of all people, a child of the people and the victim of offensive acts, is considered the bad guy by the aristocratic society. Viscount decides to "marry" the girl to Lord Mitchcombe. When the villainous Mitchcombe discovers Janice's shameful past, he sends her back to Viscount with the pastor, so that he can train her in the right “whores” and make small “adjustments” (e.g. the Viscount's brand V is changed to an M ) which initially means many more sufferings for the young English woman. Orgies and cruel torments follow , while she is bullied by both Viscount and the supposedly fragile, but in reality ice-cold mistress of the house and at the same time his jealous and instinctual lover, Lady Caroline. Lady Caroline is a creature of the court and playmate of the pleasure-seeking gentlemen, a monumental nymphomaniac and notorious bitch who shares with Viscount the taste for the gorgeous and frivolous.

Janice finds a friendship with a fellow fate, the red-haired slave Victoria. Janice finally returns to her husband, who "rents" her to other men. Janice's past was tough and the husband treats her very strictly. At the same time, her old lover appears and attacks her. Now more submissive than ever, Janice has to pass the ultimate test: She is offered by her husband to the customers of a very exclusive brothel and, as the perfect girl, has to meet their demands. "Is it true that she has the sexual appetite of a starved beast?" - the aristocratic ladies whisper the question in the London salons. The answer is always an emphatic “Yes!”. Janice - the Lady of Pleasure - has become a nymphomaniac with her famous sigh "So many cocks, so little time ...". The lustful blonde, now only innocent in appearance, is the always ready victim for "hard" orgies that are organized by her husband in the brothel and in which her lovers also regularly take part.

Volume 3

Then Janice Mitchcombe becomes a charming "lady" and becomes a reserved young widow who fights against the sexual depravity of her past in order not to give free rein to her insatiable sexual hunger. She renounces fornication, but takes pleasure in the lightness of court life and the shimmering zest for life of the aristocrats. Janice doesn't want to return to the dingy side streets of London. A multitude of new extraordinary characters are presented here: the sweet and submissive Victoria, the two rather young whores from Watford , the flagellant brother and sister team who like nothing better than to celebrate an incestuous orgy with the orgy, the libertine Viscount Vauxhall.

Volume 4

Finally, Janice finds herself free again. She looks back on the long time with much grief, in which she was exposed to rough and brutal molestation as a sex slave by morally depraved aristocrats . This time, geographically and politically, the topics of the comic are broader: with a friend who saved her from suicide , Janice travels to Venice (with a stopover in Paris and on the North African coast), to the Italian city, the lovers from all over the world World welcomes. There she meets a colorful palette of figures and entices several famous people. For example, she meets Benjamin Franklin during group sex in the brothel and at a private dinner followed by a SM session she meets the Marquis de Sade . Janice was kidnapped by pirates by sea and had to experience many other unpleasant adventures - you might think that the comic satirizes the Angélique novels by Anne Golon , who had constructed similar subjects for her heroine.

literature

Henri Filippini: Encyclopédie de la bande dessinée érotique . La Musardine Eds., Paris 2006, ISBN 2-84271-265-X