Barbados-based graphic novelist and artist Barnaby Ward has introduced a new series of prints featuring women and sea creatures. They are beautiful, stylized images that evoke an amused curiosity between the subjects. But if your interest in women and sealife goes beyond mere courtship, you’ll be interested to know that a long history, coined in Japanese woodprint, precedes Ward’s pairings. More modern examples (probably NSFW) include the always prolific Zak Smith’s 100 Girls and 100 Octopuses, one of several prints by Audrey Kawasaki, a series of erotica by Yuji Moriguchi, and “Sarah and Octopus/Seventh Heaven” by Masami Teraoka. All of which hearken back to “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife,” painted in 1820 by Katsushika Hokusai and considered to be the first work of “tentacle eroticism.” Go figure. Yet, for those of us who prefer our lusty cephalopods on the PG side, check out this fabulous collection of pulp fiction cover art.
Input your search keywords and press Enter.
The Rumpus needs your help. We need to raise $25,000 $10,000 to fill our funding gap for 2024.
Our home base is Asheville, NC and Hurricane Helene severely impacted our ability to host events, launch new initiatives, and caused other significant financial setbacks this fall.
Can you support us at any level by Dec. 31? Every dollar counts and is a sign that our readers collectively value creative labor and independent publishing.
Sign up for the weekly Rumpus
Once a week, we'll send you a roundup of what's new on the magazine, invites to upcoming events, open calls for submissions, and more!