WILD GIRL: WILHEMINA OF THE RIVER BOTTOM Signed

Leslie Cabarga resurrects this legend from obscurity in eight hand drawn and photo-fummetti stories, spanning the years 1897-2027. Wilhemina the wild waif, abandoned in various far-away forests by random negligent moms, and one totally screwy mad scientist, grows to adulthood never having seen another human being -- or clothing! That is, until her bucolic, idyllic, idiosyncratic, existence hurls this savage daughter into the modern world. Cabarga has drawn four comics stories spoofing such classics as The Yellow Kid, Betty Boop, Anime, and 60s psychedelic European comics, with four “fumetti” or photo-comics. They include a spurious 1924 German silent film, an improbable 1960s TV sitcom, an alleged documentary, and a sci-fi fantasy about a Wild Female Cyborg called Wilderella who conquers the world in her “birthday suit!” Photography of live-action models in forest settings present full nudity in a way rarely seen in modern media. With a conscious effort on the part of the author/photographer to avoid being salacious or sexy, the photos and stories portray the Wild Women models as naked within the natural context of their lives. “I loved Wild Girl! It’s brilliant, hilarious, and gorgeously designed!” —Trina Robbins (author, cartoonist, feminist icon) “Wow! What a book! What an accomplishment! The photographs and the graphics are spectacular. And it’s well-written, satirical, subversive, and inspired. The “Yellow Kid” satire is hilarious. Captures the look and style of the early comic strip era. The German silent film satire is equally hilarious as is the mimicry of Max Fleischer’s Betty Boop animation style. I also enjoyed the Anime section and the send up of the 1960’s sitcom.” —James Burke, cartoonist Author Leslie Cabarga has had a long career in the study of art and styles. He first came on the scene with his pioneering work, The Fleisher Story, which tackled the animation studio that was second only to Disney in the 1930s and 1940s. Today he is an in-demand book and logo designer, contributing to Jake Saunders’ iconic The Martian Legion and Tarzan and the Cannibal King (illustrated by Alex Nino), as well as logo design for Jim Gerlach’s deluxe Edgar Rice Burroughs Artist Editions, including The Moon Maid, Princess of Mars and Back the Stone Age.