The headline story in this issue is the new Druuna story. This page is difficult, so I’m going to unpack it. On prior pages, she wakes up naked and feeling like she’s just had sex. She’s more upset about the lack of clothing than the rape. Then a screen turns on to show her a recording of the ritualistic rape she has just endured. As it progresses, she gets more turned on and starts masturbating on the next page. 

The thought balloons on this page are very revealing. It would seem that Druuna has a fetish for this sort of thing. In fact, the balloon that covers the erect penis in the last panel emphasizes that she “love[s] this feeling.”

Now, I’m not one to kinkshame and I’m all for letting you do you. However (comma) this is not necessarily the best message to be providing to impressionable young men who are still figuring out their sexual identities – which happens to be the default demographic of Heavy Metal and has been for decades. One could only imagine how a generation of sexual mores would have been impacted if there had been a page where she provided consent.

(Heavy Metal issue #193, May 2001 – Page 57 The Forgotten Planet by Serpieri)