Classic comic sci-fi illustrations are full of semi-clad beauties wearing latex, PVC, and very little else, paired with muscle-bound hunks either coming to their rescue or making them submit to some other-worldly entanglement. Like it or not as seen through a modern-day sensibility, but this is the stuff of fantasy (the artist’s fantasy), no matter when it was/is drawn. The pages of the soon-to-be revamped Heavy Metal Magazine, covers of pulp magazines and surely plenty of heroines of 50s, 60s, and even 70s fandom filmdom was full of these tropes.
As are modern superhero projects.
Illustrator Luis Royo’s work embodies this ‘older’ aesthetic of fine female figures fitting into fantasy settings, as much as he keeps his master’s eye and perfectly poised pen on contemporary mores and settings. We reported on the man (and also his son) a year or so ago when we learned about a new gallery going up at the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas last year featuring Royo’s artwork (see our blog about all that here).
A week from now, EHM is moving their Royo exhibit to a 500 sq. ft gallery space, featuring state-of-the-art sound and visuals, and a new seating arrangement, providing a completely immersive 36o degree sound and sound experience. Musician Mitchel Johnson, whose music was featured in the original Royo exhibit, is also added two new songs to the updated exhibition.
“To be able to add two more that will be enjoyed by the many visitors that come through the Erotic Heritage Museum daily is so thrilling,” Johnson says. “Plus, I am the biggest Luis Roy fan, a poster of his has hung on my wall for years.”
Born in 1954 in Olalla, Teruel, Spain, Luis Royo started to exhibit his paintings in 1972. By 1980, he was publishing his comics in magazines like “Rambla,” and “Heavy Metal,” progressing to publishing his fantasy-based artwork internationally, creating book covers for publishers like Tor Book, Berkley Books, and the iconic video game covers “Turbo Girl,” and “Navy Moves.”
“The EHM is incredibly honored to extend the Luis and Romulo installation and to dedicate its gallery to these talented artists,” says Erotic Heritage Museum director Dr. Victoria Hartmann. “Moving the exhibit to its new gallery, and with new sensual and ethereal music from Mitchel Johnson’s ‘Murder of Fireflies’ Electronica Project, presents the perfect updated marriage of sound and visuals.”
In addition to the Royo exhibition moving, the concert, and other performances, Dr. Hartmann will see the official release of her new book Forbidden: The Sexual Art Of Serial Killers.
The new Royo Gallery space will be open to the public on 8/31/2024, coinciding with the aforementioned “Black List Exhibition, Freakshow and Concert,” starting at 7 PM and lasting until 11:30 PM. Tickets are $29.00 and may be purchased here.
