Artist Milo Manara has released a series of illustrations that honor the real-life heroes of the Coronavirus pandemic. In the images, Manara has drawn women on the frontline of the outbreak, and beautifully illustrated them doing their part to fight the disease.
Manara is an Italian artist best known for his watercolor work with a particular focus on eroticism. His work has appeared in Heavy Metal, Vertigo Comics, and Spider-Woman many deemed over-sexualized. However, his illustrations in this case are touching and poignant, paying tribute to women helping battle COVID-19 on all fronts.
On his official Facebook page, Manara posted a handful of images that showcased a nurse fighting Coronavirus head-on. He posted eight images called "courage" which showed how nurses have been heroes during the pandemic. In the image, a nurse leans against the wall with her face imprinted by a mask after working tireless hours. After sitting down for a moment, the nurse stands back up, puts on her mask and gets ready to go to work - literally coming face-to-face with COVID-19. It's inspiring and touching.
Manara's series includes other COVID-19 heroes. He drew an Italian police officer on duty, a delivery driver on a bicycle, a cashier at a grocery store, and a sidewalk sweeper (all sporting facial protection to give them a chance against the virus). Manara has released even more images of essential workers in action being heroes on his Facebook page. His work truly showcases how you don't need a cape and a spandex costume to be a hero.
The women in the drawings represent a large group of everyday heroes who put themselves at risk so that everyone else's lives can go on. They make sure people are safe, fed, and healthy. It's hard to understate just how important these essential workers have become in our new-normal of a world. Without them, things would be much, much worse. The next time you see a worker at a grocery store or are getting food delivered to you, make sure to say thank you.
It's incredible people are doing their best to keep things as normal as possible during a very stressful time. As Milo Manara's drawings show, they are the true heroes in the world right now.
Source: Facebook
