Sweet and naive, mischievous and in love, Giunchiglia – Italian for daffodil – is the protagonist of this Giuseppe Manunta comic book that blends fantasy and eroticism, adventure and magic. The series, now in its second volume, recounts the adventures of a motley group of characters whose lives, for one reason or another, are dramatically transformed by the presence of the beautiful Giunchiglia.

Born in Ireland from the relationship between a human woman, Margareth, the sister of Oliver Cromwell, and the king of the Forest People, Cernunnos, Giunchiglia suffers from her physical difference – she has a tail and a tiny pair of horns – which makes her appear demonic in the eyes of many. Among them, unfortunately, is Prince Link, with whom she is deeply in love. In this first volume, first published in Italian as Giunchiglia: Il fiore d’Irlanda (The Flower of Ireland), we see her escape the clutches of Hermas, queen of the hermaphrodites, but the dangers for Giunchiglia and her friends are not over yet.

Giunchiglia was originally conceived in 1989, although the first book edition did not appear until 2004, when Il fiore d’Irlanda was published in hardcover by Coniglio Editore. The series reached French readers in 2007, initially appearing as Giunchiglia: La fleur d’Irlande from Éditions Clair de Lune.

There has been no widely distributed standalone English book edition, although individual stories or previews have appeared in international anthologies including Heavy Metal.

We have included here the first thirty or so pages of the 2007 French edition.