RanXerox  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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RanXerox, or Ranx, is the fictional hero of a science fiction graphic novel series by Tanino Liberatore and Stefano Tamburini, two Italian artists who had worked previously on such magazines as Cannibale and Frigidaire. Conceived as a bizarre anti-hero, Ranx was a mechanical creature made from a Rank Xerox photocopier parts.

"Rank Xerox" was first published in 1978 in Cannibale magazine and later, as "Ranxerox", in Frigidaire magazine (1980). The first time "Ranxerox" was published in English was in the July 1983 issue of Heavy Metal. Many more issues of Heavy Metal and novels followed. The name RanXerox was later changed to Ranx due to lawsuit by Xerox for the copyright of the word "Xerox."

Ranx's face was based mainly on that of a childhood friend of Liberatore.

Richard Corben declared about the character:

"Ranxerox is a punk, futuristic Frankenstein, and with the under-aged Lubna, they are a bizarre Beauty and the beast. This artist and writer team have turned a dark mirror to the depths of our Id and we see reflected the base part of ourselves that would take what it wants with no compromise, no apology - and woe to the person who would cross us. But it is all done with a black, wry, satirical sense of humor."

Tanino Liberatore also contributed the artwork to the Frank Zappa album The Man from Utopia , Zappa on the cover bares a strong resemblance to RanXerox.

Publications

• 1981 : RanXerox à New York[1], éd. Albin michel
• 1983 : Bon Anniversaire Lubna[2], éd. Albin Michel
• 1996 : Amen ![3], scénario de Stefano Tamburini et Alain Chabat, éd. Albin Michel