by Stjepan Šejić
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Stjepan Sejic is one of the premier writers and artists in the comic industry. To see him do an erotica adult lesbian BDSM comic was far too titillating to miss (lol)! Yes there is nudity, but it’s not gratuitous nor is it excessive. And thankfully, while the women are very attractive, they are shown reasonably (ie: not totally shaved, not crazy skinny, etc.) and as real people not just sexy archetypes.
What is perhaps most surprising here, although Sejic is a master storyteller so maybe I was coloured by assumptions because of the topic, is how good the character development is. We are immediately shown the nervousness and uncertainty of meeting someone online in Sunstone. Additionally the BDSM and queer representation is very well done. I would venture to say that Sejic is a dabbler (if not more) in the fetish arts or at least interviewed the right people to get some basic details about safe words, why people enjoy sexual play of this nature, and how a ‘first time’ might go. It actually made me think of Heated Rivalry (the show, the book is on my TBR) in that it represents a misunderstood group of people very well and humanizes an often pre-judged fetish. I also liked (as a bisexual woman) that, for the most part, it being two women is relatively irrelevant overall when it comes to the erotic scenes. We do get a tiny insight into one characters struggle with the label of lesbian (and I’m hoping that is explored further in the future). And I was very pleased that one of our women is bisexual!
There are 7 more volumes of this story. Each already published as web-comics (and originally brought to publication on Kickstarter). I’m glad to see a series like this get picked up by a (smaller) known comic publisher. Now it is Top Cow, whom Sejic has been writing for decades, but I think it’s a great home for the series and gets it on comic book shop shelves (or at least a chance of being ordered in).
Perhaps most interesting of all is the story after the main story where Sejic tells us how the comic came together. He talks genuinely of his struggles to pump out comics at a quick pace and the burn-out he was experiencing. I like how he includes his wife’s influences on the story, discusses the evolution of the story (it didn’t start at the beginning of the timeline), and how it has made him feel better about his career and creative abilities in general. It’s refreshing to see a successful artist talk about their daily struggles. A lot of artists have major doubts about their capabilities or large spells where creative ideas elude them; and I think sharing those stories is very important so others know they are not alone.
So while you might pick this up because it’s hot lesbians in BDSM erotica (ie: sexy!) there is more here than cheap nudity and selling sex. There are genuine emotions on the page, good representation, and a building up of our characters that is refreshing for an erotic comic. I look forward to continuing the journey with our two lovely ladies!
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Stjepan Sejic is one of the premier writers and artists in the comic industry. To see him do an erotica adult lesbian BDSM comic was far too titillating to miss (lol)! Yes there is nudity, but it’s not gratuitous nor is it excessive. And thankfully, while the women are very attractive, they are shown reasonably (ie: not totally shaved, not crazy skinny, etc.) and as real people not just sexy archetypes.
What is perhaps most surprising here, although Sejic is a master storyteller so maybe I was coloured by assumptions because of the topic, is how good the character development is. We are immediately shown the nervousness and uncertainty of meeting someone online in Sunstone. Additionally the BDSM and queer representation is very well done. I would venture to say that Sejic is a dabbler (if not more) in the fetish arts or at least interviewed the right people to get some basic details about safe words, why people enjoy sexual play of this nature, and how a ‘first time’ might go. It actually made me think of Heated Rivalry (the show, the book is on my TBR) in that it represents a misunderstood group of people very well and humanizes an often pre-judged fetish. I also liked (as a bisexual woman) that, for the most part, it being two women is relatively irrelevant overall when it comes to the erotic scenes. We do get a tiny insight into one characters struggle with the label of lesbian (and I’m hoping that is explored further in the future). And I was very pleased that one of our women is bisexual!
There are 7 more volumes of this story. Each already published as web-comics (and originally brought to publication on Kickstarter). I’m glad to see a series like this get picked up by a (smaller) known comic publisher. Now it is Top Cow, whom Sejic has been writing for decades, but I think it’s a great home for the series and gets it on comic book shop shelves (or at least a chance of being ordered in).
Perhaps most interesting of all is the story after the main story where Sejic tells us how the comic came together. He talks genuinely of his struggles to pump out comics at a quick pace and the burn-out he was experiencing. I like how he includes his wife’s influences on the story, discusses the evolution of the story (it didn’t start at the beginning of the timeline), and how it has made him feel better about his career and creative abilities in general. It’s refreshing to see a successful artist talk about their daily struggles. A lot of artists have major doubts about their capabilities or large spells where creative ideas elude them; and I think sharing those stories is very important so others know they are not alone.
So while you might pick this up because it’s hot lesbians in BDSM erotica (ie: sexy!) there is more here than cheap nudity and selling sex. There are genuine emotions on the page, good representation, and a building up of our characters that is refreshing for an erotic comic. I look forward to continuing the journey with our two lovely ladies!
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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