https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/sunstone-vol-1-by-stjepan-sejic/

First in a series of volumes about the loving and kinky relationship between Alison and Lisa, and Alison’s friend Alan who builds her equipment. Not especially explicit, but very sexy. ( )

Sunstone, primo volume di una graphic novel che ne dura cinque (l’ultimo è uscito in lingua originale qualche giorno fa), è uno splendido gioiello che spero leggerete in tant*: l’ho scoperto tramite I dolori della giovani libraria e ne sono oltremodo felice, per quattro motivi diversi.

Il primo riguarda la bellezza e il rispetto per il corpo femminile. Non è inconsueto imbattersi in nudi femminili “strategici”: aggiungiamoci che si tratta di un fumetto scritto da un uomo e con protagoniste due donne (pare che gli uomini siano tristemente famosi per la loro confusione sulle dinamiche del sesso tra donne) e il livello di rischio era davvero alle stelle. Invece è tutto estremamente gioioso e naturale.

Il secondo riguarda il modo in cui viene trattato il tema del BDSM, che è solo uno dei tanti elementi della personalità delle protagoniste. Infatti, troppo spesso quando si parla di persone che praticano BDSM (anche nei romanzi) sembra che queste non abbiano altro per la testa se non latex, fruste e manette: ovviamente non è così ed è bello trovare ogni tanto un’opera che rispecchia questa realtà.

Il terzo elemento è collegato al precedente: un altro cliché da romance BDSM è un certo tipo di caratterizzazione dei personaggi. Con una frequenza allarmante abbiamo a che fare con dominatori super spaventosi, super perfetti e super ricchi e con sottomessi super affabili, super imbranati e super poveri (generi a piacere, ovviamente). In Sunstone abbiamo, invece, due donne normalissime, con i loro timori, i loro desideri e le loro difficoltà quotidiane ed è molto facile simpatizzare con loro.

Infine, si tratta di una graphic novel molto divertente (in alcuni momenti sono proprio scoppiata a ridere) e molto tenera (lettrici e lettor* più romantic* avranno parecchio materiale sul quale sospirare!). Insomma, non gli manca proprio niente: dategli una chance, anche se vi sembra molto lontano dai vostri gusti, perché davvero un ottimo modo per uscire dalla comfort zone. ( )

I love this story 100%. Vol 1 is a bit of set up and explanations for those aren’t super knowledgeable into bdsm and what it entails, as well as giving good intros for the main characters and setting up for the next volume to take off. I really do love the healthy balance of kink that’s brought into and maintained through the series. ( )

I was morbidly curious about today’s smut in comic form, so I was surprised to find this not SUPER perverted. It was almost a PSA for BDSM at times, with the lengths it took to describe the process in a positive, nonjudgmental way. It also takes care toward its two main characters beyond what you’d expect of smutlit sex objects to the point it’s more of a rom-com than a 50 Shades fantasy. Plenty of nudity, but not overly explicit about the specific details—a lot of the time there’s not actual sex scenes, and when there are, they’re not concerned with the lurid sides of sex. They focus on the two characters’ developing emotions for each other, and gloss over the pornography. Kind of respectable? ( )

I've loved Šejić since before he started working full time on Witchblade and I've been a fan of his dA account for many years now. While I adore his drawing style and illustrations I'm not very fond of his pacing and page structure/layout. That is why I tend to mostly enjoy his comics when they're written by someone else and just illustrated by Šejić.

This one had the same problem. Too many wasted panels (wasted as in not bringing anything new to the story, panels whose absence wouldn't change a thing in a page), many of them clustered with narration/exposition, way too many repetitive facial expressions (close up on someone biting their lips for the 5.672th time).

Then come the quirks of Šejić's style. The "sameface" problem many artists suffer from (all the characters have the same face but with a different haircut or an extra mole) and the imbalance of the quality of the art. In one page you have sketch-like drawings with hasty lines and copy-paste bodies with a different expression drawn on and in the next you see a highly detailed realistic extravaganza.
I understand that many people enjoy these traits in a comic. I do not.

The point is that I was expecting all of these, because I'm a fan of Šejić. Those are things that annoy me but do not discourage me from enjoying his work. I think he really is a precious artist.

What ultimately bothered me about Sunstone wasn't the art but the writing. The narration was forced, the characters didn't seem real, the humor just didn't do it for me. Sure, I enjoyed the geeky refs and the Twilight bashing but only as a "i see what you wanted to do there" and nothing more. I really loved his approach to BDSM, it was thoughtful and sweet. I appreciated the fact that it wasn't just "now let us fap to two women fucking". There was a romance there. Yes it's development was bad and forced (they fall for each other instantly), but the two characters had genuine moments between them that you couldn't help but chuckle to. The most well written thing in this comic was their friendship.

Would be far superior if it had avoided the romance tropes. "Oh my I'm super rich, white, thin and gorgeous but I can't find a partner because REASONS."

PS. ffs it's not lesbian-fiction. None of these women are lesbians. They have both been written as bisexuals and I could deal with less erasure please.

PPS. I was moved by Šejić's story about how this book came to be and the struggles he had with his creativity.

PPPS. It was really, really short. Why? I'll be also reading the rest.

( )