Good Vibrations Magazine

This isn’t going to be the one hundred millionth review of a comic collection to say that “comics aren’t kid stuff anymore” or some such nonsense. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade you know that comics (or “sequential art” if you’re a graduate student or a New York Times reporter) are just as eligible to be art and/or literature as anything on the shelves at Borders or on the wall at your local gallery. And erotic comics aren’t exactly new either – Tijuana Bibles date from the 30’s, featuring familiar funny page characters like Dagwood and Olive Oyl in all kinds of compromising positions. Ah, but Tijuana Bibles (sadly) are with us no more, and I suppose they were a bit… juvenile. I love me some comics, and I love me some smut, so you would think they would go together like Elvis and black velvet, but a lot of times it doesn’t work out that well. There are a lot of soft-core comics that are seemingly directed at teenaged boys (do they have lots of disposable income or something?), and a lot of full-on pornographic comics that emphasize giant breasts, gynecological details and the inevitable money shot, just like mainstream porn. So where is a discerning reader to turn for dirty comics? And what if you don’t want merely dirty comics, but excellent dirty comics?

Friend, you’re in luck, because I have just the thing for you – Best Erotic Comics 2008, edited by Greta Christina. It features some heavy hitters such as Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), Gilbert Hernandez (Love & Rockets), Pheobe Gloeckner (A Child’s Life and Other Stories and – oh my gosh! Good Vibes very own The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex ! That’s super-neat!), but don’t think that you’re getting the comic book-tourist’s greatest hits here – even if you’ve been reading alternative comics for the last 20 years, you’re going to find something new here. The creators in this book are mostly American, but include artists from Germany, Japan, Italy and Granada, for a well-rounded international feel. The vintage of the comics is pretty broad too – the oldest one is dated 1984 (more on that later).

That’s the other nice thing about this book. It’s dirty. Although it’s an attractive, nicely bound book, there’s no way in hell would I leave this on the coffee table when my mom came over. Even the Ellen Forney cover, which is totally PG, lets you know that the point of this book is SEX. And a wide variety of sex it is! Straight, gay, bi, kinky, vanilla, tiny or giant – it’s represented here. (It would have been nice to see some trans stuff, but I suppose someone has to draw it first.) Subject matter ranges from a wannabe burglar getting caught at Thrift Town, to a call boy who’s a birthday present for a straight couple, to Godzilla vs. King Kong. The emotional tone is just as diverse – in the opening story, Monkey Eating Lemons by El Bute (a story that also features great artwork), a sperm donor is maybe a little too good at his job. Personel Allocation Directive #4682559003A by Sandez Rey is strangely sweet. And Roy & Al: Sniffing Around by Ralf Konig is a charmingly silly tale about a hot topman’s dog – his real dog.

The artwork is also top-notch, with styles ranging from the graffiti-inspired Punks: Featuring a Bruh Named Boo by Belasco, to the nearly photo-realistic drawings of The Eternal Idol by Quinn. Michael Manning (who is awesome) is represented in four pages of gorgeously illustrated horsey submission. Ellen Forney’s casual style perfectly captures the playful tone of “friends just-messin’-around” in After Hours. About a third of the book is for the most part well-chose color art, especially the ukiyo-e inspired work of Toshio Saeki, “the godfather of Japanese erotica”, which is… like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

My only complaint about this collection, and it’s a small one, is that it has great deal of overlap with Twisted Sisters: A Collection of Bad Girl Art, to the point of including one of the same stories. Oddly, it’s by Phoebe Gloeckner, who is fairly prolific, so I’m a little surprised the editor wasn’t able to find different piece to put in this collection. I might have also considered a nearly 25 year old story by Dori Seda (who was also featured in Twisted Sisters), an odd choice for a book that says 2008 right there on the cover, but I freakin’ love Dori Seda, and it’s a great story to boot, so I’m willing to overlook it. The exclusion of any manga is surprising, but the editor refers to difficulties with republishing art in the forward, so perhaps that was the problem.

Overall this is an outstanding collection – mad props to the editor, who really outdid herself. The range of content, style, tone and orientations ensures something for almost everyone – and if you feel that you’re not included, be sure to read the Call For Submissions at the end of the book! This intelligent and hot collection will have you sticking your hands down your pants at least once, guaranteed. If you like comics and you like smut, buy it.

Buy Best Erotic Comics 2008 at Good Vibrations