Critics malign comics for being unserious, and one only needs to look at The Hawkeye Initiative to see how sexiness is rarely handled well (or drawn well.) However, there are comics that incorporate sex, love, and danger into complex, thought-provoking plots. It’s what the best comics do: create long-form narratives that entertain while probing difficult ideas.
Sex Criminals written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky
On the surface, Sex Criminals is fun, kooky, and dirty with its premise that there are people who stop time when they orgasm. The power lends itself to hi-jinks, like bank robbery and despoiling a boss’s office, and weird romantic situations. But what could be a simple frat house romp with sex pictures becomes much more, including insights into romantic relationships (or the lack thereof), personal discovery, and the limits of power. There is so much that could have gone wrong, but instead Fraction undergirds the fantastically absurd with poignant realism. Zdarsky’s art emphasizes the text perfectly, conveying wonder, loneliness, excitement, and, of course, the sexiness. Sex Criminals balances comedy and seriousness to make for a truly addictive read.
Empowered written and illustrated by Adam Warren
If you opened to a random page in Empowered and didn’t read the text, you’d think I just recommended the silliest, most over the top, unnecessarily T&A-laden, frequently bondagey comic to you. To be frank, yes, all that is part of Empowered, even as Warren plays with common superhero tropes and imagery, they still function as part of the story and characterization. But the narrative and the characters are aware of the tropes too, participating enthusiastically, critically, and sometimes self-consciously (especially the titular main character.) Beyond the wackiness and boobs is an interesting examination of how we present ourselves and what we hide from those we care about.
(The creator also made the first volume a free web comic!)
Saga written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples
Saga is unusual in that the story starts after the star-crossed lovers have committed to each other and choose to make love (fairly frequently), not war. It is an action-driven space adventure that is balanced by humor and the recognition of mundane frustrations that plague even the most epic of relationships. The characters are fully fleshed, and no one is depicted as either evil or good, though most of them are extremely dangerous and make terrible decisions. Perhaps now, more then ever, an examination of what makes people enemies and what brings them together is worth thinking about. Yet Saga never has a “very special episode” feel or a moral for every story arc. The reader is left to digest the ideas on their own.
Lost Girls written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Melinda Gebbie
Of everything I’ve recommended, this one is the weirdest, most explicit, and most disturbing, which shouldn’t be a surprise since Alan Moore wrote Lost Girls. It’s technically a graphic novel and technically pornography. The protagonists are based off of storybook characters, and they tell each other salacious stories in addition to getting it on with each other. The premise sounds like the book could be cliché and campy, but it’s not. Lost Girls is not a gallivanting adventure like my other recommendations; it’s a psychological slow burn that takes place in an art nouveau style hotel before the outbreak of WWI. Gebbie’s beautiful art combines with Moore’s story to bring about a dreamy, intense examination of sexual awakening, social confines, and the calm before chaos. This book isn’t for everyone, especially since it considers aspects of abuse, but it is also unlike anything else I’ve ever seen.
