Iolanda Zanfardino

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/facing-fate-vortex-butterflies-by-nick-abadzis-e...

I thought this was rather good; the Doctor leaves his companions in 2009 Willesden, where they befriend Sarah Jane Smith, and they separately explore a kind of meditation on the Doctor / companion relationship, with some lovely art and a couple more cameos from other characters from the TV series… (more)

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/arena-of-fear-by-nick-abadzis-eleonora-carlini-e...

Continuing the adventures of the Tenth Doctor and New Yorker Gabby Gonzalez. The first of these, the title story, has a rather cliched arena situation crossed with a much better than usual take on the characters losing and recovering their memories. Gabby’s friend Cindy joins the TARDIS at the end of the story, though to be honest I have difficulty distinguishing between their characters. The second story, “The Wishing Well Witch”, is a pleasing little vignette set in an English village that is not quite Stockbridge. The third story sets us up for the next volume with the Osirians returning to the fore.… (more)

Despite the fun yet provocative title hinting at some kink, Alice in Leatherland is a light-hearted and sweet romance about discovering what you really want, sexually and emotionally. There's no major kink, though Alice's new roommates are dom(me)s and Alice works at 'Leatherland', a sex shop.

The main story is about Alice, a true romantic, starting over in a new city after her girlfriend cheats on her. I really liked all the characters. Their personalities were firmly defined and a lot of fun; I just wish we saw more of them.

I get that the firefly fairytale was part of the story, part of what connected Alice and Robin's trajectories, but I felt it a little trite that it took up so many full pages when I would have preferred a little more expansion on the characters instead. I would have liked a little more on why Alice and Robin are even friends or like each other, and I desperately want to know more about Alice's roommates.

Elisa Romboli's art is lovely and expressive, perfect for the emotional and romantic Alice. Her lineart is so bold and clean.. My preference is generally for more colour in the graphic novels and comics I read; however, I did like the warm shades of brown. There were a few moments where I thought more colours would have suited the story better, but I respect the stylistic choice.… (more)

i really like the art in here and the looks given to the characters, but the rest was just very blah for me. i know it's supposed to be the opposite of blah, like it's this innocent young thing moving to san fransisco and is exposed to bdsm and sex toys and oh my. but the characterizations were way too thin, the story arc totally unsatisfying and unbelievable, and it was far more blah than it needed to be for the story to actually work. the book-within-the-book that is interspersed as part of the story is even worse than the main story, and detracts more than it adds. i also don't really like, at the end, how even though it has to end this way because of the fairy-tale aspect of it, that it feels like the messaging is that robin and her player ways are finally overcome by monogamy and true love. personally i'm all for those things, but robin's character wasn't, and it felt like, after she'd been saying all through the book that she was judged for her lifestyle, that the redemption for her is the she...changes her lifestyle? i don't like that.

bumping up to 1 star because the art, really, is great. and because the casual diversity and queerness is fantastic.… (more)