Sunstone, Vol. 1

Sejic, best known for his exceptionally long run on Witchblade, tries his hand at illustrated erotica with a story of two lonely, beautiful women interested in BDSM. Ally and Lisa find they're both sexually compatible and well suited to being friends as they enjoy their first weekend together. The sense of humor and humanity in Sejic's characters is refreshing and provides much-needed levity to balance the potentially tricky subject matter. The story is extremely light on plot, focusing entirely on Ally and Lisa's first meeting and exploratory early relationship. While the honest and upfront approach to sexual female relationships and fetishes is a worthy one, the book is sometimes overwritten and repetitive. However, the biggest miss is the fact that the two leads are stereotypical "perfect tens" as well as nearly identical, which feels unfaithful to the concept of taking an unflinching look at unconventional people, unconventional sex, and maybe even unconventional love. (Jan.)