Image Comics 2018
by Mirka Andolfo
Colour Assists by Gianluca Papi
Letters & Production by Fabio Amelia
Translation by Arnacia Studio
Leslie is a simple pig girl. She loves sushi, she’s stuck with a job she hates, and she lives under a brutal totalitarian government—one that punishes transgressors for anything deemed “unnatural.” Leslie dreams of something different for herself. But those dreams are becoming dangerous…
I had no idea what this was going to be only that it was from Image and that artist Mirka Andolfo was doing it. So thanks to the folks at Image I have the chance to review this and I have to admit at first I was like what the ,,(ya know) is going on here? The opening is absolutely gorgeous I mean the artwork alone is erotic and beguiling. It is certainly an eye catching moment when we see it and it definitely does the trick in making me want to see more and what is next.
As Leslie wakes up or is awoken as the case my be the story kind of really starts. Usually I am not a huge fan of these anthropomorphic characters but Mirka manages to make them decidedly adult in nature while just remaining on the clean side of erocitca and that’s not easy to do. The way she’s structured this book is fantastic as the ebb & flow of what we see is entertaining and informative. There is something about Leslie and her dreams that sets her apart from the rest of the folks we see and it will be interesting to see how the progresses as the story continues.
We get to see this creepy cartoon where these two kids are kind of falling in love so to speak and then a woman comes along and tells us that mixing of species is against the law. So if you are dating outside your species then you are breaking the law and that hybrids are a genetic anomaly which is kind of harsh and limits what couples can do. It is a weird take on what we have right now when mixing marriage and children between people of different ethnic backgrounds. Also something about this feels like a police state and regardless of what kind of reality it takes place in it’s never a good thing. I will this much that Leslie’s best friend Derek is dating a pig person whom he is trying to get Leslie to marry because I guess being gay is as bad as mixed marriages.
So aside from the fact that this is animal folks the interior artwork is really rather interesting and at times stunningly gorgeous. I will say that backgrounds are not utilised as much as they could or should be and that’s disappointing as I'd love to see the restaurant behind Leslie and Derek when they are talking. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off her strong eye for storytelling. The imagination and creativity on display here is spectacular and the sexiness she’s able to bring to this is undeniable.
I love that Trish keeps walking in on Leslie during her dreams where she’s with that wolf and its sexually charged to the point where in real life she’s doing dirty things. Okay making out with a pillow or a wine glass though I have expected her to have her hand somewhere else. This is a first issue that you can really sink your teeth into it has this wild kind of premise based off of Totalitarianism writings and history. The mystery of her dream lover and then what is expected of her and what’s to come well it just has this way of seeping into you and giving you the desire to stay as long as possible.