Review: Monika HC #1 & #2 by Guillem March and Thilde Barboni
Thilde Barboni weaves an erotic thriller brought to life by the sensual palette of Guillem March.
Titan Comics released 2 volumes in their Monika series and these 56 page short graphic novels iare to be fully contained within a two-part thriller series.
The story revolves around two sisters who both live two very different lives. Monika is an artist, desperately searching for the sister, Erika- she lost as a child. When a lead takes her deep into the murky underworld of anonymous, and decadent, masked balls, she realizes that her missing sister is involved in, and utterly controls, a potential terrorist movement. Scared to show her true self, Monika is only comfortable with an advanced secret AI-robot that fascinates her.
Monika Vol. 1: Masked Ball
Writers: Thilde Barboni
Artists: Guillem March
FC – 56pp – $15.99/£11.99 – On sale in comic stores: Aug 3
Monika Vol. 2: Vanilla Dolls
Writers: Thilde Barboni
Artists: Guillem March
HC – FC – 64pp – $16.99
The tease in this tale of course is “erotic thriller” but to European readers this is merely something that is merely the notion of a bare boob or an implicit sexual scene is portrayed.
Throughout the book we only see a few of those and none of it is disturbing or even gratuitous. All the scenes and panels serve the story and none is produced for the sake of tantalizing or arousment.
That really is the ONLY gripe I have with the description of “erotic thriller” in this case! So everyone CHILL and RELAX and just enjoy this lovely, intricate and layered story.
The story of Barboni is truly a thriller, with lots of suspense and layered plots, with strong characters that either love eachother, are true friends or have a downright difficult relationship.
The artistry of lead character Monika is felt throughout the issue, be it as part of the dress-up plot, be it as part of her own artistry or be it as part of the stunning art by artist March himself, with his sensual pencils and his love for aquarelle and subtle lighting. March should do books like this more, because this shows how much ar Art Master the man is!
About the Author
Richard Boom Richard is the driving force behind Comics for Sinners. His love and admiration for female comic book characters is virtually unparalleled, which immediately explains his biggest 'sin': his Hot Mummy fetish. This sketchbook theme is philogynistic in nature and even the source of his WIP comic book series "The Sisterhood".
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