Eric’s Image Comics Review: OUR LOVE IS REAL

Our Love is Real may boast one of the most unique sex scenes in all of comics. In a one-shot that portrays a world in which bestiality is the norm, that's not the only thing it has going for it. It's funny with great world building, but leaves readers wanting more.

Let's get this out of the way first. Our Love is Real is weird, really weird. It takes place in a society where groups are strongly divided to the to the point of taking up arms because of sexuality. To those worried about some awkwardly overt political message, these people choose to make sweet, sweet love with plants, crystals, and man's more than best friend five years after a vaccine was developed for the AIDS virus. The absurdity of the whole thing is a take-it-or-leave-it affair. Some people (like myself) will find the premise interesting enough to remain engaged, while others will simply roll their eyes and walk away. There is no wrong or right to this, but it helps that everything is presented well in a tongue-and-cheek manner. While there's some substance that can be pulled from this book, Sam Humphries seems intent on entertaining. Even within the short amount of pages provided, the world in which these characters interact is well developed with each point of opposition given a succinct, but lucid definition and social stratification. It's also extremely funny in the most base way there is without becoming idiotic. Given the subject matter, it's amazingly well balanced without anything going too far.

The biggest drawback to Our Love is Real is that it is in fact a one-shot. With all that is done right, it can only do so much and it never gets a chance to get beyond its novelty. That might be for the best being that sometimes further examination shows flaws, but readers may want to delve deeper (pervs!) into this universe. There's a lot of left to explore and questions to answer (What about procreation!). It's fun while it last, but that's not very long.

Steven Sanders' art is beautiful, clean, and visually interesting. Much of the writer's work is done in defining the various groups with the distinct look of each. The vegisexuals are conveyed as hippies, the zoosexuals have a high tech militaristic feel of any video game with a space marine, and the mineralsexual has a sleek, almost cyborg appearance. They relate well to their sexual partners, but also blend in a world that is as palpable as it is absurd. Like the narrative, it's incredibly balanced with a good sense of what is “just right.” Sanders is a storyteller rather than an illustrator, which is a world of difference in comics.

Story: Sam Humphries
Art: Steven Sanders
Cover: Steven Sanders
28 Pages/B&W
$3.99
On Sale November 2, 2011!