SEX CRIMINALS #18

Writer: Matt Fraction

Artist: Chip Zdarsky

Publisher: Image Comics

I wish I could properly explain my simultaneous joy and confusion at this issue of Sex Criminals, but I’m not sure I have the vocabulary. After last month’s issue that focused so exclusively on Kegelface and her one-woman intent on being the fun police, this is one that is more concerned with getting to the heart of the matter, as it were.

And I mean that pretty literally; this issue is all about how much human sexuality connects hearts to each other through our genitals. It isn’t a connection that lots of us are very good at, but the rewards for even beginning to master how it works are pretty amazing. That’s about as eloquent as I’m going to wax here about sexual love. It’s just that I’m completely blown away at how much Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky can use minimal dialogue and funny pictures of boobs and peens and sex toys to convey such an emotional message.

In fact, Zdarsky’s art is really the star in this issue in a way that it hasn’t been in awhile. The throwaway gags in the backgrounds were enough to make me just about choke more than once. I especially appreciated Jon’s “red room” dream that reminded me of some of the weirder parts of Twin Peaks - which immediately gave way to the goofiest Hamilton parody I’ve seen in good long time. But by far the best page in the whole book is the 64-panel single page that shows Jazmine getting ready for her appearance at the porn convention. I was more than a little amused as a woman at how many of those small actions I’ve taken myself to meet modern beauty standards.

I won’t spoil the best of  Fraction’s writing in this issue, but suffice to say that many misunderstandings actually get worked out, and no Cheap Trick songs are actually quoted with any accuracy. We still don’t know what the deal is with the creepy little sex dolls, but I suspect we’ll find out more about that next month. I’m just glad to see that love seems to be conquering a lot of things, and I hope it keeps it up.