I have a confession to make…I love Sex. “Well no shit, of course you do”, you may say. Yes, I love Sex, but in regard to the comic Sex, I love it too. It started a little cold to me initially, up on display, trying to draw me in, but I wasn’t really into it. It was trying to play itself off as a Batman with a kinky side. So I remained back a little. But as issue upon issue displayed itself bare for me to read, I discovered that beyond all the naked ladies and penis close ups, that there was some substance to it addressing some really deep issues like what it is to be a human who has desires and who needs to embrace those desires rather than burying them away within a façade of whatever it is that you may be hiding it as. It is kind of deep this Sex is. Within these pages, we view the great Saturn City, a place where all inhibitions have been unleashed and people are following their passions in having sex, taking control of the city’s criminal element, and/or trying to live their life as a successful businessman who once was the masked crusader that kept the city safe from those elements of evil that are vying for control. No. this Sex is complex and really captivating underneath when you get to read it.
Issue #15 has introduced itself as a collectors issue and presents with an impressive cover. But the story itself is a little bit lackluster as compared to the events that built up to this issue. It was, dare I say, a little premature in its release based on all of the wonderful build up coming up to it. I was left disappointed, which is a shame, as I have rarely been disappointed here.
Joe Casey has been writing up a storm and really pulling the stops following the ensemble cast that have been playing out their lives, both public and private, in Saturn City in recent months. Some pretty big things happened in Issue #14 that has set up Issue #15 to be a transition or update issue. Several cards have been laid down on the table and the characters involved which in the issue include former super Simon Cooke having to deal with some business misfortune that requires action, The Old Man, a gangster who still runs the crime, but is now seeing a challenge involved with his empire, a reporter who is relentlessly working to investigate who Simon Cooke is as a man and as a powerful figure. And Keenan Wade, a dishwasher and former sidekick of Cooke during his super days who has infiltrated a powerful street gang and is beginning to see where his plan of taking the city back for good will go. There are others at work in this issue too. But hey, you pay to read the comic, not get a full synopsis here.
Needless to say, a whole lot is going on, but nothing really happens in this issue as things are being prepped for the future. Nothing big really popped out or dazzled me within the pages of this issue. It was just kind of there in the form of a whole lot of dialogue. Now, Joe Casey has done this before in other issues, so I am not too terribly worried. I think it is just kind of the nature of this title. With all of the complexities of the story, every now and again a regroup issue needs to happen. Issue #15 just happens to be it.
With Piotr Kowalski, he can draw way more than simply naked people and penis close ups. He has a classic comic book “chiseled feature” look that he blends in with the softer and sexier tones that work well with this book. He just doesn’t have a whole lot of action to depict with this issue as most of the happenings were communications based over the action. So he simply didn’t get an opportunity to really shine this time.
Not all sex can be mind-blowing 100% of the time. Sometimes, things are just kind of there, quick and simple. With Issue #15 that is what we get just kind of going through the motions. It happens sometimes. That’s life. I think with this particular title, that is what happened. I don’t foresee this to be common and I do expect the mind blowing stuff to come on strong again in the future. But for now, we have this.
I would like to give some serious props to the “Letters” section within this issue. In it, Casey writes an incredibly heartfelt tribute to a mentor of his that is hands down the best writing in this issue. It is passionate and well done and puts this issue just over the threshold of being ok instead of not so great.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Joe Casey Artist: Piotr Kowalski Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 8/27/14 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital