Graphic Novel Review: Lovesick

Published by: Image Comics

Written by: Luana Vecchio

Illustrated by: Luana Vecchio

ISBN: 9781534325937

Ages: 21+

I will start with a warning. This review will contain language that might make you uncomfortable to hear, but I want to present it as best as I can.

This book is absolutely NOT for everyone. Even when you read the premise, you have no idea the journey you are about to take. Read this with caution and a strong stomach.

All that being said, after finishing this graphic novel, I find myself contemplating the plot and themes it presented.

Domino is a dominatrix who is paid to kill people in graphic sexual ways. These men willingly give their lives to her, praising and submitting to her every whim and word. After death, which is entirely filmed and streamed online as a snuff film, the bodies are given to cannibals to eat. The leader of the cannibals is in a BDSM style relationship with Domino. She both loves and hates her life, longing for the day when she too will be eaten by her beau.

What part of the last paragraph makes you want to read Lovesick? Answering that says more about you than me, as I can only offer my opinions, allowing you to judge for yourself whether or not it is worth your time.

At its core, Lovesick is the story of a woman who got caught up in a world of her desires. Growing up outcast and different from most, Domino acted on her self-destructive and rebellious nature, finding a community amongst the dwellers of the darker parts of the internet. Trying things, she finds pleasure and purpose and continues along that path. Eventually pulling away on her own, she gathers followers and creates her own corner of the world where she has purpose and fulfillment and is idolized.

When you say it like that, the book sounds like something you might find in a late night cable drama, heavily censored over what you see in the graphic novel, but still trying to maintain the basic plot and purpose. Should we be looking at it that way? The author, Luana Vecchio, quoted something in the pages that provides a different opinion:

“Some time ago, I read a comment from a guy who asked what this comic had to offer to humanity… I would say an absolute f**kton of nothing! This is a nihilistic book, and it has absolutely nothing to offer. Art is entertainment. Let’s stop expecting it to always educate us or deliver positive messages. Comics aren’t schools.”

However you choose to see Lovesick, it is absolutely a story I will never forget reading. In the back of my mind, I will wonder about the places the author found online for research into this very real community, not to seek them out myself, but to realize that I live in a world where some are driven to extremes in ways they enjoy, while others might faint or become angry at their mere mention.

Ages 21+

ADAM FISHER, Reference Associate

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Adam Fisher

Adam Fisher has worked for more than a decade at Lane Libraries in Fairfield, Ohio, where he is a Reference Associate. He creates and leads programming for all ages, manages the graphic novel, sci-fi/fantasy, and magazine collections at his branch, and has recently seen great success with his self-created Escape Room programs. He writes reviews for everything he reads and can be found on Goodreads @FisherAd80 and on Twitter @adamreadscomics.

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