A review by ikovski
Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia

2.0

I love lost teens with an aesthetical face n body.
Not ugly losers.

Others what we are, what I'm familiar. I used to experience some of it, after all, once I was an ugly lost teen and it's a story that teenagers are involved, however I can hardly say it's a coming of age. Or dystopian lol.

The first it didn't make sense why all faces especially eyes look like belong to a monster, a freaky evil one. And for a long time I could figure out who is who. After finishing I still can't but I think it serves the style and the story.

So there are teenagers look like abandoned by their parents.
There are murders going on that seem no one cares (?)
There is a rock band, palm readers, Ben (the main character) and her friend Otto.
The blurb says (at amazon) their parents r religious, terrible tragedy is coming.
There are lots of horror elements I don't want to elaborate.

Before I give any spoilers, I want to say that if there were nothing 'religious' in this comic, it would make more sense. At least, it will be just teenage drama. I would die for this comic if it just had weird, gothic as fuck scenes without any metaphorical shit with teenage drama.

Then, like why Otto licking some girl's shoes, there are more things I don't know if it's matters for comic's sake.
Like -please someone tells me if I'm wrong- what's the deal of some underneath canal monsters?
Or the fire at the cinema theater.
Or biblical flood at the ending which is not biblical flood.

So the town is actually a cult compound, and what? To me this adds nothing to the story. From the beginning some pages feel like catharsis, u can sense something wrong going on. And it's a good thing, very. I'm not saying it should give away or have to explain to me at some point, or these teens must be characterized as freak children of religious parents than just being punk; yet the taste is hollow.

I read the interview. I know now it's a webcomic and edited. So maybe this cause why I they felt disconnected.

I know I said the style it served the comic, also it's black n white, like the matter of sexuality and gender, or friendship and sisterhood- all of its sharp edges, ying-yang, if it's ever as clear as monochrome. So you have to be careful to see details. I love b&w, just in this didn't work out so well for me.

Again I have to go back to monster-like-style, if the story itself is about those things, why all characters are ugly, I'm not being rude and I don't need to sugarcoat my words. To insult belief (so where are deep elements)? Or to make it more grotesque n horrified?

You can try to read between linespanels, for murders n' religion, and you may succeed... To me, there is no purpose.

You know what, this comic needs pigs
xoxoxo
iko