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A review by citrus_seasalt
Putty Pygmalion by Lonnie Garcia
4.25
Overall, really cool! Especially visually: the character designs are brimming with personality and a bit strange, the collage style of the panels only adds to the feel. The hyper-realistic backgrounds and oversaturated colors make the story feel more uncanny and existential. (Sort of reminds me of a kookier version of toynbeck’s art on Instagram?) Some of it definitely makes the art seem visually confusing at first glance, but this is short enough that you can easily read through it a second time and see the details better, instead of being caught off-guard by how much is happening.
While I liked the visuals of the horror, the story itself was lacking a bit. I feel like the shortness meant that the fucked-up power dynamics between Peter and Derryl only got to be addressed at their surface level. I also wanted to see more of Derryl’s friends, since they gave Peter a bit more insight into his situation, and contrasted with the claustrophobic monotony of being stuck inside Derryl’s house. A lot of how they handled the plot towards the end was mostly revealed through Peter’s dialogue, too, and I’d hoped to see more conflict. (Also, because Derryl doesn’t have to face many consequences, lol?)
The storytelling for Derryl’s spiral was fantastic, though. I loved seeing it unfold the more independent Peter becomes. I think the fight towards the end is where the art starts to get a little overwhelming again, but ooo it was so visceral (both his and Peter’s unraveling).
I thought this was eerily charming, and unabashedly creative in a way I don’t see comics brave enough to be. Sorta niche indies like this one take a while to find their audience, but I have more hope that the right people will find it. Cheers to maybe having nightmares tonight! Thank you Queer Liberation Library for adding this to your digital catalog! :)
While I liked the visuals of the horror, the story itself was lacking a bit. I feel like the shortness meant that the fucked-up power dynamics between Peter and Derryl only got to be addressed at their surface level. I also wanted to see more of Derryl’s friends, since they gave Peter a bit more insight into his situation, and contrasted with the claustrophobic monotony of being stuck inside Derryl’s house. A lot of how they handled the plot towards the end was mostly revealed through Peter’s dialogue, too, and I’d hoped to see more conflict. (Also, because Derryl doesn’t have to face many consequences, lol?)
The storytelling for Derryl’s spiral was fantastic, though. I loved seeing it unfold the more independent Peter becomes. I think the fight towards the end is where the art starts to get a little overwhelming again, but ooo it was so visceral (both his and Peter’s unraveling).
I thought this was eerily charming, and unabashedly creative in a way I don’t see comics brave enough to be. Sorta niche indies like this one take a while to find their audience, but I have more hope that the right people will find it. Cheers to maybe having nightmares tonight! Thank you Queer Liberation Library for adding this to your digital catalog! :)