Viscera Objectica

by Yugo Limbo

A humble tailor is very skilled at his work, but finds the complex patchwork of love painful to stitch together. One day, he visits a farmers market and is drawn to a beautiful puppet, whose vendor utters “His name is Theu.” Though the puppet is inanimate, the tailor inexplicably falls for Theu, day by day finding that patchwork of love no longer painful.

Viscera Objectica explores the depth of feeling that develops between man and object, lover and loved.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Queer, LGBT, Romance, Comics, Fiction, Comics Manga

72 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2024

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viscera Objectica from Yugo Limbo is an odd little curio of a short graphic novel, but one that quietly blossoms into something surprisingly heartwarming. Told by a trans masc tailor who has many lovers but has never felt compelled to stick around and love, it is a story of finding one’s heart stitched somewhere unexpected. A simple yet fun line-art style bring this brief and breezy story to life, drawing on Pygmalion from Ovid’s Metamorphoses in a new way for this tale of a tailor in love with a doll named Theu.

‘But it is a love fully realized.’

Quirky but surprisingly touching, Yugo Limbo takes a story that is often explored for critiques on objectification and ownership and makes it rather soft and warm. The narrator gives love to the doll, finds happiness in its companionship and feels that it is ‘something that transcends the idea of “unreciprocated love…” It is still, like Pygmalion, a love professed to an object from their owner, yet here it is shown as a way to feel joy in a situation where the doll is quite literally an inanimate doll (I believe this is definitely meant literally and not metaphorically) and a place to which the narrator can give emotional connection. ‘To love an object. You give your love. You expect nothing in return. Simply to give is your joy. Your love.’

Following the story, Yugo Limbo includes a short segment on people feeling a sense of love for an object, such as their own experience as a 10 year old for Miro’s Chicago, the statue right across from the Daley Center in Chicago. There are stories of love for a VW bus, a VCR, an abandoned building, and an art exhibit ‘Love Beyond Expression’ that dealt with this subject.

Short but fairly sweet in its unconventionality. It was interesting to see this take on things, especially as it is quite different than any other versions of Pygmalion. This also made me want to check out Yugo Limbo’s much longer work, Be Kind, My Neighbor, which sounds quite unique as well. A surprising little gem.

I love the final page in which the author writes:
THANK YOU FOR READING
(& UNDERSTANDING)
(HOPEFULLY)
(IF NOT THATS OK)
(maybe think about it over coffee)
(jk you do you homie)

3.5/5

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yugo Limbo tells the story of a tailor who falls in love with a stuffed puppet named Theu. Never able to really connect with human beings he finds that his love for Theu grows as they spend time with each other. I suspect that this phenomena is more widespread than we suspect; individuals giving up on connecting with someone and pouring their love into an object.

[Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5) Obsessed with this!! A (trans) man falls in love with a puppet. That’s it. The puppet does not become sentient, it’s just a regular puppet. I really like the way this short comic explores feelings people have for inanimate objects - it’s a topic I find fascinating, and whilst yes feeling romantic love for a puppet is a bit of an extreme, who hasn’t felt some kind of strong emotion towards an object?

[zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

short and sweet graphic novel about a tailor who falls in love with a puppet he picks up at a farmer’s market, based on the author’s own experience falling in love with joan miró’s statue “the sun, the moon, and one star” as a child. read it on my commute to work this morning. very cute, loveeee the illustration style.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the average reader will find it odd. At first, I did, too! But you can tell it was written from the heart, and I love it for that alone.

Reading, I ended up realizing I related to this, as I have fictional characters I'm deeply in love with. I was always scared to think it was unhealthy, but after this, I felt better about it. It's nice to know others find actual love in anything, not just people. If it makes you happy and isn't hurting you or anyone else, then it's okay!

Yugo's work is always something that makes me smile. They always give me validation as a trans-masc autistic person. I highly recommend this comic overall! (::

[no elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

theyve normalized puppet fucking!

[thosemeddlingkids · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic novel between a trans man tailor and a puppet he finds and falls in love with.

Surprisingly wholesome, an ode to fabric and stitches and loving something without expecting anything back. This was very unique!

Also, looooove the art style.

I have no clue what to call this. Not romance, not nonfiction. Just a short little story about love.

[kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting quick read of a man who falls in love with a puppet. to each their own, I guess.

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the story of a tailor who develops a complex relationship with an inanimate puppet, Viscera Objectica by Yugo Limbo explores the labyrinthine concept of love in a much more unconventional way. The tailor has for a long time found the idea of loving someone else almost alien, and yet it's a puppet named Theu that starts to cultivate an understanding behind affection. It's a curious little inversion on objectification, where instead it's presented as much more quaint and understandable. Why shouldn't one love an object if they so choose to? It's an interesting idea, and Viscera Objectica takes the reader down a short, yet winding road of discovery.

The artwork matches the quaint story well, with a lot of simplicity in the compositions and character designs making this a charming comic all the way through. The author expands on the themes in an afterword, including their own experiences involving first encountering the Miró's Chicago statue (formerly known as The Sun, the Moon and One Star) in Brunswick Plaza, Chicago. It's a very sweet little story, and brings up some pretty unconventional ideas in a very imaginative kind of way.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like their previous published work, Limbo brings in another tale of a man’s romantic tryst with a puppet… with some very key differences.

“Viscera Objectica” is a much simpler story, a lot like a passing anecdote you’d get from a close friend over an edible high. It’s personal and intimate, the kind of story where it just kind of clicks into place once you get to a certain point. Sometimes people can fall in love with the oddest things. It’s a unique mark of humanity, the way we’re able to pack bond with pretty much anything.

I’ve never seen a story like this before, let alone with one of the most gender affirming protagonist’s I’ve ever seen in my life. I adore how Limbo draws transmasc characters. No one else can do it like they do, and it’s simply splendid.

Is it weird? I mean, yeah, but that’s what makes it so special.

[Emma (littledollreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There is a thin line between weird and beautiful, and that line is covered in jellyfish." - Welcome to Night Vale

This one is definitely one that I think the general reader would classify as weird, but I am here to remind you that I adore the weird and surreal. This one definitely has a different tone than their last work, Be Kind, My Neighbor but it still has such a strong vibe. The art style of Yugo Limbo is just so utterly captivating and endearing to me. It is so unique and stylized that I am drawn in and immediately transported to this psychedelic surreal world of yesteryear.

[Solaris]

Equally beautiful and informative. I will definitely be looking out for Limbo's next works.

[Ain Ashura]

Not sure how to rate this so I won't.

[Alisa]

As the great poet Haddaway pondered, “What is love?”

I loved the illustrations and the subject is quite thought provoking. Silas and I had a long conversation about the concept of being in love with an object…. The story is super simple, short, and straightforward. Good thing the illustrations were there to put some meat on the bones, so to speak.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this until the end. I really like the authors note. I’m not sure how I feel about it, exactly, but I do know that there’s something special about what this is an image of.

And that’s all this needs to be.

[Janina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art style was very interesting, it definitely had character. It's a story about a human falling into (romantic) love with an object (objectum). From the cover I expected kind of macabre or haunting stuff but it wasn't horror at all. It was more like a love story.

[Alyssa Rogers-Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A darling little love story for those who are open-minded. A truly unique piece that has carved its niche in existence and cannot be duplicated.

[theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Life is weird, love is weird! Open your heart!"

[Cage Against The Machine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Object Romance: Final Boss (/lh)

charming art style, and the history stuff at the end is pretty cool.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an unexpected, vulnerable book.

[Moe Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve loved everything I’ve seen from Yugo Limbo, and Viscera Objectica is another hit for me. When I saw the preorder announcement for this new book I raced to place an order immediately, and was not disappointed! I find their storytelling and graphic layout is always so interesting and the art style so alluring. Though it’s a quick read, I recommend to anyone picking it up to really digest each panel and page, there’s a lot to love about the composition and narrative!
I haven’t really ever put much thought to objectum, I didn’t even know there was a word until now! But I’m very fascinated by it, and like Yugo Limbo says in “the author’s connection” section, “Like, it is “weird” I guess - but who cares? Ain’t hurting nobody” and I am inclined to agree! It’s honestly a sweet phenomenon, and I was delighted to read the other instances of objectum at the end of the book.
Great read!

[jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

OVERALL: 7.35/10, or 3.75/5- rounded to 4 stars.

A simple but heartwarming short story about a trans masculine tailor who falls in love (yes, romantic love) with a puppet.

The title conjures this image that this story is going to end up within the realm of horror, but I wouldn’t call this horror by any means. If anything, it's closest to a romance.

There is something quite freeing about one of the statements Limbo leaves us with- there is freedom in giving without expectation of receiving. In this way, those with a passion for the inanimate may just be the most selfless lovers of all. There is a pragmatic romanticism in this view of love that I not only find fascinating, but endearing as well. The more I sit with it, the more fondly I look back on it.

I was not bothered by its lack of plot, being more of an exploration of this idea on the nature of love, but I did find that it meandered a bit when it came to making its point. There could’ve been a better execution in this regard. It is possible to balance the atmosphere— something Limbo has an amazing grasp on— with effective prose, which was much shakier in comparison to the art on the page. That being said, I did appreciate the more conversational tone of our narrator, so it's not without its advantages.

Limbo’s art is highly stylized and evocative, yet it maintains a tenderness that many contemporaries struggle to find. Highly sensitive, original, and deeply personal, their art seems to capture their sensibilities perfectly. I adore it.

I found the addendum detailing all the notable examples of those with objectum sexuality to be fascinating, in all the different ways they manifest. I think the one that stuck with me most was the accountant who fell in love with the abandoned town- and spent most of his time in this one specific inn. That was the closest I came to understanding, personally, what it’s like to feel this kind of love toward an object.

And, is it just me, or does it seem like the statue Limbo has a fixation on IRL very similar to the being Mr. Neighbor gives his penance in Limbo’s other work, Be Kind, My Neighbor? Actually, there are a ton of similarities between these two works and I wouldn’t be surprised if Viscera came about by a want to expand upon this one particular idea.

So, yeah! Queer puppet love! I love celebrating all the ways queer people are queer, and Viscera Objectica certainly feels like a celebration of love.

[Timothy Grubbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A love story…sure it’s a “love” between a tailor and his very mundane non magical puppet…but it still kind of counts…

Viscera Objectica by Yugo Limbo is a comic depiction of the obsession (bordering on love) one can have with an inanimate object…yes…really…

Possibly set during the psychedelic 70s, the graphic novel follows a tailor who comes across a puppet he purchases and chooses to repair. As he fixes and maintains the puppet he finds something he can care for…something that seems to hold a deeper place in his heart in contrast to the free love he can find in others.

A weird interpretation of Pygmalion, the tailor continues to treat the puppet as his partner…but not in a grotesque disgusting way…it’s just kind of weird. He’s not hurting anyone or secretly crazy (at least in regards to not this puppet).

It’s a weird little story that depicts an unusual one way relationship. I can’t fault the character for feeling that way as he’s not hurting anyone. It’s just unusual.

The back matter includes additional information on “object love” including some examples of these relationships in a handful of anecdotes (including one involving a thresher machine).

Very odd but engaging in some way…

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viscera Objectica by Yugo Limbo is a strange and surprisingly warm story of man who has not really been in love with actual people, but falls in love with a puppet, Theu. He says it is “fully realized" love, whatever tht may mean, though he admits it is not quite reciprocal, of course, though he feels he is “given so much” in a way by Theu. The story obviously references Pygmalion as an object that comes-to-life, in a way. It’s not creepy, really! Just as Ryan Gosling’s character in Lars and the Real Girl could just be a dirty joke, but becomes something quite wonderful. Or interesting, at the very least.

So the story itself is short, but Limbo follows his story with an afterword where he reveals his first obsessive love of an object, Miro’s Chicago. Then he shares stories of other people who have “fallen in love” with objects, so there, skeptic! Heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, non-sexual, non-binary; what haven’t you considered or encountered or imagined in this new age of sexual identity?! Here’s a new one for me, and why not? In a way it is meditation on the nature of love and what it is for some people. Obviously we know passions are various. From Silver Sprocket!

[Madi Funk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful little story about an exciting flavour of love I’ve never felt myself but have seen around online before. I love the dichotomy between lover and loved when one is an object, and it’s not everyday you find a story expressing that love. I think this comic shows love in a really solid way even if it’s hard to understand from an outsiders perspective, if you’ve felt romantic love before you know exactly how the main character feels and can relate just because of how well this feeling is portrayed. (Light spoilers) I never thought putting your hand inside a puppet would be so intimate (and maybe horrifying if framed differently?) until now, but yeah, wow. Lots to think about. The art is beautiful and unique, and I loved the blotted ink and marker look.

Didn’t even mean to read this on day 1 of pride month, but I did. Objectums make the best moodboards btw.

[Juushika · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. Our protagonist falls in love with a puppet. And that's it: this is more heartfelt and uncomplicated depiction of objectum than a narrative, which is fine; representation justifies itself, especially for an under-discussed type of attraction. Limbo's art is highly stylized, trippy and animated and joyously queer, all of which I can appreciate without enjoying it aesthetically.

[Dax · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Smile for Me and have been itching to see more of Yugo Limbo's work, so I decided to give this a read since I'm still waiting to get my hands on Be Kind, My Neighbor. The comic is pretty light on story, mostly serving as an exploration and explanation of objectum. To this purpose, it gets the job done with Limbo's brain-scratching art style and a surprisingly honest and sweet tone. Probably not something I'll find myself coming back to, but I'm glad I read it.

[D.J. Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It gives a new view to seeing love, seeing how others love, and how to get over comparing yourself cuz hey you can't compare to an object.

It's much more accessible than this author's other piece, so I recommend reading this before their other piece. This one is shorter, less graphic, and can give you an appetizer to deciding if you want to read their other book.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

wait! this was so strange and enjoyable! kinda queer and straight to the point. type of thing you can read in a sitting and YOU SHOULD IF YOU HAVE HOOPLA. i liked how the end had informative stuff and the authors note because it made the story more relevant!! this taught me things about love and humans’ relationships to objects. interesting af!!

[Betzim Gdolot · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I paid 16$ for this small book. The whole story revolves around a dude who falls in love with a mannequin. It's like the movie Her, but not really. Story is lacking (basically a long scene depicting love for the mannequin).

It's weird, but not in a good way.

Feel free to skip this one.