Sunstone Vol. 8: Mercy

Sunstone #8

by Stjepan Šejić

Loving someone means building a shrine within your heart dedicated to them. A shrine made of good memories and treasured moments. As the MERCY arc reaches its third installment, Anne is about to find the shrine of her heart ransacked by none other than the person it was devoted to.
As for Ally and Alan, they find themselves straining as a risky hobby grows into an obsession and threatens to destroy all other aspects of their lives. A friendship is about to be put to a test that it may just end up failing. Welcome to the SUNSTONE, VOL. 8. Time to grow up.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Romance, Erotica, LGBT, BDSM, Queer

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 28, 2024

About the author

Stjepan Šejić is a Croatian comic book writer and artist, known for his work on the series Witchblade, Aphrodite IX, Sunstone, and The Darkness among others.

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

Still more affable than a BDSM saga has any right to be, though the cracks are starting to show in the flashback relationships - a figure of speech Sejic makes all too real on the page (and I love how his visual metaphors are always right on the edge of being corny - like a power ballad, sometimes you need to teeter over that abyss to fit enough emotion in). I remain a little less invested in Mercy than the original story, but it continues to be charming, relatable, and absolutely gorgeous, so I can hardly complain too much. Besides, as the afterword slightly superfluously confirms, part of the point of this phase of the story is to broaden the palette, show some of the different ways kink can manifest in people's lives - and, alas, the different ways those dynamics can fray.

[Lyyra Virtanen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Siis luin joskus kaikki edelliset Sunstonet kerralla läpi ja olin onnellinen representaation olemassaolosta; nyt vasta kun aikaa on kulunut ja luin tän uusimman, huomasin, millaista se representaatio on luonteeltaan...

Milloin mahdan oppia, että MUN ei ehkä kannata lukea lesbotarinaa, jossa "lesbo" tarkoittaa pornokategoriaa eikä seksuaalivähemmistöön kuuluvaa kokonaista ihmistä!!!

Lisäksi: kaikilla naisilla on tässä sarjakuvassa täsmälleen sama länsimaisten kauneusihanteiden mukainen keho. Ei ees variaatiota tissien koissa. Paitsi että ärsyttää muutenkin, niin vaikuttaa luettavuuteen, koska menee jo hahmot sekaisin keskenään. Huoh.

(En tee mitään tulkintoja tekijän tarkoitusperistä, mutta sitä vaan, että tän takia on olemassa kokemuslukijoita, jotka auttavat tarvittaessa huomaamaan vaikkapa tarpeettoman mieskatseen teoksessa.)

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ever enjoyable graphic novel series about friendship, love and kink.

[Kaiser Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

He still go it.

[¸.•*¨*•Gina *A Bookwyrm in Belgium*•*¨*•.¸ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saucy, yet thought-provoking.

[Aisling · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Emma Bourne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series, art/visuals are probably the highlight for me

[Elorin Achiad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find it difficult to track when the story jumps from Alan to Anne and back, but the story is engaging and I love the dynamics between the different characters. I read the story online, so it hasn't been published yet. I'm looking forward to seeing where Volume 9 takes them all.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreak is inevitable. The intensity or degree, not as much. The timing, less so.

And as Sejic's horny young adults can readily attest, the most amusing paradox of living through heartbreak is how agonizingly necessary it all seems.

SUNSTONE v8 cinches close what feels like a middle-arc in the lives of the narrative's prominent figures: Alan and Ally's relationship rises and falls with their variable access to each other and each other's sexual confidence; Anne and Laura's relationship cracks and heals and cracks beneath the stress of emotional wherewithal. Finding personal growth, sexual confidence, healing, friendship, and certainty, through it all, requires an array of pointed questions few of these characters are willing to answer.

The benefits bestowed to Alan and Ally's partnership is odd and changing and unrelenting, as the two pals push the boundaries of familiarity and taste. The current volume views the brutally slow pace of change often afforded to individuals too comfortable with their awkwardness. And as such, when something traumatic or dangerous rolls into frame, the characters are delightfully unprepared for the consequences. When Ally suggests Alan leave her bound and gagged while he leaves the room to tend to other business, it's nothing to worry about, since their play spot is well-hidden, right? When Alan suggests he take charge of their coupling, it's nothing to worry about, since Ally has been flaking out due to work circumstances, right?

For these two, things tend to go wrong because things have been going so well for so long. Alan and Ally's relationship isn't disingenuous, but too narrowly enriching. Neither of the two can appreciate the other for who they are due to the simple and irremovable fact that both have convinced themselves the passion or pleasure pulled from their partner, however beautiful or arousing, is not unique.

The predicament native to Anne and Laura's partnership is more common: The fragrant newness and vulgar privileges found in their pairing permits the two women to ignore their obvious incompatibilities. Intriguingly, SUNSTONE v8 notes, it's not a matter of personality, but of maturity. Anne is directionless but headstrong; Laura is confident but emotionally untethered. However, instead of nestling into one another like puzzle pieces, and making one another whole, Anne and Laura instead merely exacerbate one another's flaws.

Is it a big deal that any mention of bisexuality sets Laura on edge? Is it a big deal that Anne still flinches at the slightest mention of inexperience? Laura wants a partner solely devoted to her and her alone, but is such a view of romance practical? Anne wants a partner whose curiosity supersedes her faults, but is such relationship possible? Laura's jealousy; Anne's impetuousness, Laura's arrogance; Anne's naivete; neither of these two characters are fully formed adults, and yet, to one another, they're pretty good at faking it.

SUNSTONE v8 is a very solid installment. However infrequent the comic's distribution schedule, and however disjointed the narrative continuity (given its long legacy), the book looks good and reads well. Sejic's panel arrangements reach new heights, with more eclectic uses of white space and a broader diversity of panel shapes that shake up the book's readability without boring or confusing the reader. Compositionally, conversational pages and panels read more consistently and effectively, with the camera pushing in and pulling out at more precise moments to give extended discourse more substance and more meaning. And in terms of general aesthetics, Sejic's control over eye lines, consistency of skin tones, and liberal use of brow ridges, blushing cheeks, and frown lines reduce the previously and occasionally off-putting nature of over-rendered artwork in small and inconvenient panels.

Overall, the trauma to be had upon surviving a messy relationship that never quite leaves one alone has yet to fully encroach upon the lives of these strange characters, but for whatever it's worth, the garish and painful truth is never far around the corner.

[Sheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sometimes find Sunstone unrealistically wholesome, but the relationship between Alan and Ally always works for me. I can believe in their friendship, I can believe it didn't work as a romantic relationship, and I enjoy hanging out with them.

I griped that the first story was too sweet and that everyone was too good-hearted, and at first this story seemed to be providing some counter-balance for that through Laura the woefully immature. But for me the author undercuts his own efforts with the whole shrine trope.

I'm peachy-keen fine with the idea that people build shrines to the ones they love. And Anne is just the right age and personality to be doing it, too. What bugs me is that I feel like the point is that Laura didn't deserve the shrine, while I think Anne needs to learn that building shrines to fallible people is a dumb idea. Which may happen yet, since the story is in no sense done, but didn't seem to be happening here.

To me, "safe, sane and consensual" recognizes that we are all flawed human beings, and that it's a really dumb idea to put your whole life into someone else's hands -- or, in this case, your whole heart. The first story, Lisa and Ally both learn that, no, it doesn't work to have the dom doing all the emotional work, and that the sub has to be honest and active, too, which I thought a great lesson even though I found the execution painfully drawn out. So maybe I should trust that Anne will learn something similar, I dunno. But this one left a kind of sour taste in my mouth on that front.

This story (meaning volumes 6-8) plays a leetle more to my personal kinks so at least there was the occasional panel I thought erotic, which was nice. I didn't find the first story erotic at all. That's not his goal, obviously, and I wasn't looking for a stroke story or anything, but I did expect to feel a frisson now and then. It's weird to be reading stuff labeled BDSM that doesn't move the needle on that front.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stjepan Sejic dives further into his BDSM romance with the eight volume of the Sunstone saga. The Mercy plot line continues, juxtaposing collegiate experimentations with jealousy and heartbreak. Ally and Alan have taken over a classroom attic, converting the dusty space into a kinky laboratory. What begins as test runs turns into daily obsessions - and it is taking a toll. Ally is working more and studying less, dropping hard-earned cash on gear but also dropping her grades; Alan is feeling left out of her life, feeling like an unwanted toy. As they realize a change is coming, both must adapt to the fallout of their sexual addiction in different ways. The other half of the book follows Anne trying to deal with Laura’s increasing bouts of envy. Meetings with a musical icon, coffee with an old friend, and even competition with the new tattoo artist all seem to come with a flair up. Despite patching over the cracks that Laura tears in their connection, Anne discovers that the ones you love can also be the ones that hurt you the most. Sejic continues to tackle his epic story with aplomb. The heartfelt moments between the various couples are mixed with true-to-form heart-wrenching drama. The good, the bad, the messy; all aspects of romance are given time to shine a the tale unfolds. The true masterpiece of Sejic’s story is the visual aspect, which remains breathtakingly fantastic. The human figure poses, the flights of fancy, and even the simple setting arrangements are unquestionably the highlight of every volume of Sejic’s work. Sunstone: Volume 8 polishes up its narrative just in time to take it in a darker direction.

[Jessica Patzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was the volume I'd be completely new on, but it's not. It is however, really good. Volume 8 contains the stories of breakups and how they got there. It's heartwarming and heart-wrenching. The art, as ever, is gorgeous.

Ally and Alan remain some of my favorite characters. I really feel for Anne, even though I've never really liked Laura. Anne's analogy to papering over cracks was not something I expected to hit me so hard... but that's some personal stuff that doesn't color my enjoyment of the story.

[Federico Pereyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como siempre Stejpan entrega una tremenda obra con un gran arte. Si bien Mercy, el arco del pasado de los personajes, es un poco menos interesante que la historia original sigue siendo un genial cómic, con unos personajes sumamente carismáticos y entrañables, con sus problemas d le gente real, y sobre todo de gente real con fetiches.
Aqui veremos cómo hay gente"Kinky" de toda clase y de cómo este lado suyo afecta su vida y sus relaciones, que también nos deja ver qué relaciones hay de todo tipo y colores.
Esperando la parte nueve.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Messy yet still great.

The stuff with Ally and Alan is fun, because them learning about BDSM is kind of how we're learning about it too. Makes for a fun time and situations that can be scary but also super spicy. But the main star of this volume is Anne relationship. An abusive partner, broken one, who puts all her blame and past faults on you is always hard to watch but it's handled well here.

Overall another great volume of Sunstone as always.

[ismahane ❖ · Rating 4 out of 5]

all was well and dandy in the land of sunstone, we were off to a solid finish and hopeful that we’ll get vol. 9 sooner rather than later. then, we flipped to the last page and there she was in all her “i’m here to fuck this up” glory!!
anywho, i’m glad we’re getting to the nitty gritty, cuz while the last 3 volumes were good, i’m starting to get tired of the set up! let’s get to alan and anne plz!! 😁

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was an emotional ride for me, especially when it came to Anne and Laura. You hide a lot of the flaws of a relationship when you're in love. But at some point, there will be too many cracks for the Band-Aids to hold together - and it will all come crashing down. And Ally and Alan's time together reminded me of the good times I had when I was younger, before I realized how things really were and who is actually my friend and who isn't. So I guess what I'm saying is...the story hit hard this time around and I really loved it. And Sejic's art is, as always, amazing to look at while you read through the book. I'm really glad I was able to find this and can't wait for the next volume.

[Msr2d2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Klasycznie to nadal jest cykl o bardzo lateksowo-skórzanej odmianie malowania pejzaży. Klasycznie nie stanowi to pierwszego planu w historii, a jedynie istotny dodatek do opowiadania o relacjach międzyludzkich. Klasycznie rysunki bardzo cieszą oko, nie tylko te z malowaniem pejzaży - umiejętność ukazywania emocji na twarzach bohaterów jest czymś, co autorowi wciąż wychodzi bardzo dobrze. Klasycznie polecam.

[Michi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume does a beautiful job depicting the two separate relationship failures and heartbreaks, the illustrations are gorgeous and there's still plenty of fun to be had, despite the drama. I feel like the author is also getting better at writing about relationship problems, or maybe these just felt more "real" to me personally than those depicted in the initial volumes. All in all, I think this may be one of my favourite, if not the favourite, Sunstone installments.

[Chad Dulac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immaculate storytelling, ingenious art, fantastic sensuality and relatable characters. This is a fantastically niche TPB with amazing perspectives from multiple characters over different timelines. The eroticism and respectfulness is top shelf. Stjepan Sejic is a master of his trade. Highly recommend the whole series.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never has it been more apparent that all Sejic's characters and their body types looks the same than in the feminisation of Alan, making him look almost exactly the same as Lisa. But I'm mostly happy to overlook this and other issues as I enjoy these as semi-good visual fanfic type stories to read for fun. (Probably a 2 to 3 star, but the enjoyment gives it a boost.)

[TJ Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

This being a spinoff (essentially) to Sunstone and though well drawn (as expected) it didn’t have the impact that the first had one me. The Ally/Alan side was interesting as they were learning the ropes (heh) of BDSM and also discovering the addiction side of it and the consequences. I just didn’t find the Anne/Laura relationship interesting at all and was rushing thru their side.

[Charlene Mattson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I even had plenty of hints for the Alan/Ally side, still sad.

I think this one is my favorite of the Mercy arc, at least so far

[Luke Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough, more invested in the Anne/Laura subplot than anything to do with Ally and Alan...

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing to the collection.

The story of Allan and Marianne continues as told by themselves. Buckle up!

[Karu Veenbahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so amazing how the story untangles and makes more and more sense!!!

So excited for Mercy 3.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many twists and turns of non-traditional relationships. Almost not worth all the pain in the end.

SSC & RACK

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just caught up and now I have to *patiently wait* for volume 9 to release

[Sarah Shodrock · Rating 5 out of 5]

also good, lots of angst in this one

[Noortje · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm finally up-to-date and ready for the next volume! shit's gonna get real with Marion in the mix 😬

[✧₊⁎Haru • 🦦🪷⁎⁺˳✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

questo volume è stato un po’ come una sprangata ben assestata sulle gengive: HA FATTO MALE

5⭐️