What do you think?
Rate this book
The Discipline #1
The Discipline #1
Between fighting her sister and hating her husband, Melissa still finds time to fall in lust with a stranger who's an awful lot more than he seems. What appears to be a simple seduction is revealed as something much darker and more dangerous. This controversial and erotically-charged tale of sex, death, and metamorphosis begins with an explosion of carnality and weirdness.
30 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2021
6 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Peter Milligan
1,303 books391 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 18, 2021
(spoiler tags mostly to save space)
Girl has her crotch grabbed by a seemingly random dude and doesn't call the police.
She decides to go on a date with him - even though she's married.
He takes her to a slaughterhouse for their first date and again ... she still doesn't RUN THE OTHER WAY.
(warning: dead horse)
Also, now that I think about it isn't it illegal to slaughter horses in the US? I mean, obviously this dude is some kind of weird sex demon thing so why would he care about the law? Well, it is his friend's slaughterhouse ... I'm already more invested in finding out if horses can be slaughtered in the US than whatever "plot" this comic is attempting. (Horse meat can't be sold for human consumption, but it looks like just recently there are US plants opening up to slaughter horses then ship the meat to other countries, but some of those states are trying to prevent that. So this dude's slaughterhouse being in the family for three generations seems highly unlikely.)
Anyway.
One final scene:
That dialogue.
wtf
Girl has her crotch grabbed by a seemingly random dude and doesn't call the police.
She decides to go on a date with him - even though she's married.
He takes her to a slaughterhouse for their first date and again ... she still doesn't RUN THE OTHER WAY.
(warning: dead horse)
Also, now that I think about it isn't it illegal to slaughter horses in the US? I mean, obviously this dude is some kind of weird sex demon thing so why would he care about the law? Well, it is his friend's slaughterhouse ... I'm already more invested in finding out if horses can be slaughtered in the US than whatever "plot" this comic is attempting. (Horse meat can't be sold for human consumption, but it looks like just recently there are US plants opening up to slaughter horses then ship the meat to other countries, but some of those states are trying to prevent that. So this dude's slaughterhouse being in the family for three generations seems highly unlikely.)
Anyway.
One final scene:
That dialogue.
wtf
March 7, 2017
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
*** 1.5 stars ***
CULTS.
The Discipline, solely based on the cover, seemed somewhat spooky, so I was pretty excited for it.
It’s just SO CHEESY!
I would say it’s more or less Supernatural 50 Shades of Gray. The main character is a neglected, dumb 23-year-old housewife who is sorely lacking sex, so she, instead, likes to gaze at paintings with elements of bestiality. Until a mysterious stranger comes along, flashes his D(iscipline), and starts training her for a sex pet. Or something.
*** 1.5 stars ***
CULTS.
The Discipline, solely based on the cover, seemed somewhat spooky, so I was pretty excited for it.
It’s just SO CHEESY!
I would say it’s more or less Supernatural 50 Shades of Gray. The main character is a neglected, dumb 23-year-old housewife who is sorely lacking sex, so she, instead, likes to gaze at paintings with elements of bestiality. Until a mysterious stranger comes along, flashes his D(iscipline), and starts training her for a sex pet. Or something.
June 4, 2016
Nope, sorry. There is only room for one sex magick writer in my life, and that writer is Alan Moore. (Promethea, not Lost Girls, please.)
I hated every second of this. I kept waiting for it to get interesting, but it never did. Bah.
I hated every second of this. I kept waiting for it to get interesting, but it never did. Bah.
August 13, 2025
Not at all what I was looking or hoping for, Peter Milligan's The Discipline is one of those "dark" comics that seems to live and breathe within the concept that horrific violence and bdsm sex acts (often between supernatural creatures) make a tale edgy and philosophical. Unfortunately, The Discipline is far to weak to actually live and breathe. It's a still birth.
So what was I hoping for? I must admit I would have liked something occasionally erotic and stirring. It wasn't. I would have liked something thought provoking and original. It wasn't. The cabal of weirdos born out of the Roman Empire -- the Discipline themselves -- were boring and made little impression; the protagonists and antagonists were avatars for all human cruelty and felt, at best, like their presence in the world was meant to remove human responsibility for nastiness; and the humans exist only to be abused, killed, or turned into a corrupt avatar.
For once, I found too little to even consider moving on. I am done with The Discipline.
So what was I hoping for? I must admit I would have liked something occasionally erotic and stirring. It wasn't. I would have liked something thought provoking and original. It wasn't. The cabal of weirdos born out of the Roman Empire -- the Discipline themselves -- were boring and made little impression; the protagonists and antagonists were avatars for all human cruelty and felt, at best, like their presence in the world was meant to remove human responsibility for nastiness; and the humans exist only to be abused, killed, or turned into a corrupt avatar.
For once, I found too little to even consider moving on. I am done with The Discipline.
October 27, 2016
I tend to have good luck with Image number ones, so i tend to grab more than i should. in this case. i'm not sure yet. there's enough intrigue, for sure, to want find out what the mystery is. Visceral. base. lots of naked bodies. unashamed of sexuality. linking of these basal desires to ancient stirrings, maybe demonic. maybe alien. talk of ritual. after some weird eye puncture ritual, transportation to an ancient roman setting. the Athena Giustiniani, a Roman Copy of a greek statue of Athena suggests "the good side" but also has some sacred feminine cult implications. my latin memory translates a word interior to "having departed". Vitruvian man and sacred geometry. All these clues will push me to read issue 2.
March 5, 2016
This comic has graphic moments of sex and violence that pop up and vanish. These manage the equivalent effect of something potent/exotic/awful in between the frames of a movie scene, like in horror films. It's a jarring effect, but that appears to be in line with the story's tone: something unnatural leaking through and clutching for our baser parts. For a first issue there's enough to set up a story or chase away those who are not the right audience for it. The cliff-hanger/end scene felt a bit off for max effect suspense. Opening scene, in context with the rest, is also off. But the whole (of part one) is interesting.
April 18, 2016
Meh. This comic has an intriguing premise, but after reading all of this first one and then skimming through Issue #2 at the comic book store, it just has too much Male Gaze for my tastes, and not enough else going for it to make up for that. :-(
March 6, 2016
I liked the art, the story not so much but I will check the next issue in the future.
July 6, 2016
What did I just read?
Story wise: I think, aliens are converting humans into extraterrestrial form via sexual acts-- they are recruiting humans and they seem to have a criteria they go by which, I think, is lonely women/men who are unfulfilled sexually/emotionally.
-This is a sexual thriller, so lots of sex, and blood (no vampires in sight).
-+Aliens are battling demon-beasts, for some reason yet to be explained. I have no clue if those were actual aliens, but they look like aliens so I am calling them aliens.
-Aliens are able to shape-shift to look like humans.
-The protagonist is a rich girl who is bored with her life (she figures why keep a job when your husband makes millions a year? Am, so you have something to do, and leave a legacy behind? In fact, get a hobby girl), and her husband is ignoring her/barely speaking to her (do not know yet if this is because a)he works too much, b)he is just not into her anymore, or c) both, because all you get to hear from him is one side of a very brief phone call -he calls to say he will be home late and that he'll sleep in the guest bedroom... for some reason- which is supposed to give our protagonist a "pass" on cheating on him with a complete stranger who grabbed her crotch at a museum from out of nowhere...Again, what did I just read?)
-+Sexual imagery may contain some sort of bestiality, woman drenched in blood hanging upside down, and freaky aliens going at it.
+The art work is pretty good.
Will I read the next one? I don't think it is worth the $3.99 to be quite honest. I have so much else to read, but if I see it on special for like a $1 I would continue just to see what else they can throw into the fray.
Story wise: I think, aliens are converting humans into extraterrestrial form via sexual acts-- they are recruiting humans and they seem to have a criteria they go by which, I think, is lonely women/men who are unfulfilled sexually/emotionally.
-This is a sexual thriller, so lots of sex, and blood (no vampires in sight).
-+Aliens are battling demon-beasts, for some reason yet to be explained. I have no clue if those were actual aliens, but they look like aliens so I am calling them aliens.
-Aliens are able to shape-shift to look like humans.
-The protagonist is a rich girl who is bored with her life (she figures why keep a job when your husband makes millions a year? Am, so you have something to do, and leave a legacy behind? In fact, get a hobby girl), and her husband is ignoring her/barely speaking to her (do not know yet if this is because a)he works too much, b)he is just not into her anymore, or c) both, because all you get to hear from him is one side of a very brief phone call -he calls to say he will be home late and that he'll sleep in the guest bedroom... for some reason- which is supposed to give our protagonist a "pass" on cheating on him with a complete stranger who grabbed her crotch at a museum from out of nowhere...Again, what did I just read?)
-+Sexual imagery may contain some sort of bestiality, woman drenched in blood hanging upside down, and freaky aliens going at it.
+The art work is pretty good.
Will I read the next one? I don't think it is worth the $3.99 to be quite honest. I have so much else to read, but if I see it on special for like a $1 I would continue just to see what else they can throw into the fray.
April 21, 2019
If it wasn't for the extremely problematic depictions of sex and consent (or the total lack thereof), there would've been some fun to be had, reading the ridiculous and terminally wonky dialogue out loud.
This is some next level No-Woman-Has-Ever-Spoken-Like-That, Wait-No-Human-Has.
You'll find such gems as (and there might be some slight spoilers):
"... I did that thing... that we girls do sometimes." (masturbation, dear reader! don't faint!)
"Okay, now this is me being serious, sweet girl."
"He'll probably take me to a romantic restaurant or maybe a gallery opening. You know these Europeans..."
"What's the point of having a job that pays a hundred grand a year when your husband earns what mine does?"
"You broke in?"
"I thought it might add a frisson."
"All this... us... it's about a lot more than sex, isn't it?"
"But you've bewitched me, Melissa."
(Huge creature crashes through the window, glass everywhere)
"Oh shit. Is that the apartment's owner?"
"You've pushed her too far, Discipline."
And so on.
Hilarious, while also being awful. So there's that, I guess.
This is some next level No-Woman-Has-Ever-Spoken-Like-That, Wait-No-Human-Has.
You'll find such gems as (and there might be some slight spoilers):
"... I did that thing... that we girls do sometimes." (masturbation, dear reader! don't faint!)
"Okay, now this is me being serious, sweet girl."
"He'll probably take me to a romantic restaurant or maybe a gallery opening. You know these Europeans..."
"What's the point of having a job that pays a hundred grand a year when your husband earns what mine does?"
"You broke in?"
"I thought it might add a frisson."
"All this... us... it's about a lot more than sex, isn't it?"
"But you've bewitched me, Melissa."
(Huge creature crashes through the window, glass everywhere)
"Oh shit. Is that the apartment's owner?"
"You've pushed her too far, Discipline."
And so on.
Hilarious, while also being awful. So there's that, I guess.
April 23, 2016
The Discipline is the first comic that I have read by Peter Milligan. The premise is intriguing, but the execution was lacking. It's a story about Melissa who between fighting with her sister and hating her husband, decides to fall in lust with a stranger who wants more than what it seems. It is dark mystery with erotica, and a whole lot of weird. As someone who enjoys dark and weird, I wanted to read it. There was very little back story given for this first issue, and it had a mythological and occult theme, but was all over the place with nudity, sexual content, and violence. There was much less story, very little dialogue. As I continued to read, I kept hoping for more information to be revealed about the characters, or The Discipline, itself. The artwork is consistent, and beautifully done with warm colors, which was easy on the eyes. While this wasn't the best first issue, I will maybe be on the lookout for the next issue to see where it goes.
July 10, 2023
This is a mix of under explained and creepily exploitative. The first red flags are the all-male creative team doing a story of the corruption of a naive-but-well-meaning lady who is actually totally open to cheating, and the female body shaming by the author in the introduction. Further in the story, they go on to say that domestic violence is okay if the woman actually likes it. It’s one male after another gaslighting/lying to/threatening the protagonist to manipulate her into doing what they want.
The author says the sex is secondary to the narrative that requires it, as per occult rituals, but there’s no moment in the story that validates that claim.
The author says the sex is secondary to the narrative that requires it, as per occult rituals, but there’s no moment in the story that validates that claim.
June 5, 2016
I have no idea what's going on and I can't wait to find out.
My one issue thus far? Melissa is 23 and they're talking like she's a housewife of 30+. When Orlando refers to "you want to be like you were" 4 years ago, please. I don't buy a - even a married - 23 year old being quite this bored and suffering from that much ennui yet.
My one issue thus far? Melissa is 23 and they're talking like she's a housewife of 30+. When Orlando refers to "you want to be like you were" 4 years ago, please. I don't buy a - even a married - 23 year old being quite this bored and suffering from that much ennui yet.
Read
July 22, 2022Based on the introductory note, there is a non-zero chance this was pitched as "the next Promethea." Maybe with a dash of MOONCHILD.
It is -not-. It is -bad-. It's more like someone Wiki-walked their way from Alan Moore to Aleister Crowley to David Icke and jotted down what they remembered in their Art History notebook -- which they still had from college because they barely used it.
There's no character depth. Most of the cast is generically evil, including the younger sister which the protagonist feels compelled to protect anyway. The initiator guy seems to be a "bad boy" according to someone who has done nothing to understand what makes an appealing bad boy, so the protagonist's interest in him is baffling.
The art is pretty. Credit to the artist; it was really the only thing that kept me invested to see if it got better. It didn't. Six issues of opportunity, and there's no character development and a lot of covert and overt conflation of sexuality with violence and shame.
It is -not-. It is -bad-. It's more like someone Wiki-walked their way from Alan Moore to Aleister Crowley to David Icke and jotted down what they remembered in their Art History notebook -- which they still had from college because they barely used it.
There's no character depth. Most of the cast is generically evil, including the younger sister which the protagonist feels compelled to protect anyway. The initiator guy seems to be a "bad boy" according to someone who has done nothing to understand what makes an appealing bad boy, so the protagonist's interest in him is baffling.
The art is pretty. Credit to the artist; it was really the only thing that kept me invested to see if it got better. It didn't. Six issues of opportunity, and there's no character development and a lot of covert and overt conflation of sexuality with violence and shame.
November 26, 2019
This was weird and different, but I liked it. Very adult. From the language to the visuals, this is a comic for a mature audience. I’m curious where the story goes from here. So far we have human f#%king demons from hell...and murder plots... it’s getting pretty wild and crazy.
October 21, 2016
There is a lot of promise here, lots of possible story, but there isn't much here yet. Also the transgression seems to be for its own sake, and the erotic horror element seems underdeveloped. Characters aren't yet likable.
August 17, 2019
If this had better art, it would be a five-star comic. I can't wait to read more of the series.
July 10, 2025
Issue #1 – The Setup
Melissa meets Orlando, who draws her into a dangerous game involving sex, power, and transformation. The tension is palpable, the tone is erotic and mysterious, but the story feels more provocative than purposeful. It tries hard to be edgy, but lacks emotional grounding.
🔹 Feels more like titillation than setup with substance.
Melissa meets Orlando, who draws her into a dangerous game involving sex, power, and transformation. The tension is palpable, the tone is erotic and mysterious, but the story feels more provocative than purposeful. It tries hard to be edgy, but lacks emotional grounding.
🔹 Feels more like titillation than setup with substance.
March 13, 2016
The Discipline is for mature audiences due to nudity, sexual content, and violence.
The story is a bit all over the place. From what appears to be a city scene of sex out of the Aliens movies to interwoven dreams and day to day activities to overly sexual four-play encounters, The Discipline moves through this beginning story rather fast. Besides the sexual content and paranormal aspect of werewolves and other creatures, the artwork is a bit flat. Heavy shadowing on the main male character, Orlando and the thick outlines gives it a rather old school feel, but leaves the over all appearance of detail much to be desired.
Hopefully, the next issue will help explain things. Based just on the first issue, if you enjoy nudity, sexual content, violence with a paranormal and possible mythological twist, then The Discipline might need to be added to the top of your stack.
The story is a bit all over the place. From what appears to be a city scene of sex out of the Aliens movies to interwoven dreams and day to day activities to overly sexual four-play encounters, The Discipline moves through this beginning story rather fast. Besides the sexual content and paranormal aspect of werewolves and other creatures, the artwork is a bit flat. Heavy shadowing on the main male character, Orlando and the thick outlines gives it a rather old school feel, but leaves the over all appearance of detail much to be desired.
Hopefully, the next issue will help explain things. Based just on the first issue, if you enjoy nudity, sexual content, violence with a paranormal and possible mythological twist, then The Discipline might need to be added to the top of your stack.
March 20, 2016
A bit of an all over the place mess of sex and violence with occult undertones but yet, I couldn't look away? Intrigued by this one but I definitely need a few more issues to figure out exactly how I feel about it.
July 31, 2016
Did not enjoy Melissa at all and Orlando was super creeptastic. Talk about questionable decisions. Melissa made quite a bit of them. Sadly, I didn't jive with this comic. I was expecting so much more because the potential was there. Serious sad face. :(
February 5, 2017
Compre este tomo mediante Hunble Bundle.
No es malo. No es bueno.
Tampoco puedo juzgar mucho sobre un tomo de unas 25 páginas.
Habría que ver como es que van a seguir la historia y como sigue el desarrollo de los personajes.
No es malo. No es bueno.
Tampoco puedo juzgar mucho sobre un tomo de unas 25 páginas.
Habría que ver como es que van a seguir la historia y como sigue el desarrollo de los personajes.
March 2, 2016
This might be a little sloppy and careless. I honestly can't tell yet. Definitely need to read the next issue.
June 9, 2016
Intense but very short.
The tale have a good development, excellent drawings but is very short . Is more like a teaser or 1 chapter that a full comic.
The tale have a good development, excellent drawings but is very short . Is more like a teaser or 1 chapter that a full comic.
March 5, 2016
Perhaps moves a bit fast, but really erotic mood and intriguing storytelling.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews