The Pervert

by Michelle Perez, Remy Boydell (Artist)

A surprisingly honest and touching account of a trans girl surviving through sex work in Seattle. With excerpts published in Eisner nominated anthology ISLAND, the full colour volume, drawn and painted by Remy Boydell is an unflinching debut graphic novel.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Transgender, Graphic Novels Comics

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2018

About the author

Michelle Perez is a Christian author, speaker, survivor, and advocate committed to helping women untangle from the pain of abuse and rediscover the heart of God. Drawing from her own journey of survival and healing, as well as her academic foundation with an undergraduate degree in Business Management and a Master’s in Management and Leadership, Michelle brings both insight and practical guidance to her ministry.

Through her book, Living Untangled: Healing from Abuse and Discovering the Heart of God, Michelle gently leads readers toward freedom in Christ and spiritual renewal. With compassion and authenticity, she reminds women that God’s love is powerful enough to renew what was broken and transform even the most painful experiences into testimonies of grace and hope.

As a speaker, Michelle delivers messages of courage and restoration to churches, conferences, and women’s gatherings. Her transparency and lived experience empower others to step confidently into their own healing journey, equipped with faith, wisdom, and the assurance that they are never alone.

Through her ministry, Untangled Journey, Michelle continues to create spaces where Christian women can find strength, healing, and community one step, one truth, and one prayer at a time.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pervert is a comics novel—a collection of vignettes, really--about a trans girl in transition, training to be a nurse, who supports herself through sex work. The story is told through anthropomorphic animals, which makes the story no more “cute” than Spiegelman’s Maus. She’s from Michigan, living in Seattle, and she is just barely getting by, trying to save money for her transition, buying the hormones, eating when she can from the local food pantry, one meal a day if she is lucky. Her identity is in flux, her self-esteem is low, she is afraid for her life in the sex work, which is difficult and demeaning for her, of course, and sometimes brutal. She has no real friends she can truly trust.

The sexual acts here are explicitly depicted. It’s not a pleasant story, but it’s brutally honest and heart-wrenching, and manages in places to capture some warmth. This is no romanticized Pretty Woman, let me tell you; this girl struggles on almost every level as she tries to survive. You come to care about her.

I have recently reviewed some trans in transition stories that are very encouraging stories for those hoping to make the transition, with almost no struggles evident. These stories are needed, surely, too, but I really found this graphic novel, a much harsher and more realistic tale, more moving and also enlightening about the challenges both trans young people and sex workers face.
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You may not want to read these stories. They make one uncomfortable, without question. I think many readers will find it too explicit or too harsh and sad to read, but the way I see it, we have thousands of kids—some of them trans, I know—living on the streets here in Chicago. I see them every day. Kids in crisis, looking for a handout, lonely, desperate. Could one of my children be in this place of crisis at some point? I pray not. Not as long as I am alive, anyway. I care about these kids, these strangers, and at the same time I don't want to get entangled in their lives, either. But I certainly think their stories and stories like these need to be told.

I’m no longer religious, but the empathy crisis in the world is real right now, and I am reminded of this Biblical guidepost: "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40)

This book is low-key, not sensational in any respect. The artwork is appropriately “street” sketchy and colored to contribute to a melancholy vibe, to promote empathy rather than shock. I’ve never read a book quite like this, actually. Consider checking it out.

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mature work that requires a mature reader, The Pervert is the explicit sexual journey of a transgender woman and prostitute, through anthropomorphic cartoon animals.

“Everything, even if it hurts. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

It’s easy and shallow to dismiss this book as merely perverted, like the ironic and self-deprecating title. Because it is not base, but rather seeks to enlighten and explore the tangled web of gender, sexuality, perversion, prostitution, and how the reality of these conflict with social mores—sex is dirty, men are men, women are women, prostitution is wrong. But this is false, as posited here. Gender and sexuality are fluid and spectral. Perversion is subjective. Prostitution, a complex subject and ancient trade, exists for people who need it—for employment, for companionship.

This philosophy runs beneath our protagonist’s struggle with her identity—self-esteem, loneliness, prostitution, cigarette addiction, hunting, depression, hypersexuality, transgenderism, romantic ineptitude, occasional drug use. That’s complex, honest, and often heartbreaking, whether her lifestyle offends you or not. Although dark and extremely explicit, if you have any interest in reading about sexuality, transgenderism, or prostitution, check this out.

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unnamed (for most of the book) trans woman is selling herself in order to pay for her meds. This is her story and to an extent an example of the type of stories of other people in similar situations, as well as a personal story about identity. It's a no holds barred look at her life and how much the disassociation she is forced to undertake to live it; how much she has to balance and negotiate very dangerous situations and how she has to compromise her self for money and/or food. Can she make it in Seattle? You'll have to read to find out.

Remy Boydell's cute Peanuts / Snoopy inspired characters take this book to another level on top of its cleverly portrayal of a trans viewpoint of their world - not unlike Maus. It hasn't got the intimate feel that Maus has between father and son but does a good job at illustrating some of the protagonists main relationships. This work is Trigger-full, and has explicit sex and language, so be warned; although that's another huge plus, none of the explicitness feels gratuitous. An uncompromising, thought provoking and most of all simply amazing piece of work. 9 out of 12... almost five stars, but I just feel a bit more text from Perez was/is needed to better tell the story, than me sitting there trying to work it out from the imagery alone. Then again maybe it's not for me?

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went back and forth on whether this was a two or three star book.

It's really cool that this book exists. Not just that it's a graphic novel with a trans point of view, but it's focus on sex work is also much needed in comics. The art, while not a style I particularly enjoy (think the furry comic "Genus"), was well-done. It just never fell into a narrative structure I could care about. It's not quite a series of interconnected stories, and it's not a singular story about one character. I think it needed another set of editing eyes to help nudge it in one of those directions.

It felt like most of the really important parts of the story were missing. That if the author wanted me to care about the characters, particularly the protagonist, I needed to see the moments omitted from the book, the relationship with the girlfriend before the transition, the decision to transition. It's weird that a comic this personal, and this direct feels so...guarded. It showed all of the sex, and the high drama consequences but didn't show the human moments that would have made the characters more sympathetic. This might have been totally intentional, it just didn't work for me.

I'm still going to pick up whatever Boydell's next project is, as this really seems like, with the right editor, this could have been an amazing book.

I would recommend it for people looking for graphic novels featuring sex workers, those who enjoy reading books from unfamiliar perspectives, fans of Genus, and those who like films and literature that plays around with narrative in a way that some people don't find satisying.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I liked the subject and bits and pieces here and there -- individual scenes and characters -- this is one of those disjointed books that takes a left turn whenever it starts to approach an actual story or a moment I care about and then throws in a dream sequence just to get on my nerves. Interesting, but I just couldn't connect.

[The Local Spooky Hermit · Rating 1 out of 5]

you wanna see a transgender snoopy beat the crap out of Charlie brown. Here you go heres the book for you. that was fun to see(its the only fun thing). I wanna know how they got away with using quite a few cartoon character likenesses in this. If Remy Boydell puts out the other book they advertise in the back of this one I'll pick that up too.
I like to read weird or bad stuff, its like getting a so bad its good movie.
but if you are looking for a good story, its not here. Like.. at all.
update: its a terrible "story" theres so much better out there. Yet I keep reading it.. I guess its a so bad I like it? Idk
update: art is stiff... idk why i keep this.. lol

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

PDF - While I give the book credit for being direct in its treatment of sex and sexuality, this book simply isn't compelling. The short segments don't knit together effectively as a narrative whole, and the segments themselves are distant and aloof, keeping the reader divorced from the characters' emotional plight. The art is mostly good, although the choice to anthropomorphize the characters is an odd one - it seems to dehumanize the characters, leaving the reader even less connected to them.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I appreciated the LGBT+ rep and the discussions of sex work, the art really fell flat for me.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty great, and really sad, but sometimes sad stories make the best kind of stories.

So what is it about? It's a about a transsexual prostitute life and trying to do her best to make it. It's very brutal and honest so a lot of sexual acts are depicted as well as how tough it is to make it through the sex life. This is a slice of life, but what makes it unique is the profession and of course the lifestyle of our main character who is a transsexual which in itself is fascinating. Now this is obviously a dark tale, and a harsh life, and so I wasn't particularity ready for it's darkness but embraced it by the end.

Good: I really liked learning about the life of a prostitute. It's dark, sad, and it's not easy. It's also extremely interesting and a glimpse into it really made me understand it more. I also loved the happiness mixed in there, even if only for a few sections, gave a sense of freedom from the otherwise moody and twisted world presented, which is very similar to ours.

Bad: Not sure why we went with animals to showcase it. It was hard to distinguished who was who at time. I also thought it could be TOO bleak at times.

Overall a very gripping story. Though dark and hard to read through at times it was still freaking amazing. I think everyone should read it. I don't know if everyone will ENJOY it as much as me but I sure as heck did. A 4 out of 5.

[Darth Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Woof.

So, here's the thing, I did not like this comic, but, more than that, it illustrates a growing trend within creative communities that has, in my opinion, gotten out of control in recent years. And that's the inability to critique, dislike, or even be generally ambivalent towards stories created by folks in marginalized communities for fear of being "cancelled", publicly shamed, called a bigot, racist, sexist, etc.

The Pervert is an unflinching slice of life style story of a transgender woman navigating her way through sex work and hatred and confusion and pain. Which, by all means, should be, and can be, poignant and compelling.

Unfortunately, it's not. It's not even that good. There was nothing compelling about the plot. In fact, the whole progression of everything is a mess. Sure, it's certainly sad and difficult to get through, but the vignettes are nonsensical and flip flop back and forth in time with no real grounding imagery or movement. The characters and their backstories are only vaguely fleshed out. And, at first, I thought that maybe the inclusion of furry characters was to highlight the alienation transgender people feel by others; they feel different than humans, they feel like animals. But then I realized that interpretation was most likely unintentional; I get the feeling the furries were included to be edgy.

I do think there should be more representative stories outside of the norm. Transgender people deserve to have their stories told and honored. But they shouldn't be coddled. Not everything they create is genius and amazing and perfect simply for the fact they created it. Transgender people are equals to everyone else in the world, and, as equals, they can be talentless hacks or bad writers or shitty artists or pedestrian musicians too.

We live in a time when there always has to be qualifiers in any situation dissecting pretty much anything, especially the LGBTQ+ community and people of color. Even when the person doing the criticism is marginalized themselves, they must add qualifiers for fear that others don't shame them, ostracize them, attack them.

I mean, look at what happened to that poor Asian YA author who was shamed into cancelling her six figure deal debut novel simply because it had scenes depicting slavery. She was shamed by a black woman and fellow YA and her psychophants on Goodreads and other social media platforms (https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...). The book wasn't even historical. It was a goddamn fantasy. The people who bullied and attacked her into silence are philistines who either don't know or don't care that Asians were and still are victims of slavery.

It disgusts me that this bullying, mob mentality has almost completely taken over the creative community. And it infuriates me that folks are no longer allowed to be creative or have opinions on anything anymore for fear of that mob rising up and destroying their character. What's more, there's a special kind of hypocrisy within these progressive movements. For instance, any racism towards or fetishization of Asian people or their cultures is largely ignored or dismissed as "not that bad".

I'm just not a fan of poorly written, highly lauded stories no matter who they're written by.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Pervert has a lot of potential, but the vignette format really hurts the book's overall narrative. It shifts back and forth in different time periods, and it's hard to get a grasp on the characters. There's so much of this character's story that I wanted to know more about, but in the end I was left trying to guess at what I was missing. Will definitely read more from the author, but I'd like to see more than a compilation of short stories that yearn to be a collective whole.

[Nick Fagerlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was intense.

It's a story about a trans girl in Seattle, doing sex work (first as a guy, later, reluctantly, as a girl) to make ends meet. It kind of meanders around; it has the feel of someone trying to explain to themselves why they made some major decision, chewing back over events that seem like they might be related but might also just be dead ends. But paradoxically, it also feels like it moves at a breakneck pace, which I think is because of how precarious everything in her life feels. Any mundane moment could be the moment everything goes wrong, you know?

I liked this a lot.

Boydell draws most of the characters as anthropomorphic animals. And there's a lot of sexually explicit stuff in here. So a side question I've been pondering: are parts of this book furry porn? I mean it's way too much of a downer to be "porn" in a practical sense, but is it drawing from a furry porn artistic language and tradition? I think mostly it isn't, because part of the point of furry media is a fascination with the animal aspect; exploring what it'd be like to exist in a humanoid-animal body. And there's none of that here: from the way the characters interact, they're all normal human bodies that are just being _depicted_ as animal-alikes. Right? It spends most of its time somewhere in the other various traditions of anthropomorphic comics art, even if there might be some furry influence in spots.

WELL, I ain't no scholar of the topic or anything. This is just something I was mulling over. Also, the book itself draws your attention to the tension in its depictions during that scene where the protagonist gets kind of cornered into a threesome, because when her client's husband appears from around the corner he's drawn as goddamn Jon Arbuckle and I just about hyperventilated when that happened.

[Liz Yerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was important and refreshing to read. So much I'm gonna overlook that the art style is very furry.

[Sam Wescott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was a very blue book. Both in the sense that it was very sexually explicit and also that it dealt with a lot of depression.

I picked it up from the library after reading an NPR review about it and thought “oh, crap. Now the librarians are going to think I’m a furry” because I’m full of prejudices, like any other person. But, actually, the use of anthropomorphic animals as some of the characters and not of others was actually really interesting? You have a full cast of furries, for lack of a better descriptor, and then, every once in a blue moon, you’ll have a character that is drawn as human or in a significantly different style from the other characters (like a surprisingly kind factory manager from Canada drawn as Clifford the big red dog). It made for an interesting shorthand about how the main character viewed the others in any given scene. I’m not positive that I always got the impression the author/illustrator was trying to give me, but it definitely made an impact.

Apart from the very interesting art, the story was something that you don’t normally find in a published a book instead of on someone’s Tumblr-turned-confessional. It was unflinching and it’s depiction of survival sex work and the realities of starvation and physical danger from clients that sex workers face while they’re just trying to get by was really poignant. Thingd are, of course, complicated by the main character being trans and the book doesn’t shy away from those complications. Honestly, I think it’s the type of story that doesn’t get told often enough and even though it was occasionally hard to read, I found it absolutely fascinating the whole way through.

The only real struggle that I had was with the timeline. It was told little vignettes and while that made parts of it really moving, it also made it a little hard to follow along with what exactly was going on. You could kind of tell a rough timeline based on where the main character was in her transition, but it took me a while to figure that out, so I spent more time than I would like trying to figure out when and where we were in any given scene.

Beyond that, though, it was a brutal, but very well crafted portrait have a life that many people live. It was interesting and emotional and poignant and I devoured it in one greedy gulp. Tom and Edna made my cry. Don’t read it in public or at work.

[I. Merey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the freak out of this book! A dogheaded trans girl does swah and waits for the day when she can quit her job and live fully true to herself. Side characters are Tom, who helps the unnamed main character get back on her feet; Clifford-head boss; cathead girlfriend; asshead male colleagues--many others. I really enjoyed the vague... recycling? of household name animal cartoon figures (Snoopy, idk some cat that I def seen before, Clifford) in a style that was so unique and pleasing to me. (And I so so SO wanted a Garfieldhead sex cameo, alas!) Many mournful, beautiful panels in these pages. Muted colors, sharp ink. Bleeding watercolor. The story itself is told in little flashbacks, vignettes, dreams. There is no 'story' really--this is a mood, and the mood is restless, hopeful, hopeless, beginnings and ends. An extra star for the Lil Peep reference in the extra art pages at the back.

[Bek (MoonyReadsByStarlight)]

It’s hard to know what exactly to think about this book (hence why I chose not to give a star rating). It tells the story of a trans sex worker and it details her complicated relationship with it and with the people around her. The way the story is told is more of a series of scenes and they are almost too disconnected. There was a bit with time that was sort of hard to follow. I do think that I could see the disconnected and sort of confusing nature could be a stylistic choice (which definitely makes sense given the juxtaposition of dark themes and the choice in art work), but there were certain pieces of the plot and who people were that was missing and those missing details hindered the story to me. It was dark and intense. There is a lot of complicated feelings towards every character in the story. But it was just a bit too confusing to really get the whole picture.

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grim and gross.

[BookCupid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute little animals dealing with communication issues.

Unable to feed herself and pay for her meds, this lonely trans girl (she's unnamed for most of the story) sees no other recourse than prostitution. Although she has the support of a friend, her self-esteem keeps spiraling down. She gets beaten. Ridiculed. And maybe her only way out is to go back home.

Even though the sex and violence was graphic, her past seemed a blur. Why did her relationship end? Is that why she left home? Were they against her transition? So many questions were left unanswered, leaving me with this gap, where I didn't understand the stakes or pros of going home.

Prepare for a cameo by Clifford the dog.

[tragedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a touching story of the reality of living as a poor trans woman who needs to maintain herself through sex work, and the reality of sex work itself + amazing artwork

[Juushika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The chronicles of a sex worker in Seattle as she progresses through her transition. All the reviews remarking on how the anthropomorphic art contrast the mature issues of sex work and trans* identity are hilarious--it's just furry art, y'all; it's gonna be okay. I'm not enamored of this--there's a roughness, both in the art (the lingering pencil lines tip it from "raw" to "messy") and in the writing, which is poorly condensed to the point of incoherence. The overall effect I like better: it's honest, confrontational, personal, and complex; the vignette format builds into a nuanced portrait. This is worth reading, nonetheleast because it's so quick to read, but flawed.

[LaNia Sproles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great quick read! Finished this in about an hour's time. Honestly really not like any other book I've read. All queer and queer adjacent folks should read this. It's honest and witty but that's what makes it heartbreaking. This is beautifully written and it inspires me to want to make my own graphic novel some day! To say the options that Trans/non-binary folk have are barren is an understatement. It further confirms our duties as cis folks to help foster well deserved places of safety and love for our trans/non-binary kin. I probably will read it again in the future and I can't wait to read more by this author! Truly moving!!

[hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

this gn rules. the art is incredible and adorable and nostalgic, the writing is poetry and hurts u so good. i think it’s about how everything keeps going and stuff is still funny and meaningful even when your everyday is mostly surviving. it’s an intersection of perspective for sex workers (a group i’m part of) and trans ppl (a group i’d die for), and that’s important. what a cool fucking book/labor of love, i’ve already read it twice

[M Aghazarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

(advanced review copy) much more touching than I thought it was going to be. Loved the watercolors, felt the main character's fear and planning. There were interesting choices about who was portrayed as human and who was portrayed as animal. Worth a read

[Gabrielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am rather confused as to what actually happened in this.

[Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

The queer cringe-culture references were not at all expected, but were very much appreciated, and contrasted nicely with the melancholic story. Opening with a preface written by the singer from Car Seat Headrest? A thanks to "Markiplier and Minecraft?" An illustration of 4Lung?! Iconic. All iconic. Besides the silliness of this story, the actual writing and illustrations are so absolutely heartbreaking and frustrating. I wish I could give this 5 stars as it really is a very compelling and complex story, but I just feel like something is missing? I think some of the characters, mainly the other trans women, should have either been each given more time/introduced earlier, or combined into one character. I suppose the creators wanted to show how prevelant trans women in sex work is? Also wish there was more foreshadowing for the ending. Idk, it just seems to hurt the overall quality of the characters. Frustrating considering how well written Felina and Tom are. Overall, still a very good story, and I will talk about it to anyone who will listen.

[Hailstorm · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

genuinely excellent. probably the best work of trans fiction out there right now

"There were interesting moments: none of them felt like they were mine. I was present. Composure was maintained."

[Joyce]

- so depressing
- vignettey format reminded me of ducks by kate beaton
- ngl i kinda feel like i did not fully grasp the plot. but i still found it illuminating and im glad i read it

[Bucketsofbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so this is all going to be terrible references because try as I might I can’t find the actual sources of what I’m referring to so I can’t cite them, but I will still be referencing them. Excuse me if I ramble, this is only something I’ve really just started to unpack in my own life.

Anyways, I once saw someone on twitter say something that has stuck with me forever. They were referencing a piece of feminist theory (I can’t remember who, couldn’t find it when I tried to) that said that society sees all women as housewives, even those who are not literally housewives. It slots them into this role because that’s what women are supposed to do, and no matter what path someone’s life actually takes, that role is expected of women and will be forced on them however society sees fit. The tweet said that while that same phenomenon also exists for trans women, there is another, similar phenomenon that affects us. In the way all women are seen by society as housewives, all trans women are seen as sex workers. The observation, or analysis, really threw me for a loop when I read it, how painfully obvious it had been in so many encounters in our day to day life. The expectations of us and the way that it is violently enforced, interpersonally and institutionally.

I have been blessed in my life to know many trans women, blessed to be one myself, something I will always see as a blessing no matter how much it may be seen as a curse. But I’ll never shake that idea. None of us will. Many of the trans women I know, myself included, have had to resort to sex work at least once. And I do say resort to it, as for many of us, at different times, there was simply no other option. And when we’ve done it, it’s not questioned by anyone. Because it’s expected. The trans women I know who haven’t done sex work, most of them have still been propositioned for it on numerous occasions by numerous men (and women). Because it’s expected. It’s what we’re seen as, what we can’t shake, and a sadly uniting factor.

The Pervert understands that, even if it doesn’t say it explicitly. It’s on every page. Not only is it literally about a trans sex worker, it’s about people’s relation to us, particularly cis people and their expectations, their infatuations. It is not only deeply felt and honest, but funny in its own “perverted” way. Boydell’s art is beautiful, Perez’s words are perfect. Simply put, it’s one of the best contemporary graphic novels I’ve read. It made me laugh and cry, then made me feel calm and seen. I can only imagine what impact it has had on others. A major work.

[Chloe Henshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really depressing read.

I initially picked it up a few years ago, but I think it just wasn't the right time for me to read it. The somber tone and depressing subject matter left me with an overall negative impression of this graphic novel. However, rereading it recently has given me a new appreciation for its focus on sex work and trans identities, especially as I navigate my relationship with my own gender identity.

This wasn't so much an enjoyable reading experience as it was an intensely interesting one. Watching the protagonist struggle to make ends meet as she transitions was heartbreaking, draining, and at times unpleasant, but it was equally gratifying to see her physically and socially change throughout the book. The brief spurts of hope and happiness that occur are cast against this backdrop of drudgery and disassociation, which makes them feel all the more freeing. There is a tension throughout this book between these small victories and reprieves, and the depressing reality of the protagonist's daily life. While reading this, I felt a looming anxiety, like something could snap at any moment.

I've heard people complain about the art style and the choice to anthropomorphize the characters, but this didn't really bother me that much, and I really enjoyed the art style throughout. It clings to dingy, subdued tones that add to the oppressive atmosphere, and I thought the design of the characters worked well to convey their personalities while inserting a degree of separation between their lives and the reader.

I can't say that this graphic novel was a fun time, but it was a time, and I appreciated its frank depiction of both sex work and trans folks.