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Guinea Pigs

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A pharmaceutical testing center. Three human test subjects. Three pills a day for twenty-one days. And at the end, a check for 3,500 euros. Our three guinea pigs begin the test thinking they’re in it for the money. Three weeks later, they leave transformed. Have their dreams come true, or will their lives become living nightmares?

106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2014

51 people want to read

About the author

Tonino Benacquista

74 books160 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Tan Markovic.
447 reviews158 followers
November 12, 2018
I gave this 4/5 stars!
Found on a random Netgalley spree....you know how it is.

My very first time reading a graphic novel and it far exceeded my expectations, I was hooked!
The storyline originally caught my eye however it was beyond what I thought it would be.
The illustrations were also incredible and so detailed.

Highly recommend!
Profile Image for Aya.
482 reviews590 followers
December 3, 2018
This graphic novel was definitely interesting to read.
A new drug was made in France and needed to be tested on people, and there were 3 volunteers. They took the drug and had trials and blood tests made on them, and we follow them for 3 weeks, how they react to the drug and if there is any side effects to it.

It discusses the effect of drugs on you and how it can change your life positively or negatively. It also delves deep into the meaning of life and what do you want to do with your life.

I have some mixed feelings about it. It was satisfying in the beginning of it, even thought it is only 96 pages. However, near the end it was rushed and I was confused by the end to be honest.

It has adult themes in it, so be aware of that before picking it up.
Profile Image for Richard.
2,337 reviews196 followers
November 11, 2018
An interesting concept about the money and influence of multi-national drug companies and their research and methods required to develop new medicines.
I’m not sure 3 people would be an acceptable sample size but for the interests of the story the focus is just on 3 individuals, volunteers, but paid a lot of money for their participation in the drug trial.
The money is to offset time lost, possible side effects and retain absolute control over the exercise.
I’m sure we have all heard of real life examples where things go wrong.
Here remarkable, unimaginable results follow and the story is about both the positive and negative results of such a trial. The trouble taken to cover things up and suppress negative publicity and keep control when the test subjects, the guinea pigs in his project unite and make their own demands.
Plenty of scope to run riot with this theme and a measure of restraint is employed in the narrative to make the story both fun and feasible. Clearly with fiction you can give a clear run to your imagination and inteoduce some shock value. In the process a deeper message is revealed about what makes us the individuals we are, rather than just due the different paths taken or alternative realities based on our person choice and opportunity.
The result is science fiction but too close to home and it is a story that resonates with anyone who would seek to pop a pill or two to improve themselves. Many lives have been transformed by drug research but not perhaps as dramatically as the three random subjects here, who got more than they bargained for.
7,034 reviews83 followers
November 10, 2018
A really good comic book/graphic novel about three persons that goes into the trial of a new drug. The characters a very good, there's a also a good dose of humor and social criticism as well. The rhythm is also fast paced, almost like a soft thriller kind of thing and everything work well! Not necessarily the kind of graphic novel I would normally enjoy but i really like this one! Interesting discovery!
Profile Image for ♛ Garima ♛.
1,013 reviews183 followers
November 14, 2018
guinea pig
noun
plural noun: guinea pigs
1. a domesticated tailless South American cavy, originally raised for food. It no longer occurs in the wild and is now typically kept as a pet or for laboratory research.

2. a person or thing used as a subject for experiment.


There is new revolutionary drug M2C2T has been created. Phase 1 of testing has been complete and now for Phase 2, it has to be tested on human. 2 men and 1 woman chosen as test subjects and 35,000 dollars after a month. This story is about how testing goes, how that affects individual and how their life changes after this.
It was nice concept and very neatly executed with great graphic design.
9,097 reviews130 followers
November 10, 2018
This must have been a hot potato in France when published, seeing as one of the worst disasters in the world of healthy body drug trials happened there a decade or so ago. Having done many similar trials, I can see where this is complete claptrap – people taking blood every hour and never using a cannula, people under round-the-clock observation having private rooms with lockable doors – but I can see the drama inherent in three misfits lumped together on a three-week drug study. Which, of course, only proves to be the beginning. One can't remember much anyway, another is the world's limpest, least successful gigolo, and the other an Indian lass with daddy issues. The plotting gets a little woolly by the end, but it's an enjoyable story - and just about different enough from the 'Limitless' movie to be easily recommended.
Profile Image for Liz (Quirky Cat).
4,986 reviews85 followers
November 30, 2018
I received a copy of Guinea Pigs through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Guinea Pigs is a graphic novel focused on the world of pharmaceutical drugs. I’ll be honest with you; it never once occurred to me to expect to see a graphic novel come from this particular branch of science. Maybe that was silly of me, I don’t know.



For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Profile Image for Wayne McCoy.
4,298 reviews32 followers
November 11, 2018
'Guinea Pigs' by Benacquista Tonino with art by Barral Nicolas is a story that could be happening even as you read this review.

A drug company has a new drug they want to test. They are looking for people who don't normally test. In exchange for 21 days of testing, the subjects will get 3,500 euros. The subjects selected are Daniel, Romain and Moira. They all have some personal problems, so they willingly sign up. The test isolates them and they are forced to take drugs and give blood daily. The drug has a weird side effect on each of them.

I liked this slowly moving story of science and side effects. I wasn't sure how to feel about these characters, but I cared more for them as the story moved along.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Profile Image for Pop Bop.
2,502 reviews125 followers
November 10, 2018
Much More Than Expected

From the blurb you might expect this is be just a medico melodrama with an anti-Big Pharma subtext, but that would be underestimating this entertaining and twisty tale.

We start with our three heroes. They each have rather unique problems that might benefit from an anti-anxiety drug, and they all could use some serious money. The opening scenes in which the trial clinicians weed out "professional" drug testers are amusing. Our three heroes are introduced in three interesting biographical arcs. Once we get to the testing we enter into the suspense of finding out what effect the drug will have, and we follow the three main characters for 21 days of boredom and bonding.

NO SPOILERS, EXCEPT SOME MILD PLOT HINTS. The drug is effective in unexpected ways. At this point you begin to wonder where the rest of the book could go. Well, in a way it has just gotten started. We will follow our heroes, take a twisty turn for each, and then hit three mini climaxes, (including a touch of a mystery), before reaching the end of the trail. As I said, lots more than I expected.

The writing is crisp. The tale is dialogue driven, and that dialogue is realistic and assured. The drawing seems to be a bit too minimalist at first, but it ends up to be just the right choice for carrying, while not overwhelming, the story. There are moments of humor, some nicely handled edgy throwaway bits, and much better and more engaging character development than one usually encounters.

So, this was an entertaining tale that had a suspenseful pull and a satisfying ending. A nice find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
Profile Image for Ije the Devourer of Books.
1,969 reviews58 followers
November 10, 2018

Daniel, Romain and Moira all sign up to participate in some clinical trials for a new drug. They need the money and 3,500 euros is a lot to be paid for swallowing a few pills.

They also need to find ways to cope with their personal struggles. Daniel suffers from memory loss. It affects his ability to find and keep work and he has two kids to feed. Romain is impotent and viagra just doesn't help. He wants to be the kind of man that women will swarm to because of his sexual prowess but that isn't happening any time soon. Moira wants to be a famous artist like her father but she is failing her college course in Paris and she wants to return home to India.

They all have needs and they each need money so they are relieved when they are chosen to be guinea pigs.

But the results they end up with are not the results that the scientists or the test subjects could have foreseen, and suddenly their lives are very different.

Unfortunately I can't say how different but this new drug does a lot more than scientists thought it would.

This is an excellent graphic novel. I really liked the artwork and the story was excellent. It is the kind of story that works well in pictures but you wish you could read a prose version because there is just so much more that needs to be explored.

The characters are interesting and all their personal stories and the twists and turns make the novel quite gripping. I read it all in in sitting and I wouldn't have predicted what happened.

This is a really good story with great artwork and well worth reading if you like graphic novels.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Profile Image for Prin.
215 reviews49 followers
January 31, 2019
As soon as I saw the title and cover I just knew I had to read this. It initially reminded me of Maniac that I recently saw on Netflix. As expected with any Europe Comics book, this one is full of awesome art! The establishing scenes are superb, with interesting and effective use of color schemes to differentiate time and places.

It’s about three random people signing up for a test run of a new breakthrough medicine that is supposed to solve all of humanity’s mental health problems. We begin a journey that takes a closer look at the pharmaceutical industry. It explores the issue of just how much of our medications really help us. It’s a question of research ethics—just when is it acceptable to sacrifice “guinea pigs” for the good of the greater population? How do we even quantify the pros and cons of results vs the side effects?

I love the unlikely friendship that was formed between the trio. All throughout the book you just know something big will happen, just not if it’s good or bad. I constantly worry about our main characters. That is how invested I was in the story. I can’t say the ending was what I expected, too. It’s overall a really great read with pleasant surprises.

Ultimately it’s a book on mental health. I love how it teaches us that inversing the symptom is not the automatic solution to any illness. We need to study, understand and embrace our fears and anxiety so we can function with them and not against. Escape is never the answer.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing a copy of this wonderful graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Laura.
3,249 reviews103 followers
November 12, 2018
An interesting take on what would happen if you could take a drug that would not so much free you from your inhibitions, but make you into the opposite of what you currently are.

Do you want that? Would you want to go from being shy, to being outgoing? Would you want to go from being a pacifist to being aggressive?

Three subjects are chosen who have no idea what the drug will do, but when they find out, they do not want to give it up.

And interesting window into how people would react if they found they could do whatever they wanted to and would be good at it. And strangely, how the world around them reacts as well.

For, it is not just the drug company that wants them to stop being who they have become, but others as well.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Profile Image for Anne Oftedahl.
484 reviews51 followers
November 24, 2018
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest, I didn't really get it. It was interesting, and I kinda liked it, but if you asked me what it's actually about I wouldn't know what to say.
Profile Image for Hannah Woycik.
222 reviews37 followers
November 26, 2018
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this graphic novel in exchange for my honest review.

RTC
Profile Image for Elia.
1,226 reviews25 followers
June 7, 2019
Somewehere in France a pharmaceutical company recruits 3 people for a clinical trial on what they are told is an anti-anxiety medication and offers to pay them 3,500 francs. One person suffers from short-term memory loss. One is impotent. One just really hates her successful artist dad because she's a failed artist herself who just wants enough money to go back to India.
What no one counts on is that the drug they're given doesn't really help with anxiety. What it really does is remove inhibitions, lower fears and allow people to do all the things they have always wanted to but have been too terrified to try. Like remember things that happened after their father's deadly accident. Or talk to hot girls. Or paint like a person possessed.
The trial subjects LOVE the drug, but of course, there are some unforeseen side effects... and when the pharma reps come calling months down the line, the Guinea Pigs must decide if their new lives are worth the side effects.
Yes, people keep comparing this to Maniac, because it reads a LOT like that show on the surface, but it's actually a lot less trippy and makes a lot more sense than the show. It's basically an exploration of fear - and all the things we would or could do if the fear was suddenly gone. For good, or for bad.
Profile Image for Beth Younge.
1,253 reviews8 followers
November 10, 2018
This was an interesting graphic novel. It explores three very different characters who are all on the same drug trial and they receive 3,500 euros for their participation on it. The art style was really great and it helped flesh out the characters well. The plot was written in an interesting way and my favourite character was definitely Moira. The backgrounds that are created for the characters help understand the choices they make after taking the trial drug. This book is a good study on human behaviour and the choices we make as humans.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Dustyloup.
1,324 reviews9 followers
October 7, 2020
This graphic novel had it all! A little intrigue, a little stripped from the headlines, +add in some psychology/sociology. Who would you be if you didn't have your inhibitions?
22 reviews1 follower
July 5, 2024
Histoire intéressante au départ, mais la fin est précipitée et bien mal ficelée.
Profile Image for Ricky Lima.
Author 7 books16 followers
October 27, 2025
I dug it, but it didn't really feel significant. There wasn't much emotion to sink my teeth into. Just some stuff happening and then a vague ending.
Profile Image for Laure.
114 reviews
January 13, 2026
Ouais, bof. J'ai trouvé la BD sans intérêt. L'histoire se veut réaliste mais ça part dans un délire fantaisiste que j'ai eu du mal à suivre. Les personnages auraient pu être intéressants mais sont juste creux et très mal développés. La fin est super bâclée, j'ai l'impression que c'est juste du foutage de gueule.
Profile Image for Lisa Jeffers.
375 reviews12 followers
November 13, 2018
A new drug has been created and 3 subjects are needed to test it. Each subject has issues and the drug reacts with each of them. The story follows them through the initial testing and then afterwards as they deal with the after-effects.

This is not my usual type of read. I found the story hard to follow in places and some of the images were difficult to read. It is a fairly quick read but personally wasn’t my cup of tea.

Merged review:

A new drug has been created and 3 subjects are needed to test it. Each subject has issues and the drug reacts with each of them. The story follows them through the initial testing and then afterwards as they deal with the after-effects.

This is not my usual type of read. I found the story hard to follow in places and some of the images were difficult to read. It is a fairly quick read but personally wasn’t my cup of tea. The art was very detailed and
It was interesting to see how the story developed but I don’t feel that the storyline was very clear - however as this is my first taste of a graphic novel maybe I just don’t get the concept?
I’d definitely be interested in trying another graphic novel in the future.

Read as part of net-galley .
Profile Image for My.
47 reviews
November 15, 2018
This is a story of three characters that undergo a pharmacological test for a new drug, in exchange for a great deal of money. In their admissions tests, they conceal their secrets: one has memory loss, another says she is an artist but lacks artistic competences, and the third struggles with impotence (or it seems).

The drug has a lot of secondary effects, and the question is if there are good or bad.

The story plot is really good and engaging. I really enjoyed it, so much that I was very frustrated, every time I had to put it down, for something.

However, I had a serious problem with the use of characters look alike, such as Leonard Nimoy Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. I find it to be a very disrespectful gimmick. An artist is a curator of one´s work. To use their image, without one's permission, it feels very wrong.

#GuineaPigs #NetGalley
Profile Image for patrycja polczyk.
452 reviews20 followers
December 21, 2018
* I have received this novel thanks to NetGalley and the publisher*
It's an excellent read! It starts off slowly, with three people, who have a rather lame life. They have nothing to lose, so they decide to apply for new drug tests. They are promised there won't be any side effects, but things turn out differently. I won't tell you how, so you will need to see (read) for yourself. It surely is a story about the modern world, about how dependant we are no our magic pills and how far can we go for them. I'd love to read more of this story, some follow up would be amazing. Oh, and the cover is great :)
Profile Image for Yessica.
254 reviews2 followers
April 24, 2019
*Thank you Net Galley for access to this book*

In exchange for 3,500 Euros, three people subject themselves to be in a trial run for a new drug. Everything seems fine until they go home and their lives are turned around. They say it's the drug, and will do whatever it takes to keep taking it.

The story is fast paced, but this doesn't take away from the story. You connect with the characters and their flaws enough to still make the story impactful, and at the end, you're left wondering if they really made the right decision or if their addiction will eventually get them.
6 reviews
December 8, 2018
Very interesting plot with strong characters and artwork to assemble into one story that keeps you reading. With the storyline touching on some of the impact of the effects of pharmaceutical drugs it was an interesting approach to a social critique/reflection. I wasn't expecting a graphic novel to focus on science and social issues of the pharmaceutical industry in this way but it was pleasantly surprising and I wish it was longer. I will definitely be looking for more works by this author.
Profile Image for Alexia Polasky.
Author 6 books29 followers
March 10, 2019
Thank you Netgalley and Europe Comics for the ARC!
An entertaining and original story about a pagrmaceutical trial group and the consequences deriving from the new drug they are testing. It is filled with social criticism, mainly focused on money, and jow far would pharmaceutical companies go to achieve what they are after. However, the most interesting aspect was the meme net of the trial group turning against the company, and what that entails
Profile Image for Alycia Canfield.
190 reviews1 follower
January 4, 2019
I have some mixed feelings about it. It was satisfying in the beginning of it, even thought it is only 96 pages. However, near the end it was rushed and I was confused by the end to be honest. We are in a modern day world where a new drug has been created and a handful of test subjects have been chosen to well.. test the new drug! This graphic novel depicts all the patients as they each have different side effects to this pill.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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