Money Shot Vol. 2

Money Shot

by Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie, Kurt Michael Russell (Colorist)

The XXX-plorers embark on their second mission to a naughty world (that may have inspired the biblical Hell...or at the very least ripped it off). But whips, chains and spanks have nothing on the torture of STD testing! Meanwhile, a powerful romance rocks an alien empire to its core, with intimate consequences for our scientists-turned-porn-stars!

A great jumping on point for new readers -- or a comfortable place to sit and rock for current fans. Collects Money Shot #6-#10.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Humor, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, LGBT

132 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2021

About the author

Tim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second adventure for this group of scientists that film their escapades with aliens to fund their work and space travel focusses more on storyline and humour and kind of fails. The thinly veiled Trump character is over the top and most of the story points were predictable, if anything I ma surprise that I gave this as much as a 4 out of 12, Two Stars!
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2024 read

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series somehow manages to get worse. It still presents itself as a sex forward series, while actually being really conventional - the sex is mainstream porn-y, conventional beauty ideals are the norm, there is a lot of creepy objectification.

But worst of all, so little imagination. The porn scientists aren't interested in looking for new, interesting forms of sex, they're looking for human orifices and genitals on aliens. They are scientists, and they don't want to explore the unknown. I find this totally baffling. (To be fair, they do finally hump godlike non-human beings, but only because it is transactional in nature.)

So they pick a planet with "beautiful" humanlike aliens to fuck, and the book needs a conflict, and war = conflict, so yeah that'll do.

The sex that pops up is crammed in, because this is a sex comic. And there's reams and reams of dialogue, and it's all so boooring.

It's also disheartening to see how the Chris/Bree/Omar relationship is resolved. It would've been the perfect moment to explore polyamory.

Oh! And there's hamfisted political satire, which never becomes funny, it just lazily humps the plot.

The art is still pretty great, it just feels wasted.

(Picked up a review copy through Edelweiss)

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

For as much as I liked volume 1, volume 2 stunk. The story meandered in every which direction. There was SO. MUCH. DIALOGUE. It was like volume 1 was a success and they had no ideas for a 2nd volume. The Trump like president was a bore. After listening to 4 years of the real thing, the last thing I want is more of that belligerent jackass in my comics. Rebekah Isaacs art was still great though.

Received a review copy from Vault and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh…y’all! This was supposed to be so good and it completely and totally failed. Not only did the story feel extremely disjointed, but it was so overwritten that it dragged. I was getting distracted so easily while reading it and it’s so unlike me to feel that way while reading a comic book. I expected a better and more gripping story after reading the first volume and instead I got this. There is a character that is supposed to be a caricature of Donald Trump and it’s so obvious that even that felt overdone. It was completely and totally ridiculous. Unfortunately, not even the art was able to captivate me and convince me to continue with this series. I honestly don’t see it going up from here.

[Melanie (mells_view) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back on a mission with the crew of XXX-plorers. Money Shot just finished a not so hot mission, so they are back on Earth to hopefully get more funding and find the next planet for them to research. Anyway, more relationship issues between some of the crew. There’s a plot with their fictional president who sadly had the mentality of our recently removed president, but it makes for a funny subplot in this graphic novel. I don’t want to say too much, but they are once again up to campy hijinks and of course creating porn to fund their research missions to better earth. The artwork is possibly more gorgeous than before. The planet the end up exploring has some beautifully drawn aliens. Explicit content warning once again! 18+ if you follow rules.

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some excerpts:

Author's note--"Look, we didn't think it'd make for a successful comic book either, but here we are."
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The not-CNN news crawler headlines: Celebrity fundraiser for land developers who lost properties in the NYC coastal floods...Death itself is liberal hoax, claims FOX NEWS host...Documentary remembering bees airs tonight on BBC...Last elephant's Youtube show sparks ratings war with last blue whale's Tiktok feed...New Kardashian clone defective, but already a billionaire influencer without functioning head..."
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Insecure Halfwit Narcissist Blond American President: "You don't fucking get it, do you?! You think being smart is worth a goddamn thing? That's not what matters--and it never has! The people who get all the power are the ones that know that uniting people doesn't take fucking "ideas" or goddamn "data". It just takes hating some other fucking losers together! It takes making sure you always get better shit than them, and your fans do, too!"

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Alien Ambassador: "I would like to offer your people a trial membership in the universal alliance called The Covalence. As part of this alliance, you will be offered access to freely shared technologies and concepts which, used wisely, shall heal your wounded planet and free your people from hunger, disease, war, and inequality."

Insecure Halfwit Narcissist Blond American President: "What you're saying, it sounds nice. Just a real liberal wet dream. But before we start throwing things around for free here, we need to make some deals. See, the U-S-of-A? We've been doing most of the heavy lifting on Earth. We have all the guns. Hell, we shit guns. We're like all the other countries combined except in beast mode. So I'd like to propose a deal--that anything you offer, I get first pass for MY country and the hard-working Christians with their tough trucks and cold beer and balls of steel and GOOD AMERICAN MORALS who prop up all these other crappy countries. So, you know, before those Mexicans start taking things they don't deserve and crying about how they don't have enough beans for their tacos, let's do a deal, honey."

Alien Ambassador: [zaps halfwit's balls with purple electricity]

Insecure Halfwit Narcissist Blond American President: "SQUEEGH!!!"

Hero Scientist: "That's my new ringtone."

(Note: This scene should have been in the first volume. It's the series' thesis.)

[Brian Garthoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Money Shot was entertaining for it’s first 6 issues, and then it became wordy scifi babble + dick jokes. Only the jokes became less and less funny. And it seems like they closed everything off for a series ending unless sales warrant a third volume. Sounds like future kickstarter material to me. Regardless of whether Money Shot lives on or not, I think I’ve reached my quota. They shot their shot, and it came up short.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might not quite be soft core porn, but it did push that boundary, and frankly if this was made into a television show or movie they should go all out and show everything (even though they will need some special effects).

Because, the concept and story require it. A group of college researchers/scientists create a long range teleportation device. The catch? How are they going to get the funds to test it, and keep it running? Simple, do what the Net was arguably best at from Day One-porn! So, they video their close encounters (and live stream them) and initially they rake in enough money for decent lives and keep the project going.

Until, government interference, some in the form of a trump wannabe, start screwing with their fund raising.

Look, this is meant to be a humorous bit on sex, love, and relationships. Seeley does a pretty good job, and unless you're prudish about the previously mentioned issues I think you'll enjoy this.

(This is a review for both volumes, issues 1-10 read as digital floppies)

[Alex Sarll]

A second volume largely defined by the fallout – academic, emotional, political, venereal - of the first volume's voyages in interstellar shagging. Part of me would have been happy with this as volume 3 or 4, because the initial set-up seemed like it had plenty of life in it yet, but it would be churlish to complain about a series not resting on its laurels. Besides, as they say, "Look, we didn't think it'd make for a successful comic book either, but here we are." That's in a recap page which explains the world more fully than we ever saw directly. Specifically, it's 2032, five years after a first contact derailed by a US president who, yeah, is about how I expect the next generation of Trumpism to look. So after "the aliens saw what a total shitshow Earth was" they rescinded our invitation to join the galactic community, and now neither Earthly nor alien authorities are happy about our heroes screwing their way across the stars. And who can blame them? One hilarious scene from a news broadcast has a foreground of the intellectual contortions human zealots happily wind themselves into to own the libs, while the ticker along the bottom offers a plausible extrapolation of our future: "Celebrity fundraiser for land developers who lost properties in the NYC coastal flooding – Death itself is liberal hoax, claims Fox News host – Documentary 'Remembering Bees' airs tonight on BBC – Last elephant's YouTube show sparks ratings war with last blue whale's TikTok feed – New Kardashian clone defective, but already a billionaire influencer without functioning head." See also the placard of the protester demanding Money Shot's closure as "Proof that science leads to sodomy".

Early on, there were a few times when a series predicated on future appetites being even more jaded than ours felt like it was being a little timid. The references to the S&M on a world which may be the basis for Hell seemed pretty mild, considering; equally, the subplot which forms the book's emotional core felt quite monogamously slanted, though there's an undeniable poignancy to a story where two exes are fucking for audiences, but can't get back together offscreen because of various accumulated baggage. On the latter point at least, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that it might evolve as the story progressed, and even within this volume, it sort of did - only to fluff it right at the end (and not the good sort of fluffing). Despite which, it was a fun read. And I haven't even mentioned the talking cat (not in a sexy catgirl sense), the Future Shock energy of the first issue, or the alien who plays an RPG called Dull Obsolete Occupations. Who could have guessed space had an equivalent to Maelstrom, eh?

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first volume. The plot doesn't really get going until the third issue, and then it kind of just chugs along without really getting very interesting. There are still some funny moments and the art is great, though.

[alix flora 🌙 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do I keep doing this to myself 😭 but the Trump parody was hilarious

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what to think about this. I liked the weird sci-fi concepts that come up. But something didn't feel right and it appeared at every other page... shoehorning Donald Trump parodies alongside all this weirdness. The first issue goes into how the risks involving porno stuff can get personally.

But then politics you can't take seriously got involved. Politics are a serious business, it's not meant to mix with the weird and over-the-top stuff in Money Shot. As soon as the absurd sci-fi sex stuff shows up, it's too hard to take the Trump stand-in and what he's meant to represent seriously.

[Sana · Rating 2 out of 5]

'If we're changing the rules, Little Shot and I would like to announce our engagement!'

Wow, such a step down from volume 1 and I pretty much only liked that to begin with.

For a comic that explores scientists as porn stars in space, it's all pretty shockingly conventional. Where's the innovation? Why are these scientists looking up worlds with conventional beauty standards to go fuck on? The ruler somehow had a chainsaw for a penis, which totally doesn't count. Even the potential polyamory is shelved kinda anticlimactically. Disappointing especially coming from a comic that called its five main characters 'pansexual nerds'.

And then of course, there's a caricature character thrown in in the shape of the President of the United States which naturally brings about very unnatural and obvious political satire that I couldn't help but roll my eyes at.

Little Shot is still a favorite but it doesn't get a lot of page time this time around.

Honestly, I knew from page 1 that it won't be as good because there's so much text on that page alone and I don't think that story ever provided anything of value to the main story? What was up with that? I don't think I really care, TBH.

The art is still the best part about it with its vibrant palettes especially when it comes to space and all the planets the scientists end up traveling to.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love erotic art, or anything visual depicting nudity and sex. And so I was prompted to check this series out.

It's okay overall. It's about an intergalactic government that invites Earth, but after meeting a Trump inspired President of America, rescinds their offer to have Earth join them. So a group of scientists miraculously invent a wormhole type machine to take them to different planets in the universe. And they'll make porn to help fund their adventures.

My only real gripe with the story is that there is no body diversity. I love that there is a cute Black woman who has a new hair style every time we see her. (But I don't like how the two Black characters both date the white female lead - I dont like when the white woman ends up being the most desirable character in a crew).

It's almost 2022, and there are still no fat, trans or disabled people in stories that heavily feature sex and attraction.

Everyone is cis and relatively attractive. Even the aliens lack body diversity when they're not modeled after animals (ie there is a lady centaur).

This part of it is really boring to me. And it's disappointing because it's REALLY prevalent in art/comics where lots of people either have sex and are attracted to lots of people.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 2 clears the hurdle of differentiating itself from its predecessor. The thrills and pratfalls are still very much in evidence and the charm is still on full display. The Trump parody character who takes up a significant amount of screen time feels like a relic from a time when the world was marginally less dismal than it is now, and I'd rather not have that intrude on my escapist, technicolor, romp cavalcade, but the core of what makes this series great prevented the even that from dimming its vibrancy.

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as volume one, but still enjoyable to an extant. Everyone's favorite xxx-plorers are doing their thing in space and growing more popular on earth. They're able to finally fund their research. When the jerk who slashed the funds in the first place, the stupid president of the United States, tries to take away Money Shot, their teleportation device, things get heated. The president basically blackmails them until they agree to take him to other galaxies so he too can bone exotic aliens. What happens when he's cocky attitude and stupid mouth gets them all into trouble though!? I'm hopeful that volume three will be even better.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ridiculous, sexy, 4.5 stars, the scenes with the prez had me absolutely deceased

[Paul Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received this book as an eARC from Vault Comics via Edelweiss. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

It's volume 2! Time for the team to find a new mission that will deliver on both ratings and subscriptions. This volume gives us a look at them back on Earth. This volume is great and filled with so much. An STI scare. President Luke Kirk. An intergalactic incident. Even a Power Rangers reference!

I really enjoy this series. It's sex-positive and filled with fun sci-fi tropes. I love seeing sex and science save the day. The characters show growth even within this volume. I give this book a 5/5. Absolutely my vibe.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm... There was something lurking in the pages of Book One of this series, that I didn't want to see much of in Book Two. You know the kind of lurk I'm talking about, some reprehensible sexually transmitted disease nobody wants to turn up, and even if it did, one we'd all rather ignore. And here it is, added to the mix of elements that make up these books. So not only do we have randy scientists using their inter-dimensional travel thingy to find the bang for their kit or the bucks for their bucking, via inter-species porn, and not only do we have the worst of the worst sci-fantasy sagas, we also get... piss-take American presidents. Oh dear.

This kind of ramps things up from Book One – the sci-fi is both more soapy and less comprehensible, surely at the beginning at least written deliberately badly. But it ramps things up in the way all those '80s films with a bit of nookie in did – the first was always a success even it was rated R, the second was just done for the money and so ended up a bloodless, sexless PG-13. And there is not enough of inter-stellar, inter-species tupping here – even the editorial quip that ends the first issue demanded a bit more raunch. Even my beloved Annie turns into a thinly-written parody, hardly allowed to get those perfect nunga-nungas out, let alone dance the beautiful dance.

And the parody of the kind of gung-ho, needs-bankers-in-the-family, lunk-head president just takes us away from the action and into the here and now, which is not fitting for such an adventure-based book. Yes, his plot-line does suitably wrangle a second moral about the virtues of having a shag for the good of civilisation, but he's here like a disease we don't care for, like another notch on the bed-post that wasn't there when you left for work in the morning, and he kind of takes away some of the joys I found last time. Three stars.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from Edelweiss

This was still okay but I think they tried to up the stakes too much and the whole thing just became incredibly dense and also a little bit confusing. Still like the characters and the art is amazing but I personally wouldn't have minded another volume that was very similar to the first. I think this series works best when it has a slightly dumb action movie vibe and this just tried to do too much in terms of really big plot elements and satire that really didn't land as well as I think they hoped it would. Still had some fun parts but also felt like a bit of a slog at time and for something that's so short that's not great.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of Money Shot involves two distinct stories: one minor and one major. For those who’ve not read the opening volume [or my review, thereof,] the premise is “Star Gate” meets “Zach and Miri Make a Porno.” More specifically, a group of scientists have developed a portal allowing them to travel to other worlds. However, it’s very expensive to operate and they are experiencing difficulties funding the project through conventional grant-making agencies, and so they make the implausible (but entertaining) decision to finance their research via the market for kink-jaded porn, making and streaming porn in the “sex with aliens” genre.

The first story is a short but amusing look at lead scientist, Christine Ocampos’s, brief bout with an alien venereal disease that she picked up on an expedition / porn filming in the domain of Satan (depicted as physical place.) What I really liked about this story is that it had a message that was conveyed gently by way of story, without slapping one upside the head with said lesson. [I mention this because I felt differently about the second story because it did the exact opposite.] To elaborate about what I liked about the first story, we see Ocampos blowing events out of proportion in her own mind until a molehill reaches of Himalayan heights. Meanwhile, an intertwined story arc shows one how one person’s catastrophe can be another’s minor irritation and vice versa. We see this all through showing (both pictorially and verbally,) not telling.

The second story is much grander in scale, space opera grandiosity – in fact. In the story, we see Earth being offered a trial membership in some kind of intergalactic federation. The meeting is flubbed by a doofus of a US President, clearly meant to evoke Trump, but who is named Kirk and who gets tasered by the alien emissary. Later, we find that the scientists are still struggling with inadequate energy levels to run “Money Shot” [the portal’s nickname, a play on porno lingo] and lack of funds to pay for the massive amounts of energy required. They discover a planet that has a particularly attractive and hedonistic population that would be perfect for selling porn views. However, after some reluctance on Ocampos’s part is circumvented, the team is getting ready to go when Kirk’s men seize the portal, and President Kirk agrees to allow them to go on their expedition, provided he is taken along. [He wants to screw an alien because an alien zapped him, even though the planet they are going to is not a member of the aforementioned federation – whose representative zapped him.]

So, earlier I contrasted what I liked about the small story with what I didn’t like about this bigger one. To be more specific, there’s a lot of drag put on the story by overplaying a gag and drifting into sermonistic territory. Where the smaller story has a message that it subtly conveys via the story, the bigger story has a message that it fish-slaps the reader upside the head with repeatedly such that it becomes a hindrance to the story. That message is essentially: we hate Trump and we would really love to see physical harm come to him – repeatedly. But it’s not even the tasering, mule-kicking, or Wolverine-esque running through of Kirk that really drag the story, but the expositions and exaggerations that are the kind of thing you might be familiar with if you have that FaceBook friend who only posts political commentary, memes and comments which reflect varying degrees of truth but that makes clear that that person believes that everything about the political opposition is pure evil and that they should be crushed by any means necessary.

I suspect there are three major responses to this book. Starting with the most obvious, Trump voters and many other conservatives (those righty FaceBook ideologues) will hate it, but they are likely a miniscule market demographic for this series. On the other end of the spectrum, the lefty FaceBook ideologues will absolutely love it, perhaps passing by the many sex scenes and nudity to use the parts where Kirk takes a beating as their own masturbation porn. Finally, for the non-ideologues, it’s a fine story that you’ll wish was a bit less preachy and divisive, and which let the story shine through more. [But I may be suffering from political divisiveness fatigue.]

As I said, it’s a solid story. If you don’t have a problem with cartoon sex and nudity, you’d probably enjoy it. That said, if you’re not highly political, you might find it takes the politics a bit too far. [But if you hate Trump so much that you’d like to run over him with your car, then back over him, then run over him again, then you should already be [pre-]ordering.]

[Lauren loves llamas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first volume of Money Shot was absolutely ridiculous silliness, full of raunchy jokes and a gleeful commitment to not taking itself seriously. Unfortunately, that’s not true of this second volume and it impacted my enjoyment of the series.

For whatever reason, this volume seems to be going for a more serious tone and it didn’t work for me. At the beginning, team is arriving back from a not-so-successful mission. While Chris researches where to go next (and deals with an alien STD), the rest of the team takes a break, which includes Bree and Omar meeting over drinks to talk about Chris and all her issues. It’s not exactly the most compelling plot, though it’s interspersed with a completely unrelated star-crossed alien lovers story which, while not particularly original, was still my favorite part of the whole volume.

Besides the tone change, the plot is all over the place. There’s the previously mentioned love triangle, bits about how Earth was rejected from joining a galactic alliance due to the actions of the US president, and then, finally, the team arrives on a new planet that will hopefully alleviate their power problems for the near future. Unfortunately, there’s not much time spent with those new aliens before another subplot comes and takes over the story. The political satire, in particular, landed really flat with me. It felt shoved in and didn’t really seem to add much to the plot. Look, I understand the urge to take potshots at Trump, but it just wasn’t funny. One of the things I liked before was the genuine curiosity the scientists brought to the sex scenes. That’s obviously not the case with the Trump-analogue. And for something about scientifically pushing boundaries, it’s really quite tame sex-wise. I was also disappointed by how the Chris/Bree/Omar relationship was wrapped up.

It’s not like it’s all a slog, though. There’s quite a few one-liners and gags that land right, and while there’s less Little Shot there’s more of Chris’s talking cat. The art is still unbelievably gorgeous. That and the star-crossed alien lovers (ok, and maybe that ridiculous chainsaw) are what saved the volume for me.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this volume as much as the first, and I doubt I’ll continue with the series, if there even is a third volume.

I received an advance review copy of this book from Edelweiss. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.5 of 5

Not too long ago I gushed over Money Shot Vol. 1 which took sex and aliens (and sex with aliens) to new levels. With Vol. 2 available, I was excited to get my hands on this.

Our intrepid group of scientists-turned-porn-stars is being threatened. The primary threat comes from Earth. The President of the United States, an egotistical, narcissistic, childish, metal-midget of a man looks to withhold funding from the Money Shot group. And when a sexy female horse-like alien not only declines his advances but kicks him where it hurts, he's really P.O.'d.

But the funding is back on and the Money Shot team is back in action ... as long as the POTUS is allowed to join the group. Sex with aliens while millions of people watch? Just what the narcissist ordered!

The Money Shot team has been monitored, however, by another race that sees danger in their actions as they spread themselves across the universe and they'll try to put an end to the team's philandering.

This was still a fun adventure, but it didn't have quite the same excitement or passion that he first volume had. The POTUS figure is so iconic and sleazy that one can't even call it a 'thinly veiled' representation of a certain real-life figure (except that he's drawn to be slender and with more Hollywood-like attractive looks).

I missed the inter-personal relationships that made the first volume more interesting. However, the book ends on a note that brings the story to a tighter focus and a return to a more personal level, which I hope is the starting point for the next volume.

Looking for a good book? Money Shot is a clever, sex-themed sci-fi graphic novel series. Vol. 2 adds a new challenge to the XXX-plorers' adventures and isn't quite as titillating as the first volume but still has some fun.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

[David Basora · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was much more interesting than the first volume, and honestly finished well. I am surprised to see that there is apparently a third volume. What limits this series is that the concept is a worthy take on Star Trek, in that it is a method of human space exploration with the goal of learning, and not harmful interference. Obviously, with the goal of having sexual encounters with the beings they find during these explorations, non-interference is impossible, but ending this volume with a planet being obliterated kind of felt excessive. I suppose I am making too many Star Trek comparisons, since that series certainly hasn't shied away from characters doing what they need in order to survive. All that being said, there is a surprising balance between the scientific investigation of the characters, the base humor, and the imaginative sci-fi visuals throughout the story. I was glad the addition of political satire didn't ruin the whole thing.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just because something is successful doesn't mean it needs a sequel. You can tell from the foreword that the Tim Seeley really didn't know where to take the story in this second volume. The first issue deals with that in a novel way. But the rest of the book gets overtly political by mixing in an obnoxious president (yes, we all know who it's lampooning), a stodgy intergalactic council, and some alien eugenicists, just in case its target wasn't clear.
Even if I agree with some of the politics here, it doesn't make for a good story. Maybe I'm like one of the viewers in the story, too quickly jaded by the underlying conceit. At least Seeley wraps up the plot and provides a bit of closure for everyone. It's not terrible, but it doesn't live up to the standards of the first volume, and doesn't bring anything new enough to the concept to recommend.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I surprisingly enjoyed Vol. 2 more than the first. I felt less confused, the story was more straight-forward and we got to see deeper into our main characters' heads and learn more about supporting characters. There was also a particular character hilariously reminiscent of a certain ex-president who's storyline resolved in a very satisfying way.
There are a lot of body/sex stereotypes this comic falls into which sometimes made this comic feel lacking, but overall it was a fun read. Fantastic artwork and colouring as always, and again perfect for readers who enjoyed the likes of Sex Criminals, the graphic novel.

I received an e-copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Daniel Pappas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing in the tradition of this comic it’s a lot less about pornography than you think. Still, the narrative contrivances to introduce new characters work for me, even telling a completely in associated romance story amidst the folds of its goofy science team. I liked the leveled up feel of this one and it feels like a great send off for the team. Again, the comic is not so much about porn as it is about sexuality. Still cheesy they manage to bake in some action points and comical mistakes. I can agree the political caricatures seem a bit too cartoonish even for me but it’s a comic book about scientists having sex with aliens. What did we expect?

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Edelweiss for the eARC! There was a lot of growth from the first volume and I enjoyed reading it just as much. In this volume they include sexually transmitted diseases and how consent is important. This alien storyline is a little lowkey bestiality but the characters are so sweet and the ending for the alien pair is so cute. There’s also some jellyfish so you also get a little tentacle action LOL. In all seriousness though this graphic novel is great and portrays sex in such a positive way albeit with aliens , but that just makes it a lot more interesting.

[Ruz El · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume two is a bit of a mixed bag. The art is great, the humour lands. It's set it's tone though. While sex positive it's also pretty pedestrian and they toned down the actual sex too, my guess for better chances at exploitation in other media. Add in Trump cypher and it's kind of a lot to take. So while not a flop by any means, it simply feels like more of the same despite some fun character progression.

I'm on the fence with going into a third series. If this is going to be Sci-Fi with dirty jokes and some sex, SAGA is hitting that better.

[Anna Goldberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

After how much fun the first volume was, I found volume two to be disappointing, unfocused, and meandering. I disliked the Trump-knockoff plot line, which wasn’t actually as funny as I think the author thought it was. It also was ultimately more conservative sexually despite the trappings of kink and bdsm in the artwork—again, not what I expected given the setup of volume one. I hope volume three is better, but then again, I just saw it has a different artist, which means the tone will probably shift again, so it’s anyone’s guess.