Ambrosia: Trans Masc & Non Binary Erotic Comics Anthology

by Tab Kimpton (Editor), Jade Sarson (Editor), Feardeer (Contributor)

Ambrosia is an erotic anthology of delicious, nourishing naughtiness, where each comic has at least one trans masculine or non binary main character.

Our theme is Food of the Gods: Sixteen smutty stories of indulgent deities and euphoric adventures, from ancient ardent explorations to modern day mischievous spirits.

With predominantly own voices artists, and content warnings before each story to help the reader decide if it's their taste, this collection is truly a feast, for body an soul.

Warning: Content is for 18+

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

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Review:
This was really a mixed bag for me. I didn't care for many of the stories, but there were a few I really enjoyed, and one I loved.

My main reasons for disliking some stories were: I found them confusing, felt like the characters jumped too immediately into sex in a way that didn't feel believable or resonate with me, felt like the characters' actions or dialogue were unnatural, didn't like the art style, or some combo of those. But ultimately it's all subjective and really comes down to personal preference.

Now for what I liked!

I loved that this was an entire anthology featuring trans masc and nonbinary characters, with a fantasy theme no less!

I loved the diversity. There were trans and nonbinary characters of all kinds, with all kinds of bodies. There were m/m, m/nby, m/f, and 3+ person relationships and sex. There were a couple asexual characters, and I love seeing that included and explored in an erotic anthology. There were POC characters, disabled characters, and fat characters. And there was diversity in terms of relationships, including just sex, characters starting a romance/relationship, characters with an established relationship, characters who loved each other but could only see each other every so often because of reasons out of their control, open relationships, and possibly more that I'm forgetting.

I liked that all the art was in color.

I also liked that notes from the authors/artists or editors were included before each comic. It gave some nice insight into some of the stories.

I won't review every story, but here are my standouts:

- Eye of the Storm by Defensetrain & Paperchimes - This story about two banished weather gods finding each other in a bar one night was my favorite. The art was beautiful. The sex was hot, and I didn't mind it happening quickly because it was believable and I could feel the chemistry. I felt so much emotion in their relationship. I almost cried. I loved everything about this.

- Moonflower by Lonnie Garcia - This story about an immortal finding love with a botanist who comes to study his garden, despite knowing mortal life is fleeting, was sweet. I liked that we got to see a bit of tenderness and build-up to their romance. They were cute.

- Lucky Break by Nero Villagallos O'Reilly - This story about a luck deity and his human crush doing crimes was fun. I liked how their moments of passion were interspersed with them doing crime together, the art switching back and forth sometimes. Both activities were them having fun together, enjoying time with each other, and it was this perfect parallel/juxtaposition. And it was just a cute relationship. There was chemistry there.

- Friends with Benefits by Aiden G. D. Moore - This story about a couple summoning Pan, the satyr, to help them out in the bedroom was cute. I liked how the author/artist explored the idea that sometimes one partner can't give the other everything they want, but that doesn't mean they need to break up. This one had a lot of little touches that made it even cuter too and made me smile, but I'll let you discover those for yourself :-P

Like I said, overall a mixed bag, but it's a great idea for a comic anthology with lots of diversity and full color art, and you might enjoy it even more than I did!

*Rating: 3 Stars // Read Date: 2020 // Format: Ebook*

Recommended For:
Anyone who likes erotic comics, comic anthologies, gods/deities, diversity, and trans masc and nonbinary characters.

More Reviews @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Daria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite the anthology. Even though most of the stories were middle tier for me, I did get a few favorites out of the anthology. I enjoy that this anthology was very fantastical in nature since there are very few erotica anthology that are focus on the fantasy genre. there were a few stories that didn't really fit with the anthology, and/or in my opinion didn't have any eroticism in it. The trans rep is fantastic of course.

My standouts were eye of the storm and moonflower. Both love stories in nature, the balance of the eroticism and the romantic elements between the couples were what made it for me. the art art styles between the two were my favorite out of the whole anthology.

[Lex Ophiuchus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Temple of Kneeling: 4/5
Red Delicious: 2/5
Live Like Moss: 2/5
Echeyde: 3/5
Arau: 4/5
Weeds: 2/5
Moonflower: 4/5
City Spirits: 2/5
Eye of the Storm: 5/5
Lucky Break: 5/5
Friends with Benefits: 5/5
The Roman Bath: 5/5
Fair Trade: 3/5
The Four Auspicious Priests: 3/5
Every Century or So: 5/5
Last: 3/5

[Jenx Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightfully spicy, very enjoyable, and wonderfully diverse!

[Margherita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted more for all of these stories, and the short format for some made them feel unfinished. But honestly, I'm just really happy that trans erotica exists in the first place.

[Reuben Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love love love! Of course with an anthology it’s always gonna be a mixed bag and there were some stories or art styles that weren’t really for me, but that diversity was precisely the beauty of it: not just one trans inclusive, diverse, sex positive creator and story, but a whole range of them for every appetite! Seeing fat bodies, hairy bodies, disabled bodies, melanated bodies, trans bodies, all gloriously revelling in sex and kink and eroticism and love and romance was just MMMH TASTY.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this just as much as the last collection! as always, I love erotica and specifically this collection's use of mythology as a way of exploring identity and ways of being.

favorites:
echeyede by guillermo saavedra and david orión pena
arau by dante luiz and h. pueyo
moonflower by lonnie garcia
roman baths by tab kimpton
every century or so by steve sitvaktis

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could read stories like this easily in other book forms. Crowd-funded indie comics are doing the heavy lifting when it comes to trans and general queer diversity in erotica and romance for adults.

(There's complex reasons for this in terms of gatekeeping by cishets in publishing and because when we do write for our community, they demand better.)

There's something in Ambrosia for everyone. No doubt very dependent on your personal preferences and kinks.

Like any anthology, a mixed bag. The introductions made me happy because the stories only got so much space and I wouldn't missed certain elements of who these characters are. That said, I wish there'd be more room for the introductions to be less elaborate as we could've just learned these things in text.

I'm looking forward to reading the trans femme and non-binary companion book Nectar.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much a mixed bag. Out of the 16 stories I loved 5, and the rest varied from pretty good to awkward and/or rushed. Nevertheless, it is a well edited collection with high quality art for the most part, and as with all indie trans publications, I’m glad that it exists.

Stories that I enjoyed the most:

Moonflower, about a reclusive god and a botanist who comes to study his collection of rare cacti

Lucky Break, about a luck deity that helps his human crush with robberies

City Spirits, about an urban explorer and a god of abandoned places

Last, which is about memories and is beautifully atmospheric

[Lena Barsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a serve and a half! Loved the mythological framing, loved the diversity of bodies and genders represented, loved all the art styles and the level of care that went into producing and editing this anthology.

I know that these anthologies are, by necessity, short stories -- I just wanted more from some of these tales! The authors/artists clearly put a lot of thought and worldbuilding into these works, however short, and there were a few times when it felt like the stories ended abruptly. All in all though, a great collection of gorgeous trans erotica, with a mix of humor and heat and seriousness and heart.

[Effie (she-her) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Δεν έχω λόγια για το πόσο υπέροχο είναι αυτό το graphic novel!!! Είναι υπέροχο απλά και μόνο που υπάρχει. Είναι τόσο σπάνιο να βρούμε ιστορίες με τρανς και non-binary πρωταγωνιστές και ακόμα πιο σπάνιο να του δούμε τέτοιους χαρακτήρες σε στιγμές ευφορίας.

Όσον αφορά το art, θα μπορούσα να χαζεύω τις σελίδες του graphic novel για ώρες και μερικά πανελάκια πολύ θα ήθελα να τα κάνω αφίσες. Πλέον ακολουθώ τ@ περισσότερ@ comic artists και ανυπομονώ για το τι θα δημιουργήσουν στην πορεία. Το Ambrosia δεν είναι Αμερικανοκεντρικό, αλλά συμμετέχουν queer καλλιτέχν@ από όλο τον κόσμο.

Και φυσικά δε θα μπορούσα να μην κάνω μια ιδιαίτερη μνεία στον αγαπημένο μου καλλιτέχνη που συμμετέχει σε αυτή την ανθολογία, Stivaktis. Φυσικά, η ιστορία του ήταν από αυτές που ξεχώρισα. Το έχω πει και θα συνεχίσω να το λέω, είναι ταλεντάρα και αν έχετε δει προηγούμενες δουλειές του το ξέρετε ήδη.

Τέλος το fangirling, επιστροφή στο review. Στην αρχή κάθε ιστορίας θα βρείτε ένα μικρό βιογραφικό από κάθε artist, μια περίληψη του τι αφορά το comic που ακολουθεί και λεπτομερή content warnings ώστε να ξέρετε αν θέλετε να το διαβάσετε. Αν όχι, αναγράφεται η σελίδα που ξεκινάει το επόμενο.

[Logs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely a mixed bag but as an asexual I’m definitely not the target audience of this. I liked the varying usage of deities, and I really liked a couple of the stories in concept, though I know that plot wasn’t necessarily the point. I liked the diversity of relationships, I liked that there was ace representation too, I like the variations in the way that queer people see relationships.

I might pick up a more of these anthologies in the future, maybe the transfem one or the poly ones.

[Soobie is expired · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non scriverò una recensione per quest'antologia. Mi riempirebbero d'odio per nulla e non ne vale la pena.

My favorite stories are Arau City Spirits and Eye of the Storm. But also Every Century or So was good.

I love the art on Fair Trade.

I'll definitely back another project by Tab Kimpton in the future.

[Jaime Myco · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all: wow. That was hot. Genuinely, passionately, sometimes hilariously sexy. I can't really separate my gender euphoria at seeing so many varied trans bodies depicted enjoying pleasure from my own trans pleasure so I won't try. If you like erotica, this is for you, no qualifiers needed. If you're trans and enjoy erotica, I can only hope you enjoy this anthology half as much as I have.

[Eline Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved each story and graphic style but I think my favorite part was the autors presentations. As a trans artist it really moved me to see so many trans artist coming from all over the world reunited to make this book. It made me feel less alone, less "different" and for this reason I'll always keep it close to my heart.

[celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely collection of trans erotic comics – Like any anthology, some will likely be to one reader's taste and not another!
I think the editors do a careful job at forewarning readers what each comic contains, but I did find those page breaks that contained content notes, notes from the editors, and notes from the authors, to be rather distracting.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection. I especially appreciated how the book was designed, in particular the forewords for each separate chapter. It was good to know about the authors and their perspectives and helpful to see the content warnings.

[Esther O. Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faves:
—H. Puedo and Dante Luiz’s Arau (omg the art!!)
—Tab Kimpton’s The Roman Bath (hilarious and hot)

[Ray Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful. hot. so thoughtfully made.

[Stevie Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be reviewed on The Good, The Bad, and The Unread.

[Max Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a mixed bag, but overall a great collection and variety of trans masc stories.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

🤤🤤🤤

[Taurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art, beautiful stories, beautiful people.

[Emory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this. There was a lot of variety in the styles and stories, particularly with there being disabled rep too!

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid erotic anthology with very god-filled stories, this was enjoyable to read.

[Riz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious, 10/10.

Some favorites:
The Temple of Kneeling by Feardeer
Moonflower by Lonnie Garcia
Eye of the Storm by Defensetrain and Paperchimes
Fair Trade b, A. C. Esguerra

Honorable mentions:
Arau bt Dante Luiz and H. Pueyo
Roman Baths by Tab Kimpton

[Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title was definitely the best book to start of year 2021.
Beautiful stories by beautiful and talented artists. I loved the stories because this title focused on folks who are non binary / trans masculine.
The best part is that before each story there's a blub written by the artist and also content warning for people to have an idea about what the story is about so as to choose whether to continue reading or not.
All in all, this anthology has stories depicting diversities within the non binary / trans masculine community. From folks who are ace(no sex) to folks who are poly/open(multiple sex partners) and from folks who are straight to folks who are pan.
Also also, a lot of BIPOC representation!