“Nature has a kind of innocent cruelty, while man… Why can’t man’s cruelty be called innocent?” In one of the most lurid corners of the dark web, subscribers pay a high price to be maimed, tortured, and killed by the ruthless and irresistible dominatrix, DOMINO. This is what they call love in the LOVESICK CLUB, but as she faces mounting pressure from a needy audience and emerging threats alike, what is the price that Domino will have to pay for success in this literally cut-throat world? And what will she have to become to survive? Luana Vecchio invites you into a digital underworld of blood and neon to explore the limits of consent, love, and idolatry in one of the most erotic and extreme stories in recent years! Collects LOVESICK #1-7
Not sure what to make of this little gorefest (actually not that little, more bordering on endless). It's inherently nihilistic, as Vecchio tells us in her copious commentaries, so it's not that strange that it all feels a bit.. pointless? Plus, Vecchio says Domino, the main character, is a wholly unreliable narrator, which freed Vecchio of having to write the character with much, if any, coherence. Maybe so, but for me it removes any stakes - more nihilism, I guess?
In the end I just wish there was more actual story. I just found myself not caring about any of the characters or what was happening to them, and it all got a bit boring.
The art is pretty good, although regularly character's faces will slip into a manga-ish style that I found to be quite jarring (you know, next to all the floppy body parts and cannibalism).
So when I started this omnibus, I was already like damn this is amazing. This art. The severity. Everything, just wow. I need to own this, like the physical book. Like it was crazy, then it got insane, then it went off the charts. I checked like twice to make sure I was reading this on the hoopla app cuz I was in shock this was allowed on there & was STILL THERE. There’s stuff in here I’ve never seen in comic form, never wanted to really, but like…they certainly did THAT.
So back to me having this in my cart. Yeah, getting closer to the end. I took it out of my cart. It was a great comic, don’t get me wrong. It broke boundaries that I don’t think any comic I’ve read ever has & I’ve read a LOT of horror comics. But yeah I think this one kinda broke my brain a little bit. My brain got overstimulated & said dis tew much sir. For a graphic novel about red rooms, ultra-violence, cannibalism, snuff films, & everything else depraved…it just made me get existential. 🫠 It made me think about broken, lonely, lost people in the world & how far they’ll go to find a “right path.” Knowing it’s only a temporary fix but it quells the nagging void for now…
🫥
Anyhoo, I’m going to go look at pictures of kittens for the next hour or so. Read the comic. Experience it. Just don’t tell anyone I told you to. Go read it on hoopla before the Karens or the TikTokers find it, & let’s pray they never do.
A dark, twisted journey into the mindscape of the incomplete. The thrown away, the tormented, the demonic. Lovesick is gorgeous to look at, but consistently wants to make you sick to your stomach. Not just at what you see, but also at yourself for being empathetic to its characters. Luana Vecchio has such a strong command for the nuance flowing through her characters, while also putting extremely edgy dialogue that is just a step away from being utterly obnoxious in every capacity. It's a really fun balance that adds just enough realism into its dark fantasy.
Issue to issue it's great. But that final issue really ties everything together thematically. All the puzzle pieces suddenly connect. Your stomach drops. Your brain seems to be rewired. And you finish the issue. And you sit. You sit with your thoughts. You think about your hopes and dreams. You think about all the people around you that are just as broken. The ones that society has discarded.
Perhaps closer to a 3-star comic, but this was a shocking comic for me (which I enjoy seeing in-itself). I'm surprised Image published this to be honest.
The story stars Domino, an online dominatrix who runs a red room. She gets young men to willingly come on the show and get murdered by her. Afterwards the bodies are eating by the benefactors of the whole operation.
The story features a lot of modern vocabulary like "simps" "incels" etc. Apparently the story was inspired by Vecchio seeing young people on Twitter talking about their sexualized fantasies of being murdered. It's pretty wild stuff.
Vecchio somehow manages to make Domino a sympathetic character.
The most triggering, dark, nihilistic and gory comic you will read. As is stated by the creator, sometimes art is just entertainment and not some lesson or positive message. If you love the bleak, gratuitous torture vibes of the Hostel movies, you've found your comic. I love horror but hate those kinds of stories, so this just made my brain want to go on a lengthy sabbatical.
I’m usually not easily disturbed, but, holy shit, this book is terrifying and nihilistic. I’m not even sure how to accurately describe it. It’s like an erotic horror that attempts to explore the boundaries of consent. The story revolves around incel forums, red rooms, and individuals fixated on the idea of being killed or eaten.
“Lovesick” delves into sick, twisted love without trying to romanticize it. It comes with all the trigger warnings–cannibalism, voluntary death, voluntary kidnapping, and consensual violence. The world it portrays is one I’m thankful not to live in, but despite that, the story and characters sucked me in, like all great horror stories do.
It’s a good story, but also a nihilistic and bleak one. I understand both readers who love it and those who loathe it. It’s filthy, cruel, and extreme in every possible way. Do with it what you will.
Probably the most fucked-up book I’ve read. Graphically disgusting and psychologically disturbed. HOWEVER, there was something so fascinating about the world and about Domino in particular. Like a more disturbed, bloodier Harley Quinn.
This story depicts a part of the world I will never understand or empathize with but it brings up so many great questions about life, love, and vulnerability. Truly, is it murder if the victim is consenting? I don’t think there’s an easy answer, and I don’t even think this necessarily answers it but it does expand the depth and complexities of said question. What is the cost of a human life? How much more can you take before it breaks you?
This was insane, but I absolutely loved it. Super stunning art and a captivating storyline. I just wish each volume wasn’t interrupted by the authors inner thoughts. I enjoyed reading them at the beginning and the end but in the middle felt awkward and took you out of the story. That was my only criticism though, this was wild!
'But even in the rightprison, a monster can learn tosurvive.'
Having read just how fucked up Lovesick is, I saved it for Halloween and while it turned out to be sufficiently dark and twisted for a Halloween read, I just wasn't fully invested. I might have to reread at some point since I had to adjust my expectations when it went from being solely about Domino to a toxic love story of sorts.
Anyway, I appreciated reading Vecchio's thought process after every issue and the ugly depths of internet she had to wade through for research. Reading Lovesick is a bleak experience and then to think that people actually go through such paraphilias. The comic also tests the boundaries of concepts such as consent, love, and idolatry.
The art is probably my favorite part about Lovesick. It's phenomenal. The juxtaposition of neon colors with an inky touch is more than nice to look at and almost every page is splattered with blood and you know I love my reds. The use of color is actually pretty interesting in this. Plus, all the issue covers are stunning with the last one being my favorite.
One of the weirdest experiences I've had reading a comic.
Basically a smut creator, murder with sex, control completely over people, incel invasion, and more. This is extremely hard R comic, and I give credit where credit is due, I never read something like this but besides the main character a lot of the other characters felt like filler and couldn't attach to anyone else. Art is very solid throughout.
First time I was really grossed and creeped out by a horror story, because I actually didn't know anything about this comic and didn't know what to expect.
It's about violent eroticism on the internet: autassassinophilia, cannibalism, BDSM, torture, humiliation, rape, sadistic murders, webcam streams, redrooms, kidnapping, etc… etc…
Autassassinophilia is apparently the sexual arousal somebody feels when in a life-threatening situation. This book is about suicidal "simps" who give consent to be murdered by a dominatrix. Then they are eaten by cannibals; who are in their turn sexually aroused by it.
Somehow I felt this books searches and questions the limits of the human being. Where is the limit of an (art) performance? What does it mean to be a human? Where is the ethical limit to feel emotionally satisfied? Etc…
Between the chapters, the author gives some insight into her own opinion about the subject, but also why and how she got to the point of creating this weird comic.
Hard no. There's a section from the creator where they talk about this comic not contributing anything to the world and I think they nailed it. Explicit, gory, graphic, depressing and pointless. Avoid.
I completely forgot what this was about when I started reading it and was quickly reminded. The art style was one of my favorites I’ve read so far, but the story felt a little jagged to me at times.
The artwork was absolutely STUNNING😍 I was completely obsessed. However, the storyline was lacking to me. It wasn’t totally concise or clear and kind of all over the place. 🤷🏻♀️
Disappointing. 1 star for the art and 1 star because Luana Vecchio had the determination to bring this to life.
Unfortunately, this was a bit too 'I love you so much I'd rip my heart out and let you eat it' for me, y'know?
And while I'm not the type who wants to yuck someone's yum, I do think that this INTENSELY TRIGGERING subject matter could have been served up in a better way. Because if you want to tell a story about sexual kinks, gore subcultures, cannibalism and a few other side dishes then hey; go nuts.
But I don't think the reader is supposed to be confused, bored, irritated or gradually nudged towards numbed disinterest with each turn of the page, are they? Wouldn't it be better if they were surprised, educated and/or hopefully entertained about a glimpse into an underbelly of life never spoken about?
But hey; maybe I just wanted good storytelling cause that's my kink...
A majorly fucked but incredibly compelling story about a dark web dominatrix. My favorite scene was definitely her army of dominatrix followers facing off against a psychotic band of incels. Great stuff.
This is the kind of subversive story that should end up a cult classic alongside other mega-dark stories that gaze into the abyss of human depravity such as American Psycho, I Saw the Devil, Green Room, A Clockwork Orange, Palahniuk novels, and other books/movies with those vibes. Happy to have discovered Luana Vecchio and will definitely be keeping an eye out on future graphic novels she comes up with!
Okay look before anyone judges me for reading this one lololol I picked this up from a local comic book store and I was in the mood for a new horror read, and I was nottttt expecting anything that I had just read. I often had to go back and reread some things because I kept feeling like I missed something?? A lot of the plot felt really mushed together and then just loads of gore.
Damn! This might be the most twisted graphic novel I've ever read and it was superb! Loved the art, loved the sickness. Would have been 5 Stars if the story would have been a little more coherent. But, I can't wait to read more!
Love, sex, brutality, extreme gore. It’s a lot. I can’t believe anyone published this. But the art is sooooooo goooddddd. Glad I stumbled upon it, I hope none of my friends read this.
4.5 stars. The most morbid and gorey comic I've ever read but the drawing style is so beautiful. A crazy read but awesome at the same time lol. I feel like it's ahead of it's time
I am honestly not sure what to rate this. The art is absolutely gorgeous, but the plot and story were a bit lacking in substance. The author herself states "This is a nihilistic book, it has absolutely nothing to offer. Art is entertainment, let's stop expecting it to always educate us or to deliver positive messages." While I agree with this sentiment to some degree, I felt that Lovesick failed to entertain at times due to its lack of interesting plot points. At any rate, I do not regret giving this a read, it was certainly an... experience.
Ho letto tutti i capitoli di Lovesick nella nuova edizione italiana di Edizioni BD che li comprende tutti. Quella di Domino è una storia davvero molto contorta e forte. Sicuramente non adatta a tutti e da metabolizzare poiché le pratiche che vengono presentate sono anche metafore di sofferenze e problematiche che portano a disturbi emotivi e comportamentali sul come affrontare la vita. Vi invito a leggerlo con la giusta preparazione, se avete lo stomaco forte.
Esto es excelente. Una inmersión en un mundo completamente perturbador pero con reglas extremadamente lógicas. El desarrollo de los personajes, los textos de Luana que acompañan y, obviamente, los dibujos que son increíbles. Se la juega un montón, definitivamente no es para todo el mundo y eso es buenísimo.
One of the more disturbing things I’ve read. Just the darkest areas of love and lust and desire and everything else that goes with that. The art is really well done but also very disturbing. Read this bc I bought a “Suspiria” poster illustrated by Vecchio a bit ago and wanted to see what else she did. I think I’m gonna watch an “Abbott Elementary” or something to recover.