The tale is old as time but, with a twist. This graphic novel is a love story between a man and a woman but, they have parasites attached to them. Marcus has been alone and is new to the dating scene. He is dealing with the trauma of losing his best friend. Laura has been drifting into life and relationship with no purpose. The pair is on their first date and things are going well until Marcus's parasite rejects him as a host and Marcus almost dies.
I normally love reading graphic novels and this one seemed like it would be a quirky fun read. However, this has been one of the most confusing and frustrating graphic novel I ever read. I didn't even make it to the end as it seemed pointless.
There is no flow and the story jumps back and forth without warning. It's hard understanding what was happening between the characters because they were in the present and then in the past back and forth. Some of the male characters looked alike and it was hard to tell them apart. When Marcus and Laura goes to a club, Laura is confront by a stalker (another story line that went nowhere) that looks exactly like Marcus except that dude had one curl. Then one of the character goes for a drive to think and then finds someone that looks exactly like them but, they are dead. The story then never explains who that dead person was and what the importance was.
The second part of the story is Marcus and Laura's son who is struggling. The story isn't really clear if he is struggling with anxiety or just dealing with teenage drama. He has this crush that he is obsessed with and their story line is even more confusing. He talks about God and stuff that their world is experiencing but, we as readers have no idea as the world building has been so sparse. The only details we know about the world is that everyone has a slug attached to them and if the slug detaches from the host, they both die. This graphic novel had so much potential and failed with it's execution.
**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**
About The Book:
Title: BONDING: A Love Story About People and
Their Parasites
Author: Matthew Erman, Emily Pearson (Illustrations)
Pub. Date: January 31, 2023
Publisher: Vault Comics
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 208
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/BONDING
“Wear your heart on your
sleeve.” That’s the saying. But in BONDING,
people wear their anxiety on their chests – in the form of a parasite
that shows everyone just what you’re feeling on the inside …
WEAR YOUR LOVE ON YOUR CHEST
A man, a woman—and their parasites. Marcus has been alone since the loss of
his closest friend and has just recently entered into the dating scene, while
Laura has drifted in and out of relationships since high school. They meet,
they have a great first date, and Marcus almost dies—because the slug-like
parasite that everybody carries in this world nearly rejects him, its
host. BONDING is a funny, quirky, and honest look at love, in
a world where everyone wears their anxiety, not on their sleeves, but on their
chest like big ol' leeches.
Fans of Matthew Erman's work on Vault Comics' WITCHBLOOD and
Archaia's JIM HENSON'S THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE will
find lots to love in BONDING. Fans of Image Comics' ICE
CREAM MAN VOL. 1, DC Comics' COLLAPSER and even books
like THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer and THE PARASITOLOGY
TRILOGY by Mira Grant will enjoy this foray into all the stressors of
dating...where a parasite is the least of your worries (unless it kills you,
that is.)
Review:
“Erman and Pearson skewer genre norms
in this sweet and casually unsettling comics romance-dramedy…”- Publishers Weekly
About Matthew Erman:
Matthew
Erman is a comics writer from Columbus, Ohio. Alongside Lisa Sterle, he
co-created the critically acclaimed comic horror series, Long Lost, which was optioned for Film/TV by Producer Jenny Klein (The
Witcher, Daisy Jones and The Six). Erman has since worked on the comic book
series Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and
graphic novel Power Rangers: Sins of the Future with BOOM! Studios,
series Care Bears: Unlock the Magic with IDW, the upcoming
science fiction/ horror / humorous romance original graphic novel BONDING,
with artist and co-creator Emily Pearson for Vault Comics, and the smash
supernatural action adventure comics series (with artist/co-creator Lisa
Sterle) from Vault Comics, WITCHBLOOD. His short work
can be found in anthologies such as Corpus (2018), Dead Beats (2019)
and Everything is Going Wrong (2019).
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon
About Emily Pearson:
Emily
Pearson is a freelance comic book artist from Davis, California.
She has previously worked for Black Mask Studios; “The Wilds”(2018) and
“Snap Flash Hustle”(2018-19), Oni Press’s “The Vain”(2020),
and the upcoming “Bonding” coming to Vault Comics in 2022.
In addition
to comics series, she drew a short story for the Ringo Award Winning “Mine!” an
anthology for Planned Parenthood, Vault Comic’s “Cult Classic Zero
Short”, “CORPUS” curated by Nadia Shammas, and “Everything
is Going Wrong: Comics on Punk & Mental Illness”.
She has illustrated various covers for comic books including: “Stranger
Things: SIX” from Dark Horse Comics, “Calexit: Emmie X”, “The
Devil Within”, “Sweet/Vicious”, “The Wilds”, “Snap
Flash Hustle” from Black Mask Studios, “Going to the Chapel” from
Action Lab, “Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists” from Scout
Comics and many more.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
Giveaway Details:
2 winners
will receive a finished copy of BONDING, US Only.
Ends
February 18th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
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