Review: Fine Print TP Vol #2

Stjepan Sejic’s opus of love, loss, sex, desire, loved and very sexy gods and goddesses, mainly dressed in thigh highs and bondage gear, returns in this second volume building on the anticipation and expectation of Lauren’s signing of the divine contract. As the blurb stares, “this is where things get weird”, so strap in! And with Sejic’s artistic tastes, yo u can take that almost literally!

Heartbroken and alone, Lauren is sick of life and wants to lose herself in the joys of passion, even if the love of her life has moved on. Signing a contract to experience said passions, things get complicated when it can’t be decided which god or goddess is the best. So begins a game of one up ship as said supernatural lovers try to prove themselves to Lauren. Though in the world of fairies, demons and gods, “moving in mysterious ways” is something of an understatement.

Stjepan Sejic is a creator par excellence. a writer with fantastic ideas coupled with the bittersweet entanglements of the human heart. His art is always eye-catching and is gorgeously sexy. Taking the writing first; I will say now that I prefer Sunstone. Lisa and Ali are fantastic characters that wear their hearts on the latex and leather protected sleeve. Fine Print is a different beast. OK, gods, goddesses and fairies in sex pacts is as different as you can get from two women finding each other. In fact, the main difference is the intent of the books. In Sunstone it is Lisa and Ali’s journey to love that is the focus; here iti is Lauren coping, or not coping, with loss. Ironically the subject of loss is covered in Sunstone, though here Sejic has time to play out the drama, the entanglements run deep for sure. In Lauren, Sejic has a character that is emotionally scarred and to an extent perhaps scared. Being sexually open, Lauren is finding that there is a difference between love and lust. On the flip side, in the world of gods, goddesses et al Sejic delivers a Game of Thrones level complexity, though its good to see Leliah normally so powerful and all-knowing being a complete doofus and missing the obvious.

When it comes to Sejic’s art and colors, I have ran out of superlatives. Every character is well crafted, be it sex shop owners, Lauren, the paramours or any of the denizens of their supernatural world. The costumes are gloriously impractical; who doesn’t loves thigh highs, nipple jewellery adorning bondage wear? However fantastic the imagination, Sejic also delivers on the real world aesthetic. Clever slogans on shirts (Be Dil-Do not a Dil-Don’t) match up with jeans and sweats. Being as the book is features the most personal of moments, Sejic’s pts his characters through facial treadmills. Its these expressions that create the validity of the carious characters oft out of this world experiences. The colors are splendid with the sexual encounters along with the mystic world the obvious highlights, though don’t sleep on the more well observed slices of life that appear throughout the book. Being the sole creator, Sejic is able to plan his panels and pages ensuring that the wordiness of the book doesn’t detract from the art. Long time fans os Sejic will recognise the font for sure.

I am not a huge fan of the mystical elements that pervade this book. That said, in Sejic I trust, and when every page is gorgeous, I couldn’t help but be drawn in. Bring on volume 3!

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 5 Stars

Created, written by; Stjepan Sejic
Art, colors and letters by; Stjepan Sejic
Published by; Image Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network