Art by: Luke Parker
Published by: Image Comics  Â
Sex #18 is an odd tale, a circular story featuring the Prank Addict and his peculiar history. We begin with the Prank Addict in hospital, suffering the after effects of a coma following a collision with a moving vehicle.
The story is, at once, fantastical and alive, but equally bizarre and a little off putting. Suspension of belief is one element of the fantastic, yet, when combined with all the different aspects of his back story, there is ‘too much’ on offer.
One unfortunate part of this book that really detracts from the issue is the lettering. For some reason there has been sporadic highlights within the speech bubbles and this really jars your attention. This highlighting is truly unfortunate and the inclusion belies what is otherwise quite a nicely produced issue.
The art, by guest artist: Luke Parker – (Merick) – is interesting and engages the reader. Parker has a lush style, quite different from a lot of his contemporaries, and given his turn on this Image book, there should be more to come from him.
In terms of the writing, Joe Casey turns in a mostly adequate effort. The dialogue is fitting in regards to the characters and the plot works well within the constraints of the page count. Joe tries to make the story beguiling and cute, yet the feeling imbued does not match the ambition of the writer. While the loop of the story works well, as it takes us via a near-catatonic Prank Addict, through his past and to his present again, there is something missing. Maybe Joe has tried to give his character too much history, too much of a backdrop.
