velvetvan's review
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jmanchester0's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, Marguerite Bennet spins a dark and sexy tale!
I enjoyed this story - and the art was phenomenal!
And I loved the feminist overtones.
But that being said, some of the book was a bit hard to follow. And there was something that kept me from being completely enchanted by the book. I really liked it. All the elements were there, but something about the way they were put together made me not connect with it like I would have liked to.
Thanks to NetGalley and AfterShock Comics for a copy in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed this story - and the art was phenomenal!
And I loved the feminist overtones.
But that being said, some of the book was a bit hard to follow. And there was something that kept me from being completely enchanted by the book. I really liked it. All the elements were there, but something about the way they were put together made me not connect with it like I would have liked to.
Thanks to NetGalley and AfterShock Comics for a copy in return for an honest review.
mirmox's review against another edition
3.0
Writer Marguerite Bennett and artist Ariela Kristantina have created an indulgent Sapphic romance tangled up in a series of brutal Victorian horror stories.
Lady is in a bad marriage to a man with darker secrets than even she knows. She finds comfort in her chambermaid and lover, Mariah. The two dabble in a mysterious ritual as a means of setting them both free and creating the family they so long to have, with unpredictable results. The ensuing stories see the lovers take on monstrous forms with an uncontrollable evolution, as they battle even more monstrous cryptids and misogynistic men.
InSEXts is full of dark, bloody murder in the occult undergrounds of London and Paris. The story itself leaves some pivotal unanswered questions – notably where Mariah found out about the magic and why it morphs as it does – but readers looking for the sexy and the macabre may not care. The illustrations reflect this well, running the gamut from gory to erotic, and managing to twist together imagery that is both disturbing and beautiful in the same spread.
Bennett tackles many facets of patriarchy and misogyny, including the internalized hatred that women learn to use against other women. This subject is not approached subtly, as whole scenes become the venue for debates on how society views women, and the tropes and myths that shroud the reality of womanhood. The premise that women often have to accept being seen as monsters to truly find freedom is intriguing and will likely resonate with the right reader.
For graphic nudity and horror elements, this title is recommended for adults.
Review copy provided by Diamond Comic Distributors.
Read this review on Diamond Bookshelf.
Lady is in a bad marriage to a man with darker secrets than even she knows. She finds comfort in her chambermaid and lover, Mariah. The two dabble in a mysterious ritual as a means of setting them both free and creating the family they so long to have, with unpredictable results. The ensuing stories see the lovers take on monstrous forms with an uncontrollable evolution, as they battle even more monstrous cryptids and misogynistic men.
InSEXts is full of dark, bloody murder in the occult undergrounds of London and Paris. The story itself leaves some pivotal unanswered questions – notably where Mariah found out about the magic and why it morphs as it does – but readers looking for the sexy and the macabre may not care. The illustrations reflect this well, running the gamut from gory to erotic, and managing to twist together imagery that is both disturbing and beautiful in the same spread.
Bennett tackles many facets of patriarchy and misogyny, including the internalized hatred that women learn to use against other women. This subject is not approached subtly, as whole scenes become the venue for debates on how society views women, and the tropes and myths that shroud the reality of womanhood. The premise that women often have to accept being seen as monsters to truly find freedom is intriguing and will likely resonate with the right reader.
For graphic nudity and horror elements, this title is recommended for adults.
Review copy provided by Diamond Comic Distributors.
Read this review on Diamond Bookshelf.
nyarlathotep's review against another edition
4.0
A really original comic series with themes of love and feminism along with the horror. Gorgeous art makes this a pleasure to read.
novelbloglover's review
4.0
Book Review
Title: Insexts Year One
Author: Marguerite Bennett, Ariela Kristantina (Illustrator), Bryan Valenza (Colorist), Jessica Kholinne (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letterer)
Genre: Graphic novel
Rating: ****
Review: The opening of Insexts was great, it opens in London 1894, we are introduced to Lady Bertram and her husband Harry. Harry desires a son and his wife hasn’t been able to give him one, so he is cheating on her repeatedly. We also learn that the Lady is in a lesbian relationship with her maid Mariah, but Mariah isn’t human she seems to be an insect like humanoid and judging from the imagery used I would say with insect Mariah is could be a dragonfly.
In a bedroom scene we see Mariah impregnate her lover, but to keep it hidden the Lady transfer the child into her husband which grow rapidly, and the child is born within hours killing her husband, leaving her free to be with her lover and their son William. They decide to stay in London for the time being and to hide the fact the child was born so early Mariah decides to put the Lady into confinement for six month and when she emerges she will be a widow with a new born son people will think is her husband’s child.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn the Lady’s name is Lalita and her sister in law is planning to bring her down as she suspects that Lalita was in part responsible for the death of her husband and that her son is a bastard. However, the power Mariah gave to Lalita is uncontrollable and bursts forth at the most inopportune times and they sometimes finds themselves in dangerous positions but all they want is to protect their son who is growing up.
However, it is soon glossed over when a man confesses to killing Harry and being the London Butcher but we the readers know this can’t be true as Lalita and Mariah planned Harry’s demise. However, there are several different types of creature present in this novel and it does become a little difficult to keep track of who is hunting who at times, but it doesn’t make the bloodshed and gore any less entertaining. I also liked how William is drawn into this, William (not the child) was a friend of Harry’s and is a doctor, he is also madly in love with Lalita and decides to stay by her side to protect from any and all that wish to harm her or her son.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we meet a creature called the cynocephali which seems to be very similar to a werewolf who was believed to be the London Butcher who escaped from prison, but it claims that she and Mariah are the butchers and we can’t argue with that fact as they do have quite the body count behind them. They also have to be cautious as Sylvia and George are just waiting for them to slip up. We learn that George and Sylvia are both servants of the hag much like Harry was and they have been ordered to kill baby William but with the help of their friends Mariah and Lalita manage to kill Sylvia and they plan to kill the hag as well, but something isn’t right with Lalita and her transformation are becoming more and more insect like and her instincts are out of control, the only one able to reach her in this state is Mariah but for how much longer isn’t known.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, we get to see the showdown with the hag and many die, but William’s was the hardest but, in the fight, Lalita is also injured leaving Mariah and baby William alone, but they aren’t truly alone as they have their friends by their side. However, the hag has taken much from them and they are trying to decide how to be happy again with all the darkness and death that has followed them when all they wanted was to be a happy family. I was excited to see where the story was going next as 90% of the plot has been leading up to the battle with the hag and now with Lalita healing I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, we shift location to Paris in 1897 so Will is now 5 years old, he and Mariah moved there with Lalita’s cocoon and after many years Mariah finally manages to awake her love. However, we are also introduced to a new creature that seems to have Medusa like power as she can’t turn people to stone but they don’t die they are still alive and can’t still die just encased in stone. We also learn through Phoebe Will’s governess that women are being hunted and turned into art imprisoning them and that she needs Mariah and Lalita’s help in order to set them free.
In the final section of the novel, Phoebe, Mariah and Lalita are trying to unravel the mysterious disappearances and in the necropolis, they finds the mysterious creature and her human gallery. I don’t want to give away the end of the series, so I am not going to talk about the ending at all because it just wraps up everything nicely. I really liked the use of mythology and other cultures with the sci-fi and horror elements of the story. Highly recommended.
Title: Insexts Year One
Author: Marguerite Bennett, Ariela Kristantina (Illustrator), Bryan Valenza (Colorist), Jessica Kholinne (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letterer)
Genre: Graphic novel
Rating: ****
Review: The opening of Insexts was great, it opens in London 1894, we are introduced to Lady Bertram and her husband Harry. Harry desires a son and his wife hasn’t been able to give him one, so he is cheating on her repeatedly. We also learn that the Lady is in a lesbian relationship with her maid Mariah, but Mariah isn’t human she seems to be an insect like humanoid and judging from the imagery used I would say with insect Mariah is could be a dragonfly.
In a bedroom scene we see Mariah impregnate her lover, but to keep it hidden the Lady transfer the child into her husband which grow rapidly, and the child is born within hours killing her husband, leaving her free to be with her lover and their son William. They decide to stay in London for the time being and to hide the fact the child was born so early Mariah decides to put the Lady into confinement for six month and when she emerges she will be a widow with a new born son people will think is her husband’s child.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn the Lady’s name is Lalita and her sister in law is planning to bring her down as she suspects that Lalita was in part responsible for the death of her husband and that her son is a bastard. However, the power Mariah gave to Lalita is uncontrollable and bursts forth at the most inopportune times and they sometimes finds themselves in dangerous positions but all they want is to protect their son who is growing up.
However, it is soon glossed over when a man confesses to killing Harry and being the London Butcher but we the readers know this can’t be true as Lalita and Mariah planned Harry’s demise. However, there are several different types of creature present in this novel and it does become a little difficult to keep track of who is hunting who at times, but it doesn’t make the bloodshed and gore any less entertaining. I also liked how William is drawn into this, William (not the child) was a friend of Harry’s and is a doctor, he is also madly in love with Lalita and decides to stay by her side to protect from any and all that wish to harm her or her son.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we meet a creature called the cynocephali which seems to be very similar to a werewolf who was believed to be the London Butcher who escaped from prison, but it claims that she and Mariah are the butchers and we can’t argue with that fact as they do have quite the body count behind them. They also have to be cautious as Sylvia and George are just waiting for them to slip up. We learn that George and Sylvia are both servants of the hag much like Harry was and they have been ordered to kill baby William but with the help of their friends Mariah and Lalita manage to kill Sylvia and they plan to kill the hag as well, but something isn’t right with Lalita and her transformation are becoming more and more insect like and her instincts are out of control, the only one able to reach her in this state is Mariah but for how much longer isn’t known.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, we get to see the showdown with the hag and many die, but William’s was the hardest but, in the fight, Lalita is also injured leaving Mariah and baby William alone, but they aren’t truly alone as they have their friends by their side. However, the hag has taken much from them and they are trying to decide how to be happy again with all the darkness and death that has followed them when all they wanted was to be a happy family. I was excited to see where the story was going next as 90% of the plot has been leading up to the battle with the hag and now with Lalita healing I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, we shift location to Paris in 1897 so Will is now 5 years old, he and Mariah moved there with Lalita’s cocoon and after many years Mariah finally manages to awake her love. However, we are also introduced to a new creature that seems to have Medusa like power as she can’t turn people to stone but they don’t die they are still alive and can’t still die just encased in stone. We also learn through Phoebe Will’s governess that women are being hunted and turned into art imprisoning them and that she needs Mariah and Lalita’s help in order to set them free.
In the final section of the novel, Phoebe, Mariah and Lalita are trying to unravel the mysterious disappearances and in the necropolis, they finds the mysterious creature and her human gallery. I don’t want to give away the end of the series, so I am not going to talk about the ending at all because it just wraps up everything nicely. I really liked the use of mythology and other cultures with the sci-fi and horror elements of the story. Highly recommended.
themaliciousreader's review
3.0
*3.5 Stars*
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this graphic novel. The characters were badass and queer as fuck.
I’m still not sure how I felt about the art though.
Also, as gripping as the plot was, it lost me at times. It was all too confused, tangled…
I still haven’t understood how the whole Paris plot came to be… I don’t know, I guess I’m still very confused...
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this graphic novel. The characters were badass and queer as fuck.
I’m still not sure how I felt about the art though.
Also, as gripping as the plot was, it lost me at times. It was all too confused, tangled…
I still haven’t understood how the whole Paris plot came to be… I don’t know, I guess I’m still very confused...
litwtchreads's review
5.0
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sexy with a supernatural twist. This feels like a feminist manifesto about the lengths women will go to in order to be their own and protect their own. I loved the artwork and the theme of this book, I cannot wait to see where the authors Bennet and Kristantina go next with this idea.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sexy with a supernatural twist. This feels like a feminist manifesto about the lengths women will go to in order to be their own and protect their own. I loved the artwork and the theme of this book, I cannot wait to see where the authors Bennet and Kristantina go next with this idea.
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