A review by novelbloglover
InSEXts Year One by Jessica Kholinne, Marguerite Bennett, Troy Peteri, Bryan Valenza, Ariela Kristantina
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.