On CBR’s Comics Should Be Good blog, Brian Cronin is in the process of reviewing a number of our books and started with a hailstorm of protests, reviewing First Time the erotic comics anthology our imprint Eurotica (go to the author gallery and choose Sybilline, you must be over 18) published earlier this year.

You see, Brian actually had the, um, balls to post a number of explicit pages from the book. Go see the amusing string of comments that ensued (but we will warn you you do need to be over 18).

Anyway, his review is quite positive calling its artwork ’stunning’ and recommending the book.

Brian has also reviewed Arlene’s Heart since where he was less enthusiastic about the story but thought the art impressive as well. See his review.

The French woman writer who composed the delicious stories found in First Time is interviewed by the site Sequential Tart. A fun and funny inside look at the process that reunites a number of artists including Dave McKean.

“I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t agree that Frances’ art is something to be cherished, enveloped in, and appreciated. Art lovers and fable lovers, seek ARLENE’S HEART out.”

“This isn’t your typical comic-spank fare. It’s a delicate dissection of sex in graphic form. These private moments are written and drawn by some extremely talented creators. From the first time one has sex, to the first menage a trois, to the first trip to a sex shop, the first use of a sex doll, to an x-rated sketch story by the one and only Dave McKean: these stories handle these intimate moments with maturity, showing that even sex stories can have some heft to them. Focusing mainly on the emotional impact of these virginal experiences, FIRST TIME offers a glimpse of the sadness, the joy, the pain, the ugliness, and sometimes the beauty of taking the leap into the unknown for the first time, and that unquestionable regret that no matter how good or bad that experience it was, you can never take that first moment back. ”
(to see First Time, go to our Eurotica site, you must be over 18)

So says AICN…

“Being that this is my first time reviewing for Tart, I found the title on the cover of First Time entirely appropriate. I never thought I’d find erotic entertainment to be fancy, seductive, thought-provoking and titillating. After years of exposure to hentai (which makes me giggle like a little girl at all the tentacular penises waving about), too many erotic novels, and a brief stint as a DVD porn reviewer, I wondered if I was truly too jaded to review this.

Oh, ever so wrong I was. After caressing the cover (yes, the dust cover is soft and almost velvet-like in the touching), I opened up my new little guilty pleasure. Ever get a box of Godiva chocolates at Valentine’s, in the lovely, red, velvety, heart-shaped box? Yeah, it was totally like that. 

So, inside the book? Ten little gems of naughty visual pleasure. The stories range from losing virginity to a first-time affair to the joys of buying a first sex toy. Each one has a story to tell and a small twist. Each one has an emotional context. All of them have beauty and some even show us an ugly side. 

All of the art, rendered in black and white, is suited to each story, each line and curve rendered with what looks like loving detail. 

On the whole, a very … satisfying read.”

“The art is always interesting. Three out of five Tonys.”

Tony Isabella, Comics Buyers Guide

“The book opens with one of the strongest pieces, “First Time” as drawn by Why I Killed Peter’s Alfred. A woman tells her lover about her very first time she has sex, and the result is touching and sweet. From her plans on bringing the guy over, to how he (and she) reacts afterwards, it’s a heartfelt story with a nice ending moment. Alfred’s art is in fine form here, too; there’s a panel where she’s lying on her current partner’s chest and idly scratches it that just feels very familiar and comfortable, and the panel where her arm and hand holding a wine glass is overlaid six times does a great job of showing nervousness and speed and quantity all at once.

 “Fantasy” drawn by Jérôme d’Aviau is certainly the steamiest of the stories here—in fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s the only actual steamy story in the entire book. This helps in part because of d’Aviau’s crisp, clean art; I love how he draws both of the main characters here, in an attractive manner (both physically and also just general art style). For a story about dominance and fantasies playing out, Sibylline hits the pacing just right, slowly amping up the tension and bringing the climax of the story (no, not that kind) at just the right moment.”

Read About Comics

Comics Waiting Room. com has this to say about Little Nothings 2

What stood out for me here overall, though, was the observational quality of the writing. Trondheim is one of the most accomplished artists in the world, but he has a poetic soul with the pen. When he ruminates on what it feels like to see the moon while the sun is shining, or the certain death that awaits him if he makes one bad step to the left on the mountain trail he’s walking, or being somewhat vengeful towards a hotel that didn’t deliver on promises made, he gives you an opportunity to see who he really is as a person.

There wasn’t a single thing about this second volume of LITTLE NOTHINGS that didn’t work for me, except for the fact that there’s likely to be a wait for a third volume. Excellence.

And this about First Time (go to Eurotica):

There’s a difference between erotica and porn. For those who want a definitional difference, here is mine: porn is nothing but pure sex, a visceral jolt meant for immediate arousal. Erotica, while flush with sex, has more; more story, more character, more than just the base drive for arousal and orgasm. Erotica engages the mind as well as the body.

FIRST TIME is damned fine erotica.
French writer Sibylline joins with ten amazing artists to tell stories of deep sensuality, arousing moments, and hot sexuality, all revolving around the theme of the first time each character has engaged in that behavior. From the loss of virginity, to visiting a sex club, to a threesome, to a couple viewing pornography together, she covers an extraordinary spectrum of topics and moments, and each is wildly different. Some are joyous; a couple are heartbreaking; which keeps FIRST TIME real, really. Sex, while great, can be painful and disappointing, and she never loses sight of that. Which, again, points out the difference between pornography and erotica; porn is rarely full of anything you could consider “real” on an emotional level.

“Sibylline imbues each short with a clear and strongly realized emotional core. Most enjoyable, nearly every story paints sex as a positive, joyful experience. There’s no shame or humiliation here, as nine of the women (unfortunately, not the doll) are willing partners in each act, and everyone comes out of their experiences richer for it.

A book like First Time doesn’t compare to something like Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s Lost Girls. For one thing, the grandiose literary ambition isn’t here, and in many ways, that’s really a positive thing. Lost Girls was many things, but arousing wasn’t really one of them. First Time focuses intently on the sexual experience rather than any literary parallels. It has a visceral quality that goes hand in hand with the emotional pleasure the women in each story experience, and that directness and bald humanity make it a much more stirring book.
It’s frank, it’s fun, it’s a little messy and awkward; in short, First Time is a little like its subject matter. Apparently, comics are the vanguard of quality porn – which is cool, because honestly, porn never suffers in any economy.”

So says Newsarama. Why, that’s just what we thought ourselves!

To see First Time, go to Eurotica on our home page and then in Author Gallery to Sibylline. Sorry, can’t link directly here due to adult content.

Johanna Draper Carlson’s ComicsWorthReading has just reviewed 4 of our recent books, besides Miss Don’t Touch Me which she calls “thrilling escapism with naughty touches”, Why I Killed Peter and First Time, she has this to say about Trondheim’s latest Little Nothings:

“The work is gorgeous, due to the artist’s skill, observations, and especially watercolors.

Material includes the goofy things Trondheim’s bird-headed alter ego does on vacation, as well as simple observations about everyday life. I found them fresh and funny, showing me new ways to look at simple events. The different places around the world he visits are beautifully captured, putting me with him while rock climbing or scuba diving. “

This week’s Publishers Weekly speaks highly of our new erotic collection First Time as published in our Eurotica* collection:

“Manages to be frank in its depiction of physical sexuality without becoming pornographic, resulting in a charming ‘adults only’ anthology. This is highly recommended for readers looking for something erotic yet artistic and emotionally involving.”

This is a collection of stories about first time experiences featuring some of Europe’s rising star artists as well as Dave McKean, obviously on a rather different tangent than Coraline or Newbery winner The Graveyard book (!)

* sorry can’t link you directly to the book due to its content but just click on Author Gallery and then the author name Sibylline.

Note from Terry:

We have some real goodies coming up in the next couple months with Trondheim in the forefront on them: His next volume of his comics blog Little Nothings for January and also the next Dungeon Zenith which we’d been waiting to get back to and now features an artist (Boulet) besides Sfar and Trondheim writing. You might know Zenith is the main subseries in this purposefully sprawling humorful epic. Check out our listings in Coming Up.

BUT, you know what excites me most? First Time from our Eurotica imprint. It marks a return for Eurotica to its roots, those of Crepax and Story of O and Manara: erotic comic art, very horny but also very intelligently written and real. A series of short stories all written by a woman, and all about a first time sexual experience. Best of all, Dave McKean does one, his first time doing erotic! When I was presented this book, I just pounced on it. It’s beautiful, sassy, can be loved by women and men and maybe best… women and men together… Cuddle with your significant other this Xmas next to the fireplace and enjoy together… Go to the Eurotica link on the left of our home page and you’ll see a button for it. Don’t want to link straight from here to be safe.

Terry Nantier