Sunstone Volume 1 Paperback – Illustrated, January 6, 2015

First, let's get the aesthetics out of the way. This is top-notch work - clearly the product of experience. I say it this way because sometimes you don't know what you're getting in adult-themed literature, but Sunstone delivers in that regard. The panels flow both seamlessly and creatively, mindful of pacing yet with a certain flair that doesn't leave you visually bored. The characters are rendered attractively and with attention to expression, the latter being particularly important due to the nature of the work.That, and visual character expression is a language in and of itself. You might think of this as the supporting role to the dialogue, but sometimes it should take the lead. Sunstone certainly knows how to allow it.On to the story itself - no "spoiler alert" warning to give, as this isn't really the type of narrative that holds some big moment or reveal for the reader. The arc is more in the emotive realm, flowing over the actual action of the story by the push of inner dialogue. To describe what physically happens would make it sound mundane, but only because it doesn't rely solely on the actions of the characters to move the story along.Sunstone is essentially a "slice of life" work, focusing on the budding BDSM relationship developing between the book's two main characters.Now, as far as the BDSM aspect is concerned, be warned - it is quite a bit on the vanilla side. That may change over the course of subsequent books (I've only read this one), but as it stands it's not really going to "wow" you in that department unless you're unfamiliar with the subject altogether. That's not to say it wouldn't still be sexy to an actual enthusiast, it's just that as someone who has been in that type of relationship and has a broader insight on the scene as a whole, I found this treatment of it to be a little "tourist-y." The focus is obviously more on the relationship and feelings involved, so I don't mean to sound unnecessarily critical on this issue, but it's worth noting if you're heavy into that sort of thing and are expecting as much.All that being said, Sunstone is a solid work and worth picking up if you're looking for a casual, sexy read that's going to appeal to your emotional side. I'll definitely be picking up the next volume at some point in the future to see how it further develops!

Okay so usually I don’t write reviews cause I would rather just rant about whatever I read to my friend or on twitter but idk I feel like I wanna write this review so anywayThis will be spoiler free review.My first entry into stjepan sejic’s work was Harleen and I was absolutely in love with it, I liked the art style and writing too much to not want more so then I searched up the artist/writer and I came across fine print and I read it despite being hesitant of whether I was gonna get into it or not and I ended up absolutely LOVING IT so then I wanted more and I came across sunstone. I saw that it’s about bdsm and was like “I’m not into bdsm so idk…” but I decided to give it a try and I did and it took me a little to get into it but oh my godIt was just so goodIt was a story about sexuality but not just thatIt was a story about identity, about love and humans. It dealt with both the good and bad side of bdsm which is something I didn’t expect reallyIt was so raw and human but also funny and cute at timesWhile this story might not be for everyone due to its nudity and sexual context which isn’t something Everyone like but I think if you don’t mind nudity and sexual scenes or if love them then you should absolutely check it out and read itI think reading just 1 or 2 volumes isn’t really enough to get the most out of this storyI think if you wanna read it and you found yourself into it to keep reading cause it will get so damn good and it will pull you into this world of these characters by providing more storyline and history for them which gives them more depth.

It's hard to recommend something that could be described as pornographic in nature (although this is more focused on story and characters with eroticism being an element of that, rather than it being what you should be reading the story for). Sunstone is, so far, very much a good enough read that I feel compelled to give some incentive for people to pick this up. Before I say anything else, though, I need to clarify one thing about the nature of this comic: there is sex in it, explicit sex, but the pacing and writing is always focused on the characters themselves. The sex scenes only last long enough to get the writer's point across about what's happened; it's neither rushed to a conclusion nor drawn out for the duration of the act as it would be in an actual porn comic. There are two explicit scenes in the book, toward the middle, and quite a lot of suggestive stuff sprinkled through the rest of the book, but one of the "scenes" lasts about three pages, and the first, while longer, "fades to black" after it's done doing what it needs to do for the story.The story itself, which is focused on two women--Lisa and Ally--who have secret BDSM preferences and find each other online, is primarily about the human element. This isn't a story that glorifies actual domination (like Fifty Shades of Gray does), this is a story about what the narrator herself calls "sexual nerds," and about the personal trust and growing connection between these two women. BDSM, usually only portrayed in terms of pure pornographic fetish elsewhere, is shown in a very accurate light here. The awkward nerves of two partners taking the leap together for the first time, the worry that one might go too far, and yes, even the sheer ridiculous kink of it, is all touched on in this story. What makes it really go is that the characters are just written so well.You don't actually need to buy the comic to sample this story. Large chunks of it are available for free reading on DeviantArt--posted by the author himself under the screen name Shiniez, so it's easy to sample the story and artwork before throwing any money at all at it. It should be noted that the author lives in another country (the exact one escapes me at the moment), so English is not their first language and the dialogue is thus rather clumsy grammatically in these free pages. This is not the case in the published graphic novel; editing has greatly corrected and smoothed out the grammar issues, with only very rare lines still sounding slightly awkward in their wording.One last thing I should mention is that the graphic novel itself is rather thin and a little less than a third of its page count is dedicated to extra stuff--some additional artwork, and a three-or-four-page comic short about the author's own creative blundering into writing this story at the end of a long creative burnout. Charming stuff, but do not expect Sunstone volumes to be omnibus-length. It was long enough to feel worth the ten bucks I payed, but at a guess I'd put it at the length of five or six monthly comic-book issues. There are no page numbers, so I can't give an exact page-count.That said, definitely worth it. I believe so, anyway.

I’ve been in a relationship for a while. I had forgotten what it’s like to meet someone that you “click” with. Fortunately, author Stjepan Sejic did not, because this is one of the sweetest, most heartfelt things I’ve read since I got through Saga.I have a suspicion that a lot of artistic renditions of naked ladies are done because a dude with a pencil was horny and wanted to make his whacking material seem more highbrow than it really was. If I’m right, then a great many masterful pieces of work may well exist because boobies are magnetic to the male soul. I mention that because this is in large part a lesbian bondage comic, and when you mention that, for a lot of folk it suddenly leaps into total clarity why you bought the thing. Well, I’m not going to act like I’m immune to my baser urges; the idea of a Sapphic kink comic was intriguing from the off. Guilty as charged. But that said, what separates this from other naughty artistry is the sheer warmth of it. It captures that heady rush of completely falling for someone so perfectly that it manages to almost substitute it’s eroticism for just raw enjoyment at seeing these characters happy. There’s not even a story to speak of in a conventional sense as of yet, it’s driven solely by its character moments. Basically, two women meet up for a BDSM session; it’s meant to be all about the sex, but immediately their feelings for each other start developing and it’s all captured so well, the awkward, nervous interactions of meeting someone in the latex-clad flesh for the first time and that manic tangle of thoughts immediately preceding it to the euphoric post-coital bliss when it turns out that things went alright. You get engaged in these two, the instantly likeable Lisa and Ally, our Submissive and Dominant. The book comes mostly from Lisa’s perspective as she recounts the events in question; because of this I’m hoping the series itself concludes on a high note because you’ll find me hanging from a light fitting if a series so sweet ends sour. Through her eyes, you can understand – if you didn’t already – why BDSM holds the appeal it does for its fetishists, so more than a tender portrayal of a budding relationship Sunstone also functions as an exploration of this particular fetish so well that even if BDSM isn’t for you the allure of it becomes obvious.Sex – especially homosexual sex – is stigmatized somewhat. It’s not a new observation by any means, but when I’m trading books with my friend at work I don’t have a second thought about handing her the most perturbingly violent tomes in my collection, but if she were to be caught with…I dunno, “Scalped” by Jason Aaron or something I doubt she’d be as far up crap creek as she would be if she got caught thumbing through Sunstone. This is the sort of appalling stupidity that I would’ve expected of a guy huffing lighter fluid I once got trapped in a conversation with who blamed Eminem for inspiring Jack the ripper. There’s nothing to be furtive or ashamed about for most people when it comes to sexuality. I mean come on, above all, the book is just wholesome - the type of thing that feels good for the soul. A word about the art too; it’s more than just the way people are drawn (which is clean and expressive) but the pages themselves, which often display inventive and thematic panel layouts. Even just superficially, this is a gorgeous piece of work. The colouration helps too – rich, deep reds. This book looks how romance is meant to feel. It’s very light on things that I can meaningfully point to as detractors as well. There’s an occasional janky line here or there that mostly lands flat because it’s unnecessary – there’s one point where Lisa remarks that even angry she can’t help but care about Ally, but the context of the panel itself is completely sufficient to communicate that without the audience needing to be told; the result is clumsy dialogue. It’s not a problem for most of the book and ranks as little besides a nitpick at worst. Thing is, that’s what most of the things that bother me about this book are – nitpicks.I’ve seen some lesbians express surprise that the book is as well done as it is; they’re used to their representation from the pens of men being somewhat shallower than this. In a sense I feel like that’s the best endorsement of it – the seal of approval from actual people within the communities it represents. It’s not my usual thing, so that perhaps has something to do with how giddy I am over discovering it, but man, I can’t help it, it’s just such a good book, by turns funny, touching and lascivious often within the same page. So if you, dear reader, find yourself with money to burn in the comics budget this month, you could do much worse than pick up this wonderful little volume.

As I've grown older, I've come to the very reasonable conclusion that the one thing that really, really gets me where it counts when I'm reading a book, is romance. I love the stuff. The worst thing though is that it is usually written so damn badly; rafts of stilted dialogue that sounds like a script from a bad rom-com as opposed to real life, contrived situations and leaden cliches, and nothing you can relate to because the characters seem to be selling you the idea of romance as opposed to the relatable reality. And when it comes to my favoured world of comic books, it's often way beyond bad and just plain stinks. This is why when I discovered Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise I was blown away. After that, I thought I'd never see a book that came close to SiP for sheer wonderful reality. Then I found Sunstone.Lisa is a young woman that wants to experiment with her sexual boundaries. Ally is a woman that knows where hers are, but is terribly lonely. When they meet in an internet chatroom and start talking about BDSM, their lives begin to change forever. When Lisa suggests they take the next step and meet in person, both are terrified of what might happen. And sparks fly. Lisa takes her first steps into a world of ropes and restraints, with Ally firmly guiding her, and between them a quirky, kinky romance begins to blossom. Neither of them expect it to happen - Ally worries things are getting too emotional too fast, Lisa's peers are judgemental about her relationship with another woman - but when you meet someone that completes you, should you keep playing your prescribed roles of Mistress and Submissive, or do you just fall in love?Just in case you hadn't picked this up by now, this comic book is very much for adults. It has graphic sex, but it is not gratuitous or crass. In fact, it's the complete opposite. It makes the polarising subject of bondage and makes it incredibly tender and loving. This is primarily a romance, and that is what comes through in this book in spades. It has all the awkwardness and humour of real life, and the sexy passion of a blooming relationship. The author/artist Stjepan Sejic manages to pull off something quite miraculous by making his characters seem real, and the artwork is rendered in beautiful warm shades and has a glorious fluidity and life to it. It has a cinematic quality, and embraces the reality of BDSM in a way that makes 50 Shades of Grey look like the timid, suburban, and disingenuous handling of the subject that it is. Sunstone manages to communicate a reality, one that is sweet and loving and naughty.I confess I didn't go into this book blind; I am a fan of Sejic's work already, and had begun reading Sunstone when he posted it online. It is though a book that does something I didn't think was possible - it's a romance comic that I think comes very, very close to the high mark of Strangers in Paradise. It's a more adult, sexually explicit book, but one that has a warm beating heart behind it, and a wonderful sweetness that's hard to resist. If LBGT stories, or BDSM, are of interest to you, you'd be mad not to read Sunstone. And if you're just wanting to read a sexy, realistic love story, you should read it too. 50 Shades of Beige it ain't.

This is a really unique example of what comics can do when in the hands of a sensitive and creative writer. The storyline has a lot of tasteful nudity, featuring 'normal' women of the sort rarely seen in comics. However, although the BDSM theme might put some off this is at heart a simple love story between two young women, which is explored in a sensitive way which never drifts into exploitation or sensationalism.The creator is new to me, but has a skill with character scripting and art which is rarely seen these days of major 'epics'. The last series that I enjoyed, almost, as much as this was Saga, but this has the potential to be among my all-time favourite series- and all time for me is a long while!Highly recommended for anyone who wants to see what the comics medium is capable of delivering in the hands of a master storyteller. The subtlety and pure sensuality with which the BDSM scenes are handle just makes the whole experience even more satisfying.Now how do I get through to May when volume 2 is out?

Essentially, the story of the first three days of a BDSM relationship between two women, a frustrated - but enthusiastic domme - and an anxious submissive.Both have been frustrated by their lack of success in finding someone to share their interests with. Then Ally comes across Lisa in a chat room, and after 2 months of back-and-forth online they agree to meet.So, basically, Sunstone covers the events leading up to that long weekend.Beautifully drawn by Stjepan - who started this series as a side project on Deviant Art. Really, I loved the style of the art - and I have a soft spot for Lisa's tendency to bite her lip (which I have in common with Ally).Yes, the cover drew odd attention when I read this one in public, and yes it contains scenes of nudity. However, I definitely recommend this one. I will certainly pick up the next Volume.This isn't about action or adventure (well, the adventurous maybe). Sunstone is about the awkward and uncertain path of two people trying to find their way in a niche world filled with pitfalls and potentials. Ally and Lisa have their own back stories and you learn a little about them. I read this over three days in measured sessions - the art's too good to just wolf down in one go.Indeed, I was kind of disappointed when it ended. However, the back of the book has an interesting story from the author and artist about how he came to create the Sunstone project in the first place (he previously worked on Witchblade). It also contains piles of additional pictures, pin-up style images, streams of tiny reprints of the original Deviant Art pages.Definitely recommended.

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