Erotic Comics

By Erin Fae

*mmmm*

*slurp*
*OH! OH! OOHH!*

Comics have always been about fantasy and narrative. Thus, it should come as no surprise that there are explicitly erotic comics that explore every degree of sexuality. It’s not all tentacle sex, either, which is what often springs to mind when one mentions comics and sexuality. The sensual comics I find most titillating tell stories of realistic (or almost realistic) characters who have delicious sex and interesting relationships. There’s a wealth of material to explore, from a graphic novel version of The Story of O to gossip and folklore of an Iranian family’s sexual history. Even Superman’s co-creator Joe Shuster drew fetish art. Just imagine how much more fun those original super hero stories would have been if Lois Lane was into bondage!

One of my favorite naughty comics is Small Favors by Colleen Coover. With the subtitle “A Girly Porno Comic,” you know you are in for a treat. The comic’s loose plot is based around Annie, who is assigned a small guardian by her conscience who is meant to prevent her from masturbating. No sooner is she handed over to her size-shifting keeper, Nibbil, than the two fall in love, and embark on sexy adventures. The drawing style is a bit Sunday funnies (think Betty and Veronica, but with a modern twist), which makes it more accessible. There’s something familiar about these drawings, but these girls are definitely not going to be found between pages of your newspaper; they’d get it too wet with hot depictions of girl-on-girl sex. The characters appear in some familiar porn scenarios: a naughty nurse and patient threesome, a costume party turned orgy, and a picnic basket full of dildos and phallic vegetables. Sex is fun, and this comic wants to remind you of the power of play.

For stories about queer politics, feminist bookstores, and tangled sex drama, I always return to Dykes To Watch Out For, a seminal queer comic by Alison Bechdel. The “essential” strips (spanning 25 years) were compiled into graphic novel form, which is an excellent read about love, sex and the history of queer life in America. The characters are constantly responding to what is going on in the world around them while trying to make sense of their own lives. Ultimately, though, the comic is about relationships. Regardless of your sexual identity, you’re likely to find something (or someone) familiar in Bechdel’s pages.

Want more? Don’t know where to start? Luckily, there have been a few recent annual anthologies of erotic comics. The books gather together short strips and excerpts from the year’s best dirty pictures. There’s something to appeal to every taste in erotic comics. These drawn stories come in varying degrees of love, lust, cheeky fun, kinky boundary pushing and sexy good times. Comics may not be the most typical place to find the erotic, but it may be one of the most fun.