The perineum technique

Through vivid visual metaphors and personable dialogue, this graphic novel paints a thoughtful and poignant picture of the coy and muddled nature of virtual relationships. After a week of brief but explicit online rendezvous, JH becomes obsessed with gaining more than just an online acquaintance with Sarah, but he struggles to convince her that they should connect in person. Eventually, they agree to meet at a party and then embark on a relationship based on emotional manipulation. Sarah seems to find JH amusing, and he becomes infatuated with her. She challenges JH to spend four months masturbating without ejaculating, using the titular technique, and soon he's consumed by both physical and emotional need. He has a habit of objectifying women, and his aggressive willingness to talk about sex is undermined by his hesitation to actually approach anyone he's interested in; these personality traits are amplified by the online dating world of near-constant connection, intimate photos, and explicit chat. Using simplistic sketch-style artwork, striking colors, and abstract visual metaphors in place of explicit content, the story offers a strong commentary on a relationship built during the digital romance era. The script brims with JH's agitation and the palpable emotional tension between him and Sarah. With a maze of complex emotions, skillful symbolism, and relatable romantic situations, this book is a head game begging to be played. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

JH is a successful video artist and self-described sex fiend. After meeting a woman named Sarah on an online dating service, and the two enjoy several virtual hookups, he becomes obsessed with meeting her in person. Eventually she agrees, and the two begin a game of seduction.or is it all just mind games? After Sarah informs JH that she's leaving town for four months and asks him to practice a form of abstinence while she's away, he's not quite sure. Longtime French collaborators Mulot and Ruppert (Famille Royale) craft a carefully paced, skillfully illustrated meditation on dating in an age of hyperconnectivity in which the ease with which one can cultivate a persona makes real intimacy difficult, if not terrifying. While the work is sexually explicit, Mulot and Ruppert utilize a variety of clever visual metaphors that explore not just what people are doing to each other, but how they feel about each other as well. -VERDICT A cleverly presented and provocative exploration of mutual attraction that flirts with satirizing the art world as well. © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.