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Twisted Romance
Twisted Romance #2
Beauty is business as usual for fashion photographer's assistant Twinkle Johar until she meets and accidentally falls for a shy Hollywood actor during a shoot. Is he using her? Or can a girl like her really end up with a guy like him? Drawn by ALEJANDRA GUTIÉRREZ (Love is Love). Backup comics story by MEREDITH McCLAREN (HINGES, Jem and the Holograms) and prose story by VITA AYALA (Batman Beyond).
52 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2018
About the author
Alex de Campi
206 books213 followersAlex de Campi is a New York-based writer with an extensive backlist of critically-acclaimed graphic novels including Eisner-nominated heist noir Bad Girls (Simon & Schuster) and Twisted Romance (Image Comics). Her most recent book was her debut prose novel The Scottish Boy (Unbound). She lives with her daughter, their cat, and a Deafblind pit bull named Tango.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 7, 2020
This was really cute and delightful.
I wasn't really sure what to expect when I picked it up at my local comic book shop (Ash Ave Comics in Tempe), but one of the crew informed me it was full of really warm-hearted tales, unlike what the first issue seemed to have in it, and I was intrigued.
The Twisted Romance mini-series are basically packages of totally unrelated stand-alone stories that are tied together by the theme of love and romance that would seem unconventional to the more "mainstream" cisgender-heterosexual reader. The first issue - I am told - dealt with creepy and dark vampires looking for love (this may not be the most accurate description of it). But in Issue #2 we find three different tales of love that is complicated, a little messy, but ultimately warm and bright as my lcs crew informed me it would be.
The first story "Twinkle & The Star" created by Alejandra Gutiérrez and Alex de Campi tackles the additional topics of body-positivity, self-esteem, and asexuality. This was amazing, and deftly handled every aspect of being a young person and being interested in others in any kind of fashion. Its representations of its characters and their respective identities were also dynamic, truthful, and sincere. Plus the artwork is just darling and so fun. Gutiérrez and de Campi made a wonderful work that is just serious enough but doesn't take itself too seriously - the humor is right on and at times truly laugh out loud funny.
The second story is actually all prose, and is written by Vita Ayala and features a cast of young women discovering their personal identities, their sexual identities, and tackling communication and understanding barriers. I enjoyed this story, but I felt the pacing and trajectory of the writing was in need of something - it felt experimental but not tight enough, and I was disappointed by grammar errors nobody caught. That final remark is just me being knit-picky, but I really felt like the prose needed to be more grounded on the page in some way as the story rapidly developed through a year of the character's life and almost too neatly wrapped up. I felt that Ayala truly made an effort to show that everything wasn't really a neat and tidy ending, but that it was simply another door opening for the characters to positively work out/work through much of what was introduced throughout the story. But I just wasn't convinced of any of it, and it was really hard for me to believe anyone was really happy or okay at the story's conclusion. For anyone who has read The Perks of Being a Wallflower - the ending of this made me feel like I was only in the middle chapters of Wallflower and nowhere near any real kind of resolution good or bad. But I still thinks it's a short story worth your time.
The remaining story in this issue, "Would You Even Know" by Meredith McClaren literally asks the question "what is love and how do you know you are in it?" and has a computer geek and her AI computer friend/lover(?) explore this question together as they deepen their understanding of each other as well as their friendship. If you like material like HER starring the brilliant Joaquin Phoenix you are gonna love "Would You Even Know". The story was so heartfelt, authentic, and so so cute. McClaren's art style is at once adorable and creepy, and it lends itself effortlessly to the additional theme questioning humanity and existence rights. Truly if you like sci-fi with artificial intelligence or if you are even the tiniest bit interested in AI and how humanoid robots and cyborgs will or will not be fully integrated into human society at some point in the future, I feel this should be something you pick up and read.
I so thoroughly enjoyed this, I'm gonna pick up the next issue to see what kind of winners they publish next, and I may even go back and see what was the what with those vampires in Issue #1.
I wasn't really sure what to expect when I picked it up at my local comic book shop (Ash Ave Comics in Tempe), but one of the crew informed me it was full of really warm-hearted tales, unlike what the first issue seemed to have in it, and I was intrigued.
The Twisted Romance mini-series are basically packages of totally unrelated stand-alone stories that are tied together by the theme of love and romance that would seem unconventional to the more "mainstream" cisgender-heterosexual reader. The first issue - I am told - dealt with creepy and dark vampires looking for love (this may not be the most accurate description of it). But in Issue #2 we find three different tales of love that is complicated, a little messy, but ultimately warm and bright as my lcs crew informed me it would be.
The first story "Twinkle & The Star" created by Alejandra Gutiérrez and Alex de Campi tackles the additional topics of body-positivity, self-esteem, and asexuality. This was amazing, and deftly handled every aspect of being a young person and being interested in others in any kind of fashion. Its representations of its characters and their respective identities were also dynamic, truthful, and sincere. Plus the artwork is just darling and so fun. Gutiérrez and de Campi made a wonderful work that is just serious enough but doesn't take itself too seriously - the humor is right on and at times truly laugh out loud funny.
The second story is actually all prose, and is written by Vita Ayala and features a cast of young women discovering their personal identities, their sexual identities, and tackling communication and understanding barriers. I enjoyed this story, but I felt the pacing and trajectory of the writing was in need of something - it felt experimental but not tight enough, and I was disappointed by grammar errors nobody caught. That final remark is just me being knit-picky, but I really felt like the prose needed to be more grounded on the page in some way as the story rapidly developed through a year of the character's life and almost too neatly wrapped up. I felt that Ayala truly made an effort to show that everything wasn't really a neat and tidy ending, but that it was simply another door opening for the characters to positively work out/work through much of what was introduced throughout the story. But I just wasn't convinced of any of it, and it was really hard for me to believe anyone was really happy or okay at the story's conclusion. For anyone who has read The Perks of Being a Wallflower - the ending of this made me feel like I was only in the middle chapters of Wallflower and nowhere near any real kind of resolution good or bad. But I still thinks it's a short story worth your time.
The remaining story in this issue, "Would You Even Know" by Meredith McClaren literally asks the question "what is love and how do you know you are in it?" and has a computer geek and her AI computer friend/lover(?) explore this question together as they deepen their understanding of each other as well as their friendship. If you like material like HER starring the brilliant Joaquin Phoenix you are gonna love "Would You Even Know". The story was so heartfelt, authentic, and so so cute. McClaren's art style is at once adorable and creepy, and it lends itself effortlessly to the additional theme questioning humanity and existence rights. Truly if you like sci-fi with artificial intelligence or if you are even the tiniest bit interested in AI and how humanoid robots and cyborgs will or will not be fully integrated into human society at some point in the future, I feel this should be something you pick up and read.
I so thoroughly enjoyed this, I'm gonna pick up the next issue to see what kind of winners they publish next, and I may even go back and see what was the what with those vampires in Issue #1.
September 25, 2019
I would've liked this issue a lot more if the first and last stories didn't stop when they actually started to get interesting.
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
April 13, 2024
This was a stronger volume. I enjoyed all three stories and the art for each one, and great diversity.
We got a plus size Desi woman x a white ace guy for “Twinkle and the Star” and I found them likable and interesting, and the art style really suits order well with it.
“Back at Your Door” had a real FFF love triangle with friends to lovers angst and poly rep, and moved quickly enough to keep it interesting between all the flirting and angering.
“Would You Even Know It?” Was a human and an AI and gave queer platonic vibes which was a nice touch, and avoided the sexualization of a robot and focused on emotional connection.
We got a plus size Desi woman x a white ace guy for “Twinkle and the Star” and I found them likable and interesting, and the art style really suits order well with it.
“Back at Your Door” had a real FFF love triangle with friends to lovers angst and poly rep, and moved quickly enough to keep it interesting between all the flirting and angering.
“Would You Even Know It?” Was a human and an AI and gave queer platonic vibes which was a nice touch, and avoided the sexualization of a robot and focused on emotional connection.
February 18, 2018
The desi girl cover caught my eye in the comics shop.
I really liked the stories (and art where there was art), but I’m not sure about the title because there’s nothing “twisted” about the themes... they’re just different forms of love.
But there’s curvy girls, asexuality, lesbians, polyamory... so many... nice things...
Idk Ima track down issue #1 and see what i’m feelin’
I really liked the stories (and art where there was art), but I’m not sure about the title because there’s nothing “twisted” about the themes... they’re just different forms of love.
But there’s curvy girls, asexuality, lesbians, polyamory... so many... nice things...
Idk Ima track down issue #1 and see what i’m feelin’
Shelved as 'featured'
April 14, 2022
October 10, 2021
3.5 / 5 Stars
Things I liked:
+ The Ace Rep
+ The Black Rep
+ The Fat MC
Things I did NOt like:
- The Skinnyshaming
- The 'I'm not like other girls' vibe
I'll elaborate on those things in a second, but I'll just like to give a quick interim conclusion:
This could have been really cool and interesting, with lots of good elements already in there, but in the end, it couldn't quiet reach its full potential. Real shame.
I liked the very first page of the comic. It started with a fat girl buying food in a coffee shop, while a bunch of 'We only had good intention' people judge her for that. It's not exploited in a big fancy way, just a casual, quick entry into the comic and I liked it. Until we turn the page and I have to sigh. Because yes, it's always a good idea to uplift your fat character, by downgrading your skinny character. The comic is acknowleding that it's doing that somewhere close to the end, but we don't see her change her view or appologice. It's more of a 'yeah I know, deal with it' kind of confession and I didn't like it.
I could already tell, that it was going to be like that, after I saw how the skinny girls were drawn. Other people have normal skin colour, meaning our MC looks human, the love interest does, the producer, her bff, but the skinny girls? No, those are purple and green and pink and all kinds of alien colours that are just there to alienante those oh so bad and shallow thin women from our 'Not like other woman' MC. She even has the audacity to be like "I'm better than them because I read books". Just wow honey, just wow.
I could have been on board with this IF the message had been "All not anorexic bodys are great bodys", meaning, if those girls had been drawn sickly thin. If it was clear, that the MC was not fine with the way show-buisness forced woman into unrealistic, unhealthy standarts, I would have said: I'm on board. But that is NOT the message here. Those are just some thin girls doing their job. Which makes me wonder, why did you even apply to work there if you hate those people so much?
It's not the main focus of the story, but it's there, in almost every panel and it just made me really uncomfortable.
The ace rep in question was fine, not too wild, and not really talked about besides an: Is handholding fine, which I thought was a nice touch. The comic made it seem like the ace person was sex-repulsed, which was cool, but, considering that the MC is allo, that could have become a problem maybe later on. They seemed to communicate fine, but personally, I would have wanted a few more panels in there, just so we could have a more in depth conversation about it.
I don't feel like commenting on the art. You either like the art style or it's not your coup of tea. Decide for yourself.
So yeah, my overall thoughts can be summed up in one sentence:
I appreciate the representation, but personally, I found this comic to be kind of average.
Things I liked:
+ The Ace Rep
+ The Black Rep
+ The Fat MC
Things I did NOt like:
- The Skinnyshaming
- The 'I'm not like other girls' vibe
I'll elaborate on those things in a second, but I'll just like to give a quick interim conclusion:
This could have been really cool and interesting, with lots of good elements already in there, but in the end, it couldn't quiet reach its full potential. Real shame.
I liked the very first page of the comic. It started with a fat girl buying food in a coffee shop, while a bunch of 'We only had good intention' people judge her for that. It's not exploited in a big fancy way, just a casual, quick entry into the comic and I liked it. Until we turn the page and I have to sigh. Because yes, it's always a good idea to uplift your fat character, by downgrading your skinny character. The comic is acknowleding that it's doing that somewhere close to the end, but we don't see her change her view or appologice. It's more of a 'yeah I know, deal with it' kind of confession and I didn't like it.
I could already tell, that it was going to be like that, after I saw how the skinny girls were drawn. Other people have normal skin colour, meaning our MC looks human, the love interest does, the producer, her bff, but the skinny girls? No, those are purple and green and pink and all kinds of alien colours that are just there to alienante those oh so bad and shallow thin women from our 'Not like other woman' MC. She even has the audacity to be like "I'm better than them because I read books". Just wow honey, just wow.
I could have been on board with this IF the message had been "All not anorexic bodys are great bodys", meaning, if those girls had been drawn sickly thin. If it was clear, that the MC was not fine with the way show-buisness forced woman into unrealistic, unhealthy standarts, I would have said: I'm on board. But that is NOT the message here. Those are just some thin girls doing their job. Which makes me wonder, why did you even apply to work there if you hate those people so much?
It's not the main focus of the story, but it's there, in almost every panel and it just made me really uncomfortable.
The ace rep in question was fine, not too wild, and not really talked about besides an: Is handholding fine, which I thought was a nice touch. The comic made it seem like the ace person was sex-repulsed, which was cool, but, considering that the MC is allo, that could have become a problem maybe later on. They seemed to communicate fine, but personally, I would have wanted a few more panels in there, just so we could have a more in depth conversation about it.
I don't feel like commenting on the art. You either like the art style or it's not your coup of tea. Decide for yourself.
So yeah, my overall thoughts can be summed up in one sentence:
I appreciate the representation, but personally, I found this comic to be kind of average.
March 10, 2018
Overall not bad. I really enjoyed the comics again. The art in each story is appealing and I loved the pacing and writing with each comic stories in this issue. The prose piece is what really took the longest for me to finish. I felt as if I already knew where the story was going, but to get there I had to read it. By far this prose piece was better than the first issue’s prose piece. I still recommend this series to anyone looking for any and all different comic options to read. These artists and writers deserve all the praise this limited series gets. I’m really impressed with the work.
February 24, 2018
Loved all the stories in this but Twinkle and the Star was the best by far. The illustration was gorgeous and the whole story was just so enjoyable.
March 23, 2018
3.75 🌟🌟🌟
December 23, 2018
This is the story I wanted to read in this mini series! Absolutely loved the art in Twinkle & The Star! Love
February 16, 2020
I liked all 3 stories, very unique plots
April 2, 2024
meh, lindos dibujos.
April 12, 2024
Nice art but I got bored, sorry.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews