Customer Reviews

Short Strokes

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Richard Moore is probably best known for his Boneyard series. Others may be more familiar with his Far West tales. But anyone who has seen his work knows he is a master at drawing sexy women whether they be vampire, fish girl, elf, demon or human. This is the second collection of stories where Moore goes one step further and crosses the line into the purely erotic.

From the opening pictorial of Meg (Far West) that seems out of character until you read the captions, through tales of M'Lady to a science fiction tale of another bounty hunter. Science fiction, fantasy, classic horror and anthropomorphism fill out the volume with items that range from the slightly erotic tease all the way to full-blown hardcore.

As a fan of Richard Moore's non-adult works, I was rather interested to see what his skills would bring to the "naughtier" side of the comics world.

Short Strokes lives up to the title. The work and artistry is pure Moore, but it was a very fast read. Of the stories in this volume, I thought the faux-interview called "Meg Pictorial" and the tale title "Holed Up" were easily the best of the bunch. The former for the incredibly detailed lines and textures of the art, and the latter for the tounge-in-cheek humor ending that is vintage Richard Moore.

All the other pin-ups and stories are okay, but they all leave you a bit under-satisifed, as far as the content goes. They feel more like chapters to stories, rather than a complete story themselves.

In the end, I'd say the book is okay and a nice reflection of Richard Moore's incredible artistic style. You'll certainly get the flavor for his abilities from this volume, even if it does come up a bit... "short"... on total satisfaction, from a storytelling standpoint. If you are a fan of Moore's work, or of humorous sexual stories, this book is one you will mostly likely enjoy!

`Short Strokes' is a very quick read that is something like a literary sexual sketch comedy. Meaning this isn't one story but rather a bunch of quick, short, amazingly erotic short stories with overtly sexual art. VERY good sexual art I might add. Just to give you an idea as to what is in this book: an interview with a bounty hunter, first contact with an alien species, a maze, a "silent" cartoon, and a spy. But what all these smidgetts of sex have in common is the meticulous drawing and the dream inducing eroticism. Want to see what happens when you combine a dragon with allergies, a patient voluptuous maiden, and a sense of humor? It's in here.

With the exception of this one, all of the sexual graphic novels I've read have been one story. It was nice to read one that changed it up and did such a good job at it. Richard has a very good sense of humor. So much so, that as I'm writing this review I keep flipping back to the last page of the "First Contact" story. Cracks me up! Getting his next book is a no brainer and he gives a new meaning to the phrase "laughing hard"!

This was a below average graphic novel. It did not do much for me.