Customer Reviews

The Virgin Project

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As if sex weren't complicated enough, the first time can be as difficult to make peace with as it was to finagle. Or it can be maddeningly forgettable. Or an adolescent tragedy. Or a triumph. One thing's certain: this collection of true "first time" experiences, retold and illustrated by K.D. Boze and Stasia Kato, is an instant contender for the title of "Sweetest Adult Comic Book Ever Published."

Whether they're retelling a story of adolescent discovery, messy experimentation, sexual initiation with a hooker, or the anguish of rape, Boze and Kato, individually and in collaboration, infuse each story with heartfelt humanity. If you're looking for bodice-ripper prose or explicit depiction of conjugating genitalia, go elsewhere. While this book has plenty of nudity, positions, and an undeniable arousal factor, it's truly about people. The laughter generated by "Arlen's" story is as straight from the soul genuine as the gut-wrenching tragedy of "Jayne."

Each story is anywhere from a page to three pages long; some are in color, but most are black & white. They are, by turns, funny, sad, hilarious, heartbreaking, gay, very gay, and exuberant. Everything but nasty; Boze and Kato don't go there.

This is a very reader-friendly book telling people's true tales of how they 'lost it' drawn in a very friendly, engaging comics style--nothing in the least sleazy about it. From cheerful to truly chilling, consensual to anything but, featuring everyone: men, women, hetero, gay, undecided, I think learning about how many ways people have experienced this has the potential to break down barriers and I am sure many readers will find it therapeutic. The art is never boring, much of it is very humorous and it is a really unique creation. Highly recommended.

Looking for the ultimate conversation starter? You need look no further than The Virgin Project. This book relates the real life stories of ordinary people and how they lost their virginity. And get this- it's presented entirely in comic book form.
Silly, sad, embarrassing, horrific- this book explores the entire gambit of this universal experience. These tales are touchingly told, only mildly titillating, (R Rated, not X), and written by grown-ups for grown-ups. The Virgin Project is an amazing work that sets a new standard for adult literature. Your coffee table will thank you.

This is the sort of book you hope to find on the coffee tables of your cooler friends when you drop by for a visit. The cartoon format definitely underlines the point that this whole virginity thing is not really all that serious of an affair in the end. At one time or another all of us have viewed losing it as a rite of passage of some great importance, but The Virgin Project serves to put the whole idea into perspective. The artists seem to have a fine touch at expressing the mood of the individual stories they're telling from the humorous to the horrific. Everyone has someone whom they know would appreciate this book and the discussions it would provoke just as everyone is just a bit curious about what everyone else is doing.

The Virgin Project is a stunning collection of true stories about losing one's virginity, all of which the artists captured via interviewed and "transcribing" the stories of men and women they met at two erotic art festivals. The results feature people of varying ages recounting experiences good, bad and ugly. Many, though not all, were in their teens, and there's lots of sneaking around, and a few parents being surprised. The artists work with what they're given wonderfully, both in disguising their subjects (the book opens with a woman with a paper bag over her head), as well as offering "The World's Fastest Virgin Story" in which a woman approaches and says, "He was a jock. He was a jerk. And...um...I still hate him," then takes off, not giving her (fake) name or age. There's Linda, the 46-year-old missionary who was, along with her soon-to-be-husband, a 33-year-old virgin, whose story ends with "And I'll bet you a million bucks you won't print this story."

It's the unexpected--and often very dark and violent stories--here that stays with you, though there is plenty of humor, as well as coming out (and come-ons from cousins). The whole question of what their "first time" was is revealed and sometimes retracted; several interviewees told of a rape, followed by their real first time. This is powerful testimony and it's clear that these people wanted to be heard and share these stories that so often get buried by all of us. This is a wonderful collection that I could see giving to someone on the verge of "losing it," or someone who's well past that stage.

The Virgin Project is a frank and direct, yet sensitive treatment of real peoples' first sexual experiences. The different stories, told by a team of processional cartoonists, are all moving and powerful. Some stories are beautiful and touching. Others are funny. Some are tragic. There is nothing pornographic or explicit about this book, and yet, each story portrays graphically the loss of virginity: the artists successfully convey not just the physical but the also emotional aspects of the stories by using the characters' own words. It's a prety amazing book.

I agree with the authors on their blog (virginproject.fannypress.com): if I had a teenager at home, I'd accidentally leave this book on the coffeetable for them to find. For young people, this is a matter not just of entertainment but of life and death. It would also make a great gift, as it will make you laugh, cry, and remember your own story.

I had the pleasure of attending the Seattle Erotic Art Festival when this book debuted, so I was able to buy it the very first day it came out. I got to meet the authors and get my book signed, as well as have the opportunity to see the original artwork in the gallery space.

I love this book. It is real, it is personal, and Boze and Kato handle their subjects with sensitivity and respect.

I took it home and read the whole thing cover to cover. Twice. But don't take my word for it. Order your own and see for yourself.

The book also tells you how to e-mail the authors and share your own "first-time" stories. I want to share my own and be a part of this!

This clever book treats its subject matter with a rare combination of humor and sensitivity. And of course, the book itself is aesthetically pleasing. I finished it in just one sitting, but also think its format lends itself perfectly to sporadic down-time reading. I found it thoroughly fascinating, fun, and enjoyable.

When a co-worker/friend approached me at the office one day saying that he was looking for a publisher I had to ask what it was he was publishing. He explained the book "The Virgin Project" to me and I was so excited to have a copy that I gave him a check right then.
When the book arrived it was more than I expected and was such a fun read that I ate it up in one sitting. As have many of my friends who see it on my living room book shelf.
This book is funny, sad, bleak, and happy. It is real stories about real people and the real ways they lost their innocence. Some of the stories will make you cringe, others will bring tears to your eyes, and others will make you laugh out loud.
Every book collector needs this book in their collection.

So what was it like for your first time? The Virgin Project asked a lot of people what it was like to have sex for the first time as a way to document something very fundamental about ourselves. As the author states, this next to death and birth is one of the few things that is universally shared amongst all human beings, at some point there is a first time.

There is not a lot of nudity, there are a lot of stories, some of them match my own, some of them match my friends, but from reading this book, we tend to have fairly common experiences in many ways. From summer camp to a car, from a movie theater to the great outdoors, the odds are that we all have a semi common experience to all this. What is interesting though is that there is a couple of stories that will make you cringe, but is also part of the experience. The first time is not a happy thing for some people; it is very cool that they included those stories into the book as well.

The book does not shy away from anything, you have it all in there, good, bad, ugly, same sex, different sex, but there is at the end something that will evoke a smile of your first girl friend or your first boyfriend. This is one of the rites of passage that nearly all of us take, and it is a huge demarcation point between the child and the adult. One of the quotes in the book truly sums it up.

According to Dr. Alex Comfort, writing in "More Joy of Sex," "Sex is the only social skill we do not learn by watching," which may account for the great variety in the stories.

Is this a worthy book? It depends on your viewpoint, but these are stories that when shared, really does tell us that some of what we do has a common experience across what we do. Yet the influence of that event lingers with us for a very long time. This is one of those things that regardless of how it happened, leaves an indelible memory, it is something to remember. Overall it is a book that evokes emotion, good bad or ugly, depending on the experience you had.

The book is written by K. D. Boze and Stasia Kato, and they treat their subject with a lot of respect. While there is obvious exaggeration, the names have been changed to protect people. There is not tons of nudity, just nudity where appropriate. This is not a hard core book, rather tastefully done without a heavy reliance on imagery or words. There is an excellent balance between what is needed and what is not needed in terms of imagery and story line. With an introduction by Ellen Forney and in the second book by Pepper Schwartz, this really is an awesome book to go grab if you have happy memories and want to just take a quick window shopping trip down memory lane. Definitely rated 5 out of 5 stars, this is a sit down and read it at one time book.