Story and Art: Luana Vecchio
English Adaption: Edward Caio
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 29th, 2023
We dive deeper into the past and Domino and Jack’s twisted relationship in Lovesick #6, the penultimate issue of the miniseries. This book has never been aimed at the faint-hearted and this issue is no exception. We get cannibalism (brains and eggs, anyone?), a throat slashing, a fight between two sexual submissives and rivers of gore, and that’s just in the first 8 pages!
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The Story
At the beginning of this miniseries, Domino was a supreme domme, running her Red Room like a finely tuned watch and having tons of adoring “piggies” begging to be cut down by her. She strutted and swaggered with confidence. But the past couple of issues have given us a fascinating look into Domino’s history, showing that she wasn’t always tough as nails. When she was young, we see her inducted into a nasty little corner of the BDSM world where lives are bought and sold by the rich, and cannibalism is as casual as an after-dinner mint. Lovesick #6 continues the flashback into her past and makes her ex-lover Jack even more craven and horrendous. This is a guy who’d do anything to achieve his goal, which in this case is gaining control of a rich perverted geezer’s fortune by winning him over. Jack reminds me of a smarter, more well-to-do version of Mikey from Sean Baker’s film “Red Rocket”. In that film, Mikey’s a former porn star who’s broke and worms his way back into his ex-wife’s life, taking her money and manipulating a local girl into sex. Mikey lives on satisfying his appetites and will stomp on anyone to get what he wants. But he’s a dumb redneck, where Jack is a bit more sophisticated but still as big of a lowlife as Mikey.
It’s tough seeing Domino in a submissive position, at times pleading with Jack to get answers from him. In one heart-breaking scene, she asks Jack if he’s going to punish her for an incident that happened at a boujee cannibal party. She says she could enjoy the punishment if she never had to do one of those parties again. It’s moments like this where you can almost hear the dialogue coming off the page. I really feel for Domino in these scenes, and for what Jack does to her throughout the issue. Reading the issue felt like watching a dear friend be abused by her lover and being powerless to stop it. But as the book moves back into the present with Jack back in Domino’s life, we get hints at things to come, and maybe Domino will ultimately turn the tables on Jack. I hope so. Seeing their relationship of passion, pain and blood has been frightening and interesting, but I feel there’s going to be a satisfying ending for Domino and an agonizing one for Jack.
The Art
Luana Vecchio’s art on Lovesick #6 is beautiful and unsettling. If last issue had the feel of a grindhouse-style fairy tale, this issue feels like a Brian DePalma thriller akin to “Body Double” or “Dressed to Kill”, with the characters wallowing in their base desires and always looking magnificent doing it, even when they’re drenched in blood. Ms. Vecchio’s art captures the violent passion in Jack and Domino’s trysts, and Domino’s face, though gorgeous, always seems to be drawn with a touch of pain in her features.
Final Thoughts
Lovesick #6 takes us deeper into Domino and Jack’s past relationship, showing how massively manipulative Jack is and giving us a version of Domino who is surprisingly fragile. Beneath the Lucio Fulci-style viscera and gore (and there’s lots of it) is a disturbingly beautiful love story of two damaged people who give and receive love in the most forbidden ways possible. Highly recommended.