Sunstone (comics)

Sunstone is an adult webcomic series written and illustrated by Stjepan Šejić which was first published on DeviantArt in 2011. Šejić is assisted by his wife and fellow artist Linda Lukšić Šejić. The comic, described as an erotic romantic comedy, focuses on the relationship between a group of friends and their mutual interest in BDSM culture. Sunstone has been collected by Image Comics and Top Cow Productions into trade paperback volumes.

Sunstone
Lisa and Ally from Sunstone
Author(s)Stjepan Šejić, Linda Lukšić Šejić
Websitehttp://shiniez.deviantart.com/
Current status/scheduleOngoing
Launch dateNovember 2011
Genre(s)Erotica, LGBT, Fetish, Drama, Romantic Comedy

This series was originally planned to be a four-part story, focusing on a different couple each arc. After the first arc each new arc will feature a new subtitle. with the second part called Mercy and the third part called Jasper. The fourth and final arc is as yet unnamed. The title references the safeword that Ally gives her subs to use when domming them.

Plot summary

The primary focus of Sunstone is on the main characters of Lisa Williams and Ally Carter. Lisa is a budding writer who has kept her submissive desires secret for years, and Ally is a dominant and successful businesswoman, who is somewhat of a loner.

Neither Ally nor Lisa have any same-sex experience prior to meeting each other, other than a drunken kiss Lisa shared with another girl, of which she no longer carries any memory. By the time they have finished college, and are in their mid-twenties, both have had limited experiences in the world of BDSM. Ally has had some decent S/M experience with a former boyfriend, Alan, and has become an expert in bondage, especially Shibari. But Ally has never had a relationship in a D/S relationship as a Domme with a true submissive, as Ally and Alan both prefer to dominate. Lisa, on the other hand, almost married her previous boyfriend, but left largely because she felt unable to voice her BDSM desires; she has practically no experience in S/M other than experimenting with self-bondage.

The strip opens as the pair's initial online chat leads to their meeting in real life. Complications ensue as their friendship and play-based relationship quickly develops into more than just friendship with benefits, though neither will acknowledge it. They soon find themselves (secretly) falling in love. Ally and Lisa start to face these complications when they move in together. They continue to have a Mistress-Sub relationship, are best friends and roommates, and their romantic feelings toward each other continue to grow and remain unspoken; this lack of communication leads to insecurity and conflict. Lisa becomes close with a new friend, Anne, who gets caught in the middle as Lisa and Ally's relationship spirals to a breaking point. To save their relationship, both have to face their pasts and reckon with their own self-destructive emotional patterns.

Publishing

Since 2014, Sunstone has been published as a graphic novel, by Top Cow Productions and Image Comics.

Volume 1 was released on December 24, 2014, and came No. 7 in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2015 for Best Graphic Novel and Comic.[1]

Volume 2 was released on May 12, 2015, and reached No. 7 on The New York Times Best Seller list the week it was released.[2][3]

Volume 3 was released on August 26, 2015.[4]

Volume 4 was released on February 24, 2016.[5]

Volume 5 was released on January 18, 2017.[6]

Volumes 1–5 were also prominently featured in the Humble Comics Bundle: Sex & Science (presented by their publisher, Top Cow) on November 14, 2017.[7]

Volume 6 was released on March 26, 2019.

Characters

Main characters
  • Lisa Williams: The narrator of Sunstone. She plays the submissive in her and Ally's sexual relationship. The two women begin their flirtatious friendship after Ally finds the BDSM fetish fiction Lisa has been posting online. What follows is a blossoming romance between the two, which is seen through the eyes of Lisa, who is writing it as a book.
  • Allison "Ally" Carter: Lisa's best friend/lover. She works as a software programmer during the day and displays geeky tendencies, which contrasts sharply with her Mistress persona in her and Lisa's relationship. Over time, she too starts realizing her love towards Lisa.
  • Alan Benson: Ally's ex-boyfriend turned best friend and a main character of Mercy. He designs BDSM gear for different clubs and clients, including Ally and Lisa. He is also a skilled Dom. He eventually begins a relationship with Anne.
  • Marianne "Anne" Murphy: A bi-sexual tattoo artist and metalhead friend of Lisa and Cassie and another main character of Mercy. She became interested in BDSM after reading Lisa's online erotica. Eventually begins a relationship with Alan.

Secondary characters
  • Cassandra "Cassie" Connely: Cassie is best friend to Anne since college. Cassie works as a lawyer. Before discovering BDSM, she was a typical hardworking student that Anne would drag to various metal concerts, where she would eventually meet her future husband, Tom.
  • Tom Wilson: Cassie's Husband. Like his wife enjoys BDSM. They met at a metal concert
  • Chris Connely: Alan's work assistant and Cassie's brother. Despite this, he is not into BDSM himself.
  • Harper Thomas: Run's a local fetish club that the characters frequent. Is currently engaged to Tanya.
  • Tanya Wilkins: Harper's fianceé and accountant.
  • Marion: An ex-girlfriend of Alan who had a bad experience with BDSM, which continues to haunt Ally.

Reception

The 5-issue series holds a critics' rating of 9.3 out of 10 at the review-aggregation website Comic Book Roundup, based on 19 reviews.[8] Publishers Weekly, in a review for Vol. 1, praised its humor and humanity in its characters, but criticized the fact that it sometimes gets repetitive.[9] Vol. 4 reached seventh place on The New York Times Best Seller list.

See also

References
  1. "So Image Comics solicits for december are up!". Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  2. Sejic, Stjepan (May 12, 2015). Sunstone Volume 2. ISBN 978-1632152299.
  3. "New York Times best-seller list".
  4. "Sunstone, Vol. 3 OGN | Releases | Image Comics".
  5. "Sunstone Vol. 4 Ogn | Releases | Image Comics".
  6. "Sunstone, Vol. 5 TP | Releases | Image Comics".
  7. "Humble Comics Bundle: Sex & Science by Top Cow". Humble Bundle. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  8. https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/image-comics/sunstone
  9. https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-63215-212-1
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