Maria Llovet is no stranger to sexual themes in her comics, and a new addition comes out this week via Image Comics with Crave. The six-issue series introduces college kids who have stumbled on a new mysterious app that promises to make your desires come true. In an age where our personal information is everywhere and accessible to the public, the series aims to tackle the idea of technology that takes advantage of our most carnal desires.
Crave opens on a college campus with the ominous caption “Crave Test 001 — Launching…” The new app immediately catches fire as the students can’t believe its promises to make your desires come true. We soon meet David, who looks over a present from his parents and feels pressured to do well in school. Soon, he’ll learn about the new app, and people will be excited.
Much of this issue is devoted to setting up David and his friends, who are your typical horny college kids. They lust, they desire, and David gets a message from the Crave app with images of a girl he’s had a crush on for some time. The idea of the app is too good to be true, especially for youngsters who want to date around and get freaky. Underneath it all, the first issue shows that sometimes 20-somethings aren’t focused on their studies as much as they are extracurriculars in the sheets.
The idea behind the app is compelling, although this issue doesn’t dig too deeply into the nefarious aspects of it. It introduces the notion that something is not quite right with it, but the story mostly sets up the fact that these characters will make some bad decisions fairly quickly. A little more detail on the bigger picture of the app, or the possible implication that someone is using it for ill intentions, would help set up expectations.
The new app quickly becomes a hit with the college kids.
Credit: Image
One might think the Crave app is no different than dating apps, but Llovet sets it apart by making it more of a promise for people to satisfy something specific. How the app can know the percentage chance of someone getting something they want adds a sci-fi element. It’s also the fact that people aren’t looking for relationships but to satisfy a specific sexual craving.
Llovet’s art is great here, capturing the various characters’ attitudes and personalities well. These characters seem quite real and well-crafted, with unique traits and looks. The erotic aspects never feel over the top or pornographic for the sake of it. Llovet is capturing the desire in these people and how they’re letting it get away from themselves. This certainly isn’t for kids, though, with breasts and pubic hair visible in some images. This issue mostly focuses on characters sitting in class, fully clothed, as it’s setting their characters up more than sending them off to fool around.
Crave is an intriguing start to a series that toys with a new technology that takes dating and sex to a darker place. There’s something deeper going on, and while it’s unclear where Llovet is going with that, she’s done an exceptional job setting up her characters.
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