The idea behind this adult graphic
novel is that demons are attempting to take over the world through the power of
an ancient book created by Satan. This
plot device enables a collection of fantastic encounters to take place in one
apartment. The first story involves a
woman attacked by tiny green monsters (fire pixies) with massive penises. She manages to escape them, only after they
have had their way with her. She then
discovers that her boyfriend has turned himself into a stone statue – fully
equipped – and they have sex. But then
he fades away, because the magic he used was too strong for him. Other stories involve a magic garden where
the plants are penis-shaped; they enslave a friend who visits the apartment
with her boyfriend. She disappears into
this garden when she goes through the bathroom door. But when the boyfriend checks the bathroom, he decides to take a
bath, and is attacked by insatiable underwater women. He too manages to escape, but not for long. It turns out that the sex book wants his
semen, and that if he ejaculates into its human face, the world will be given
over to fornication.

Clearly,
this is no great work of fiction, but rather is an excuse to depict a great
many bizarre sexual acts between humans and mythical creatures. The artwork is crude but vigorous and
colorful, and the idea of the man who is being forced to have sex but cannot
allow himself to climax if he does not want the gates of hell to open is pretty
funny. Psychologically, the story is
pretty lightweight, but then it never pretends to be more than it is. Graphic novels have the opportunity to
explore sexual fantasy, and Satan’s Sex Book certainly contains some
unusual images, which are its strongest features. Although the book seems mainly aimed at a male readership, playing
to standard themes of female sexual desire, using very ordinary models of
female attractiveness, it does contain some elements that are unusual and may
be worth remarking on. The
plant-penises especially embody a conception of the phallus as non-human, not
the expression of an iron-hard male will, but rather as part of nature. Even though it’s not a theme that’s
developed in the story, it is at least an example of how the creators of the
book, Rolf & Balance, explore non-traditional approaches to depicting
sexuality. Satan’s Sex Book is
an interesting curiosity.

Link: Publisher’s web
page for book

© 2002 Christian Perring. First Serial Rights.

Christian Perring, Ph.D., is
Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He is
editor of Metapsychology Online Review. His main research is on
philosophical issues in psychiatry. He is especially interested in exploring
how philosophers can play a greater role in public life, and he is keen to help
foster communication between philosophers, mental health professionals, and the
general public.

Categories: ArtAndPhotography, Sexuality