Saturday, February 4, 2023

REVIEW + GIVEAWAY starring... Bonding: A Love Story About People and Their Parasites

We're back in action and thrilled to be hosting a spot on the BONDING by Matthew Erman & Emily Pearson BLOG TOUR hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my review post, check out the other sites on the tour, and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

Title: BONDING: A Love Story About People and Their Parasites

Author: Matthew Erman, Emily Pearson (Illustrations)

Pub. Date: January 31, 2023

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 208

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/BONDING

“Wear your heart on your sleeve.”  That’s the saying. But in BONDING, people wear their anxiety on their chests – in the form of a  parasite that shows everyone just what you’re feeling on the inside …

WEAR YOUR LOVE ON YOUR CHEST

A man, a woman—and their parasites. Marcus has been alone since the loss of his closest friend and has just recently entered into the dating scene, while Laura has drifted in and out of relationships since high school. They meet, they have a great first date, and Marcus almost dies—because the slug-like parasite that everybody carries in this world nearly rejects him, its host. BONDING is a funny, quirky, and honest look at love, in a world where everyone wears their anxiety, not on their sleeves, but on their chest like big ol' leeches.

Fans of Matthew Erman's work on Vault Comics' WITCHBLOOD and Archaia's JIM HENSON'S THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE will find lots to love in BONDING. Fans of Image Comics' ICE CREAM MAN VOL. 1, DC Comics' COLLAPSER and even books like THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer and THE PARASITOLOGY TRILOGY by Mira Grant will enjoy this foray into all the stressors of dating...where a parasite is the least of your worries (unless it kills you, that is.)

 

Review:

“Erman and Pearson skewer genre norms in this sweet and casually unsettling comics romance-dramedy…”- Publishers Weekly

 


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Could you imagine wearing your feelings on your chest? Okay, that sounds strange, but in this proposed future, mankind battled with an alien race, the end wasn't great for either, but a compromise of sorts let them coexist. The thing is they need each other to survive at this point... the one quite literally, the other since they grew accustomed to the "company", but they actually feed off each other. The slug-like creature is with them from bonding age through their passing... unless something happens along the way where their slug rejects them, and their world comes tumbling down. Anywho...

While the relationship is curious, the overall story asks us to really look at the human condition. We're alone most of our lives, in some fashion or another, so would it be so bad to have a little non-judgmental company? Even if it was from something that needed part of us to live? In return, it gives health feedback, and allows for an interesting array of accessories to be created, sold, and enjoyed, for your "little friend ". Fair trade? I'll let you be the judge. 

The last story I read via Vault Comics was pretty dark, and violent. While this one is no walk in the park, it's more about the coexistence, the "love" story, than those that passed before the relationship was set. This allows for a more colorful exploration of the world created, but not so much in the direction of the cover art... something I gotta admit, I was disappointed about! The art on display is grand, and gritty which really fits the unusual tale, but I really liked that light and fluffy cover! All in all, an interesting read that I would love to hear your thoughts on as well, so grab a copy and let's chat!




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About Matthew Erman:

Matthew Erman is a comics writer from Columbus, Ohio. Alongside Lisa Sterle, he co-created the critically acclaimed comic horror series, Long Lost, which was optioned for Film/TV by Producer Jenny Klein (The Witcher, Daisy Jones and The Six). Erman has since worked on the comic book series Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and graphic novel Power Rangers: Sins of the Future with BOOM! Studios, series Care Bears: Unlock the Magic with IDW, the upcoming  science fiction/ horror / humorous romance original graphic novel BONDING, with artist and co-creator Emily Pearson for Vault Comics, and the smash supernatural action adventure comics series (with artist/co-creator Lisa Sterle) from Vault Comics, WITCHBLOOD. His short work can be found in anthologies such  as Corpus (2018), Dead Beats (2019) and Everything is Going Wrong (2019).

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

About Emily Pearson:

Emily Pearson is a freelance comic book artist from Davis, California.
She has previously worked for Black Mask Studios; “The Wilds”(2018) and “Snap Flash Hustle”(2018-19), Oni Press’s “The Vain”(2020), and the upcoming “Bonding” coming to Vault Comics in 2022.

In addition to comics series, she drew a short story for the Ringo Award Winning “Mine!” an anthology for Planned Parenthood, Vault Comic’s “Cult Classic Zero Short”“CORPUS” curated by Nadia Shammas, and “Everything is Going Wrong: Comics on Punk & Mental Illness”.
She has illustrated various covers for comic books including: “Stranger Things: SIX” from Dark Horse Comics, “Calexit: Emmie X”“The Devil Within”“Sweet/Vicious”“The Wilds”“Snap Flash Hustle” from Black Mask Studios, “Going to the Chapel” from Action Lab, “Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists” from Scout Comics and many more.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 


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~~~ Giveaway ~~~

2 winners will receive a finished copy of BONDING, US Only.

Ends February 18th, midnight EST.



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Special thanks to the Rockstar Book Tours team for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the publisher for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online store, or plan a trip to your local brick and mortar! Catch the rest of the tour for more!

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/16/2023

Sadie's Spotlight

Excerpt/IG Post

1/17/2023

Bookish Trisha

Excerpt/IG Post

1/18/2023

Writer of Wrongs

Excerpt

1/19/2023

The Clever Reader

Excerpt/IG Post

1/20/2023

A Dream Within A Dream

Excerpt

1/21/2023

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

1/22/2023

Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf

IG Review

1/23/2023

Jeff_of_allmedia

IG Review

1/24/2023

GryffindorBookishNerd

IG Review

1/25/2023

@bubbles_books09

IG Review/TikTok Post

1/26/2023

travelersguidetobooks

IG Review

1/27/2023

Eli to the nth

Review/IG Post

1/28/2023

Nerdophiles

Review

Week Three:

1/29/2023

@coffeesipsandreads

IG Review/TikTok Post

1/30/2023

Brandi Danielle Davis

IG Review/TikTok Post

1/31/2023

brittreadsalattebooks

IG Post

2/1/2023

Jenguerdy

IG Post

2/2/2023

Rajiv's Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/3/2023

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic

2/4/2023

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Review/IG Post

Week Four:

2/5/2023

See Sadie Read

Review/IG Post

2/6/2023

Mallory Books

Review/IG Post

2/7/2023

@just_another_mother_with_books

IG Review

2/8/2023

Nonbinary Knight Reads

Review/IG Post

2/9/2023

Novel Novice

IG post

2/10/2023

Two Points of Interest

Review

2/11/2023

The Momma Spot

Review/IG Post

Week Five:

2/12/2023

onemused

IG Post

2/13/2023

@jacleomik33

IG Review

2/14/2023

@thebookishfoxwitch

IG Review




Until next time, remember. ..if it looks good, READ IT!


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