Brad's Reviews > Crave

A fairly interesting mini-series, Crave flirts with dystopic social criticism in the shape of an overreaching "hook-up" app being tested in a privileged school, while dabbling in some semi erotic artwork and situations. It's an interesting idea, and it's definitely worth a look, but it is all a little too threadbare for my tastes.

The dystopian elements -- abuse of privacy data, mass surveillance, low level AI run amok, the ugliness of human nature, etc. -- are plausible, but the characters who move through Maria Llovet's dystopian school aren't given enough room to breathe and become compelling. At six chapters (or issues, since this was published as a comic book series rather than a graphic novel), Llovet didn't have much space to explore her characters, so Crave begins in media res. The app is up and running and shit is already hitting the fan, and our characters are right in the middle of it all. Thus, it is very difficult to empathize with them, or to really have a grasp of who they are and what they want unless they type their desire into the CRAVE system and wait for instructions.

This also has a significant impact on the erotic portion of the tale. Without being able to connect with the characters, their mildly erotic couplings are equally difficult to care about. Yet the way Llovet delivers these couplings is one of the stand-out elements of Crave. She doesn't shy away from oral sex, bodily fluids or nudity, but none of these elements are delivered in a way that feels unnatural or gratuitous. They are key components of her story, and they are crafted with frankness and realism. Unfortunately, the excellence of these scenes makes my failure to connect with her characters even more disappointing.

Maria Llovet is a talent, there is no denying that. Her visuals are gorgeous, and she has a lot to say. I plan on following her on her journey; I just hope, in the future, she gets the time and space to really let her characters grow and breathe