For Peace
Writer/Artist: Alexis Cooke
Publisher: Chromatic Press
Book Type: Ebook
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
Synopsis:
Bebe and Lillie met on an online forum for truckers, and have been internet dating for several months...when Lillie declares that she wants to finally meet in person! But Bebe, as confident and cool as she is in her professional life, turns out to be a total wreck when it comes to meeting her lady-love face-to-face. And that's only the start of their evolving relationship...
A story in three parts, by fantastic newcomer and creator of Dinner Ditz, Alexis Cooke!
Assistant: Cassandra Feijo
Review:
Bebe has the sort of thoughts most of us have had at some point in a new relationship (or as this seems as though it's more like her first). When embarking on new relationships we can all be uncertain about how we will come across to others. It's different being online to actually meeting someone in person and it's bad enough meeting a friend, for Bebe it's an absolute nightmare to meet her lover in real life. She realizes before she goes to meet Lillie that she hasn't shaved her legs, and has other issues she thinks will affect how Lillie will accept her. Also there's the problem that she might not like her in real life as she did online.
Unlike others I have seen on Sparkler, Alexis has a way of drawing in a minimalist style that isn't necessarily manga, but she can draw trucks and backgrounds rather well. What might not be so appealing to others are the way the faces are drawn and the whole manga doesn't seem to fit in with the other manga already available to read. I have read Lesbian manga before and found that it had decent enough looking women in it, but here I found that Bebe and Lillie were made to look a lot less appealing than male characters in love would look in a yaoi or shonen-ai story. I am not saying that every set of characters has to be out and out stunners, but it might be better for them to be a bit nicer looking. However, if what Alexis is saying is that women don't have to be lovely or beautiful to be in love, then that's fine and I'm just being awkward.
What I will say is that Alexis can write really well and her story touches the reader deeply. That love isn't easy to find is true enough here and she shows us how many of us can have the common misconceptions about love and people before we meet. Thankfully, Bebe's love life is starting out on a positive note in the first few chapters of the story after a few shaky starts along the way. I liked the way Alexis handled the problems they both faced and made more of their meeting than I at first thought they would. I think For Peace is as different a manga as I thought I would read.
