Sweet Paprika #2

Sweet Paprika #2

Image Comics 2021

By Mirka Andolfo

Coloured by Simon Tessuto

Lettered by Fabio Amelia

Paprika is living a difficult situation brought on by her father's illness and the complex work situation that awaits her. It's the only kind of business she's not really able to handle: a dinner where being dynamic, kind, and relaxed is just as important as being competent. But there is also another reason why the young and skilled professional is in trouble: she doesn't want to see one of the guests again...

The opening here is fantastic, the only that would’ve made it any kind of better were it not his adopted father he called “Daddy.” I know this is a whole angels and demons kind of thing but there are a lot of aspects of this that remind me of the old Playboy or Penthouse comics I used to find in my dad’s nightstand. Cheeky, sexy and overly sexual and for that, among a myriad of other reasons, is why this holds such a great place in my heart. I mean, where else in this day and age are you going to find something that used to awaken something inside you when you were hitting puberty and get to reminisce and remember those times fondly?

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceedingly well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter as it continues to flesh out these characters' personalities beautifully. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more charming and endearing I find it.

How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen is marvellous to see. What I love about these layers is how we see the characterisation, the new avenues opening up for exploration and the twists & turns we see happen along the way. What all of these do, whether they work with the main arc or not is add such great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is exceptionally well achieved.

The interiors here are fabulous! The linework is clean, crisp and sharp and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detailed work we see throughout the book is wonderful to see. Just like everyone else who finds men attractive Dill really is one of the sexiest angels around. The creativity and imagination that we see throughout is marvellously rendered and how innocent yet sexy the characters can come across is amazing. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is gorgeous! The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show such a great understanding of how colour works.

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I love that sweet innocent and hopeless romantic Paprika has no self-esteem and yet has a very active imagination and her toys may need new batteries regularly. She’s a great contradiction and there is going to come that moment when she’s finally able to lower her guard, let her down and cut loose and god help everyone when she finally does because you wanna talk about a force to be reckoned with. Her getting it all together and the world would be hers for the taking. With delightful writing and sensational characterisation that’s wrapped up in these beguiling interiors engages the reader beautifully.