Review by Ian Keogh
The front cover and a startlingly unerotic depiction of sex over the opening pages give a good indication of where Milky Way is heading. There’s barely a film or TV show that doesn’t idealise sex, never mind pornography, but for most people the reality is very different. It can be wild and uninhibited, but that’s the exception, not the rule, while it’s just as likely to be perfunctory or unfulfilling for one partner, and dark turns can be taken.
In Stella, Marco has an an attractive girlfriend without inhibitions, but she’ll also behave in a way that belittles him. That’s before he meets Ludovica, a recent mother approaching middle age, whose breasts leak. She’s ordinary looking compared to Stella, but Marco’s found his fetish. As he explores that, we also see him in the company of his domineering father, Marco always behaving in a subordinate manner in scenes determining his character.
Miguel Vila’s cast are evocatively drawn to reveal personality, and what they’re thinking, even if they’re not saying it. Multiple small precise panels detail conversations and events, and Vila’s prone to lingering and repeating a particular view for emphasis. The small panels are sometimes arranged to form a larger design, which is window dressing, but thoughtful on pages punctuated by glorious renditions of scenery, usually urban. Vila’s confident enough to tell much of his story visually, restricting the dialogue whenever possible, and cutting back between past and present.
Few people in Milky Way treat others with respect, and because a reasonable period of time is covered, Vila has Marco change and grow, although rarely in a positive way. Feelings about the cast are in constant flux, and people who first seem sympathetic are revealed as otherwise, while there’s always an awkward distance between every pair of characters. Manipulation is ever-present. Stella manipulates Marco via her personality with money a back-up, and Ludovica’s manipulation is via sins of omission, Vila leaving her final secret for the epilogue flashback. It makes Milky Way an uncomfortable empty experience overall, but superbly observed and played out.
