Review by Frank Plowright

Alan has been a supporting character in Sunstone for some while, gradually becoming more prominent. He’s Ally’s former boyfriend, and there’s no problem about that with his current partner Anne. As set up in Volume 5, in order to provide Lisa with some inspiration for her writing both divulge their pasts to her, which is the basis of Mercy.

Alan’s story picks up with his college days and the stealing of his sketchbook, which meant everyone soon knew about his fantasies. For an already withdrawn person it became a personal hell of ridicule until Ally made contact and eventually broke through his defences to reveal shared predilections. Anne’s younger self was almost the polar opposite, outgoing and loud, and her major discovery during college was that she was also attracted to women, which takes her by surprise.

Ordinary conversation has always been integral to Sunstone, delivered credibly and with feeling, and for most people foreplay and/or tease is pretty well essential to good sex, but this opening volume of Mercy may feel as if the balance isn’t right, featuring too much talk and not enough action. Stjepan Šejić has a good ear for the ebb and flow of conversation and writes these well, and it could be at this point he writes them so well that readers attracted by the sex might now be hooked by the slices of life.

Where there’s absolute certainty is when it comes to Šejić’s art. This is fantasy, and he draws page after page of attractive people going about their daily business while occasionally slipping into something not as comfortable. What’s exceptional is despite extensive use of photo reference the expressions are natural, and that’s so rare in comics under those circumstances. He’s also very good at drawing simple small panels with head and shoulders shots, yet varying them and keeping them looking interesting.

Halfway through the balance shifts, and Mercy becomes about young people exploring their sexual desires. In some venues that could be sleazy, but Šejić writes the characters well enough that it’s not. And there are surprises, even for those who’ve read the entire series and figure there’s little point to a flashback. There is a weakness, though, and it’s that Alan and Ally’s story is so much more interesting than Anne’s despite the common denominator of misunderstandings and miscommunication. Taking the route of falling for her attractive room mate might have been more obvious, but the dramatic potential for complications emotional and otherwise was higher than falling for a slightly older woman. It’s something that really needs to be addressed as Sunstone moves on to Volume 7. What might also disappoint is that what began as Ally and Lisa’s journey has diverged so far that Lisa is barely necessary to these proceedings.

Sunstone remains intelligent, sensitive, and gorgeously drawn but the balance to Mercy ‘s opening instalment isn’t quite right.