American Virgin

Fans of Vertigo comics know that sex and religion are not new topics. Preacher by Garth Ennis already brought us all manner of sacrilegious humor including a sect that has inbred the direct descendants of Jesus for 2000 years to produce their own savior, but end up with a something barely human. Compared to Preacher one could almost say that American Virgin is an exercise in good taste, focusing instead on a teen abstinence advocate. Adam Chamberlain comes from a family that has made a small fortune through TV evangelism and they have cashed in extensively on his youth and charisma. Traveling the country as a Christian celebrity, he gives conferences and lectures to an adoring teen audience. And by adoring I mean he is frequently approached by girls after his lectures, although he turns them all away. The reason for this is that god has spoken to him and revealed the one true love of his life, a beautiful young woman named Cassie who is in Africa with the peace core.

While watching the news with his stepsister Cyndi he finds out that his girlfriend has been beheaded by terrorists. While still in shock the apartment is raided by drug dealers looking to settle a score with Cyndi, and the pair flee. Adam decides to travel to Africa to solve his girlfriend’s murder and hires a mercenary named Mel along the way. From there on the series takes a bunch of interesting turns. On the surface you have an unusual revenge tale, considering that its hero doesn’t believe in murder. Along the way you get a national geographic treatment to sex and religion across the world, be it coming of age rituals in Africa or the gay Olympics in Australia. What I love about the series is that it doesn’t just exist to mock Adam and his religious convictions; while his views are not always the most tolerant he wins about as many arguments as he loses. In other words he’s a Christian character that even the most jaded atheist can root for.

It’s hard to not applaud writer Steven T. Seagle for his dialog and narrative. He has no problem giving a voice to characters from all walks of life and while his narrative is full of surprises the shock value is minimal compared to other adult books. Becky Cloonan’s art is perfect for the books tone and subject matter, crackling with emotion and sexuality. A common stereotype in comics is that female artists care more about facial expressions than males do and whether or not it’s the truth I can tell you that you could read her panels without dialog and still have a good feel for what is going on. The series has already wrapped up a couple of arcs but is still young, so this is a great time to pick it up. Since I have read the comics instead of the graphic novels I don’t know if any extras are included but again the story alone is certainly worth your money.