A paradise of aphrodisiacs -a Filthy Figment review

Filthy Figments is a project that Gina Biggs initiated and many female artists helped realize: a site dedicated to erotic content (comics and pinups) by ladies, primarily for ladies.

Peeking into its world one can feel comfortable and cozy to enjoy oneself naughtily and to explore erotic fantasies. There’s much passion and joy into this project that is evident in the art, in the neat way everything is organized, in the forums open to discussions and suggestions and in the pin-up section where you can see that, in certain occasions, the artists drew each other’s characters. I, at least, got the impression of talented women getting together and being friendly with each other and towards the reader.

It is an effort worth supporting, so please go and take a look at their web page. Unfortunately, due to wordpress restrictions, I can’t put a link in this article, but with a simple googling you’ll find it easily! Before that, though, I want to highlight some of its content, so you can have a “look from the inside.”

[possible NSFW images; proceed at your own risk]
On the Filthy Figments’ site you can take a look in the first pages of some of the titles available, but I want to praise what made me all hot and bothered and what mesmerized me.

Blue Delliquanti also joined the group recently!

Let’s start with the basics, namely the artists. If you are aware of the webcomic scene or search tumblr artists or you love anime/manga/comics conventions or you’ve read Smut Peddler, you’ll probably recognize the names of Gina Biggs, creator of Red Strings, Megan Gedris, better known as Rosalarian, creator of YU+ME dream and Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space, and Chloe C., creator of Go Get A Roomie.

Gina Biggs’ Red String has two NSFW side stories in Filthy Figments, but since I’ve never read them, it was hard to identify with them. Her Riding Hood though is an independent story and for those of you who like naughty boys and forbidden love, it’s a nice fantasy. Also, voyeurism! Gina has drawn a couple stories and anyone who enjoys explicit sex with close ups in genitalia will like her work a lot. But what I really liked from her work were her pinups with nice composition, colors and non-vanilla sex (strap on, sex toys, sex machines), which are tender and very romantic and/or hot. And futanari!

Megan Gedris’ most famous works weren’t my cup of tea;  YU+ME dream was too experimental for my tastes because it didn’t feel like it had an end goal and I was indifferent towards Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space since I’m not a hardcore fan of anything involving spaceships and aliens or tributes to pulp fiction, a culture I was never part of. Unexpectedly, though, all of her works for Filthy Figments intrigued my interest and made me feel refreshed after reading them.

• Darlin’ It’s Betta Down Where It’s Wetta is about a female mermaid and a human woman getting to have sexy fun with each other and living together but not the way you probably imagine! I can’t forget the condition on which the mermaid receives legs -how funny and blush-inducing it is!
• Then we have The Lady Eudora Henley, an illustrated first person narration in Beardsley style, about our prude but curious protagonist being mystified in the pleasures of the flesh by the homonym seductress. It chastises Victorian hypocrisy and praises the openness of sexuality. For all kinksters and polyamorous folks out there this is one delicious comic!
• Talking about delicious stuff, Eat Me is a pop psychedelic trip into consensual vore. Our protagonist discovers by accident a liquid which makes her high, so high that in fact she travels in a world full of foods, sweets, fruits, you name it. Anthropomorphized foods to be exact. Enter the concept of consent and you power up each time you eat while being allowed to; the other way around you become a monster. Our hero becomes a superhero, of course.

One more artist who has multiple styles and handles them all craftily is Ariel Vittori. All of her works are very different from each other in the art department as well as in the way the panels are arranged. Her sub-dom pin ups are fantastic, so one should check them, too.

• Honey Tree is a short comic about a chubby woman having some very hot time with a tree sprite. Very direct and sexy porn, and body positive at the same time.
• Ownership is a more personal and heavy story. It’s about two friends who grew up together, became BDSM partners and one of them is a trans man. There’s much emphasis on the understanding of each other and the contrast between the nature of their relationship and its perception by their mothers. Everything is told in such an intimate way, that you can’t help but want to commune in their experiences, too. Vittori cleverly chose grayscale for this work and used color sparingly here and there metaphorically or as in a code where a certain color was linked to a particular character.
• Quick & (un)Easy Research of Human Sexuality is a sci-fi comic about an alien whose existence was transferred into a female human body and send in human society to explore it. This story is more playful that the other two and the covers of each chapter show it. Additionally, the bright color schemes, the figures that don’t have outlines everywhere and the lineart which is thick and bold make for a delicious and striking work.

Shari Hes is from the artists that I got fond of little by little. In the majority of her work, she has a delicate flat style, which is a characteristic of hers that I really love. Another one is how straightforward the majority of her characters are. Sex scenes with flesh squeezing never looked so good.

• Rewired is a poly story involving an ex-soldier who lost his two arms and has prosthetics, his doctor and his nurse who has a prosthetic leg. Some rehabilitation, a new life as the doctor’s assistant and part of a three-member family and hot sex.
• Shiver Me Timbers is all about pirate ladies. They abduct a vicar because they mistook him for a doctor and they share him. A cute little virgin getting a handful to handle. Wooden dildos, foursomes and more.
• French Vanilla was featured in Smut Peddler 2012 but in black & white. It seems tad weird to see it in color. Boyfriends try out kinky stuff but end up appreciating the same old. Goes to show that every couple has its own tastes and dynamics. Whatever sails your boat. Complicated routines are optional and not for everyone.
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an adaptation of Shakespear’s work with lots of sex. Duh, what did you expect? Still great stuff. We’re here for the porn after all. Poetic language is kept and damn if the art doesn’t fit the lyricism of the story. At times quite funny since Hes knows when to use cartoony elements.

N.G. Chan is just the type of comic artist whose art I adore: detailed and textured. She works a lot with what appears to be pen and ink. Moreover the body language of her characters is excellent which translates amazingly in sensuality and wetness between ones legs! Even in the pinups there’s the impression of flowing movement. Vulnerability and strength can describe her work very well.

• Last Night is what I cal “”best friends yaoi”. You might think you’ve read thousands of those, but this one will stay with you. And there’s no harm in basking in the joy of a classic narrative anyways. Adolescent body awkwardness and romantic worries, growing up and distance getting in the way… N.G. Chan sprinkles this story with jokes and exaggerated expressions making it upbeat and definitely coming alive. Buying condoms was never so adorable! You’ll end up a red pile of mush by the end of it. Guaranteed.
• Shamisen is a story about mischievous fox spirits competing in a contest of seduction. It was pouring outside and they both wanted the small temple for themselves, so what’s better than showing off who’s the best? The female fox sure knows how to vex her ‘opponent’ and is astonishingly glib. Smugness can be so sexy!
• It’ll Do plays with the tropes of boke (funny man) and tsukkomi (straight man) in the ‘Wild West’. Two native Americans got lost in the middle of nowhere in their search for womanly company. The tsundere of the duo wants the shaft but being a proud womanizer won’t let him admit it, so he rephrases things to suit him.
• In Waves the love of her life is right in front of her, but she takes awhile to realize that. Spa is a refreshing setting to spice things up for a lesbian romance. Add opposite personalities to the mix and be assured, you won’t get bored.

Niki Smith is, along with N.G. Chan, my very favorite and I can’t hide it. Her artwork is minimalistic and it properly retains a delicate balance between angular and round, with attention to color and a love for rectangular panels. Her works ooze confidence and I’m enamored with it. It’s one of those cases where at first I wouldn’t consider focusing on but once I delve into them, I’m swept off my feet, totally blown away. I’m reminded of my experience of Yuasa Masaaki. Yes, I love her that much. Building a style of your own that works as your brand is called success in my book. People look at the artwork and recognize it and love it for everything that comes together with it.

• Merlin is the name of the cat of two lesbians but that’s not a story about him. Short comic about sexy times. It’s drawn horizontally and has many different panel arrangements in comparison with her other series.
• Fireworks is about gay sex between bad boys who don’t have time for gals.
• Friends as in sex friends. It’s the first realistic depiction of polyamorous relationships I’ve ever read and one that also turned me on big time. It’s a work in three acts with color-coded dialogues/monologues and awesome chapter covers that progress from fumbling sexually behind masks (literally) to making some steps without them ending up in a loving threesome. This title is worked mainly with four panels per page dissecting their relationships and slowing down the process of being honest to themselves and to each other. It’s an amazing work.
• No Questions explores gay sex with a trans man. It was about time sex didn’t get complicated with indiscrete questions. He found someone he could have fun with.
• Rings on Her Fingers documents the kinky holidays one Afro-American man had the luck to experience in Germany.
• As the title denotes, Crossplay is a love letter to the fandom and slash/yaoi culture. The heroines dress as their male OTP and their love for shipping becomes the ship of their love. Out of their costumes to get some action!
• Delay shows you how to spend your time while waiting for the next train: playing instruments -both musical and not! The paneling here is almost like Tetris and illustrates appropriately a one night stand: the many smaller panels render the passage of time faster and highlight the carnal aspect of desire.
• Smith has an affection to piercings and tattoos, thus Ink was an expected piece of art. One more short work with tattooed ladies in a tattoo parlor at the center this time. Also, yay, strap-on! She follows the same technique used in Delay.

I would also like to recommend ID by Jennie Breeden and Reality VS Fantasy by Alejadra Quintas, both super funny works, speaking the truths of real life sex, all its awkwardness and its straightforwardness. My tummy hurt from laughing at times. These are great titles because, most probably, you’ve been there and because they debunk popular myths about sex.

Some honorable mentions:

• The New Kid by Robin Alan has a butch lesbian/genderqueer young lady finding acceptance and love in our protagonist.
• I found Cupcakes, by Jamie Jennings, a very cute story. It includes a trans girl making -and finding- love with her friend. Another work of the same artist called The Armorsmith’s Daughter talked to my romantic heart quite a bit, while The Thorn Prince makes for an interesting buffet of sexual acts and kinks.
• Questings by Yana Goya focuses on a jungle adventure that ends up with the explorer healing the hunter’s wounds and his sexual frustration. Also, don’t forget to check her big pin up gallery with drooling-worthy solos, yaoi and threesomes.
• Since we are talking about yaoi pin ups, you’ll definitely find very appealing Apollo-Pop’s work. From her series I fawned over White Off. Lover’s spat leads to sex. She uses impressive colors and outlines.

I shouldn’t forget to mention that those seeking more traditional porn, won’t get disappointed either. Kittyhawk and Tessa Woodis will probably cover their tastes.

As for the organization, they always work towards improvement. When I first joined there were two groups with thumbnails, one with the ongoing titles and one with the finished ones. Now that the finished titles have increased, they provide a list with links to all available titles. I’d love to see a thumbnail version of finished series like before, too. (Update: Gina Biggs is the awesomest sweetheart! She changed the design as requested!) The customer can now additionally see the pinups as they are added. The pinup section is better organized by the artist’s name and has a slideshow feature. For both the comics and the pinups there are visible updates.

On the top right one can seek works by the artist, look for printed versions of some of the comics, visit the forums to chat and ask questions, and of course see details of their account and contact the stuff for any problems.

All these fantastic comics are available for just around 8$ per month with the initial fee costing a little bit more, depending on what kind of subscription one chooses. It’s inexpensive though if one considers that the whole content is downloadable, with no limits and over 70 titles and many pin up galleries available. 8$ is the price of the average comic book/graphic novel; here you are offered much more. Plus, you support female artists! Think about it because it’s certainly worth your time and money!