July 8, 2025
The comic series Lovesick is a sort of character study of Domino, a dark web dominatrix, and her hordes of fans who pay a pretty penny to be maimed, tortured, and killed by their idol. It explores obsession, love, idolatry, consent, and the dark parts of each of us.
Doll Parts is a 4-issue prequel, taking us back to the days before Domino was Domino. When she was, instead, a 12-year-old girl named Madeleine, afraid of growing up, of becoming like the older girls that taunt her in ballet class, or worse, her devout mother who sees evil in nearly everything. Doll Parts is a dark coming of age story that leans into the horror of girlhood and the reality of growing up in an online world where youth and innocence are bait for the real-world monsters that seek to devour it.
I kind of read these backwards, having read Doll Parts first. (Though, whether or not that’s actually backwards, I guess I’ll leave to you to judge.) I picked up the first issue on free comic book day, not knowing a single thing about Lovesick, drawn in solely by the cover and the inner art.
(I do this a lot on free comic book day as it’s usually the one day of the year that I actually step foot in a comic shop, and I love supporting my local shops so I always buy a few things - usually a few first issues of whatever series jump out at me. And then, if I like any of those, I usually wait until a TPB comes out because single issue comics are expensive!)
Anyway, I got unbelievably lucky with Doll Parts because it was so much better than I could have guessed. Honestly, it’ll probably be one of my favorite reads of 2025!
Madeleine’s story is much darker than anything I experienced as an adolescent but there was so much here that I found relatable - certain thoughts and feelings that I had never seen expressed in quite the same way. And I think most people who grew up as girls in the 2000s or later will have a similar experience. Some may relate much more than I (who grew up as an exceedingly straight-laced kid afraid of getting into any kind of trouble or rebelling in any way) did.
I was so eager to read Lovesick after finishing Doll Parts and I have to admit, it disappointed me just the tiniest bit. Where Doll Parts feels really cohesive and self-contained, Lovesick feels a little more scattershot and unplanned. And, if I understand correctly, that’s because it was. From the author’s notes at the end of each issue, it seems like the first 3 or 4 were written for self-publication of some kind, before Vecchio was given a traditional publishing deal and wrote the rest of the 7-issue series. So because of it’s history, and because Vecchio seems to have gone into the series with a more exploratory mindset of having an interest in various themes and seeing where they would take her, Lovesick just doesn’t feel as complete and cohesive as Doll Parts does.
But it is interesting in its own way!
I haven’t really talked about the art, at all, but Luana Vecchio’s art is incredible! There were several cover images and panels throughout Lovesick that I was tempted to get tattooed on me.
As I mentioned, Lovesick feels more exploratory, and I did find that interesting to keep diving into new aspects of this dark underground world. Lovesick also explores a toxic relationship between Domino and a man who’s been in her life since she was a teenager and I found myself intrigued by their ever-shifting dynamic and the obvious history that existed between them.
I think the big difference is that Lovesick feels like an exploration of various themes, through the lens of a central character, whereas Doll Parts feels like an actual character story.
And I think having read Doll Parts first strengthened my experience reading Lovesick because there isn’t a lot of character work for Domino in Lovesick.
Both are good, but they are different. I recommend both, but particularly Doll Parts.
And I can’t wait to see what Luana Vecchio does next!
